"So what happened?" Maddie and Jack asked in unison with eyes wide in both curiosity and worry. Hans, Cherie, and Franz looked on as well, curious. After all that had taken place, they couldn't help but wonder what they should do next.
Danny recapped the previous conversation in excruciating detail, covering all that Vlad had told him including how he became rich, his connection with Valerie and her family, how he still wants to kill Jack, marry Maddie, and make him his evil apprentice/son. He continued on about how Wulf had been right about a planned ghost invasion as well if he did not comply and only wished Vlad had told him where his friends were. Danny paused to let everyone soak in what he had just told them, and to give them a chance to prepare for what he was about to reveal to them next. Finally, he told them that Vlad said he was destined to die if he didn't go with him to his lab to work on a cure.
Jack's enormous body stiffened straight as a board as he drove the Fenton RV, while Maddie let out a quiet gasp from the passenger/copilot seat, trying to think what to do. Hans, Cherie, and Franz hung their heads, obviously distressed about the situation. Jazz was the one who broke the silence.
"You aren't going to believe him, are you?" she said. "I mean, after all he has done to you and the rest of us, don't you think this could all be a ruse to lead you into some kind of trap?" The look of determination on her face was extremely convincing.
"Uh, yeah! That must be it," Hans said, a bit over-happily as he tried to ease the somber mood that had suddenly come to dominate the RV.
"I guess it could be," Danny said, "but you never know. He's had much more experience with this kind of stuff than I have."
"But he's had these abilities for over twenty years," Maddie argued, somehow finding her voice. "And he is still here."
"He said it had to do with the amount of ectoplasm from the Ghost Zone that I was exposed to," Danny answered.
"Well that's a possibility," Jack said. "After all, you were probably exposed to at least ten times more of it than Vlad was in the proto-portal experiment that went wrong. Your entire body was also exposed; with Vlad, it was just his face."
"Hmm, I'll have to do some experiments and calculations when we get back home, to figure this all out. I honestly have no idea about this, and I know I can't do any research on this, since I am pretty certain that I won't find any information about your condition in any medical textbook." Maddie thought aloud.
"Wait a sec- we don't have time to be worrying about this now!" Danny said as if something had suddenly just slapped him in the head. "Even if Vlad wasn't lying, he said I still have six months left. Anyway, we have to act fast to find Sam and Tucker. He lost his powers for three hours, so I think if we go rescue them, we should go now!"
"But we don't know where they were taken," Cherie said
"He probably took him to his castle," Jazz said. Everyone looked at her as if she had just delivered an awe-inspiring Nobel-award worthy speech and had just hit upon some fact that would change the world. "Back when he held the college reunion, I took the liberty to look around before I found the movie-screening room. Do you know how huge that place is?"
"Yes, we were there." Danny said as if he caught her drift. That sounded like Plasmius- another way to lure him to his own castle and laboratory. I suppose he wants to save my life so I that I have to owe him something, Danny thought. And in return I'd have to stay there with him. Either way, I lose.
Jazz glared at him, but dismissed his sarcasm. "Anyway," she continued, "I went down this dingy old staircase and found myself in some kind of dark, medieval-esque dungeon. I didn't go any farther because it creeped me out, but I figured since it was an old castle, he was probably keeping it like that to preserve the antiquity of the place. After that, I came back upstairs and found the screening room. I figured I'd just stay there, where nobody would know my last name- uh, heh heh…" she stared at her father's expression reflected in the rearview mirror. "No offense, dad. Anyway, I bet that is where Vlad would keep them."
"You're probably right," Hans said. "After all, there are very few places he could keep a human prisoner in the ghost zone, save for Skulker's lair, which I suppose could be a possibility."
"Let's hope it's not," Danny said. Suddenly, his eyes flashed a bright shade of white momentarily and he froze. A second later his eyes returned to normal and he gasped.
"Danny! Are you okay?" Jazz asked. "What he heck just happened?"
"I…don't…know, but I uh, I have no idea," he said slowly.
"Tell us how you felt," Maddie said, trying to figure out the cause of her son's sudden odd behavior.
"I felt scared, as if I had just seen a ghost. I also saw Tucker, and it was dark."
"You had a vision of where they are?" Jazz asked.
"That's kind of cool," Franz said.
"Yeah, have you done that before?" Cherie asked.
"No, but I didn't see Sam. I just knew I felt very afraid, and then I was back here."
"Well that's interesting," Maddie said.
"It looked like stone walls- I think they have to be in Vlad's castle. It only makes sense. I can fly us faster than if we drove this at top speed."
"What do you mean, Danny?" Jack asked.
"I have enhanced strength in my ghost form- I picked up and threw a ghost dragon once. This car should be no sweat, plus, the last time we clocked it, I could fly 112 miles per hour. We have to beat Vlad. I am sure he probably sent for his own private jet or something to bring him back."
Maddie did the calculation out loud. "If we are flying, there's no traffic, 112 mph,… hmm, I doubt we'll make it in about three hours. It took us two days before, but we were driving much slower and stopped for the night. I suppose we can try though. it's the only chance we have." A thought hit her. "But won't you get tired, honey?" she asked, looking at Danny.
"Can't afford to. My two best friends are in danger- " and with that he froze again, his eyes flashed a brilliant white before the blazing ceased and he returned to normal.
"TUCKER!" he cried aloud, then frantically turned into his alter-ego in a flash of brilliant blue light, illuminating the RV momentarily before he stood there, semi-transparent, his green eyes aflame brighter than they ever had been before. His ghostly aura also was a bit brighter to Jazz, who noticed a few beads of sweat running down his forehead, as if what he had just seen was more terrifying than anything he had ever seen before. A look of solid anger and determination crossed his face. He glared at no one in particular as his aura glowed brighter and changed to a different color than normal. Instead of his normal white, he was now glowing the same blue color as the rings that transformed him into a spirit. "I won't let you hurt them!" he cried, then vanished in a flash of light.
"I can't believe you got us out of that prison cell with a couple of packets of 'Nasty Sauce' and your PDA," Sam whispered as they both made their way out of the cell and into the hallway towards the old, wooden dungeon door.
"You never can be too prepared," Tucker answered.
"No wait, scratch that," she said. "What impresses me more is that you even had those packets of 'Nasty Sauce' in the first place."
"Compliments of the Nasty Burger. I kind of stole a handful of extra packets the last time we were there. I guess I still had some in my pocket. It's their secret ingredient, you know."
"Well I still think it's amazing that you even thought of this escape technique in the first place."
"Thank Alcatraz for that. The salt content and overall chemical formula of the sauce turns extremely corrosive when charged with a DC current, which could be generated from my PDA. All I had to do was put the stuff on the bars and add a little juice to it." Tucker said proudly. "And voila! It will eat away at iron, just like salsa, but much more potent. I've heard that this stuff can even become explosive if heated to extreme temperatures."
"Well I doubt that will ever again work in the real world, but I am not complaining now," Sam said. "All right mister MacGyver, how do you propose getting through this wooden door?"
"Well I could set a spark and burn it down."
"Great, we can attract the attention of our captors and suffocate from the smoke at the same time. I'm all for it."
"Well what do you suggest, Ms. Cynical?"
"Well, uh, um-"
"WELL GOSH AND GOLLY DARN!" a happy voice interrupted their banter through a clearly Canadian accent. "Whatar a fine coople of youths such as yerselves doin all the way down 'ere?" An almost transparent, glowing, somewhat heavy-set figure floated down, with a smiling, jolly face, wearing stately robes and carrying a scepter with an ice cream cone at the end. He looked very regal in all his silliness, and instead of a crown, wore a cheese-head hat upon his head.
"Who are you?" Sam and Tucker asked at the same time.
"Well I'm the Dairy King kiddos, don'cha know?"
"The Dairy King?"
"Why sure. This was my castle when I was alive, and I'd hate to see ya down 'ere in this dreadful part of it. I never used it myself. Now, it looks like you could use a spat of help dere, don'cha know?" he said.
"Yes, please! Can you help us out?"
"Sure!" The Dairy King grabbed the two, turned them intangible and phased them out through the walls and the ground, up to the outside of the building and placed them on the well-manicured grass of the front lawn.
"There ya go, kiddos," he said.
"Thanks a lot, sir," Sam and Tucker said, turning around.
"No problem," the king said, then stared at Sam confusedly. "Are you sure we have never met before, dearie? You look awfully familiar."
"I don't think so."
"Oh well, I could of sworn-. Oh well. Take care now at least." And with that, he was gone.
"Well that was awfully nice of him," Sam said.
"Yeah, but I'll never eat anything at a Dairy King ice cream shop the same way again." Tucker added.
"Well, let's get out of here," Sam said, practically pulling him away. "I have a feeling this is Vlad's place. It is just the way Danny described it- even down to the Green Bay Packers door-knocker and green and gold decorations."
"Yeah, creepy."
The two made their way down the driveway, but an unusually long black limo pulled through the front gates, which closed behind it. "Quick, over here, Tucker said, as he pulled Sam behind a large, flawlessly trimmed rhododendron bush next to the driveway whose large purple flowers were in full bloom and went well with the green and gold décor of the house. It didn't take them long to notice it was shaped like a perfectly symmetrical football, resting on its side.
Sam started to sniff, but held her hand in front of her nose. Tucker looked at her questioningly. "I hate having allergies," she whispered.
They peered through the bushes and saw who they assumed to be Vlad. (They had never formally met him, but recognized him from the pictures Danny had showed them.) He looked very angry and peered at a fancy watch on his wrist impatiently, tapping his foot as he unlocked the front door.
The driver of the limo emerged, and not to the teens' surprise, he was a ghost. "I'm sorry, Mr. Masters, I flew the plane as fast as I could. At least I didn't bail out of it like I did when you told me to with Maddie and Daniel. I drove you as fast as I could from the airport- "
"QUIET! I am in a bad mood, and I don't mean to be short, but, well," he took a deep breath. "Thanks for the ride. Goodbye, Lester."
"If you ever are in need of my services, just let me know, sir!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Vlad said as he opened his door.
"AAAACHOOO!" Sam sneezed suddenly and loudly. She cringed and threw her hand over her mouth, a look of absolute horror on her face. "I hate flowers." Tucker shared the same horrified look, but didn't fail to say, 'gezuhnteit' (sp?).
Lester heard the sneeze and was upon them in an instant. "My, what do we have here?" he said as he grabbed them, and flew back inside, alerting Vlad of their presence.
"Uh, we just wanted your autograph, Mr. Masters," Sam said with a guilty smile.
"Don't lie to me, Missy. I know who you are. I can't believe you two escaped my dungeon, but oh well."
"Ooh! Ooh! Do you want me to drop them out of a plane without parachutes?" Lester asked, a crazy smile spreading across his ghostly face.
"No, that won't be necessary," Vlad said with a smirk. "I have a better idea." Sam and Tucker struggled to escape Lester's grasp, but could not as Vlad approached and drew out a long sword from a glass display case on the wall. They gasped, wide-eyed.
"Is this familiar?" Vlad asked. I recently 'borrowed' it from a friend of mine, the Fright Knight- the spirit of Halloween. I am sure you must know him. Oh, don't worry. I have a pumpkin nearby in case the old boy gets out of control looking for it. I am keeping him busy by having him search for the lost skeleton key in the Ghost Zone for me. Any way, see you in your nightmares, kids."
With that, he swung the sword and it passed right through the two of them in one swing. Instead of inflicting any physical damage, it sent them to live out their worst fears in a parallel dimension. The two vanished from Lester's grasp, who smiled maliciously.
"Genious, sir!" he proclaimed. "But what about the other halfa?"
"I'm sure he'll be here shortly. He may not get the best grades at school, but he sure isn't stupid, and has a blind devotion to his friends and family. When he does figure it out, he won't need to be slashed with a magic sword to live out his worst nightmares if he doesn't cooperate and do what I tell him."
"Wonderful, sir- an utterly evil analogy."
"It angers me the potential he has that I do not. Skulker was right when he first started hunting him- his scanners sensed that he was one of a kind." He smirked. "Well then that makes two of us if we aren't the same."
"Great, Jorgen is organizing all the fairies and pixies to help us fight if need be," Wanda said as she poofed them all back to Earth from Fairy World.
"Yeah, but our magic doesn't work directly on ghosts or other supernatural beings," Cosmo said. "What are we supposed to do?"
"Fight hand to and if we have to, I guess," his wife answered. "Or we get creative, like Danny said."
"You guys," Timmy announced. "If we get Crocker out of the asylum that they sent him to from jail, I bet he may help us whether he realizes it or not."
"How so, Timmy?" Cosmo asked as he desperately tried to pull his wand out of his ear. How it got there, Timmy didn't know, but Wanda removed it for him and placed it back in his hand.
"He is a great inventor, even if no one takes him seriously- heh, kind of like the Fentons. He invented that net that could catch ghosts."
"Ghosts and fairies," Wanda chimed.
"Well maybe if we tell him real ghosts are coming, we could let him go on his own, do his thing, and we just stay out of his way."
"Well it may sound crazy, but why not. We're going to need all the help we can get anyway, if Plasmius sends all the ghosts to earth to destroy it," Wanda retorted.
"I think it is pretty selfish of him to want to destroy the world if he doesn't get what he wants." Timmy said.
"Well let's hope Danny and everyone are hanging in there and that it doesn't come down to that." Wanda said.
"Well everyone in the city is probably going to go to that concert everyone has been talking about tonight." Cosmo said as he pointed to a flyer stapled to a telephone pole, advertising the event.
"That's right, the concert!" Timmy cried. "It's going to be broadcasted all over the place. If we somehow get Chip to announce about our situation, maybe people watching here and on TV will want to help out!"
"I guess you can ask, but I doubt he'll believe you. Anyway, let's go get Crocker taken care of first." Wanda said.
Timmy walked to the asylum and up to the front door wearing his pink wristwatch, and now green hat- (it was way too hot to be wearing a jacket).
"It sure is great that this mental asylum was so conveniently located here on the way to Danny's house," Timmy said, then squinted at two people emerging from the large front doors that appeared to form the only entrance/exit of the looming cement building painted a boringly plain shade of white.
"But mother!" the taller figure exclaimed in a very familiar voice that always seemed to remind Timmy of that of the Burrito Bell spokesman, a talking chihuahua. "I swear there were ghosts!"
"Now Denzel, dear. The first time I bailed you out of a place like this, you swore there were fairies. Now there are ghosts, you say?"
"Yes! Fairies and ghosts! "
"And to think I went through all this trouble to bring your mother here to get you out," another figure emerged, who Timmy also recognized. She was the principal of his school, Ms. Waxelplax. "To think, when I used to date you back in college, I thought you were cool. At least your mother is still nice to me, not to mention sane."
"Yes," his mother replied. It sure was nice for her to offer me a ride when I needed one after all these years. You know I don't drive anymore."
"No problem, but don't ask again."
"Well let's go home, Denzel," his mother said. "I'll have to keep giving you your medicine."
"Then when I get back, I'll shred the papers allowing his tenure." Ms. Waxelplax said with a happy chuckle.
Timmy approached the small group. "Oooh! Timmy Turner!" Ms. Waxelplax exclaimed in her characteristic high-pitched squeal. "Fancy running into you here. Are you vacationing with your family?"
"No, I- "
"Turner!" Crocker yelled.
"I actually came to tell Crocker that the ghosts are real, and that the world needs his help. There is going to be a massive invasion and we need him to help stop them!"
Mrs. Crocker looked as if she would faint, while Principal Waxelplax actually did. Luckily, she fell into a kindly gentleman who just happened to be walking by on his way home, practically knocking him over, who had been reading a book of poems by T.S. Elliot. They both helped each other up, and smiled at each other once they were back on their feet.
An eerily happy grin spread across Crocker's face as he broke away from his mother's grasp. "I'm not even going to ask how you know that, Turner, but count me in!"
AN: Okay, as far as the sauce thing goes, the salsa bit would work, but it would take many, many years! (I read about it in a random fact book. Supposedly, some prisoners tried it at Alcatraz prison and escaped, but I don't know if the story is true!) I don't know about the 'Nasty Sauce'…