Hello everyone.
Okay, first I must apologize for this late update…It's been almost a week! So I'll explain myself. Report cards came out, and although the lowest grade I had was a B, I had some missing assignments, and my parents weren't exactly happy. So I was grounded. Bleh. But hey, it was geometry! Ekk… Well, anyway, I'm sorry it took so long. Fortunately, search and rescue teams found my train of thought, so I'll be back on track soon enough here!
Anyway, the reviewers! Who all seemed to like Vlad for some reason. oO Go figure.
Silverstagbeauty: Heheh… I'm not sure if this counts as 'very soon', but um… Yeah. Anyway, I'm sorry, I haven't read your story yet. Actually, I haven't even checked my email for about a week, so, uh, yeah. Heheh…
DannysGirlForever: HEHEH! WRITING IN ALL CAPS IS FUN! WHEE! Um, yes, well, anyway…Thank you! Ashleigh, is it? Yes, thank you Ashleigh!
MixedBerry: Heheh, yeah. I think I was trying to write 'exemptify', despite the fact that it isn't a word, and spelled it wrong. It should have been 'exempt', but thanks for catching that for me. And thank you for the review. And compliments. And I think that's the first bit of advice anyone has given me on this story so far… Or any of my stories! You should win an award… The Only Person Who Actually Found Something Wrong With My Story Award! Yay!
PhantomKat7: Yes, I wasn't originally intending Vlad to be in the story either. But then I got this really good idea for a plot complication, and Vlad worked really well to usher in this next scene.
GIR's Cupcake: You knew Vlad would show up? Have you been sending me subliminal messages to put him in there? Hmm… Ah well. Another long review. Aw, for the praise! But I'm not even sure how I write for Clockwork myself… Come to think of it, I could write for just about any character I wanted to. Getting the feel that a character knows something the reader doesn't is one of the techniques to get people to want to read the story even more. Heh, and it works, too!
ERZLO: Vlad is in a lot of DP fanfictions, mostly because he is the main villain for the show. But at least I have an actual reason for Vlad showing up, one which I will hopefully remember to illustrate at some point in this story.
purpledog100: (puts on snorkel and mask) Heh, well, I tried with the updating the next chapter soon-thing. But I've said it before and I'll say it again: It's a good thing I can swim!
good story: Um, question. Did you read my answer to your last review? Oh well. Danny will be fine…somewhat. I'm not revealing the ending now! That would be awful:o Heheh… Anyway… I can't kill off the main character. I don't think.
Crazyvi: Yeah, everyone just about has their own little thing like that. I say 'narf' and add –ness to the ends of words a lot. But anyway… Thanks for the review, and here's the chapter!
phantom101: Hey, you've just won my Shortest Review Ever Award! Yay! I'm giving out lots of awards today. Oh well. Remember to wear oven mitts when handling hot cliffhangers :P
CrazyCosmoFan: Everyone loves Vlad. Heheh… bouncy bouncy bouncy…
Okay, late update explained… check. Reviewers replied to… check. Disclaimer…(looks below)…check. Now all that's left is the story! (For the record, everyone, Vlad is hard to write for! Let's hope I did a good job…)
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.
Chapter 6: The Sleeping Sickness
Danny glared at Vlad, and quickly regained his composure.
"Hello, Plasmius. And, goodbye, Plasmius!" he growled as he slammed the door in the middle-aged millionaire's face.
The doorbell rang again, in a most persistent way. Danny glared and the door and stomped off, eyes still an angry shade of green.
"Hey, Danny, who was that at the door?" Sam asked as he reentered the kitchen.
"No one," Danny said angrily. The doorbell rang again, more persistently than ever, and Danny glared over his shoulder.
"Um, is something wrong?" Tucker asked.
"No! Nothing's wrong. What makes you say that?" Danny snarled, kicking a chair so hard that one of the legs broke off and the chair tipped over. The doorbell rang several times in a row, and Danny's parents ran up from their laboratory to get the door.
"Hello, V-man!" Danny heard his father exclaim.
"Ah, Jack, how nice to see you!" Danny detected the sarcasm in Vlad's voice, although he doubted his father did.
Tucker and Sam rolled their eyes. "Vlad," they said in unison.
"Hey, kids, guess who's here!" a loud and excited voice called.
"Hm, a lonely middle-aged millionaire who would be well advised to get a cat?" Danny answered sarcastically, walking into the hallway.
"No! It's our old friend, Vlad!" Jack said happily, gesturing in Vlad's direction.
"I can see the 'old', but I'm not sure if I can go with the whole 'friend' part," Danny muttered. "Um, and if you need me, which you shouldn't, I'll be up in my room, doing, um... something very important for, uh, school, and I don't want to be interrupted!" And with that, Danny hurried up the stairs accompanied by Tucker and Sam.
Jazz met them on the stairs.
"What are you three running up here for?" she asked, glancing downstairs, where she saw Vlad talking politely to her parents. "Wait, Danny, didn't you say Vlad was-?"
"Yeah."
"Oh. In that case, I'll join you!" she said, following them quickly up the stairs.
"Anyway, Vlad, why don't you come inside?" Maddie asked warmly. "So, what brings you here?"
Danny paused and leaned over the banister. Why was Vlad here, anyway?
"Why, Maddie, when I heard Daniel was ill I came right away! I have lately found myself quite concerned with the safety of the family of my dear old friends."
Danny sneezed at this point, making his entire body invisible by accident, or perhaps from the force of the sneeze. In any case, Vlad happened to glance up towards the balcony in time to see. He raised an eyebrow smugly at his young foe.
"Well, we're glad you're concerned," Maddie replied, oblivious to anything that was happening upstairs, "but there's really no reason to-"
"Aw, come on. The last time he was here we were attacked by ghosts. Which was pretty cool, but we didn't get to spend much time together," Jack pleaded.
"I don't know..."
"Oh, pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleeeeeeease!" Jack begged, falling to his knees and clasping his hands.
"Oh, all right," she said, in a tone of voice that said quite clearly that had been her original intention. "Now, why don't you come into the living room, Vlad?"
"Why, of course," Vlad replied elegantly, with a sweeping bow to hide his triumphant smile.
"C'mon, V-man, I want to show you the Fenton Peeler!" Jack shouted gleefully, rushing into the living room. Vlad followed, but...
"OW!" he shouted suddenly, hopping upon one foot as if he had stubbed his toe. The half-ghost millionaire glared up a the balcony, where a pair of green eyes smirked at him from over the banister.
"Okay, I'd like a straight answer, Vlad," Danny demanded, confronting the man later that evening in his parent's laboratory. "What are you doing here?"
"Couldn't I ask you the same thing?" Vlad smirked, "Inviso-bill?"
The glare that Danny always wore when he was in the presence of this particular person deepened from blue to green as he crossed his arms. "According to the general public, Inviso-bill is Danny Phantom's evil and insignia-less twin. Now will you answer my question already?"
It seemed that Danny's question would never get answered. No less than two figures appeared in thin air, somewhere in between the two halfas. He drew a rare reaction of surprise from Vlad, and a mirrored expression from Danny.
Danny spoke first. "Who are you?" he asked threateningly, eyeing their long, sweeping robes, their creepy, ocular heads, and the small package one was carrying.
"We are the Observants," the figures said at the same time, as if it explained everything.
"Meaning...?" Danny prompted.
"We have been sent to ensure the safety of the Ghost Zone," the Observant on the left said.
"Sent? By whom?" Vlad asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Clockwork," the Observant on the right answered.
"Clockwork! But, why couldn't he just come see me himself?" Danny asked with surprise.
"He cannot come," the first Observant replied.
"Why not? Hang on... This doesn't have anything to do with... you know... Does it?" Danny asked, with a sudden jolt of fear.
"No. Your future self remains locked in Clockwork's abode," the second Observant answered, with a tone of voice that indicated he did not approve of this set up.
"Then why can't he-?" Danny began, but was cut off by the first Observant.
"Let us say that he is unwell," he stated.
"He has charged us with a task," the second Observant added. "A task to present you with this."
And with that, he offered the package he had been carrying to Danny. Danny stared at it, but did not take it.
"What do you mean, 'unwell'?" he asked, eyeing the first Observant.
"He had fallen victim to the Sickness, as we had warned him against," he explained.
"Sickness? Okay, so could someone here actually tell me what this whole 'Sickness' thing is about?" Danny said irritably.
"You do not know?" the second Observant said with a note of surprise, still holding the package that Danny had refused to accept.
"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you," he replied sharply. "So what is it?"
"The Sleeping Sickness," the first Observant began, "is an ancient malady. Ages ago, it was created by a sorcerer who wished to destroy all who opposed him."
"The Sickness was a devious design," the other Observant continued. "It would infect any who came in contact with it. The Sickness spread faster than any mortal illness, although no one understands why. It broke through the barrier that ghosts had against such things, for no ghost has ever been ailed by disease of any sort."
"It was intended to prove fatal," the Observant on the left continued, "but ghosts could not die. So the Sickness did the next best thing: it sent all who were touched by it into an irreversible slumber."
"This phase of the illness," the second continued, "was known as the Sleeping Death, and it gave the Sickness its name. The Sleeping Sickness was dreaded throughout the Ghost Zone."
"But the Sickness had to be stopped," the other Observant picked up where his brother had left off. "And so, a group of the most powerful ancient ghosts put a stop to it. They formed a Council, with the intent of eliminating the disease."
"And they did," the second Observant continued. "To this day, no one knows how they did it, except they themselves, and the Council is long gone now. The only record of the events is in this book." He held up the package, which was indeed an old book, with a grayed cover and frayed edges.
"And what does this have to do with me?" Danny asked. He felt slightly bewildered by it all.
"The Sleeping Sickness has returned," the first Observant replied. "The only record is contained in this book, and none can read it. But for some reason, Clockwork was certain that you would be able to find the cure." Danny looked again at the pro-offered book, then reached out his hands hesitantly, and took it. The book was much heavier than it looked, and icy cold; his fingers felt numb, and he had been holding if for only a few seconds. Danny looked down at the battered cover, then back up at the Observants.
"How am I supposed to find the cure? And why should I?" he asked suspiciously.
"Because, if you do not," the second Observant answered, "then you will have condemned the Ghost Zone to destruction, and sealed your own fate as well." Danny was speechless at this remark.
The first Observant continued when Danny did not speak. "Once you have found the cure, Clockwork requests that you come to his abode," he said, putting a pendant hanging from a blue ribbon around Danny's neck. "He said that you would know where to find him."
"Good luck, and farewell," the second Observant said.
"Remember, Danny Phantom, you are our only hope." Both Observants bowed, and disappeared.
Danny looked at the medallion. It was one of Clockwork's time medallions, gold, gear-shaped, and bearing an elegant CW emblem. He then looked at the book in his hands.
"Danny?" a voice said timidly from the door. He turned to see who had spoken. It was Sam. She was standing there with Tucker and Jazz, and all three had such horrorstruck expressions it was clear that they had heard the whole thing.
Danny looked back down at the book, and opened it to the first page. The pages were yellowed and crackled like old leaves when he turned them.
But the page was written on entirely with odd symbols, in vivid green ink that seemed to withstand the aging the rest of the book had undergone. Danny looked up, with a very frightened and determined expression in his eyes.
"Daniel?" Vlad asked softly, and Danny looked up; he had forgotten he was there. Danny looked back down at the page. He flipped through the book, and found that every page was covered in green characters. But Danny got a shock when he reached the final page.
The characters here were so familiar that Danny knew them by heart. The writing mirrored that on the box lid he had found. Danny swallowed hard and looked up at Tucker, Sam, Jazz, and Vlad.
"Jazz? What do you know... about viruses?"
Well, that's my chapter! It's a little short, but… I really need to stop with the cliffhangers, don't I? (slaps self)
Anyway, as I said, I'm sorry it took so long for me to update! I'll compensate by trying to have this up by next Monday…or hopefully Tuesday at the latest. Well, less than a week, anyway.
Eternally sorry for taking so long to update and promising to get the next segment up ASAP,
-E.P.