WoM- I decided I'm not gonna be evil this chapter. SoS fans are already gearing up to kill me and drag my bloody corpse through the streets, so I don't need to add any more fire to the murderous mob…
"A word to the wise ain't necessary -- it's the stupid ones that need the advice."
-Bill Cosby
Scene 14
"Okay, that has gotta be the creepiest place we've ever been, Ghost Zone included," Tucker insisted with a violent shiver. "And I don't think I'll ever look at a spider the same way again!"
"Hey, I like Viscount!" Mandy protested. "He's just like a puppy, only with more legs." Tucker made a face.
"Great," He said sullenly, "Now I won't look at dogs the same way ever again either…" He frowned at his best friend, who made no sign of hearing him, "Dude, you okay? You're being way too quiet…" Danny blinked then sighed.
"I'm fine," He said shortly. Tucker snorted doubtfully, but didn't press the matter any more, which Danny was grateful for.
He figured he was lucky that it was Tucker who came with him and not Sam or his sister. The girls would've kept a clearer head in the situation, yes, especially Sam who liked spiders, snakes and other creepy crawlies like that, but Tucker knew when to ask questions and when to keep quiet. Jazz and Sam seemed to lack this ability, keeping at a subject until Danny was ready to snap.
'What am I gonna do…?' He thought with a sigh as he recalled the rest of his conversation with Auntie Gloria…
"WHAT?" Danny gaped. "But… Who? Why? Is it my fault?" He couldn't think of any other reason someone he loved would be in danger if it wasn't because of him, after all.
"No," She sighed, "It wasn't your fault, Danny, though it did have to do with ghosts," Auntie Gloria said. "It was the choice they made, Danny, to save everyone else. A very noble sacrifice,"
"But still not one they would've made if I hadn't dragged them into this mess," Danny pointed out, closing his eyes to take a deep breath and steady his nerves. "What else can you tell me?"
"Nothing," Auntie Gloria answered, giving the boy a soft look. "The rest you have to figure out on your own,"
"Then how do I know how I'm supposed to stop it from happening?" Danny asked angrily.
"That something else you have to figure out on your own, Danny," Auntie Gloria said softly.
"But if I don't-!" Danny started.
"You should have more faith in yourself, Danny," Auntie Gloria said calmly, taking a sip of tea, "After all, it wouldn't be the first time you've cheated destiny, hmm?"
"But it is the first time I've been told one of my friends would die if I didn't stop it by taking their place," Danny pointed out.
"Which is why you must consider this carefully before you make any decisions, Danny,"
'There's nothing to consider,' Danny thought grimly. 'This is my burden, my sacrifice to make, and I won't let anyone else take this hit for me,'
"Here's our stop," Mandy said, drawing Danny from his solemn thoughts. The half ghost trailed behind a little as he followed the other two off the bus and back towards his house, still in a grim mood.
Sable seemed to sence her master's depression, as she mewed softly and rubbed her furry black head against his cheek in a comforting gesture. Danny smiled at her in thanks, scratching her behind the ear.
"Thanks, Sable," He said softly, his voice warm in gratitude. The cat purred in response.
Danny, Tucker and Mandy entered FentonWorks to find an uncomfortable silence had fallen upon the usually warm and lively house. Danny and Tucker exchanged uneasy glances before Danny started forward, making sure that he kept Tucker and Mandy close so nothing would jump out at them.
"Hello?" He called out, "Mom? Dad? Jazz?"
"Danny?" All three kids jumped as Jazz entered the room, frowning slightly. "Oh, you're home. I was starting to get worried…"
"Sorry," Danny apologized instantly, "We kinda got sidetracked… Where are Mom and Dad?"
"They needed to meet with Mr. Lamburg about the movie." Jazz answered casually, "I think there's been a problem or something."
"Not yet," Mandy said as she headed for the kitchen, "But there's gonna be a big one soon, and the movie's gonna get cancelled." Jazz raised an eyebrow at her young roommate as she left the living room.
"Am I the only one who wonders how she does that?" the red head asked irritably.
"You don't want to know," Danny told her in a serious tone. Jazz frowned at him.
"Are you okay, Danny?" She asked, worry coloring her tone.
"Fine," Danny answered automatically. Jazz glared at him. Going on the defensive, Danny glared right back, "I'll tell you what my problem is when you tell me yours." He said firmly. Jazz looked alarmed for a second before she covered it with a casual expression.
"What makes you think something's wrong?" She asked.
"Come on, Jazz," Danny scoffed, "You're my sister. I know you better then that." Jazz blushed, unsure whether to be irritated or happy. It annoyed her how good her brother was becoming at picking up on small changes in her mood and accurately interpreting them without her ever noticing, but it also warmed her a bit that he cared enough to notice.
Especially considering that since their parents were so obsessed and excitable, she rarely got any attention of that sort at home. Not that Jack and Maddie didn't love them, it was just that they had odd ways of showing it in between their crazy experiments and ghost hunting expeditions.
That was why she did so well in school, got perfect grades, made all the right friends and all that. She was hungry for praise and acknowledgement from her teachers and peers. Somehow, though, that paled in comparison to Danny's brotherly love.
"Yeah," Jazz sighed, "I guess you do," She smiled slightly, though it was a wry smile of defeat. "Fine, you win this round, Danny, but I'll be back!" And with that, Jazz kissed her brother on the forehead and turned to see what Mandy was doing in the kitchen.
"Ack!" Danny exclaimed, wiping at the spot Jazz had kissed him. "Gross Jazz!" His only verbal response was a light laugh that made him roll his eyes. "Sisters…"
"Come on, man," Tucker grinned, "Seeing you and Jazz sometimes makes me wish I wasn't an only child."
"Careful, Tuck, Desiree could be lurking around any corner," Danny joked with a serious face, earning a glare from the tech geek, "And what do you mean 'sometimes?'"
"Obviously you forget how legendary Fenton Fights can be, dude." Tucker grinned, glad to have a little bit of the old Danny returning. "Remember that one you had at school before the whole Plasmius thing?"
"How could I forget?" Danny asked dryly, rolling his eyes and sitting down on the couch. The bag on the cushion next to him crackled under the new weight on the couch, drawing the half ghost's attention.
His eyebrow kicked up at the insignia on the bag, which was a play off of his own, only with an S inside of an O, and the words OCCULT STORE circling it, along with the proclamation that it was 'The One Stop Spot For Anything Ghost!'
'Oh, THIS sounds promising…' Danny thought dryly, digging through the bag. Went his hand met something soft, he pulled it out, staring in horror at what he found.
"What the heck is THIS?" He demanded, gaping. Tucker looked up at the boys exclamation, and bust out laughing at the sight of the plushie just as Jazz and Mandy hurried into the room.
"What's- oh," Jazz grinned, "I bought it today. Isn't it adorable?"
"ADORABLE?" Danny repeated, giving the girl a mortified look, "Jazz, this goes against the very laws of nature!"
"Cute!" Mandy squealed, taking the plush toy from Danny to hug it. "Aww, look it even has a little stuffed thermos!"
Jazz and Tucker couldn't breathe through their laugher at the look this observation brought to Danny's face.
"You know Jazz, these things really are great," Tucker said with a grin, "Where can get one?"
"TUCKER!" Danny growled with a glare. Tucker grinned back, and Danny sighed irritably, "You have no idea how much I wish Sam were here right now." He announced dryly, "At least she'd agree with me that these… things are stupid." Jazz was tempted to tell him about Sam's reaction at the mall before deciding against it.
'Let the boy dream…' She decided, smirking slightly.
Just then, the front door opened again. Danny turned, thinking it was his parents, but he stiffened when he saw Vlad Masters walked through the door instead, his usual cocky look replaced with a thoughtful frown.
"Where have you been?" Danny asked dryly. Jazz and Tucker both watched the man curiously. Vlad seemed to come out of his thoughts at Danny's question, focusing on the younger half ghost.
"Ah, Daniel." he said when he saw the boy. "There you are, I was hoping to find you… Would you mind taking a little ride with me for a bit?"
"Why?" Danny asked suspiciously as Tucker and Jazz glared at the billionaire. Mandy watched the whole thing with a mild interest.
"Let's just say it's something you'll find interesting," Vlad said with a pointed look.
'It must be about the movie or the ghosts, then.' Danny mused.
"Well then," Jazz said loudly, glowering at her little brother's archrival. "You shouldn't have any problem with us coming along, too,"
"It's fine guys," Danny told his friends, frowning at them softly as he stood.
"Are you sure, Man?" Tucker asked warily.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Danny smiled slightly at his best friend before glaring at Vlad. "Let's go." Which that, Danny started for the door. Vlad followed until the object in Mandy's arms made him falter.
"What on Earth is THAT?" He demanded.
"…Shut up."
"Okay, Plasmius, what's this about?" Danny demanded, glaring at the elder half ghost.
They were sitting in the back of his limo, soundproof glass separating them from the driver, So Danny felt it was safe to speak freely. Vlad was unfazed by the look the teen was giving him, though, and merely tossed the boy a file. Danny blinked when he caught it and saw his name printed across the top.
"What's this?" He asked, wary of just opening it. He wouldn't put it past Vlad to give him a nasty surprise…
"Your file," Vlad answered dryly, "From the office of Marcus Kimbers,"
"The guy who hired all the movie people to come here?" Danny clarified, raising an eyebrow as he flipped open the file, "Why does he have a file on ME?"
"Because the movie isn't all it appears." Vlad replied. "Two years ago, I managed to corner Henry Kimbers, Marcus' elder brother, and convince him to sell me his company, which was dying at the time after hitting quite a bout of bad luck."
"Bad Luck?" Danny repeated, doubt clear in his voice. He knew Vlad better then that…
"Yes well, under my nurturing hand the company became successful again, and Henry apparently went bankrupt and disappeared."
"Nice," Danny snorted, "No wonder the guy hates you. You know, there are times I wonder how you sleep at night."
"On the finest bed known to man with black silk pillows and sheets," Vlad responded. Danny glared at him before he started skimming through the information.
Name; Daniel John Fenton
Age; 14
DOB; 08/24/1992
Eyes; Blue
Hair; Black
Height; 5'4
Weight; 115
'Duh,' Danny thought, rolling his eyes. What was with the bio? Though it did sort of concern him that they took the time to find out his height and weight. The middle name was pushing it, though.
GPA; 2.02
Danny scowled. Now that one wasn't anywhere near necessary! And how the heck were all these rich guys getting a hold of his grades, anyways? So much for school security…
Notes; Behaves very defensively and secretively. Only two close friends, and a deep bond with his older sister. Appears to be closely connected to the ghost invasions but how is uncertain.
"Wait, so this guy's been spying on me?" Danny frowned. "But I don't get it, why would he even-?" Danny stopped short, his eyes narrowing at Vlad, "…You've been spying on me too, haven't you?" He asked dryly. "That's how Kimbers found out about me."
"Me? Spy?" Vlad repeated innocently, "What would give you that idea, Daniel?"
"I'll take that as a yes," Danny said, glowering at Vlad as he handed the folder back, "Anyways, what do you want me to do about this?"
"Keep a low profile." Vlad ordered at once, "Drop the Phantom charade if you know what good for both of us."
"So you want me to sit by and watch as innocent people are attacked by ghosts?" Danny clarified, scowling angrily at the billionaire.
"I want you to consider the safety of yourself and those you care about before you jump in to take responsibility for another person's problems." Vlad said with a glare. "Don't forget, Daniel, every foe you face is another threat to the ones you love." Remembering what Auntie Gloria had told him, Danny fell silent.
'Maybe he's got a point…' he thought sadly.
"Fine," He sighed in defeat. "I won't go ghost until all of this is dealt with,"
"Excellent," Vlad grinned, "So nice to know you're finally starting to see things my way, Daniel." Danny scowled at him before slumping back into his seat.
'Well,' He reassured himself, 'At least things can't get any worse from here on out…'
WoM- See? Not a cliffie! (At least not in my book) Ha! Take THAT, Sadie! 'does her victory dance,' Anywho, I've got another break coming up soon, so I should be able to get more writing in then. And next chappie deals with Sam (Don't worry, she's still alive. I'm not THAT mean! Though whether or not she'll STAY alive…)
Thanks to;
Master of Procrastination
Kikiness
Moss Royal
IwuvMyKenshyPoo
LuvinLife
enigmatic penguin
random-idiot-v2
Tetsukon
Rob Phantom
littlekittykat
BratCat
Darth Frodo
Asilla
Lumias
Firefury
Inumaru12
Dark-Sephy
phantomshadowdragon
conan98002
epobbp
Petitio Principii
The Sole Survivor
Laughing Hyena
puppyface
Light Dragon SunsSong
AirGirl Phantom
the sleep warrior
SquirrelGirl
WhiteMoonDragon
Kyuugi
Spirit of Zurvan
Satoshi Silver Syoran
Samantha-Girl Scout
Kuki Salazar
Snea
cakreut12
Next update; February 16th
See you then!