Hello, again. I've made the decision to scrap my other fic, Paradigm Shift. I've just lost the creative track for it, plus nobody seemed to like it. I don't plan to make that mistake again. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my work!

Chapter Five: Examination

Fenton Manor is well out of the way of major traffic lanes. Its grand gothic renaissance structure stands out among the country hills, like an English lord's castle of old. However, this old-age style is only skin-deep; inside the walls are nearly every technological convenience known to man or ghost. A science lab, a tech warehouse, and a computer mainframe have been built to assist with various new developments at Fentonworks. And, finally, it has the most state-of-the-art security and defense grid that the company could produce; a small government could be defended with this system.

In the highest spire that jutted from the center of the manor, Samantha Manson Fenton lay on her wine-colored bed, reading Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. Her raven hair, while still baring its characteristic ponytail, cascaded down to between her shoulder blades. Far gone from her complete gothic style as a teen, her dresses still bore traits of that dark fashion.

She sighed, putting the book down, marking her place, and hopping off the bed. As the woman stepped lightly down the spiraling staircase leading to the atrium, she saw her twin children run across the polished marble floor. They looked scared.

"Hi, kids!" called Sam from the stairs. They replied hurriedly, but did not stop running, heading for the laboratory wing.

The mother sighed. Her kids usually were ecstatic to see her, since she and her husband were home very little. Running the Public Relations for Fentonworks was a more tedious job that one might think: it usually took you halfway around the world, and that was just after lunch.

Maybe I'm just being worrisome again, she thought. They probably just have homework.

There was much work to do for Jake and Ellie Fenton. They approached the laboratory doors, skidding to a halt on the sterile floor. Engraved across the top doorframe was their grandmother's favorite Latin motto:

Sum quod eris; fui quod es.

A keypad terminal revealed itself from out of the wall. Jake quickly typed out the code and the door obediently slid open, revealing the wonders inside: a laboratory with teal walls and turquoise flooring, stark white tables lined with scientific equipment strewn about the room.

The twins stepped through the doorway, the barrier sliding shut behind them. Going to the table where Ellie conducted her biology homework, they set up a slide microscope for use.

"Hand me that penknife," said Ellie, pointing to a gleaming metal blade by the microscope. "I'll have to check the blood first." Jake gave the blade to his sister, who made a small cut across her fingertip. The liquid that seeped out seemed to have flecks of green among the red. Dripping the blood onto a slide, Ellie set the piece of glass on the stage, adjusting to high power.

Through the eyepiece, the red blood cells floated freely in their plasma medium. However, something seemed strange: tiny, greenish blobs were attached to the outer membranes of the cells, giving them a pale color like that of minor necrosis. Her second test on her brother's blood yielded the same results.

"Okay," said Ellie, trying to control her increasing stress, "I think this green stuff is what's causing all this. I'll try to find another coverslip. Where are those things?" She searched through a drawer, picking up a beaker that was too large to simply move aside. In her worried haste, the glass tube slipped right through her hand as though it were never there, shattering on the floor. Looking at her hand as though it were gangrenous, Ellie started to hyperventilate again.

Jake, however, looked at the hand with intrigue that he'd not been able to muster back at Fentonworks. "Wait," he said. "This reminds me of something...What did Dave write for you about ghosts? How they can phase through tangible matter?"

"Jake, what does that have to do with anything?" asked Ellie, still trying to control her distempered breathing.

"Look at your hand." Jake held her arm at the wrist, where it was still solid. Below that, the arm was hazy and translucent, little particles floating in an aura around it. Ellie then seemed to realize what her brother was referring to.

"It's intangible," she murmured.

"Yes."

"But how?"

Jake frowned. "I wish I knew."

The sliding metal door opened suddenly, revealing their mother.

"What are you kids doing?" she asked sweetly.

The twins looked towards each other nervously. If their mother found out about all this, who knew what she would do. They might be put on an operating table and dissected like frogs; they could be sent to the police for questioning in ghost-criminal activities; they might just simply be thrown out on the streets.

"Um...no," they quickly replied. And they filed out of the lab, frightened of what they were becoming.

At 9:00 P.M., both the Fenton children were in bed. Danny and Sam were in their own bedroom, mounted in the spire peak, getting ready for their nightly rest.

"Honey?" asked Danny as he took his shirt off, replacing it with his pajamas.

Sam looked at her husband of fifteen years. "Yes, dear?"

"Have you noticed that Jake and Ellie have been acting strange all day?"

"Yes, actually," replied Sam. "They didn't even stop when they got home from school today. I was thinking they'd want to know how Japan was."

"Very strange indeed," mused Danny. The familiar rings of white light shot across his body once again, the hazmat uniform replacing his night clothes. Effortlessly, he floated out of his hover-chair towards the bed where Sam sat, his legs becoming a spectral tail. He leaned over and kissed the woman he had known as his friend, his girlfriend, his fiancee, and his wife.

Sam found it impossible to imagine what her life would be like without Danny Fenton. She also found it hard to think about her life before she met him. Sure, there were the first five or seven years of her early life when he hadn't been there, but in some form, he had been there. It was as though his spirit was there with hers to provide guidance for guidance; and when they finally met as toddlers, it wasn't so much 'Hi there!' as 'Finally! Where have you been?'

The thought made them both smile whenever it was brought up. All through their marriage they had never lost their friendship, which was an amazing thing to keep.

Levitating out vertically, Danny transformed back into human form, his lower half becoming numb once again. He plopped down beside his wife, who kissed him on the nose.

"Goodnight, Danny," she cooed, turning off the light.

"Goodnight, Sam," he yawned in reply.

Both drifted off to sleep, dreaming their respected dreams. Both, ironically, were about the same thing; the thing that worried them.

Their children.

Thank you all for waiting so patiently! I promise to have the next installment up soon! Look hard; there may be a few things to find!

Regards,

Caracal.