Chapter Twenty: Problems of Truth

Ellie Fenton sat idly in the large waiting room of Dalv Corp's Amity Park branch. She'd been wanting to talk to Vlad ever since last night, ans since Jake and Aunt Jazz were out on a pleasure cruise for the very early spring of this year, now seemed like the opportune time.

But this opportune time was growing long.

Getting up out of her chair, she went over to a door marked 'Vlad Masters, Pres.' and started to knock. A short while later, two tall men in suits appeared in the doorway, seeming to try their best to look menacing.

"What's your business with Mr. Masters, little girl?" one asked.

"It's alright, Tony," came Vlad's voice from behind them. The man in question stepped between the two guards to look down at the girl, kindness in his demeanor.

"Hello, Ellen," he said silkily. "Would you like to come in?"

"Sure, Uncle Vlad," she replied.

As they stepped into Vlad's private office, Ellie felt a bit of a chill. The entire place looked dark, with very few lighting fixtures and only one window. It also had an eerie, reddish miasma about it that drew light from surrounding objects. Vlad himself was cast in a red-lined light that made him seem almost inhuman.

"Now then," he said as the two sat down, "would you like a glass of water?"

"No thanks, I'm fine." she replied. "Just a little tired, is all."

"From your dreams?"

Ellie paused for a moment. "Yes," she admitted.

"Ellen, when are you going to learn to trust me?" Vlad asked. "I have never kept any secrets from you. I have no reason to keep secrets from you. I have nothing I wish to hide. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do," Ellie said. "It's just that–"

"If you trust me, why do you keep secrets from me?"

Ellie gulped. "Because."

"Because why?"

No answer.

Vlad sighed irritably, as though he were trying to convince a stubborn drowning person to take the darn life preserver already. "Ellie, I think I know what the problem is. You're keeping things from people, and it's making you sick. You can't sleep, for you fear what might happen if someone found out. The only way to get over it is if you are completely and ruthlessly honest with me. And with yourself."

Ellie blinked. "I don't understand," she said.

"What is your secret? What should I give you in return?"

"What?"

"I'm offering you something of my own for something of yours. Simple bartering. A glass of water? A bag of jewels? A secret of my own? What is it you want from me?"

Ellie squinted at Vlad. "I still don't understand."

Vlad said slowly, as though he were explaining to a child, "I am offering you...anything you want."

"Anything?" she asked incredulously.

"Of course. Pick something. Anything. It will be yours."

"Okay..." Ellie searched around the room, trying to find the most foolishly expensive thing she could see. "...how about your autographed football from Ray Nitchki?"

Vlad did not even blink. "Done," he said simply.

"But you told me it's your most prized possession!"

"It is. I don't really need it. Anything else?"

Ellie looked out the window at a nearby skyscraper she recognized.

"How about an apartment at that building?"

"Done."

"It's pretty expensive..."

"I don't care. I have enough money."

Ellie went still. Something wasn't right here.

"Is something wrong?" Vlad asked.

"I...I just don't know whether you're kidding or crazy."

"I am neither. Do you see now, Ellie? I can give you anything you want. iAnything/i"

Ellie looked at the man with suspicion. "What's the catch?" she asked.

Vlad smiled. "You have to be honest with me."

"But..." Ellie began.

"Ellie, I don't think you understand. You have never needed to keep any secrets from me, because I won't judge you. I will accept you no matter who you are or what you've done. I would never betray a friend. I care about you."

A beacon of light illuminated in Ellie's mind. This man would accept her for whatever she was. It was possible after all.

"You promise not to tell anybody?" she asked.

"Of course, my dear."

Ellie got up out of her chair, concentrating on the thought that would trigger her transformation. In a split second, Ellie Fenton was gone, and her ghost form stood in her place.

But something was wrong.

Through it all, Vlad didn't so much as blink.

"Vlad?" she asked shyly. "Are you alright?"

Vlad smiled. That charming, charismatic smile.

"Of course, my dear," he said simply. "I can do the same thing."

Calmly as ever, Vlad stood from his fancy chair, folding his hands behind his back. From his midsection emanated a pulsar of shadow, creeping along his body in both directions until his Armani suit had become a white tunic and red-lined cape. His fancy shoes became black boots. His wrinkled hands became encased in black gloves. His hair went from ice white to midnight black, and from a ponytail to devilhorns. His skin became deathly blue, and his eyes solid blood red.

In short, he looked like a monster.

Ellie stepped backwards. Could this...thing really be her most trustworthy confidante? No. It must have been a mask. Vlad wouldn't look like this. Not on the inside.

"Ellie?" he asked, with a ghostly resonance in his voice. "Are you alright?"

Ellie calmed down a bit, nodding in response.

"You're...you're a halfa..." she managed to say.

"Yes, I am," Vlad replied.

"But...how?"

"Do you remember my little story about how your grandfather hospitalized me?"

Ellie nodded.

"Ellie, I have the same condition as you do. I can alter my form from human to ghost at will. I have powers beyond that of mere mortal men. Your father's machine infused me with ectoplasm, making me what I am today. Just like you."

Ellie collapsed in her chair, changing out of ghost mode. She suddenly felt very tired.

"Ellie," Vlad said, "let's talk."

Jake was toweling off in a changing room, down in the lower cabin of his family's private yacht. He'd just gotten out of the waters of the lake that bestrode Amity Park, where he'd been water-skiing with Dave and Gina. A fairly competent skier on both land and water, this was the main form of how Jake got his exercise, as well as the only sport he was good at.

Gina, who had been in another changing room to Jake's left, spoke up: "Jake?"

"Yes?" he replied.

"Can I talk to you in a second?"

"Sure. Just gimme a minute."

The older Fenton twin finished drying his hair, replacing his swimsuit with normal clothes, and went out into the spacious main cabin, sitting down in a chair and waiting for Gina to show up. When she did, she too was in her regular clothes, taking a seat adjacent Jake.

"Now," Jake said, "what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, frankly..." Gina said, "...about us."

"Us?"

"Yes. Lately, with your sister not speaking to you and these fun moments with your aunt, I've noticed that you've been kind of avoiding something."

"What?" Jake asked, with the growing feeling of where this was going.

"You remember when I went to you near Christmas? About how you lied about going up to your rooms?"

Jake stammered, "Y–yes."

"And remember how those ghosts showed up, and we couldn't find you anywhere?"

"Well, to be fair, you weren't looking for us."

"I was."

"You were?"

"And you weren't anywhere to be found. In fact, I can never find you when these ghost-kids show up. You know what I think?"

Jake gulped, waiting for the inevitable answer–

"I think you like me."

"IT'S A LIE! I'M NOT A GHOST!" Jake yelled before realizing what Gina had said. When he had, he said, "Wait–what?"

"I think you like me," Gina repeated. "Why else would you do that? You're afraid that since I thought the ghost-boy was cute, that I would like him over you."

"Wha–no I don't!" he said defensively.

"Then why did you hold my hand?"

"That was an accident!"

"Uh-huh. And I'm the Princess of Morocco."

"I'm serious!"

Gina looked skeptical for a moment, but then said, "Alright. I'll believe you. But if you act otherwise, I'll know. Okay?"

"Got it."

A tremor throughout the boat was the signal that it had docked. Jake started up the stairs to the upper deck when he turned back to Gina.

"Gina, out of curiosity, why did you ask that?"

She looked panicky for a second. "Um...no reason!"

"You see, Ellen," Vlad said, "when I looked into your grandfather's machine, it activated, infusing my genetic code with ambient interdimensional energy. This effect bleached my hair white, made my skin break out, and gave me the powers of a full-fledged ghost. I spent several years in a hospital after that, as my doctors couldn't pinpoint the problem. How could they? Nobody at that time knew anything about spectral physics or chemistry."

Ellie merely sat in the chair, trying to digest what had happened earlier. And she still couldn't believe it. She heard Vlad's voice coming from this vampiric monster, but she didn't think that they were the same thing. Nothing made sense, and the world was going to the pits.

"I practiced with my powers in private for a few years," Vlad continued, "all the while gathering as much knowledge as I could about what I'd become. Eventually, I found an old set of blueprints for Jack's Ghost Portal, and built one as soon as I got out of the hospital. In the Ghost Zone, I made a name for myself, participating in various endeavors that helped to make me very wealthy in a short amount of time. And it would have never happened without your grandfather."

Finally, Ellie managed to speak. "So...all this...is from your powers?"

"Yes. Most of our technologies are powered by different sorts of ectoplasm, which I can harvest through my private ghost portal. The company has public ones, of course, but those are by supervised human teams. In order to gain energy for...iprivate/i projects, I use my private portal to harvest the substances necessary. It also helps when negotiating with my ghost clientele as well."

"You...do business...with ghosts?"

"Of course I do. It's quite the profitable trade."

"But...it's illegal!"

"Oh Ellie, we mustn't concern ourselves with mortal laws. We're half-ghosts; we're above all those other plebeians."

Ellie sighed. "I don't think we are."

"Of course you don't. You don't see yourself as anything more than human. But you're special, Ellie. We both are. And I could help you with your...dreams."

Ellie's blue eyes went wide.

"What did you say?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"I have experience, my child. I have money, power, and prestige, all gained from using my powers. I could help you, Ellie. I could teach you about yourself; train you in everything you're capable of! And all you would have to do is be honest with me. I want nothing more."

Ellie stood up from her chair, shuffling towards the door.

"But..." she said. "But...you lied to me!"

"About what?" Vlad asked.

"About being half-ghost!"

"No, I didn't. You never asked me about being half-ghost, so I never told you about it. That's not lying. It was merely a secret I kept to save you discomfort."

"But you said that we didn't have secrets!" Her voice was louder now.

"You had a secret, didn't you? I revealed a secret in exchange for yours. It was only fair."

Ellie banged her head against the wall. How could she believe what Vlad said anymore? He could have other secrets. He could have even lied to her.

"I...I need to leave."

"Of course you do," Vlad said, transforming out of ghost form. The reddish miasma disappeared. "I would need time to think about this offer too. Take as much time as you need. I'll be here when you make your decision."

Ellie didn't answer, merely leaving the office, thinking about it all.

Can I trust anyone? There's nobody I can share my secret with. The people that know about it can't help me. I need some time away from it all.

She transformed again, flying for a hilltop outside of town where she did all her thinking, ever since she was a little girl.

Vlad Masters and Vlad Plasmius sat in the office chair, strumming their fingers together with the casual air of a sociopath. After the girl had gone, they waited a few minutes, until it was obvious that she wasn't coming back for now.

Well then, shall we? Masters asked.

Of course, Plasmius replied.

He brought his comlink watch up to mouth level, pressing the button that activated the voice control.

"Skulker?" the two men asked.

"Yes, sir?" replied the familiar deep rasp.

"Bring Technus and HEXAPOD to the Fenton Manor. Wait for Jack and Maddie to arrive to greet their son. When everyone is there, kill Jack and Jacob. They'll think it's a reprisal strike from the Ghost Wars. With luck, it will be what pushes Ellen right into our hands."

"Understood, sir. Shall I dispose of Jasmine Fenton, as well? HEXAPOD says that she knows about the secret."

"Very well. You may destroy her, as well. Just don't mess up."

"Understood. Skulker out." And the comlink went dead.

In the meantime, the two could wait. After all, they'd promised Ellie they would. And they were looking forward to keeping their word.

For a change.