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Chapter 245: Community Service

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"In the Realms," said Themis, sounding bored and rehearsed, "there exists a commendable herb, called aglaophotis. Once, it was cultivated far and wide for much benefit. These past centuries its numbers have fallen greatly, chased from their former fields by a blight. This is the task I set to you: find a cure for the aglaophotis blight. Do so without destroying what remains of the aglaophotis and in such a way that a resurgence of the species might be expected."

Maddie chanced a glance upward. Far be it from her to try to read the expressions of an inhuman being hundreds, possibly thousands, of years older than her, but she thought the Judge was much less disinterested than she was pretending to be.

Jack shifted next to her, and she touched him, quelling.

"Pardon me, your honor, but we are unfamiliar with that herb. Would it be possible for you to grant us some knowledge of where to begin our study of it?" She knew her words sounded stilted and false, but she had to ask. She and Jack were great researchers, but they needed a place to start.

"Our library contains books on a number of subjects. I would suggest you start there. Additionally, I am pleased to announce you will be accompanied by a ghost of your acquaintance who is taking part in community service to make up for an outburst he had in court the other day. Mr. Plasmius, if you would."

Both Maddie and Jack looked up to see their ex-friend Vlad Masters, also, they had discovered lately, known as Plasmius, or the Wisconsin Ghost.

"Take advantage while you can," said Themis. "His punishment will only last twenty-four hours." She waved her hand, obviously dismissing them from her office.

Maddie had known, on a level just above the intellectual, that Vlad was… like Danny. That he was a ghost that had been harassing her family. He had, in an incredibly anticlimactic moment, revealed himself during the trial. Azalea and Wolfsbane had both warned them about him. She knew what he was.

She had not yet processed it. Neither had Jack. It was one of hundred topics they had studiously avoided while locked away. They'd been in denial. They were still in denial.

"So…" said Jack. "An outburst in court, huh, V-man?"

Vlad sighed as if beset by all the cares in the world, disdain obvious and didn't stop his stride down the hallway. "Even were I inclined to explain, you wouldn't be able to hear it. Suffice it to say I erred in my judgement in a matter near to my heart."

So. It was about Danny, then.

And it would be ten years before either she or jack could find out what had happened. She gritted her teeth.

"Er," said Jack. "About the reunion—"

"If it's all the same, I'd prefer not to talk about it. It hardly matters now, in any case."

"It does," said Jack. "You were angry enough at me to—to possess me, that's not—"

"'Overshadow' is the correct term," said Vlad. "Surely someone has informed you of that by now."

"You know what I mean. Weren't we friends, Vlad? I mean… I know the accident was bad, but we didn't want you to go through that alone, so why—?"

"Because," said Vlad, sneering, "I did go through it alone. Now, if we could get back on track. I only need to assist you for the next day, and as much as I dislike this punishment, I would rather spend my time productively rather than analyzing one of the most painful times in my life. The library is this way." He turned down a new hallway, this one decorated with scenes of ships tossed by waves etched in stone.

"Do you know what aglaophotis is?" asked Maddie. The hostility in her words was nearly a tangible thing. Perhaps Jack wanted to know why Vlad had turned out like he did. Maddie wasn't quite at a point where she could care. Danny was beyond her reach but not, apparently, beyond Vlad's.

She remembered what happened in Colorado. She could put two and two together. Not to mention all the attacks perpetrated by Vlad himself. And the bounty he put on Danny's head.

To put it simply, Maddie was furious, but she knew that expressing that fury wouldn't get her anywhere.

"Somewhat," said Vlad, rather haughtily. "The disease or diseases that afflict it make it rare."

"And?" she prompted, when Vlad didn't seem inclined to continue.

"And, it is a medicinal herb. It's either supposed to improve the flow of ectoplasm in the body, or prevent outside influences on the mind, things of that nature. I'm happy to help you, but I'm hardly an expert, Madeline."

"You—" snapped Maddie, before realizing what she really wanted to say was impossible. She swung in front of Vlad and put a finger to his chest. "You knew about all of this, all this time, and then you tried to get—" She choked on her words. "You were trying to make Jack's sentence worse. That isn't helping in my book."

"Maddie," said Vlad, consternation pinching his face, "I was only trying to—" He sighed. "I don't suppose you can hear my reasoning now. But there were mitigating circumstances and—"

"Vlad!"

Maddie turned towards the shout to see Danny's clone, Ellie, approaching them from the end of the hallway.

"I hear you have to pay child support," she said, gleefully. "Dan's thinking about going to college just to spite you."

"I am not responsible for him."

"But you are," said Ellie, gleefully. "Legally. Which makes sense, all things considered."

Vlad sighed. "Are you here just to gloat, or is there a point to this?"

"What, gloating isn't enough?"

"No."

Ellie rolled her eyes. Her next words were lost to static.

"—wants me to do that?" asked Vlad, apparently surprised.

"Yeah. I mean, you're all about self-interest and you're super shady. Politics are also super shady. So." She looked at Jack and Maddie, then back at Vlad. "If you purposefully sabotage this, though, none of us are ever talking to you again. And by this, I mean helping these two."

Vlad looked vaguely as if he'd been slapped. "You couldn't—" static again.

"No, but—" more static. "This is just consulting right now, too. You're needed more as a conduit between Amity Park and everywhere else than you are as a direct diplomat." She turned towards Jack and Maddie and tilted her head. "You know, the real problem with what you have to do to make things right—" there was a subtle emphasis on the words "—isn't anything to do with the penances. It's your inventions, seeing as the GIW confiscated them all, and they're who-knows-where. Scattered around and stuff. If I were you, that's what I'd be focusing on, right after getting all your penances assigned."

"But—" started Jack.

"Remember, your advocates are ghosts. They don't really remember how big the Earth is, and they don't know how quickly information can spread." She paused. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't really want you to get your punishments lifted."

"If you don't want our punishments to be lifted, why are you giving us advice?" asked Maddie, carefully.

"Because I also don't want the GIW to have your weapons. I have it on good authority that they hurt a lot. I'd prefer for you to fix the problem you made."

"Oh," said Vlad, softly, something dark sparkling in his eyes, "I was wondering if you had forgotten my lessons or if you were just waiting for Daniel to stop watching."

"Don't flatter yourself. We're all like this when we want to be."

"Including—?" static.

Ellie replied with more static. "I don't hate you, either, I guess. You weren't terrible in the Tower. But you've sort of spent all your credibility points from that on this nonsense, so if you actually want to fix anything…" She trailed off. "Also, I want a boat."

"Excuse me?"

"A boat. I'm told rich kids get vehicles and sports and stuff. So, a boat is a bare minimum for me. Preferably one I can drive myself. You're a billionaire. You can afford it."

"I am spending a considerable fraction of my fortune keeping Amity Park supplied."

"Yeah, I don't need a boat right now. Just, you know, eventually."

"Excuse me," said Jack. "But, why don't you want us to have our punishments lifted?"

"Uh. Because you're kind of terrible. Among other things. As you should know at this point. I mean, the jury pretty much spelled it out for you. What more is it going to take?"

"But we're sorry."

"So? Anyway, I've got to go. Bye, Vlad."

Maddie watched her go. That had been so sudden. Like a knife. Danny's life going on around them, and she and Jack were barely able to see its shadow passing them by on the ground. And it would be like this for years. Ten years. A decade. At the very least.

There would be people who would hinder them, too, who would do their best to keep them away from Danny, and not because they hated Jack and Maddie, but because they cared about Danny. Because they thought she and Jack were bad for Danny.

She wanted to cry.

"Let's get to the library," she said instead.

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They went to Ma'at and the Feathers the next day. As this wasn't Ma'at's headquarters, there were fewer layers of obfuscation and bureaucracy to get through than there had been for Themis. Ma'at also seemed less inclined to let them sweat. Or, perhaps, she was simply distracted by whatever she had been doing before Jack and Maddie had been allowed into her suite of rooms.

"Lady Themis has you reviving the aglaophotis," she mused, leaning back in her thronelike chair. "That's one type of community service." She tilted her head sideways and tapped her cheek with a long finger. "Tell me, what are you good at?"

"What do you mean, Lady Ma'at?" asked Maddie.

"What are your skills? Your accomplishments? If I am to put you to work most effectively, I should at least know what your competencies are."

Maddie had never expected to have to give a verbal rendition of her resume to a ghost, but then this was just the latest in a list of many, many unexpected things.

Even when Jack and Maddie finished, Ma'at didn't immediately give them an order. Instead, she hummed, contemplatively. She then turned slightly and muttered something under her breath. "Yes," she said out loud, finally. "I want you to build one of your permanent portals."

"You do?" asked Jack, surprise clear in his voice.

"Yes. Without hurting anyone this time. And, as for location…" She smiled, and Maddie realized whatever was coming next was the catch. "I want you to build it to Mars."

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"To Mars," whispered Maddie, later. They had built two portals, neither of which had really worked, with twenty years in between them. Neither of them had been aimed except 'to the Ghost Zone.' Neither of them had been built in the Ghost Zone. Neither of them had been aimed at a planet that had never hosted life and therefore had little reason to host the thin spots they had used to make the one in Amity Park.

"I know," said Jack. "Why does she even want to go to Mars? Why Mars? Why not somewhere on Earth? Wouldn't that be more useful?"

"I don't know that it's about usefulness," said Maddie.

"You think they're just trying to…" Jack swallowed, audibly.

"I don't know," said Maddie. The thought passed her mind that Danny would be thrilled to have a way to get to Mars.

Oh.

Restitution. Azalea had told them to expect something like this.

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Getting to the Regency Council was a task in and of itself. The building they were in, while adjacent to Libra, was not part of it, and although it had just been built it had a ruined quality to it. More than a quality. Some parts of the structure appeared to have been deliberately broken. Or attacked.

Did ghosts just… enjoy inhabiting destroyed structures? Did they derive aesthetic satisfaction from them? Or was it simply that even the most powerful, or especially the most powerful, ghosts couldn't stop themselves from destroying things?

Some of these assumptions were challenged when Maddie saw Mr. Lancer sitting on the Council. True, he looked rather embarrassed and out of place there, but he was still there.

"Why are you here?" blurted out Jack.

"Well," said Mr. Lancer, "I'm a member?"

"How?" asked Maddie, finding herself flummoxed.

Mr. Lancer's explanation was swallowed by nothingness, and the ghosts had the nerve to look amused.

Finally, the large, white-furred ghost cleared its (His? It was hard to tell.) throat. "If you are finished, William? I believe we have other matters to discuss."

"Oh, yes. My apologies."

The white-furred ghost nodded. "My name is Frostbite, and I am the chairperson of this council. Why have you sought an audience from us?"

From there, it went much the same as the with the other two, with the exception that there were many more people involved.

"You will not be surprised to hear that we have discussed what your penance should be at length."

"Not long enough, methinks," whispered one of the other ghosts in the room. The whisper was ignored.

"This is our decision: You have caused great suffering and misfortune with your careless and self-centered application of what you claim to be science; therefore, you must rectify the misdeeds of others like yourself, so that you may know the pain you have caused. Your penance is to see to the restoration of the Realm known as Missing Theory, including the removal and neutralization or destruction of dangerous items and non-sentient entities from its public areas, and the rebuilding or removal of destroyed buildings and other rubble. You will do this without harm any other sentient creature, except in the case that you are attacked first, and that your response is the same in degree and kind. You will not be required to enter or alter the current lairs or dwelling places of any ghost, nor do we expect you to enter or interact with the Digressed Tower, although it is the opinion of some of our members that doing so would be beneficial for your rehabilitation. We have prepared for you a document—" A robed ghost Maddie didn't recognize raised a large stack of paper bound with a plastic ring spine, then let it thump on the table. "—that provides you with more detailed requirements. In the event that your copy is lost, we will retain two, and will leave another two in care of the record keepers of Libra."

The ghost had said all this without drawing a breath. The benefits of not needing to breathe, Maddie supposed.

Community service. Cleaning up a bad neighborhood, albeit one formerly inhabited or attacked by ghost scientists. Oddly mundane.

She glanced at the large not-quite book of rules they'd have to follow and decided that this was most likely simply a different type of impossible task. This one shaped more by regulation than by risk or by lack of knowledge and difficulty.

"Thank you," she forced herself to say.

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"Are you sure this was the right move?" asked Mr. Lancer, once the Fentons had left. "Missing Theory seemed like an awfully large space."

"You're the one that suggested a 'clean up project,'" purred the Tiger.

"I was thinking something smaller scale. They have two other complicated things to do."

"This is not intended to be easy for them," said Clockwork, calmly.

"I am aware of that," said Mr. Lancer. "It only seems like we're setting them up to fail. That these three tasks are impossible."

Clockwork sighed and looked away. "There are four tasks, really," said Clockwork.

"I'm sorry?"

"The task Daniel set them, when agreeing to escort all of you from his lair. Their weapons. In truth, that one will likely be the most difficult for them."

"It's the most important one, too," said Nephthys, leaning back and crossing her arms. Then she grinned. "Now, shouldn't we get to work on our delegation to the human world?"