Days turned into weeks and the time passed for the Fentons, ever since they met Plasmius and for some; their world turned around. Thankfully, no creepy incidents or anything extreme had taken place in their lives, allowing the two halfa to take a deep breath; relax and focus on their lives.
There was the occasional ghost hunting some nights, but things seemed to have calmed down. Even the ghosts seemed to have disappeared or at least leave the human world and the halfa; alone.
Lina had no other contact with Vlad, but she did keep track of what she saw on the news about him. She would not contact him first, allowing him to have the satisfaction. There were times she had questions, but her friends tried their best to be there for her.
At least, the quiet time allowed her to practice her new ability. While she could not create an ectoplasmic beam, she could shoot it from her eyes. It was an uncomfortable thing to do at first and in her human form, she did have to use eye drops for a while. But then she got used to all of that, and now she proudly used it. Although aiming was still a bit tricky and thus saved it for the most proper of occasions.
Now that everything had turned back to normal, Danny grabbed the chance and walked into the basement lab. He had a book in his hand and he was heading for his father, who was busy working on the Specter Speeder in the middle of the lab.
"Dad, can I ask you a question?" he asked, lowering the book and focusing on his working father.
Jack stopped working at the cockpit and looked at him. "About the Specter Speeder?" he wrapped an arm around Danny. "Sure!" he wasted no time shoving Danny into the cockpit of the Specter Speeder, then sat down next to him. He pointed at the dashboard. "This baby has state-of-the-art spirit plane exploration technology. And it's got a *Presses button* super-sized cup holder."
While Jack was busy showing his latest invention to Danny, his wife climbed down the stairs and walked towards the machine. Lina stood by the stairs, watching from afar and listening. She did not like how things looked, mostly because something was bothering Maddie.
Now with some free time, Lina observed Maddie while working and even got the chance to help with some equipment. She found it a nice passage of time but also something useful, getting knowledge for a machine that might end up being turned against them, either by the Fentons, Vlad or someone else.
However, she could see that something was in her mind. She left often sighs but did not talk about what was bothering her. So Lina, that day, grabbed the chance to follow and see; maybe she could realize and help.
"Jack, dear... " her husband stepped out of the Specter Speeder and stood next to her. "It's getting late. Is there something that you might have forgotten today?"
"Uh..." Jack was fully clueless.
"Something significant? Having to do with today's date of May 9th?"
Lina looked at the calendar on the wall. There was a picture of Jack and Maddie on their wedding day pinned to May 9th, with arrows pointing to it and "Happy Anniversary" written above it.
"9th, 9th, 9th. 9th! 9th? Nope. Still not catching your drift" Jack was still clueless and scratched his head.
"Our anniversary, dear? Oh well, I guess it just slipped your mind... " she started to shake and suddenly burst out in anger "…for the eighteenth year in a row!"
She slammed her fist down on the end of the Specter Speeder, causing it to start up and shift into drive with a surprised Danny still inside.
"Huh?" the boy exclaimed as the Speeder began to fly forward. "Whoa!"
Lina having watched the speeder starting on its own, panicked. She quickly got into her ghost form and phased into the speeder, next to Danny. However, before she could press anything, the speeder flew towards and then through the now open Fenton Portal.
"Whooooooooa!" Danny exclaimed and Lina stared with her jaw open.
"Holy…"
The two of them had never been into the ghost zone before. Only thrown ghosts back into it. It was odd and unique and mesmerizing. Being the usual green hue, there were random swirls across the zone.
Floating lands, doors and things while there was no sense of where up truly was or any other direction in general. However, as their vehicle kept heading further and further into the ghost zone; they started to be worried.
Their worry intensified when a large white ghost, with a hat and a very intimidating look. He towered menacingly over them. Lina froze, for the first time in her life, she froze and just stared in panic. Somehow, she had even turned back to her normal form.
Danny panicked as well but he was the one to act this time and he managed to bring the Speeder to a stop.
"Trespassing in an unauthorized vehicle. *Points* That's against the rules." He said in his heavy voice, making the teenagers gulp.
"Uh, sorry" Danny apologized as he started to shake. "I-I…we-we…didn't know. We are... from...out of town"
"Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it, punks. I see your faces around here again, *points at them* you are gonna have a problem."
Danny gave a salute, smiling nervously. "Y-yes s-sir"
Lina blinked and with shaking hands, she grabbed Danny's shoulder. "Reverse….reverse…now!"
Danny wasted no time to do that, and the Speeder reversed, zooming backwards as the ghost dissipated. The Specter Speeder flew back and came to a stop in its original spot in the basement lab, where Maddie was still yelling at Jack.
"Now get this into your head, Jack Fenton, there are some things more important than hunting ghosts!" Maddie shouted and hit the end of the speeder again.#
Lina held her breath, praying the speeder did not start on its own again; feeling worried and still shaken by the ghost they met. Thankfully, nothing like that happened.
However, Maddie walked away while still shaking from anger. Danny jumped out of the Speeder and next to his father, while Lina went from the other door; not wanting to be seen by Jack. She glanced at where Maddie went and she just prayed nothing was going to happen.
It looked like praying was not Lina's strong point, perhaps because she never truly believed or God hated her. She was not certain but the very next day, she simply stood and watched as Maddie pulled a suitcase behind her.
Jack was clinging on it, trying to talk some sense into his wife all while a taxi was honking from outside; waiting for her
"Maddie, please, don't go! I just have a little more work to do on the Specter Speeder, and then I'm done." Jack begged, letting go of the luggage.
Maddie stopped in front of the taxi door. "We discussed this, Jack, remember? Visiting my sister? The divorce? *Gets in a taxi and rolls down window* There's a casserole in the freezer right next to the ectoplasmic residue samples!"
She rolled up the window and the taxi drove away. Jack stood up and watched her go. "Wait, wait, wait! *Starts running after taxi* How will I know which is which?!"
Danny and Lina stepped out of the front doorway and looked down the street. Then, they exchanged a similar look of worry. "Divorce?"
"No way"
They looked at Jazz who walked out of the door and past them. Danny grabbed her attention. "Jazz, did you just hear that?"
The older teenager stopped and turned to look at her siblings. "Hear what? Mom yelling at Dad? Relax. She'll get over it."
"Yeah, but I-I have never heard her so mad"
"Of course she's mad. And if I'm right, Dad will once again cluelessly do nothing to apologize to her."
She started to walk back to the Fenton Works when her father stopped her. "That's where you're wrong, Jasmine. I have been a little preoccupied" Jack admitted as another taxi pulled up next to him. "…with ghosts lately. *Holding suitcase* So, I'm travelling to your Aunt Alicia's in Spittoon, Arkansas to apologize, and give your mother *Opens taxi door* the greatest anniversary gift ever."
Jack threw his suitcase into the taxi and it hit the driver in the face, causing him to take off down the street without Jack. Jack gasped, turned around started running after the taxi. "Wish me luck! Oh, and call me if you see a ghost!"
Lina stared down the direction Jack ran, following the taxi. She blinked, lips parted and suddenly her mouth felt dry. None of the things made sense and she did not like what seemed to be going on.
"Jazz? Are Mom and Dad gonna split up?" Danny asked in all of his innocence.
But his sister was not focused, suddenly self-doubting herself. "I was...wrong?!"
"Jazz? *Pokes Jazz* Jazz?!"
"Wait. He's going to Arkansas? To apologize? I was wrong?!"
Barely half a day had passed since the two Fenton Adults left. Their children, each had to deal with something on their own. Jazz had stayed in the kitchen, having pulled out every book, journal and note she had; all around her father and his behaviour.
She started doubting herself, having never calculated something and being a mistake. This caused her to worry, self-doubt more and be cranky. Which left Lina and Danny to try and clean the house, for when their mother returned.
Danny had the living room while Lina took care of the basement. While she was busy trying to clean the trash and sort things out, she could hear Jazz shouting at Danny for making noise with the vacuum cleaner.
Soon after, her adopted brother flew down from the roof in his ghost form. She was already in hers, working on cleaning the spider webs on the corners of the ceiling. "That bad?"
"Yeah," he said defeated and then noticed the mess the lab was, filled with trash and misplaced items. "Oh, my gosh. This place is a mess! If Mom comes back and sees the lab like this, she'll be even angrier at Dad."
Lina flew towards him, holding a dust feather. "Then help me clean it in time. Honestly, Jack could not have left it in a worse state"
With a sigh, Danny pointed a finger to shoot a small blast of ectoplasm at a pile of trash, which knocked it into a trash can. That made him smile and he tried again, shooting another pile of trash into another trash can.
He then started to shoot blasts all over the lab to clean up and organize everything from beakers and boxes to chairs, books, and lab equipment.
"Lina try it. It's fun" he told her.
Surprised by this new power, Lina turned and focused on a pile of empty cans. Two red beams were shot from her eyes, hitting the cans and making them fall into the trash can.
"Wow," she exclaimed, grinning like a child.
That was fun and she needed this little smile, something to look not as gloomy as everything else since that argument between her adopted parents. Jack worked faster, using both hands and she finished cleaning some dust bunnies.
She came to a halt when she heard him gasp. Turning, she noticed a present being blasted into the open Fenton Portal. The tag of the present was knocked off and fell on the ground behind. The two halfa flew and Lina grabbed the tag, before reading it out loud.
'Let this gift repair the bridge to our love. Happy anniversary – Jack…'
"Oh no," Danny exclaimed as they both stared at the portal, a big sense of guilt and fear filling their none beating hearts.
Despite the disappearance of the gift, the two halfa decided not to do anything and rather just focus on the house chores. The next day, when they met with their two friends, they explained everything while walking down the Casper High hallway.
"You should've seen 'em fighting. My folks never fight. Well, they fight ghosts, but...that's different." Danny sulked.
Sam placed her hand on his shoulder. "Danny, relax. Nobody gets divorced over not getting a gift."
"But it's the thing my dad's gonna use to apologize! They're...right on the brink! I'm telling ya, anything could set them over the edge."
"Danny…"Lina called his name, looking at him worriedly.
She was also very worried, not wanting to see the Fentons split. She was old enough to know how troublesome that thing was. The fact also remained, that Jack could not support himself fully alone. He needed Maddie and with Jack; Maddie was safe from Vlad.
She shivered, inside her having been panicking silently for hours. She did not like the idea of the missing gift and while she tried to think positively or look at the whole thing from a better point of view, she found it hard.
"Danny, you're fine. I mean, it's not like your mom said the word "divorce." I mean, if she actually said the word, then you'd have to worry." Tucker said, hoping to have calmed down only that he managed to upset both Halfa.
"Said the word. *Stops walking* Oh, man. She did! *Screaming* She said the word!" Danny panicked as Lina paled, giving her human skin an even ghostlier white appearance.
"Tucker, say something to calm him down!" Sam scolded him.
"Well...uh...did she say it twice?"
Danny finally calmed down and gulped. "That settles it. I'm going into the Ghost Zone and get that present back"
Lina blinked and swallowed the lump on her throat. "Danny…you remember that ghost we met right?"
Both shivered at the memory and the boy gave a nod. "I do…but it's my mistake, Angel. If they break up, I will be the one to blame. I have to go"
The girl left out a sigh and gave a nod. "Then I am coming with you. I am not leaving you alone, especially going in there"
After school, our four heroes returned to the Fenton Works lab. Getting everything they needed and of course, having formed a plan; they were ready to go.
Danny and Lina were standing in front of the portal, the primer having a camera-microphone headset on. Sam is standing next to them, and Tucker was off to the side.
The male halfa left out a sigh. "I so don't want to do this."
Lina placed her hand on his shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze, making him look at her. "We will do it together. And before you know it, we will be back and go help Jack"
Sam gave a nod. "She is right. You get in, get the present, and get out. You'll be fine."
Tucker proudly showed them his PDA. "Besides, with this mini webcam, I'll be with you *Shows self on webcam* every step of the way. But first..." he switched and started playing a video game on his PDA.
Lina sweatdropped and shook her head slightly. Danny gulped and turned to Sam. "You'll monitor the webcam?"
"I'll monitor the webcam"
Taking a deep breath, he looked at his adopted sister. "Ready to do this?" she asked him.
"Not really" he replied honestly, grabbing each other's hands before they took their ghost forms.
Then they flew through the portal and into the Ghost Zone, unaware of what would expect them there.
Barely less than a minute inside, and the two halfa were already feeling uneasy. Their human friends, on the other hand, had different reactions.
"Wow! This place is amazing!" Sam said through the headset.
Lina also had a single bud in her ear to hear her friends, but there was no microphone connected to hers. So she could hear but she could not say anything to her friends. Thankfully, Danny's microphone was good enough and if she talked, they would be able to hear her.
"No, it's not. It's creepy. And it goes on forever. We don't even know where to start to look!" the male halfa said as they looked around.
Different purple doors were levitating at random mid-air, all closed but there was nothing behind her. The two halfa approached and Lina circled it, seeing it as a plane door. She exchanged a look with Danny before the boy opened the door.
Inside there was a room, which seemed to belong to a child. Indeed, deep into the room was a Tv that played static and in front of it, was a boy. He sat in an Indian position, his back turned on them and his eyes glued on the statics of the TV in front of him.
"I don't like this" Lina whispered in Danny's ear.
He gave a nod, not liking it either but they had to find what they were looking for. "Uh- *raises arm* -Hi! *weak chuckle* Have-have you seen a *moves arms* present? Um, about *moves arms again to show size* about yea big?"
Lina watched in silence by his side, both having taken a few steps deeper into the room. She watched as Danny tried to explain, using his arms too much when he was nervous and she did not blame him.
Suddenly, the head of the boy turned 180 degrees, while his body stayed stable. It reminded Lina of those demon possession movies Sam made her watch a year prior. She grabbed Danny's upper arm.
"I think we should go" she whispered.
Suddenly, the boy stood up and took a fighting stance. "Get- out– *transforms into a purple, spiny beast with red eyes. His voice becomes more coarse* –of– *grows larger, to match size with the Halfa* –my– *now the size of the room and is roaring in a deep voice. His arms are over the two siblings* ROOM!" As the beast talked, Danny and Lina were standing their ground but their hair and face were blown back due to air resistance. The beast put down his arm and roared.
