Chapter 5: Chessboard

The funeral was over, the papers were sighed, and yet Vlad seemed to be forgetting something. It was an emptiness that he could not name, yet it continued to eat at his mind. What was it? Wait … Did he need to say something to someone? Who was he suppose to…?

"Mr. Masters?"

Mr. L. Lancer appeared before the billionaire pulling the man from his thoughts. The balding man's brow was furrowed giving his face a downtrodden expression.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I was trapped in my own thoughts," said the bachelor civilly.

Not that Vlad thought anyone would blame him for his lapse. He had been greeting people for the past hour at the wake, taking condolences with a firm handshake and a sorrowful smile. And yet ... he could barely remember a single soft word he had exchanged until now. Traditionally, Daniel should have been doing this as the closest heir, but that would be far too cruel. So, Vlad took it upon himself to represent the child, who currently sat behind him at the table just poking at the chicken on his plate, unable to speak or eat.

The discomposed halfa couldn't help but notice that Lancer kept throwing glances over his shoulder to stare at the teenager. The teacher's frown only growing as well as the pity in the educator's eyes. That wasn't the first time the bachelor had seen that look today and he doubted it to be the last.

Lancer knew that look ... the boy was broken. Any person could see that just by the way he held himself. Danny looked like a string that had come unbound, threads flittering away into oblivion.

The teacher turned away. It hurt to see one of his students this way. It was even worse because next Monday he'd be four students short. Lancer had heard through the grapevine that Danny would not be coming back to Casper High School.

Turning his attention now to the man who would teach and guide the boy, Lancer said kindly, "That's understandable. This must be an overwhelming time for a bachelor like yourself, but f I'm not too bold in stating Mr. Masters, you're a fine man to be taking Danny in. I'm glad he has someone familiar to take him in."

Suddenly, the clicking of Danny's fork stopped. He was listening.

"If you ever need any advice or have any questions about Danny's education, feel free to contact me. It was a joy to have him in class … even if he was a slight trouble maker, but what kids aren't?" continued the teacher as he fished out a contact card, completely oblivions to Vlad's growing expression of horror. "Here's my card if you need anything for his new school. Email is probably the best way to contact me. And, really, thank you for taking Danny in. No kid deserves to be stuck in the foster system. Its ... hard on kids."

Click!

Vlad immediately closed his eyes, bracing for the worst. This was not the time or place to tell Daniel that he had been officially adopted and was now Vlad's dependent. This was a rather unfavorable way to tell the teenager that he was the boy's godfather.

Swallowing, deciding he needed to smooth this over quickly before Daniel created a scene, Vlad accepted the card and stated firmly, "Thank you for your encouraging words, Mr. Lancer. I will certainly chat about this later, but if you don't mind. I have-"

Lancer continued on as if Vlad hadn't said anything, "It moved me to tears when I found out Danny had been taken in so quickly. I was overjoyed that his parents had the foresight to assign a godfather. I think you'll make a wonderful father figure Mr. Masters."

A loud click came from behind Vlad … Daniel had dropped his fork, the boy's breath catching. Vlad turned slightly to glance at the teenager behind him. Daniel was just staring at him now with a flabbergast expression. Mr. Lancer, of course, was completely oblivious to this and continued to ramble on, "Danny never once mentioned you. Of course, Danny never was very social, except with his close-knit friends."

"You're lying!"

Half of the wake stalled, turning to stare at the fuming teenager as his yell echoed over the room.

"You are a liar!" repeated the teenager, his voice a growl.

Mr. Lancer looked shocked for a moment which quickly turned into a look of confusion when Danny looked at his teacher directly and almost begged, "This is my home. Please, say you're lying."

Lancer glanced at Masters who at least had the decency to look abashed.

Sighing, pinching his brow as if a stress-headache was coming on, Vlad turned to the boy directly as he spoke calmly, "Daniel. I'm sorry. I was meaning to tell you, but the best time hadn't yet presented itself. I wanted to have this talk after the funerals. You see, the doctors were worried about stress and I-"

"Presented itself?!" interrupted Danny angrily as he stood up, knocking the chair over. "The moment should have never presented itself! You have never presented yourself! I'm not leaving my home!"

The teenager was panting when he was done. Then, without warning, he pushed past both Vlad and Lancer and ran out into the downpour outside.

"Daniel! Wait!" called out Vlad, his legs quickly storming after the teenager, caring less about the wake.

Lancer stood there for a moment in a stupor as the glass door slammed open, the platinum-haired man running after the distraught teenager. It seemed that Vlad hadn't told Danny of his guardianship though it honestly seemed obvious. It seemed that he let the cat out of the bag.

Great gumballs of Candy War. He had caused this little outburst, hadn't he? Oops wouldn't even be able to cover this. The aging educator swallowed and decided to chase after the racing pair making sure to grab an umbrella and raincoat in his haste, "Wait for me!"

…

His feet led him. Danny had no idea where he was running too nor how long he had been racing along, but he had to get away. He couldn't be in that place for another minute! When those words left Lancer's mouth he suddenly felt filthy as if was covered in dirt and blood. He could basically feel it weighing down his hair and suffocating his skin.

Perhaps the rain would wash away this horrible filth that seemed to be clinging to him.

He didn't want to know the truth ... even though Vlad being his godfather made alot of sense.

At that thought, the enraged teenager found his feet halting. His breathing was sticking in his chest and he was forced to take panicked little gasps. He decided to give in to the weariness of his flesh and leaned against a brick wall in an alleyway. The cold stone kissed his back as he slid down the wall, his legs listless in front of him as he sat there on the soaking wet cement. His lungs continued to sting as he was forced to gather himself again.

He shouldn't have freaked out. It wasn't really that big of a surprise. Why else would Vlad be here taking care of him and preparing the funerals? He even got his stuff from his school locker so he had some personal items that weren't fire damaged. He also dealt with the doctors, sat at his bedside as he withered in pain, and comforted him in the rubble. Vlad was trying to keep the sorrow at bay ... like caretakers are supposed to.

Danny swallowed thickly at the mental acknowledgment and dug his fingers into his hair as he tried to accept these facts. Part of him just ... couldn't. He was going to start losing it, wasn't he?

Was this the first step toward being Dan?

Thankfully, for the boy's sanity, a sudden flapping noise filled the evening air drowning out his suffocating thoughts. He looked upward and there it hovered, a winged eye the size of a grapefruit. It had soft bat wings and a purple cat-like pupil, which was focused entirely on Danny.

It was creepy, to say the least.

"What are you? Are you a ghost? Did you come here for a fight, because you'll soon be getting one if you don't leave NOW!" barked Danny willing to take his anger out on any moving thing right now.

The eyeball merely squinted at him in a smug way. If it had lips it would have been smirking.

"Oh, poor little halfa," the creature mocked. "So sad and broken that he can only deal with his own feelings by picking on a little eyeball like me."

"Shut up!" barked Danny as he grabbed the nearest object he could find and thrust it at the creature. It missed and landed with a loud clunk against a neighboring wall.

The eyeball chuckled at this and fluttered about the now shivering child in a mocking manner, purring, "His mommy and daddy are gone and now he's all alone. A drowned little rat that nobody loves or cares for. Worthless in a word."

"I'm not worthless!" yelled Danny as he rose to his feet ready to smash the little punk into oblivion … but he suddenly stopped. Slowly, he sank back down into the forming puddles, the words digging into his flesh like a thousand little knives. That thing was right, wasn't it? He was worthless! What kind of hero can't save his own family?

"I am worthless, aren't I?"

"You're as worthless as you allow yourself to be, dear child," said the winged creature as his mocking tone quickly dissipated. It probably just mocked him to test the levels of his sorrow.

"Then I must be scum," whispered Danny darkly as he slammed his fist into the brick wall behind him. After a moment or two, he pulled his knees into his chest and stared at his now bloody hand like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. "I'm lower than the dirt under my feet. I couldn't even save my own family, my friends!"

"The dirt ... worthless?" questioned the eye as it perched itself on a trashcan. "Hardly, all things grow and return to it. It supports all things."

Danny threw a belittling glare at the creature. What was this idiot eyeball rambling on about now? First, he insulted him and is now supportive? Maybe the thing's just messing with him. "What do you want?"

The ghost-eye seemed to smirk again, like this was all a game, "The question you should ask is not what I want, but what do you want, little halfa?"

Danny's eyebrow twitched, "Why are you playing mind games?"

"I'm not," the creature tried to keep a serious tone to his voice. "You're the one who doesn't even know what you want anymore."

Danny crumbled against the brick wall and buried his head into his knees. His words were muffled when he finally decided to speak, "I know exactly what I want."

Suddenly looking miserable, the rain not helping his visage, Danny's bleeding hand slowly pulled the burnt photograph out of his pocket. He stared at it longingly. This is all he wanted.

"But what you yearn for, you can no longer have," whispered the creature softly, its wings puffing up almost like a cranky crow.

"Then I don't want anything anymore!" shouted Danny before his tone suddenly sobered, "I'm not scared of the silence, of dying. It's better than becoming a monster."

The eyeball went stock still, its eyelids going wide like it was shocked. Immediately, it started fluttering about as if panicked, "Let's not do anything rash. Let's not start having suicidal ideas here. It's just ... a rough patch."

Danny glared at the winged eyeball, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

The little ghost quickly added, "What I mean is that you can have the next best thing."

"And what supposedly is the next best thing?" bit back Danny, wiping his eyes angrily.

"… Revenge," said the creature with a hiss as his eyelid became a slit.

"Revenge … on who?" mumbled the broken boy as he stuffed the picture back into his pocket.

"The fires and the being that took them. Don't you remember? He took your greatest treasure."

An image of the flaming menace flickered before his eyes. Danny quickly grabbed the eyeball and squished its small body against the pavement as he yelled, "What do you know about that monster!"

The eyeball flapped its wings in panic, the clawed fingers on the tips of its wings slashing out like little razors. It even managed to knick Danny's face, causing the teenager to bark in surprise and release the little beast.

The eyeball then flew a safe distance away before he continued speaking, "I can tell by your reaction that you remember ... and agree."

Danny angrily wiped the small slash on his cheek before he stood up, almost hugging himself, "I'll never forget, but I don't see why it matters. I couldn't defeat him then, so how am I supposed to do it now?"

"Have you not the older halfa to watch your back?" asked the little menace, purposefully ignoring the teenager's disgusted expression.

"That jerk will never be my father regardless of whatever documents he signed. Besides, he's far more likely to stab me in the back than guard it," grumbled Danny, bitterly added, "And I'm not dumb enough to ask him for anything."

The eyeball pretended to dwell on the boy's words before he slyly replied, "Well, he won't guard your back, maybe he can teach you how to watch your own. Plasmius is a force to be reckoned with, from what I understand."

"Additional training, huh? Jerk-mius does have some cool skills. Maybe I could-," Danny suddenly stalled, his glare returned, "Wait a minute? Did Vlad set this all up? Is he trying to get me on his side without a fight?"

The eyeball stilled, his expression almost guilty, "What? No. I came of my own accord and I was just in the area!"

Danny's crossed his hands over his chest, "It was Vlad, wasn't it? How am I not surprised? Are you like my stalker-babysitter or something to make sure I'm a good boy? Well, news flash. It ain't going to happen."

"You think the elder halfa is my Master?" giggled the eyeball like it was a fabulous joke, its giggles becoming almost unhinged cackles as it flapped about.

Beside himself, Danny took a wary step backward, "So … it isn't Vlad."

"Certainly not, little halfa," laughed the small beast, "But that doesn't mean you should disregard such a valuable asset. Vlad Masters has his place on the chessboard. We all do, even you."

The eyeball then cackled one more time before he whimsically flew off. The Master's game was more fun than he initially thought, especially since he himself had helped moved the first pawn onto the board.

"Hey, wait! I'm not done!" yelled Danny at the creature as it flew away into the night sky, but it was already gone causing the boy to grumble, "Fine. You aren't the only one that can fly here. I'm going ghost!"

There was no flash of light.

There were no rings or cascading colors of white and black.

There was also no explosion of power right beneath his skin.

Nothing had happened.

Looking down at his hands in confusion, Danny tried again, "What the ...? Going ghost!"

Again, nothing … nothing at all.

The teenager swallowed thickly, a silent fear overcoming his senses as he whispered, "Why aren't my ghost powers working?"

The second he said that a darker thought occurred to him. Well, at least he wouldn't have to worry about becoming Dan now if he was powerless ... but that didn't really help the instantaneous feeling of helplessness. A thought had just occurred to him. He hadn't had a single phasing accident or a ghost breath ever since the fire. Not one breath from Vlad or the eyeball. Nothing.

"Wha… What's wrong with me?"

…

"Mr. Masters, wait!" yelled Lancer as he grabbed the frazzled looking billionaire, catching his arm. Vlad had been running through the alleys and streets for the past half an hour, desperately looking for Danny. He was soaked to the bone and breathing rather heavily.

"Unhand me, simpleton!" snapped Vlad as he pulled his arm free.

Lancer let go immediately, waving his hands in a calming manner, "Calm down. You'll catch your death running around like that. Here, have this at least."

The educator then offered an umbrella from under his raincoat, giving it to the shivering man. "Here, before you catch your death."

Sighing, pushing his dripping wet hair out of his eyes, Vlad accepted the umbrella without complaint.

Knowing that he had finally caught the man's attention, Lancer continued, "Okay. Let's walk, not run, and find Danny together," Lancer swallowed before he said the next line, "I think you need someone to talk too."

Vlad glared from under his umbrella, "I suppose you think me a nutcase? Well, the last breakdown nearly caused the boy hypothermia. I'm only looking out for his best interests. Teenagers can be so ... so irrational."

Lancer raised a brow at the nutcase comment but calmly added, "No, I wasn't thinking that, Mr. Masters. I'm guessing you were an only child so you are new when it comes to dealing with kids. It can cause a lot of stress with normal teenagers ... Danny, well, Danny's a good kid, but he also is a problem child. If I had any more hair to lose, he probably would have been the cause."

Vlad snorted tiredly at the bald comment and then ran a hand down his face as they continued to walk. "I'm not stressed."

"Oh? Then why did you panic when Daniel ran out on his own?" asked Lancer, matching Masters' pace.

Vlad stopped in his tracks and slumped his shoulders in response. It was true. Daniel's emotional break was wearing on him. Here he was supposed to help the boy ... but was essentially worthless.

Swallowing his pride, Vlad added softly, "Daniel's so ... broken. I don't know if I can even help him. And I don't dare leave him unsupervised in case he does something drastic. The boy is obviously unhinged. And it's just a lot harder then I thought."

The half-ghost then put a hand over his eyes as a shaky breath escaped his throat. That simple utterance was so revealing and now Vlad felt he couldn't stop, his words tired and lost, "I've been trying to comfort the poor child, but he's been so unresponsive. And, at the same time, I have to deal with my own mourning. The Fenton's were old friends, and I can't sleep without thinking of Maddie burning. I feel so useless. And now I'm stuck with this boy that hates me, but at the same time, he's all that is left of Maddie. Daniel's the only remnants of her light."

Lancer listened patiently before he finally decided to speak, "Mr. Masters … you're doing just fine. It's normal to mourn and it takes a strong man to put another before himself. Yes, there will be times you'll mess up, but that's to be expected. And I doubt Danny hates you, he's just hurting right now. You'll both be fine."

Vlad let out a sigh of disbelief but nodded calmly regardless. Lancer merely smiled in turn and they continued forward. A weight had been lifted from the billionaire's shoulders. It didn't really fix anything, but at least it was a start.

Though beating the brat into the pavement for running off sounded kind of fulfilling as well.

…

"Your will has been upheld Master," squeaked the winged eyeball as he flew into the lawyer's office from an open window. The little beast then pelted water everywhere as he shook his form like a dog. The lawyer's eye twitched with annoyance, but he ignored the urge to react.

"Very good Gibgit, and what of the older half-ghost, Vlad Masters?" Smith asked smoothly as he pulled a golden box onto his desk. It wasn't a large box. Maybe it was a bit smaller than a shoebox, but it had the oddest Greek symbols carved into its black stone finish.

"Well… about that Master."

Smith almost groaned. He knew that tone.

"Don't tell me you didn't talk to him?" growled the lawyer as he tensed up. He hated it when his plans flopped. This one couldn't afford to fail.

"Well, you see, it is cold and raining. My eye ached and-"

"Your eye ached?!" barked Smith as he flung his glass of wine at the eyeball, his nails lengthening and digging into his desk threateningly. "Do you not understand how important this is?!"

"Yes, Master. It's just-" whined the small beast as it shrank into itself.

Smith, staring at the pathetic form, groaned and pinched his nose bridge. Slowly, he shook his head, "Just… come here. I have a new plan. Vlad probably would have blasted you away anyway. The boy at least can be manipulated. Anger makes even the greatest warriors blind."

XXX

Paw07: What does Smith want? I could state that he wants a new pair of shoes, but then I might be lying.

(Revisions November 2019)