Disclaimer: Do you really think that I could afford to own DP? Nope. I'm just a poor college student with nothing to her name.

Eidolon
5. Unexpected Meetings

Something didn't feel right. Winston never left the front door open or even unlocked when he was home let alone when he was out. Danny, hesitantly followed by his two friends, cautiously entered the house hoping nothing was wrong.

He peaked into the study where he had last seen his guardian, and although it still looked like a tornado had gone through it, no one was there. That, combined with the fact that the car was missing, told him that Winston had left the house in a hurry. It was possible that he had just gone to the meeting and locking the door slipped his mind, but he had never known Winston to ever do that; he was too cautious.

"Danny… did you find anything?" Tucker asked cautiously as he and Sam came to the door. "Whoa, what happened to this room?"

Danny looked back at his friends for a moment as he tried to step over the mess. "He was looking for something that I assume was pretty important when I left. Hold on a sec," he requested as he looked for a safe place to step, "he doesn't want people in here."

"Really?" Sam asked in an irritated tone.

"Hey, it was the only condition he had if I invited you over."

"You're concerned that something might have happened to Winston, yet you worry about that. It seems to me that you need to get your priorities in order."

He just shrugged as he continued to carefully make his way through the study. Everything looked practically the same, save for the mess, except for the random paper and an envelope that seemed really out of place on the desk. Curious, he grabbed them and made his way over towards the door.

"Wh-what is it?" Tucker asked after he showed them what he found.

"Letters…. I think," he replied as he got a better look at them. He was just about to open them when something fell in the kitchen. The three friends looked at each other for a moment before they started to creep towards the source of the noise.

When they rounded the corner, they saw a man mumbling to himself while picking up what appeared to be a cup. At first, he thought he could be a robber, but the more he looked at the man, the more he thought that was impossible. This man appeared to be around Winston's age and was wearing a suit. Unless this person was crazy, it seemed very unlikely that he was a robber.

"Hey!" he called out as he ignored his friends' warnings, which caused the unknown man to jump. He quickly regained himself. "I don't know who you are, but don't you know that breaking and entering is illegal?"

The man smiled in a manner which caused Danny to involuntarily shudder. There was something off about his expression. "I think that the term you want is unlawful entry, but it amounts to the same thing, I suppose," the man told him in a rather carefree manner. "Yet, I could say the same thing to you."

"Yeah, but I live here. You don't."

The man's eyes lit up for a moment with… hunger…? … which was almost instantly replaced with a more neutral expression. "Would that make you young Daniel then?"

"And, what if he is?" Sam asked, startling both of them as she and Tucker moved behind their friend.

The man examined the newcomers for a moment before he slapped himself in the forehead rather dramatically. "Oh dear me, where are my manners? I'm Vladimir Masters, and after your guardian called to reschedule his meeting due to an 'emergency', I was sent to make sure that everything was okay here. And, needless to say, that when I saw that the door was open, I was concerned and decided to take a look." He then raised an eyebrow after giving a quick look around. "Yet, I'm surprised to see that you're here without Mr. Wolfe."

"Wh-what do you mean 'emergency'?" he stuttered after the man had finished. "Everything was fine before I left…"

Before an answer could be given, Tucker gently pushed Danny back and glared at the older man. "I think a better question is: what is Vlad Masters, a billionaire and famous businessman, doing here?"

"He's what?" both Danny and Sam demanded at the same time.

Tucker looked at them in a rather surprised manner. "You seriously don't know? He's one of the most famous people in the world and one of the richest."

The three of them glanced back at the man, who was trying not to look too pleased with himself. "Ah, apparently I've made more of an impression on the world than I thought I did," he told them in an attempt to sound modest. "But, to answer your question, one of my companies is involved with custody battles, so I do hear about situations like this. While it's true that I usually don't personally get involved, your case, Daniel, interests me."

His eyes narrowed as he listened to the man. Something was feeling more off by the moment. "Why me?" he demanded. "What's so special about me that someone like you came here?"

Vlad's eyes widened in feigned shock at his words. "Surely, my boy, Winston would have said something about me to you. I mean, I was a good friend of your parents."

"Wait… you knew my parents?"

"Of course! We met each other in college and remained good friends afterwards. It was such a shame when I found out about their disappearance…" He paused for a moment and looked at the boy with a strange expression that he really didn't like. "In truth, if things would have gone the way that your parents had wanted, I would have become your legal guardian."

He would have become what? Danny was absolutely certain his parents, even if he didn't remember them, would never let him go with someone so creepy. Although his story sounded believable, there was something that he wasn't saying about the situation, and whatever this 'something' was, he was fairly certain he didn't want to hear it.

"Back up," Sam demanded of Vlad. "It almost sounds like your accusing Mr. Wolfe of illegally taking care of Danny."

"Is that what it sounds like?" Vlad asked her. Unlike the previous times he spoke, his voice dropped the pleasant tone he was using. "It would be a lie to say that I'm not displeased about how things have turned out, however as much as I hate to admit it, there is validity in his claim. If it wasn't for that blasted letter, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

HIs grip on the papers in his hand tightened. "What do you mean? What letter?"

Once again, Vlad gave the boy an appraising glance. "Apparently, he hasn't told you anything. No matter, within a couple weeks, it should be made clear, even if he still decides to keep you blissfully ignorant." He then glanced at his watch and sighed. "It looks like I've stayed here longer than I planned. I will call your guardian later tonight to see if the emergency, which you clearly have no knowledge of, has been solved." A nod of his head was all that he gave as a farewell before he exited the house.

…

"Well… that was certainly weird…" Tucker stated after Danny had made sure that the front door was locked and that Vlad was nowhere to be seen. "Is everything okay? And what was he talking about when he mentioned the 'custody battle'?"

He sighed as he walked into the family room and sat down on the couch. His friends followed him as they exchanged worried expressions. "He… Winston… told me that the state had lost some of my adoption papers," he said as he absentmindedly looked at the papers in his hands. "He had said that it wasn't that big of a deal even though the state would be coming to pay a visit. Yet… it suddenly sounds like it's so much more complicated…"

Sam gently touched his shoulder as she sat next to him, "It'll be okay. And, if worst comes to worst, I'll try to convince my parents to hire someone to defend you in court. Now that I think about it, they've mentioned that man before, and they really don't like him. If my dad won't do it for the 'good of the cause', he'll certainly do it to get back at Mr. Masters."

"Do… do you really mean that?" He gently smiled as she vehemently agreed. "Thanks, Sam."

Tucker coughed, which caused them to look at him rather awkwardly. "Sorry to interrupt your moment," he told them as he also sat down, "But I have another question, and it's really bothering me. When he said that Mr. Wolfe was keeping you 'blissfully ignorant' do you think that he meant the legal stuff or something else? 'Cause, I honestly think it was the 'something else'."

"You know, I've been wondering that too…" Sam agreed. "A lot of what he said made me think that he was referring to something that was more complicated than just a custody battle."

"And that's not complicated at all," he told her with the most sarcastic tone that he could muster.

She just rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant. It's like he has ulterior motives for not only visiting your house but for being involved in the legal stuff too."

He sighed as he tried to get make sense of the strange visit. For some strange reason, it just seemed like within a couple weeks his entire world decided to become a complicated mess, not even counting the paranormal events. Speaking of which… He glanced down at his hand that had begun to feel a bit weird. It was that same feeling that had occurred before that event.

Worried, he quickly excused himself and ran to the bathroom. As he tried to lock the door, his hand passed right through the doorknob. No… it couldn't be! He stumbled backwards, hoping that he could back away from whatever was causing the problem, but it was to no avail.

Fear gripped him as he slid down the wall and stared at his hand. It was exactly how it looked the other day: a pale shadow of its former self. The only difference was this time was that part of his forearm was affected too. There was no way that he could pass it off as a dream this time either. What was he going to do about this? Heck, he didn't even know what this was!

"Danny?" a voice called out after knocking on the door. It was Sam, and from what it sounded like, she was worried. Had he really be in here that long?

"Crap!" he whispered to himself as he stood up. The door wasn't locked, and there was no way that he was going to let either of his friends see what was happening. Yet, luck didn't seem to be on his side seeing as he fell before he could cross the small room.

"Danny?" Sam asked again. "Are you okay in there?"

"I'm f-fine!" he answered as he tried to stand, only to no avail. A glance at his legs told him why: the one had somehow managed to sink into the floor. "Okay… and now everything's ten times worse… Come on!" He tried pulling on his leg only to find that it was stuck. It just had to be a joke. There was no way that all of this was happening to him: it was just impossible.

"Sam, you can't go in there!" he heard Tucker warn their friend as the doorknob jiggled.

"Bite me!" she snapped back as the doorknob turned and the door opened.

For a moment, nothing was said as the three friends looked at each other and registered the impossible situation before them. "Um… this isn't what it looks like…?" Danny told them meekly before Tucker fainted.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Winston was not entirely sure what he should do. For the past half an hour, he had been having a stare down with an entity that he had been hoping that he would never have to see again. The reason was that it brought chaos and destruction everywhere it went, and it seemed to be after the last known surviving member of a family it personally tried to destroy over a decade ago. And, what made it worse was that he had no idea where that person was, even if he had seen him just before he had left the house.

Though, this staring contest felt off. The ghost that was floating not even fifty yards away seemed distracted as if it was waiting for something, and, from what he knew of it, this was incredibly unusual. In the past, although it did have a tendency to gloat on occasion, it tended to go straight towards its goal in a manner that showed careful planning. Yet, he knew that if he tried to get away, it would definitely stop him probably even before he managed to get back into his car. Oh did he wish that he had some of the Fenton's inventions with him, but with what the ghost had done, that was impossible now.

"I'm surprised, Plasmius" he said after a few more moments, hoping that he could possibly talk his way out of this, "you were never this statuesque before. What changed?"

The ghost looked at him carefully before it smiled carefully. "Oh, I assure you that nothing's changed. Do you really think so little of me to assume that I've lost my touch?"

"Then why keep me here? There's nothing that I have of value to you nor do I pose any threat!"

Plasmius' smile grew larger after he spoke, which sent chills down his spine. "Is that really the case?" it asked as it floated just a little closer. "Then tell me, how does the boy fare? If my calculations are correct, isn't it about time for him to come into his birthright?"

Winston felt his blood grow cold. So, all this time, it did know that he had custody of the boy, and not only that, it knew exactly where they lived. He had walked into a trap! It was just trying to get him away from Danny. How could he have been so stupid?

"And, where are we going? Hmm?" the ghost asked as it watched him move closer to his car. "You wouldn't be trying to head back to young Daniel, would you?" When the only answer it received was a glare, it chuckled. "Oh, you don't have to worry yet; I won't take him from you tonight. No, that would just be too easy and not as rewarding. Instead, I'll gain hold of him in a way that will not only humiliate you, but will also tear away his trust in you, if you continue to keep silent."

"You… you monster! There's no way that I'll ever let you do that!"

"Really? The signs have begun to appear, and if you're not careful, the shock of that change will be too much and he'll have no choice but to come with me." It then vanished only to appear inches from his face. "I mean, just today, his eyes turned this brilliant shade of green, the exact shade of ectoplasm, when my… associate… spoke with him not too long ago."

"Bastard!" Winston snarled as he tried to punch it in the face only to end up hitting his car instead. Laughter came from behind him, which only enraged him more. "What did you do to him?"

"Me? I haven't done a thing yet, but mark my words, I will get a hold of him. Just keep close watch on him for now, since you won't be able to for much longer. Ta!" With that final word, it once again vanished from site causing him to do spin around to attempt to find it. Yet, after a few moments it really seemed like it was gone for the time being.

He sighed in momentary relief that he managed to get out of the meeting unscathed. But, now that it made it clear that its goal was Danny, what was he supposed to do? With the current situation with the state, there was no way that he would be able to move, and on top of that, it appeared that the ghost somehow had the ability to track them. And, what had it meant when it mentioned an associate? There was just too much information to mull over from this meeting to understand it in the moment. He would have to wait until he got home… and hopefully, Danny had managed to find his way back already. If not, hopefully he'd head back soon. With that thing around, no place was safe for him.

….

"Danny…? Are you home yet?" he called out once he entered the house. There was no reply, but he did hear noises coming from one of the rooms. He called out again as he tried to figure out where they were coming from.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from one of the doorways. He was taken aback until he realized that it was just Danny's friend, Tucker. "Oh, you're home!" he said in a relieved voice. "We thought it might be that Vlad guy again…"

"Vlad guy…?" he repeated as looked around. "Wait, where's Danny?"

"Uh…" Winston stared at the boy as he tried to answer him. "He's… currently in the bathroom. Sam's with him. He… uh… isn't feeling well…" Worried, he quickly moved towards the bathroom, followed by a rather surprised Tucker.

"Danny?" he asked softly as he slowly entered the room. The scene he entered would have been comical if he wasn't so worried. Sam had been massaging his back but stopped abruptly as he entered and adopted an expression that was somewhere between embarrassment and normality. Danny was hanging over the side of the bathtub with a blanket draped over him. He weakly smiled as he looked at him before turning back towards the tub.

In that brief instant that Danny had looked at him, he had seen the boy's eyes turn green. So, the ghost hadn't lied about that. Maybe it really was happening… but, he would debate with himself over what to say to Danny, once he figured out how to help him get better.

Well, that was a surprisingly important chapter. Many hints at various things were mentioned, so remember that! Oh, and a few quick things that aren't really important, but I feel like they help with the details.

1. For some reason, I picture the house that Winston and Danny live in as being a fairly decent size, like one of those more recently built homes (I currently am unsure how Winston affords it).

2. And for some reason, it just felt very appropriate that Tucker would faint when he saw that Danny's leg was stuck in the floor. And, it strikes me as hilarious.

3. The contents of the letters that Danny found should be reveled next chapter.

I'm going to try to get my next chapter out sometime in December, after finals. Right now, it's very unlikely that there will be another one this month (darn you BMST![aka CNS aka super insanely hard class]).

And, that's about it! Thanks again to dragondancer123, my wonderful Beta! And please, read and review. I honestly don't know if I'm doing a good job if you don't.

Peace out,
ayamari no Goshi