They just wouldn't budge. Jack Fenton had been working with heavy machinery for years, yet he couldn't get those bars to shift. If he could just move them a couple of inches, just enough for his daughter to squeeze through, that would be enough for him.
"Jack, dear, stop before you hurt yourself."
The sound of his wife's voice was soft and sweet, her hand resting gently on his bicep as he pulled away from the bars that held them captive and stared down at her. She was trying to maintain a smile for their sake, trying to keep things looking positive, but he could see the fear behind her mask. And really, he was scared too. They'd never been put in this situation before, and he hadn't even been able to protect Jasmine from it all.
And then there was Danny, his son. His half ghost son. He still couldn't get his head wrapped around that idea. His son was the ghost boy. He had powers, he was half dead. Was that possible? But he'd seen Phantom with his own eyes on multiple occasions. So, it was possible, but how had it happened? And why hadn't Danny ever told them? They were confused and scared and worried, and Jasmine wouldn't even look at either one of them.
Leaning back against the bars, Jack pulled his wife closer until she was pressed into his chest and his arms were wrapped tightly around her. Staring past her at the other side of the cage they were trapped in, his daughter sat by herself, arms wrapped around her knees and eyes staring up at the sky.
He'd failed both his children, hadn't he? Not only that, he'd failed the families of his son's friends. Glancing to the right, he looked at the other two cages that were lined up beside theirs that held the Manson's and the Foley's. He didn't care for either of those couples, but he also hadn't intended on getting them drug into all of this.
Dropping his head, he could feel the steady beat of Maddie's heart and could feel the guilt ripping at his own. How would he solve any of this? He had no weapons, no workshop, hell, that Freakshow guy wasn't even a ghost. He couldn't break out, and he had no way to contact anyone.
Freakshow wanted Danny for some reason, but he couldn't leave their fates up to his teenage son, that was ridiculous. And yet there was nothing that could be done. Jack felt Maddie pull away, her hands resting on his arms as she stared at the ground, her body trembling.
"She won't speak to us."
She murmured quietly, turning her head a fraction towards their daughter as Jack frowned.
"Is she angry we were captured?"
"I think it's about Danny." She shook her head, closing her eyes tightly and pushing her forehead against his chest. "I'm worried about him, Jack. He's just a kid."
"I know, I am too. But he'll be okay, you've seen what he can do as Phantom."
"That's what worries me!" She cried out, pushing away from him and shaking her head. "He's fourteen, Jack, and look at all the fighting he's had to do. He should never have had to do any of that! Why couldn't he have just told us?"
She asked as Jasmine scoffed from the corner. Looking at the girl, Jack started to speak when another voice behind him distracted him.
"This is all your fault, Fenton. I'm not surprised your son is a weird little freak, I never should have let him anywhere near my Samantha."
Jeremy Manson declared, slumped against his own set of bars that contained him and his wife.
"Your spooky bat daughter knew about him, what's that say about your relationship with your kid if she didn't tell you either?"
Jack shot back, pushing against the bars again as Angela stuck out both her hands, the Foley's prison between the other two.
"There's no point in fighting, our children kept things from all of us, granted Danny kept far worse secrets than Tucker, but secrets nonetheless. All we can do now is hope that the kids are smart enough to stay out of trouble while we're gone."
"Don't act as if your son is better than his! Your little techno weirdo hijacked my security systems on more than one occasion!"
Jeremy spat as Maurice stood.
"Our techno weirdo is going to get into MIT one day with his skills and brains, where is your daughter going to go besides jail?"
"Samantha is one of the top in her class! She may dress strangely but she is far better behaved than either of your brats!"
"Really?" Maurice scoffed, growing closer to his bars. "Maybe you should see about getting security cameras because she has snuck out more than once under your 'perfect' watch."
"If she has done anything it's only due to those awful Fenton's influence on her! Before them she always followed all the rules we set!"
"Now listen here! I don't-"
"Settle down now, Jack, it's alright," Maddie soothed, pulling at his arm as the other two families continued to argue. "This whole business about Danny being the Ghost Boy has me just as confused and baffled as you."
She said, a sad frown etched onto her face as Jack squeezed her hand.
"Imagine, our son has had ghost powers all this time and has kept them a secret from us. But we love him! I wonder why he didn't trust us enough to tell us."
He sighed, shaking his head sadly as a louder scoff than before left Jasmine.
"Really?" She spoke finally, turning to glare at her parents. "You really have no idea why Danny would keep such a thing from you?"
She said it with such anger it shocked Jack, he hadn't seen the girl so upset since she found out she didn't get to skip eighth grade.
"Jazz, I know we've been a bit preoccupied with our work recently, but you and Danny know you can always come to us about anything!"
Maddie said earnestly, taking a step closer to her daughter as the girl stood.
"Seriously? You really don't get it. Here, let me help you." She rolled her eyes before puffing out her chest and straightening her shoulders. "Hey, Maddie!" She began , her voice taking on a deep, unnatural tone as she stared right at her father. "Let's destroy the ghost!"
"No, Jack," She continued, her voice suddenly rising to a higher pitch. "Let's dissect the ghost!" "I know, let's catch the ghost and rip it apart molecule by molecule!"
She finished with a scowl, her arms folding across her chest as Jack felt a pang in his chest. They really had said all those things, hadn't they? And about their own son. What kind of parents were they?
"Yeah, you guys are so understanding."
She muttered, turning her back to them as Maddie turned away, her arms hugging around herself as Jack glared at the ground. He couldn't blame Danny for never telling them, not with how they spoke about his.. well, his other half. But surely he had to know they'd never do anything to harm him, right? At least not now that they knew who he was. How could they? Jack loved that boy more than anything else in the world.
Sure, he hadn't always been the best father. He knew he was dense, and he let work control his life more than he should, and a lot of things happened without him really noticing. But if Danny had talked to him, if he'd just told him the truth, they would've gotten through it together. Because that's what family did, right? They supported one another through everything, even having a half ghost as a child.
"We really did fail him." Maddie murmured to herself, her shoulders lurching as she stifled a sob. Jack reached out again, attempting to pull her closer only to have her tug away from him. "He felt unsafe in his own home, Jack. With us, what kind of parents make their child feel like that?"
"We didn't know," He said softly, grabbing her arms and turning her towards him. "We screwed up, but we never would've done anything to him, right?"
"Of course not!" She gasped, mouth parted as watery eyes stared up at him. "He's our child, all of that silly nonsense would have been thrown away if we'd have known."
"So we'll tell him that, just as soon as we see him!"
Jack encouraged, forcing a smile that Maddie weakly returned as Jasmine peeked at them from over her shoulder.
"Ah, what a lovely family moment. Shall I take a picture, immortalize this forever?"
A voice cackled behind them as Freakshow clapped his hands together, a disgusting smile drawn out across his face.
"Let me out of here, I'll give you something to immortalize!"
Jack demanded, pushing against the bars again as the man smirked.
"Ah ah ah, be good prisoners and I'll let you see your son!"
"You have Danny?"
Jasmine gasped, lurching forwards and clasping the bars in her own small hands.
"My, aren't we eager? No, I don't have your little halfa, but I am about to give him and his chums a call. They have something I want, and if they ever want to see their precious families again, they'll give it back."
"When I get out of here, you're going to be mincemeat, buddy!"
Jack yelled as the man feigned a look of terror.
"Oh, no! The buffoon is threatening me! You couldn't even catch the ghost that was living in your own home, do you really think I'm scared of you?" He asked, taking a few steps closer as he grinned maliciously. "Would you like to know what I've done to your son?" He asked, tilting his head and peering up at the larger man. "The first time I met him, I hypnotized him to do my every whim. He was a part of my show, and oh, he was spectacular. Never before have I had such a remarkable puppet."
"Why you little.. I'll kill you!"
Trying to reach him through the bars, Freakshow laughed louder and pulled away as Maddie's hands tugged at his arms.
"He's trying to get a rise out of you, Jack, calm down."
"But Danny-"
"Danny isn't here, and we don't know if any of that is true. We'll talk about it when we're together again, but right now we stand a better chance not drawing attention to ourselves." Maddie spoke softly, glaring hatefully out at the disgusting little man as he sat up a computer near their cages. "What we must do is outsmart him, that way we can get to Danny and keep him away from that freak."
Glowering at Freakshow's back, Jack huffed out a sigh and shoved away from the bars.
"I wish I had my Fenton Bazooka, I'd like to see him gloat about his victory then."
"I know, dear."
"Perfect!" Freakshow cackled, making a show of spreading his arms at the computer and projector set up in front of them. "Now, who would like to say hello to their darling little brats?"
A/N
Bit of a shorter chapter now, mainly because it's harder to write more in depth for people who are stuck in a cage.. But I enjoy writing Jack with a little more character than just a bumbling idiot the show makes him out to be.
Anywho, I'm proud of how fast this one came out, did the whole thing in just a day! And as always your support and reviews mean the world, thanks for reading!