Tucker yelped in pain when the device in his hand sparked, singing his fingers, but he managed to bite back the numerous curses on the tip of his tongue, recalling Sam's daughter in the room.
"You okay?" Melinoe called. Tucker had put the girl to work with odd little jobs he had been meaning to do, such as sweep around and clean some parts he got second hand.
"Yeah," Tucker replied before putting down the shield bracelet and nursed his throbbing fingers. It probably had been a bad idea to work on the device with Melinoe so close to him. Tucker shook his head and got to his feet.
"Are you getting hungry? I could use a break," Tucker asked, turning to the teen. Melinoe grinned at him and nodded, wrestling a metal rod off Rusty.
"Yeah breakfast feels like forever ago now," Melinoe confirmed. Tucker sighed and led the way up the stairs and into his kitchen. He routed around the fridge and found enough food to put together a couple of sandwiches.
He glanced at the clock on his oven and blinked in surprise, it was two in the afternoon already. Melinoe joined him at the counter and helped make the sandwiches and together they settled on the couch and watched some old cartoons because nothing else was on.
"If you want to watch TV instead of helping me, that's cool," Tucker offered. Melinoe wrinkled her nose before shaking her head.
"There's nothing on TV during the day. I'd prefer to do little jobs with you honestly," Melinoe admitted. Tucker hid his disappointment. With Melinoe in the basement with him, he was limited in what he could do. He couldn't test any of his projects and fix bugs. He couldn't turn on his more dangerous tools to repair any damages to his devices. There were certain projects very early in production that he couldn't even turn on around Melinoe in case they went haywire. But he couldn't blame the girl. She was bored and he was the only company she had; Holly having left an hour ago. It would have been so much easier to look after the teen if he didn't have so much work to do, especially since half of what he wanted to do was to help protect Melinoe.
Unexpectedly there was a knock on the front door. Rusty barked before running over to Melinoe to hide beside her. Tucker rolled his eyes at the dog before getting to his feet. He didn't know why Sam caved into her daughter's desire for a puppy, but his friend could have picked a braver dog. Tucker opened the door and grinned at Danny on his doorstep.
"Hey Danny. So, did you find anything on Sam?" Tucker greeted.
"Holly actually passed on my message?" Danny retorted in surprise.
"No, Mel passed it on," Tucker confessed with a smirk. Danny chuckled with a shake of his head.
"Of course, it was Mel," Danny muttered to himself before stepping into the house but hovered in the hallway.
"I went into the Ghost Zone and asked around. But none of the ghosts I saw knew anything about a ghost taking Sam. I went to Dora, but her brother is still behind bars, so I know it wasn't him. I would have gone to Frostbite too, but I wanted to check in with you guys in case something happened," Danny reported softly.
"That's not the kind of update I hoped for. And I know it's not the one Mel wants to hear," Tucker mumbled.
"Sorry, it's all I've got. I tried to pick up the trail of the ghost that took Sam yesterday after I dropped Mel off here but by the time, I got back to Sam's house the trail was gone. It was a long shot, but I tried," Danny admitted. Tucker nodded and flashed his best friend a sympathetic smile.
"I know you're trying your best to find Sam. You'll find a clue soon. You always do," Tucker assured but frowned when Danny didn't perk up optimistically. Instead the man nodded slowly with a worried scowl.
"What are we gonna tell Mel?" Tucker prompted.
"Well, I could tell her that I looked into Sam's disappearance and followed up on a few leads, but they didn't come to anything," Danny offered.
"Dude, she needs some good news," Tucker retorted.
"Then I'll tell her that I saw Danny Phantom looking into a similar lead to me. I know she's worried that Phantom has stopped looking. At least this way she'll know that he is on the case," Danny added with a shrug.
"Why not tell her the truth?" Tucker countered carefully.
"What truth?" Danny prompted.
"The half ghost truth. If Mel knew then at least you could be honest and more open with how you investigate which ghost took Sam," Tucker suggested. Danny shook his head quickly.
"No. Bad idea. She doesn't know me Tuck. She mightn't understand and be frightened of me. I need her to trust me, both sides. So, I have to dance around my secret but it's better than the alternative," Danny refused.
"But dude-" Tucker began.
"No Tucker, I'm not changing my mind on this. In over twenty years I've not had to tell my parents, and a lot of that time I've lived under the same roof. Richard still doesn't know about Phantom. Mel doesn't need to know about my connection to Phantom," Danny argued. Tucker huffed in defeat before nodding.
"Alright Danny. But I still think you should tell her," Tucker relented. Danny tensed his shoulders, ready to argue further but instead Tucker lead the way to the living room/kitchen and Danny relaxed before following him.
The moment Danny entered the room, Rusty rushed out of his hiding place behind Melinoe and jumped up to greet Danny. Tucker stared at the dog in shock. Rusty had never greeted him the way he had just greeted Danny. He wasn't even sure the dog greeted Sam that excitedly. Tucker narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He knew how cowardly the dog was, particularly around strangers, which apparently Danny was. Unless, Danny wasn't a stranger to Rusty. Danny laughed at the dog before gradually calming the dog and petting the animal with a smirk.
"I've only been gone a few hours," Danny muttered in amusement.
"You have some gift Danny," Melinoe remarked with a confused shake of her head. Tucker frowned at the girl. Obviously Melinoe wasn't aware of Rusty's fondness of Danny. So Rusty didn't know Danny through Melinoe. True the dog could have known Danny through Sam but apart from school, the dog tended to be with Melinoe.
"I've never seen Rusty act that way with a stranger. You'll have to teach me your trick Danny," Tucker commented as he perched on the coffee table and Danny dropped into a seat on the couch beside Melinoe. The dog jumped up and Danny quickly got the dog down on the floor, where Rusty stayed. Tucker raised an eyebrow. Rusty respected Danny in a way he didn't with Melinoe or Sam. He knew Sam was firm with the dog, having taken over most of Rusty's obedience training in Melinoe's stead when the girl was younger. So it wasn't that Danny was firmer than Melinoe. Rusty just listened to Danny more. No trick in the world would allow Danny to do that, regardless of what Danny said.
"I can try to teach it to you Tuck but I can't guarantee that it'll work," Danny offered with a calm, knowing smile. A smile Tucker recognised as Danny's lying face. It was a tip Jazz taught the halfa, people trust a smile more than a frown. If Danny smiled while lying, it hid the lie better.
Tucker had always thought that Danny didn't know about Melinoe and that was why Danny hadn't interacted with the teen over her life. But maybe that wasn't the case.
"It's a pity your parents never let you have a dog," Tucker muttered which Danny nodded sadly in agreement with.
"Why not?" Melinoe wondered.
"I wasn't very responsible as a kid and they didn't have time to look after a dog with all their work and two kids to look after," Danny admitted. Melinoe nodded.
"Yeah, my mom worried that I wouldn't be responsible enough to look after a puppy when I was little too," Melinoe replied.
"Guess Sam remembered how much you wanted one huh Danny?" Tucker fished. Melinoe didn't look surprised that Sam knew Danny well. Danny shrugged.
"I guess that might have changed her mind," Danny conceded with his lying smile. Tucker fought to keep the scowl off his face.
"I'm surprised Sam never got you one as a present for Christmas or something when you were together," Tucker pressed. He knew Sam would never have told Melinoe about her relationship with the halfa, there was no reason to seeing as the girl hadn't interacted with Danny, other than apparently a stormy night a few years ago. But Melinoe again didn't look surprised although Danny was giving him a suspicious frown.
"She knew I wasn't in a financial position to look after a dog," Danny retorted.
"It's a pity you two lost contact. You could have helped Sam with Mel. Like I have," Tucker pointed out. Danny scowled at him openly.
"We went our separate ways before she had Mel," Danny retorted. Tucker scowled back at Danny causing Melinoe to glance between the men in confusion.
"Is something wrong?" she interjected.
"No," Danny answered, flashing her a quick reassuring smile. Melinoe frowned at him, clearly not believing him.
"Nothing's wrong Mel. Just two old friends reminiscing," Tucker lied, frowning at Danny pointedly. He knew that his best friend would recognise the lie. Danny scowled with suspicious confusion.
"Danny, can I have a word? In private," Tucker requested.
"Okay," Danny agreed.
"What about my mom?" Melinoe interjected. Danny turned to the girl, dismissing his irritation with his friend and gave her a sympathetic smile.
"Sorry Mel. I looked into a few leads, but I haven't found anything just yet. I did spot Danny Phantom, but he hadn't had much luck either, but he said something about following another few leads he had. I just came back to check that you were doing okay. Tucker's not boring you with tech speak, is he?" Danny replied gently. Melinoe deflated before shaking her head.
"No. Tucker hasn't been boring me," Melinoe mumbled despondently.
"Hey, Amity Park is a big town and the Ghost Zone is massive. It'll take time for me and Phantom to sort through all our leads. But we'll find your mother. I promise Mel," Danny reassured, lifting the girl's head gingerly with a hand under her chin, forcing her to look into his hopeful eyes. She offered him a weak smile and nodded in agreement.
"Thanks Danny. I'm just worried about her," Melinoe muttered.
"Trust me Sam can handle herself. She'll be fine. And we'll find her. It's just a matter of time," Danny assured with a smile. Melinoe's smile widened before she laughed out loud when Rusty jumped on top of her and started licking her face.
Tucker smiled tenderly at the teen, feeling hopeful himself after Danny's assurances before getting to his feet and cleared his throat loudly. Danny looked up with a frown and Tucker jerked his thumb to the door. Danny glanced at Melinoe who was still trying to shove the large dog off herself. He got to his feet and trailed after Tucker out of the living room and to the door under the stairs that led to the man's workshop. Danny scowled in confusion and waited for Tucker to speak. Tucker took a deep breath, sorting his suspicious thoughts into a conversation, before turning to Danny with a frown.
"Why are you lying to Mel?" Tucker accused, leaving Danny no room to deny it.
"Because she doesn't need to know about my ghost half," Danny retorted, still frowning in confusion.
"That's not what I'm talking about. Dude, I know. You don't have to keep lying to me about Mel," Tucker replied.
"What about Mel?" Danny countered but Tucker could see the panic in the halfa's eyes.
"I know she's your daughter Danny," Tucker revealed, crossing his arms defiantly, daring Danny to deny it.
"What?! How?" Danny exclaimed in alarm.
"So, you do know," Tucker confirmed with a frown.
"Of course, I know. Did you really think Sam wouldn't have told me? How do you know?" Danny pressed.
"Does it matter? Why are you lying to her? Mel knows that you were with Sam. She's wondered her whole life who her father was. Why haven't you been there for her?" Tucker challenged, anger seeping into his voice as he remembered every time Melinoe begged him or her mother for answers. Tucker had only kept quiet because he believed that Sam had her reasons and he didn't want to cause his friends any more pain. But now he knew that Danny had always known about his daughter, Tucker didn't understand why Melinoe's father's identity had been kept secret all these years.
"Tucker, how do you know Mel's my daughter?" Danny repeated. Tucker scowled.
"It doesn't matter! Why have you two been lying to her?!" Tucker growled.
"It matters Tucker! I need to know how you found out!" Danny exploded and Tucker finally realised what emotion was dancing in Danny's eyes. It wasn't annoyance or even worry. It was pure terror. Danny was terrified of how Tucker learnt the truth behind Melinoe's father. Tucker stared at his best friend for a few moments before relenting.
"I know a halfa when one walks through my door Danny," Tucker confessed in defeat. Danny stumbled back a step, his face going slack in shock.
"What?" he gasped.
"She has ghost energy dude. Ever since she was born. My tech picked it up and after a while I realised that my sensors weren't messing around but detecting ectoplasm on Sam's kid. It was pretty weak to start with, but it's been growing her whole life, especially when she hit puberty a few years ago," Tucker explained.
"She's-she… she's a halfa," Danny whispered in horror, shaking his head as he backed into one of Tucker's many benches cluttered with projects.
"Yeah. Well, she's your kid. Did you really think that she wouldn't be?" Tucker pointed out. Danny's wide horrified eyes flicked back to Tucker's confused ones.
"Yes. I did. I hoped. I-I thought since I wasn't born like this. That I got my powers through an accident. I thought it wouldn't pass on to my children. I- " Danny mumbled in shock.
Suddenly Danny surged forwards, grabbing Tucker's shirt in his fists, pulling the alarmed man forward to stare in Danny's scared but angry eyes.
"Why didn't you tell Sam!?" Danny demanded.
"Dude, when you two split, I didn't know what happened. I still don't. None of us do. But you two were hurting and refused to even talk about each other. I didn't want to add to that pain by telling you about Mel. I thought Sam kept it from you. I dunno why but I figured she had her reasons. I've been monitoring Mel's ghost energy with my tech. Even messed around with frequencies when I was babysitting her and found a way to hide halfas from my tech. Did you really think it was luck that none of my tech senses you? I have sensors in most of the buildings in Amity Park," Tucker answered, grunting in surprise when Danny released him, shoving the man back half-step, before the halfa began to pace in distress.
"You should have told her Tucker. You shouldn't have hidden this from us," Danny growled.
"What's the big deal Danny? She has ghost energy, it's not the end of the world," Tucker complained.
Danny stopped pacing and rounded on Tucker, his blue eyes pulsing bright green.
"You don't understand Tucker. Everything I've done all these years has meant nothing because for once you kept your mouth shut!" Danny shouted furiously.
"Everything you've done? Dude you're not making any sense," Tucker retorted in confusion.
"We hid that I'm Mel's father to protect her Tucker. This ghost, the one that took Sam, it's after Mel!" Danny revealed.
"Why would a ghost be after Mel? I mean, I know ghosts hold grudges, but they don't tend to involve other people," Tucker pointed out.
"I made a mistake. Before Sam was even pregnant. The ghost swore revenge on me, swore to cause me the same pain I caused her!" Danny growled.
"By going after Mel? The ghost couldn't have known about her," Tucker replied with a confused frown. Danny's eyes pulsed bright green again.
"The ghost vowed to destroy my child Tucker! When Sam told me, she was pregnant I knew our kid was gonna be in danger! We've taken every precaution possible to ensure no one would know Mel was my daughter. You should have told Sam when you worked it out," Danny snarled.
Tucker gasped, finally understanding why his best friend was getting so upset. This was why Sam and Danny broke up. This was why they had refused to see each other in sixteen years. This was why Sam was suddenly dating every guy in Amity Park, straight after leaving Danny and then once she told everyone she was pregnant, stopped dating. It suddenly made so much sense.
"I'm so sorry Danny. I-I didn't know," Tucker whispered, the full gravity of his silence crashing down on him. Danny's eyes dimmed back to their human blue and he slumped against a work bench.
"That was the idea," Danny mumbled.
"I don't understand one thing though. Why haven't you looked for the ghost who threatened Mel?" Tucker ventured, joining Danny against his work bench. Danny shook his head.
"I have looked Tuck. Remember all those fishing trips I took?" Danny began, glancing at Tucker and waited for the man to nod.
"I didn't go fishing. I was in the Ghost Zone. Sometimes days at a time. Looking for this ghost. It's been sixteen years and I still haven't managed to find her," Danny admitted. Tucker's eyes widened in shock.
"You've been looking all this time!" Tucker gasped.
"Of course I have Tuck. If I was able to find that ghost and somehow stop her going after Mel, then maybe we could have been a family. Tucker, I dunno how to find Sam. This is the one ghost I've never been able to catch," Danny confessed.
"You promised Mel though," Tucker mumbled. It was childish but Tucker knew that Danny took his promises seriously. He never made one he knew he couldn't keep.
"I know I did. And I'm not giving up Tuck. But I dunno how I can find a ghost who has hidden from me for sixteen years. I have asked every ghost I could about her but none of them know anything. It's like she doesn't exist. I wanted to make sure it wasn't one of my old enemies who took Sam before I faced the truth that the ghost behind this was the one after Mel," Danny assured.
"But Danny if this ghost has hidden from you all this time. How can you find them?" Tucker pointed out. Danny shrugged before sweeping his gaze around Tucker's workshop before his eyes widened.
"Maybe with your help. Or more accurately, your tech," Danny whispered.
"My tech?" Tucker repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. No offence Tuck, but I thought that your tech wasn't sensitive enough to pick up on my ghost energy when I was human. But if you say it was able to pick up Mel's energy when she was born. When it was really weak. Maybe it'll be sensitive enough to pick up on trace amounts of ectoplasm left behind in Sam's house," Danny suggested, hope re-igniting in his eyes. Tucker hummed in thought.
"If there's any there, it should pick it up. I mean, I'm pretty sure Mel doesn't have any powers, at least not yet. My tech is pretty sensitive," Tucker agreed.
Tucker pushed himself away from his bench and dove into his many projects, searching for any inventions that could help Danny find Sam and the ghost behind everything.
"What about Mel though? I'm guessing you don't want her to come with," Tucker remarked over his shoulder. Danny hummed in agreement.
"It's not safe for her to be alone. God, I can't believe I took Mel to Jazz's. With Mel's energy, the ghost could have found her easily. I put Jazz and her baby in so much danger," Danny realised, sweeping a worried hand through his dark hair. Tucker flinched as he realised once again how stupid it had been to stay silent on Melinoe's ghost energy all these years.
"Well, you didn't know, and the ghost didn't attack," Tucker offered. Danny grunted in agreement, but Tucker could still tell that the halfa was angry at himself.
"There's only really one place that I can take Mel where she'll be safe," Danny began reluctantly after a few moments of silence.
"Where?" Tucker prompted as he dug out a ghost radar, he made a few months ago.
"Fentonworks," Danny revealed.
"Fentonworks? How is that the safest place for her? The entire building is covered in guns meant to attack ghosts. Do you not remember how often you had to fight off that house's defences?" Tucker retorted.
"My parents have worked on that. They noticed how their tech targets me. They've made their weapons less sensitive, so it doesn't attack me. Their tech won't be able to pick up Mel's energy. And the residual energy in the building built up over decades of my parents' research will be able to mask her energy signature from the ghost after her," Danny explained.
"Do you really want to leave Mel with your parents? Knowing them they'll drag Mel into the lab to show off their tech and they might think she's overshadowed or something," Tucker pointed out. Danny sighed.
"There isn't anywhere else Tucker. I just have to hope Mel doesn't show any interest and my parents leave her alone," Danny confessed.
"Okay dude. I trust your judgement. Why don't you go up and tell Mel the new plan? I'll be up in a few. Although a lot of this stuff I'm still working the bugs out of, so they might detect you if you're in ghost mode," Tucker warned.
"Okay Tuck. And, I'm sorry I got so angry. I shouldn't have lost my cool like that," Danny replied. Tucker glanced up and offered his best friend a smile.
"It's fine dude. I can't really blame you," Tucker assured before Danny disappeared upstairs. Tucker picked up his shield bracelet and contemplated it for a moment before leaving it on his desk. It wasn't developed enough yet to road test in the field.
"Tucker!" Danny shouted fearfully. Tucker blinked and sprinted up the stairs, navigating the cluttered steps with practiced ease.
"What's wrong?" Tucker asked as he exploded out of the door to his workshop and into the hallway. Danny turned to Tucker, his eyes wide with terror and pointed to the ajar front door.
"Mel's missing," Danny revealed. Tucker blinked in alarm before running to pop his head into the living room, but the girl was gone.
"You don't think that ghost came while we were downstairs," Danny whispered.
"Nah, you're ghost sense would have gone off. Not to mention that my whole house is covered in ghost detecting tech that would have alerted me if a full ghost came onto the premises," Tucker reassured. Tucker glanced at the door to his workshop before biting his lip.
"But I wouldn't put it past Mel to have eavesdropped on us. I did drop some pretty big hints before we went down there," Tucker admitted. Danny followed Tucker's gaze before nodding in agreement. They were talking about Sam's daughter and Sam had never been one to allow herself to be kept in the dark.
"You go left, and I'll go right?" Danny suggested. Tucker nodded and pulled out his ghost radar and opened a panel and switched a couple of wires.
"It should pick up Mel once I turn it on. But we need to get some distance first since it's only gonna pick you up right now," Tucker mentioned as he clipped the panel back into place. Danny nodded in understanding as they parted at the front door, each sprinting in a different direction.
Gasp! Danny is Melinoe's father! Double gasp! Melinoe has ghost energy!
Pretty big chapter huh?
So, the next chapter is another special chapter.
Until the next chapter.