Chapter 5: Forgetting Her but not the Time
Hello, dear readers. I am back with another chapter for this story. Sorry for the long delay, things just came up. This chapter will be slightly different from previous chapters in that it will mostly be centered around Vlad. I hope that you guys won't mind. That being said, I do not own Danny Phantom, 'Whatsername' by Green Day, or anything else I reference. R&R and Enjoy!
***Saturday, 8 AM, Vlad's Bedroom***
With a start, the multi billionaire and Mayor of Amity woke with a start. He was breathing heavily and sweat was pouring down his brow. Vlad's gaze frantically looked over the room. He wasn't back in his college lab. He wasn't writhing in pain from his exposure to the prototype ghost portal. He wasn't listening to the groan of disappointment from Jack at his failure nor the soothing consultations from Maddie.
He was in his bedroom, lying naked and anxious in his bed. Small rays of light pierced through the cracks in the curtain that covered the window. He heard a soft moan to his left. Looking down, he saw the beautiful form of Penelope Spectra. She too was naked, the bed sheet the only thing keeping her modesty.
A ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he remembered their previous night. She had found him brooding and drinking in his study, a half empty bottle of scotch sitting on the small table beside him, a rocks glass filled with the amber liquid and ice in his right hand, and the case to his revolver sitting open on his lap.
She had let out a sigh at the sight of him, a mixture of exasperation, sympathy, and understanding. Penelope had then walked over to him, removed the box from his lap and replaced it with her rump. She then took the glass from his hand and downed it in one swig.
"Guess I have some catching up to do." The redheaded ghost replied coyly.
From there, things escalated from the two of them polishing off the remainder of the bottle and some exchanging of flirtatious jokes and comments to a passionate kiss and heavy petting.
The silver haired mayor chuckled at the memories coming back to him. Looking back down, he bent over and planted a chaste kiss on the sleeping woman's lips.
They had somehow ended up in his bedroom. From there, it was like the two had become hormonal teenagers again. One moment, they were ripping each other's clothes off in between their kisses, the next, they were completely naked and giving pleasuring one another orally.
He could remember the taste of her pussy, so sweet and succulent. He could remember how her body shivered in pleasure and the deep moan she released while her mouth was still wrapped around his penis. He could remember how she had brought him to his own climax and greedily swallowed his seed.
They had made love he knew not how many times. With Penelope, he didn't have to think in his albeit muddled state of mind. He didn't have to remember...
And then, like a ton of bricks, it came back to him. The reason he had been drinking in the first place. He had been dwelling on the upcoming meeting with the Fenton parents today. That in turn led him to recall his failed attempts to woo Maddie, both before and after the accident. The supreme idiocy of Jack when he activated the prototype ghost portal, despite the skepticism and protests from both Maddie and himself. The pain, the excruciating and agonizing pain that struck his face and soon after coursed through his body as his DNA began to mutate. The slow road to recovery he had to make.
The man gritted his teeth, balled his hands into fists, and closed his eyes, trying to prevent the tears of anger, frustration, and sorrow from flowing down his face. He sat there for a few minutes, breathing heavily in and out through his nose, trying to collect himself. When Vlad did open his eyes, they were now bloodshot.
Slowly, he climbed out of bed and began to look for his boxers. Once found, he walked out of the room.
Unknown to him, Penelope had woken up after the kiss he had given her. She saw his mood change from amusement to pain to hate. She had hoped that their night of foolishness and fun would take his mind off the upcoming meeting with the Fentons and his pent up anger towards them. Yet it seemed to have been only a minor relief. A sort of hangover of the mind. And she had just been his booze and painkiller.
Letting out a sigh, she sat up and stretched her limbs. As the blanket fell away from her naked upper half, goose flesh lightly broke out across her skin. She ran her hands over her body before slowly climbing out of bed.
Looking around, she found his dress shirt and put it on, buttoning the top half of the shirt before walking out of the room.
The misery ghost had several things on her mind, primarily being the current state of mind of Vlad. A sly smile graced her face. It had definitely been a spur of the moment thing for her to get drunk and fool around with the elder halfa. Still, it had distracted him from his thoughts and the gun and had been thoroughly enjoyable for the both of them. Right now, though, she had to find him.
For the past few days since Danny's attempted suicide, she had been staying with the elder halfa. Partially because he had offered her a place to stay because of her newly regained position as guidance counselor. The other reason for her current living situation...well, lets just say Vlad and Danny have more in common than even they knew.
Would her constant distractions permanently take his mind off his feelings of worthlessness and self loathing? Maybe, maybe not. But she knew it was better than doing nothing. Leaving him to his own devices in that state of mind...she shuddered to think what he might do to himself.
Meanwhile, Vlad was sitting in front of the fireplace, the flames crackling with life before him. On his lap lay a photo album with the pictures and clippings from his youth. The images had faded and the papers were starting to yellow but to him they were as clear as crystal.
A sad smile graces his face as he looked upon the photographs. His first day of college. Meeting his new roommate, Jack Fenton. Their first college party and meeting Maddie. The various outings the trio had both in the lab and for fun. The...rare moments he and Maddie had enjoyed alone. Finally, the day before the accident.
There they were, the three of them. Huddled around his camera and smiling jovially. The prototype ghost portal behind them.
Vlad looked upon these photos, these memories. The first few brought a smile to his face as he recalled the more pleasant times. Then the smile faded into a look of loss at the happy memories he had enjoyed with his two former friends. Finally, there was a look of pain and anger at the last picture.
It hurt to remember the last and most painful memory he had with the two Fentons. That day had been filled with so much promise. He had told Jack that he had wanted to ask the girl of his dreams out on a date but couldn't pluck up the courage. Jack, being his best friend at the time, had encouraged him to try and ask her out. That day he was going to ask Maddie out on a date once they had finished the diagnostic tests on the prototype.
But Jack, the idiotic, foolish oaf couldn't wait for the diagnostics. He was so gung ho, so confident that the machine would work that he started the prototype up without a care in the world for safety precautions.
He remembered the pain as electric and ectoplasmic energy fried his face, burning and scaring him both outwardly and inwardly.
He remembered waking up in the hospital a few days later, his face bandaged up. Remembered his teachers giving their condolences on his condition while congratulating him and his friends for their technological feat. Remembered the hospital running constant tests and experiments on him because of his unusual injuries for weeks.
But most of all...he remembered them coming to meet him a month after his initial wake up in the hospital. Jack was grinning ear to ear, his arm around Maddie's shoulder. Maddie...constantly playing with her hands while looking longingly at the oaf. The announcement of their engagement. The ring on her finger.
It had been too much for him. He yelled and screamed and shouted at them to get out of his room. He remembered cursing at Jack for putting him in his current state. He had glared hatefully at the woman he had tried so hard to woo. But when they had left, he had cried.
He had cried because of the situation he was now in. He had cried because he felt his best friends had betrayed him.
Vlad looked back down at the photo album in his hands. His hands were shaking. He wanted desperately to toss the damnable memories into the fire. He brought his hand up to do just that.
Yet he faltered. He wanted to forget the bad times and keep the good memories but every time he looked back on these memories of good times, it brought back the bad ones.
Again, the elder halfa found himself yelling in anger and despair. He slammed the album back down onto the floor before digging his knuckles into his temples.
"Why?...Why can't I forget?" He asked himself as fresh tears escaped his eyes.
Then he felt arms gently wrap around his middle. He simply gave in and fell back.
"Because," Penelope said, bringing his head to her bosom while running her fingers through his silver hair, "You keep holding on to the past. Whether it be through your anger at Jack, your dreams of having Maddie, or your simple desire for things to go back to the way they were."
He didn't verbally respond to what she said, only nodding his head.
"Why do you do this for me? What makes me so special when we both know Danny needs your help more?"
A small smile came to Penelope's face at this.
"For one thing, you and Danny are more alike than either of you realize. You both have, or should I say are going through the same situation."
"I...I haven't done that yet." He replied defensively, reflexively clutching at his wrists.
"No...Not yet. But you both have received heartbreaking news about your love interest. You both have resorted to unhealthy substances in an attempt to forget about the pain. And...both of you have...someone trying to pull you out of the gloomy state you are in." The redhead replied, fumbling at the end over what she wanted to say and what she actually said.
"And the second reason?" Vlad asked.
"Can't a girl simply enjoy being with her new friend and lover?" She countered cheekily.
"Didn't say that she couldn't." He replied, a ghost of a smile forming when she said lover to him. "Still, I think there is more to it than that.
"Yeah." Penny replied, the smile falling from her face. "Bertrand left me a while ago. Said why should he stay with a broad that constantly needed misery to maintain her looks when he, the o-so-magnificent shapeshifter could simply change his looks on command so he could bed any girl he desired."
"Bastard." Vlad growled out.
"Exactly what I called him." She chuckled.
They sat there together for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company in relative silence. For Vlad, this was a surreal moment for him. An oxymoron. He finally had what he wanted but at the same time, he didn't. He had someone that seemed to genuinely care (he wouldn't say love at this point in time) for him and wanted to help him overcome the problems and troubles he was dealing with.
It felt amazing to vent to someone other than his cat and an AI programmed to tell him exactly what he wanted to hear.
Still, it always came back around to letting everything go. Let the hate, the one sided love, and the happy memories go. And every time he tried, he couldn't. To him, the combination of those three had kept him going and had given him a purpose in life ever since the accident. Now that his infatuation with Maddie was destroyed, the other two were quickly unraveling.
With no motivation, no drive, no purpose...
"Come on." Penelope said, breaking the elder halfa from his thoughts. "Time to get some breakfast before the meeting."
Nodding his head, the two stood up and headed back to his room to freshen up and get dressed. Twenty minutes later, they were quietly having breakfast in his dining room. It was a quiet affair, only the clinking of cutlery on china breaking the silence.
Once they were finished, they made their way to the mansion's garage. Vlad walked over to a peg board, covered in keys and labels.
"Aston Martin DB5, DeLorean DMC-12, 1958 Plymouth Fury, 1969 Dodge Charger? You have quite the car collection." Penelope mused.
"Indeed." Vlad replied before reaching for a key marked 1968 El Camino SS.
Key in hand, Vlad made his way through the rows of cars until he found the one he was looking for. It was black with white stripes running through the middle of the car. The interior was a white leather with black accents. Most of the instruments on the dash were original except for the new radio.
"What makes this car so special?" She asked as she slid into the passenger's seat.
"This was my first car." He replied quietly as he started the engine.
"You've kept it in extremely good condition for all these years." Penelope said with a small smile on her face.
The man snorted as he slowly pulled the car out and past his other cars. "No thanks to Jack Fenton. He totaled it during our freshman year of college for some party he wanted to go to. I thought I was being the good friend for letting him borrow it."
Penelope sighed. Trying to make good conversation with him and it brings back bad memories.
"Mind if I turn on the radio." The redhead asked, remembering when he drove Danny to school that he disliked awkward silences in car rides.
"Yes, please." He replied, a hint of relief in his voice.
Nodding her head, Penelope turned the radio on.
*STATIC*
...Spanky's is throwin' a kick ass party!
*STATIC*
This is the Bubba the Love Sponge Show!
*STATIC*
The day I tried to live
I wallowed in the blood and mud
With all the other pigs, hey
Singing one more time around
(Might do it)
"Change it." Vlad said flatly.
Nodding her head, the redhead changed the station again.
*STATIC*
Double T in the morning with some...
*STATIC*
...call us and we will settle your claim.
*STATIC*
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came
Where did I go wrong?
I lost a friend
"Change it." He growled, getting irritated with the songs on the radio.
"I'm not doing this on purpose." She said as she turned the dial again.
"I didn't say you were." The elder halfa sighed as they continued down the road.
*STATIC*
John Boy and Billy Bob in the morning!
*STATIC*
Would you kindly...
*STATIC*
The Christmas Station! Where we play Christmas Music 27/7/365.
"Well, at least there aren't any depressing..." Penelope began to say.
I'll have a blue Christmas without you
I'll be so blue just thinking about you
"GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!" The misery ghost cursed at the radio, wanting to smash it to pieces but managing to restrain herself.
Sighing, Vlad reached over and turned the radio dial.
"Next song we come to, we stay on that station." He said. There was static and another mix of random lines from radio commercials and talk shows until...
Did she ever marry old what's his face?
I made a point to burn all of the photographs
She went away and then I took a different path
I remember the face
But I can't recall the name
Now I wonder how whatsername has been
Penelope glanced over at the elder halfa to gauge his reaction to the song. Outwardly, he didn't seem to react. Inwardly, however, she knew this rang some notes with him.
"What are you hoping to come out of this meeting with the Fentons?" He asked.
"I'm hoping that after we explain what has been going on with Danny for the past few weeks, they will do their best to help him move on, reinforcing his value to them if he has any doubts, and possibly thanking you for your part in saving him."
"I doubt that." Vlad huffed. "They'll blame Daniel for contemplating such things when he has a 'perfectly normal and happy life'. Then Maddie will blame me for my part of the attempt, claiming I might as well have cut Danny myself for what I did. Jack will be his usual, stupid, and ignorant self in the beginning before trying to come to my defense before finally caving in and going along with his wife. Then, and only then, will they turn their hatred to Ms. Manson."
"Do you really think that little of them to say they would blame Danny for his actions? And I wasn't planning on telling them your initial part in the events that took place. That would out the two of you of your secrets." Penelope said.
"You need only look at how Jasmine reacted. Sure, she put the blame on me because I was conveniently there first. Then, when Daniel woke up, she asked him how he could selfishly think of ending his life without thinking of his family. After all that, then she turned her anger towards Samantha. As for Maddie blaming me, I know she hates me. Knew it when I tried to trick her and Daniel in the woods. When she sees me there and we get into the meat of our talk, she'll blame me." Was his rebuttal.
The regrets are useless
In my mind
She's in my head
I must confess
"If not Danny's parents, then who do you think would have a better time at helping him?" The misery ghost asked.
Vlad sighed before answering. "Kitty, his sister, Clockwork, perhaps Ember, and you."
"Don't forget about yourself." Penny said, smiling reassuringly at him.
The elder halfa didn't reply to her statement.
And in the darkest night
If my memory serves me right
I'll never turn back time
Forgetting you, but not the time.
The car pulled up to Fenton Works, parking in front of the house. Vlad got out of the car and walked around to help her out.
"Glad to know there are still gentlemen in the world." She commented, taking his hand as she exited the car. Making sure the car was locked, they made their way up the stairs to the front door.
After knocking on the door, they waited patiently to be let in. They didn't have long to wait.
"GHOST!" Jack yelled as he opened the front door and aimed an ecto-bazooka at the two. Penelope cringed and stood behind Vlad while the elder halfa stared coldly at his former friend.
"Jack." The elder halfa stated, glaring daggers at the man who had caused him much pain.
"VLADY!" Jack Fenton said, slinging the weapon onto his back before moving in to pull his best friend from college into one of his signature bear hugs...only to feel a firm hand stop him.
Surprised, he looked at the hand and traced it back to the owner, who happened to be the man he was going to embrace. It was in that moment that Jack saw hatred in the eyes of his best friend.
They stood there looking at each other for a second or two before the silver haired mayor pushed Jack aside and entered the house. He was so shocked at this turn of events that he didn't even notice the redhead that followed him in.
In the house, Vlad walked through the short hall into the living room. His eyes roamed the area, taking in the simple yet comfortable feel of the home. Yet before he could begin to relax from his recent rise in temper thanks to the fat idiot, his eyes landed on the person who gave him the most mixed and terrible feelings thanks to recent event and conversations.
"Hello, Vlad." Maddie Fenton said cooly. Her arms crossed her chest and she was giving him an emotionless look.
The elder halfa surpassed her chilly attitude with a nearly Arctic look of his own. For the first time since the accident, Vlad stared at her in anger.
"Maddie." He replied with a growl. Another first in a long time.
This surprised Maddie. Normally, Vlad was kind, flirtatious with her. She actually shivered with how cold he was now treating her.
"Hello, there. You must be Mrs. Fenton." Said Penelope, breaking up the tense moment between the two.
"Oh." Maddie replied, breaking her attention from Vlad and turning her attention to the woman before her. "Yes. I'm Maddie Fenton. Pleasure to meet you Miss?"
"Spectra. Penelope Spectra." Penny answered, smiling at the woman.
"Have...have we met before?" Maddie asked, confusion in her eyes.
"I don't believe so. I was briefly employed at your children's high school until something came up, requiring me to leave." Spectra lied.
Before Mrs. Fenton could continue, they were interrupted by footsteps coming down the stairs. The three turned to see Danny and Jazz at the foot of the stairs. They were dressed in their usual attire except for Danny. The only difference from his normal white shirt and jeans were a pair of black sweat bands covering his wrists.
"Vlad." Danny said, a small smile coming to his face before he walked over and embraced the elder halfa. To say Vlad was surprised by this was an understatement. He appeared stunned at the show of affection that his former enemy. After a few seconds, Vlad awkwardly returned the hug.
"Daniel. Good to see you again." He replied, a small smile coming to his face.
"Same here." The black haired teenager replied before stepping away briefly to allow his sister to hug the man as well.
"How...how are you doing?" He asked quietly.
The siblings motioned for him to follow them towards the couch.
For her part, Maddie was confused at the actions of her children. From her memories, the two had been wary or, in Danny's case, vehemently against trusting her former college friend. Yet now they were warming up to him like an uncle.
By this point, Jack had recovered from his confusion concerning his friend and had come inside to see what was currently going on.
"Aw. Maddie, look. Our kinds are finally coming around to liking Vlad." The bulky man remarked, putting an arm around his wife's shoulder while proudly watching his children.
"Good. Now that we're all here, we can get started." Penelope spoke up, putting on a pleasant smile for the group.
With that, the three adults walked over to where the children and Vlad were. Jack sat in his recliner, Vlad and Penelope on the love seat, and Danny and Jazz sat on the couch. Maddie was about to sit in between her children before Ms. Spectra spoke up.
"Mrs. Fenton, why don't you sit on the ottoman next to your husband? I feel it would be best to give Danny some space, especially with what we will be discussing."
"I appreciate the concern but I'm sure Danny won't..." Maddie began to say before her son interrupted her.
"Please, mom?" He asked.
She could see him silently pleading with her. While her maternal instincts told her to sit with her children and reassure them that nothing said would ruin their relationship, she could tell he wanted, perhaps needed this bit of space away from her because of whatever had happened to him.
"Ok, Danny." She sighed, trying to give him a reassuring smile before going over and sitting on the ottoman. "So what exactly is this meeting about? You were vague over the phone, claiming it was a serious matter and that it required our presence."
"Yes. I believe that what we will be talking about today would better be discussed in person rather than over the phone. Now, before we begin, does anyone have anything they would like to say?" Penelope said, looking around at the assembled group, her eyes briefly landing on Danny.
"I do!" Jack said enthusiastically. "Vlady! Is that your old El Camino from college? It looks brand new, almost as if it just rolled off the showroom floor. Looks in much better shape than when I last saw it."
"Well, maybe that is because the last time you saw it, you drove it into a telephone pole at 60 miles per hour?" The elder halfa replied, glaring at the fat man.
"Oh, come on, Vlad. You can't still be mad about that, can you? That happened years ago." Jack said. Unfortunately for him, it appeared his friend wasn't so forgiving.
"Ooookay." Penelope said, breaking up the awkward tension. "So, Danny. How would you like to start?"
The boy appeared to be having trouble saying whatever he felt needed to be said, his parents noticed. Then, all of a sudden, a small smile bloomed on his worry stricken face, almost as if someone had whispered something encouraging to him. Maddie thought it odd that he glanced to his left to the empty space beside him and that his left and began to close only to stop, almost as if he was holding an invisible hand.
"Mom...Dad...Do you remember, before you left, when I tried to talk to you?"
Jack shook his head no but Maddie said that she vaguely remembered him mentioning something about Sam.
"Well...something came up...between her and I..." He said, reluctant to simply state what had happened.
"Take your time, Danny. We are here for you." Penelope said.
He didn't initially react to her words, Maddie noticed. He glanced to the empty spot again and gripped the invisible hand again before he began to speak. When it started, it began slow but built up into an emotional confession.
He talked about how he had recently started to have feelings for the girl, seeing her as more than just a friend. He explained how he had finally plucked up the courage to tell her. He told them about finding her in the heat of the moment with someone else, leaving out the part where that someone else happened to be a ghost and that his ex girlfriend had also confronted him. A tear fell from his eye when he told them how he had been held against his will and forced to watch her and her new lover have sex. How she had spat cum in his face. How he had been tossed in the mud by the boyfriend afterwards.
At this point, Jack and Maddie wanted to interrupt, to say how horrified they were that their son had been treated in such a way but Penelope stopped them, informing them that there was more to the story.
Danny continued with how both she and Tucker had abandoned him. The hurtful text messages she had sent. He completely broke down when he began to explain the day he had made his suicide attempt. He had to leave out several details, including his visit to Vlad, being on the roof with Kitty, Penelope, and Ember, and falling over the side. He simply said he had hidden in the bushes near the school entrance and that was how he had been found.
By the time he had finished, his eyes were bloodshot and the sweatbands had come off to show his parents. Everyone's reactions were different. Vlad was looking at the floor in shame. Jazz was letting the tears silently fall from her eyes. Jack was absolutely speechless and shocked at what he had just been told. Penelope was doing her best to keep her emotions and powers together, lest she reveal herself to the ghost hunters. Finally, there was Maddie.
"I don't understand." She said.
"I understand this information is difficult to take in, Mrs. Fenton." Penelope said.
"No. It isn't the fact that of what Danny did that troubles me." Maddie replied, narrowing her eyes at Vlad. "The story seems off at some places. What was Vlad doing at the school? How come neither he nor Jazz called an ambulance when they found him dying? How were you able to give him a proper blood transfusion in the time it would take you to travel from school to your mansion?"
"Mom, he saved me. The events are kinda blurry but he saved..." Danny tried to say.
"No, Danny! This doesn't make sense!" His mother interrupted. "One of you is hiding something."
Getting up from her seat, she marched over to her former college friend and glared down at him. He simply looked up from the ground and glared back at her.
"What did you do to my son?" She growled.
"I saved his life." The elder halfa hissed back.
"Cut the bullshit! You did something to my son! What was it?"
"I didn't do..." He tried to defend himself.
"Did you give him the booze that he drowned his sorrow in?"
"Mom! No! He didn't..." The boy interjected.
"Did you give him the razor?" She yelled over her son.
"I would NEVER harm Danny!" Vlad roared back, getting to his feet now.
"Don't lie to me! You did something to him! Otherwise you wouldn't have been at the school when you showed up."
"I was just..."
"Did you have second thoughts about killing my son?" Maddie asked, now hysterical. "Did you think that if you saved his life that I might finally fall prey to your seductions?"
Now everyone in the room was silent. Not even Jack bothered to cut in at his wife's latest remarks.
"Well...let me tell you something, Vlad. I knew that you liked me back in college. I knew what all those little gestures meant. The study sessions. The early morning coffee and breakfast runs. The compliments and the anonymous gifts. I knew they were from you." She said, venom dripping from her voice.
Vlad looked stunned. She knew. She had known all along.
"Why?..Why...didn't...you...say...anything?" He asked quietly.
"Because I never liked you in that way." Maddie replied.
There was a pause...a tension that had built up during the argument that had now come to this climactic revelation.
*SMACK*
The sound of flesh being struck shattered the silence.
Maddie clutched at her cheek, her face stinging. Vlad's hand was still raised, it too turning an irritated red from the force of the strike. He was breathing heavily through his nose, his chest pushing rapidly at his suit, his eyes dilated.
"YOU BITCH!" He roared.
"Vlad! What are you..." Jack said, finally coming to his senses and trying to come to his wife's aid.
"Shut up, you imbecilic, fat fuck!" The elder halfa shouted at his former friend before turning back to Maddie. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you toy with me like that if you never liked me?"
Vlad paused, running a hand through his hair before continuing.
"Do you know how long I wondered how different things could have been if I had gotten the chance to ask you? Do you know how much I wanted to tell you my feelings before that accident happened? The one that was caused by your idiotic husband?"
"I thought you knew." Maddie replied. "I thought Jack had told you we were dating before the accident happened."
There was another pause before Jack replied. "Oh...must have slipped my mind to tell him."
A third pause...much thicker than the other two because of the implications this latest revelation brought up.
Laughing broke the silence. Not the joyful or boisterous laughing like one in response to a joke. No. This one was crazed. Maniacal.
"You...forgot?" Vlad asked before giggling like a madman again. "You forgot?"
Fearful now, Jack nodded.
"So...you forgot to tell me that the two of you were dating and that Maddie had no interest in me. Did you just forget to run a final systems check on our prototype in college? Did you just forget to check the calculations to see if the math was correct? Did you just forget TO SEE IF I WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF THE PROTOTYPE WHEN YOU TURNED IT ON?!" Vlad asked, starting out softly, allowing his voice to rise with each question before bellowing out his final statement.
The Fenton parents were afraid. They hadn't known that Vlad could hold in such rage.
"You ruined my life! I blamed you for the accident and never forgave you! I blamed you for proposing to Maddie, the girl I had a crush on! But you don't know the full extent of your idiocy, now do you?" The elder halfa said condescendingly. "See for yourselves."
With that, black rings formed around Vlad's middle before running up and down his body, transforming him into his alter ego, Vlad Plasmius.
"The Wisconsin Ghost?" Jack said incredulously.
"Yes, you bumbling excuse for a scientist. Your idiocy mutated my DNA, essentially killing a part of me and causing me to gain ghostly powers."
"You tried to kill me!" Jack said, now staring fearfully at Vlad.
"Yes. I thought with you out of the picture, I could finally have my chance with Maddie. Finally have the love of my life. Have the family I always wanted." He replied before shooting a disgusted look at her. "But it seems that was all for naught. Years of my life...wasted on dreaming what could have been. What a fool I've been"
Turning back to Jack, the elder halfa said, "Somedays, I wish your idiocy would have killed me. Killed me so I wouldn't have to live out those years of wondering what could have been. Killed me so that I no longer have to know that Maddie never loved me like I did her."
"That can be fixed!" Maddie said before snatching the ecto launcher off her husband's back and aiming it at her former best friend.
"Fitting." Vlad spat. "Jack pushes me halfway into the grave. It's only proper that you finish the job."
"Vlad! Don't do this!" Danny exclaimed, trying to get off the couch but seeming to struggle with some invisible force.
"You have so much to live for, Danny. You have a whole life ahead of you. People that love and care about you. Your parents, your sister, and Kitty. Me? I wasted my life trying to obtain the unobtainable. I have nobody to love me. Nobody that wants me." He said, not wanting to look at his little badger for fear of his resolve breaking before turning his attention back to Maddie. "Do it. Do it and put me out of my misery."
Yet...Maddie faltered. Part of her desperately wanted to pull the trigger and end his existence for his attempts at seducing her and trying to kill Jack. Yet another part of her couldn't. He had been one of her best friends. They had so many memories together. Small though it was, she did feel guilty for not telling him that she had noticed his subtle advances during college and that she wasn't interested.
"I...I..." She stuttered, her finger floating above the trigger.
"Do it now, Maddie." He said, his eyes no longer showing hatred but rather pleading with her. "Just end it."
Before anyone could react, there was a dull thud before Vlad's eyes closed and he crumpled to the ground, reverting back to his human form. Behind him stood Penelope Spectra, her fist glowing red, anger and despair in her eyes while tears flowed freely from them.
"Idiot." She choked out before bending down, slinging one of his arms over her shoulder, before standing back up.
"You." Maddie said, stunned at the demonstration before leveling her weapon at Penelope. "Now I remember you."
"Yeah." Penelope growled back.
"We might be able to reconcile with Vlad." Maddie said, "You however, I have no problem ending and conducting experiments on."
"Like Hell you are!" Kitty said, speaking up for the first time and becoming visible. "She just saved your former friend from committing suicide by you and this is how you repay her? This is how you repay one of the people that helped your son, MY BOYFRIEND, realize he has so much more to live for?"
"This...she...you..."Maddie spluttered, switching her aim between the two ghostly girls, now unsure of who to shoot.
"Mom..." Danny said, standing up and looking pleadingly at his mother. "Please put the gun down."
"Danny...I don't know what is going on...but I need you to sit back on the couch and let your father and I figure this out.
"Mom..." He said, this time more forcefully while white rings formed around his middle and he began to change into Phantom form. "Put...the gun...down."
"D-D-Danny?" She whispered, watching as her baby boy turned into the ghost they had put the most effort into ending and experimenting on.
"Vlad wasn't the only one that got hurt by one of your mistakes." He said simply.
That was it. Those words were all it took for Maddie to break down. She dropped the launcher to the floor and crumbled to her knees crying.
Danny sighed. It was over. Never did he imagine that this talk with his parents would end up like this. He turned his attention to Spectra before saying, "Can you take care of him? Do you want Kitty, Jazz, and I to be there when he wakes up?"
"I think I can manage that." The misery ghost said, "I think you need to be here with your family. Patch things up and explain what really happened."
Nodding his head, Danny turned towards his mother before getting to his knees and embracing her.
"Its our fault. All our fault." Maddie choked out.
"Shhhh. I'm here, mom." Danny cooed in her ear.
Kitty was the next to move. She wrapped her arms around Danny and began to nuzzle his cheek.
Then Jazz moved, going around and putting her arms around her mother from behind.
Finally, Jack came to his senses. Moving to the side, he gently wrapped his arms around the group.
Sighing, Penny looked at the group one more time before disappearing in a whirlwind of mucus.
***A Few Hours Later***
As Vlad came back to the conscious world, he groaned at the pain going through his head.
"Ugh, what hit me?" He said before slowly opening his eyes.
"That would be me." Came a voice from above him. When he finally looked up, he saw Penelope glaring down at him. From what he could tell, he was lying on the cold, hard ground and she was sitting on his chest.
*SMACK*
"Ow!" Vlad exclaimed when he felt the misery ghost smack him.
"You stupid idiot!" She growled. "Did you listen to anything I told you this morning?"
"Yeah, you explained that Daniel and I were more alike than what we originally thought." The elder halfa replied.
*SMACK*
"Stop hitting me!" He shouted, feeling the sting of the second slap on his other cheek.
"What else did I say?" She continued, ignoring his complaints."
"You said that Bertrand broke up with..."
"Before that." Penny said.
"That...that someone was trying to pull me out of the state that I'm in?"
"Yes!" She sighed. "Who do you think I meant when I said that. And please don't make me hit you again for guessing the wrong person. I'd like to think that you aren't as clueless as Danny can sometimes be."
"You?" The elder halfa said, getting an idea where this conversation was going.
"Yes. Two for two. Now let's see if you can get another. Do you know why I knocked you out and stopped you from committing suicide?" She asked, a mix of hope and exasperation in her voice.
"You...you care about me?" Vlad asked.
"Yes." She said before gently leaning down and resting her head on his chest. "Why do you think I've stayed with you these past few days? Why do you think I got drunk and slept with you last night to distract you from the gun in your lap?"
"I...I hadn't thought about it like that." He said.
"I know." Penny replied. "Kinda hard to think straight when you are going through self doubt and self loathing."
"So why me?" The elder halfa asked. "Why would you want to be with a miserable halfa like me who only just got over his college crush?"
"You know what they say. Misery loves company." Penny mused. "I figured that if we stick together long enough, we might not be miserable anymore."
A ghost of a smile came to Vlad's face at this.
"Long enough?"
"If you are willing to give it a try." She replied.
"Yeah. I'd like that." He said, picking his head up off the ground and moving to kiss the redhead on his chest...only to feel a finger on his lips.
"First, though, there is something you need to do." She said. Sitting up on his chest again, she leaned to her right to grab something to show it to him.
His photo album.
"What?" He asked.
Sighing, she got off his chest and helped him into a sitting position. It was then that he realized where he was. He was back in his mansion, sitting before the fire place.
"If we are going to start something and if I'm going to help you through whatever you are dealing with, you have to stop torturing yourself with these memories."
"What would be the point? I'm bound to see Jack and Maddie about town if I'm going to try and help Daniel." He countered.
"I know." She replied, "But I can at least stop you from bringing back the memories on purpose."
With that, she handed him the photo album.
"Get rid of them. Please." Penelope said.
As he had been earlier that morning, Vlad was hesitant to forever destroy the album.
"Will things get better if I do this?" He asked.
"I can't promise that they will right away," She answered, "But I can promise that I will help you make new, better memories later down the line."
Vlad closed his eyes, mentally arguing with himself on what he should do before...
There was a flutter of pages, a thud in the fire place, and a small could of ash kicked up as the photo album landed in the fire. He watched at the book seemed untouched by the flames for a few seconds before it caught. The cover began to blacken, the pages birthed tongues of fire, and smoke billowed from the new fuel source.
Once more, Vlad felt a tear escape his eye. This would be the last one he would shed for Jack, Maddie, and his old college days.
"Was it difficult?" Penelope asked.
The elder halfa nodded his head.
"Kitty said Danny had much the same problem. The first step is always the most difficult, but I promise I will help you with the next." She said before leaning in and planting a kiss on his lips. It started out small but grew more passionate as the seconds ticked by and the album turned to dust.
Penelope moaned into his mouth before separating. "Wanna go someplace more comfortable?" She asked seductively.
Vlad nodded before leaning in to kiss her again. The two teleported to his bedroom, leaving the album and his memories to slowly burn away.
