I just spent an hour on this. It's a little shorter then usual but I'm hoping that with the content you will be happy.
Edit: Hehe, oops. I realised that some of this might not make too much sense (Thank you to Atea1793 for pointing this out). I've made slight changes to this and the previous chapters for this, but nothing too major.
Onwards!
I pace in front of the fireplace in the library where I had not too long ago fought Phantom. There is no possible way for me to sleep after what I just discovered. For the past twenty years, thinking I was the only one. And now I find the son of the fat oaf has created another half-ghost.
His son no less.
With this new found knowledge, I will never be able to go back to being the only half-ghost. I need to get the boy to see that I never meant to harm him. That may be slightly difficult. Considering what I just put the boy through just a few hours prior. From what I viewed of his abilities during that encounter, he definitely has a way to go. Although, he has done fairly well for himself. Living with ghost hunters as parents and being put through all that he has at such a young age cannot be good for him. But he has handled it well; as far as I can tell.
Maybe I could train him. He could definitely learn a thing or two – more actually. It would be safer here than in his own home I'm sure. I would have to approach him carefully, sort of like how I would with Anna-belle on her 'bad' days. Breaking the news to him could make or break the plan.
The only problem with getting Daniel here is Anna-belle. How would she take all this? That is, if she found out about ghosts. As far as I am aware, she still knows nothing – and if she does, she has hidden it well. I had planned to keep it that way. However, with multiple ghosts in the castle, she is bound to figure something out eventually. It's only a matter of time.
I can't help but think that this would be much easier to handle if she wasn't here. Although, she has made me see a way to be a little more sensitive to people. Which will definitely come in handy when dealing with Daniel tomorrow.
Just at noon, all of the other guests arrived and the reunion started. I got dressed in the tux that I brought from Amity and made my way downstairs with my parents. After some dull introductions with a lady, who I think is Harriet Chin, I made my way to a table off to the side.
My parents were currently in the middle of people 'dancing'. Jazz hiding off in the theatre watching old football games, and Anna-belle is...somewhere.
It was quite a surprise meeting Belle (her name is just too long to not shorten it, and she seemed cool with the name anyway). It was a bit awkward trying to communicate at first, but when she showed me her room last night, she found a pen and paper and that is how we talked the rest of the night. I've actually been able to tell a lot from just her expressions and gestures though. The only topic she avoided talking about was where her parents were and where she used to live before coming here – she did tell me that she has been here for half a year though. We mostly just hung out in her room, eventually making our way to the entertainment area where we found a huge TV with a console and a number of games, which is were we spent another few hours before we became exhausted.
I can't say I had the best sleep. Don't get me wrong, the bed is like a cloud to sleep on! Just a few ghostly influences interrupted a decent amount of my sleep. I can feel the slight bruising on my stomach still from that ghost. I don't think I've ever met a ghost as powerful as that one.
Actually, I know I haven't.
I'm still a little confused as to how Mr Masters found me in the hall. It was 2am after all. But I guess its a good thing that he was cool with it and didn't seemed to bothered. As long as that ghost doesn't show again, then the rest of the day should go smoothly and I'll be back in Amity Park in no time.
A tap on the shoulder brought me out of my thoughts and I focused again on Belle's smiling face. "Hey, Belle."
She just waves in greeting. She wears a similar outfit to what she had on when she arrived yesterday. The only difference is her hair, which has been pulled back into a bun at the back of her head. Although, looking closer, I notice shadows under her eyes that are trying to hide behind her black glasses, which I didn't happen to notice at breakfast this morning.
"Did you sleep last night?" I question. Belle holds up her pointer finger and thumb close together, a little.
"Ah, Anna-belle and Daniel. Just the people I wanted to see." Both of us turn at the voice behind us. Mr Masters stands there smiling down at us.
"Oh, hey Mr Masters," I greet in the same manner. Belle next to me just looks between the two of us with that same look that my sister gets when she is trying to figure something out.
"Anna-belle, I was wondering if I could speak with Daniel. You know, man to man," the older man says.
Anna-belle then signs something to her uncle while I stand a little awkwardly off to the side.
"I only need him for a few minutes, then you can go talk again."
She then continues to sign. Which I should probably learn if I want to properly speak with her.
"Yes, I will find you when we are done. Come now, Daniel," Mr Masters says to me and walks to the open doorway of the ballroom.
"I'll meet you later," I say to Belle as I make my way to follow the man. I only feel a little guilty for leaving her in the middle of the ballroom with the adults, but my curiosity takes preference as to what Mr Masters wants. Besides, this shouldn't take too long from what the man said.
We made our way to a small doorway just past the stairs, all the while with Mr Masters greeting the guests. Inside the room, I was a little shocked. It looks just like the lab in the basement of my house. I wandered into the room and past the benches. Mr Masters stayed at the doorway watching as I explored around the space. I came up to a bench with a framed photo of a younger Vlad Masters and my parents.
"I'm sorry, Daniel." I don't turn to the man standing in the doorway, still looking at the very well kept photo.
"What for?"
"I've done something despicable to you. You should know that I never meant to hurt you." A dark flash of light made me turn to the man. Only it's not Vlad Masters standing there. Instead it's the ghost that I fought last night.
Gasping, I take a step back and turn into my own ghost half. "You- you attacked me!"
He rolled his red eyes at me. "Dear boy, I only did that because Danny Phantom trespassed into my territory. If I had known it was you, I would have never have attacked you."
"Really? But what about those vultures? They tried to attack dad."
"Yes. Those vultures must have known your father was here and attacked the man. He is a ghost hunter after all. However, why would I attack the only other half-ghost in the world?"
"Because you're a Fruit-loop."
"Really? Nicknames, Little Badger?"
"Wait," I say, now relaxed around him. Of course, I was still watching him carefully, still wary about the amount of power that he holds. "How did you know?"
"You passed out and morphed back into your human-half. I am sorry about how I attacked you last night, Daniel," he adds at my wince. As he turns back to his human-half, I do the same.
"It's okay I guess," I say placing the photo frame back down on the work bench.
"When did it happen, if you don't mind me asking?"
"About two months ago." I say knowing what he is referring to, but not willing to say exactly what happened.
"I must say, you have a very good handle on your powers for only two months."
"Thanks." Maybe I could trust Mr Masters. He could show me a lot of things that I didn't even know were possible till this weekend. Having an experienced person helping me out with my powers will definitely benefit me. But would he be willing to help me? "Hey, since you're not trying to kill me, and you did say that you've had your powers for twenty years, do you think you could show me a few things sometime?"
"It would be my pleasure, Daniel. However, it will have to be at a later date. We are in the middle of my college reunion. Perhaps you could come and stay here for a few days in the holidays and I could help you out."
"That would be great!"
We made our way back to the ballroom after that, where I met up with Belle again. We spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between the ballroom and the video game room. Just before dinner, people started to make their way out. My family and I stayed for dinner before loading into the Fenton RV for the trip back to Amity Park, of course, not without exchanging IM details with Anna-Belle and getting Vlad's phone number (he told me to call him that rather than Mr Masters all the time) in case I needed to contact him.
One thing was certain: things were going to be different.
And that's a wrap! No seriously, this is where I was originally planning on finishing this thing. But considering the amount of people that have viewed (just hit 1000! woop woop!) this story, I will be more than happy to continue this thing! I do love these characters! If I do end up putting more chapters up, they most likely won't be out till the 25th (stupid exams).
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Kman1800: I may end up doing that! I will need some more free time first...
MeMeLaLa: You may have to wait a little for more of Anna-belle's reaction to it all, sorry!
Thank you all so much for reading! :D