Fang: Here it is, the chapter we've all been waiting for since the beginning. *insert drumroll here* I actually wrote this about a year ago and it's been sitting on my computer since... it just needed a story to go with it. Don't worry, I don't plan to abandon this story, there's still a fair bit to go. I tweaked a couple things to make it compatible with the story line, but it's unchanged for the most part.
In time little badger, in time. It was my parting thought after I proclaimed my defeat at the hands of 'Jack Fenton' at the reunion. My plans had gone awry, due to a single wildcard no one could have foreseen. New plans were suddenly made possible. Hopes, visions, and dreams spiraled in my head. Not only was there a beautiful wife, but a powerful and resourceful son was there to be taken. As skilled as I am in manipulation it was a nearly impossible task. Over time it was clear that a choice would have to be made. Maddie or Daniel. A nearly impossible choice, but it was mine. I watched the boy after I discovered his existence as a hybrid. It was very nearly physically painful. He made so very many of the mistakes I did in my early years. The problem with maintaining his tangibility alone could have been corrected in a matter of weeks under my tutelage, rather than months.
Due to his inherent stubbornness and unwillingness to join me I was forced to teach him the hard way. He would not accept the lessons I had to offer willingly, therefore, the lessons I taught were by their very nature brutal. His increasing fights with ghostly rivals kept his training in combat going apace, but he still lacked finesse. His bad habit of charging headlong into fights was going to be the death of him. The simple expedient of pummeling him every time I saw that particular mistake in our combats soon taught him cunning. Each time I fought him he grew faster, stronger, and more agile. His powers progressed faster than my own had. In truth, I was startled, in the span of two years; he learned to fight me to a standstill. It only made me more determined to obtain him for my own, a worthy heir, one that would inherit all of my wealth and prestige.
But I digress, even with all of his and mine hard work, progress, and sacrifice; one cannot remain eternally vigilant in the face of all one's enemies when surrounded on all sides. It was inevitable that a near-fatal mistake would be made. It is fortunate that I was there in time to prevent the worst. The truly tragic and ironic part of all this is that his demise would have been at the hands of those he loved most.
The memories of that night will haunt my nightmares for eternity.
It is strange how one event can alter one's perception of the world. At this time of day I should be in my weekly Monday morning meeting. My companies can survive without me for a time; my priorities seem to have been rearranged. The medical supplies drag at my steps as I exit my private lab and the ambient green light from my portal is abruptly cut off as I make my way to Daniel's room. I could cut a considerable amount of time off of the journey by simply phasing through the intervening walls and floor, but the time can be put to use with thought.
I should be happy; I am on the brink of achieving one of my goals. On the other hand, the Fentons now know my secret, as well as Daniel's. After that conflict and the violent resolution thereof, I have given up any chance I ever had of obtaining Maddie. All of this is for Daniel's sake. Was it worth it? The steady rhythm of my steps falters as I ponder the question. Yes, it was worth it. It was worth the sacrifice. My hate burns as brightly as it always has, perhaps brighter now that I can add Daniel's suffering as well as my own to the core of it. What I lost is as nothing beside what I have to gain.
Daniel is much slower in recovering his strength than is normal for our kind; both his ghost and human halves were badly damaged on THAT night. Had I brought him to a normal hospital rather than to my mansion he would have met the final death by now.
My musings are interrupted by my door being pounded upon. A duplicate quickly takes the medical supplies from me as I go to answer. Only two groups of people would dare to intrude in such a manner. Considering the fact that the Guys in White have no reason to bother me at the moment, it can only be what is left of the Fenton family. This will most likely require some creative blackmailing.
I choose my position carefully; the outcome of this is just as important as that of any battle that I have participated in. At the center of the grand staircase I stop and cross my arms. They won't stop at merely pounding on my door, and forcing them to come to me provides a slight advantage. Predictably, the door explodes inwards in a cloud of green smoke and fragments.
"You did realize that the door was unlocked, didn't you?"
Maddie glares at me as the smoke clears. "What have you done with our son, Vlad."
I pause for effect. Both of the elder Fentons are here as well as Daniel's one of his friends and sister. "Your son Maddie? The boy that I took from your residence yesterday after you vivisected him?" My eyes widen in false innocence and I slap a scandalized hand to my chest. My eyes narrow as I see her and Jack stiffen at the verbal jab. Daniel's friends look flabbergasted. Maddie's face falls in shame as she pleads. "Please Vlad, he's our son. Let us see him." The utter sorrow in her face creates a hollow feeling in my chest, but that void quickly fills with rage. "I'm not going to let you anywhere near him after what you did! You nearly killed him for being what he is! For being what you created with your own carelessness!" Twenty three years' worth of rage. Twenty three years' worth of loneliness; it comes down to this, and I find myself more enraged over what they did to Daniel. Go figure.
"We didn't know who he was! We thought…"
"You didn't think! All you saw was another ghost. You didn't CARE enough to figure out that ghosts are rational and intelligent beings in their own right. You didn't notice that your son was Danny Phantom, you didn't care that he was stopping the vast majority of ghost attacks on that pathetic little town. It is only now that you are paying the price, that you stop and take notice of these things."
Maddie burst into tears. That hollow feeling was back, and not even the sight of Jack wrapping his arms around her with tears running down his face managed to wake either rage or satisfaction. I watch silently for a moment. The emotions trying to overwhelm me are pushed aside, I have the advantage, and if it isn't used I could very well lose my chance.
Only now does Jack speak up "How did it come to this Vladdie? How could it happen?"
Cold echoing laughter resounds around the hall, even to me it sounds incredibly bitter. "What are you referring to? Our powers? Or your son's mutilation by your hands?"
His temper finally snaps. "All of it, you freak!" His ectogun snaps towards me as he says it. Really? What good is that toy going to do him?
I tilt my head to the side as an amused grin flits across my face. "Freak am I?… A freak you created my dear friend." The grin mutates into something resembling a predator's snarl more than any true smile, fangs and all. "A freak just like your son." A flicker of satisfaction comes from the look of abject horror and shame in his eyes at that statement. "My powers came from that little accident in college all those years ago. As for Daniel's, well, IF he ever trusts you again I'm certain he'll tell you."
Maddie's quietly pleading voice cuts the argument short. "Is he going to be alright?"
I lower my voice further. "I got him stabilized, had I brought him to a hospital rather than here he would be dead by now. Due to the damage that you and Jack caused he is healing at a rate that is much slower than normal for us, but yes, he will live."
"May we see him?"
"No, but if it will put your mind at ease… Jasmine, Samantha, YOU may go see him."
A quick mental check of my duplicate reveals that the boy is awake, if only just. Jasmine pauses as she passes me. "I know what you are doing Vlad, and I don't appreciate it." Her voice is low enough that Samantha, who had paused as well a few feet away, was unable to hear.
"My dear girl, you know as much about how the human mind works as I. You know that forcing him to come home under the circumstances would be disastrous for all involved." A cold glare is the only response I receive. Ah, clever girl, just like her mother. "Straight down the hall, two lefts and a right, third door down." I will have to move Daniel to a new room later.
She motioned for Samantha to follow her and went in the direction I had indicated. I return my gaze to where the Fentons are standing. Maddie still has her head tucked under Jack's chin. Reasonably certain that I would not be attacked in a small moment of distraction, I turn my attention to my duplicate and watch through it's eyes at the scene unfolding in Daniel's room. As the door opens I will the duplicate to become invisible, it wouldn't do to let them know they have an observer.
"Danny?" Samantha calls out. She enters first with Jasmine right behind her. The thick carpet muffles the sound of her combat boots as she hurries towards Daniel in the dimly lit room.
"Sam? Jazz?"
"We're here, little brother." Jasmine brushes some of Daniel's hair back from his face. He's still far too pale from ectoplasm and blood loss, seemingly a wraith in truth rather than a hybrid.
Clouded blue eyes slowly focus. "I thought you were still in Amity."
"No, Danny, we came to see you." Comes his sister's soft reply. "How are you feeling?"
"Right now? Not much of an'thing. Weird glowie stuff makes the pain go 'way. Tired."
His eyes begin to drift closed and the two girls look at each other. I direct the duplicate out of the room and to the other side of the door. Turning it to a human appearance in a flash of black rings I knock on the door frame and push it open. "He needs his rest." I say softly. They look up at me with expressions devoid of their normal resentment. Samantha lays her hand softly on Daniel's shoulder before nodding at Jasmine. They both get up and begin walking out the door.
"Jazz…" Daniel's soft voice interrupts them mid-stride. "I don't want to go back."
"I… understand, little brother." From where I stand in the doorway I can see the tears that have begun running down her face at that statement. They continue past me, out the door, and into the hall.
"Jasmine, may I have a moment of your time?" She freezes for a split second before relaxing again. Jasmine shares another long glance with the other girl before I see Samantha nod slightly and continue down the hall to where the Fentons and Daniel's other friend are still waiting. She turns towards me with her arms crossed, waiting.
"Even if he goes back with them willingly, it will never be the same. Every time he sees them it will be overshadowed by what they did to him." I let the sorrow I feel color my voice, enemy or not, no one deserves what Maddie and Jack did to Daniel.
"I know," was the only response I received. She looks uncertain, as if struggling with a decision. It isn't Jack, Maddie, or even Samantha that I have to sway to my view of things. Right now Jasmine is the most important piece to my plans. She can sway the others to do almost anything. Her skill at manipulation, despite her young age, very nearly matches my own. "I can give him the world Jasmine, even if that is not what he wants I can ensure that he has a future unmarred by the kind of hardship that is certain if he continues to refuse my help. Think about it, hmmm? In the meantime…" I gestured for her to precede me. As soon as she turned away I let the duplicate vanish. Samantha had already reached the grand staircase where I was still standing silently.
"Thank you." The quiet statement startles me, and I look at her quizzically. "Thank you for saving his life."
"You are welcome." I look away from her and back towards the Fentons. "Contrary to what you or THEY might believe, I do indeed care for Daniel." Her look of disbelief is amusing in it's own right. "What? You don't think I would jeopardize my secret for just anyone do you?"
Jasmine's reappearance from the hall cuts our conversation short. She proceeds silently down the steps with Samantha close beside her. It's interesting to watch the silent communication between them. No matter, they will come to the conclusion that I want them to, but for now…
"Jack," he looks up at me with distrust and wariness, "you do realize that if you betray my identity, Daniel's will be compromised as well. What you did to him would be nothing compared to what the Guys in White would if they knew."
His face twists in a snarl. Ah, how gratuitous to see my hatred returned full force. "You would reveal his identity if yours was? You would put him in that kind of danger just to get back at us?"
"Of course not! If they realized that our existence was even possible they would figure it out on their own. Our signatures are unique, once they figured out the connection it would only be a matter of time. In the end it wouldn't matter if I told them or not, the result would be the same. The GiW hunters may be incompetent idiots, but the scientists employed by the division aren't."
The last of what I had hoped to accomplish is set into motion. All I can do now is hope that everything goes according to plan. With Daniel's life hanging in the balance they will not dare to compromise my identity. Any future plans concerning Amity Park will now have to be handled very carefully now that they know to watch for my interference. In the end it won't matter what they do, I will not relinquish Daniel, especially now. The perfect son. My hate flares, showing itself in my eyes.
"You've overstayed your welcome, leave. Now."
Both Jack and Maddie begin to object, only to be interrupted by a quiet statement from Jasmine. She still doesn't trust me, but this is indeed a step forward.
Maddie looks at me for the first time since I had sent Jasmine and Samantha to see Daniel. "Very well Vlad, we will do as you ask for now, but you can't keep us from him forever."
"That, my dear, will depend entirely on Daniel. IF he wishes to see you I shall call. But in the meantime…" I indicate the gaping hole where my front door formerly stood again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Daniel is due for his next dose of antibiotics."
In the end, they have no choice. I have them in a corner with only one way out, my way. Jack no longer trusts me, and Maddie never did. It's a shame really; that this is what it took to get me to admit that. Daniel's friends understand that I now hold his life in my hands. Jasmine looks up at me with a face as impassive as my own. Her eyes hold challenge while her parent's eyes hold only despair. She will try to mend the family her parents fractured with their carelessness. Never. He is mine now girl. Her eyes narrow, she can see the challenge in my eyes as easily as I can see it in hers. She says something quietly to her parents, even with my enhanced hearing I am too far away to understand. They seem reluctant, but they leave anyway.
Jasmine and Samantha remain. Jasmine looks up at me with a serious expression while Samantha stands quietly behind her, observing everything. "Why?" The simple question is not what I was expecting; I simply raise an eyebrow, certain that I would get an elaboration. "Why are you doing this? Why did you help him?" I look out into the distance, considering. At this point the truth would serve better than any lie. "I saved him because I could not do otherwise. Had he died I would have been alone once again. I came to admire his strength of will and talent. I pushed him so hard in the past so he would improve. Why you ask? Why not? I had nothing to gain by his death, and everything to lose. Does that answer your question?" I turn my head back to look at her, allowing her to see the truth and scincerity in my words.
Jasmine seems to be about to say something when Samantha lays her hand gently on her shoulder. Jasmine looks back at Samantha to see her shake her head. Jasmine frowns but remains silent. She looks up at me once again and nods silently before leaving as she came with Samantha behind her. A short while later I hear the engine of the Fenton's vehicle start up as they leave, bringing this visit to it's end.
So… the battle lines have been drawn, the challenge issued and accepted, and the current conflict declared a draw. As far as I am concerned this ended on a better note than I expected. It is unlikely that my identity is still in danger, and I was not forced to resort to violence to get them to leave. Further bloodshed would not suit anyone's purpose at this point in time.
Check, your move.
Velya: I think it could use some more editing...
Fang: Oh hush, you're just upset that I wrote it without your help. Reveiw please, after all, this is the chapter that inspired the direction of the story.