Another way
Chapter four: Trust
Getting into the Fenton house had been surprisingly easy.
Jack and Maddie worked at home, so he had thought that he would be forced to act as the vengeful spectre in order to lure them away long enough for his double to plant his cameras and listening devices. He could easily turn invisible and sneak inside, but he was worried that they had ghost-detectors set up around the building. They hadn't worked the day before, obviously – although he wouldn't have cared either way in his agitated state – but he knew how fast his old college friends worked, and now that they knew how an actual ghost looked, he fully expected them to have fixed their inventions.
But in the end there was no reason to do anything; he'd barely arrived before the couple came rushing out their front door, shouting something about a ghost at the school. He was instantly worried that Daniel had gotten himself into trouble – for he was surely the only ghost in Amity Park – but he decided to continue with his plan before he followed them to check up on the school; his new project may have gotten itself into trouble it couldn't handle. It wouldn't surprise him; the boy had only just turned and he was surely confused and suffering from a lack of control of his powers. His own had been completely chaotic for a long while as his core grew and matured, only finding some stability after he'd learned to control his new abilities.
After his sweep of the house, he left for Casper High. At first he found the school empty, but he soon realized that all of the occupants were holed up in the auditorium, listening to some longwinded nonsensical speech from Jack. Vlad had grown tired of hearing his kind being described as 'primitive ectosavages' pretty quickly, and tried to find the man's son amongst the rows of teenagers instead. This proved near impossible, though, as the boy seemed to have a talent for blending into the background. A useful trait to hide his secret, certainly, but endlessly annoying when Vlad was trying to locate him. Good thing I already installed those cameras. Although I should probably set up some in the school, as well, come to think of it…
Just as he was starting to give up hope of finding him, he noticed how several students near the back row where muttering and shifting on their seats. Recognizing the effects of being passed through by a ghost and the fact that the phenomenon seemed to migrate in a straight line towards the double doors of the auditorium, Vlad grinned and followed the unseen teenager out into the hall. He wondered why the boy didn't simply fly out of there, instead of passing through his classmates, but then realized that he might not even be aware of the ability yet. That he was displaying such control of his powers already was quite an impressive feat.
As soon as he was out in the hallway, the boy dropped his invisibility and, panting slightly, moved down the hall. Vlad frowned at the staggering teen. Was he having problems because of his core? The boy seemed almost in pain. Vlad's ghost form and his human self hadn't been able to coexist at first, and as such he had episodes of extreme confusion and pain in the first few months of his transformation, but the boy didn't exhibit any of the symptoms he'd had, like body parts randomly changing to their ghostly counterparts. But then he'd only been observing him for a couple of minutes; even if he'd managed to keep his status a secret from the rest of the school – and judging by Jack's unchanged attitude, his family – he could still have had accidents. Even if his transformation was smoother than Vlad's, he must surely be having some difficulties…
The boy entered a bathroom, passing through the doors on his second try. Vlad floated in his wake with a grin on his face. That was well done for his first day as a hybrid, I suppose.
As soon as he popped his head through the door, he saw the boy straightening his back and close his eyes with an expression of intense concentration. A ring of light appeared around his midriff and split in two, gliding up and down his body to leave his ghost form in its place. He opened one eye and glanced at himself in the mirror, his body still tense. When he'd assured himself that everything was in its proper place, he drew a breath of relief and moved closer to the mirror.
Vlad wasn't confused by this in the slightest. When he'd just been changed, he had been forced into his ghost form more often than not, much to his dismay. He was relieved that the boy seemed to have an easier time controlling his transformations than he'd had; it meant he could probably let the boy stay in Amity Park for a while, at least, before convincing him to move to his castle in Wisconsin. It might even be beneficial to let the boy stumble through hybrid-life on his own for a while – that way he would know the value of what Vlad could offer him, when he finally made his proposal – and by then he would be righteously angry with his father for turning him into a ghost-human-hybrid and realize that the man deserved whatever Vlad would do to him. Perhaps he could even convince his mother… but he would have to wait and see how things turned out.
Not that he was going to leave the boy alone completely, of course. He would make sure the boy knew he could turn to him for help with his powers if he needed it.
The young hybrid was staring at his reflection with trepidation. He ran a hand through his white hair slowly, pulling his fringe taut, his eyes crossed to stare at the strands. When he stuck out his tongue, Vlad couldn't help but laugh out loud. The boy spun around towards the sound, eyes wide as he searched the bathroom for the still invisible Vlad.
As he smirked and became visible, the boy let out a cry of shock and stumbled backwards, falling to the floor. He stared up at Vlad with no little amount of fear and Vlad almost – almost being the keyword – felt bad about frightening him. But fear was not too far from respect, and it would hopefully make the boy more compliant if he was afraid of him.
"Should I leave you and the mirror alone, little badger?" he asked in an amused voice.
The other hybrid gaped at him for another second before he said, "I-It's you… the ghost!" still sitting on the floor of the restroom in his ghost form.
"How very observant of you! It is rather rude to refer to someone by their species, son." He commented, lifting an eyebrow in mock disapproval.
The boy blinked in surprise at his civil response. He had no doubt expected Vlad to attack him like some mindless monster. Then he bristled and exclaimed, "Well, it's not like I know your name! ... do ghosts have names?" he mumbled the last part and his fear seemed to subside a bit as he considered that.
Vlad's smile was all confidence and pride as he looked down at the boy from his position several inches above the floor, "Most do, I assure you. My name happens to be Plasmius," he said with a mock bow, his red and white cape flowing around him with the motion, "It is a pleasure to meet you in earnest, my dear boy."
The gesture had the anticipated effect. The boy swallowed and got to his feet slowly, watching the older hybrid for any sign that he was going to attack, "Plasmius? That's a strange name. But not for a ghost!" he added quickly at the look on Vlad's face.
Vlad scoffed, "Think what you will. When someone gives you their name, it is considered polite to give them your own," his eyebrow shot up expectantly, "so let us get the pleasantries out of the way, shall we?"
"Uh, right. My name is Danny…" the boy mumbled. Vlad smiled at how uncomfortable he looked. His first instinct when meeting a ghost would be to flee – at least, his human instinct would be. His new ghost side, however, would size up the interloper to determine if he was a threat to his 'territory'. Since his core had barely even started to develop, the boy was probably very confused by the mixed signals his human and ghostly sides were sending him, which was the only reason the boy had neither tried to run away nor attack him – yet.
He was going to take advantage of that so he could have a conversation with the boy. "Is that short for Daniel?" he asked the hybrid.
"Uh, yeah, it is?" Daniel sent him a suspicious look.
That's a good name, Vlad mused before smiling at the boy, "There's no need to be so afraid of me, Daniel. I'm not going to bite."
Daniel glanced at his fangs and grimaced, obviously not putting his faith in that statement, "I prefer Danny, you know."
Vlad ignored him, "So, Daniel, how are you, hmm? I imagine today must have been quite interesting for you, considering your little accident during our first meeting …"
The boy narrowed his eyes as he seemed to remember that Vlad was supposed to be his enemy, "If you by 'accident' mean when you threw me into the portal…!" he started, only to be cut off by a wave of Vlad's hand.
"I am truly sorry for that, my boy. I did not expect your idiot of a father to have such a volatile experiment out in the open like that."
"That wasn't dad's fault!" the boy insisted.
Vlad rolled his eyes, "Really? Let me guess; he hadn't shielded the powers cords properly, and your fall messed up the system?"
Daniel's eyes fell to the floor as he muttered, "Actually, the … On-button was on the inside…" Vlad's eyes widened. Of course he'd thought of that possibility, but he'd dismissed it, believing Jack couldn't possibly be that stupid. his old college buddy never ceased to amaze.
He sighed and closed his eyes, "Of course, he couldn't possibly make a portal without ensuring that someone got cursed… " his eyes snapped open and he focused on the anxious boy again, "but tell me, how are you doing?"
The boy stared at him, "Doing? Do you mean how I'm doing after you turned me into a ghost?!"
Vlad sighed dramatically, "Those aren't the words I would have used, but in essence, yes. This must all be terribly new to you, my boy. I was worried about you."
Daniel shook his head with an incredulous humph, "You were worried about me? Why would you be? You tried to kill my dad!" He glared at Vlad and the intensity in those green eyes was burning.
"That is between your father and I. Trust me when I say it isn't undeserved."
"What could he possibly have done to deserve having a raging ghost on his tail?!"
Vlad's eyes flared and his voice was shrill with anger as he yelled, "He cost me my life!"
Daniel's eyes widened and he looked at the older hybrid in shock, "Your life? You don't mean that he…"
Vlad closed his eyes and forced himself to be calm, "Not on purpose, if that's what you mean. But his foolishness cost me everything, nonetheless."
When he opened his eyes, Vlad saw the look of pity, mixed with disbelief on the boy's face. Clearly, he didn't entirely believe that his dad could have caused anyone's death – and Vlad was really only half-dead – but Vlad had no reason to lie to him, and his death would explain his hatred towards the boy's father.
His expression softened, "But none of this is your fault, son. Your father's sins aren't yours, and seeing as this is partly my fault, I feel like I owe you my assistance."
Daniel blinked, "Assistance? With what?"
He sighed, "My boy, you might have noticed that you are not quite the same as you were yesterday – "
"No kidding."
" – and there is much that you don't know about your new situation." he finished with a glare. He hated being interrupted by useless comments, but decided to let it slide.
The young hybrid matched his glare, "So? How are you going to 'assist' me with that?"
Vlad groaned, "Your powers, you idiot child! I can teach you how to use your powers!" he screamed.
The teenager stepped back, alarmed by his sudden moodchange, before his eyes flared up in indignation, "What could you possibly teach me? You're not like me, you're a full ghost!"
The irony in that statement made Vlad smirk in amusement, "Hmm, yes, but the part that I'll be teaching will be your ghost-self, son. Surely you don't want to stumble through your adolescence, desperately trying to gain control of your powers? I can train you, teach you everything I know."
Daniel frowned in confusion, " … I still don't understand what you could teach me," he said softly, looking down at the floor again, "I mean, what does it even mean to be a ghost? Half-ghost? What am I supposed to do?" his eyes flickered to Vlad's before dropping again as the boy bit his lip.
The old hybrid suddenly remembered his own turning, how confused and hurt he'd been; he'd been turned into a monster by his best friend and then betrayed and forgotten by him. His sadness had turned into wrath, a hunger for justice. But when he talked to the boy about his new abilities, his situation didn't seem as monstrous; in fact, he was starting to feel like the claim of superiority that he'd been holding all these years was actually true.
Vlad's eyebrows came together, perplexed. How could he have forgotten what it was like those first few months? Considering that this was his first day as a ghost-human hybrid, the boy was handling his situation exceedingly well. Althought, that might just be because he didn't know the full extent of what had happened to him; unlike Vlad, he was just a teenager and from his school records, Vlad could conclude that he had very little knowledge of science in general, not to mention biology. He was probably hoping that it was something that would 'blow over'. He would learn.
He wanted to give the boy a taste of what he could teach him, but what could he do to show him how much he would stand to gain by having Vlad's favour? Perhaps…
"Tell me, boy," he said, drawing his attention back to him, "I heard there was a ghost attack at your school… you wouldn't happen to have had anything to do with that, hmmm?"
The boy's eyes went wide at the implied accusation, "What… you don't think I …? I would never hurt anyone! That wasn't me!" he insisted, his astonishingly green eyes flaring.
Vlad grinned, "No, of course you wouldn't, little badger! But that means that another ghost encroached on your territory doesn't it?"
He looked confused at that, "My… territory?"
"This school. It's where you spend most of your day, so one could definitely say that it is part of your territory. If a ghost invades another ghost's home, then it usually means to challenge the other for its territory."
"Yeah, but it's not like I care about having a 'territory' or whatever." the boy shrugged.
Vlad lifted an eyebrow, "You don't understand. These ghosts are going to try and take control of your home – especially because you're here. That's how they work! Their instincts will have them challenge other ghosts for their territory before they think to establish their own. Your home is in danger from them."
Daniel was quiet as he took all of that in. Then he frowned and looked anxiously up at Vlad, who smiled down at him, "So you see, you would benefit from having a mentor. And I'm making myself available to you."
For a moment it looked like he was going to take him up on his offer; Vlad was sure he saw a flicker of something alike respect in the younger hybrid's eyes, but then he looked away with a sour expression, "How can I trust you?" he asked, but it sounded more like a statement, "You tried to kill my dad … and you almost killed me, too! Why would you care about me all of a sudden, just because I've become a ghost?"
His accusation didn't faze Vlad at all. He'd expected the boy to reject his offer from the moment he first thought of it. But he still had to make it, he had to make sure the boy knew that he could and would help; even if he didn't trust him, there would surely come a time when the stress of being alone, a new breed amongst an inferior race, would get to him. At that time he would come find Vlad on his own.
Instead of defending himself or trying to convince the boy further, he shrugged casually and said, "Call it solidarity, if you will. But very well, it's your decision. If you change your mind, I will gladly help you. Until then – ta!" he waved cockily at the boy as he drifted backwards through the wall, the teen's eyes widening at the casual display of his powers.
When he was out in the hallway, Vlad turned himself invisible and flew up and out the roof of the school. He wasn't leaving yet, but he intended to stay out of the boy's way for now. He would be ready when his chance came.
Danny leaned back against the sink, his hands clamped tightly around its sides. If he had a heart in his current form, it would still be hammering after the visit from the vengeful spectre – or his own personal stalker, I would seem. Take your pick, they're both equally terrifying.
He sighed and slumped. He was grateful that his ghost form couldn't hyperventilate, but he was still strangely agitated; he'd never been a violent person, quite the contrary really, but whenever he saw a ghost he felt aggressive and possessive. That's what Plasmius tried to explain to me, he realized.
It startled him how much he had changed; at first he'd thought the effects were only physical, that he'd simply gained the ability to go invisible and fall through his bedroom floor… but as the day went on, it had become increasingly apparent to him that his mind had been changed as well; when he'd felt the ghost in the kitchens, his core responded with a surge of hostility. He used to shy away from any kind of violence, but now he had to force himself not to engage in it whenever a ghost was near. When the Lunch Lady appeared, he was too confused by his conflicting instincts to make a decision whether or not to attack. Even though her attempt to hurt Sam had almost made the choice for him, he'd faltered at the end.
He groaned and hid his face in his hands. He knew his friends would be worried about him, seeing as he disappeared into thin air – as far they knew – but he just couldn't go back to the auditorium yet. Not only didn't he feel stable enough to go back to his human form yet, but after the conversation he'd just had with the man who wanted to kill his dad, he wasn't really feeling up to pretending that he was still fully and completely human. Not to mention calm.
Man? Since when did he stop being an 'it'? he wondered, before sighing, Since he introduced himself, probably. He looked around the empty restroom, not even seeing the usual graffiti on walls. What do I do, if I'm not going back? He suddenly remembered Plasmius disappearing backwards out the wall. The action had been unsettling, but he couldn't deny the thrill of excitement at realizing that he was able to do the same, if he wanted to. He'd already gone intangible when he jumped through the wall of the kitchen and when he walked through the rows in the auditorium…
His eyes widened. If he could go intangible and invisible, did that mean that he could fly as well? The promise of that idea almost made his knees weak. Was it really possible? He was eager to try, but he had no idea how; the other abilities had manifested themselves instinctually when he was stressed and he'd been able use them again because he remembered how his core had felt when those powers were active. But he hadn't tried flying yet; would he have to throw himself off the roof to figure out how to use that power? He swallowed. I'm not sure I want to test that theory, he thought, as he started pacing, besides, what if I can't fly? I'm not really a ghost, after all. I might not have that ability …even if it would be awesome if I did.
He smiled, and his green eyes became unfocused as he imagined flying, only to realize that he really had no idea what it would be like. It would be awesome, though. Totally. He frowned. He would have to work it out without the 'trial and potentially deadly error'-part.
He laid a hand on his chest, where he imagined he could feel his core thrumming slightly in response. His abilities had appeared right when he needed them, kept him alive even when he was trying to suppress them. If he actually wanted to use them, he was sure it would be much easier, but then why hadn't he just flown the moment he wanted to?
He shook his head in aggravation. Maybe I should stop thinking so much and just do it! It felt weird to be puzzling out his ghost core like this; he was starting to realize that it really was a part of him now, so trying to figure it out was like speculating on the inner workings of his own mind; something he had no doubt Jazz would have loved, but to him it was simply unnerving to not just know what he was, anymore.
Darn it, why couldn't Jazz have gotten this? I'm sure she would think it was a great study and it might make her stop chewing out our parents! He instantly felt bad about thinking that. Being changed had been extremely painful, and he wouldn't want anyone – much less his annoying know-it-all sister – to go through what he had. In retrospect, she might have just freaked out, he mused, a small smile on his face as he imagined his sister droning on about the psychological effects of being half-killed. That was sure to be a depressing lecture.
He closed his eyes and focused on the quiet hum of his core; he had to stifle a growing dread when he felt its presence expand, the energy coursing through his ghost form. He was still uneasy, but the prospect of what he could possibly do with his powers was exciting.
Even though it didn't currently have a physical form, he could feel his core inside his chest; to his human mind it seemed unnatural and he could almost feel it shying away from his ghosthalf, but seeing as the two were irrevocably tied together, and with the bond only strengthening as his body adjusted to the changes, the fight was becoming less and less turbulent. So when both his living- and non-living-self wanted the same thing – in this case flight – finding the right way to active his ability came easily.
He immediately knew he'd gotten it right when he felt a salving sensation spread across his skin; his aura, which had been dimmed since he transformed earlier, flared with energy, but he barely even noticed as he found what he was looking for in his core. He let his head fall back as the feeling of weightlessness overtook him; it felt so natural, just like breathing in his human form, that he couldn't understand why, or how, he thought it would be difficult just seconds ago. In fact, he realized that he felt much more constricted when he tried to keep himself on the ground.
He opened his eyes and looked down. A wide grin spread slowly on his face when he saw his feet hovering slightly above the floor. It was a strange feeling; his ghost side felt perfectly normal, defying the laws of physics, but his human side kept insisting that what he was doing was impossible. He wobbled in the air, barely keeping his balance as his unsteady feet tried to find purchase unsuccessfully.
Come on, Fenton, you can do this! Think like a ghost, be the ghost! he continued encouraging himself as he tried floating forwards slowly. The small movement immediately threw off his balance and he had to fight frantically to regain it.
When he was somewhat steady again, he took a deep breath – which was weird, when he didn't need to breathe, part of him remarked – and tried again. The process of learning even basic control over himself was long and difficult; it took him several minutes to even be able to move forwards safely, but no matter how hard the journey was, he couldn't help feeling ecstatic that he even had the chance to make it. Maybe being a ghost isn't so bad.
After mastering staying in the air without rotating around his own axis unwillingly, he decided that the restroom was getting to be too small for his learning curve. His eyes trailed up towards the ceiling, and with a shrug, he floated upwards. It wasn't as difficult to become intangible to go through the ceiling even while he was flying as he had expected it to be, so he picked up speed and moved through the floor above and out through the roof.
Hovering quietly above the school, he gaped in awe at the sight of the school grounds spread out beneath him, as well as the surrounding town. He wasn't nearly high up enough to see the whole city, but he'd never been to the roof of his own school before, so he was yet again stricken by the unreal thought that he was actually flying.
He peered up at the blue sky above him and wondered how high he could go, but immediately shoved the thought away; he was barely even able to keep himself from splattering on the sidewalk as it was, so it was probably not a good idea to test his limits just then.
Maybe another day.
He started floating forwards, slowly at first, but as he got a hang of it, he sped up, his short, white hair whipped back by the winds. Looking down on the ground whizzing past beneath him, he grinned widely, his green eyes shining with excitement.
He got bolder as he zipped through the air and soon he was doing cartwheels and backflips with the acrobatic grace that he'd never had in his human life. A few minutes later found him floating on his back, his arms behind his head. He was no longer afraid that he'd suddenly fall to his death, but he was still uneasy about flying too high or too far from the school. He looked lazily up at the sky with half-lidded eyes and his thoughts wandered to the older ghost.
He felt really conflicted about him; he'd attacked his dad, but maybe the vague reasons he'd given were actually valid? Danny couldn't imagine his dad doing anything to hurt anyone – well, not intentionally anyway – but maybe the ghost was confused? Danny knew his own mind hadn't been completely up speed when he'd just changed – in fact it was still at bit scrambled – so perhaps it would be too far out for a ghost to have mixed things up a little? Besides, his dad didn't seem to recognize Plasmius… Danny rolled his eyes at that thought. The dude looks like a vampire! There's no way he looked like that in real life. He must have had his appearance changed, like I did. He scratched his neck. I only changed colours though. My hair didn't start pointing in weird directions, and I haven't developed a taste for blood… yet.
He jumped up and settled into a sitting position, with his legs crossed and one hand covering his mouth. Maybe he didn't look like that at first… does that mean that I'm going to change even more than I already have?! Discovering his new ability had made him forget his anxiety for a few, precious moments, but now it was coming back to him. He really had no idea what was going to happen to him, or even what had already happened to him. He was discovering new ghostly talents like crazy since he got his powers, who was to say that something worse wasn't going to happen?
He took a deep, shaky breath, momentarily forgetting that he didn't need to. He was seriously considering telling his parents what had happened with the ghost portal, but every time he managed to convince himself to do it, he remembered their battlecries, the way they describe ghosts as 'vermin' – their hatred of ghosts was so great, that he wasn't sure if it would be safe to tell them. It was strange how something he'd taken for granted his whole life now seemed so fragile; and that was what he was really afraid of. Would his parents still accept him if his 'ghost-phase' was permanent? Even if they do… will they be disappointed? He asked himself.
He was looking at the swirling clouds above, his expression solemn, when a hateful cry pierced the silence. He turned on the spot – or, well, air – and stared with wide eyes down at the wraith of the Lunchlady, who was glaring up at him with fire in her eyes – and not just figuratively.
"You! Why are you still here?!" She screamed, "You were the one who ruined my menu!"
He scowled down at her, "To be accurate, that wasn't me. But you tried to kill us! With dishes!" his fists curled at his side, "Do you have any idea how dirty the school dishes are?!"
The ghost gritted her teeth and lifted her hand. From somewhere around the school, something came flying, glowing with a faint green glow. When Danny looked closer, he realized it was meat, hauled through the air by some invisible force. As he watched it with disgusted awe, the separate pieces formed into a united mass, forming a squat, four-legged creature. Where the face could have possibly been, had this been a real creature, a mouth and a pair of eyes formed, all giving off the eerie light that seemed to be every ghost's birth – or death – right.
Danny felt his jaw fall at the sight. He could feel panic rising in his throat, urging him to run, hide or scream like a little girl, though he knew that it would probably do very little to help him against a ghost and her small meat-monster army, since both were able to phase through walls at will.
But at the same time, he felt that ghost-instinct sending tendrils and anger through him; that ghost was threatening his school, his friends. If he had any time to think about what he was feeling, he would be shocked at the aggressive possessiveness he suddenly felt for his town – or perhaps it had always been there, and had just now gotten the chance to come to the surface.
The meat-monster and its still-forming comrades threw themselves at him at a flick from the Lunchlady's wrist, her pointed teeth showing in a cruel half-smile as he yelled, "Go get that meat-hater!"
Danny gasped at the encroaching enemies, but before he could shake off his fear-induced shock he was hit by one of the sinewy meat-arms. The hit shook his whole body, sending stabs of pain through every nerve as he fell to the ground below, leaving an indent. As he coughed and stared at the dust cloud left from his impact, he groaned, remembering that he could have gone intangible before he hit the ground.
Knowing the Lunchlady was still up there, he got to his feet as quickly as he could, wincing at the pain surging through his aching bones. As soon as he got his sense of balance back, he jumped from the place of his impact with the ground and soared into the air, just in time to see a meat-freak perform a messy cannonball at the place he'd just laid, juices and bits of brownish meat flying everywhere and spraying him head to toe.
He stared at the smashed foe with an unbridled disgust that was only topped by the terror that gripped him when the ghostly familiar started putting itself back together, the slices of ham and roast making a ferocious face at him. He shuddered and glanced up at the Lunchlady, who was grinning madly at her anticipated triumph over this young upstart that threatened her new 'territory'. He could recognize the certainty of victory in her eyes, and for a moment she reminded him of all the bullies he'd ever met; of all the people who had tried to alienate him.
His eyes narrowed at the ghost as a spark of rage suppressed part of the fear in his chest. This ghost wanted to push him around worse than any bully ever had, and he couldn't just back off from the fight and take to the sidelines this time; that simply wasn't an option, when his very presence ignited a deep animosity in both of them. One part of him was screaming at him that he was insane, that he should find a nice, dark corner to hide in, but this new-found part of him fought against his usual cowardice. He realized that he wasn't even sure which part of his nature it belonged to; the human or the ghost.
Before he could settle his inner conflict, he was hit square in the chest by the reformed meatfreak, and he instantly regretted taking his eyes off the enemy in the middle of a fight. Hell, even I know better than that! Where's my head today?! He thought to himself as he felt the fist burrow into his stomach and send him hurtling through the air.
He hit the trees with a painful thud and he cried out in pain, his vision going white a second before his senses came back to him. He found himself sprawled on the ground, his back hurting from the meeting the branches.
He was considering not getting up when a voice rang out to him from somewhere above his head.
"Well well, my boy. You sure got into a scuffle earlier than I anticipated."
The amused tone wasn't lost on Danny, and he stumbled onto his feet, groaning slightly from the pain in his back before his gaze settled on the blue-skinned man before him. He felt a stab of familiar fear at the sight of Plasmius' pointed teeth, but he shoved it down and scowled at the grinning spectre before him.
"Not by my choice," he grumbled, "it's not like I provoked her or anything."
Plasmius' smile widened, "Dear boy, your very presence is aggravating to her, didn't I make that clear earlier?"
Danny shook his head in an attempt to clear the growing ache within it, but the motion only seemed to make him dizzier. "If you're so smart, you tell me how to get rid of her!" he looked up at the older ghost with anticipation.
The smile fell from the spectre's face as he regarded Danny somberly, "I'm afraid there's only one way to 'get rid' of her, as you so eloquently put it, Daniel." His red gaze was intense, "She will not stop attacking you, so your only option is to fight her – and win, of course."
Danny swallowed, "wh-what happens if I don't win?"
The creepy grin returned to the other's face, "Well, then you die, child! Should that not be obvious?"
Danny groaned more in annoyance at the ghost than fear of the Lunchlady who was undoubtedly still scanning the skies for him, "You're a real fruitloop, you know that?"
Plasmius frowned again, "This isn't a trifling matter, son!" he insisted, catching the boy's focus again, "That ghost will not leave you to your own devices, so you will have to fight her, unless you don't mind ending up splattered on the sidewalk."
Danny closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, trembling slightly. He really had no idea what to do. Did he really have to fight? Should he even be listening to this guy's advice? Not only was he a ghost like the other one, he was the ghost that attacked him and his father, and he still wasn't sure why he'd backed off, though he had a nagging suspicion that it was because of his transformation. Perhaps he thought Danny was more interesting than whatever revenge he imagined he owed his father… but what would happen when he finally lost that interest?
Danny opened his eyes and fixed his panicked gaze at Plasmius. "But I-I – I don't know how to fight!" he said, before clamming up, ashamed of the pleading tone of his voice and worried that he'd pissed off the other, more powerful ghost.
But Plasmius only smiled, his sharpened canines making Danny shudder. "Well, you may not trust me yet, Daniel, but if you would be willing to take my advice…" he trailed off, looking at Danny expectantly.
His breath caught. There was his dilemma; could he trust this creature? Would he just be putting his life in more danger by listening to him? I'm gonna get pummelled by the ghost of a lunch-obsessed old woman, he grimaced, hopefully this guy can help me stay in one piece a little longer.
He looked hesitatingly up at the ghost. "Alright, if you have an idea… " at Plasmius' triumphant expression he flushed and stuttered, "Th-this doesn't mean I'll take you as m-my mentor or whatever!"
His outburst wiped the amusement off Plasmius' face and Danny froze when the older ghost glared at him with disdain. "Of course," he drawled in a cold voice that did little the cover the anger underneath his words, "I would not want to force you into anything, Daniel. I came only to offer my abundant knowledge and experience to a random child of fourteen."
Danny's eyes narrowed as he weighed the ghost's words. "Yeah. That's what you said earlier, wasn't it? Or wasn't that the real reason, Plasmius?" he accused the ghost, silently gleeful that he'd caught him in his lie. I may not be an A+ student, but even I could work that one out!
Plasmius face twitched when he realized his subtle slip, but he managed a fake smile as he drew up his hands with his palms out towards Danny in a submissive manner. "Now now, my boy, there's no reason for hostility. Like I told you, I'm here to help," at this he lowered his hands unto Danny's shoulders and the teenager looked up at him in surprise at the gesture, "but if you feel uncomfortable with me, I'll just give you one advice;" the look on his face was serious, "fight her."
Danny blinked. Then he blinked again before saying, "What? What do you mean by that? Isn't that what you're going to teach me how to do?"
Plasmius sniffed and removed his hands from his shoulders and turned around to pace in the air in front of the boy. "I would, but you do clearly not trust me. Besides, we wouldn't have much time to teach you anything; the enemy approaches already."
It was true, Danny realized. He could hear the Lunchlady's rageful screams behind the trees and he glanced nervously in her direction before focusing on his non-mentor again, just as he said, "Which is why the best advice I can give you is; fight, boy."
Danny frowned in annoyance, "How is that different from what I've been doing, if you're not gonna teach me anything?"
Plasmius rolled his eyes, "Because, you weren't fighting her. You were being pummelled into the ground. Repeatedly." He smiled at Danny's red-faced indignation, "I dare say that any kind of resistance would go a long way."
"But she's so much stronger than me…" Danny mumbled, but Plasmius' snort surprised him out of his self-pity.
"Stronger than you? Oh, please, Daniel, you cannot truly believe that? She's somewhat talented at using physical objects in her fights, but as long as you remember to turn intangible she won't be able to hurt you. You could waltz right up to her and knock her out, if you play your cards right."
Danny gaped at him, "Are you serious? But… I … she – she can throw ovens!" he spluttered, not seeing how he could possibly measure up to the ability to move kitchen appliances effortlessly through the air.
The ghost laughed derisively at his shock, "My boy, that's not exactly a rare ability amongst ghosts! Before they materialize properly, their only way to interact with the physical world is to insert their essence into real-world objects. You could develop that ability, too, if you wanted; though I doubt you'll ever really feel the need to. There are many basic ghost-powers that are more useful than that."
"Like what?" Danny asked sceptically, though he couldn't deny the tiny bit of excitement running through him.
"Hmm, perhaps it would be more interesting if you found out on your own… unless you've reconsidered your decision?" at Danny's scowl the ghost grimaced at quickly moved on, "For now, seeing as you are, ahem, new to this, I suggest that you simply punch her."
Danny scoffed at the ghost, "Punch her? Is that the best you can come up with?" He tensed when he saw the dark look crossing the ghost's features before the other visibly schooled himself.
"In your case, Daniel, I believe it's the best either of us can come up with." He smirked, and Danny had a feeling that he'd just been insulted. He was too preoccupied with the roars coming from behind him to retort, however, so instead he took a shaky breath and hovered into the air effortlessly. He missed Plasmius' eyebrows lifting at this, and his expression was back to normal when he looked back at the ghost.
"… thank you," he finally said, and this time he saw the surprise overtaking the spectre's face, "I still don't believe you're doing this just to be nice, but… thanks, I guess." He shrugged.
Plasmius smiled, and for once Danny didn't feel intimidated by the sharp canines. "It's entirely my pleasure, little badger. I truly hope you'll see that I really only want what's best for you." His voice was almost kind and lacked the arrogant tone that Danny had quickly come to know him for. He found himself cracking a nervous half-smile at the ghost.
The moment was interrupted when a roar warned the two ghosts of the meat monster descending on them. Plamius glanced up before phasing into the ground below before the familiar could touch him, while Danny jumped out of the way, once again forgetting to turn intangible. When he decided to take to higher ground, the monster roared and leapt after him.
As he cleared the top of the trees, he had but a split second of warning when he noticed a beam of green light coming towards him, and he span out of the way with a yelp. Wide-eyed, he turned to the source and saw several people gathered by the school, his mother holding a gun smoking anti-ghost gun in her hands. The expression on her face – what he could see of it for the mask and goggles – was horrifying, and he gulped nervously. Apparently he'd have to worry about his mother's aim besides the Lunchlady and her goons.
When he noticed the meat-freaks getting closer, he flew higher up into the air, noticing that his father was standing a bit away from his mother, shooting at the Lunchlady – or rather, shooting anything but the Lunchlady. His father's aim was really that awful. His cheeks flushed with embaressment at realizing that the ghost wasn't even bothered by the man's presence; he was focusing completely on having Danny pursued by her meat-monsters. As he watched, she brought out her hand and screamed something at she pointed at him, and he instantly felt squishy but firm hands around his ankles. Before his foes could drag him down, he curled around himself and threw a fist against the assaulting monster – as hard as he could.
Danny had never hit someone – or something for that matter – in his entire life, as far as he could remember, but being half-ghost didn't only make him glow and fall through his bed, apparently. He felt his knuckles connect with the sinewy flesh and the monster uttered a faint gurgle as the force of the punch tore it away from his legs. Before it could gather its wits, Danny twisted in the air and brought his heel towards the creature in a swift kick. The attack finally made the meat come apart, and the bits fell to the ground and splattered the spectators, who gasped and dodged unsuccessfully.
Encouraged by the small victory, Danny grinned widely and spun around to face the two remaining monsters. A sudden rush of adrenaline surged through him. He knew he had to fight them, but the realization didn't cause him as much discomfort as it had earlier; in fact, he felt excited when he locked eyes with the growling meat-freaks and instinctively crouched in on himself to protect his vital areas. He didn't have any experience with fighting, and his mother had never taught him anything, despite his dad begging her to, for some reason, but the act felt completely natural, even if he found himself a little unsure of how to proceed.
Fortunately he didn't have to make the first move as the monsters came charging at him. The next two minutes were a flurry of limbs, meat, punches, kicks and grunts, and Danny wasn't sure which side got more hits in, but the bruises he was quickly accumulating told him clearly who was winning; he simply wasn't good enough yet to win against the two of them when he was still a beginner. Besides, even if flying came naturally to him now, he was still inexperienced and if he wasn't randomly losing altitude, he was spinning around his own center.
He pushed away from the scuffle, but the two familiars surrounded him and prowled around him as he stood, hunched over, between them, an arm wrapped around his aching ribs. He couldn't remember when he'd taken a hit there, but it hurt badly enough that he would have been worried, if he wasn't still caught in his high-strung state.
Just as his two opponents decided to take the first move and jump at him again, a green beam sliced through one of them. Danny glanced down in surprise and saw his mother was still observing the fight. For some reason she hadn't gotten involved in the last few minutes, but now she'd apparently decided to take matters into her own hands.
Danny found himself torn between relief that she'd undoubtedly saved him from a good mauling, and indignation that she'd interrupt a fight that didn't concern her, and was suitably shocked when she turned her weapon on him. To his luck, the other monster had taken that moment to launch at him, accidentally acting as his shield.
Danny gaped at his mother, too shocked for words. Did she just try to shoot me?! Why would she do that to her own son? He thought, only to slam his palm against his face and squeeze his eyes shut in exasperation as he groaned to himself, "Of course she would shoot me, she doesn't know that I'm her son! Not that it would matter much if she knew, though…" he had no more time to monologue when his mother – who had considerably better aim than his father – pointed her weapon at him.
"Eat anti-ecto blasts, you odd manifestation of post-human consciousness!" she cried. Rather than admire her creative choice of insult, Danny threw himself out of the way of the shot and somersaulted through the air.
He saw his mom turn towards his dad and yell at him with a commander's voice, "Jack! Leave that harmless ghost alone and catch the ghost kid!"
"Right on it, Pumpkin!" his dad yelled back enthusiastically, pocketing his gun and drawing a slightly bigger one from one of his many pockets.
Meanwhile, Danny had gotten a hold of his momentum and was spluttering with indignation, "Harmless? Her? She throws stoves at people!"
His mother's eyes narrowed dangerously at him, "Don't think you can escape punishment by charming us, wraith! We can see through your tricks."
"Punishment? But I haven't done anything!" he exclaimed, completely at a loss for the considerably higher amount of aggression his mother held towards him, compared to what she held for the Lunchlady, "Come on, why don't you give me a chance? I'm trying to fight her too!" he added hopefully as he pointed at the female ghost who just scowled at him as per usual.
"That's what they always say!" He heard from somewhere behind him and he turned around just in time to see his dad letting loose a ball of blue energy from his gun. He fell a few feet in surprise, which was the only reason the attack hit him dead-on. The hit sent a painful jolt throughout his body and he was only aware that he'd been sent flying backwards towards the school when he hit the brick wall –painfully hard.
As the sound of his mother's "Good one, Jack! Now, get out the Thermos!" wafted towards him, he shook his head and tried to get up, only to fall back on his knees when the dizziness became too much. Through bleary eyes he saw his parents running towards him with something that looked like a soup-cannister, when a green-skinned, glowing something landed in front of them. With a flick of her wrist, the Lunchlady sent a newly reformed meatfreak at his parents, who immediately started shooting at it like crazy.
Danny would have been more worried about his parents being attacked by un-dead meat, if his ghostly saviour hadn't just turned to look at him with honest concern in her eyes. He noticed there weren't any flames in them when she leaned down slightly towards him and asked worriedly, "Oh dear. Are you okay, young man? Are you hurt?"
Danny stared at her, open-mouthed and gawking, before he pulled himself together and coughed into his hand, his cheeks burning, "Y-yeah, I'm just a little dizzy. I think I'm fine." He answered.
She smiled sweetly at him in relief before her features turned to rage and the flames appeared in her eyes once again. "That's too bad! 'cause you being fine is not part of my well-balanced menu!" he gasped and launched himself into the air as she had another meatfreak jump at him. Thoroughly confused at her mood swings, he flew around at random, periodically deflecting blows from her familiar. He was getting better at defending himself, but the fight was wearing him out quickly and he could feel his core straining to keep up with the exertion.
Just as he was starting to feel panicked, he noticed his parents still shooting at the meatfreak, which had been joined by another one. His dad was holding a thermos in one hand, and Danny recognized it from one of his lectures; if he remembered correctly, it was supposed trap ghosts. Pushing down the hurt at realizing that they'd wanted to catch him in it, he quickly went invisible and altered his flight to take him up behind his dad. With only a short hesitation, he grabbed the thermos. His dad noticed and his eyes went wide in realization, but before he could do anything – like shooting his half-ghost son – Danny had turned the thermos intangible and phased it through his hands. His dad gasped at the cold feeling and spun around to shoot madly at Danny, but the boy had already flown off to the raging Lunchlady, who eyed him with suspicion.
"Did you bring soup, boy?" she said, venomously, "Is this another way for you to disrespect my menu!"
He landed on the ground and took a hold of the top of the canister. But before he screwed it off, he hesitated. Looking back at the ghost, he tried to convey as much honesty into his voice as he could, "I don't have a problem with your menu. Really! And Sam – Sam… well, she's just Sam, but everyone else likes it!"
The Lunchlady stared at him blankly. Taking the opening, Danny pulled off the top of the thermos and pointed it at her. "So, get in the Thermos already!"
He had a strange pulling sensation in his core, which quickly turned from uncomfortable to slightly painful. His usual white aura turned slightly blue and sputtered irregularly, and he felt his energy being sucked up by the thermos. For a split-second he was afraid that he'd miscalculated, that he'd get sucked into the thing instead, but then the energy burst from the opening of the thermos, forming a blue ecto-net around the Lunchlady who screamed as she was pulled into the small container.
When she had been sucked in, Danny quickly put the top back on, screwing the thermos shut. With a sigh of relief, he realized how exhausted he was; his aura was nearly non-existent, and his core was fluttering again, like it had when he'd just transformed in the auditorium and keeping himself invisible had almost been too much to perform. Wow, does that feel like last month. No wonder I feel like I'm about to fizz out of existence. It had grown increasingly easier to use his powers the more time he spent in his ghost form, but fighting another ghost, her minions and his crazy ghost-hating parents was apparently too much for an only recently shaped ghost.
"Ghost kid! Return that anti-spectre tool immediately!" a voice behind him sounded, making Danny turn hid head slightly in that direction. His mother was pointing a gun at him, wearing a merciless expression, his dad bouncing on the balls of his feet beside her, eager to be let loose on the weakened ghost child.
Danny regarded them for a second; maybe he should just tell them. Maybe they could solve his problem, make him human again, cure him.
Except that there's nothing to cure, a voice in his head said, and he bit his lip worriedly in response, because it was true. His situation, the consequences of his accident, frightened him to no end, and the thought of not being human anymore was … sickening. But he'd never felt so alive before either, ironically. He wasn't just suddenly able to walk through walls; the abilities felt completely natural, and he was constantly overwhelmed by new senses and instincts that he had never had before, and yet they felt familiar to him all the same.
And the flying… a small smile found its way to his lips. That was worth a thousand electrocutions.
Okay, maybe not a thousand, but still.
Still, he didn't know what had happened to him or what was going to happen to him, and it had only been a couple of hours since he'd been numb with terror at the changes he'd gone through. It was tempting to just let himself turn human in front of his parents and ask them to help him.
But then he looked into their eyes, all he saw was their burning hatred for ghosts and all things ectoplasmic, and he felt a dead weight settle in both his heart and his core. He was too exhausted, too tense after the fight he'd just had, to trust his parents with his secret just then; what if they turned on him? What if, even if they managed to 'cure' him, they were still disgusted with him – would they look at him with those same eyes, full of enmity? His heart broke a little at the image. At least, if he didn't tell them, they wouldn't know they were looking at their son. They would think he was just another ghost, and he could pretend that it wasn't him they were glaring at so odiously.
Taking a steadying breath that his body didn't really need, he steeled himself and squeezed his hard-tried core for the last bit of ecto-juice. With a final, solemn glance in his parents direction he countered gravity's hold on him and flew into the sky, dodging the blasts that followed his escape. Setting his course for the school, he just managed to phase through the entry-doors before a tremor shook him and he fell to the ground with a stifled cry, dropping the thermos in the process. He was completely out of energy, and the resulting constriction of his core felt similar to trying to breathe in a room with no air.
The edges of his vision rapidly turned into a blackness working towards overtaking his eyes completely. Being unable to check his surroundings for witnesses or otherwise moving in any way, he let the darkness take him and his mind away.
In the almost abandoned hallway, a boy in a very strange situation lost consciousness as his core finally gave in to exhaustion, shifting its host to a more suitable form. A thermos rolled down the corridor to come to a stop in front of a pair of eyes, watching the scene from the shadows.
Vlad watched as the boy gasped and fell to the floor. The fall was quickly followed by a rapid transformation to his human side. He was not particularly worried for the child; an unwilling and sudden change was not unexpected in the first few days of his change, nor in the first few months, and the boy had certainly drained every drop of ecto-energy in his body to fight the assaulting ghost. He wasn't sure how quickly the boy would develop his abilities, since his only other specimen to compare him to was himself, and the boy's transformation had already proved itself very different from Vlad's from the very moment it happened.
Vlad was seething with anger. First the boy dared refuse his magnanimous offer of assistance and mentoring, and when he'd finally been forced to accept just a modicum of his expertise, he'd thrown the man's generosity right back in his face!
But as aggravating as the teenager had quickly proven himself to be, his defiance hadn't been completely unexpected. In fact, Vlad hadn't thought he'd make much progress with the boy today anyway – he hadn't even expected to talk directly to him that day.
He had, however assumed that the hybrid would be unable to defeat the plump, female ghost that had attacked him – on great part because of his lack of experience with battles – and he'd been looking forward to taking advantage of the situation; surely the boy would have ultimately called out to him for help, and if not, Vlad could have still swooped in and saved the boy in the nick of time. The act would have gone a long way to showing the boy that he could 'trust' him.
Instead, that buffoon, Jack Fenton, had, for the second time in his life, invented something useful and brought it right to the boy accidentally. Vlad wasn't sure what angered him more; that his chance at guiding the boy had been taken from him, or that the child now thought he had no reason to learn proper fighting skills; why should he, an obvious pacifist, bother learning how to win in a ghostly fight, when he had a 'Fenton Thermos' to catch the ghosts with? He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes screwed shut. Hopefully he could rectify this, when the boy finally joined him.
And he would, one day. He couldn't reject their superiority.
Vlad stilled, his eyes opening to look pensively at the unmoving boy on the floor of the hallway. Strange, he thought quietly to himself, as he picked up the Fenton Thermos, a forthnight ago, 'superior' would not have been a word I would use about our shared condition, at least not in my own thoughts. But then, the boy wouldn't have shared my condition at that time… but he was torn from further speculation over this development when the doors were slammed open and the two Fenton ghost hunters came charging into the hall, closely followed by several of the teaching staff.
When Maddie's eyes fell on her unconscious son, she gasped. The gun in her hands had fallen clattering to the floor by the time she'd reached her son's side, quickly pushing her hood and goggles off so she could have a better look at him. Vlad sighed enamoured at the sight of his love, but then grimaced when the disruptive oaf to Jack Fenton broke his line of sight by running to Daniel's and his wife's side and crouching over the boy with a worried look.
"Danny? Sweetheart, are you okay?" Maddie's trembling voice sounded throughout the hallway as she gently shook her son. After a few seconds, the teenager groaned and slowly came back to reality. Lifting a hand to his aching head, he peered out through the gaps between his fingers at the couple.
"…mom?"
Maddie smiled in relief, "Dear, are you alright? You were passed out in front of the doors. What happened?"
"It was that foul ghost, wasn't it!" Jack suddenly bellowed, startling the other two – and the rest of the worried onlookers in the hallway – by jumping to his feet with renewed rage.
Daniel blinked, disoriented. "Wh-what are you talking about, dad? The L-Lunchlady didn't hurt me… much…"
The last word seemed to go unnoticed as Jack took hold of the boy's shoulders and shook him carelessly, to Vlad's great annoyance. Can't the idiot see that the boy requires a more gentle hand at the moment? Typical Jack Fenton.
"The Ghost Kid!" Jack said excitedly, making both Vlad's and Daniel's eyes widen in shock. Surely Jack couldn't have figured out the boy's secret? Jack?
"It was that blasted Ghost Kid who hurt you, wasn't it, son!" at those words, both hybrids let out a breath of relief. No, of course the hay-brain wouldn't figure it out. He wouldn't realize it even if the boy changed in front of him.
Maddie frowned at slapped his hands away from her son. "Jack, don't shake him. He was obviously knocked unconscious. We'll have to make sure he gets home alright before we set after that foul ectoplasmic creature."
"But-!" Daniel tried to get a word in, probably to defend his alter ego, Maddie shushed him and combed his hair with her fingers.
"It's alright, Danny. We'll get that ghost, don't you worry."
"Right, son! You just leave it to us! We'll avenge you!" Jack added. Danny tried a few more times to tell his parents that they were wrong, but his attempts were either completely ignored or taken as a shocked victim's ramblings as he was dragged to his feet by his dad and led out of the school doors. His mother stayed behind just long enough to tell the teachers that they would return later to scan the area and advised them to leave the premises until then.
Vlad floated after Daniel and Jack, watching with disapproval as the man basically hauled the child into the monster of an RV. Vlad smirked and phased through the car and found the boy sitting dejectedly on a bench running along the side of the vehicle, resting his head in his hands.
He floated over to the younger hybrid and dropped the Fenton Thermos in his lap, making the boy look up in surprise. Of course, Vlad was invisible, so the boy's gaze fell to the Thermos, which he picked up and looked at strangely, as if he couldn't quite believe that it was really there. Leaning a little closer so that Jack, who was sitting in the driver's seat ranting about ghosts and assault vehicles, couldn't hear him, he said, "Good work today, little badger. Masterfully done, I might add." The boy jumped at the unexpected voice and turned his wide eyes towards Vlad, who smiled a little thought the boy couldn't see it, "I'll see you around, son."
With that, he left the vehicle before any of the substandard ghost-sensors could pick up his scent and turned to fly home to his castle in Wisconsin. He allowed himself a small smile; today hadn't gone that badly, in the end. The boy had, after all, accepted his help, listened to him; and, best of all, he hadn't told his parents anything. And if he hadn't told them under the threat of being shot to smithereens, he was unlikely to ever tell them – and knowing Jack's thickheadedness and Maddie's, ah, way of seeing the things she wanted to see, he imagined they would never find out the truth on their own.
With one of his most pressing worries solved, Vlad's smile widened. I look forward to our next meeting, Daniel.
A/N: Hey, look! I got the linebreaks right in the first try without messing up. Miracles do happen!
Some people expressed need for 'more Vlad' in the last chapter. Well, is *this* enough Vlad for ya?! - is what I'd want to say, but I'm pretty sure a lot of fangirls would respond with an instant 'no'.
You may be wondering if I hit a writer's block with this chapter, since it took me over a month to complete. But I'm just really slow.
Reply to Tooncrazy(guest): Yes, I believe that he would need to change into his ghost form once in a while since it's still new and because his two halves need to learn how to operate together.
P.S.: what do you guys think of the rating? Should I change it? Personally, I believe it's fine, but I've noticed that other countries seem to expect higher ratings on stories. Like, a certain manga would be 15+ in my country, but 18+ in America.