Phantoms of Amity Park

Chapter 6

"I spent to next 200 years or more doing as clockwork told me to do," Anna said, drawing her story to a close. "He would send me to a location of a major event or where the threat to the time-line occurred with the instructions to preserve the time-line at all costs."

"And your niece?" Sam asked. "She survived?"

Anna nodded, "Victor must have seen what I had, the dark arm reaching out to drag her back, and did everything he could to make sure she was safe from whatever killed us. She wasn't safe with him, so he had changed her name and had her adopted by a family that he trusted. After that, the depression struck him, he had nothing left to live for and his invention went unfinished. You know the rest."

There was a weight in the room as silence fell. Everyone had pulled chairs up closer to the bed during the course of the story, even Vlad, who sat on the same side as Danny. Then something hit Danny.

"Wait, Clockwork brought you back to life?" He asked, Anna nodding in answer. "But that's impossible. He doesn't have that power… does he? I know he can rewind time but…"

"It was one he used to have. From how he described it to me, it was a temporary power, one he only had one use of. Otherwise he could just bring back everyone who died unjustly or unplanned."

"Does make sense," Vlad said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "A power like that would mess with how the Ghost Realm works and the terminology he used: return time not bring back to life."

"That's right," Anna smiled. "What clockwork did was more… returning my soul and body to the time right before I died. It brought me back to life as a result, but I am still technically dead. My body can't age and can't reproduce, but on the flip side I still get sick and can die again, if I'm not cautious."

"So you're not immortal," Vlad stated.

Anna shook her head, "This isn't immortality, not in the way you think of it. Yes, I don't age, but any fatal physical injury or illness will kill me… again."

"So you let yourself get sick than go out in the middle of the night and fight?" Vlad said. "I have a feeling that is not how Clockwork wanted you to treat this body."

Anna glared at Vlad, "You lecture me? Who was the one beating up on a child?"

Vlad had opened his mouth to snap back, but found that the words died in his throat at the look on her face. Yes, there was anger, but there was also… disappointment?

Sam changed the subject quickly, "What are you doing in Amity Park then? We've have had a lot of ghost activity in the past couple years. Is it about that?"

"No," Anna answered. "Clockwork told me to come here about two months ago. He had said that something terrible was coming here and I needed to be here to fight it. Didn't tell me what it was, just said to go to Amity Park in order to protect what remains of the VanRatten bloodline."

"What remains?" Danny asked. "So, decedents from your family live here in Amity Park? Oh! That thing that tried to kill your niece must be coming after the rest of your family! We have to find them and protect them."

Anna giggled. Everyone looked at her confused.

"I already know where they are, I've been watching them since I got here."

"You do?" Sam asked. "Who are they? Do we know them?"

Anna nodded, smiling, "The family name has gone through many changed since 1778. Right now, the family name is Fenton."

All eyes turned to Danny, whose mouth was hanging open with shock.

"Wait! Fen… but that means you're…"

Anna laughed, "You're Great Aunt, yes."

Vlad looked down at his hands, which he had clasped in his hands, then the resemblance I had seen between her and Maddie wasn't a coincidence then.

"So something with a grudge against your family is going to come back and try and kill the Fenton's!" Sam exclaimed.

"That's what Clockwork said," Anna said. "Of course, that's all he's told me. He's always been vague. Nothing about who or when, just as it's always been; go here at this specific time and do this. That's how it's been for over 200 years. But now it's personal. I gave my life to make sure my bloodline survived, and now that could all be for nothing."

Danny stood up, "I have to get home then! Mom and Dad are home alone; I have to be there to make sure nothing happens to them."

"We'll go with you," Tucker said, Sam agreeing with a nod then looked back at Anna. "We'll call you if anything happens."

"Be careful," Anna said. "I'm stuck here, so no fighting on your own."

"Right," Danny agreed and they started out, but was stopped.

"One more thing," Anna said. "Could you do me a favor and bring me something from my place? A box with some books in it?"

"Sure," Danny answered. "I'll come back with it soon."

Anna smiled as he and his friends left then realized she was now all alone with Vlad Masters. She risked a glance up at him and found him watching her expectantly. Anna closed her eyes and sighed, leaning back against the pillows the kids had propped up for her.

"Their awfully trusting," he finally said.

Anna kept her eyes closed, "I don't have any reason to lie, especially since I'm here, in your mansion."

"So that's the whole story then?"

"I didn't leave any details out, if that's what you're asking. Unless you want to know about my entire childhood," Anna chuckled, beginning to drift off to sleep again.

"What about Victor? You still have not explained why you called me Victor in the clock tower before."

Anna opened her eyes slowly, lids heavy and turned her gaze back to Vlad. He saw her expression soften as she looked at him, taking him aback.

She sighed, "The rules of the Ghost Realm are strange, aren't they? With the proper situations met, a spirit can do anything, even be reincarnated."

"What do you mean?" Vlad raised an eye brow.

"Reincarnation is simple, when you think about it. There is one major rule: you have to be reborn as a blood relative. But the soul also has to have the drive and a reason to be brought back, can't just be brought back because it feels like it."

"You're talking about the note Victor left in the ring box? What does that have to…?"

"You look the exact same as you did when you were Victor; the face, the eyes, the body, the hair is a different color but you put it up the exact same way."

It took a moment for the reality of what she had said to hit him…he was Victor? A reincarnation?

Vlad's laugh was dark and came from deep in his chest, "Impossible. You just said reincarnations had to be blood relatives. Victor never married after you died, he had no children. You must be going senile after 200 years."

"I never said Victor was an only child," Anna giggled. "He had a younger brother who did marry and had multiple children."

"So you think I'm…" Vlad jumped from his chair at what was insinuated by her statement. "No! I'm Vlad Master's! I own multiple high stock companies, billions of dollars in multiple banks across the country, I'm in love with Maddie Fenton!"

The last statement made him stop as a hurt expression spread over her beautiful face. Wait… beautiful? No! He was comparing her with Maddie again, that's all it was. But the fact that he had done it frustrated him.

"I. Am. Not. Victor!" His voice was louder and harsher than he had meant it to be.

Anna didn't say anything, just kept looking at him with that same hurt expression. That expression, on that face so similar to Maddie's, especially now that he knew why, made his chest fill with guilt.

He said nothing more, couldn't say anything more, and left the room as quickly as possible, leaving Anna all alone.

ooooo

Danny returned early the next afternoon with Anna's box, having left Sam and Tucker at his house to watch his parents. She was feeling a little better, Vlad having returned to her later the previous night and early the next morning with food and medicine. However, he had said nothing, still fuming over the implications that he was not who he had made himself to be and promptly left after he was sure she had taken the medicine. After Danny's confused look after telling him this, she explained about the conversation they had had after Danny and his friends had left.

Danny's brows shot up, "You think Vlad is Victor's reincarnation? I really hate to say this Anna, but Vlad is right. He's not Victor, he is sooo not Victor."

"He's not now, but he was," Anna rubbed her forehead in frustration. "It's difficult to explain. I'm different from you and him, I have more of a connection to the Ghost Realm and spirits then either of you do. I sense them differently. You two were made by human technology, I was made by ghost power. When Vlad is around me, I sense Victor's soul inside him, a soul that has been changed over time, but is still Victor at the very core."

Danny didn't look convinced, "Anna, you would think differently if you knew the kind of things he has done."

Anna just smiled, "I don't want to sound like an arrogant adult. Perhaps you are right, but just understand, after how long I've waited, being around him makes me feel a little at peace."

It was against Danny's conscious, but he didn't tell her about the things that Vlad has done. Being around Vlad made her happy and he didn't want to make her sad again, not after she revealed her entire past to him and after she'd waited 200 years to just be able to see him again.

"Alright, but I don't want to have to tell you that I told you so." Danny looked down at the box that he had brought. "What's in the box anyway? I was surprised when I went to your place and found it nearly completely empty."

"Didn't look in the box I take it?" Anna joked and Danny shook his head. "Everything that was mine burned up in the fire."

Danny helped her move the box onto the bed and she removed the lid. Inside were a dozen or more old handwritten journals and a portrait from Anna's original time period. Anna reached inside the box and carefully removed the portrait. She blew gently on the face of the portrait, carefully removing the dust.

She smiled lovingly at the picture before handing it to Danny, "This should be enough proof for you. This is Victor Wahlberg, painted the fall before I died."

Danny looked at the picture and almost dropped it in shock. That was Vlad in the painting! Or, it looked like Vlad. The smile on the man's face was not one Vlad ever wore and the man's hair was black and not white. Other than those, every feature was the same.

Danny looked back up at Anna with wide eyes, "Are you going to show this to Vlad? I doubt he could deny what you've told him with this as evidence."

Anna sighed as Danny handed the picture back to her; she ran her fingers gently over the surface. "I doubt he would let me show it to him. But, if he ever decides to listen, then yes."

Danny looked back in the box, "And the books?"

"His personal diaries and research journals. I couldn't bear to leave them there after he died. I knew that he would want them held onto, by me most of all."

"You've read his diaries?"

Anna laughed, "You would think that. I took all the ones I could find in his apartment and kept them safe and well cared for, for over 200 years. I must have peeked into one of them at least once to see my best friend and fiancé's most secret thoughts."

"You haven't!" Danny was surprised.

Anna shook her head, "What's in these books aren't for my eyes. I would be betraying his trust by reading what's in these."

"So you plan to give these to Vlad too."

Anna sighed, laying the picture in her lap, "Same situation, I suppose. Reading these would most likely bring up a lot of similarities between him and Victor that he doesn't want to see. If I push him too far too quickly with all of this, well, I'm not really in a condition to fight back. I wouldn't last very long in my current state."

"Yet he's helping you! He brought you food, medicine, and is even letting you stay here while you get better!"

"Probably because I resemble your mother; didn't you notice?"

Danny bit his lip, averting his eyes, "I didn't really, till I saw her this morning."

Anna smiled at the boy, placing the picture back inside the box and closing the lid, "You should probably get back. I know you didn't want to stay away for this long."

"Oh, yeah," Danny stood, but didn't leave. "Um, Sam, Tucker, and I had talked more about everything you had told us. We came up with an idea I wanted to run by you."

"What's that?"

"Well, since whatever is coming here is going to try and wipe out me and my family, maybe there would be some clues back at your old mansion."

Anna's brows drew together, "You mean go back there? Danny, I don't know. I haven't been there since…"

"I know, but it's the best lead we have; unless you have another idea? If we know what it is, we'll be able to fight it."

"Who said I was going to let you fight?"

Danny was understandably miffed, "You're not alone anymore! You haven't been since you told me that you were my Great Aunt, no before that, since you became my friend. I'm not going to let you do this alone!"

"Danny," Anna sighed as if defeated, but was fighting back happy tears. "Fine, I was never planning to go back there, but even I have to admit that it's the best lead that we have."

"Right!" Danny smiled. "Once you're better, we'll head there and see what we can find. It should only take us a couple days, so Sam and Tucker agreed to stay behind and watch over Mom and Dad."

"Okay, once I'm better."

Once Danny left, Anna had laid back, intending to rest as much as possible so she would get well quicker. But she couldn't. She heard the screams again. The first time, she was sure they were caused by her fever induced stupor, but now she was awake and her fever down to the high 90s. These were not imagined screams; they were spirits crying out for help, crying out for her.

She slipped out of bed and made her way out of the bedroom, following the voices down to the private library.

ooooo

Vlad entered the room where Anna was staying to find it empty. Annoyed, he set the tray he had brought her on the bedside table. He checked the bathroom for her and, finding it empty, let out an annoyed sigh.

"Great, now she's wandering around my house. She's going to push herself again and make herself worse."

He kept telling himself that he was only concerned about the woman because she resembled and was related to Maddie. It was the excuse he had come up with to explain his actions and the strange warmth he felt in his chest when he was around her. He had never felt such a thing for anyone other than Maddie, so it was the only reason that made sense, besides the one she had given him.

Vlad grimaced at the thought as he searched. It was ridiculous; reincarnation was the kind of thing that belonged in fairy tales. Even if it wasn't, he surely wasn't one. He was no one but himself.

His searches eventually lead him to his private library, where he found the secret passage to his laboratory open. His annoyance with the woman reached a new peak, first she claims him to be the reincarnation of her… fiancé and now she was snooping around his lab. This was the last straw, emotional quandaries can wait for another time, this woman needed to learn the rules if she was going to stay here. Whether she was five times older than him or not, this was his house and she needed to abide by his rules.

Vlad entered his laboratory. Everything was as he had left it; notes, beakers, and various tools lined the work tables along the walls, the experiments he was currently working on laid out on the table in the center of the room, and his portal to the Ghost Realm stood closed against the fall wall. Nothing had been touched and there was nowhere for anyone to really hide. He was about to leave when he noticed a door that lead to one of his side labs was open a crack; the door that lead into his abandoned cloning lab.

He hesitated. Vlad had sealed that door, remembered vividly welding the door shut with ectoplasm in a rage. Certainly Anna would have the ability to open the door up with little trouble or strain to herself, but why would she go in there of all places? Vlad went to the door and opened it the rest of the way, cringing as the underused hinges creaked loudly.

The room was as he had left it as well; broken glass and chemical residues still covered the floor, making it dangerous terrain to walk through. There were empty pods all over the room, some obviously having been thrown against the walls from the fight that had taken place here, very few still stood against the walls still connected to wires and tubing. There was something unpleasant in one particular pod. Vlad looked away from it, forcing himself to concentrate on something else, anything else.

He spotted Anna, standing at a work table on the other side of the room, hunched over something on the work space.

Vlad took a few steps toward her, passing broken chairs, tables, and pods as he went, "You know, I had this room sealed for a reason."

Anna said nothing, so he continued, sounding annoyed, "Yes, you are technically my senior and I am allowing you to stay here until you are well, but I do not appreciate my business being pried into. This room is…"

He was cut off when Anna turned on him, catching him off guard with the pure look of outrage in her eyes. Just this morning she was looking at him tenderly, saying softly that the information was a lot to take in all at once. That she just wanted him to understand. But that was not the woman that was looking at him now, this was more like the person he had been losing against for a short time the night before.

She barreled toward him, not even showing any signs of pain as she stepped on shards of glass with her bare feet. Vlad tried to yell out to her to stop, that she would seriously injure herself, but she was still coming at him, causing him to back up into a work table that had been turned up on its side. He braced his hands on the edge of the overturned table in surprise. He was trapped.

She was right in his face now, barely six inches of space between them. Vlad had never been this close to her, and at this distance, he could see every contour and curve of her beautiful face. The resemblance to Maddie was purely from a distance, he noted. This close, her beauty was all her own, very familiar, and it was making his heart do flips in his chest. But he didn't have time to dwell on it farther.

Anna had stuck a photograph in his face, one that he recognized but had forgotten about. It was Danielle, not a couple days after she survived the cloning process. He had wanted to document his success by taking this photograph, leading the poor girl on to believe that it was their first family photo.

"Where is she?"

"I…"

"Don't give me any damned excuses!" Anna demanded. "This little girl, that you made here, where is she? What did you do with her?"

"Nothing! I…" Vlad started to answer forcefully, but the tone died in his throat when he truly processed the questions, averting he eyes. "I don't know where she is. I doubt she is even still alive. Her biological structure was breaking down when she disappeared."

There was silence between them for many long, agonizing, minutes. Then Anna's open palm fell hard against the side of Vlad's face, jarring his head to the side. Vlad stood stunned for many moments before turning his eyes back to Anna, cheek still stinging. Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears and his heart sank into his stomach.

"You stupid fool. You self-righteous idiot."

"Anna…"

"Shut up!"

He did.

"You prattle on about how you want family and how you're going to steal Maddie away so you can have what you want. You alienate everyone around you; push everyone away that is not useful to you. When really, you had what you wanted right in front of you. You had made it with your own two hands!"

She stuck the photo in his face again, "You had a daughter who thought the world of you and you tossed her away like trash!"

Vlad looked away again, not moving to relieve the pain in his face. It was what he deserved.

"What? No comeback?" Anna asked, annoyed, taking the photo away from his face. "No orders to get out, to shut up? You don't want to tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about?"

He said nothing. But jerked his head up when he saw, out the corner of his eye, a tear fall down Anna's cheek. That was the end of her resolve and the floodgates opened, tears falling freely.

"Idiot!" She yelled as she cried.

Vlad grabbed her shoulders, "Wait, don't…"

"If I hadn't taken so long to get here, things would be better. If I had been here sooner, I would've been able to save her and you wouldn't have had to have been lonely." Her voice was weak from the yelling, her eyes drooping slightly.

"You blame yourself? You caused none of this."

Anna leaned forward, head resting against his chest. Vlad didn't push her away, but held her arms in case she collapsed.

"But I could have ended it before it got out of hand. I waited for so long for you to be brought back and now I've failed you because I was so busy following orders."

Vlad hesitated as she slumped against him, causing him to put an arm around her torso to keep her upright.

"Waiting for me? Or Victor?"

Anna didn't answer; she had dozed off against his chest.

Vlad sighed heavily, "How much trouble are you going to cause me?"