A/N: Alright, this note should be pretty short, since I really don't have that much to say.
I just wanted to thank everyone for their imput on Danny's family. I'm glad you found them all believable. I hope you still feel that way after this chapter! And for those of you who like the Fenton Portable Bed, don't worry, there's more!
Oh, and in two chapters the Master's identity will be revealed! It's official! I can't believe it's been sixteen chapters and I still haven't given it away...I can't believe this is already at sixteen chapters period.
Thank you so much for all your comments, support, and reviews! And if any of you are wondering, I project that there are, at most, ten chapters left. Hey, I never said this wouldn't be a long and involved story...
Chapter Sixteen
Infuriating Situations
Danny jerked out of his uneasy sleep, his ghost sense going off. He sighed and went ghost, about to fly out of the house when he heard a short scream from the basement, cut off at the end by something, most likely the ghost. He flew down and looked straight at the portal, its glowing green light eerily lighting up the dark lab. As he looked he saw a human hand reaching out from the swirling mass before disappearing completely into the Ghost Zone. Danny's eyes widened as his thoughts flashed back to the room upstairs: there was an empty bed. Without thinking he flew into the Ghost Zone, hoping that the ghost would still be in his range of vision.
He entered the Ghost Zone and scanned the cloudy, green surroundings. He saw a small figure in the distance and sped towards it, easily catching up with it. He stopped short and almost laughed when he was close enough to recognize the figure. It was the Box Ghost, holding a kicking Arya in his arms. And here he had been worried.
He turned invisible and flew quickly around so he was blocking their path. He turned visible, causing both the Box Ghost and Arya to jump.
"Can I have my cousin back please?" Danny asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Never! For I, the Box Ghost, plan on using this human to create boxes for me, and once we have done that, I shall use their beautiful squareness to take over the world and put all boxes under my control!"
"Um, how do you propose that she make the boxes?"
"That is her job to figure out, else she will face her doom!"
"You have got to be kidding me. That has got to be, by far, one of your worst ideas yet, and that's counting becoming the 'Mechanical Frog Ghost'."
"It is not! For unlike my other plans, this one will succeed!"
"I so doubt that." Danny's hands glowed as he shot an ecto-blast at the Box Ghost's face. As he recoiled from the blast, Danny lunged forward and grabbed Arya's leg, turning her intangible, causing her to fall through the Box Ghost's grasp.
"Get on my back," Danny instructed as he started throwing more ecto-blasts at the Box Ghost now that his hands were free. Finally he stopped, leaving the Box Ghost heaving in exhaustion.
"Beware!" he yelled as he flew off shamelessly into the depths of the Ghost Zone.
"Danny! You saved me!" Arya yelled as she squeezed him tightly.
"Yeah, yeah, don't thank me until we're out of here. If you thought I was unpopular in school, you should see how it is in here. Hold on."
Danny took off towards the Ghost Zone, able to find his way easily while Arya looked around in awe, amazed to be flying, albeit through a creepy dimension, but still, she was flying. Wait until she told the kids back at school.
They flew through the portal into the safety of the lab. Danny immediately turned around and shut the portal, not wanting to think how many ghosts escaped while it was open.
"Oh Danny thank you! Thank you!" Arya thanked, squeezing him tightly again.
"Okay, you're welcome. It wasn't like it was that big of a deal," Danny replied. An awkward silence filled the lab. "You know, you're safe, you can let go now."
"Oh…right," she replied as she hopped off his back and onto the cold lab floor.
"We should probably get to bed before the adults…find out," Danny finished as he was blinded by light as said adults flipped on the light switch. Obviously they had been woken up by the scream and their commotion in the lab led them to the scene.
"Danny? Arya? What are you doing down here?" Maddie asked as she lowered her ecto-gun.
"Arya was…"
"I was kidnapped by a ghost and taken into the Ghost Zone!" Arya yelled excitedly. "And Danny saved me! It was amazing! He used his ecto-blasts and turned me intangible and then we flew!"
"So not fair…" Elijah moaned while Danny felt his face flush.
"I'll say," Grandpa Joe pouted "I wanted to see the Ghost Zone."
"You went into the Ghost Zone?" Sophia asked in concern as she rushed over to her daughter. "Are you all right?"
"I told you Mom, I'm totally fine. Danny saved me."
"Yes but still, it must have been frightening. Did that horrible ghost do anything to you?"
"No. Like I said Danny—"
But Sophia was no longer listening to her daughter. Instead she was looking intently at Danny. "This is all your fault."
Everyone in the room looked shocked at her outburst, including Danny. "Mine? How is it mine? I was the one who saved her!" Danny defended.
"If it weren't for you she wouldn't have gotten kidnapped in the first place."
"Hey, it's not my fault Arya decided to open the portal."
"Arya would never do something as foolish as that."
"Well she did, just ask her."
"I just wanted to see what it looked like…" Arya muttered weakly, not lifting her gaze from the ground.
"That doesn't matter. That ghost came out of there looking for you and figured that it would kidnap my daughter to lure you into the Ghost Zone as bait."
"The Box Ghost? You've got to be kidding me. Doing that would require at least two brain cells, and the Box Ghost has two too few. Now if it were Skulker, maybe…"
"So you admit that being a ghost and fighting them puts your family in danger because some ghosts will use them as bait?"
"Wait, that is so not what I mean, and Mom and Dad shoot at them too; it's not just me."
"Alright, I think it's time we all go to bed," Maddie stated, ending the argument. "I think we're all just running off of too little sleep. Arya's safe, Danny saved her, the portal's locked, and we can all just go back to bed. Things will be much better in the morning."
The rest of the family nodded their heads and headed back to their respective rooms, Sophia giving him an evil look before retreating into the study.
"Danny, I'm sorry, for what my mom said," Arya apologized. "She just gets really grouchy when she doesn't get a lot of sleep, and she's really overprotective. But it'll all be over in the morning once she gets some more sleep."
Danny nodded his head as he lay down on the couch, adjusting his blankets.
"Hey Danny, can you take me into the Ghost Zone tomorrow?" Elijah asked.
"I don't think anyone should be going anywhere near the Ghost Zone," Jazz instructed "or the Ghost Portal for that matter. You shouldn't have even been there in the first place."
"I know, I just, wanted to see it. Grandpa Joe and Grandma Mary go on about it all the time. I just wanted to see what was so special about it."
"There's nothing special about it," Danny stated shortly. "It's round, it glows green, it hurts when it's turned on while you're inside it, and it should always stay closed so the ghosts don't get out. End of story." He knew he shouldn't be so harsh on her, since it was just curiosity and even Tucker and Sam were amazed when they first went inside, but he just didn't feel like indulging her right now. He would probably have to spend tomorrow catching the ghosts that escaped and now in his aunt's eyes he was the one that was in trouble for everything, regardless of whether he saved her or not. And no matter what Arya said, he knew his aunt could keep grudges, and this wouldn't be over by tomorrow morning.
"Let's just all go to bed and we can talk more in the morning," Jazz stated, sensing Danny's hostility.
The two cousins nodded and snuggled into their sheets while Elijah muttered "It's still not fair," quietly.
"Oh and Danny, thanks again for saving me," Arya thanked before she shut her eyes preparing to sleep.
"No problem," Danny stated, turning around in the couch, facing the cushions. He lay there, waiting for exhaustion to wash over him, but to no avail. He remained wide awake and alone with his thoughts. He tossed around in his bed, now facing the rest of the room and saw Arya sleeping in her bed, a smile on her face, looking like she'd just experienced the treat of her life. She was lucky it was just the Box Ghost. But still, why was she smiling? She was just kidnapped by a ghost, albeit an incompetent one, but it was still a kidnapping. He sighed as he realized it was probably because she got to be the first one in his extended family to witness him fighting a ghost first hand. She, like his other cousin, obviously thought his powers were cool, but then again, so did a lot of people.
But not everyone the voice of doubt echoed through his head, and Danny couldn't help feeling that it was right. His aunt thought they were putting the rest of his family in danger, and Mr. Dickens…
Danny's mind drifted to the unwanted thoughts he'd been trying to block out since his conversation with his ghost possessed math teacher. He'd been focusing on Dash's revenge so intently so he didn't have to remember what had passed between them that afternoon, but now it flooded unwelcome into his brain.
That ghost was just amplifying his thoughts and they have absolutely no truth to them. They're just Dickens' biased opinion on ghosts and they have nothing to do with who you really are he told himself. Sure, all ghosts may have an evil nature, but he was different. He wasn't a full ghost.
But there was still evil lurking inside him. If he ever did lose his human half…he'd be exactly what Dickens thought he'd be. But that was never going to happen. Danny wouldn't let it happen. But he still couldn't shake the fact that it was there and that in truth, Dickens was somewhat right.
"Alright kids, time to get up and greet the day, and go to school if you're my kids," Jack bellowed, but nobody moved. They had all stayed up too late and had a hard time falling back to sleep after the night's events.
"I have pancakes!" Maddie yelled from the kitchen, but still there was no movement. "I don't understand, even Jazz is still asleep. She never sleeps in."
"It must be a ghost!" Grandpa Joe yelled, his mouth full of pancakes.
"You know, Danny did mention a ghost that put him to sleep a few nights ago," Maddie pondered.
"He must've escaped last night!" Jack shouted, grabbing and charging his ecto-gun.
"They could just be really tired," Grandma Rose argued, trying to be the voice of reason. "Shouldn't we try to wake them up before we go jumping to ghostly conclusions?"
"I know just the thing!" Grandpa Joe shouted, running over to the beds. "If this doesn't wake them up, then they've got to be under a ghost's spell! I call it, the Fenton Portable Bed Alarm! It's designed to produce a noise only audible to human ears! It's loud enough to wake everything but the dead!" he shouted excitedly, pushing a button on the nearest bed.
Jazz, Arya, and Elijah immediately sat up in their beds, Jazz jumping up so fast that she fell off the bed and onto the floor, all dignity forgotten as she rushed to cover her ears, the rest of the family doing the same.
"Oh God please, turn it off!" Jazz yelled, but it couldn't be heard over the high pitched whine emitting from the bed.
As Grandpa Joe fumbled with the remote, trying to think coherently enough to turn it off while his head was filled with the demonic noise, Danny slept on, peacefully, not aware of the commotion going on in the room around him.
Finally he pushed the button and the alarm turned off, their ears pounding painfully in the silence.
"Mary look, it worked!" Joe exclaimed proudly, noticing the still snoozing Danny.
"That is so not fair. I'm going to kill him," Jazz threatened. "Danny! Danny, wake up!" she yelled, shaking him.
He sat up and noticed everyone in the room staring at him. "What's wrong? What happened?" he asked, fearing the worst.
"You didn't wake up," Jazz replied bitterly.
"I'm not following," Danny stated, now confused.
"Your grandfather made an alarm on the beds that can be heard by anything but a ghost, and he decided to turn it on to wake everyone up," Maddie informed him.
"Ah," Danny replied, understanding what happened. Knowing his grandfather, the noise was probably extremely painful, and he slept right through it.
"I hate you," Jazz remarked.
"What, because I didn't hear the alarm? Hey, you didn't hear the Specter Shriekers when Dad turned those things on."
"That's what I should've gotten to wake you up!"
"Sorry, but Tucker and Sam confiscated that item, along with a lot of other 'dangerous' inventions."
"That's what happened to all those missing inventions…" Jack commented.
"Well, anyone up for pancakes?" Maddie asked. "And Danny, Jazz, you probably should get ready for school."
"School! Oh my gosh! I forgot!" Jazz yelled as she rushed upstairs to the bathroom, Danny following behind her. The Fenton children got ready for school in record time and rushed out the door, arriving at school just in time. The class thought Danny's tardiness had something to do with ghosts, which Danny let them believe. It was, in actuality, somewhat true…
The rest of the school day passed quietly, much like the previous ones had. There seemed to be a sort of rhythm to how people reacted and, as strange as it was, he was getting used to it. At least by now most of the students had stopped hovering over him and squealing in excitement because he was in the same hallway they were, or breathing the same oxygen they were, or whatever their insane reason for shrieking was. Obviously by now they had realized that he would be around them a lot, that and all the screaming probably took a toll on their throats. Of course, he still experienced his fair share of stares and glares, but those were a lot easier to ignore, and he was becoming good at it.
The highlight of the day was of course seeing Dash's diminished confidence and humble demeanor. Obviously his fun night in jail taught him something, for a little while at least. On many occasions he looked like he wanted to shout something to Danny, since he was the one responsible for the cruel joke in the jail cell, but changed his mind and stayed huddled with his friends. This caused Danny to smile, knowing that he got his point across and Dash probably wouldn't mess with him for a while. After all, he just proved that he could exact equal revenge without resorting to his ghost powers.
Unfortunately Mr. Lancer hadn't managed to get Dash expelled, though he vowed he wouldn't stop trying, but they all knew that it would most likely never happen. Shoving classmates in their lockers and rude comments didn't merit expulsion in the eyes of the school board. Although Lancer was making sure that Dash would receive detention for as long as he could and even prohibited him from playing in the next two football games.
Finally school was over and Danny was ready to storm the news station and demand some answers. Then he could find out who did this and start finding a way to deal, or at least find some closure.
On the way to the news station Danny was forced to fly out and take care of a ghost, promising to meet the rest of them at the station. Surprisingly, it was only the second ghost of the day, one attacking during school. Since the portal was left open so long he could swear he'd be plagued with attacks all day, but apparently not. Although, the day wasn't quite over yet.
Danny quickly fought and trapped the ghost in the thermos and headed off to the house, deciding to empty the thermos since it was on the way to the station. He flew invisible through the house, not wanting to deal with any family at the moment. He just wanted to get in, drop of the ghost, and head to the new station without any form of interaction.
After emptying the thermos in the lab, thankful his parents were showing his relatives the Op Center, he flew upstairs, ready to meet his friends at the station when he heard his aunt's voice from the study.
"Steven, I think we should go home."
"Why?"
"I just do."
"Does this have something to do with Jack? I thought you'd forgiven him for that backwash incident?"
Danny smiled. He wouldn't put it past his Dad to make someone like Sophia uncomfortable. She'd always seemed more sensible than the rest of the family. He always pictured his other uncle to be a lot like her.
"It's not Jack, it's Danny."
Danny stopped, not believing that he'd just heard his name. What kind of problems could he be causing? If this was about the Ghost Portal incident he'd already explained that it wasn't his fault and now that the portal was closed and would remain closed nothing like that should happen again. And even if she was still mad at him it wasn't a good enough reason for why they should leave.
"What about him?"
"Steven, he's a ghost!"
"So?"
"'So?' How can you ask that? Mom, Dad, Jack, and Maddie all hate and hunt ghosts, yet they're all willing to put it behind them just because Danny happens to be a ghost? Don't you remember that stupid oath that they always quote that we're forced to swear when we become ghost hunters? 'No matter who the ghost used to be, he is a ghost and is by definition evil and I will do everything in my power to destroy him and return him to the world it belongs."
"But Sophia, he's our nephew!"
"And he's a ghost."
"Oh come on. You've never really taken any of this ghost stuff seriously and now when it comes to your own family you decide you're going to strictly follow the insane oaths your parents devise? I mean, are we sure they're even right."
"Steven, ghosts are inherently evil, we've all studied it and we all know it, and even if everyone else doesn't want to admit it, I can. Danny has evil inside him from being a ghost and I don't want to know what'll happen when it comes out."
"So what, you want to kill him? Send him into the Ghost Zone? I guess now your comment earlier makes sense."
"No. I don't want anything to do with that. I just think we should leave before anyone in the family becomes the victim to that evil. Arya was already put in danger this morning, and I don't want to add anyone else to that list."
"Sophia, he's been a ghost for a long time and nothing's happened. He's a good kid, he saves the town, he has fun and has friends and family to watch out for him. I'm sure Maddie and Jack realize all this and Danny probably does too. They've probably got it all under control. Now, can't we just enjoy spending time with family that we hardly get to see?"
"It's hard to enjoy something when you know something might go wrong."
"When you think something might go wrong. You have no proof to suggest otherwise. I want to stay, and I'm sure Arya and Elijah do too. If you want to leave, I can make up a reason for why you left, but we're staying."
"Fine, but if anything happens, then you'll know I'm right."
"Yes yes, you'll be right, but nothing's going to happen."
Sensing that the conversation was over, Danny flew off, his head spinning. His aunt wanted to leave because she didn't want to be around him. His own aunt thought he was evil and should be cut off from the family because he'd put them in danger. She was yet another person that believed Dickens' theory.
Danny shook his head. He couldn't think about this, not now. He had more important things to do, like finding out who set him up. He couldn't go worrying about what people thought of him right now.
She's just like Dickens, she doesn't know what she's talking about. Sure she may be a ghost researcher, but she's not you. She doesn't know what goes on inside you, and she's never seen a half ghost before. She doesn't know what she's talking about Danny continuously reassured himself while flying off to the station, trying to calm his mind enough before arriving. He saw Jazz, Tucker, and Sam standing outside and landed near them, shoving the thoughts from his mind and putting on a cheery face.
"Danny, is something the matter?" Jazz asked. Obviously it wasn't cheery enough.
"No. Why?"
"I don't know, you just look…preoccupied. Is something on your mind?"
"I'm just trying to think of what questions I should ask, that's all. Come on, let's go in."
Danny led the way inside, Jazz following behind, still looking at Danny, knowing something was wrong, but she'd talk to him later. Now wasn't the time.
"Hello, how may I…" the secretary trailed off as she noticed the boy standing in front of her.
"Hi, I'm here to see the camera man that caught my transformation on tape," Danny stated bluntly. Everyone behind the desk looked at him, afraid of what might happen. They knew that Danny Fenton had every right to be mad at them and they all knew what he was capable of.
"Relax, I'm not going to do anything," he assured them. "I just want to ask him a few questions."
"I-I'm sorry, but that's not…"
"Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," Sam declared. "Easy way: you give us the name and we go to the office and ask our questions and leave. Hard way: we fly around here, asking every person in this building if they know anything and find the guy that way. Either way, we're going to talk to him, but it'll save everyone a lot of time if you just told us."
"His name's Andrew Massey. Top floor, corner office."
"Thank you," Danny thanked and headed towards the elevator, taking it to the top floor, leaving the secretary breathing in relief.
The doors opened and they headed to the aforementioned office which was full of half unpacked boxes. The desk was slightly messy and disorganized and looked like someone had just moved into it and wasn't quite sure where to put everything at the moment. But other than a goldfish the office was devoid of any life forms.
"So where is he?" Sam asked, scanning the office again.
"Coffee break? Steaking out near my house? Who knows."
"If he was doing something like that the receptionist would've told us," Jazz remarked. "He's probably just out of his office for the moment and will be back shortly." She sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk, Danny sitting next to her while Tucker and Sam sat on the couch near the desk.
A few minutes later a man walked in, his face covered by two cardboard boxes as he walked into the room. Another man followed behind him, his face covered as well. The first man lowered the boxes, showing his bespectacled face and short auburn hair.
"Oh hello how may I…" his voice trailed as he realized who was in his office.
"Who is it?" the man asked in back asked, craning his neck around his boxes. "Holy cow, it's Danny Fenton! Man, I was wondering if I'd get a chance to see you! How 'bout an autograph?"
"James, no. You can just leave those outside."
"Fine," he grunted as he set them down and trudged off. The first man walked over to the door and shut it, moving towards the window and stopping, staring outside. "I was wondering when I'd be seeing you."
"Mr. Massey?" Danny asked.
"Call me Andrew. Sorry about the mess. I'm just moving in; I got a promotion."
"I wonder why," Sam remarked sarcastically.
Andrew sighed. "So let me guess, you want to scream, rant, yell, and possibly maim me for recording you, right?"
"My sister won't allow it. Ow!" Danny yelled as Jazz stepped on his foot. "Actually, I just came to ask you a question."
"That's it?"
"Yeah. Who gave you the tip?"
Andrew took his glasses off and started cleaning them on his shirt. "Man, I wish you were here to yell at me. That would be a lot easier. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."
"Why not?" Danny asked angrily.
"I promised I wouldn't, gave my journalists' vow. When a journalist promises not to reveal the identity of his source, he's bound to it. It's one of the highest ethical laws."
"You guys have ethical laws?" Sam asked, the sarcasm rolling delicately off her tongue. "Because I would've thought that ambushing a person's house, prying into his private life, and blocking him from getting anywhere were all unethical."
"Sam," Jazz warned.
"No, she's right. The rules aren't as strict as they should be and actually protect the informant more than the victim, but there's nothing I can do about that. I don't make the laws, I just follow them."
"Look, this is really important. We think it might be a ghost that gave you the tip. I need to know who it is!"
"I can't tell you."
"But it's for the good of Amity!"
"I'm sorry."
"Look, I have proof from another ghost that someone did all this to set me up for some bigger plot. They said this was only the beginning, and I need to know the beginning of what."
"I'm sorry kid, I really am, but I can't tell."
"Why not? Is some dumb ethical code more important than the future of Amity?" Andrew remained silent, opening and closing his mouth like he was debating whether or not to answer. "Do you know what that tip has done? How it's affected me? Sure, you get a nice new office and probably a nice new paycheck to go along with it, the job of your dreams. Me, I can't go anywhere without people looking at me strange, or gawking, or staring. People keep asking me to show off, to sign every scrap of paper they can find. I don't have any privacy anymore. People treat me different, not because I'm a hero or because I have ghost powers, but because I'm not completely human. My own history teacher, who used to love me, can't even look at me and my math teacher only just started acting civil towards me. All because of that tip."
"You think I don't think about that? Of course I do. I have to live with it every night I go to sleep. Anytime I see the news, anytime I hear people talking about you, I know that it's all my fault. That's why I need to keep this source a secret, to try to wash away the guilt."
"That source screwed my life over! I think I deserve the right to know who's responsible!" Danny yelled as a pen shattered on the desk. Andrew jumped at the sound and looked at the pen, but remained silent, returning his gaze to the floor.
Danny ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I don't blame you for all this. You were just doing your job and it's mostly my fault, but that doesn't mean I'm not mad at you. Am I angry that you were the middle man in the plan? Oh yes. And though I may not blame you, are you entirely blameless? No. You want that feeling of guilt to go away, let me set this right. Tell me the name of the source, let me confront him, know why he wanted this done to me and what he wants to do. Maybe I can fix it, maybe I can't, but I do know that if you tell me the name, you'll sleep better at night."
Andrew took a deep breath and faced the window again, staring at the setting sun lighting up the city below. "I don't have a name," he admitted. "It was an anonymous tip."
This time the computer blew up while Danny fumed with anger, his eyes glowing. All that trouble, all that work convincing him, and he didn't even have a name? They had gotten no where!
Andrew sighed. "I don't have a name, but I have a recording."
Suddenly Danny felt light with hope, like all the anger and frustration had magically evaporated inside him.
Andrew turned towards them, facing Danny for the first time since their greeting. "I recorded our conversation, being the dutiful reporter that I am, and though he told me to destroy any evidence, I didn't. It would be far too valuable and destroying it went against every feeling of intuition I've ever had. So I hid it, in a safe place so no one could find it. Give me a couple days to get it, since it's not exactly close, and you can have it."
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. Just, don't tell anyone."
"Trust me, my lips are sealed."
Andrew nodded his head in farewell, which Danny returned, he and his friends walking out of the room. "Oh, and sorry about the computer, and the pen," Danny apologized.
"Don't worry about it. With how much this'll be worth on ebay I can buy twenty new computers. 'The Computer Danny Fenton Blew Up', oh yeah, that'll sell."
"How about 'The Signed Computer Danny Fenton Blew Up'?" Danny suggested, walking over and signing his name on the remains. "Just to make it authentic, and to show my gratitude."
Andrew nodded another thanks as Danny joined his friends outside the room.
"Oh Danny?" Andrew called, causing Danny to turn around. "Is it too late to say I'm sorry?" Danny shook his head. "I'm sorry."
"Thanks," he replied with a smile as he and his friends headed towards the elevator, ready to go home.
Danny entered the house, surprised at how quiet it was. The only noise he could hear was the television set displaying the day's news while his aunt watched in bored interest.
"Where is everyone?"
"They're all still up in the Op Center; they've been up there all day," his aunt answered shortly, either not approving of their obsession with the Op Center or not wanting to talk with him.
"Even Arya and Elijah?"
"No. They're out taking a walk."
"Ah. Well, that's good."
An awkward silence filled the room. Danny didn't know what to say to her and he knew she didn't want to talk to him as he recalled their conversation earlier that day. He didn't really know how to react around her, now that he knew how she really felt about him. He stood in the doorway, his eyes staring at the television screen, pretending to be watching the pointless news story about some woman's cats, the stuff they put on when they weren't busy talking about ghost attacks or displaying more about his life.
He had a feeling he should talk to her, maybe sort things out. That's what he did with Dickens and it worked out fairly well. Plus, she was his aunt. They were family. If he could just get her to understand then maybe she'd get over it. But before he could think of any way to bring up the topic, his aunt stood up.
"I'm sorry, it's prime time and you probably have a favorite show you want to watch and I'm monopolizing the television." She threw the remote onto the couch near him. "I'll just be in the study."
"No, I don't really watch tv. I don't bother getting hooked on a show I know I'm going to consistently miss. I actually wanted to talk to you."
"Talk to me? About what?" she asked, her tone making Danny feel like talking alone with him was one of the last things she wanted to do.
"I heard you talking with Steven this afternoon."
"Oh," she stated simply, looking slightly embarrassed, but generally keeping her level expression. "Well, what else do you want me to say?"
"I just want to know…why?"
"Why? Well, isn't it obvious?"
Danny looked at her quizzically, not quite understanding the obviousness of the situation. To him, it seemed far from obvious why she would come to such conclusions about him, especially after all she'd seen and knew about him."
"Danny, you're a ghost, and ghosts are inherently evil. It's like putting two and two together."
"It's not that simple," Danny defended, echoing the arguments he used against Dickens the other day. "Look, I've heard this speech before. I'm part ghost, which means that I have that evil inside me, but what you forget, what everyone seems to forget, is that I still have a conscience inside me too, and it'll prevent anything from happening."
"Well, then it looks like you have everything figured out."
"No, I don't. That's not the only reason you've been acting cold towards me, and don't think I haven't noticed. I don't think you've said enough sentences to me to make up a paragraph, and that's including the conversation we're having now. There's something else, and it's not that I might have some evil inside me. It has to do with me being a ghost in the first place."
"Of course it does!" she yelled, standing up and pacing across the television. "You're a ghost! That's what we fight! You don't think we fight and research them because it's a fun hobby do you? There are reasons for it, and it's not just to rid the world of the evil they cause. Do you know what ghosts did to this family? Are still doing?"
"Well yeah, since I am part of this family."
"No," she corrected, shaking her head. "You have no idea what it was like with your grandparents. They're worse than Jack and Maddie could ever be. There was no conversation outside of ghosts, there was no world outside of ghosts, and if you refused to see that way, they chucked you out of the family and never spoke of you again! Ghosts ruined my life! They made my parents crazy, made me lose my brother, made me lose all hope of ever becoming anything other than a ghost hunter. They backed me into a corner, leaving me with no choices! The way my life is now is because of ghosts, ghosts like you."
"Now wait, that's not fair. I didn't do anything! I became a ghost a long time after all that happened."
"True, you're not personally responsible, not one ghost is, but it's the idea, the existence of ghosts that's to blame. If ghosts never existed, then there'd be no need for ghost hunters or researchers. We could be a normal happy family, if only there weren't ghosts like you around."
"Hey, if I had it my way, I'd wish there weren't ghosts too. Mom and Dad might be normal, they wouldn't be attacking the town, I wouldn't have to worry about having ghost powers in the first place! In a sense, you and I are in the same shoes."
"No, I'm nothing like you. I'm not a ghost."
"Well as much as you don't want to admit it, our situations are similar," Danny barbed, quickly losing his patience with his aunt, and his temper. "I think that out of everyone I have the right to say that ghosts screwed up my life. I mean, they made me become one! And I have to deal with them too, more than any of you combined!"
"Well that's not too bad, since you are one."
"Can we just get past all the 'you're a ghost' comments?" Danny snapped.
"No. I've tried, but it just doesn't work. When I first found out, I can tell you I wasn't pleased and was quite prepared to sever connections with you. Then Mom and Dad got the brilliant idea to visit you, and I wanted to stay behind, not wanting to have anything to do with you, but I decided I needed to give you the chance, being my nephew and all. I tried to get past the feelings, spent time in the room with you, tried to immerse myself in the conversations, but I couldn't. The more time I spent around you, the more ghost I saw, and the more I couldn't stand."
Danny's eyes were wide, not knowing how to respond to her comments. She wanted to sever ties with him, never see him again, and she had no problem not only doing it, but admitting it directly to him, and without any form of emotion.
She must have seen the look of hurt apparent on his face because she turned around, placing her hand on her head. "I don't think you understand," she stated, turning back around. "I hate ghosts. Simple as that. I can't stand them. It's like a constant furnace burning at all times, especially now while I'm around you. My life was ruined, and the life of my family, all because of those monstrous creatures, creatures like you!"
Danny felt the comment stab at his heart. This was his aunt talking. He'd spent time at her house, she'd make them chocolate chip cookies and play with them in the pool, take them to the zoo, out to lunch, and now she was calling him a creature. He wasn't her nephew, he was an inhuman monster in her eyes, and she wanted nothing to do with him.
Danny wanted to fight, wanted to try to convince her otherwise, but knew in his heart it was useless. Unlike Dickens, she wouldn't be swayed. She'd had years to build up this hatred, and for some reason she felt fit to direct it all towards him. Nothing he could say would change her mind.
Yet through all the hurt, his brain was working overtime. The situation, it seemed so familiar, so like his conversation with Dickens. Suddenly, thoughts and ideas came crashing down on him as everything fell into place. Of course, how had he not noticed it before? All the rude comments, the blame, suddenly it all made sense. She described her feelings as a furnace of hate and she mentioned that it was burning brighter now, while he was around. But what if it wasn't his presence that was making her hatred and anger at ghosts more pronounced? What if there was something else fueling her anger, infuriating her?
It had to be him. It all made sense. He knew his aunt had always secretly hated ghosts, but it was never this bad, unless she was being infuriated by a ghost on the inside, making her say and do stuff she normally wouldn't do. It explained her sudden increase in hatred of ghosts and, in turn, Danny and why trying to get past her feelings didn't work. He hadn't been that ghostly and had actually only gone ghost three times around her and for only short amounts of time and didn't show off any powers. How could she only see him being a ghost when throughout the night he was clearly showing that he was just the same nephew he'd always been? Unless she had a ghost inside her, making her only see the ghostly side and increase her hatred.
He knew what he had to do. It was the only way he'd get his aunt back. Once she was free of the ghost, she could start adjusting and things would slowly get back to normal between the two of them.
"You thought you could trick me, but I can see right through you. I figured it out."
"Trick you? What are you talking about?" she snapped.
"Don't play games with me. I know what's really going on, and I know how to stop it."
His hands glowed as he shot the ecto-blast. It hit her squarely in the chest, sending her backwards. Danny prepared to fire another blast for when the ghost emerged, but nothing happened. No ghost was pushed out of her back.
She wasn't being overshadowed.
A/N: I know, I know, evil cliffie. Expect a lot of those from now on. But don't plan on me apologizing for it...
Oh, and I have to credit V for Vendetta, once again, for Massey's apology. I just loved that line so much I had to put it in!