Chapter 38: My Father's Steps

The two sat by the pond, enjoying the cool air, the sweet scent from the flowers and the gentle sounds of the pond. Every once in awhile a fish would break the surface, causing a ripple to spread across the smooth surface. Casper found his eyes wandering away from the pond, instead to the high stone walls that surrounded them. The ghost knew outside those walls was a huge forest, and passed the forest in one direction was a lake, and in another a town that they would soon terrorize. But Thatch had mentioned things in the woods, witches, and werewolves. He had a feeling that wasn't true, witches don't randomly stalk around in forests, and werewolves didn't solely live in the forest. He figured that was only a joke to try to keep the students in line and from wandering.

"I want to try levitating," Thatch said suddenly as he stood up. Casper looked up at Thatch, watching with a curious look as the vampire moved back from the pond, in case he fell.

"But how do you teach yourself? Can you even levitate?" The friendly ghost asked as he stood up as well, nervously following the vampire. "You just learned how to do that weird wind thing," Casper reasoned, but the vampire was stubborn as ever.

"Come on, do what Kibosh did- I don't wanna fly all over the place."

Casper tried not to laugh. "Thatch if you get an inch off the ground I'll be impressed. But fine, I'll hold your hands." The ghost teased, trying not to roll his eyes as he took Thatch's hands in his own, a huge grin plastered across his face.

The situation was rather hilarious. The vampire and ghost were standing outside in the middle of the night, holding hands. Casper really tired not to smile or laugh, even when minutes went by and Thatch was looking terribly frustrated. Casper ended up breaking down with laughter when Thatch did a little bounce on his heels.

"M-maybe you're too young, Thatch?" Casper offered kindly through his giggles. Thatch hissed annoyedly, but Casper felt no worry. Instead, the ghost moved and hugged the grumpy vampire, trying to stifle his giggles. "Thatch it's okay. We got years ahead of us to learn." He offered simply. Thatch grumbled annoyedly but nodded.

"Students should be in bed," Ra called out. The pair turned around, seeing the mummy walking down the stone path, looking annoyed whenever his bandages got caught up on a branch. The pendant around his neck was glowing green, giving the mummy some light.

"You're a student too," Casper smiled and released the vampire. He went over to Ra, saving the mummy the whole trip. Thatch begrudgingly followed Casper. "Ra what are you doing out here?"

"I went to your room to talk but you were gone. So I went to Thatch's and you both weren't there, so I went looking. That castle is a maze!" He complained. Thatch just shrugged, not surprised at Ra's complaints.

"It's supposed to be. My dad designed it to turn around intruders. We don't like guests. Give it a week and you'll learn your way around." He waved the thought off. "There are a few shortcuts I could show you later, in case you're ever running late to class."

"Yeah yeah whatever," Ra rolled his eyes. "Anyways, I was trying to memorize the place, but I think I got turned around. I tried finding the tower but I just ended up in the library."

"Why did you want the tower?" The vampire hissed defensively, his eyes naturally flickering upwards towards the tall dark tower.

"Uh, because it's a huge landmark on the castle and I bet from the top I can see miles around. Casper said there was a village nearby, so I was figuring I could see it."

"The town is too far, you can't even see it from the tower." Casper shrugged simply. He did wish he could see the town from the tower, but that would mean the castle would be closer to the edge of the woods. Vampires were so reclusive! "It's a good flight away, Thatch said normally they took carriages to get from here to the town." The ghost had no issues explaining this, plus getting rid of one of the reasons Ra wanted to see the tower might deter him from it.

"Still a good vantage point-"

"No one is allowed in that tower." Thatch said harshly, earning an odd look from Ra. Thatch sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's not… no students up there. I bet mom will go over some rules tomorrow and one of the rules will be to stay away from the tower." He nervously said, his eyes going to the nearest window. Casper elt a soft giggle escape him. Thatch was worried about being caught out here again. Surely this time they would get in trouble since this was a 'school' now.

"Well, currently it's not against the rules, so I'mma go look." The mummy said confidently as he turned around, starting to head back to the door. "Save me some trouble and just show me the way!" Ra called back. Casper looked nervously at Thatch, who annoyedly followed the mummy.

"Ra, that tower is off limits to students!"

"Oh come on Thatch, you break rules all the time. Besides, I'll be careful."

"... You're not going alone." Thatch decided rather easily. Casper was surprised Thatch was allowing Ra to get his way. Casper followed now that Thatch was leading the way. "No touching anything, and you can't tell anyone about it- oh hey um. Maybe we could do that... thing?"

"Yeah sure," Ra shrugged off easily. Those two were so strange...

"Why are there so many stairs?!" Ra complained loudly. Casper knew they were only halfway up the spiral staircase by now. The ghost was rather happy he could just fly and didn't have to climb up like Ra and Thatch.

"Because it's a tower," Thatch coldly answered, his pace not slowing. "Come on Ra, don't be so slow."

"My bandages are going to fall off at this rate," Ra grumbled angrily, keeping a few steps behind Thatch at all times. "Your dad must have had some sort of weird obsession with stairs."

"Actually he was obsessed with the unknown and the impossible," Thatch easily correctly. Much to Casper's surprise the vampire seemed pretty calm, not even getting that defensive, it was more matter-of-fact. This was a great step! Casper felt his spirits raise and he let out a happy sigh. Ra and Thatch were getting along so well. He just hoped it would stay this way, no more fighting.

As they finally reached the top the first thing Ra did was just lay on the cool floor, groaning tiredly as he rolled over to his back. He just kept grumbling 'never again' as he caught his breath. Thatch was winded, but far more use to the stairs than Ra was, so the vampire started to wander around the old lab, an inquisitive look in his eyes as he looked over all the pushed aside… stuff. The chalkboard still in the corner, the papers abandoned on the desk- clearly everything was in the same spot as last time, but Casper could tell they didn't belong there, and plus in the story Thatch told, his father had moved everything around in the night of the attack. It made the ghost wonder what this all looked like in its prime. Thatch seemed to be wondering that too or remembering it because he went over to the chalkboard, pulling it out of the corner.

Casper stood by the stairs, Ra still on the ground as he huffed and puffed as he also observed Thatch. The vampire was anxiously moving things around, his touch remarkably gentle as he lifted documents up, looking them over and placing them where he remembered. It took awhile but the violet-eyed vampire seemed to know what he was doing. Only once in awhile he would pause and had to mull over where an object went.

The lab was actually looking like a lab, not an empty room with things piled along the walls.

Casper carefully floated off the floor, tensely drifting over to the vampire, who seemed satisfied with his job, and was now staring at the portrait of his father on the wall. Casper cast an apprehensive glance at the painting, then back to Thatch. "Thatch?"

"It's about time I find out my dad's mysteries, don't you think?" The vampire said thoughtfully. "I want to find his real lab. Maybe follow in his footsteps one day?" His tone was absolutely doubtful of himself, his eyes filled with uncertainty. But Casper beamed and nodded, encouraging. If this is what Thatch wanted now, the ghost would help him no matter what.

Casper took Thatch's hand in his own, giving the vampire a classic smile, then peering around curiously.

It looked better, still old and abandoned. Casper found himself about to ask something when Thatch pulled away and went over to Ra, kneeling by his side. "Can you do that... thing?" Thatch carefully asked. Ra looked around the lab uncertaintly.

"Thatch I don't know if this is a good idea... besides I've never done it for... to another person? I don't even know how to say what we're doing!" He complained, sitting up and resting back against the iron railings that lead to the steps.

"Come on Ra, just a few minutes?" He pleaded, leaving Casper in confusion. What were they talking about? Is this why they've been talking so much lately? The ghost found himself nervously floating, confused and a tad sad that he wasn't being let in on... whatever that was going on. The two monsters didn't even seem to notice at first. The mummy finally agreed and Thatch eagerly helped Ra up to his feet.

"This is going to suck... Okay, let's give it a shot!" He clapped his hands together, wringing them as he looked around the lab. "This is going to be a thing... A big thing... this is going to be a ducky thing Thatch, you owe me. Now just relax-"

"Can I be let in on what's going on?" Casper piped up, letting his feet touch the ground finally as he went over to Ra and Thatch, looking between the two.

"Thatch thinks they're hints in this lab leading down to some 'secret' lab', " Ra rolled his eyes as he did air quotations. "He thinks if he went back to a certain day in the past and sees it he might understand more."

"But... If we're going back in Thatch's memories he won't remember anything he doesn't already remember?"

"That's no how mummy magic works." Ra shrugged it off. "In the office, you saw my memory from my point of view because I made it so. Mummys can actually use their magic to view any day in the past at any time, whether they saw it or not. I'm going to use Thatch's base memory as an anchoring point to figure out the exact date I need to work off of." Ra explained as he started to walk to the center of the room. "As before just catch me when I fall. I don't know how long I can do this either."

"Isn't this dangerous? Ra what if you exert yourself too much?" The ghost worriedly asked. He understood whatever they were doing was terribly important to Thatch, but his friend's health was also important. He didn't want Ra getting hurt.

"Pffft, don't worry Casp. This pendant hones and limits my magic, I won't be hurt." Ra brushed off easily, his hand naturally going to the beetle pendant around his neck. This still didn't bring much comfort. Casper found himself staring at that pendant, slowly understanding more of its role in Ra's life. Ra had been terrified when Dummy Girl took it, and it wasn't just for memory sake… What would happen if Ra lost it for a long time? Would Ra lose his ability to use magic, or perhaps his ability to control it at all? It could go either way. He only wanted them to be safe, be careful and smart. Oh, he was sure if Mantha was here she would control this situation so much better! thatch and Ra left alone to plan lead to trouble, go figure. He should have stopped it before it got this far.

But all the ghost could do was watch as Thatch took his spot beside the mummy, letting Ra placed a hand on his shoulder. Casper started to float, tucking his feet up from the floor as the room seemed to wobble a bit, then become solid- not like Ra's previous spell. It actually felt like they were back in time- and the lab was alive. Lights, similar to the ones Clementine used in the forest trail were floating around the room aimlessly. That was the only thing peaceful about the lab. Vincent hurried around in a creative frenzy, muttered words falling from his lips as he lifted papers, scanning them before he dropped them carelessly and searched another. Gadgets and weird steam-powered machines were whistling loudly as they pumped and rumbled with power. Different colored liquids filled every glass container the ghost could see- and every flat surface was covered with stuff. It was impressive but an utter mess.

Vincent was pacing between the several tables and his desk, his white hair ruffled up- probably from the humidity from the steam. Casper found it terrifying but also thrilling to be peering into the past, into Thatch's past. Oh, if this was based off a memory then… Casper turned, his blue eyes scanning the lab quickly.

The child version of Thatch was sitting near the balcony, his father's cloak draped over his tiny shoulders as he played with some wooden soldiers. It was night time, so the balcony doors were open and allowing the moonlight to flow in. The child vampire smiling goofily, his fangs far too big for himself. He kept glancing up at his father, just smiling despite his dad's distress. He was being quiet, letting his dad work in peace... In this mess of a lab could bring anyone peace.

Casper smiled and looked back to the real Ra and Thatch, just to see the living vampire had left Ra's side and was exploring the lab, looking down at the papers on the tables. Ra, on the other hand, was over at the steam power machine, watching it curiously- until it spewed steam into his face, making the mummy back right off with a loud complaint about the machine being 'rude'. Casper seriously doubted it was possible for a machine to be rude.

"Thatch?" Casper softly called out but earned no response. Thatch was too involved in his father's work. Casper frowned and moved to go get the vampire's attention again, but stopped as Clementine appeared near the stairs, softly huffing from the climb.

"Vincent, for goodness sake the cook has been ringing your bell for a good half hour!"

"I know, I silenced it," The adult vampire made a brief motion. Near the stairs on the back wall was a small silver bell, which he had covered with the blanket that was supposed to go over the machines when they were off. Clementine grumbled and went over, removing the cover with an irritated tug. The bell was silent stiff at least.

"The bell was for yours, and Thatch's supper! He needs to eat, and so do you. Take a step back love, Kibosh can wait." She tried to say soothingly as she set the blanket on the railing, smoothing out the wrinkles. Thatch smiled from his spot and stood up as he dropped his toys, running over to his mother. The long cloak dragged behind him, not that Thatch cared. "Oh hello, little prince," she laughed and easily lifted Thatch as if he was nothing, giving him a playful twirl before she held him close to her bosom, making the child just fall into a fit of laughter. "Let's go eat dinner… Right, Vincent?" She asked, her tone having a slight edge. The woman turned back to the stairs, gently rubbing Thatch's back as the vampire wrapped his small arms around her in a big hug.

Vincent was quick to cave to her will. He laughed softly, nervously rubbing the back of his neck as he went over. "Yes, of course, let's go." He gave Clementine a quick kiss on her cheek before taking Thatch when the child held his arms up, carrying the young lad down the stairs with Clementine following.

Now the real Thatch, Ra, and Casper were left alone in the captivating lab to explore as they pleased. Casper caught Thatch staring at the stairs, and it wasn't until he noticed Casper watching that he looked away, his cheeks flushed. Thatch nervously fiddled with his cloak, needing something to do with his hands.

"Wow Thatch, you were so... tiny?" Casper faintly smiled. He liked seeing Thatch at stages at his life, but the ghost found himself.. jealous? Casper remembered little about his life before a ghost, while Thatch could remember his entire lifetime... Then again Thatch never died.

"You looked like a baby!" Ra laughed loudly, meriting a hiss from Thatch.

"Well of course I did, I was terribly young at this age!" He justified. "I didn't even know how to talk," and at Casper's look, his shoulders slumped, his anger subsiding. "I was a bit slow with my words."

"Wish that was still the same, your tongue is as sharp as a knife sometimes." Ra chortled, holding his hands up in a defense when the vampire puffed up like an upset kitten. "It's fine, it is... Okay so, what are we looking for?"

"I remember my dad planning to change the entrance to his 'secret lab' when I was playing this day. If we find the plans for the new entrance we could find it. But the problem is there are so many papers!" Thatch groaned in frustration, throwing his hands up.

"Why don't we just... follow your dad when he goes down?" Casper offered. "That'll be easier. When does he head down to the lab?"

"After I go to bed normally. He liked to stay awake in the day, for a vampire that's terribly odd."

"You still need to explain this whole... vampire thing when you sleep at the night and crap," Ra motioned to all of Thatch. "Because you're confusing me to hell."

"Oh shut it bandage boy. You'll learn it in my lesson. Besides, shouldn't you be doing homework?"

"On what?"

"Your dumb face. Your lesson is Monday." Thatch said simply as he walked past the mummy and towards the spiral stairs. "Now come on, if we're going to follow dad we best not get too far."

"Ugh... More stairs." Ra whimpered, dragging his feet as Thatch and Casper started to head down the stairs.