Catalyst: A Story about Change

Chapter 8: Uncle Vlad

September 20, 9 months, 3 days after

Danny felt like an idiot. As usual, he hadn't used all the resources available to him when he could've, and had ended up wasting valuable time as a result. Specifically, he'd cut off Sam's parents. Not intentionally, of course, but out of a subconscious desire, he knew, to avoid people who were suffering from her loss as much as he was. It was too painful to be around them.

But that didn't mean he could afford to drop communication completely, as he had done for months. For some reason he'd assumed they would either find her, or not find her, and they'd definitely call if they found her. Of course, things were never that black and white, which had only occurred to him a day ago, shortly before he'd gone to visit them at their house to ask questions in hopes of stumbling across something useful. Maybe the police had a lead they weren't able to follow up properly? Had they been able to track anything at all, even if the trail was cold?

Lo and behold, they had! Danny had felt like slamming his face into the table a few times at the news. (He was seated with Sam's parents around their kitchen table.) As it turned out, the FBI had visited one Vlad Masters, a billionaire, in his Wisconsin mansion back in April, since Sam had apparently flown there and subsequently taken a cab out to his mansion. This had been a lucky break for the investigators, since anyone visiting the Masters mansion was so unusual that the cabby, who specialized in picking people up from the airport, remembered the trip even weeks afterward.

She'd visited Vlad! At this point in the conversation Danny had been forced to excuse himself to go to the bathroom, running all the way. Sam's parents, he was sure, were under the impression that he'd had sudden trouble, erm, with the lower down digestion, of the nature one likes to keep vague. He'd had to stay in the bathroom for over ten minutes in order to calm back down. The implications of Sam visiting Vlad were so horrible, that for one adrenaline crazed moment he'd contemplated simply flying up through the roof right then and there straight to Vlad's, never mind what Sam's parents thought about his disappearing act.

He'd forced himself to get control over his raging emotions, however. It had been months, after all. Maybe if he'd found out a few days after she'd left, rushing off would've been a good idea. But now? Now he needed to plan, to think things through, which had been something he'd neglected to do, it seemed, from the start of this mess!

Upon returning to the conversation, he'd found things only got worse, though thankfully he was already past the biggest shock. Apparently Sam had tried to buy ghost hunting equipment off of Vlad, according to the billionaire himself, but he'd turned her down since he didn't manufacture that sort of technology. (Danny's urge to slam his head into the table had returned at this point.)

What really burned Danny up was that after the FBI had questioned Vlad, they'd gone back to Amity Park to question his own parents. "Why would Sam want ghost hunting equipment, and why wouldn't she ask for it from them, since they were right there in Amity Park?" These were the sort of questions, after filling in both sets of parents about Sam's meeting with Vlad, that the detective had asked, according to Sam's parents.

So his parents had known! And hadn't told him! He had seethed for hours after that revealing conversation, and had gone over the time in which the detective had been around in his memories as meticulously as he could. The funny thing was he did remember a detective visiting once or twice very early on to ask questions about Sam, such as "what sort of person was she, was she having any trouble Danny knew about?" But he must've come back a few weeks later and talked to his and Sam's parents while he was in school.

For some reason they'd chosen not to tell him, but that hadn't stopped his parents from asking him questions. Heck, he had to admit, they might've just forgotten to tell him, though he doubted it. He'd just been so depressed and out of it at the time, their questions hadn't seemed significant! "Why do you suppose Sam took her Fenton Thermos with her, Danny?" "Do you think there are other places that have as many ghosts as Amity Park, Danny, hypothetically speaking?" The former had been his mother, the latter his father.

In his defense, they'd asked him lots of questions over a period of weeks, and his parents were weird people; they'd thrown him some really weird questions. In the mix of it all, he hadn't put any particular significance on the ones that pointed to her trip to Wisconsin.

Still, the fact that he could've simply asked his own questions at any time, and thus found out about this months ago had sent him almost literally through the roof. His sudden trip to the bathroom had truly been the only way to cover his emotions at the time.

Danny sighed, and turned to look out the window of the Fenton RV. Things were at least somewhat on track now. Today was a Friday, and the beginning of a three day weekend. And the Fentons, plus Tucker, were taking a road trip to Wisconsin to visit none other than dear old Uncle Vlad.

Danny had suggested it the previous evening, of course. And since his parents were eager to cheer him up in any way they could, they'd agreed quickly. His dad, of course, had been extremely enthusiastic, and was still as oblivious as he had been from the start about Vlad's animosity toward him.

It was going to be a surprise visit, or a near thing, at least, since Vlad had only been given half a day's notice (they'd only been able to get a hold of him mid morning, when they'd already been on the road for hours). And with Jack on the line, anything Vlad said in response to the idea of a visit had been translated into unbridled enthusiasm, even if it had been a "no, Jack, I'm busy." That might've been his answer, too, for all Danny knew.

Vlad was one of the few people Danny had left on his list to question, ironically. He'd been spacing out the tougher ghosts over time, wanting to avoid putting potentially dangerous fights too close together. And Vlad lived in Wisconsin, whereas the portal to the ghost zone was in Danny's basement. Again, if he'd thought things through more thoroughly, he would've remembered that Vlad had a portal to the ghost zone as well, though Danny wasn't sure where it was.

This trip was a blessing in many ways, at least. He wouldn't be tired out from flying to Wisconsin, or have to worry about the RV being missed (should he have chanced taking it on his own) by his parents. Vlad would be distracted by his family and Tucker, so Danny would have a chance to snoop around.

Vlad groaned, leaning back on the recliner until he was nearly horizontal, and put the phone back on its receiver on the nearby table. He was in his smallest, coziest study, the one where he'd talked with Samantha Manson months ago. There was a fireplace across the room, currently unlit. He stared into it, his mind less than sharp at the moment, and scowled after a moment when he realized he'd been zoning out.

Jack, I'm really going to have to kill you one of these days… His bumbling idiot of a 'friend' didn't understand subtlety, so Vlad didn't know why he had attempted to use it on him.

The Fentons were visiting in a few short hours, and he'd only gotten what felt like a few minutes of sleep last night. He was dead on his feet, not to mentioned traumatized, damn it, he did not want to deal with them right now!

The horrific images from Samantha's birth were still fresh in his mind. Only last night he'd been waiting for hours, sweating, shaking, and finally forced to concentrate hard on the one place he didn't want to be looking. Ugh… Vlad groaned, and then turned onto his side. After that he'd caught an early morning flight out back home, and had arrived (oh joy!) just in time to receive Jack's happy news. The conversation was still fresh in his mind.

"Hello?" His voice had been slightly surly as he'd slumped into his favorite armchair; he'd hardly stepped inside the door when the phone had started ringing, after all.

"VLAD MY MAN!" Vlad had moved the receiver a foot away from his ear, his nerves twanging.

"Jack?"

"Vlady, how've you been? What's cooking in Wisconsin, besides cheese?"

"Nothing much, Jack." He'd paused. How did he word this? "My dear friend, not that I mind your call, but what…"

"We're coming up for a visit, Vlady! Danny's got a three day weekend, so we thought we'd come say hello! You've gotta say yes; we're already halfway there!"

"Really?" No, no, he had to get out of this! How exactly did one get through such a thick skull, however? "Jack, I'm sorry, but this is…"

"Such a wonderful surprise?" Vlad paused, indeed caught by surprise. "You're speechless, Vlady! Don't worry, no need to say any more, I know you're overjoyed! We'll be there in about four hours!" Click.

A fuzzy anger pulsated through his veins momentarily, but Vlad was just too tired to be or even feel violent, and besides, he'd just have replace whatever he broke later anyway. That idiot…

And now he sat, staring into his empty fireplace because his mind was determined to shut down for a few hours. Oh yes, he had sounded soooo overjoyed. Overjoyed was practically his middle name. Vlad sighed. Clearly this was punishment for something he'd done. (In which case he couldn't really complain, he supposed.) Besides, he reasoned, he'd get to see Maddie.

After a moment he went intangible and wobbled his way down to the lab; he needed to lock things down before they got there. Daniel had a tendency to snoop.

"Vlady!"

"Jack, my friend, it's been too long!" Vlad did his best to put up a cheerful front; the last thing he wanted to do was alienate Maddie because of lack of sleep.

The gang had arrived. Jack, Maddie, Daniel, and his friend Tucker were gathering outside his front door. Daniel, who was in the back, was already giving him the 'evil eye'. Vlad raised an eyebrow at him after ushering the others in.

The effect was spoiled a little when he realized the boy had finally outgrown him. He sped up to join Maddie at the front.

"How have things been down in Amity, Maddie? You're looking lovely as ever, by the way."

"Oh, well, it's been a little quiet lately, what with Jazz starting off to college last year. It's just Danny now, and Jack, of course."

Jack stepped in. "It hasn't been the same, without Jazz around the place, with her psychology mumbo jumbo! But that's life, kids've gotta grow up. Maddie's a little reluctant, though."

"Yes, well, life's all about change, isn't it, Jack?" Such as a change in which you go away forever, and I get a chance with Maddie.

Jack might've caught a glint in his eye, because he turned the conversation toward him. "Speaking of kids, Vlad-man…when're you going to settle down? I always thought I'd get to be best man at your wedding, and here you are in your forties, still single!" He put an arm around Vlad's shoulder conspirationally. "There's still time, though, Vlady. You're rich, smart, you've got great friends, (here he swelled a little) so I'm sure there's someone out there just waiting for you to walk into her life." Jack waggled his eyebrows at him, and for a moment looked like a used car salesman trying to push a deal.

Vlad, already feeling sore at the world, had to concentrate on keeping the steam from leaking out his ears. But once again his fatigue caused any true anger from petering out before it formed. Still, the petulant scowl was there to stay.

"Maybe someday, Jack. Who knows?" Ah. But there was always energy for the evil grin.

Vlad sipped his tea quietly, and took the time to zone out. Everyone else was helping themselves to beef sandwiches and raspberry tarts, which unbeknownst to them had been prepared by one of the best French chefs in the world…from the 19th century, anyway.

Daniel had already snuck off, pleading a full bladder. He had yet to return, and Vlad was lazily contemplating checking up on the boy. He was somewhat reluctant to be alone with him at the moment, however. He seemed a tad…on edge, and Vlad wasn't up to a fight at the moment. And the boy had considerably bulked up.

It wasn't like Daniel could do any real mischief, of course, unless he simply decided to trash the place. Besides, the techno wiz wasn't with him, opting for food instead. Not that his PDA had a chance against Vlad's security system.

He leaned back, deciding he didn't need to worry about it. "So Jack, Maddie, how are the inventions coming along? Anything new?"

Maddie Masters…it actually had a ring to it…ew…Madeline Masters…Jack Dead…Dead Jack….Evil….Plasmius…..Vlad Plasmius….sucks…

"This is stupid." Okay, so that last one was just out of spite. Danny sat in front of Vlad's computer, down in the secret lab, trying different passwords. Unfortunately, Danny had a sneaking suspicion that even if he got it right, he still wouldn't get access to anything. There was what looked like some sort of hand print scanner off to the side. Well, he could always beat Vlad senseless, and then place his hand on it for him…..

Danny paused, frustrated. Some part of him knew that was hardly fair to Vlad, but if Sam had been here, he needed answers, damn it! And it wasn't like the jerk to simply give out information.

He frowned, and stood up from the computer to walk around the place, running his hands through his hair in the process. It had already been ten minutes, at least, and Vlad was bound to get suspicious soon. It looked like this would have to wait until tonight, when he could hopefully get Tucker down here with his PDA. Vlad couldn't personally guard the place all night long, right?

"Jack, Danny hasn't eaten anything yet. Jack, put that back!" Maddie thwapped Jack lightly on his hand to make him relinquish the last raspberry tart. Vlad closed his eyes to avoid rolling them and took another sip of tea. What did she see in him? He would never be able to fathom it.

"Where is he, anyway?" Maddie looked around, just in time to see Danny come back into the room.

Jack's voice boomed out. "Speak of the devil! Danny, get over here and eat something before I do. Unless you're not hungry?" There was a slight gleam of hope in Jack's eyes. Those tarts were excellent.

Daniel, looking a little frustrated, sat down and nabbed the last tart for himself, along with a beef sandwich. "Thanks for leaving me some, guys." The sarcasm was almost tangible.

Vlad gazed over at Daniel as he sat down to eat, trying to conceal his surprise. It occurred to him that he hadn't heard the boy speak yet. And that voice…something about that voice was very familiar.

"Your voice has dropped, I see, Daniel." He looked up, mouth full of beef sandwich.

"Yeah. S'fummy how dat happ'ms." A tiny piece of half chewed sandwich fell back to the plate. How quaint. Vlad shrugged mentally and looked away. This conversation could wait until later, obviously.

"Danny, calm down!" This isn't helping me think. Or my headache." Tucker was sitting on the floor, cradling his recently barbecued PDA.

It was a little past midnight, and he and Danny were down in Vlad's lab discovering the benefits of being able to afford the best of everything. Like security systems.

Tucker's PDA, and also Tucker to some extent, had just been fried (literally) while trying to hardwire into the system. Danny, meanwhile, looked about ready to hit something, and wouldn't stop pacing the room. Tucker sighed.

Danny had flown them both down here about half an hour ago. He'd been so eager a few minutes ago, but now that Tucker's only real chance of cracking the system had failed, Danny was losing his cool fast. His nervous energy had been annoying to start with, but now Tucker could practically feel the frustration pulsing off him in waves. This had been their big chance to get a lead on Sam, and it appeared to be another dead end.

"Danny. Stop the pacing. Danny!" Danny stood still for a moment, but couldn't hold it and started madly pacing again as soon as Tucker looked away. Tucker decided to put aside his busted PDA; that was clearly a lost cause. They needed to figure out what to do next.

"I don't think I can get into this system. Actually, I'm positive I can't. I mean, it requires a hand print and a retinal scan, along with a password, Danny. This is top of the line stuff." That stopped Danny cold.

He stood with his back turned, extremely tense, and Tucker wondered what was going through his head. "Tucker…" He sighed, and clenched his fists in frustration. "Tucker, you've only been at it a few minutes. Don't you think you should try a little harder before throwing in the towel?"

Tucker frowned. He knew how frustrated Danny was, but he couldn't work miracles! This system was foolproof. Danny was just too stubborn to see that. "Retinal scan, hand print? I can't fake those."

Danny turned around, glaring daggers. "I told you about that earlier. At least the hand print. You said you could get around all of that." He crossed his arms. "What changed?"

At least he was asking a reasonable question. "What changed is that Vlad's system fried my PDA, Danny. The only way I could've gotten in was if I could physically connect into his system, and flip the switches in the main security program that would convince the computer I gave the password, hand print and whatever else it needed. I can't do that, though, if I can't make the connection. All I can do at this point is fry another PDA."

Danny's eyes narrowed. "How do I know you're just worried about losing another PDA? How do you know for sure that the second time wouldn't work?"

That was it. That was just plain ridiculous. "Danny, do you really think I'm that selfish?" He put down the PDA and leaned back on his hands. Now he needed to calm down. Both of them angry would get them nowhere really fast. He took a calming breath, and kept his voice even and low. "Look, if I tell you I can't crack the system, I mean it. I'm the techno wiz; you're the guy with ghost powers. You might try trusting my judgment on this."

Danny didn't look any calmer, however, and he didn't seem repentant about what he'd said, either. Instead he marched over, still glaring daggers, and towered over Tucker, who suddenly felt slightly nervous. Something about this was familiar in a really wrong way…

After a moment, much to Tucker's surprise, Danny leaned over and pulled Tucker up by the lapels. Then he started yelling.

"Is this a game to you, Tucker! What is wrong with you? Don't you understand how important this is?" For a moment Tucker was disoriented, and more than a little shocked. What was he doing? Danny's voice became mocking and puerile, and his eyes rolled up to the ceiling. "You're the techno wiz, I'm the ghost boy! How stupid is that? You're not a techno wiz, Tucker, what you are is completely useless!"

Tucker felt like he'd been slapped. His brow furrowed and his jaw clenched. Enough was enough! "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you, Danny! Put me down! If you hadn't noticed, I'm half a foot off the ground! And why are you in ghost form still anyway? It's not like there's anyone here to fight, unless you're planning to beat me up?"

After a moment Danny lowered him back down and let go, some of his anger finally fading to be replaced by an embarrassed petulance. "You said you could get in, Tucker." The way he said it made it sound like an apology. He looked off to the side, suddenly miserable. Actually, Tucker thought, he looked a lot like a kid whose ice cream had been stolen, which was a complete reversal from a moment before. A moment before, if the eyes were red instead of green, and the hair was flaming…

Tucker suddenly felt uncomfortable. Danny was getting more and more unpredictable, and although Tucker really felt entitled to a proper apology, he didn't quite have the nerve to deal with whatever whacked out reaction Danny would have next. He crossed his arms, and let out a long breath of air. They were both just really, really stressed about Sam. That's all it was.

He answered Danny, speaking slowly, and tried to keep the edge out his voice. It was hard, because he was feeling more than a little used and abused at the moment. "No I didn't. I said I could try." He couldn't stop himself from going on, though. "You might try being a little more thankful, you know. Visiting Vlad isn't exactly my idea of fun, or finding out what he's got on his creepy computer!"

Danny stepped back, still avoiding his eyes. After a moment he turned around, walked across the room, and started absentmindedly looking over the gadgets Vlad had placed along the wall. Tucker could tell he was still angry, though probably at the situation and not him personally. Driving all the way up here for nothing? That was a pretty depressing thought. After giving Danny a moment, Tucker came over to stand next to him.

"You know Danny, you could just try…asking Vlad. I know it's a long shot, but you might get something out of him if you catch him off guard, or ask the right questions. And there's the off chance that…he might just tell you what he knows."

Danny kept his eyes on the wall as he spoke. "Unless he's the reason Sam's missing. And you know I can't tell when the bastard's lying to me."

"I know…I know." Tucker suddenly felt very tired. He missed Sam too, and felt worried too. He didn't like to think of her in Vlad's clutches; the guy was a madman. But it was late, he'd spent all day on the road, and his brain just wasn't doing so well at the moment. If there was a solution, he wasn't seeing it.

"Well, Tucker, if we can't get into his system, I don't think Vlad should be able to either." Danny was looking downright malicious as he turned back toward the computer, and Tucker's eyes widened as he noticed that he was gathering energy into his right hand.

Vlad's eyes widened as well. The brat! He was going to trash his computer! He'd been watching the two boys interact for the last few minutes, having gotten out of bed when the alarm he'd rigged earlier when off. Fortunately he was doing a little better now, having gotten a few solid hours of sleep.

Daniel had developed quite the attitude over the last several months, it seemed. Vlad hadn't observed him much lately, having been absorbed with Samantha's unborn child, and the mystery surrounding the father. But now that Daniel was in front of him, here and now, he could see several changes in the boy. He was too angry all the time, and too violent. His emotions were impairing his judgment, and he seemed almost eager to do malicious damage to Vlad's very important, very private laboratory. Well, he couldn't let the ingrate destroy his computer.

"Daniel, stop." He placed himself between Daniel and his computer, becoming visible in the process, and crossed his arms. He was in ghost form, which made two of them. Daniel stopped, eyes narrowing.

"Vlad. How long have you been here?" He didn't look as surprised as Vlad would've liked, or as intimidated. But when it came down to it, he really didn't want to fight the boy.

"Long enough to see you treat your friend rather badly. You could try following his advice, you know, and simply ask me what you want to know."

"The problem with that would be, I can't trust you, Vlad. You're a lying, manipulative, evil, sad, miserable freak. No offense." He smirked, and crossed his arms again. Vlad let the insult slide. Daniel was obviously hoping for a fight.

"You're looking for Samantha, and you think I've done something with her. What, pray tell, would I have done with the girl, Daniel? She's of no use to me."

Daniel frowned deeply, and narrowed his eyes. His friend, Vlad noted, was doing a remarkable job of standing very still. "She's one of my best friends, Vlad, and you happen to be obsessed with me and my mom. You could be planning to use her against me."

Vlad snorted softly. "Daniel, my boy, if I had any intention of," he lifted his hands and formed quotation marks in the air, "using her against you, why would I secret her away for so long? Any plan I had would've been done and over with long ago. No, I'm afraid that whatever is going on with your little friend has nothing to do with me." He paused, but went on when Daniel looked more angry, not less. "I can tell you that she did visit me some months ago, however."

Daniel paused, and then responded. "I already know that. And knowing you, you already knew that I know that, too. That's why we're here. Why should I believe for a second that you have nothing to do with her disappearance, when the first place she goes is to you?"

Vlad crossed his arms, and adopted a contemplative look. "It's puzzling, I agree. I was very curious about it at the time, and tried to ask my own share of questions." He frowned, and let a little of the concern he'd felt for Samantha over the months show itself. There were times to suppress an emotion, and then there were times to share them. He knew his idea of when this was differed from the average person's, though perhaps not the average politician's.

"I…have a recording of the conversation, Daniel. I'm willing show it to you, if you'd like. I'm afraid that beyond that, however, I'm nearly as in the dark as you about her whereabouts." He raised his eyebrows, frowned in regret, and uncrossed his arms in order to shrug his shoulders in a clueless gesture. "I swear it."

Daniel's eyes had lit up a little at the mention of a recording, and after that he'd looked much more willing to believe what he was told. Vlad thought he could see a hint of trust beginning to show in Daniel's expression, and he smirked inwardly. The boy was right; he was a very good liar.

"Show me the recording."

"Of course. If you will follow me upstairs?" Daniel looked surprised.

"It isn't on this computer?"

"No. This computer is devoted to my research on ghosts. Anything to do with my secret identity goes down here. Everything else goes upstairs. The government watches its billionaires carefully, Daniel. Everything I can keep transparent, I do, and that includes the security cameras." Most of them, anyway.

They stepped out of the fireplace entrance, having walked up the stairs as they talked. Vlad made his way out of the room, after shifting out of ghost form, and led them to the security room. It was roughly in the center of the mansion, a small room where all the security cameras could be monitored if he so chose. It was locked, as always.

"You'll have to phase through." He did so, and Daniel, along with his friend, followed after a moment, looking cautiously around.

"You'll have to be patient. I need to go back several months, and I don't remember when she was here exactly, so I'll have to do some hunting around." He glanced over and gave Daniel a grumpy look. "But if this will keep you from destroying my things, so be it." He sat down at the one chair in the room (which was not much bigger than a very large walk-in closet) and faced the monitors.

"Now. What brings you all the way out here? Shouldn't you be in school or something?"

"Never mind that. But today is a Saturday, so no, I'm not skipping school. Look, I know you're Vlad Plasmius…"

"I know you know."

"Well, I know you knew that I know..."

The conversation played on, and as Daniel and his friend watched it, Vlad watched Daniel. It was clearly both a joy and very painful for him to be seeing and hearing the girl after so long, and Vlad couldn't help notice the strangely rapt look in his eyes. And he says I'm obsessive.

He leaned back against the wall, having given up the chair to Tucker, and found a question from earlier surfacing again. Daniel's voice. It sounded very familiar, and after thinking on it (and sleeping on it) for a little while, Vlad was reasonably sure he knew where he'd heard it before. He would do a test once they had left to see if he was right. If he was…well. Things, once again, would be simplified yet made more confusing at the same time.

"…it again." Vlad looked up, having tuned out temporarily.

"What?"

"I said play it again." Daniel was looking over at him, waiting for Vlad to work his magic.

"I can do it, Danny." Tucker began rewinding the recording. Seeing their friend, even on video, was obviously very nostalgic for both of the boys. Vlad chose to remain silent. After a few moments the tape started up again, and Vlad came over to watch through with them this time.

"…if you insist. But money really isn't an issue. And, to be honest, you don't strike me as the type to give something away without expecting something in return."

Vlad laughed. "My dear Samantha…I'm sorry, you really must let me call you Samantha, it's a lovely name. I can't imagine why you choose to shorten it, just like Daniel…my dear Samantha, I see you've heard horrible things about me from Daniel. Whatever you've heard, let me assure you, I've never had anything but the best intentions at heart. Sometimes I just have a rather round about way of showing it." He paused. "In any case, I really would like to give this to you, and perhaps a few other tools if you would like, free of charge. As a gift. No strings attached."

Vlad reached down to stop the tape. There was a silence that followed after, as they all thought their own thoughts.

"Show us what happens after this. Down in the lab." That was Tucker this time, whose attention was nearly as riveted at Daniel's. Vlad sighed to himself. This was going to be a long night.

"Would either of you care for some tea?" Vlad was making a beeline for the kitchen.

"No, but some food would be good." Tucker followed behind, perking up. Vlad yawned widely, tears forming briefly at the corners of his eyes. He was…so…tired.

Daniel smirked. "Sleepy, old man?" He smirked.

Vlad smirked back. "Well, it's a bit past my bedtime, boy, no thanks to you." They'd gone through the tape where Samantha had been given the Plasmius Maximus and another small device for catching ghosts, not unlike the Fenton thermos. Then they'd gone back upstairs to watch her exit the building and drive away in the cab, of all things. Then they'd gone back downstairs again, after Daniel had insisted on re-watching the previous tape. After that, Vlad had told them they were taking a break because he said so, and so here they were going to get tea.

After a bit they came to the kitchen, and Vlad rang a bell for the chef, who was available 24/7. As they waited Tucker started prattling off a list of food items the length of his arm. Vlad rolled his eyes and did his best to ignore him. He smirked when the boy stopped suddenly as the chef came through the ceiling.

"Ah. Louis. If you could bring us some tea, and anything you could put together quickly for a snack, please. We'll be in the study." He turned around and headed towards the study and his favorite recliner. If they insisted on bothering him further, he could at least be bothered in comfort. They trailed along behind, still seemingly surprised at the ghostly nature of his chef, though he couldn't imagine why. Didn't they know anything about him after all this time?

"So Vlad…."

"No more questions until I get my tea." Daniel shut his mouth, for once, and Vlad slumped into his recliner, pushing back until he was in a lying position. He threw an arm over his eyes to block out the light, and began to doze off. All things considered, things were going extremely well.

"As I said, I don't know where she went. However…"

"However what?" Daniel was hanging on his every word, and Vlad had to suppress the smirk. Tucker was looking decidedly sleepy, however.

"However, I believe she was heading west, at least initially. I have, or should say had, a tracking device installed in the Plasmius Maximus." He put down his cup, having finished his tea. He'd made them wait until he was done with his first cup and had gotten a refill before talking to them. "I like to have information, and I like to keep track of people, as you know, Daniel. But Miss Manson clearly knew this too, because she destroyed my tracking device less than a weak later. She had traveled less than one hundred miles west, perhaps slightly to the south, when it stopped functioning. Judging by her speed, I'd say she was traveling by either car or bus. And that, my boy, is absolutely all I know."

And Daniel believed him. Vlad could see it in his eyes. He'd also completely forgotten about trashing his computer, which was excellent. Things were definitely going well.

Author's Note: Hey-loooow. Hmm...well, here's the chapter I promised to post tonight, though technically I supposed it's early morning of the day after I'd said I'd post it...

Arrrgh. I need sleep. Anyway, please review! Yay! (Does the extra hyper dance of joy, then passes out.)

Actually...here's a quick question for everyone! I've got the next plot oriented chapter already outlined, ready to write. But, there's stuff I didn't put into this chapter- you know, the Fentons hanging out at Vlads, things that don't reeeaally have any meaning to the plot. I'm not even saying it'd be that great...but I could write a short chapter nine that tells you what happens over the weekend with these guys "hanging out" with Vlad...'n stuff like that. Um. :) Or not?

Er...also, thank you so muuuuch for all the reviews! I usually reply back to the longer ones, because it's vera much fun, and will do that with the ones from the last chapter, too. I'm just sleepy right now. :P