Epilogue: Eileen

Two things influenced my decision.

The first was a tearful phone call from Jazz. Danny had finally confessed to his sister that he's afraid of their parents and that he spends some nights with Lawrence because he doesn't feel safe sleeping in his own house. For as long as I've known Jazz, she's always been strong-willed and optimistic. On the phone, she was broken and scared and begged me not to tell Danny that she'd betrayed his trust. She said that she didn't know what else to do, and she was relieved that nothing she said was news to me.

The second thing was a call I got a few hours later from the Box Ghost himself. Lawrence said that Danny had been staying at the warehouse frequently enough that Lawrence had gotten him an air mattress and some snacks. Lawrence and Danny talked for a while last night, and it sounds like my son has hit the wall. Especially since the poor kid had apparently cried himself to sleep.

I told Danny that I'd let him handle his birth parents on his own. But, I also said that I would intervene if I deemed it necessary. With these new developments, not to mention how stressful the reckoning preparations will be for him, it's high time I got off my ass. Sorry, kid, but Mama's gotta do what Mama's gotta do.

The tricky part is that I can't talk to his birth parents without revealing why Danny feels so unsafe. As for his other family members, well, there isn't much there. All his grandparents are deceased (and not ghosts; I asked Reaper), and his aunt lives in some backwoods town in Arkansas. He mentioned a cousin who's a ghost, but she roams the Earth and no one ever knows where she is unless she tells them.

And, Ancients know I can't contact Child Protective Services. Why is he afraid of his clearly loving parents, you ask? Considering that he's half-dead, can you blame him?

I've helped students with abusive parents before, but I've never had so few options. Fortunately, there is someone in Amity Park who might be able to help.

I thought about talking to Tucker's parents or Valerie's father; out of all of Danny's human friends, those two have the most normal parents. But, being normal parents who know the Fentons means that they would most likely call the CPS.

I briefly considered talking to Frostbite. Danny introduced us a few months ago, and I've been to the Far Frozen a couple of times since. Frostbite is very nice, and he and his people do worship my son as a deity. (That's an exaggeration. I think.) That being said, the Frozeners are very…boisterous. I get the feeling that if they knew Danny's human parents were a threat to their "Great One," there would be some bloodshed involved.

No, the human I'm thinking of is the only option that comes without risk. Or rather, the least amount of risk.

Assuming he'll talk to me.

School just let out for the day, and I am waiting by the entrance to Town Hall when the man in question steps out of the building. He regards me with a curious and slightly suspicious expression.

Instead of a greeting, he gets right to the point. "Aren't you that ghost who's teaching at Casper High? Ms. Mae, right?"

I wonder if showing up in my natural, inhuman state was a good idea. Best to be as polite as possible. "You can call me Eileen, Mr. Mayor. Sorry for dropping in out of nowhere, but I was hoping to talk to you."

"About?" Mayor Masters asks. I can't tell if I've peaked his curiosity or if he's going to tell me to leave.

"About one of my students: Danny Fenton. I understand that you're friends with his parents."

"Yes," he says, more interested now. "I've known Jack and Maddie since college. Why don't you come inside? We can talk in my office."

Relief floods me. "Thank you, Mr. Mayor."

"Please, call me Vlad."

Vlad leads me to his office, and I try to avoid the curious looks of the employees. On the way, I can't help but comment, "I was worried you wouldn't even spare me a glance. What with the anti-ghost policies you implemented when you were first elected."

"Heard about that, did you?" Vlad says sheepishly. We reach his office, and he opens the door for me. Once we're both inside, he closes the door. "You know how these small towns are with outsiders. Especially where politics are concerned. I was willing to do whatever it took to make people like me. I don't expect you to understand-"

A little laugh escapes me. "Newsflash, Vlad. I'm a ghost teaching at a human school."

Vlad smiles and smacks his forehead. "Oh, duh. Of course you understand! At least you have the benefit of being the mother to our town hero."

All it took was a few people hearing the word "mama" slip out of Danny Phantom's mouth, and suddenly everyone and their brother knew. Pride makes me beam brighter. "Well, what can I say? But, we're getting sidetracked." As far as the mayor knows.

"Ah, yes." Vlad says. He gestures to the chair across from his desk. "Have a seat, my dear." I do as I'm told, and he goes to sit at his desk. "Now, what's this about Daniel? Fenton, that is," he clarifies, folding one arm over his chest and placing his free hand on his chin.

I need to be careful with how I approach this. "It's just that Danny's been a little…off lately. Quieter, more anxious. Have you noticed?"

Vlad observes me with an intensity I can't interpret. "I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask. As his teacher, you would know better than I. In fact, shouldn't you be having this conversation with his parents?"

I fold my hands in my lap. "Actually, I believe his parents might be the problem."

"Do tell," Vlad says. If I didn't have his full attention before, I do now.

"As you can imagine, I've been teaching for a very long time. Suffice to say, I could be your ancestor for all we know." Vlad lets out a low whistle at that. "Yeah, I'm old. Anyway, I've taught a lot of grade levels at a lot of schools. Obviously, no two students are the same, but I have a general idea of what to look for in regards to a student's homelife."

"You suspect abuse," Vlad says plainly.

Here comes the hard part. I keep my hands together and try not to fidget. "I didn't say that. I've seen enough of the Fentons to know how much they love their kids. But, loving parents aren't always good parents. Know what I mean?"

Vlad hums thoughtfully, propping his elbows on his desk and lacing his fingers together. "I still don't understand why you've come to me. Why not, say, Child Protective Services? Or, the police, perhaps?"

Because Danny isn't fully human. "I try to avoid that sort of thing if I can. Depending on how bad things are, it can get messy and cause a lot of extra stress for the child." That's not a lie. Vlad nods in understanding. "Since you're a family friend and the mayor on top of it, I figured you would have both the authority and the discretion necessary for a situation like this."

Vlad half-grunts half-hums and drums his fingers on his desk. When the silence is getting unbearable, he speaks. "What about Jasmine? You haven't said a word about her."

I suppose there's no harm. "She's actually the one who reached out to me."

"Does she feel unsafe?"

There's no reason for her to. "I don't think so, but she is old enough to be out on her own. If I'm being perfectly honest, Vlad, I get the sense that she only stays in that house to look out for her brother."

"That does sound like Jasmine," Vlad muses. There's a pause then he sighs and places his hand on his forehead. "You've put me in a difficult spot, Eileen. Jack, Maddie, and I have always been so close, and I can't picture them as anything but good people who are absentminded at worst. On the other hand, Daniel has always been like a son to me. He and his sister have even addressed me as 'Uncle Vlad' on occasion."

"I don't mean to cause any rifts."

Vlad smiles kindly. "No, no. You've done nothing wrong. Why, if you ask me, looking out for your students is the mark of a good teacher."

That makes me feel a little better. "Thank you. Vlad, let me emphasize that I am not suggesting abuse." Even though I am. "It's just that all this ghost stuff is-" I clamp my mouth shut.

"Ghost stuff?" Vlad asks. "How would that affect Daniel?"

I have to scrounge up a way to save this. "Um… Well… I've noticed that-that Danny cares a lot about ghosts." An idea hits. "Actually, now that I think about it, it's possible that Danny is simply worried about ghosts and his parents' treatment of them. Maybe he feels unsafe on the ghosts' behalf?" Now that I've said it out loud, it sounds ridiculous.

But, Vlad buys it. (Did he…almost smile?) "That makes more sense to me. Daniel has always been a very empathetic person."

"So…maybe you could talk to his parents? Get them to ease up on the ghosts? As you can see," I gesture to myself, "we aren't all malicious."

(There's that almost-smile again.) "I'll see what I can do." Vlad rises from his seat, and so do I. He steps around his desk and offers his hand. I take it, and we shake. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Eileen. You just leave the rest to me."

"Thank you so much," I say sincerely.

We say our goodbyes, and I take flight, feeling a thousand times better about all this. It's clear that I spoke to the right person-

A whistle draws my attention before I can get that far. I turn and see none other than Danny Phantom waving me over from on top of that karaoke bar that opened a few weeks ago. And, he is not happy.

I descend in front of him and say, "Duplicate or the real deal?"

His arms are crossed, and his neon green eyes are narrowed. "Real deal. They did a few scans on me. Now they're doing some kind of analysis stuff I don't understand. So, I took the opportunity to go on patrol. I'm guessing it was you who set off my Ghost Sense. Getting chummy with the mayor, are you? I saw you fly out of his office."

Why is he so upset about that? Danny's never had much to say about the mayor, but based on what Vlad said, the two are close. Unless, that's just how it seems from Vlad's perspective.

Either way, Danny is not going to like this. "Danny, do you remember when I said I would keep the secret about you staying over at Lawrence's Haunt? But, I also said that I would intervene if I deemed it necessary?"

Danny's white eyebrows shoot up. "You didn't."

"I know things at home are getting worse for you-"

"So, you told Vlad? Aren't there, like, a million better options?"

His vehemence startles me. "I thought about all the options, Danny, and Vlad made the most sense to me. He's going to talk to your parents about giving ghosts a break. If they won't listen to us or Jazz, I'm sure they'll listen to him."

Danny whirls around and takes a few steps away. I can hear him taking calming breaths as he runs his fingers through his hair. He can be mad at me all he wants. I know I made the right decision.

When Danny turns back around and walks up to me, he no longer looks like he'll blow a gasket. "I'm not gonna get angry. You didn't know, and it's my own fault for not telling you."

Maybe I didn't make the right decision. "What's wrong?"

"Mama, Vlad Masters is not the nice man he appears to be. He will use and discard whoever he wants to get his way, and he has a particular interest in ghosts. And, I mean that in a bad way." Danny looks away bitterly. "I should know."

I didn't just make the wrong decision. I made exactly the wrong decision. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"It's fine. It's fine." Danny sounds like he's trying to convince himself of that. "I'm used to dealing with Vlad's crap. I'll manage."

Still… Something occurs to me and deepens the pit in my stomach. "Danny, by any chance, does the mayor know your secret identity?"

My son hesitates. "He does. But, it's okay, because I know a secret about him. He won't tell if I don't tell. That's how it works with us."

"You mean like with Plasmius?"

"Yeah." A strange look crosses Danny's face. "Yes. My agreement with Vlad Masters is the same as my agreement with Vlad Plasmius."

He said that in such a weird way. "Sounds like you have some pretty bad luck with guys named Vlad."

Danny stares at me for a moment then speaks a little slower. "You're not listening. The agreement I have with Vlad Masters is the same agreement that I have," he points toward the Town Hall building with both hands, "with Vlad Plasmius."

It clicks, and I thought the pit in my stomach couldn't get any deeper. "Uh, right! Of course! S-same agreement, two completely different people who just happen to share a first name. Eh heh heh. I-I really screwed up, didn't I?"

"Again, I'll manage." I hate how tired Danny looks. I hate that I made it so much worse. "Just stay away from Vlad. For your own safety."

"Danny, please," I beg before he can fly away. "There must be some way I can fix this. Some way to make it up to you!"

He's silent for a long time, staring up at me with such raw hurt and sorrow. I know that I'm part of the reason for that pain, but I know that I'm a very small part. When he speaks, my core shatters. "You can make it up to me by staying safe." He takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. "I just want you to be safe."

I'm on the brink of tears when we hear a noise loud enough to shake the building we're standing on/floating over, followed by screaming. We rush to the edge of the roof and look down. People are running out of the karaoke bar in mass panic.

"Maybe you're not what triggered my Ghost Sense," Danny says to me.

As if proving that, a ghost girl with a flaming blue ponytail steps out of the bar. I think her name is Ember, and I'm guessing the guitar in her hands is what made the noise.

"What?" Ember shouts in mock-offense. "You weren't gonna throw a karaoke party without me, were you?"

"Hey, songbird!" Danny shouts, leaping off the roof. "Get back in your cage!"

I can't watch this. I'm sick of watching my son put on a mask and pretend that everything is okay.

So, I decide to pay the mayor another visit. This time, I'm invisible as I hover over Town Hall and watch Vlad walk out of the building. If he has half the experience that I do at posing as a human, then he's very careful with what he says and does.

I keep my distance as I watch him walk into the parking lot behind the building. No one else is out here. Vlad walks past all the cars. I heard something about him parking far away from everyone else; jokes about rich people with fancy cars followed.

Staying good and unseeable, I follow him into an alley. He stands there for a moment and scans the area. Is he going to shift into his true form?

The answer is yes, but the change doesn't come with a white light coating his body like with Shapeshifting.

It comes with two rings of light - in his case, black ones - appearing around his waist and traveling up and down his body.

Like with Danny.

Like with halfas.

That's the secret, I realize. This is the secret that Danny holds over Vlad's head. That they hold over each other's heads.

A loud gasp shoots out of me before I can stop it. Vlad Plasmius's head swerves in my direction. I'm still invisible. I take advantage of that and flee.

But, Vlad is fast. Just before I took off, he got close enough that he must have sensed my presence. Out of nowhere, a white-hot blast sears my back, and the shock of it renders me visible again. Before I know what's happening, two large hands encased in black gloves grab me by the arms, squeezing to the point of pain. Wholly red eyes meet my own, and there's a fanged grin in my face.

"Well, this is awkward," Vlad says, sounding mildly amused.

Don't panic don't panic don't panic. "I-I didn't see anything, Mr. Mayor. Er, Mr. Plasmius." Damn it.

"I know you didn't see anything, my dear," he says too casually. "Because if you did, it would end very badly for your son."

My core wails at the threat, and a chill runs up my spine. "Good to know."

Now that I've been properly cowed, Vlad releases me. "The boy has enough problems right now. As we have discussed," he adds meaningfully. "Let's not add to them."

He flies away, and I'm left wondering what I've just unleashed.

Danny: I want you to stay safe.

Eileen: *does the least safe thing possible*

Joking aside, this one was more of a rollercoaster than I expected. But, I'm happy with it, and I hope you are too. As always, thanks for reading, and I'll see you in Part Nine!