The Life We Fight For
Chapter 34: Trust Not Easily Given Part II
Soon after breakfast Danny did in fact sit down in the music room and attempt to practice.
His mind was wandering as he attempted to play and he quickly found himself frustrated. He brought his hands down angrily, resulting in a jumbled cacophony of notes echoing out through the large room.
"Why can't I just focus and do something anyone with a tiny bit of skill can do?" He asked loudly to the walls. "It's like all I'm good at is blasting things, flying around like an idiot and fighting ghosts."
A sudden, horrible thought struck him.
'What if Vlad doesn't want to share his plans with me because of my history of rash, no-good decisions?'
He worried at his lower lip, pondering. He'd thought nothing was worse than a hero being treated as weak, but what if all they were good for was battle?
"I can be strategic," Danny assured the empty room. "And assertive; a leader even. The fruitloop just doesn't see it."
Determining to prove himself, Danny took a deep breath and lifted his wrists to the instrument again. This time, he would focus and follow through!
But when he went to play again, there was the slightest of tremors in his hands. He dropped his head and felt his eyes well up in frustration.
It was so easy for Vlad. The man could smooth talk his way in or out of anything, lie, manipulate and coerce quick as light. He was diplomatic, sure of himself and logical- well, sometimes. Meanwhile, Danny was just...Danny.
There was no way he could focus now. With a huff the boy stood and transformed. He needed advice from someone, and that someone happened to be nearby.
Following his ghost sense, Danny flew into a room he'd never been in before. It was cozy, with a large fireplace and dark velvet curtains tied back from long, clear glass windows.
By the windowsill stood Dora, her hands holding a small watering can as she stared out the window. Her eyes seemed to have a haze over them, as if she was looking for something too far away.
"Hi," Danny prompted gently.
Dora turned and smiled at him. "Hello Danny," she said. "You flew in very quickly, didn't you?"
Danny laughed sheepishly and pulled his legs up to sit cross-legged in the air.
"Sorry, did I scare you?" He asked.
"Not at all, I believe I'm used to it coming from you."
Danny's nervous smile dropped immediately. Dora noticed this and set down her watering can.
"The servants let me help take care of the plant about the castle- er, manor." She said quickly, taking a seat by the fireplace. "I've enjoyed it. Tell me, have you done anything pleasant with your day?"
Danny felt a growing pressure build in his chest. When was the last time he felt like he'd truly had a nice, normal day?
"I apologize Danny, I did not mean to make you upset." Dora said. Danny shook his head.
"You didnt, I'm just having an off day." He said. "An off couple of months, actually."
Dora nodded. "You and Sir Plasmius will figure things out, I'm sure."
Danny knew she was trying to sound comforting, but it seemed like everything Dora said was chipping away at what dignity he had left. He blinked back the drops of emotion from his green eyes and shrugged.
"That's just it, I'm not sure I'm of any use to him anymore." He said quietly.
"Why is that? You've been working together for a 'couple of off months' now, haven't you?" Dora asked.
Danny looked down. Something about the way Dora was looking at him always made him feel vulnerable. Like when his mom knew Danny had done something wrong and was waiting for him to confess.
"Vlad has done basically everything for me," he said, "even when I had the chance to destroy the ghost responsible for all of this, I went overboard and endangered my friends."
"I see," said Dora, "you feel you are helpless?"
Danny nodded, hands open in his lap. Everything around now made him feel claustrophobic; the windows weren't letting in enough of a view of the outside, the fireplace was too big and took up too much space, the bearskin rug was too high.
"Vlad lied," Danny choked out. "He hid his plans from me, and I think it's because he doesn't trust me."
Danny continued to explain to Dora his fears, telling her of the events leading up to the night prior and their significance to he and Vlad's alliance. Dora listened intently, watching his body language more than anything. It sometimes made Danny uncomfortable, but Dora was simply the type to read people this way, and as long as she was taking him seriously, he didn't mind.
"Vlad does stand to gain from keeping you in the dark," Dora said after Danny finished and hung his head.
"That's the problem," said the ghost boy, "I'm tired of him treating me like a pawn."
"I don't think that's it," Dora told him. She seemed to search for the right words for a moment before she continued. "Sir Plasmius does not want you to be hurt, physically or otherwise. He knows you struggle to see things objectively, to put yourself and your feelings aside to attend to the matter at hand. This is not a detrimental trait, however it isn't quite ideal for what is required to carry out his type of... Operation."
"I want Vlad to trust me though," Danny lamented. "I want him to think I'm smart and clever enough to do the things he does!"
Dora leaned back in her seat, pondering.
"Perhaps you can show him those sides of you?" She said.
"I can't prank him to prove my point anymore, no way am I getting in trouble again."
Dora laughed. "No, of course not. Tell me Danny, who is the most intelligent person you know?"
Without missing a beat, Danny answered, "Jazz."
"And the most clever?"
"Sam," Danny said, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Definitely."
"Now think of someone loyal; trustworthy." Dora told him.
"Tucker, he always has my back." Answered Danny.
Dora smiled warmly. "There are often people in our life we can look to for the things we lack, and learn from them how to better ourselves in those areas."
She stood and reached to him, her hand going to his ear and touching the relic there. Danny's mind went back to the awful fight with Ivix in the ghost zone, but before he could dwell too long, Dora was speaking again.
"You are not all brawn and might," she said, "but you are used to leaning on your loved ones to do the rest. You must channel them in moments like these, to prove you too are capable of those traits."
Danny thought of all the times his friends and family had helped him, even saved him. Dora was right; he could remember his team members and improve on all the things he felt insecure about.
And the first place he'd start was his upcoming conversation with Vlad.
The stunt Daniel pulled could not have happened at a worse time. Vlad had been convening with Walker and his men all morning, and now Skulker was on his way to the portal to show him the improvements he'd made to the custom thermos.
Too much was going on and Vlad was admittedly stressed, but if he messed up this next moment with Daniel he'd be in for even more tension.
Under no circumstances could he allow Daniel in the ghost zone tonight. In less than 24 hours an army of guards would be storming the dragon's kingdom and Deus Ivix would no doubt be present.
Ivix still had control over Daniel in his dreams, not to mention the use of his mother.
Using Maddie against Daniel in any way would throw his plan out the window. Vlad could afford nothing to go wrong, and for that, he'd have to speak to Daniel.
"Your mind seems elsewhere, sir."
Vlad looked up at his faithful steward, standing before his desk. Godfrey appeared annoyed, but Vlad knew better.
"Getting Daniel to behave tonight will be the death of me, Godfrey," he said in exasperation. "What do I do?"
For once the old ghost didn't answer right away. Their situation was delicate, they both knew so. It would require tact and patience if they wanted the mansion in one piece at the end of the day.
"He'll argue, certainly," Godfrey finally began. "He has every right to, really. You must understand that from his point of view he is being barred from saving his own mother."
"For his own benefit," Vlad reminded him.
"We know that, and perhaps young sir does too deep down, but his hero side is too strong to back down." Godfrey said.
Vlad growled and crossed his arms over his chest. This was proving to be much more of a hassle than he'd initially thought.
"Then what should I do? Put an ectoshield around his room? Zap him with one of my gadgets so he'll remain human?" Vlad's tone was pointed, and Godfrey's began to match as he spoke.
"Of course not, you'd ruin any trust you've managed to build thus far," he said, "Sir, you need to be honest.Explain what the stakes are, what could potentially happen tonight. Think, what if you don't even return?"
"I won't let that pompous ghost waste me," Vlad said. "Not now that both the boy and his mother are so close to being mine."
"You already have Daniel, you just don't realize it," Godfrey said with a quick roll of his eyes. "He is reliant on you, both in human form and in ghost form. You just haven't taken full advantage of the relationship that's begun to build between you."
"How so?" Vlad said indignantly.
"Don't threaten him," Godfrey instructed. "Talk, explain, then ask him to do what he knows he needs to do. Tell him you need him safe, and you'll see what I mean."
When Vlad stayed silent, Godfrey turned silently and left the room. Alone with his thoughts, Vlad found himself spiraling.
There was no way this would go down without an argument. And arguments between them always ended in ectoblasts. What should he do to prepare? Bring the new and improved Plasmius Maximus to keep the boy from transforming? Box him up in a ghost trap or use the boy's own thermos on him?
Even as he thought he began to walk out into the hall. Every strategy he came up with ended with that trust Godfrey had mentioned being forcibly broken. Daniel was supposed to be his ally, not his prisoner.
He was looking at this the wrong way. He was thinking about Phantom, when he should be thinking of Danny, plain old Danny. A boy with normal human emotions and struggles. The boy he wanted as a son.
"The fatherly approach it is." Vlad decided. "And curse Godfrey's empty grave if he is wrong."
Vlad approached the boy's room but his ectosignature didn't quite lead him there. He stopped in the hall and focused. Daniel was near, but where...?
He continued to walk until he came to the master bedroom, where the door had been left ajar.
"Daniel?"
The boy was floating above the grand bed, knees drawn to his chest. He looked over at the sound of his name, but said nothing.
"What are you doing in here, dear boy?" Vlad asked.
Luckily he didn't keep anything related to his ghostly activities in his private rooms, so there was nothing the boy would learn by snooping around there. That still left blank the reason he was here in the first place, though.
"Waiting for you," said Daniel. "You said we'd talk."
"Indeed I did," Vlad used his powers to summon a leather chair from across the room to his side. Now he was seated by his bed with Daniel still floating above it.
"I will tell you what you want to know," said Vlad, "but first, I believe we need to clear the air on a few things."
Daniel seemed to brighten a bit, those ectoplasm green eyes shining with curiosity. He lowered till he was fully seated on Vlad's bed, facing him.
"Like what?" asked Daniel.
"You are aware that right now I have legal custody of you, correct?" Vlad asked. The boy shifted uncomfortably but nodded all the same. "And part of our current agreement is that in our alliance we watch each other's backs, yes? As well as keep each other safe?"
"Yeah," Daniel replied. "What's this about?"
"I need you to understand before you are told anything that everything I'm doing is in the best interest of both you and your mother." said Vlad. "And I will do all I can to ensure that."
"Okay, you're worrying me," Daniel said, "just tell me what's going on, please."
Vlad watched the boy carefully as he spoke. So far, he seemed concerned but not heating up like a pot on a stove. No one was boiling over yet. A good sign.
"There is a plan in place, for tonight." Vlad began. "It is the best chance we have to free Maddie from the ghost's influence. Using Walker's men-"
"Walker?!" Danny gasped. Vlad's eyes flashed red. "Sorry. Continue."
"Walker's guards are the closest thing we have to an army that can counter the amount of shadow duplicates Ivix can create." Vlad said. "The plan is simple; the guards distract Prince Aragon, I enter in the chaos and capture Ivix while he is alone with Maddie."
"How do you know my mom will be in the ghost zone?" Asked Daniel.
"Skulker has been keeping tabs on FentonWorks." Vlad explained. "Maddie leaves through the portal every night."
Daniel's eyes darted around Vlad's face. The man did his best to portray sincerity yet the boy still didn't trust him. Despite the frustration, Vlad continued on.
"I need to capture both Maddie and Ivix, in a single thermos." He said. "So I had Skulker build an upgraded Fenton thermos to hold them and allow me to possibly seperate them."
Daniel immediately questioned him. "You can seperate them? Get rid of Ivix' ectosignature from my mom's DNA?"
"It has not been tested, but it is our only option right now." Vlad answered.
Daniel leaned back, eyes glazing over as he no doubt began to put the pieces together.
"So what do I do?" he asked.
Vlad moved to the edge of the seat and looked as serious as he could at Daniel. Despite the look he kept his tone light.
"You will need to stay here," said Vlad. Before he could continue, Daniel was back in the air, this time flying up in shock.
"No way-!"
"There will be no argument. Now please, change forms." Vlad told him. Phantom's face darkened.
"Why don't you trust me to help carry out your stupid plan?" He said. "I swear I'll stay in the background until it's time to take Ivix down."
"Your competence is not being judged here." said Vlad. "I simply cannot risk Ivix taking control of you and manipulating your mother to get to you."
"He won't-!"
"Daniel," Vlad's tone finally became stern.
The boy looked about ready to tear up, however, Vlad held his ground. Finally, Phantom lowered and the rings of his transformation appeared around his waist. Once baby blue eyes were staring back at him, Vlad relaxed a bit.
"I know how much you want to be there to rescue your mother," said Vlad, "But under no circumstances are you allowed in the ghost zone. You are to wait here for me, with your sister."
Despite the obedience the boy had displayed Vlad couldn't help but expect him to react badly. Every time Daniel so much as moved slightly he was ready to transform into Plasmius.
But something was definitely different this time. Though he seemed upset and angry, Daniel had remained- for the most part- in control. Though Vlad was certainly not counting his chickens yet.
"But it's not fair, there's gotta be a way I can help," Daniel continued.
"The best way you can help is by keeping yourself safe," Vlad said.
Daniel's eyes again began to dart around. He didn't have much of a poker face, and it was obvious when he was panicking.
"Don't forget Dora is here as well," Vlad reminded. "She has understood from the start that the liberation of her people is of the utmost importance. Whether or not she is present for it does not matter."
"It matters to me," Daniel whispered, buying his head in his knees. "I don't want to be reunited with my mom through a thermos."
It was at that moment Vlad decided that ensuring Daniel's safety and making him feel safe were equally important, and he'd have to throw out his own methods to provide the boy with what he needed.
Vlad joined Daniel on the edge of his massive bed, close enough for him to feel the elder's presence, but not invading his personal space. When Daniel looked at him again his eyes were red, not yet crying.
"I promise to return before sunrise," said Vlad, "does that help with the anxiety a bit?"
"What if you don't?" Asked Daniel. Vlad shook his head.
"I gave you my word and I meant it."
Very slowly Daniel inched to Vlad's side. The man didn't move or speak. Godfrey would advise to let the younger set the pace for their new familial dynamic, right? He could only hope he was doing this correctly.
"I don't want my mom to suffer anymore," said Daniel, "but I don't want Ivix to waste you, either."
Vlad carefully placed his arm around the boy's shoulders. When he didn't seem uncomfortable, he proceeded to address his concerns.
"It would take quite a powerful being to dispose of me," he said, "and I have yet to find such a monster."
"I've beaten you before," Daniel reminded him. Vlad chuckled.
"And for that you are a force to be reckoned with indeed, my boy."
The two sat in silence until Vlad felt the other's shoulders twitch slightly. He'd seen Daniel scream in pain, whine like a child, and even laugh, but watching him feel helpless and just allow the tears to fall down his cheeks made Vlad's chest tighten. The reality of what was going to happen tonight began to hit.
"You promise to come back?" Asked Daniel.
Vlad blinked out of his thoughts and looked down, stormy blue looking into azure sky.
"I promise." He swore.
"Then I'll stay."
Vlad could not have been more confused. He had expected a fight and then some, at least a long argument. Heck, Vlad had even come to terms with the fact that he might have to punish Daniel for the second day in a row, just so he would listen.
As Vlad looked like a regular fish out of water, Daniel scrubbed his face with his palms, still curled up in human form.
"Can I wait in the lab?" Asked Daniel.
Vlad's first instinct was to say no. Too close to the portal and the boy might change his mind about this sudden obedience kick. But then there came those bright blue orbs looking up at him and he cleared his throat to compose himself.
"Yes," he answered. "But again my boy this could take a while. Would it not be easier to go to sleep and wake up when it's over?"
"I want to wait," Daniel told him.
The younger pulled away, and Vlad let him. The man sighed quietly. This would be a hard night for both of them, then.
"Very well," Vlad agreed. "You can stay there if you like, but I must instruct Dora and Jasmine about tonight as well..."
Daniel didn't respond, seemingly lost in thought. Vlad rolled his eyes good-naturedly and grabbed the other's chin to look at him.
"Will you be alright?" Vlad asked, surprising himself. Daniel seemed shocked too, but quickly recovered with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, just don't get wasted, cheese-head."
Vlad's eye twitched. Perhaps he preferred the vulnerable, sweet Daniel after all. Nonetheless, he gratefully accepted that the boy was feeling better.
"I'll do my best."