Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom.
Note: Sorry in advance if parts of this chapter are a bit rambly. There are a lot of important plot points I'm trying to hit such as showing how frustrated Owen is by the lack of information they have about the council's connection to him that could really help them in the long run. Owen's not satisfied leaving everything to Vlad, Danny and his friends, or Eris either when he knows he's perfectly capable of fighting his own battles. And Eris still blames herself for letting things get so out of hand with her former comrades too. So now she only has one card left to play to change all that, but the first step is somehow getting Vlad and Owen to agree to let her use it...
Chapter 2: Temperance
Owen's POV
It was almost as if I had just barely closed my eyes when I felt Vlad's hand on my shoulder gently shaking me awake. And soon after I looked out the passenger side window once my vision came back into focus to see the familiar sight of the mansion welcoming us home. Still feeling a bit groggy despite sleeping for who knows how long, I yawned and was about to open the car door but then paused when Vlad loudly cleared his throat to bluntly ask, "Before you do anything else this afternoon, I believe it would be prudent to stop by the kitchen first since you barely touched your breakfast this morning. Wouldn't you agree?"
"True, it was kinda hard to stomach much of anything with all those nervous butterflies doing loop-de-loops inside there." I joked half-heartedly. "But sure I'll try to find something simple. Just don't be surprised if I start snoring mid-bite because that's how tired I still feel."
"Thank you, my boy." Vlad replied with a warm smile on his face as he reached up to ruffle my hair affectionately. "That's all I ask."
Once we were safely back inside, the two of us headed to the kitchen, where it turns out Eris was in the middle of making something that smelled really good. Too bad it was only another home remedy for something or other, aka witch soup as we've been jokingly calling it. According to her, cooking is pretty much just modern alchemy when you really stop to think about it, so she has been taking advantage of all this open kitchen space to practice cooking and simultaneously prepare large batches of freshly dried herbs to use for her usual day-to-day spell casting. A lot of the herbs Eris uses are edible, so it's been a win-win for all of us as far as meal plans go. Of course, there are a few experiments we've been doing on the side that are a bit riskier, which is why Vlad lent us a whole separate room to make those in. That way, nothing in there would affect him by accident. And by that, I mean we've been working with Blood Blossoms specifically.
Most of the flower samples we brought back came from my mom's personal stash for her antique shop, and the rest came directly from the overgrown hedges outside the ruined church where Kurst had taken me. You know, the one with the secret passage leading beneath it to a large ritual chamber? Anyway, I think we're slowly but surely figuring out the trick to growing them ourselves because it just so happens that my family Grimoire says using a few drops of blood is a big part of the process, which would explain the somewhat morbid name. So are the spirit flames necromancers can summon if someone wants the flowers to transform into the white version that essentially makes them harmless to ghosts but they can still repel or contain hostile ones if necessary. However, I've been avoiding using that particular power too much lately, mainly because I know I could easily burn the house down if I'm not careful. Just like I did before to a large chunk of the forest behind Vlad's property.
Speaking of which, he recently told me something interesting about what happened to it afterwards. Even though my out-of-control powers burnt down a lot of the trees back then, new plant life has already started to grow back and by some miracle they're doing it unnaturally fast. His theory is that since my intention was never to cause harm when I unleashed all of that pent-up spiritual power the first time, I somehow imbued the remaining ashes with enough regenerative energy to begin restoring life there much faster than usual. In other words, the residual energy I left behind gave them very similar properties to nutrient-rich volcanic ash.
When he said that I remember I made some silly comment wondering if I'm basically considered a phoenix now too bringing new life into the world out of the ashes of the old. And when Vlad responded he said that since my unique abilities as a Necromancer represents a similar cycle of death and rebirth I probably wasn't too far off the mark actually. But sometimes I wish my powers really were as straightforward as that. It'd make learning how to use them a lot easier, especially when it comes to making sure I don't hurt anyone with ghost powers in particular because the last couple of times I've used my abilities in combat I wasn't exactly the person in the driver's seat. I just blindly followed my instincts without much thought in a moment of desperation, allowing a strange power I still barley understand to take control away from me because it was easier that way...
But I can't afford to do that anymore. I need answers. Real answers about why I'm here and what I'm meant to do without someone else trying to manipulate me or barely giving me any explanation at all about who I'm supposed to be. Either that or the one they give me goes completely over my head. I mean, I'm supposed to be the reincarnation of this incredible Wraith-banishing warrior from an age long past, but I don't feel like I am. I feel the same as I always have, even after finally accepting that part of myself. It's frustrating to be this close to uncovering the truth about my past, only to have a tightly woven magical seal stand between me and finally getting those questions answered.
Ever since we completed my rite of passage, aka my final awakening as a Necromancer, I haven't slipped into anymore of those weird trances where my mind became one with the collective memories etched inside my soul that belonged to all the other people I've lived as up until now. It's almost like there's no trace of them in my subconscious anymore. Nothing at all. I've completely lost whatever weak connection to them I had through the cracks in that damn seal, which is ironic because years ago I would have welcomed the chance to have normal dreams every now and then. A dream that isn't a vision about a ghost I've met or a fragmented memory of mine desperately trying to resurface.
Still, maybe that's part of the trade off. I've gained new powers by awakening but the seal that the original members of the council put on me 400 years ago was fully restored too as a result. And then there's Kurst. He wanted to break the seal on my memories himself and renew our blood pact on his terms but thankfully we managed to put a stop to him by working together as a team. Now Kurst is bound to me on MY terms which means he can't control me anymore. I just hope that means he can't lie to me either once the time comes for me to confront him once again.
Mentally setting all that aside for now I decided to humor Vlad by grabbing a snack and something to drink from the kitchen before retreating to the relative safety of my room for some much needed alone time after such a stressful morning at the police station. Of course there was a lot left for us to do and to talk about but like he said, that could wait until later. Then we can dive back into trying to piece our lives back together and on that note I have a strong feeling Eris has made up her mind about something big while the two of us were gone. Lets just hope that whatever it is, she's making the right decision and that I'll be able to do the same.
Eris's POV
The second Owen and Vlad walked through the kitchen door, it made what I knew I had to do next that much harder. But I hated seeing Owen look so haggard, so I knew at the end of the day this was probably for the best. Of course, I didn't want to spring anything too upsetting on him before he at least got the chance to decompress for a while after all the drama that happened today. I'm sure Vlad has noticed it too, how much Owen's been struggling with something he refuses to talk to anyone about so we mutually agreed not to bring it up. Not unless whatever's been weighing on his mind becomes too much to handle since he's under enough pressure as it is.
On a slightly happier note it's been fun watching Owen get ready to go back to school since he's always been a total bookworm who loves to study and learn new things most kids our age would think is boring as hell. It's true I won't be able to stick around to join him in those crowded school hallways this time around, but thankfully Vlad's been working on other arrangements for me so I won't fall too far behind his son-to-be. And I think deep down we all knew this day would come sooner or later. The day we would have to go back to our somewhat lives again despite all the shady stuff that's still going on behind the scenes.
In some ways, my lifestyle hasn't changed all that much compared to when the council first took me under their wing My classes have always been a weird mixture of all the usual day-to-day things you'd expect to learn in high school and practicing my craft, however, my real parents were never a part of any of it. So I was basically raised by a couple of members of the council who were also assigned to the task of training me while standing in as my parents so the real ones who ditched me could live out entirely new lives free from their freak of a daughter. In short, my original name was completely erased from the hospital records and that's how I became Eris Wright.
That being said, I'll admit I definitely prefer being allowed to speak my mind and sit down to compare notes with Vlad to constantly having to report every little thing I did back to someone higher up than my fake folks in excruciating detail. Now I finally realize how messed up that was and I can't believe I genuinely used to think my superiors actually trusted me. But no, this whole time they've only been interested in gauging the usefulness of my abilities in order to decide if I was worth keeping or investing their time into. In the end though I was abandoned all over again which means I don't owe those scumbags anything, especially not after learning the truth about what they've really been after all these years.
Despite the stupid mistakes I've made that put him and Owen at risk so many times, Vlad and I have made things work while I'm staying here with them in his mansion. He was even going to help me build another whole new identity so I don't have to live on the run for the rest of my life. Sadly, I don't think that's really an option for me anymore because the only way I think we're going to put an end to the council's schemes once and for all is if I sneak inside their headquarters and pretend to be one of them again. I've already made up my mind. I have to do this to make sure Owen doesn't lose anything else. Especially the person who has kept him going since all of this began, the one person I believe has enough power and influence to finally dismantle the council for good and help set things right, Vlad Masters.
Owen's POV
Even if it wasn't much I'm glad Vlad convinced me to eat something because it did help clear up my brain fog a little. I've been thinking about it a lot for the past few days and something about all of this just doesn't add up. I can feel it. Like, why is the council so desperate to recruit potential magic users, mediums, and psychics now to the point where they're willing to resort to kidnapping people? And why was no one sent out to look for Eris when she was first reported missing when she's supposed to be one of their top recruiters slash spies? Then again maybe they straight up couldn't find her even if they wanted to because of Kurst's magical wards. You'd think someone would be asking around about her whether or not their magic could track her location so was Kurst telling the truth about Eris being considered disposable to them?
I'm also concerned about the possible connection this whole mess might have to Danny's family too. No matter how much Vlad tries to downplay it there's no way the guys the council sent after us singled Danny out by chance when I know for a fact they have no idea half-ghost's even exist. Then there's that strange feeling I had the first time I met his dad, Jack Fenton. I've never seen him before in my life but at the same time his face seemed so familiar to me. Is it possible my parents and I have met Mr. and Mrs. Fenton before and I just was too little to remember it? I can't think of any other reason for what I felt unless it was only my imagination, which I highly doubt given my current track record for suddenly "remembering" things I haven't personally experienced.
Normally I would ask Vlad if he could tell me anything more about them but uh, well, even though he acted civil to Danny's dad throughout the charity event I could tell Vlad was determined not to be outdone by his old rival as a father figure. He's basically turned into one of those super smug parents who can't resist telling everyone what a genius their kid is. But I wouldn't call myself a genius since most of my historical know-how has just become second nature to me and only comes from lots of different experiences in my past lives. In other words, certain facts about the world that these people considered common knowledge at the time tend to come back to me almost naturally, kind of like instinctively knowing how to ride a bike once you've practiced long enough that it becomes a reflex you don't even have to think too hard about.
That said, even this unexpected perk to having centuries worth of memories at the edge of my fingertips hasn't stopped Vlad from putting his foot down about enrolling me in school again. He says I need to stop cooping myself up in my room all the time and learn how to live like a normal teenager again, make some new friends, and most importantly not dwell on things that are out of my control. At least for the time being. Don't get me wrong, apart from dealing with the occasional bully I'm not afraid of going back to school. And I do enjoy going outside to jog from time to time early in the mornings. I've also been training with Vlad out in his private football field, but I guess I can't hide the fact that I have been feeling pretty down in the dumps lately...
I'm doing my best to stay optimistic but all of this craziness with CPS has brought back a lot of bad memories for me I can't help thinking about again. Memories of being ripped away from so many of the other families I was placed with who at the time were willing to take me in and raise me too despite my traumatic past. Vlad's even been taking me out for driving lessons after helping me get my learners permit as a belated birthday present which is a milestone in my life I genuinely started to think I might never reach.
I remember laughing when I finally got it once I remembered that Danny and his friends have been secretly driving a high tech RV since they were fourteen years old so in reality they have a lot more driving experience than I do. As far as I know, the only thing I've ever driven are horse-drawn carriages since I wasn't reborn again until 400 years after my previous reincarnation was murdered. That's all I really know about myself at this point so sadly that means there's no secret vintage car knowledge for me apart from the antique know-how my parents taught me in this lifetime.
Either way it couldn't hurt to be ready for the unexpected which is why I've been driving around with Vlad every chance I can get. It's been a good distraction to practice a lot in general, although, I can see why they're starting to get concerned I might be overdoing it a little. Who knows, maybe I am, but that isn't going to stop me from doing everything I can to improve myself since I'm sick and tired of being told to sit and wait when our enemy is out there somewhere doing who knows what while we do. The council is sure to make another pass at us before long and this time I want to be prepared for anything else they might try to throw our way.
I just...never want to get that close to losing my family again. And I'm tired of all these so-called adults acting they know what's best for me and get to tell me what I can and can't do when I'm technically older than all of them combined! I already had to deal with Kurst doing that to me and now we've come full-circle because as it turns out the council is responsible for whatever happened to us 400 years ago. Those guys, they're nothing but a bunch of-
Stopping myself before I got too agitated and accidentally set something on fire again I stood up and silently pulled out the Grimoire from its current hiding place. Maybe there's a spell I could use to find out what really happened on the day the council betrayed our trust or a ritual that could restore the dagger Kurst killed me with to its original state which might finally give us some answers. I've already found out a few things about it like the actual name of the weapon, Temperance, and surprise surprise, according to the what's written down in here that weapon was never meant to be used for something like this. Whoever gave it to Kurst 400 years ago had replaced several of the runes carved into it to alter the nature of its magic which was designed to restrain an evil spirit by literally pinning their souls in place so they couldn't phase free at least long enough to either purify their souls or destroy them if it turned out to be a Wraith.
Vlad's been keeping the dagger under lock and key in a special anti-ghost vault hidden in his study somewhere but I could probably convince him to let me take another look at it just to be sure I'm right about this. It's really the only clue we have to go off of right now about the council's original motives for plotting my murder. One thing we do know for sure now is they've obviously been around a long time and Eris only knows one side of these people, the supposed good-side that tricked her too. At this point I think we both deserve answers because just like me, she's yet another innocent victim of their evil plan. And no matter what their plan turns out to actually be, I'm glad we're in this together no matter what comes next.