Chapter 8

Daniel had been descending for well over fifteen minutes and his calves were beginning to burn. The air was humid and muggy. The spiral concrete stairs were so steep Daniel had to rest a hand on the wall to his left to keep from tripping. His toes were falling asleep from a mix of icy chill and repetitive movement. The staircase went on and on like a steady, never ending decent into Hell.

Whoa, Daniel thought to himself. That's a little dark. Although the statement wasn't too far off from the truth.

Daniel was considering taking a brake when the hum of human voices made him think twice. He jogged down the last corner to find the stairs abruptly end.

Before him was a huge underground laboratory made entirely of metal. Chemistry instruments lined the side of the wall Daniel could see from the doorway. Scrap metal was piled on a counter on the wall across from the doorway. Boxes were scattered around the room like whoever owned the space was in constant worry of moving. The most boxes were piled around the entry like the person that placed them was trying to hide the lab from view. Scorch marks were scattered across the ceiling and walls of the room. The scientist must really like experimenting with fire or electricity, Daniel couldn't tell. Or there had been some kind of argument with a ghost as of late.

Despite the mess the thing that drew Daniel's eye was a huge octagon situated directly across from the doorway. The doors were painted pink with a gigantic purple heart embellishment in the center. A big red light sat directly center above the doors.

Maddie and Danny's voices were louder but Daniel couldn't see them yet. Taking a dangerous bet Daniel rushed forward and dove behind one of the shorter piles of boxes. Daniel poked his head through a window between 2 boxes and had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from gasping.
Danny Phantom was strapped to a metal dissection table in the center of the lab by his wrists and ankles. Maddie, clad in her blue jumpsuit and goggles, stood over the child with a terrifyingly large laser pointer in her hands.

At the sight Daniel quit lying to himself. This lab belongs to my mother. There was evidence scattered all around the lab, from the pink and purple blast doors to the neat handwriting on the notebooks. Finally, Daniel allowed himself to tune into the conversation.

"For the last time, where is my child!?" Maddie cried, brandishing the needle of the laser in Danny's face.

"And I'm telling you for the last time, I have no idea where he is!" Even Daniel could hear the conviction in his voice.

"Lies!" Maddie spat savagely. She stuck the weapon in her hand back on the end of the machine hanging from the ceiling and flipped a switch. A violently green laser sprang out of the tip and struck to table six inches left of Danny's ribs.

"Tell me the truth or I'll cut you in half." Daniel heard Danny gulp, or maybe it was his own.

"Who are you," Maddie continued in a voice that sent chills down Daniel's spine.

Danny's voice was steady as he replied. "You want the truth? I'm your son from an alternate dimension."

"Lies!" The laser started moving closer.

"No, it's true!" Danny's voice raised a pitch as his cool face faltered. The laser kept its pace.

"Even if you were my son," Maddie paused. "You look nothing like me or Vladimir."

"It's because Vlad's not my father. Jack Fenton is," Danny's eyes followed the laser move along the table.

"Jack? Fenton?" Maddie muttered to herself.

"Yes, Jack Fenton!" Danny smiled at the small moment of progress. "I ran into him on my way here. He, he still loves you Maddie, very much."
"Who are you?" The confusion in Maddie's voice was abundantly clear.

Danny sighed. "I was hoping you'd figure it out on your own." When the white rings crossed Danny's body Daniel didn't bother to hide his gasp.
Maddie stared wide-eyed at Danny Fenton strapped to her examination table. She didn't respond to the white rings as the suddenly rolled along Danny's body for the second time.

"I'm your child Maddie and I think you know it, deep down," Danny bit his lip as he searched Maddie's face for a reaction. They stood frozen for what seemed like forever.

"Do you think you could turn the laser off now?" Danny asked quietly panic edging his voice. Maddie took three small, slow, deliberate steps toward the table. She stared down at Danny as she reached up and turned off the machine. Daniel let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding.
"Thank you," Danny muttered quietly. Maddie made to ask another question when she was interrupted.

"Well isn't this a touching reunion."

Three heads whipped around at the sound of an ecto-gun loading a charge. Vlad stood in the doorway looking like he'd literally rolled out of bed. He wore flannel pajamas, his hair was a mess and he had dried drool running in a vertical line from the corner of his mouth.

"I wake up to a cold, empty bed and when I go to find my beloved wife I find a secret lab instead," Vlad's voice was laced with uncharacteristic pain.
"Vlad, sweetheart, I-"

"I thought we agreed to give this up, Maddie!" Vlad said cutting his wife off. "I thought we were through with the lies. And you!" Vlad cried turning on Danny who was still strapped to the table by his wrists and ankles. "I knew you should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance."

" Sweetheart please, let me explain," Maddie took a step forward as she spoke. Vlad pointed the gun back at her.

"Take another step an I'll shoot."

Daniel felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Maddie's face flashed with betrayal before setting into a stone cold glare.

"Do it. I dare you."

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a pair of scissors.

"I've got news for you, Vladimir," there was enough venom in Maddie's voice to kill a small animal. "I don't like cheese." Maddie took a deliberate step forward. "I never liked your cooking." Another step. "And the only possible reason I'm still here is for Daniel!"

Furious, Vlad brandished the gun and almost pulled the trigger when an ecto-blast shot out of nowhere and flung Vlad into a pile of boxes. Metal went tumbling as a new voice boomed, "KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS AWAY FROM MY GIRL."

Jack Plasmius appeared out of thin air in full ghost garb. Daniel's heart sped up at the sight, his repressed memory coming back to mind.

"Jack!" Maddie yelled. At the same time Danny cried, "Dad!"

Jack lowered to the ground and faced the pair.

"Mads-," Jack started.

"Is it true?" Maddie interrupted him.

Surprise flashed across the ghost's face. "Is what true?"

"Do you still love me?"

Jack rubbed a hand across the back of his neck as he spoke, "It's true, Mads. I love you. I have loved you since that day I walked into the wrong classroom back in college."

Maddie pulled the hood of her jumpsuit down. She stared deep into Jack's eyes for a few seconds before launching herself into his arms and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Good."

Jack smiled happily into Maddie's hair.

Daniel was suddenly distracted from the bittersweet reunion by a growl from the pile of boxes Vlad had flown into. The glare on Vlad's face could have set an entire house on fire. Daniel watched his father rise from the boxes and shrank back as Vlad stooped to snatch his dropped gun.

Too late Danny noticed the threat. "Look out!" He screamed.

At that moment something seized Daniel's heart. The world dropped to slow motion as he stared up at his father. Daniel glanced over at Maddie. The blatant fear in her eyes was a stark contrast to the pure ecstasy that had been there mere seconds ago. In that split three seconds Daniel made a choice he'd remember for the rest of this life.

As if his limbs were controlled by a foreign entity, Daniel jumped up and leaped over the short pile of boxes he'd been cowering behind.

Multiple voices flooded his ears as he jumped in the way of Vlad's gun but Maddie's, "DANIEL!" rang the loudest. Daniel watched his fathers eyes widen as he pulled the trigger but it was too late. The bright green ectoplasm slammed into Daniel's chest and the world imploded. Daniel was knocked off of his feet and his vision went white.

When Daniel came to his ears were ringing and his skull felt like it was being ripped open. Vlad's wide eyes were imprinted on the back of the boy's eyelids. Unable to stand the expression Daniel cracked his eyes to blink up at the faces surrounding him.

Danny and Jack stood over him. Maddie's face was upside down and it took Daniel a moment to put together that she was holding his head in her lap. He leaned into his mother's hand and tried to ignore the tears falling from her cheeks.

"That was incredibly stupid," Danny said. Daniel glared at him. Danny smiled as he added, "And one of the bravest things I've ever seen."

Daniel rolled his eyes and tried to shift his torso. An excruciating amount of pain bore over Daniel like an ocean wave. He gasped as tears sprang to his eyes.

"Don't look," Maddie whispered. Her voice was thick with emotion.

"I thought you said ecto-guns didn't harm humans," Daniel asked Danny pointedly. Daniel winced at the hoarse sound to his voice.
Guilt flashed in Danny's eyes. "Anything hurts at point-blank range, Daniel."

"Right," the human muttered and shut his eyes. A second passed before Daniel spoke again.

"Danny."

"Yeah?"

Daniel opened his eyes again. "You go back in time and fix this." Daniel put as much emotion as he could muster into the words.

Danny's face hardened and he nodded. He glanced at jack and smiled at Maddie before turning around and jogging toward the portal at the back of the room.

The trio left behind watched as Danny smacked the button on the wall next to the machine and the huge doors opened to a deep green swirling mass. Danny was about to step through when he paused and turned around.

"Hey, Daniel," Danny yelled and his voice echoed around the room. Did the lab always echo? Danny continued, "I swear for all that it's worth, I won't forget you."

Daniel smiled and nodded, instantly regretting the motion. Danny smiled back and stepped backwards into the portal.

Daniel watched the green swallow him up through blurry vision. When the doors slammed closed Daniel dropped his head back to Maddie's lap with his eyes shut tight feeling like his body was coming unwound.

A/N: The last chapter has finally arrived. Now all that's left is the epilogue.

These last two chapters are some of the most important but some of the shortest ones in the whole story.

It's been a wild 2 years & thank you to those who have stuck with me through it all! I'll do an official thanks at the end of next chapter.

Stay tuned! Until next time, GeekyZelda