Danny Phantom Fan Fiction ❯ Bittersweet Future ❯ If You Speak to the Devil… ( Chapter 3 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Atheria 
A new living situation and a mysterious ghost.
Non Anime: Danny Phantom Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Suspense | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 12.30.2011 | Pages: 7 | Words: 11.8K | Visits: 188 | Status: Work In Progress
A new living situation and a mysterious ghost.
Non Anime: Danny Phantom Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Suspense | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 12.30.2011 | Pages: 7 | Words: 11.8K | Visits: 188 | Status: Work In Progress
If You Speak to the Devil…
The morning sun shone in through the eastern facing window, bright and wholly unwelcome. The near paper thin curtains did little to block its rays, insisting that all those under its gaze wake and greet the day. Danny groaned and rolled away from the white light while throwing the covers over his head. He wasn't sure what time it was, but whatever time it was, it wasn't time to wake up. The light was greatly dimmed under the sheets, and Danny was about to give into the warm darkness of sleep when something felt off to him. He shifted again under the bedding and felt something move with him.
Curious as to what was hanging from his neck, Danny sat up in bed, and fully opened his eyes for the first time that day. The sight that greeted him was most unlike anything he expected. Unfamiliar walls, windows, and bed sheets met his gaze, and for a few terrifying moments; Danny was unsure of where he was. Now more than awake with the icy panic running through his veins, he threw off the covers and bolted upright next to the mattress. He panted with rising terror as the room crystallized into view. This isn't my room.
Danny noticed with horror. He swiveled around for the door, and upon finding it, bolted right out of the room. He was about to run clear out of the apartment, when a voice got his attention. “So you're awake are you?” Danny skidded to a halt in the middle of the living room; the sound of another person snapping him out of his sleep dazed panic. He turned around towards where the voice had originated and gapped in shock. Vlad was in the kitchen, loose sweat pants and wife beater on, pushing something around with a spatula.
“I…uh…yeah.” Danny slowly replied, turning over the sight of Vlad in something so casual in his head.
Danny noticed with horror. He swiveled around for the door, and upon finding it, bolted right out of the room. He was about to run clear out of the apartment, when a voice got his attention. “So you're awake are you?” Danny skidded to a halt in the middle of the living room; the sound of another person snapping him out of his sleep dazed panic. He turned around towards where the voice had originated and gapped in shock. Vlad was in the kitchen, loose sweat pants and wife beater on, pushing something around with a spatula.
“I…uh…yeah.” Danny slowly replied, turning over the sight of Vlad in something so casual in his head.
“Not a morning person, hm?” Vlad inquired.
Danny grimaced as the light from the living room window hit his face. He retreated from the light, and settled with his back to the window on the couch. “What would give you that idea? And why don't you own any freaking curtains?” Danny complained. His head was pounding, and worse the sudden rush from the bedroom had woken up his very sore muscles. He silently thanked the fact he was half-ghost. Even though I got these injuries because of all the fighting I do, at least I heal fast.
“Window treatments,” Vlad said interrupting Danny's thoughts, “drapery, are expensive. Besides, I'm an early riser, beat the sun up most days.” He paused to flip something over in the frying pan on the stove top. “So it's not like I need them, plus this is the fifth floor, so it's not like I have people peeping in either.”
“Oh yeah? Well what about thieves?” Danny retorted.
“Window treatments,” Vlad said interrupting Danny's thoughts, “drapery, are expensive. Besides, I'm an early riser, beat the sun up most days.” He paused to flip something over in the frying pan on the stove top. “So it's not like I need them, plus this is the fifth floor, so it's not like I have people peeping in either.”
“Oh yeah? Well what about thieves?” Danny retorted.
Vlad scoffed before saying, “To steal what? If you haven't noticed Daniel, I don't even own a television.”
Danny rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and began glancing around the room. In the bright morning light, he noticed several things he had missed the night before. While the furnishings were stylish, they were Spartan. The bare emptiness of the room was in stark contrast to the opulent mansion Danny was used to associating with Vlad.
“I hope you like pancakes.” Vlad said while setting a plate full of them in front of Danny on the table.
Danny smiled down at the pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage links. He didn't really have time for a hot breakfast at home very often, so this was a real treat.
“I love pancakes. You have any syrup?” Danny said while plunging whole-heartedly into the eggs.
“Yeah I'll bring it over in a sec. What do you want to drink?” Vlad called back from the kitchen.
“I love pancakes. You have any syrup?” Danny said while plunging whole-heartedly into the eggs.
“Yeah I'll bring it over in a sec. What do you want to drink?” Vlad called back from the kitchen.
Danny muttered orange voice through a mouth full of food, and before long Vlad had come back with a glass full of the stuff and maple syrup. Vlad walked back over into the kitchen to start making his own breakfast.
“So Daniel, after we finish up breakfast, we're heading back over to the Fenton's.” Vlad mentioned casually. Danny took a gulp of orange juice before replying,
“What for?”
“To discuss where you're going to be staying.” Vlad moved back into the living room, plate in hand.
“It's only about 8am now, but it takes an hour and a half to get into Amity Park from here, so it'll be mid-morning by the time we get to Fentonworks.” He sat down next to Danny and grabbed the maple syrup off the table. Vlad looked back at Danny to find him frozen mid-bite. “What?” He prompted.
“Nothing! Oh well, yeah I guess it is something.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck before continuing.
“I thought I was staying with you?” Danny ventured gingerly.
“Yes I did say that, but only for the night. There really isn't enough room for you to stay permanently, my apartment isn't that big.” Vlad explain.
“Oh yeah, there is only one bedroom, but I could sleep on the couch.”
“Don't worry about it Daniel, I'm sure we'll think of something. Now each your breakfast before it gets cold. Jack is making lunch, and I can promise you'll see toxic waste more edible.” Danny couldn't help but smile when he remembered just why his dad was banned from the kitchen.
“Yeah he's not the best cook in the world.”
“So you know the Fentons then?” Vlad quickly honed in on Danny's admission.
“Oh uh, no not really.”
“Funny, you sounded as if you did. Which reminds me, how do you know my name?” Vlad picked up their empty plates and head for the kitchen.
“Uh, phone book.” Danny said dismissively.
“Oh you're a horrible liar little badger.” Danny narrowed his eyes at the nickname.
“Stop calling me that.” He ordered.
“Want to change the subject? Alright then, how about your last name?” Vlad set the now clean dishes back into the cabinetry above the stove and turned to look at Danny. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter, the picture of calm expectancy. Danny for his part, picked at imaginary lint on the couch. Small or not, this place is immaculate. So much like Vlad. Danny mused and rubbed some more faux debris from his borrowed sleepwear. He chanced a glance back up at Vlad, and found him waiting patiently with a raised eyebrow.
“I um, geez this sounds rude, but I can't-”
“I promise, I won't take you anywhere you don't want to go, but you have to give me something to work with here. I mean, I basically let a perfect stranger stay in my home last night.” Danny looked away and rubbed his pants some more. He really wanted to tell him something, but there wasn't anything Danny could think of that wouldn't jeopardize his mission. Come on Fenton, you have to throw him some kind of bone, or you could be in serious trouble. Confronted with Danny's continued silence, Vlad walked over to the couch where Danny was sitting. He dropped beside Danny and ruffled his hair with a sigh.
“Ok Daniel, if you can't talk about your family, then what about your friends?” Vlad probed. Danny perked up upon hearing an opening to talk about something in his life, that wouldn't bring more trouble for him later.
“Well I have two best friends.” Danny started. Vlad `hm'ed in response and walked towards the back bedroom. Danny paced along after him when Vlad motioned for him to follow.
“And what are they like?” Vlad prompted while rifling through his closet.
“Well ones a techno-geek, in every sense of the word. He loves computers, electrical engineering kinda stuff.”
“I suppose the Intels and Macs can be rather interesting but it's not my cup of tea. Here,” Vlad said, handing over a pair of jeans.
“A what?” Danny scrunched his eyebrows at the unfamiliar computer name. He took the pants Vlad offered and held them up to his waist. “These are way too big…” He noticed with concern.
“That's what belts are for.” Vlad responded while handing over the mentioned item. “And a Intel. You know the latest in computer software? I guess you and your best friend…” Vlad trailed off leaving Danny to fill in the blank.
“Tucker” Danny supplied.
“Tucker, don't have a love for computers in common.” Vlad turned back into the closet and came back with a polo shirt. He tossed it Danny's way and began going through the closet for his own outfit. Danny rearranged the clothing in his hands before continuing,
“Oh no. He's the technology lover not me.”
“And what is it that you love?” Vlad inquired. He reached in and picked out his own belt before tossing the chosen clothing on the bed. Danny broke out into a full grin.
“Space! The stars, everything about it.”
“Want to be an astronomer do you?”
“No an astronaut.” Danny beamed proudly. He watched as Vlad stripped out of his wife beater and picked up his own polo shirt. Vlad slipped the shirt over his head, and noticed Danny's staring.
“What?”
“Oh well, you wouldn't have somewhere I could change do you?” Danny shuffled his feet in embarrassment. As nice as Vlad was being, there was no way he was changing clothes in the same room as him. Vlad pointed down the hall.
“The bathroom's small, but” Vlad paused to give Danny a once over, “then again so are you. There should be enough room for you to change in there.” Danny narrowed his eyes in angry embarrassment. Vlad let out a short hearty laugh in response. “Oh don't look like that Daniel, I'm just teasing. I was 14 once too you know.”
“Yeah who would have thought?” Danny muttered as he stalked out of the room and down the hall to the only bathroom. Danny quickly closed the door behind him and set the clothes on the sink basin. A little careful maneuvering later, had him dressed and ready to leave, but Danny wasn't moving just yet. He was carefully turning over the last few minutes of conversation in his head, and was surprised by his candidness. Get a grip; this is Vlad we are talking about. What's wrong with you? Danny thought in dismay.
You spend five minutes alone with him being nice, and you are spilling your guts. Why in the world are you talking about your dreams with this guy? He doesn't care; Vlad doesn't care about anything, except marrying my mom and molding me into his perfect puppet slave. He always has an ulterior motive; he's never nice to be nice. I need to focus. No more wandering conversations, no chummy shit. Just the bare basics of courtesy. Anything else and he'll pump me for more information. Danny finished his personal pep talk with a sigh. While he was sure he needed to avoid talking about his life as much as possible that was easier said than done. Without the usual bars of his personal worries and Vlad's worrying obsessions, Danny was finding him alarmingly easy to talk to. A hollow knock and a disembodied voice reminded him of the time.
“Yeah I'm coming out in a second.”
“Hurry up then, I don't think you'll be seeing any girls your age, so stop primping.” Vlad's teasing voice carried through the thin faux wooden door with piercing clarity. Danny scowled at his reflection. What in the world possessed me to think it would be hard to not speak with him? He wondered with building frustration, and turned the handle to the bathroom door. He stepped out to find Vlad already standing by the door, near the shoe rack, keys in hand. Danny drug he's feet across the floor to dissipate some of his building anxiety about being stuck in a car with Vlad for over an hour. Vlad rolled his eyes, and opened the front door.
“Back to sulking like a toddler I see?”
“Why don't you just shut up and go downstairs.” Danny snipped back. Vlad closed the door behind him and slid the lock into place.
“Alright I get it; you don't like being teased about your appearance. I won't do it again.” Vlad promised.
“No that's not it. I don't like being teased at all.” Danny was still slightly sour about the `primping' comment, and being who he was, he wasn't about to let it go. Vlad hummed in response as they both rounded the last set of stairs and walked into the main lobby.
“But how can I resist? You make it all too easy to rile you up.” Vlad observed with humor. Danny chose not to respond this time, and quietly followed Vlad out the lobby door. They walked in silence to parking lot, and it was only after they were both seated in the car that Vlad spook up again. “It's a bit of a drive into Amity, so try and get some sleep if you are still tired, you aren't going to be getting any the rest of the day I'm sure.” Vlad began pulling out of the parking space before admonishing, “And put on your seat belt.” Danny huffed in response.
“I was getting to that. You don't have to treat me like a kid.” Vlad quirked his lips into a slight frown at Danny's attitude.
“You know these sudden hostile mood swings are getting annoying. Why don't you try to be positive for once?”
“I am positive.” Vlad glanced over at Danny in suspicion. “Positively sure I'm not a child.”
“I never said you were Daniel, but your tantrums and pouting aren't doing you any favors in that category.” Danny turned and glared out the window. He couldn't tell him being around him was what was ruining his mood. A few tense minutes passed in uncomfortable silence before Danny tried to start conversation up.
“Why do you live so far outside of Amity?” Danny turned back around towards Vlad, waiting for his response.
“I don't see what's wrong with where I live now. And why would I want to live close to Amity in the first place?” Vlad answered with a question of his own.
“Well you're at the Fenton's a lot, I'd think you'd want to be closer.” Danny observed with a shrug.
“Indeed I am, but I suppose the better question is, how do you know that?” Vlad posed. Danny paused to grapple for something good to say, before responding,
“You have a key to their house, and you seem really close to them. You must be there pretty often if you have a key.” Danny concluded after a few moments.
“A fine observation Daniel, but if you notice they said it was a reunion dinner. If that's the case, then why would you assume I was there often? People don't cook special dinners for those whom are around often.” Vlad retorted.
“Yeah, but you knew their daughter. And your nickname for her is really specific. You'd have to have been around a lot to call her peanut because her mother ate a lot of them while pregnant. And if this was a reunion dinner, it must mean you were away for a while, but just recently came back.” Danny paused and frowned as he took in his conclusions. “What were you doing to keep you away from the people who you obviously are very close too?” Danny asked; thinking out loud. Vlad flicked on a turn signal and merged into the leftmost fast lane.
“You know here you are prying into my life, and I don't know much about yours. If I recall correctly, you were telling me about your best friends.” Danny opened his mouth to protest, but Vlad cut him off.
“You only told me about one of your friends; what of the other one?” He asked. Danny scrunched his eyebrows in confusion at how quickly the conversation had gotten turned around on him. Damn. I was sure he had dropped this. Where'd he learn to re-direct a conversation so easily? Danny thought with vague concern.
“Well,” Danny started blandly, “she's a Goth.” Vlad hummed to signal he was still listening while he passed a slower moving car on the road. The car honked in response, when Vlad cut in front of him on the road.
“Yeah? Well screw you too asshole!” Vlad screamed at the still honking car as it flew past him and onto an off-ramp. “I'm sorry Daniel, you were saying?” Vlad looked over to find Danny staring at him in disbelief. He rolled his eyes before saying, “you can't tell me you've never heard someone cuss. You did so last night.”
“Yeah it's not that, I just didn't expect you too. I mean you didn't when I smacked up in the ribs yesterday.” Danny explained. Danny silently pondered when Vlad had picked up his habit of cursing on sweets, before his thoughts were interrupted.
“Yeah well,” Vlad started sourly, “I have a small case of road rage. Besides, that barely even hurt, you didn't hit me that hard.” Danny declined to comment that he had been trying to hit him hard, and decided to focus back on the original topic.
“Right, so my friend Sam, she's a Goth and an Ultra-Recylovegetarian”
“Daniel, what in the world does that mean?” Vlad interrupted.
“Oh well, she wears all black, and doesn't eat anything that ever had a face. Or something like that. It ends up meaning she likes to skulk in dark places and eat tofu wheatgrass for lunch.” Danny said with a chuckle.
“That sounds interesting. I can't even imagine what grass tastes like.”
“Trust me dude, it's nasty. But she's an animal rights activist, and she'd never hurt an animal. She wears completely synthetic or plant based clothes made in ethically safe factories. She protests with PETA, she-why are you looking at me like that?” Danny shifted nervously under Vlad's intense gaze. Vlad turned back to the road and changed lanes over to the far right to prepare to get off the highway.
“Nothing Daniel, you just seem a lot more forthcoming than before.” When Danny didn't respond, Vlad continued. “What I mean is, you have a lot more details to share about Sam than Tucker.”
“That's not true.” Danny hastily defended. “You just didn't give me a chance to talk about Tucker. Tucker's food tastes are in the exact opposite direction of Sam's.” Danny said quickly changing subjects. Vlad hummed for him to continue. “He eats nothing but meat. He calls himself a carnivore. He insists his all meat diet allows him to, like I don't know, stay up 3 days straight working on computer projects. Or makes him think faster or something. Sam of course completely disagrees with him, and says meat is `ethically unconscionable'.” Vlad scoffed at the wording, interrupting Danny's overcompensating rant.
“What?” Danny asked now more annoyed with him.
“Nothing that's just an interesting phrase.” Vlad replied blandly.
“Yeah well it's her phrasing not mine.” Danny swiftly responded. “Besides I took my PSAT's, plenty of interesting useless phrases to be found in there.”
“My so defensive! I promise, I was implying nothing about your intelligence Daniel.” Vlad's eyes sparkled as he teased Danny again. Danny huhumpfed in response and he looked out the window. He didn't recognize anything, and his near innate distrust of Vlad flared again. He wiggled uncomfortably in his seat.
“How close are we to Amity?” He inquired in what he hoped was a calm voice.
“Another 45 minutes I'm afraid. After that it'll probably be another 20 minutes or so until we'll be at the Fentons.” Vlad coolly replied.
“Oh.” Danny said dejectedly.
“Bored already Daniel?” Vlad asked good-naturedly. When Danny didn't respond, he poked him in the arm. “Come on don't clam up on me now. You were about to tell me about Tucker's patented meat diet, or something like that.” Danny shifted away from the annoying jab, and looked back out the window. Vlad sighed after a few more minutes passed in silence. “You know I've known pregnant women less temperamental than you little badger.” Vlad said hoping to work Danny back up. It worked nearly instantly.
“Yeah well, they don't have deal with half of what I do.” Danny groused.
“Well why don't you tell me about it?” Vlad posed, hoping to draw him into conversation.
“I don't want to talk about it.”
“I noticed.” Vlad said with a laugh. Danny practically growled in response,
“Well do me a favor and not be so observant. I'm not your personal entertainment.”
“Daniel, do you try to be this hostile to others, or is it just a natural personality trait? I'm not going to hurt you.” Vlad assured. Danny was less than convinced. After everything Vlad had done to him in the future, he couldn't believe it. Danny huffed before responding,
“Yeah well I don't believe that.”
“If I was going to hurt you, I've had plenty of opportunity to do so.” Vlad reasoned.
“Maybe so, but everyone hurts other people, even without meaning to.”
“Like your adoptive father perhaps.” Danny started at the sudden change in conversation topics. He had forgotten all about how he had led Vlad and his parents to believe he was getting beaten by some nebulous adoptive father. Not like I don't get beat up regularly in any case. Danny settled for an even deeper frown and turning even further towards the door. “Alright.” Vlad said at length. “I get it; you don't want to talk about him either. Well what do you want to talk about? We have at least another half an hour to go, and the quiet bugs me.” Danny shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
“I have no clue. How about you tell me about your life?” Vlad hummed in thought for a moment before nodding his head.
“I suppose I can tell you a little more about myself. Maybe then you'll stop being so secretive.”
“Fat chance.” Danny said with a smile, his mood improving with the shift of the conversation off his life. Vlad started by filling in some of his childhood. A few minutes later, he had moved all the way up to his college life.
“I met Jack Fenton freshman year. It was an intro-biology class; I was a Biochemical major at the time, so it was my favorite class that semester. Jack was interested in ghost hunting, has been since the moment I met him. He blabbered on about it every minute he could spar to anyone who would listen. I found the proposition of ghost biology incredibly intriguing, and he had plenty of theories to go around. We became best friends quickly after that.” Vlad paused as they passed the welcome sign to Amity Park. Danny had noticed it too, and felt instantly better knowing they were back in his home town. “In any case,” Vlad started again, “I changed majors soon after meeting him to Spectral Biology.”
“They have that major?” Danny asked surprised.
“Of course not. But they do let you create your own major by working with a school consoler. He wasn't too keen on my major suggestion, but I won him over with my insistence. It took quite a bit of effort, but I made it work.”
“So when did you met Maddie?” Danny felt himself getting more excited as they neared his section of town.
“I-Oh what the hell?” Vlad cried out.
“So Daniel, after we finish up breakfast, we're heading back over to the Fenton's.” Vlad mentioned casually. Danny took a gulp of orange juice before replying,
“What for?”
“To discuss where you're going to be staying.” Vlad moved back into the living room, plate in hand.
“It's only about 8am now, but it takes an hour and a half to get into Amity Park from here, so it'll be mid-morning by the time we get to Fentonworks.” He sat down next to Danny and grabbed the maple syrup off the table. Vlad looked back at Danny to find him frozen mid-bite. “What?” He prompted.
“Nothing! Oh well, yeah I guess it is something.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck before continuing.
“I thought I was staying with you?” Danny ventured gingerly.
“Yes I did say that, but only for the night. There really isn't enough room for you to stay permanently, my apartment isn't that big.” Vlad explain.
“Oh yeah, there is only one bedroom, but I could sleep on the couch.”
“Don't worry about it Daniel, I'm sure we'll think of something. Now each your breakfast before it gets cold. Jack is making lunch, and I can promise you'll see toxic waste more edible.” Danny couldn't help but smile when he remembered just why his dad was banned from the kitchen.
“Yeah he's not the best cook in the world.”
“So you know the Fentons then?” Vlad quickly honed in on Danny's admission.
“Oh uh, no not really.”
“Funny, you sounded as if you did. Which reminds me, how do you know my name?” Vlad picked up their empty plates and head for the kitchen.
“Uh, phone book.” Danny said dismissively.
“Oh you're a horrible liar little badger.” Danny narrowed his eyes at the nickname.
“Stop calling me that.” He ordered.
“Want to change the subject? Alright then, how about your last name?” Vlad set the now clean dishes back into the cabinetry above the stove and turned to look at Danny. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter, the picture of calm expectancy. Danny for his part, picked at imaginary lint on the couch. Small or not, this place is immaculate. So much like Vlad. Danny mused and rubbed some more faux debris from his borrowed sleepwear. He chanced a glance back up at Vlad, and found him waiting patiently with a raised eyebrow.
“I um, geez this sounds rude, but I can't-”
“I promise, I won't take you anywhere you don't want to go, but you have to give me something to work with here. I mean, I basically let a perfect stranger stay in my home last night.” Danny looked away and rubbed his pants some more. He really wanted to tell him something, but there wasn't anything Danny could think of that wouldn't jeopardize his mission. Come on Fenton, you have to throw him some kind of bone, or you could be in serious trouble. Confronted with Danny's continued silence, Vlad walked over to the couch where Danny was sitting. He dropped beside Danny and ruffled his hair with a sigh.
“Ok Daniel, if you can't talk about your family, then what about your friends?” Vlad probed. Danny perked up upon hearing an opening to talk about something in his life, that wouldn't bring more trouble for him later.
“Well I have two best friends.” Danny started. Vlad `hm'ed in response and walked towards the back bedroom. Danny paced along after him when Vlad motioned for him to follow.
“And what are they like?” Vlad prompted while rifling through his closet.
“Well ones a techno-geek, in every sense of the word. He loves computers, electrical engineering kinda stuff.”
“I suppose the Intels and Macs can be rather interesting but it's not my cup of tea. Here,” Vlad said, handing over a pair of jeans.
“A what?” Danny scrunched his eyebrows at the unfamiliar computer name. He took the pants Vlad offered and held them up to his waist. “These are way too big…” He noticed with concern.
“That's what belts are for.” Vlad responded while handing over the mentioned item. “And a Intel. You know the latest in computer software? I guess you and your best friend…” Vlad trailed off leaving Danny to fill in the blank.
“Tucker” Danny supplied.
“Tucker, don't have a love for computers in common.” Vlad turned back into the closet and came back with a polo shirt. He tossed it Danny's way and began going through the closet for his own outfit. Danny rearranged the clothing in his hands before continuing,
“Oh no. He's the technology lover not me.”
“And what is it that you love?” Vlad inquired. He reached in and picked out his own belt before tossing the chosen clothing on the bed. Danny broke out into a full grin.
“Space! The stars, everything about it.”
“Want to be an astronomer do you?”
“No an astronaut.” Danny beamed proudly. He watched as Vlad stripped out of his wife beater and picked up his own polo shirt. Vlad slipped the shirt over his head, and noticed Danny's staring.
“What?”
“Oh well, you wouldn't have somewhere I could change do you?” Danny shuffled his feet in embarrassment. As nice as Vlad was being, there was no way he was changing clothes in the same room as him. Vlad pointed down the hall.
“The bathroom's small, but” Vlad paused to give Danny a once over, “then again so are you. There should be enough room for you to change in there.” Danny narrowed his eyes in angry embarrassment. Vlad let out a short hearty laugh in response. “Oh don't look like that Daniel, I'm just teasing. I was 14 once too you know.”
“Yeah who would have thought?” Danny muttered as he stalked out of the room and down the hall to the only bathroom. Danny quickly closed the door behind him and set the clothes on the sink basin. A little careful maneuvering later, had him dressed and ready to leave, but Danny wasn't moving just yet. He was carefully turning over the last few minutes of conversation in his head, and was surprised by his candidness. Get a grip; this is Vlad we are talking about. What's wrong with you? Danny thought in dismay.
You spend five minutes alone with him being nice, and you are spilling your guts. Why in the world are you talking about your dreams with this guy? He doesn't care; Vlad doesn't care about anything, except marrying my mom and molding me into his perfect puppet slave. He always has an ulterior motive; he's never nice to be nice. I need to focus. No more wandering conversations, no chummy shit. Just the bare basics of courtesy. Anything else and he'll pump me for more information. Danny finished his personal pep talk with a sigh. While he was sure he needed to avoid talking about his life as much as possible that was easier said than done. Without the usual bars of his personal worries and Vlad's worrying obsessions, Danny was finding him alarmingly easy to talk to. A hollow knock and a disembodied voice reminded him of the time.
“Yeah I'm coming out in a second.”
“Hurry up then, I don't think you'll be seeing any girls your age, so stop primping.” Vlad's teasing voice carried through the thin faux wooden door with piercing clarity. Danny scowled at his reflection. What in the world possessed me to think it would be hard to not speak with him? He wondered with building frustration, and turned the handle to the bathroom door. He stepped out to find Vlad already standing by the door, near the shoe rack, keys in hand. Danny drug he's feet across the floor to dissipate some of his building anxiety about being stuck in a car with Vlad for over an hour. Vlad rolled his eyes, and opened the front door.
“Back to sulking like a toddler I see?”
“Why don't you just shut up and go downstairs.” Danny snipped back. Vlad closed the door behind him and slid the lock into place.
“Alright I get it; you don't like being teased about your appearance. I won't do it again.” Vlad promised.
“No that's not it. I don't like being teased at all.” Danny was still slightly sour about the `primping' comment, and being who he was, he wasn't about to let it go. Vlad hummed in response as they both rounded the last set of stairs and walked into the main lobby.
“But how can I resist? You make it all too easy to rile you up.” Vlad observed with humor. Danny chose not to respond this time, and quietly followed Vlad out the lobby door. They walked in silence to parking lot, and it was only after they were both seated in the car that Vlad spook up again. “It's a bit of a drive into Amity, so try and get some sleep if you are still tired, you aren't going to be getting any the rest of the day I'm sure.” Vlad began pulling out of the parking space before admonishing, “And put on your seat belt.” Danny huffed in response.
“I was getting to that. You don't have to treat me like a kid.” Vlad quirked his lips into a slight frown at Danny's attitude.
“You know these sudden hostile mood swings are getting annoying. Why don't you try to be positive for once?”
“I am positive.” Vlad glanced over at Danny in suspicion. “Positively sure I'm not a child.”
“I never said you were Daniel, but your tantrums and pouting aren't doing you any favors in that category.” Danny turned and glared out the window. He couldn't tell him being around him was what was ruining his mood. A few tense minutes passed in uncomfortable silence before Danny tried to start conversation up.
“Why do you live so far outside of Amity?” Danny turned back around towards Vlad, waiting for his response.
“I don't see what's wrong with where I live now. And why would I want to live close to Amity in the first place?” Vlad answered with a question of his own.
“Well you're at the Fenton's a lot, I'd think you'd want to be closer.” Danny observed with a shrug.
“Indeed I am, but I suppose the better question is, how do you know that?” Vlad posed. Danny paused to grapple for something good to say, before responding,
“You have a key to their house, and you seem really close to them. You must be there pretty often if you have a key.” Danny concluded after a few moments.
“A fine observation Daniel, but if you notice they said it was a reunion dinner. If that's the case, then why would you assume I was there often? People don't cook special dinners for those whom are around often.” Vlad retorted.
“Yeah, but you knew their daughter. And your nickname for her is really specific. You'd have to have been around a lot to call her peanut because her mother ate a lot of them while pregnant. And if this was a reunion dinner, it must mean you were away for a while, but just recently came back.” Danny paused and frowned as he took in his conclusions. “What were you doing to keep you away from the people who you obviously are very close too?” Danny asked; thinking out loud. Vlad flicked on a turn signal and merged into the leftmost fast lane.
“You know here you are prying into my life, and I don't know much about yours. If I recall correctly, you were telling me about your best friends.” Danny opened his mouth to protest, but Vlad cut him off.
“You only told me about one of your friends; what of the other one?” He asked. Danny scrunched his eyebrows in confusion at how quickly the conversation had gotten turned around on him. Damn. I was sure he had dropped this. Where'd he learn to re-direct a conversation so easily? Danny thought with vague concern.
“Well,” Danny started blandly, “she's a Goth.” Vlad hummed to signal he was still listening while he passed a slower moving car on the road. The car honked in response, when Vlad cut in front of him on the road.
“Yeah? Well screw you too asshole!” Vlad screamed at the still honking car as it flew past him and onto an off-ramp. “I'm sorry Daniel, you were saying?” Vlad looked over to find Danny staring at him in disbelief. He rolled his eyes before saying, “you can't tell me you've never heard someone cuss. You did so last night.”
“Yeah it's not that, I just didn't expect you too. I mean you didn't when I smacked up in the ribs yesterday.” Danny explained. Danny silently pondered when Vlad had picked up his habit of cursing on sweets, before his thoughts were interrupted.
“Yeah well,” Vlad started sourly, “I have a small case of road rage. Besides, that barely even hurt, you didn't hit me that hard.” Danny declined to comment that he had been trying to hit him hard, and decided to focus back on the original topic.
“Right, so my friend Sam, she's a Goth and an Ultra-Recylovegetarian”
“Daniel, what in the world does that mean?” Vlad interrupted.
“Oh well, she wears all black, and doesn't eat anything that ever had a face. Or something like that. It ends up meaning she likes to skulk in dark places and eat tofu wheatgrass for lunch.” Danny said with a chuckle.
“That sounds interesting. I can't even imagine what grass tastes like.”
“Trust me dude, it's nasty. But she's an animal rights activist, and she'd never hurt an animal. She wears completely synthetic or plant based clothes made in ethically safe factories. She protests with PETA, she-why are you looking at me like that?” Danny shifted nervously under Vlad's intense gaze. Vlad turned back to the road and changed lanes over to the far right to prepare to get off the highway.
“Nothing Daniel, you just seem a lot more forthcoming than before.” When Danny didn't respond, Vlad continued. “What I mean is, you have a lot more details to share about Sam than Tucker.”
“That's not true.” Danny hastily defended. “You just didn't give me a chance to talk about Tucker. Tucker's food tastes are in the exact opposite direction of Sam's.” Danny said quickly changing subjects. Vlad hummed for him to continue. “He eats nothing but meat. He calls himself a carnivore. He insists his all meat diet allows him to, like I don't know, stay up 3 days straight working on computer projects. Or makes him think faster or something. Sam of course completely disagrees with him, and says meat is `ethically unconscionable'.” Vlad scoffed at the wording, interrupting Danny's overcompensating rant.
“What?” Danny asked now more annoyed with him.
“Nothing that's just an interesting phrase.” Vlad replied blandly.
“Yeah well it's her phrasing not mine.” Danny swiftly responded. “Besides I took my PSAT's, plenty of interesting useless phrases to be found in there.”
“My so defensive! I promise, I was implying nothing about your intelligence Daniel.” Vlad's eyes sparkled as he teased Danny again. Danny huhumpfed in response and he looked out the window. He didn't recognize anything, and his near innate distrust of Vlad flared again. He wiggled uncomfortably in his seat.
“How close are we to Amity?” He inquired in what he hoped was a calm voice.
“Another 45 minutes I'm afraid. After that it'll probably be another 20 minutes or so until we'll be at the Fentons.” Vlad coolly replied.
“Oh.” Danny said dejectedly.
“Bored already Daniel?” Vlad asked good-naturedly. When Danny didn't respond, he poked him in the arm. “Come on don't clam up on me now. You were about to tell me about Tucker's patented meat diet, or something like that.” Danny shifted away from the annoying jab, and looked back out the window. Vlad sighed after a few more minutes passed in silence. “You know I've known pregnant women less temperamental than you little badger.” Vlad said hoping to work Danny back up. It worked nearly instantly.
“Yeah well, they don't have deal with half of what I do.” Danny groused.
“Well why don't you tell me about it?” Vlad posed, hoping to draw him into conversation.
“I don't want to talk about it.”
“I noticed.” Vlad said with a laugh. Danny practically growled in response,
“Well do me a favor and not be so observant. I'm not your personal entertainment.”
“Daniel, do you try to be this hostile to others, or is it just a natural personality trait? I'm not going to hurt you.” Vlad assured. Danny was less than convinced. After everything Vlad had done to him in the future, he couldn't believe it. Danny huffed before responding,
“Yeah well I don't believe that.”
“If I was going to hurt you, I've had plenty of opportunity to do so.” Vlad reasoned.
“Maybe so, but everyone hurts other people, even without meaning to.”
“Like your adoptive father perhaps.” Danny started at the sudden change in conversation topics. He had forgotten all about how he had led Vlad and his parents to believe he was getting beaten by some nebulous adoptive father. Not like I don't get beat up regularly in any case. Danny settled for an even deeper frown and turning even further towards the door. “Alright.” Vlad said at length. “I get it; you don't want to talk about him either. Well what do you want to talk about? We have at least another half an hour to go, and the quiet bugs me.” Danny shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
“I have no clue. How about you tell me about your life?” Vlad hummed in thought for a moment before nodding his head.
“I suppose I can tell you a little more about myself. Maybe then you'll stop being so secretive.”
“Fat chance.” Danny said with a smile, his mood improving with the shift of the conversation off his life. Vlad started by filling in some of his childhood. A few minutes later, he had moved all the way up to his college life.
“I met Jack Fenton freshman year. It was an intro-biology class; I was a Biochemical major at the time, so it was my favorite class that semester. Jack was interested in ghost hunting, has been since the moment I met him. He blabbered on about it every minute he could spar to anyone who would listen. I found the proposition of ghost biology incredibly intriguing, and he had plenty of theories to go around. We became best friends quickly after that.” Vlad paused as they passed the welcome sign to Amity Park. Danny had noticed it too, and felt instantly better knowing they were back in his home town. “In any case,” Vlad started again, “I changed majors soon after meeting him to Spectral Biology.”
“They have that major?” Danny asked surprised.
“Of course not. But they do let you create your own major by working with a school consoler. He wasn't too keen on my major suggestion, but I won him over with my insistence. It took quite a bit of effort, but I made it work.”
“So when did you met Maddie?” Danny felt himself getting more excited as they neared his section of town.
“I-Oh what the hell?” Vlad cried out.
Danny's attention suddenly snapped back to the road. There was traffic backed up for miles. All around them were party goers and floats. The floats were crafted into the shape of deer and elk, and several of the celebrators had antlers on their head. “What's going on?” Danny looked around from left to right taking in the spectacle.
Vlad drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. The town was small, and there really wasn't any other way to get to Fentonworks from here. They were stuck some kind of deer themed parade. That's when something hit him.
“Deer fest.” Vlad hissed out in aggravation.
“What?”
“Jack was telling me about this. It happens around this time of year. I can't believe these people have nothing better to do. What? Are they so bored in this little bumfuck town that they have to celebrate deer?” Vlad slammed his hand into the top of the steering wheel in frustration. Danny looked back over at Vlad in curiosity. He noticed Danny's stare and supplied,
“There's no going around it little badger. There's a dearth of proper roads in this stupid hick town. This is the only way to Fentonworks.” After Vlad had finished Danny glanced back up at the miles of parade floats and happily dancing spectators. Suddenly sharing Vlad's frustration, Danny was tempted hit something as well. Great now I'm stuck in the car even longer with Vlad. Does Fate hate me or something? Danny thought irately. Vlad suddenly sighed from the seat next to him. Danny looked over right before Vlad said,
“Get some rest Daniel; this is going to take at least an hour now.” Vlad said before complaining, “And I just filled up this tank.” Danny settled down into his seat a little farther to get more comfortable before he remembered something.
“You were telling me about Maddie.” Danny prompted. Vlad shook his head before saying,
“Later Daniel, I'm too frustrated to talk about her right now.” Danny shook off the dismissal, and settled in again.
“Deer fest.” Vlad hissed out in aggravation.
“What?”
“Jack was telling me about this. It happens around this time of year. I can't believe these people have nothing better to do. What? Are they so bored in this little bumfuck town that they have to celebrate deer?” Vlad slammed his hand into the top of the steering wheel in frustration. Danny looked back over at Vlad in curiosity. He noticed Danny's stare and supplied,
“There's no going around it little badger. There's a dearth of proper roads in this stupid hick town. This is the only way to Fentonworks.” After Vlad had finished Danny glanced back up at the miles of parade floats and happily dancing spectators. Suddenly sharing Vlad's frustration, Danny was tempted hit something as well. Great now I'm stuck in the car even longer with Vlad. Does Fate hate me or something? Danny thought irately. Vlad suddenly sighed from the seat next to him. Danny looked over right before Vlad said,
“Get some rest Daniel; this is going to take at least an hour now.” Vlad said before complaining, “And I just filled up this tank.” Danny settled down into his seat a little farther to get more comfortable before he remembered something.
“You were telling me about Maddie.” Danny prompted. Vlad shook his head before saying,
“Later Daniel, I'm too frustrated to talk about her right now.” Danny shook off the dismissal, and settled in again.
Danny jolted when the car door next to him closed. He groggily noticed Vlad muttering something under his breath before moving towards the front door of a building. Danny shrugged his way out of his seat belt, and followed Vlad out of the car. His legs were still a little asleep from the long car ride, and his own nap, so he was slow climbing the steps. Vlad reached into his pocket and opened the front door after ringing the doorbell once, presumably as a warning to the house's occupants. Vlad pushed the door open, and Danny trudged after him on still sleepy legs. “Sorry we're late Jack.” Vlad said to someone right on the other side of the threshold.
“It's ok Vladdy. I figured you and Daniel had gotten stuck in that deer fest traffic.” Jack peered behind
Vlad to glance at the more alert Danny.
“Yeah we got stuck all right, all the last ten miles to Fentonworks. Would have been faster to park the car and walk.” Vlad griped as he walked over to the couch. He smiled down at a relaxing Maddie and Jasmine before taking a seat next to them. Jack quickly followed while Danny opted to stand. He had been sitting for too long already in that car, and he was going to enjoy the leg room.
“Anyway, you both made it alright, so that's what matters.” Maddie said while handing Jasmine over to her cooing `uncle'. Danny walked over to lean against one of the pieces of furniture in the living room opposite the rest of the family. He wasn't looking forward to this conversation. It could only get awkward, and he wasn't sure how well he was going to be able to keep up the lie he had crafted mostly by accident the night before.
“Yeah well, we have other matters to discuss as well.” Vlad started while handing the happy infant in his arms back to her mother.
“That's true. We need to talk to Danny about where his dad is.”
“That man is not my dad.” Danny bit back. He decided to stick to the nasty over-sensitive approach he had been taking with the imaginary adoptive father subject.
“Alright Daniel,” Vlad started with his hands raised in appeasement, “but we still need to talk about where you are going to be staying. If you don't want-”
“Can't.” Danny corrected caustically.
“Can't, go back to him,” Vlad continued undeterred, “then you still are going to need somewhere to stay.” Danny shrugged before looking off towards the family den.
“If I can't stay with you,” he said while pointing to Vlad, “I'll just do what I have been for the last few months.”
“Which is?” Vlad asked with a raised eyebrow. Danny slid his shoulders up again before saying in what he hoped was a nonchalant voice, “sleeping in abandon buildings. It's warm enough, and I don't get bothered.”
“That's definitely not going to be happening young man.” Maddie stated in a voice almost exactly like she usually used to scold him for bad decisions. Danny scuffed his foot across the carpet before trying again.
“Why not? I'm not bothering anyone, and it's not that bad.”
“That's incredibly dangerous!” Maddie exclaimed in disapproval. “Is that where you got those bruises?” She questioned.
“No. And I haven't gotten into any fights either.” Danny lied.
“Well then where did those marks come from, because you haven't been home in months according to you.” Jack probed. Danny felt a jolt of panic go into his stomach and backtracked.
“What I mean is, I haven't lived there regularly in months. I've been back a couple times. I can't seem to avoid the police, and they-or the people who call them- always keep dragging me back. He's not too happy to see me usually, and this running away thing hasn't worked out too great so far, but all of that is better than just giving up and living with his crazy ass again.” Danny crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at his mother. Maddie pursed her lips in response to Danny curt answer.
“Well of course they sent you home, I'm sure your father's looking for you.”
“Yeah I bet he misses his personal slave a lot now that he actually has to take care of the house himself.”
“Daniel, stop exaggerating!” Maddie scolded.
“I'm not!” Danny blurted out. He balled his fists and tried to muster up some tears. Years of crying-on-demand practice in childhood aided him in his act. “I know you don't believe me,” Danny started shakily, “but this man is evil. He has to be Satan; no way he's a real human being. He doesn't care about me at all; the only thing he cares about is the free maid service and the check from the fast food place I brought home.” Danny summoned up some extra sniffles and tears to top off the performance. Maddie seemed to be moved by his little act, and Danny silently thanked his personal inspiration, the Vlad back in his own time. If I was actually thinking about my own father, this would be impossible. Thanks for actually coming in handy for once Vlad. Danny thought gratefully, before staring back at the ground in front of his feet. The room was silent as the adults mouthed responses back and forth to each other they didn't want Danny to hear. Danny glanced over at his parents, who seemed to be arguing vehemently with Vlad about something. Finally, Vlad shook his head and crossed his arms. He seemed to have dug in his heels about his decision. Jack sighed loudly before saying,
“He really can't stay with you Vlad. We have to tell the police.” Before Danny could even think to protest, Vlad had for him.
“We will do no such thing. I refuse to be a party to someone who sends him back to his adoptive father.”
“You're being unreasonable Vlad.” Maddie replied. She leaned in, and whispered, “You don't even know if he's telling the truth.” Vlad narrowed his eyes in anger at her.
“Yes I'm sure most teenagers can cry on a dime. Hey at this point, maybe he even gave himself those bruises and cuts.” Maddie poked Vlad in the chest before saying,
“Vlad stop it! You know I didn't mean it that way.”
“Well how am I to know? If everything he says is so suspect then I'm sure we should question everything about his appearance as well.”
“I, for one, think that he got those marks in fights from hanging around in abandoned buildings. Who knows who else frequents them?” Maddie countered.
“No one Maddie! That's why they are called `abandoned'.” Vlad sniped back angrily.
“Both of you stop it.” Jack jumped into the argument. “We aren't getting anywhere with you two fighting like that.”
“Stay out of it!” They both harshly whispered back, before starting into each other again. Jack frowned. There really was no getting them to stop once they started like this. He knew from years of experience that the two of them could debate like no tomorrow about just about anything. Hopefully they'll wind themselves down before too long. He thought before peering over at the forlorn looking teen currently sulking across the room. Jack didn't want to put the boy out, but he really couldn't afford to have him live there. Even if they did have the physical room, kids were expensive, and they were having enough trouble with their new daughter without worrying about a temperamental possibly abused teen on top of it. Moreover, there really wasn't the room with Vlad, who did have the time and possibly money to help. Their only real option was to hand him over to child services and hope for the best. Maybe with our testimony, and his repeated attempts at running away, they'll believe the abuse allegations? Jack pondered. By then Maddie and Vlad's “quiet disagreement” had escalated into one of their loud debates.
“I'm telling you Maddie, I'm not going to allow you to chance putting him back with his foster father.” He tapped his foot loudly against the floor in pent up frustration.
“Vlad you don't even know this man's name! How can you be so sure-”
“I don't need to know his name. I mean you haven't told me your father's name, but I'm sure from your descriptions that he's a dick.”
“My father has nothing to do with this,” Maddie replied angrily, “stay on topic.” Vlad leaned in closer with his hands crossed over his chest.
“I'm sorry Maddie, I thought we were discussing being able to discern someone's character without knowing their name. Unless you disagree with my assessment of your father's nature?” Vlad quirked an eyebrow to further frustrate Maddie.
“No of course not! But-”
“Oh let me guess, `I'm trustworthy and Daniel's not.' ” Vlad interrupted. Maddie openly glared at Vlad in response. “Come now Maddie,” Vlad started in a condescending voice, “that's been your objection the whole time. Not like it was hard for me to guess.”
“Yes it has, and it's a damn good one Vlad.” She shook her head and stood up from the couch. “Like it or not, we can't trust him to tell the truth, and unless I think he is, we need to proceed as if he's lying.”
“Hey!” Danny interrupted the rebuttal Vlad had thought of. “I'm not a liar.” Danny pouted his bottom lip out and frowned deeply.
“Maybe not about most things, but you can't seem to be truthful about your family life Daniel, and that's good enough for me.”
“Now wait just a minute Maddie,” Vlad started, “he hasn't lied to me about his family.”
“How can you be so sure?” Jack questioned, jumping in.
“He's not.” Maddie cut off Vlad's response. “How could he have a chance to lie to you, when you just let him weasel out of telling you anything?” Maddie placed her hands on her hips and stared down at Vlad still sitting on the couch.
“Because then he has no reason to lie to me. Why would he when he only says what's comfortable?” Vlad quickly countered.
“Maybe so, but you don't have any more concrete information than I do.”
“Why do you both think the worst of this young man?” Vlad mused out loud.
“Me? Oh no, I'm not in your little debate with Maddie. Not this time you two. You aren't drawing me in.” Jack shifted his wriggling daughter into a more comfortable position before staring at the two of them. “This is truly going nowhere you two. Can't we just call-”
“Absolutely not!”
“Of course we are Vlad! He's not staying here.”
“When in the world have I suggested otherwise.” Vlad replied.
“And he isn't staying with you either.” Maddie quickly added. Vlad practically snarled before jumping to his feet to glare down his nose at Maddie.
“Stop being so difficult Madeline. The boy can stay with me until we can think of some other arrangement.”
“There is another arrangement already. He can go with Child Protective Services.” Maddie argued back.
“Absolutely not!” Vlad repeated.
“Damn it Vlad, stop being so difficult, and listen.”
“Hey for what it's worth,” Danny interrupted again, “I agree with Vlad.”
“You don't get a vote.” The three adults said near simultaneously, before turning back to their conversation.
“Wait a second!” Danny interrupted further, “it's my life, why don't I get to decide what happens with it?” Maddie scoffed before turning to face Danny.
“If you were any good at deciding what to do with your own life, you wouldn't be in this position would you?” Danny shuffled his feet in response to his mother stinging rejoinder and settled back into silence. Vlad sighed and got her attention again.
“At least give me a week Maddie. I'm sure I can come up with something suitable by then. He has work experience. He could get a job in town.” Vlad ventured. Maddie scrunched up her lips into a hard line.
“No Vlad. What part of-”
“Maddie,” Jack intervened gently, “that's not such a bad idea.”
“Jack we don't even know how old he is.”
“I'm nearly 15.” Danny happily supplied. Maddie hummed in thought before addressing him again.
“And how does a nearly 15 year old already have job experience?” Maddie fixed a hard stare and Danny's direction, which he easily answered.
“It took a bit of convincing, but it was a fast food restaurant. It's not like I was handling gold at the bank or something.” Danny tapped his foot in a show of impatience. They had been arguing in circles for hours, barely even asking his opinion on the matter. If there was one thing he hated, it was having someone make decisions for him, especially with him still in the room. Maddie didn't look at all convinced, but Jack's softening expression showed he was coming around.
“Come on Mads, if he gets job, then he'll at least have some cash to help out.” Jack handed his fussing daughter over to his wife. She walked towards the kitchen to grab a bottle. The room grew still as she turned over the thought of Danny staying and working in her head. It didn't really sit well with her. While Maddie might have seemed harsh, she was really only looking out for Danny best interest. Even if Daniel could stay with one of us, he'd have to work to help out because we don't have the money to take care of him. If he worked near full time, he wouldn't have time for school. Maddie worried her bottom lip in indecision as she set the cold bottle in the microwave to heat up. By the time the buzzer for the device had gone off, she had made her decision.
“If Daniel stays with you Vlad,” Maddie started while pulling the warm bottle from the microwave, “you had better make sure he goes to school.” Vlad looked shocked.
“I can't register him for the local school district. Even if I could fake my way into passing as a parent, I'd need documentation for him to register. Birth certificate, immunization records, transcripts, and more. I don't even know the boy's real last name, how am I supposed to-”
“Well then you better home school him or something, because there's no way I'm letting him just languish. If we don't at least make sure he gets a high school education, then we might as well call CPS right now, because I'm sure they'll see to it.” Maddie plopped the warmed bottle into Jasmine's awaiting mouth, and waited for the rest of the room to respond.
“I have no time for-”
“Make time.” Maddie interrupted Vlad's objections again. Truthfully, she was expecting this to make him see sense, and call CPS. There's no way he would agree to-
“Alright Madeline.” Vlad agreed. Maddie's eyebrows shot up in shock.
“You can't be serious.”
“If that's what it takes, then so be it. It's only temporary I'm sure, so a few weeks won't bother me that much. Maybe since you are so concerned over his education, you could suggest a tutor if it goes on for longer than that?” Vlad walked over to where Danny was standing and leaned against the sofa piece in mimicry. Maddie's eyebrows scrunched up in frustration when she realized her best objection had been shot down. She was about to start again, when Jasmine yawned in her arms. She looked over at the clock and seeing the time decided to drop it until after lunch.
“Alright, it's 2 in the afternoon now. How about we discuss the specifics after lunch?” Maddie handed the sleepy infant to her father with instructions to send her upstairs for an afternoon nap. Both of the males leaning against the couch nodded in agreement, and walked towards the kitchen. Vlad knew Maddie wasn't one to give up so easily, they were probably going to be hashing this out all day, but at least he had a small concession on her end.
“It's ok Vladdy. I figured you and Daniel had gotten stuck in that deer fest traffic.” Jack peered behind
Vlad to glance at the more alert Danny.
“Yeah we got stuck all right, all the last ten miles to Fentonworks. Would have been faster to park the car and walk.” Vlad griped as he walked over to the couch. He smiled down at a relaxing Maddie and Jasmine before taking a seat next to them. Jack quickly followed while Danny opted to stand. He had been sitting for too long already in that car, and he was going to enjoy the leg room.
“Anyway, you both made it alright, so that's what matters.” Maddie said while handing Jasmine over to her cooing `uncle'. Danny walked over to lean against one of the pieces of furniture in the living room opposite the rest of the family. He wasn't looking forward to this conversation. It could only get awkward, and he wasn't sure how well he was going to be able to keep up the lie he had crafted mostly by accident the night before.
“Yeah well, we have other matters to discuss as well.” Vlad started while handing the happy infant in his arms back to her mother.
“That's true. We need to talk to Danny about where his dad is.”
“That man is not my dad.” Danny bit back. He decided to stick to the nasty over-sensitive approach he had been taking with the imaginary adoptive father subject.
“Alright Daniel,” Vlad started with his hands raised in appeasement, “but we still need to talk about where you are going to be staying. If you don't want-”
“Can't.” Danny corrected caustically.
“Can't, go back to him,” Vlad continued undeterred, “then you still are going to need somewhere to stay.” Danny shrugged before looking off towards the family den.
“If I can't stay with you,” he said while pointing to Vlad, “I'll just do what I have been for the last few months.”
“Which is?” Vlad asked with a raised eyebrow. Danny slid his shoulders up again before saying in what he hoped was a nonchalant voice, “sleeping in abandon buildings. It's warm enough, and I don't get bothered.”
“That's definitely not going to be happening young man.” Maddie stated in a voice almost exactly like she usually used to scold him for bad decisions. Danny scuffed his foot across the carpet before trying again.
“Why not? I'm not bothering anyone, and it's not that bad.”
“That's incredibly dangerous!” Maddie exclaimed in disapproval. “Is that where you got those bruises?” She questioned.
“No. And I haven't gotten into any fights either.” Danny lied.
“Well then where did those marks come from, because you haven't been home in months according to you.” Jack probed. Danny felt a jolt of panic go into his stomach and backtracked.
“What I mean is, I haven't lived there regularly in months. I've been back a couple times. I can't seem to avoid the police, and they-or the people who call them- always keep dragging me back. He's not too happy to see me usually, and this running away thing hasn't worked out too great so far, but all of that is better than just giving up and living with his crazy ass again.” Danny crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at his mother. Maddie pursed her lips in response to Danny curt answer.
“Well of course they sent you home, I'm sure your father's looking for you.”
“Yeah I bet he misses his personal slave a lot now that he actually has to take care of the house himself.”
“Daniel, stop exaggerating!” Maddie scolded.
“I'm not!” Danny blurted out. He balled his fists and tried to muster up some tears. Years of crying-on-demand practice in childhood aided him in his act. “I know you don't believe me,” Danny started shakily, “but this man is evil. He has to be Satan; no way he's a real human being. He doesn't care about me at all; the only thing he cares about is the free maid service and the check from the fast food place I brought home.” Danny summoned up some extra sniffles and tears to top off the performance. Maddie seemed to be moved by his little act, and Danny silently thanked his personal inspiration, the Vlad back in his own time. If I was actually thinking about my own father, this would be impossible. Thanks for actually coming in handy for once Vlad. Danny thought gratefully, before staring back at the ground in front of his feet. The room was silent as the adults mouthed responses back and forth to each other they didn't want Danny to hear. Danny glanced over at his parents, who seemed to be arguing vehemently with Vlad about something. Finally, Vlad shook his head and crossed his arms. He seemed to have dug in his heels about his decision. Jack sighed loudly before saying,
“He really can't stay with you Vlad. We have to tell the police.” Before Danny could even think to protest, Vlad had for him.
“We will do no such thing. I refuse to be a party to someone who sends him back to his adoptive father.”
“You're being unreasonable Vlad.” Maddie replied. She leaned in, and whispered, “You don't even know if he's telling the truth.” Vlad narrowed his eyes in anger at her.
“Yes I'm sure most teenagers can cry on a dime. Hey at this point, maybe he even gave himself those bruises and cuts.” Maddie poked Vlad in the chest before saying,
“Vlad stop it! You know I didn't mean it that way.”
“Well how am I to know? If everything he says is so suspect then I'm sure we should question everything about his appearance as well.”
“I, for one, think that he got those marks in fights from hanging around in abandoned buildings. Who knows who else frequents them?” Maddie countered.
“No one Maddie! That's why they are called `abandoned'.” Vlad sniped back angrily.
“Both of you stop it.” Jack jumped into the argument. “We aren't getting anywhere with you two fighting like that.”
“Stay out of it!” They both harshly whispered back, before starting into each other again. Jack frowned. There really was no getting them to stop once they started like this. He knew from years of experience that the two of them could debate like no tomorrow about just about anything. Hopefully they'll wind themselves down before too long. He thought before peering over at the forlorn looking teen currently sulking across the room. Jack didn't want to put the boy out, but he really couldn't afford to have him live there. Even if they did have the physical room, kids were expensive, and they were having enough trouble with their new daughter without worrying about a temperamental possibly abused teen on top of it. Moreover, there really wasn't the room with Vlad, who did have the time and possibly money to help. Their only real option was to hand him over to child services and hope for the best. Maybe with our testimony, and his repeated attempts at running away, they'll believe the abuse allegations? Jack pondered. By then Maddie and Vlad's “quiet disagreement” had escalated into one of their loud debates.
“I'm telling you Maddie, I'm not going to allow you to chance putting him back with his foster father.” He tapped his foot loudly against the floor in pent up frustration.
“Vlad you don't even know this man's name! How can you be so sure-”
“I don't need to know his name. I mean you haven't told me your father's name, but I'm sure from your descriptions that he's a dick.”
“My father has nothing to do with this,” Maddie replied angrily, “stay on topic.” Vlad leaned in closer with his hands crossed over his chest.
“I'm sorry Maddie, I thought we were discussing being able to discern someone's character without knowing their name. Unless you disagree with my assessment of your father's nature?” Vlad quirked an eyebrow to further frustrate Maddie.
“No of course not! But-”
“Oh let me guess, `I'm trustworthy and Daniel's not.' ” Vlad interrupted. Maddie openly glared at Vlad in response. “Come now Maddie,” Vlad started in a condescending voice, “that's been your objection the whole time. Not like it was hard for me to guess.”
“Yes it has, and it's a damn good one Vlad.” She shook her head and stood up from the couch. “Like it or not, we can't trust him to tell the truth, and unless I think he is, we need to proceed as if he's lying.”
“Hey!” Danny interrupted the rebuttal Vlad had thought of. “I'm not a liar.” Danny pouted his bottom lip out and frowned deeply.
“Maybe not about most things, but you can't seem to be truthful about your family life Daniel, and that's good enough for me.”
“Now wait just a minute Maddie,” Vlad started, “he hasn't lied to me about his family.”
“How can you be so sure?” Jack questioned, jumping in.
“He's not.” Maddie cut off Vlad's response. “How could he have a chance to lie to you, when you just let him weasel out of telling you anything?” Maddie placed her hands on her hips and stared down at Vlad still sitting on the couch.
“Because then he has no reason to lie to me. Why would he when he only says what's comfortable?” Vlad quickly countered.
“Maybe so, but you don't have any more concrete information than I do.”
“Why do you both think the worst of this young man?” Vlad mused out loud.
“Me? Oh no, I'm not in your little debate with Maddie. Not this time you two. You aren't drawing me in.” Jack shifted his wriggling daughter into a more comfortable position before staring at the two of them. “This is truly going nowhere you two. Can't we just call-”
“Absolutely not!”
“Of course we are Vlad! He's not staying here.”
“When in the world have I suggested otherwise.” Vlad replied.
“And he isn't staying with you either.” Maddie quickly added. Vlad practically snarled before jumping to his feet to glare down his nose at Maddie.
“Stop being so difficult Madeline. The boy can stay with me until we can think of some other arrangement.”
“There is another arrangement already. He can go with Child Protective Services.” Maddie argued back.
“Absolutely not!” Vlad repeated.
“Damn it Vlad, stop being so difficult, and listen.”
“Hey for what it's worth,” Danny interrupted again, “I agree with Vlad.”
“You don't get a vote.” The three adults said near simultaneously, before turning back to their conversation.
“Wait a second!” Danny interrupted further, “it's my life, why don't I get to decide what happens with it?” Maddie scoffed before turning to face Danny.
“If you were any good at deciding what to do with your own life, you wouldn't be in this position would you?” Danny shuffled his feet in response to his mother stinging rejoinder and settled back into silence. Vlad sighed and got her attention again.
“At least give me a week Maddie. I'm sure I can come up with something suitable by then. He has work experience. He could get a job in town.” Vlad ventured. Maddie scrunched up her lips into a hard line.
“No Vlad. What part of-”
“Maddie,” Jack intervened gently, “that's not such a bad idea.”
“Jack we don't even know how old he is.”
“I'm nearly 15.” Danny happily supplied. Maddie hummed in thought before addressing him again.
“And how does a nearly 15 year old already have job experience?” Maddie fixed a hard stare and Danny's direction, which he easily answered.
“It took a bit of convincing, but it was a fast food restaurant. It's not like I was handling gold at the bank or something.” Danny tapped his foot in a show of impatience. They had been arguing in circles for hours, barely even asking his opinion on the matter. If there was one thing he hated, it was having someone make decisions for him, especially with him still in the room. Maddie didn't look at all convinced, but Jack's softening expression showed he was coming around.
“Come on Mads, if he gets job, then he'll at least have some cash to help out.” Jack handed his fussing daughter over to his wife. She walked towards the kitchen to grab a bottle. The room grew still as she turned over the thought of Danny staying and working in her head. It didn't really sit well with her. While Maddie might have seemed harsh, she was really only looking out for Danny best interest. Even if Daniel could stay with one of us, he'd have to work to help out because we don't have the money to take care of him. If he worked near full time, he wouldn't have time for school. Maddie worried her bottom lip in indecision as she set the cold bottle in the microwave to heat up. By the time the buzzer for the device had gone off, she had made her decision.
“If Daniel stays with you Vlad,” Maddie started while pulling the warm bottle from the microwave, “you had better make sure he goes to school.” Vlad looked shocked.
“I can't register him for the local school district. Even if I could fake my way into passing as a parent, I'd need documentation for him to register. Birth certificate, immunization records, transcripts, and more. I don't even know the boy's real last name, how am I supposed to-”
“Well then you better home school him or something, because there's no way I'm letting him just languish. If we don't at least make sure he gets a high school education, then we might as well call CPS right now, because I'm sure they'll see to it.” Maddie plopped the warmed bottle into Jasmine's awaiting mouth, and waited for the rest of the room to respond.
“I have no time for-”
“Make time.” Maddie interrupted Vlad's objections again. Truthfully, she was expecting this to make him see sense, and call CPS. There's no way he would agree to-
“Alright Madeline.” Vlad agreed. Maddie's eyebrows shot up in shock.
“You can't be serious.”
“If that's what it takes, then so be it. It's only temporary I'm sure, so a few weeks won't bother me that much. Maybe since you are so concerned over his education, you could suggest a tutor if it goes on for longer than that?” Vlad walked over to where Danny was standing and leaned against the sofa piece in mimicry. Maddie's eyebrows scrunched up in frustration when she realized her best objection had been shot down. She was about to start again, when Jasmine yawned in her arms. She looked over at the clock and seeing the time decided to drop it until after lunch.
“Alright, it's 2 in the afternoon now. How about we discuss the specifics after lunch?” Maddie handed the sleepy infant to her father with instructions to send her upstairs for an afternoon nap. Both of the males leaning against the couch nodded in agreement, and walked towards the kitchen. Vlad knew Maddie wasn't one to give up so easily, they were probably going to be hashing this out all day, but at least he had a small concession on her end.
Vlad rubbed the back of his neck as he entered his car. He didn't think it would have taken that long. Who am I kidding? She's the most stubborn person I know. Vlad mused while sticking his key into the ignition. Danny sat beside him in tired silence. It was nearly 10pm, and they had a long ways to get back to his apartment. Even with the deer fest parade out of the way, his place was over an hour away, and he wasn't feeling the drive back tonight. He knew if he sped, especially on the old deserted country roads off the highway, he could cut the trip time in half. He glanced over at Danny as he pulled away; he looked even more tired than he was. For some reason just being in the Fenton household seemed to take an emotional toll on him. Interesting Vlad thought, as he decided to chance the ticket and sped the whole way home. It was late and dark, so it wasn't likely he was going to be caught. He turned over his next idea carefully; he wanted to get more information out of Daniel without revealing too much, to what was honestly a near perfect stranger, himself. Danny rolled back towards his door right when Vlad had thought of an avenue.
“Ok little badger, how about we make a deal?” Danny turned back towards Vlad at the sound of his voice.
“What?” Danny muttered sleepily.
“I'll talk about Maddie, if you tell me more about your friends and school life tomorrow.” Danny thought
over the bargain for a second before nodding in agreement. It wasn't like he hadn't promised to tell Vlad about those topics anyway, so he was getting a deal out of it. Besides, I need him talking about my mom as a topic anyway, so I can convince him to apologize like she asks later. Danny justified, before sitting further up in his seat.
“I met Maddie my junior year in college. Jack and I were at some party for the science department, when we ran into her and her friend Harriet Chin. It was the middle of the summer semester, and the party was some get together, I don't even remember what exactly it was about. I do remember what she was wearing to it though; hair spray and ripped t-shirts never looked so good. It didn't take long after that for the three of us to become friends. Maddie was also interested in ghosts, but more the technological aspects of the trade. Only person I know who can build spectral transformative filter generators from scratch in a single day.” Danny rolled his eyes. It was the geekiest thing he's heard since being away from Tucker. “We, the three of us, scheduled the same classes for the fall and spring semesters that year. She was even more impressive inside the classroom. I don't think our professors knew half of what she was talking about. Heck she practically taught our spring semester dimensional stability and intersectionality class herself. She came up with the design for a…” Vlad trailed off and glanced over at Danny. Danny promptly snapped out of his bored daze and said,
“Oh I swear I'm listening.” Danny slapped on a more attentive look and waited for Vlad to continue.
“Like I was saying, she came up with a design for a portal to the theoretical dimension that ghosts inhabit. Well she did the theory work anyway. Jack came up with the design, but it was too esoteric. It took me some time to make it work in the practical realm, but with all of us working together we were able to make a prototype.” Vlad abruptly cut off his narrative and glared at the empty space in front of the steering wheel.
“Um…what happened after that?” Danny prompted. He already knew the story well, but he didn't need Vlad knowing that. Vlad's glare grew a degree fiercer before he continued.
“We tested it at the end of that spring semester, but things didn't go as planned. We had an accident in the lab.” Vlad paused to swerve a little more aggressively than needed down another country back road.
“What happened?” Danny inquired. Somewhere in the back of his mind he registered the slight increase in speed as Vlad pressed harder on the gas as if trying to outrun the past.
“I ended up with spectral radiation poisoning. I was sick in the hospital until about a year ago now.” Danny noticed his careful avoidance of the specifics of his illness. Yeah if I had ended up with acne that bad, I wouldn't mention it either. Danny thought. “But,” Vlad began interrupting Danny's thoughts, “I've gotten a lot better. In fact, I'm completely cured.” Danny resisted the urge to say otherwise, the incident with Vlad's ecto-acne reoccurring springing to mind.
“In any case, now I have an apartment and a nice job in Pickinanny.”
“Pickinanny is like 3 towns away from Amity.” Danny observed with surprise. “Why are you working so far away, when you drive into Amity all the time?”
“There are no really good paying jobs in Amity, and besides I'm only there to visit the Fentons”
“Yeah visit.” Danny said sarcastically. “That's why you practically live there, with a key and all.”
“Well if you must know, I did live in town until about 2 months back. I moved apartments to be closer to the new job in Pickinanny.” Vlad slowed down as he calmed and the conversation moved past the accident. Danny nearly jumped in surprise when he recognized Vlad's apartment pulling into view.
“How'd we get here so fast?” Danny pondered.
“Well if you know what roads to take, and aren't scared to break 90, you can get here pretty quickly.” Vlad chuckled when Danny's face twisted in shock. “Don't worry, I'm a great driver, you didn't even notice how fast we were going did you?”
“Why do you need such a high paying job anyway?” Danny opted to change the subject. While he did love speed, it was only when he was in control of it. The thought of Vlad zooming down a dark backstretch of road made him distinctly uncomfortable, ability to go intangible or not. Vlad closed and locked the car doors before answering.
“Medical bills.” Vlad's demeanor changed again, as he remembered the accident.
“What?” Danny asked in confusion. Vlad shook his head as he held open the door to the apartment lobby.
“Don't worry about it Daniel. Anyway, it's late, and you are going to have a lot of things to do in the morning.” Vlad swung open the door to the apartment, and then pointed towards the bathroom. “Why don't you take a shower and head on to bed? We can talk more in the morning.” Danny was about to argue when a large yawn from his tired body cut him off. He didn't like being sent to bed like a kid, but he really did need the rest. Danny nodded tiredly, and walked to the bedroom to grab some clothes before heading into the shower. A half an hour later, and Danny was settled back into the lumpy mattress for a good night's rest. He had tried to offer to sleep on the couch that night, but Vlad wouldn't hear it. Danny closed his eyes as Vlad flicked off the lights to the bedroom, and walked back into the front part of the apartment.
After waiting a few extra minutes to makes sure Danny was actually asleep, Vlad slipped his shoes back on. He grabbed a heavy paper sack from underneath the sink, and grabbed his keys before exiting the apartment. He locked the door behind him. It was only going to be a quick trip, but he didn't want to leave the apartment unlocked with Danny there. He headed towards the backside of the apartment instead of the lobby. Vlad checked the back hallway for any wayward occupants before opening a window and slipping onto the fire escape. He closed it behind him, and in a flash of paradoxically black light, jumped from the railing and into the sky.
“Ok little badger, how about we make a deal?” Danny turned back towards Vlad at the sound of his voice.
“What?” Danny muttered sleepily.
“I'll talk about Maddie, if you tell me more about your friends and school life tomorrow.” Danny thought
over the bargain for a second before nodding in agreement. It wasn't like he hadn't promised to tell Vlad about those topics anyway, so he was getting a deal out of it. Besides, I need him talking about my mom as a topic anyway, so I can convince him to apologize like she asks later. Danny justified, before sitting further up in his seat.
“I met Maddie my junior year in college. Jack and I were at some party for the science department, when we ran into her and her friend Harriet Chin. It was the middle of the summer semester, and the party was some get together, I don't even remember what exactly it was about. I do remember what she was wearing to it though; hair spray and ripped t-shirts never looked so good. It didn't take long after that for the three of us to become friends. Maddie was also interested in ghosts, but more the technological aspects of the trade. Only person I know who can build spectral transformative filter generators from scratch in a single day.” Danny rolled his eyes. It was the geekiest thing he's heard since being away from Tucker. “We, the three of us, scheduled the same classes for the fall and spring semesters that year. She was even more impressive inside the classroom. I don't think our professors knew half of what she was talking about. Heck she practically taught our spring semester dimensional stability and intersectionality class herself. She came up with the design for a…” Vlad trailed off and glanced over at Danny. Danny promptly snapped out of his bored daze and said,
“Oh I swear I'm listening.” Danny slapped on a more attentive look and waited for Vlad to continue.
“Like I was saying, she came up with a design for a portal to the theoretical dimension that ghosts inhabit. Well she did the theory work anyway. Jack came up with the design, but it was too esoteric. It took me some time to make it work in the practical realm, but with all of us working together we were able to make a prototype.” Vlad abruptly cut off his narrative and glared at the empty space in front of the steering wheel.
“Um…what happened after that?” Danny prompted. He already knew the story well, but he didn't need Vlad knowing that. Vlad's glare grew a degree fiercer before he continued.
“We tested it at the end of that spring semester, but things didn't go as planned. We had an accident in the lab.” Vlad paused to swerve a little more aggressively than needed down another country back road.
“What happened?” Danny inquired. Somewhere in the back of his mind he registered the slight increase in speed as Vlad pressed harder on the gas as if trying to outrun the past.
“I ended up with spectral radiation poisoning. I was sick in the hospital until about a year ago now.” Danny noticed his careful avoidance of the specifics of his illness. Yeah if I had ended up with acne that bad, I wouldn't mention it either. Danny thought. “But,” Vlad began interrupting Danny's thoughts, “I've gotten a lot better. In fact, I'm completely cured.” Danny resisted the urge to say otherwise, the incident with Vlad's ecto-acne reoccurring springing to mind.
“In any case, now I have an apartment and a nice job in Pickinanny.”
“Pickinanny is like 3 towns away from Amity.” Danny observed with surprise. “Why are you working so far away, when you drive into Amity all the time?”
“There are no really good paying jobs in Amity, and besides I'm only there to visit the Fentons”
“Yeah visit.” Danny said sarcastically. “That's why you practically live there, with a key and all.”
“Well if you must know, I did live in town until about 2 months back. I moved apartments to be closer to the new job in Pickinanny.” Vlad slowed down as he calmed and the conversation moved past the accident. Danny nearly jumped in surprise when he recognized Vlad's apartment pulling into view.
“How'd we get here so fast?” Danny pondered.
“Well if you know what roads to take, and aren't scared to break 90, you can get here pretty quickly.” Vlad chuckled when Danny's face twisted in shock. “Don't worry, I'm a great driver, you didn't even notice how fast we were going did you?”
“Why do you need such a high paying job anyway?” Danny opted to change the subject. While he did love speed, it was only when he was in control of it. The thought of Vlad zooming down a dark backstretch of road made him distinctly uncomfortable, ability to go intangible or not. Vlad closed and locked the car doors before answering.
“Medical bills.” Vlad's demeanor changed again, as he remembered the accident.
“What?” Danny asked in confusion. Vlad shook his head as he held open the door to the apartment lobby.
“Don't worry about it Daniel. Anyway, it's late, and you are going to have a lot of things to do in the morning.” Vlad swung open the door to the apartment, and then pointed towards the bathroom. “Why don't you take a shower and head on to bed? We can talk more in the morning.” Danny was about to argue when a large yawn from his tired body cut him off. He didn't like being sent to bed like a kid, but he really did need the rest. Danny nodded tiredly, and walked to the bedroom to grab some clothes before heading into the shower. A half an hour later, and Danny was settled back into the lumpy mattress for a good night's rest. He had tried to offer to sleep on the couch that night, but Vlad wouldn't hear it. Danny closed his eyes as Vlad flicked off the lights to the bedroom, and walked back into the front part of the apartment.
After waiting a few extra minutes to makes sure Danny was actually asleep, Vlad slipped his shoes back on. He grabbed a heavy paper sack from underneath the sink, and grabbed his keys before exiting the apartment. He locked the door behind him. It was only going to be a quick trip, but he didn't want to leave the apartment unlocked with Danny there. He headed towards the backside of the apartment instead of the lobby. Vlad checked the back hallway for any wayward occupants before opening a window and slipping onto the fire escape. He closed it behind him, and in a flash of paradoxically black light, jumped from the railing and into the sky.
He was late. While he had to admit, the upstart he'd found not six months back had his uses, he also had his failings. Like his chronic tardiness for example. While the kid always got whatever goods he asked for, and could even be counted on to deliver a meal or two, it's like he couldn't be assed to be on time. The kid said he had other obligations that he had to attend to first in order to keep serving him. No matter the being thought coldly. Just as long as he keeps his perfect deliver record, he'll keep being useful. A small speck grew on the horizon, as it sped towards his position. He was only 5 minutes late this night. The figure in the sky landed a few feet from his hiding position, and walked to a point directly in front of him. It always amazed the being how he could tell where he was, even when invisible. His associate held up a large paper sack.
“I've gotten what you asked for.” He said while stepping under the light of a greatly dimmed street lap. To a human it wouldn't be enough light to make out anything but his vague shape, but he wasn't human. The being stepped out from the building's shadow to join him.
“Plasmius,” a nearly bass voice drawled, “how nice for you to finally join me.” Vlad sneered and threw the bag in the being's direction.
“I got what you wanted. Believe it or not, I do have other things to do with my time other than playing errand boy for you.” Vlad crossed his arms and leaned against the light pole, the picture of youthful cockiness.
“Yes I suppose you do. But, if you took my offer-”
“I thought I made it clear last time that I wasn't interested?” Vlad rudely interrupted. The being hissed in anger, its form beginning to glow.
“Don't talk to me in that manner child. You should be grateful I'm even offering such a young ghost like you the opportunity.” The being, now glowing bright white, hissed. Vlad resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the being's reprimand.
“If you want me to keep handing over what you ask for, you'll be mindful of your tone ghost.” Vlad narrowed his eyes. The ghost flared its energy in a show of dominance; its power easily dwarfing the amount Vlad was exuding.
“And if you want to keep your core intact, you'll be mindful of yours underling.” The ghost reached into the bag, and pulled out two coolers. A malevolent smile passed its night darkened face as it opened them to inspect the contents. It reached in and picked up two identical frosted glass tubes. Inside, something was glowing brightly. The combined glow was easily enough to illuminate the surrounding area. The ghost licked its lips in anticipation, before drawing a clawed finger over the seal to the glass container. It quickly cracked open under the combined onslaught of the ghost's physical form and spectral energy. A small concentrated ball flickered into life outside of the glass, and hovered in the ghost's pale porcelain hand. It throbbed like a heartbeat, floating with a quiet glow, before the ghost grasped it tightly. The glow slipping from between his fingers slowly faded out of existence as it was absorbed into the ghost's body. The creature sighed as the energy settled into his body, and reached for the second glass container.
“So my young associate,” the ghost started while breaking open the second seal, “I hear you are entertaining company.” Vlad's reaction was immediate.
“Stay the hell away from him.” He ordered sternly.
“You aren't the one who makes the orders young one, but I can see you are already attached to the human creature. I was only inquiring, if he makes such a good battery for you, then perhaps I could-”
“The kid is none of your concern damn it. He's not your food source or your play thing, so get any ideas you have about him out of your head.” Vlad narrowed his currently glowing red eyes in the ghost's direction. The ghost finished sucking in the second energy ball, before disappearing from sight. It quickly rematerialized behind Vlad and seized him by the throat. It jerked him up to his eye level.
“Let me make something clear child. I can do whatever I please whenever I please it. I have the power here not you.” The ghost squeezed down harder on Vlad's throat earning a hiss of pain from Vlad. “If I wanted that little toy of yours, I'd have his heart in my hands already, and there'd be nothing you could do to stop me.” The being punctuated his point by sapping some of the ghostly glow from around Vlad's form. “You only have the power I allow my pet,” Vlad growled at the demeaning nickname before the creature continued, “So I'd watch that wayward tongue of yours.” And with that, the creature released him. Vlad landed solidly back on his feet and continued to level a nasty glare in the ghost's direction. He hasn't been able to stand after I took that much energy before. How interesting. The ghost noted.
“You'd be wise to take my offer the next time we meet. I might run out of patience for your tardiness and arrogance.” It took a few steps back and threw the paper sack, with the glass containers inside, back at Vlad. “Here, take the vessels, and bring me two more cores next week. Staying in this world drains my energy more than usual, and I have yet to finish my business here.” Vlad grunted out an affirmative, and turned to fly away. “Oh and my pet?” The ghost stopped Vlad a few seconds before takeoff.
“Yes?” Vlad ground out through his teeth.
“Yes whom my pet?” the ghost prompted.
“Yes…master. How may I serve you?” Vlad ground his molars in frustration. The ghost was power hungry and reveled in the humiliation of others, but he needed it contained.
“If you ever talk back to me in defense of some human riff-raff again, I'll rip your core out. Understand?” The ghost leveled an icy glare in Vlad's direction while it waited for his response.
“Completely.” He responded. The ghost made him wait a few seconds more, just to show him who controlled the situation, before nodding for him to leave.
Vlad took to the sky, heading back in the direction of his apartment from the outskirts of the small town he lived in. I hate that nasty creature. If only I could find a way to trap him, in the ghost zone, or anywhere else for that matter, then I wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. The truth was, even if he did have some way to trap him, he'd have to fight the energy hungry ghost first, and he wasn't strong enough yet. He didn't like killing low level ghosts and ripping out their cores to feed to that monster, but doing so meant it kept its nasty claws out of the human populace instead. Humans were easier prey, and disturbingly enough, the creature seem to prefer human energy over spectral. If killing a few ghosts stupid enough to wander into town was what it took to keep people safe, Vlad was willing to do so.
At least long enough to buy him enough time to get strong enough to beat it. I'm close. Almost there, his attack took much less out of me than I remember. Vlad noted with growing excitement. He sighed as his apartment loamed into view. He phased through the roof of the building and headed straight into his apartment, still invisible. He glanced over at the clock, it was well after midnight, and he had to be at work in the morning by 7am. Vlad stretched and transformed back into his human self, before stalking tiredly over the couch. He threw the blanket over his form, still wearing the clothes from earlier that day, with a promise of an early morning shower.
Outside the apartment, a pair of bright neon red eyes glowed with interest. So little Plasmius, let's see how much you like this new toy of yours. The being the eyes belonged to thought, before disappearing into the warm night.
“I've gotten what you asked for.” He said while stepping under the light of a greatly dimmed street lap. To a human it wouldn't be enough light to make out anything but his vague shape, but he wasn't human. The being stepped out from the building's shadow to join him.
“Plasmius,” a nearly bass voice drawled, “how nice for you to finally join me.” Vlad sneered and threw the bag in the being's direction.
“I got what you wanted. Believe it or not, I do have other things to do with my time other than playing errand boy for you.” Vlad crossed his arms and leaned against the light pole, the picture of youthful cockiness.
“Yes I suppose you do. But, if you took my offer-”
“I thought I made it clear last time that I wasn't interested?” Vlad rudely interrupted. The being hissed in anger, its form beginning to glow.
“Don't talk to me in that manner child. You should be grateful I'm even offering such a young ghost like you the opportunity.” The being, now glowing bright white, hissed. Vlad resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the being's reprimand.
“If you want me to keep handing over what you ask for, you'll be mindful of your tone ghost.” Vlad narrowed his eyes. The ghost flared its energy in a show of dominance; its power easily dwarfing the amount Vlad was exuding.
“And if you want to keep your core intact, you'll be mindful of yours underling.” The ghost reached into the bag, and pulled out two coolers. A malevolent smile passed its night darkened face as it opened them to inspect the contents. It reached in and picked up two identical frosted glass tubes. Inside, something was glowing brightly. The combined glow was easily enough to illuminate the surrounding area. The ghost licked its lips in anticipation, before drawing a clawed finger over the seal to the glass container. It quickly cracked open under the combined onslaught of the ghost's physical form and spectral energy. A small concentrated ball flickered into life outside of the glass, and hovered in the ghost's pale porcelain hand. It throbbed like a heartbeat, floating with a quiet glow, before the ghost grasped it tightly. The glow slipping from between his fingers slowly faded out of existence as it was absorbed into the ghost's body. The creature sighed as the energy settled into his body, and reached for the second glass container.
“So my young associate,” the ghost started while breaking open the second seal, “I hear you are entertaining company.” Vlad's reaction was immediate.
“Stay the hell away from him.” He ordered sternly.
“You aren't the one who makes the orders young one, but I can see you are already attached to the human creature. I was only inquiring, if he makes such a good battery for you, then perhaps I could-”
“The kid is none of your concern damn it. He's not your food source or your play thing, so get any ideas you have about him out of your head.” Vlad narrowed his currently glowing red eyes in the ghost's direction. The ghost finished sucking in the second energy ball, before disappearing from sight. It quickly rematerialized behind Vlad and seized him by the throat. It jerked him up to his eye level.
“Let me make something clear child. I can do whatever I please whenever I please it. I have the power here not you.” The ghost squeezed down harder on Vlad's throat earning a hiss of pain from Vlad. “If I wanted that little toy of yours, I'd have his heart in my hands already, and there'd be nothing you could do to stop me.” The being punctuated his point by sapping some of the ghostly glow from around Vlad's form. “You only have the power I allow my pet,” Vlad growled at the demeaning nickname before the creature continued, “So I'd watch that wayward tongue of yours.” And with that, the creature released him. Vlad landed solidly back on his feet and continued to level a nasty glare in the ghost's direction. He hasn't been able to stand after I took that much energy before. How interesting. The ghost noted.
“You'd be wise to take my offer the next time we meet. I might run out of patience for your tardiness and arrogance.” It took a few steps back and threw the paper sack, with the glass containers inside, back at Vlad. “Here, take the vessels, and bring me two more cores next week. Staying in this world drains my energy more than usual, and I have yet to finish my business here.” Vlad grunted out an affirmative, and turned to fly away. “Oh and my pet?” The ghost stopped Vlad a few seconds before takeoff.
“Yes?” Vlad ground out through his teeth.
“Yes whom my pet?” the ghost prompted.
“Yes…master. How may I serve you?” Vlad ground his molars in frustration. The ghost was power hungry and reveled in the humiliation of others, but he needed it contained.
“If you ever talk back to me in defense of some human riff-raff again, I'll rip your core out. Understand?” The ghost leveled an icy glare in Vlad's direction while it waited for his response.
“Completely.” He responded. The ghost made him wait a few seconds more, just to show him who controlled the situation, before nodding for him to leave.
Vlad took to the sky, heading back in the direction of his apartment from the outskirts of the small town he lived in. I hate that nasty creature. If only I could find a way to trap him, in the ghost zone, or anywhere else for that matter, then I wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. The truth was, even if he did have some way to trap him, he'd have to fight the energy hungry ghost first, and he wasn't strong enough yet. He didn't like killing low level ghosts and ripping out their cores to feed to that monster, but doing so meant it kept its nasty claws out of the human populace instead. Humans were easier prey, and disturbingly enough, the creature seem to prefer human energy over spectral. If killing a few ghosts stupid enough to wander into town was what it took to keep people safe, Vlad was willing to do so.
At least long enough to buy him enough time to get strong enough to beat it. I'm close. Almost there, his attack took much less out of me than I remember. Vlad noted with growing excitement. He sighed as his apartment loamed into view. He phased through the roof of the building and headed straight into his apartment, still invisible. He glanced over at the clock, it was well after midnight, and he had to be at work in the morning by 7am. Vlad stretched and transformed back into his human self, before stalking tiredly over the couch. He threw the blanket over his form, still wearing the clothes from earlier that day, with a promise of an early morning shower.
Outside the apartment, a pair of bright neon red eyes glowed with interest. So little Plasmius, let's see how much you like this new toy of yours. The being the eyes belonged to thought, before disappearing into the warm night.
…Then make sure not to get too friendly.