Danny Phantom Fan Fiction ❯ Posthumous Legacies ❯ Making Deals ( Chapter 9 )

Wow. I'm getting far in this story. I am amazed with myself!

It's funny to note that while I type this my cat is sitting in my lap and purring, while I pet it like those maniacal geniuses in old James Bond films.

Kitties are so cute.

 

Posthumous Legacies

 

---

I want to make you happy but the devil's out my way
So I'll just pack up everything
Roll it out and up the devil's pay

---

 

Chapter Nine: Making Deals

 

I remember the world going black once the doors to the Ghost Portal closed shut.

 

I remember a dream.

 

I believe Clockwork was there. Or someone else. It all blurred together for me. I just remember being spoken to. He was saying something important. Something about how no one was supposed to remember, because these things happen…

 

I'm so confused suddenly. My head's muddled and I'm starting to doubt myself. I can barely remember anything from the incident.

 

My eyes go wide.

 

Am I really insane?

 

Maybe.

 

But I'm not going to dwell on it.

 

---

 

“Hah!” Grey called out triumphantly.

 

“What?” Sam turned to face her, wincing as she flexed out her arm.

 

“I fixed the computer!”

 

“Good for you. Now we can get to work.”

 

Grey's victorious expression turned sour. “You're such a workaholic, Sammy. Come on. One night off.”

 

“It's your computer,” she pointed out. “I'm not stopping you. But…”

 

“But what?”

 

“You know what?” She smiled at the tech-geek, “We're all tired. Forget it.”

 

“Yay! I knew my little Sammy-kins would come around!”

 

“Call me that again and I might break your computer.”

 

“No!” Grey flung herself in front of the computer. “You wouldn't dare.”

 

She shook her head. “I'm getting some sleep. Don't stay up too late.”

 

“Yes, Mom!”

 

Sam let out a mixture of a scoff and a laugh and headed upstairs, rubbing her forehead where a bit of Gula's blood had hit point-blank.

 

“Brutal,” she murmured.

 

“Hey Sam.”

 

She jumped and turned to the kitchen.

 

Tucker was leaning into the fridge, his expression an unhappy one. “Where's all your meat?”

 

She half-grimaced, half-smirked. “Grey's a vegetarian too. And after seeing that… thing melt, you can't honestly tell me you're going to start eating.”

 

“'Course. And two vegetarians? You're just torturing me.”

 

`You deserve it.'

 

She pushed the thought from her head. “Grey's never been able to eat chicken. Something to do with an incident in third grade. Eventually she just dropped meat altogether.”

 

There was an awkward pause between them.

 

Sam opened her mouth to say something, perhaps to reinforce her belief from long ago, but thought better of it instead. She closed her eyes and waved idly at him.

 

“…I'm getting some rest. Grey's rebuilt the computer and she's doing some `celebrating,' which means she'll probably be up all night with a sugar rush and a game controller in her hand.”

 

He nodded and closed the fridge. His own troubled thoughts passed through him, and he decided on what he wanted to say.

 

“Sam…”

 

She glanced at him curiously, pausing.

 

“I like you better as a friend than an enemy. Can't we just forget the past?”

 

He was looking at her so hopefully, and she truly believed he meant it. But she slowly turned away.

 

“No, Tuck. You can forget the past, but I'd like to hold onto it, just for a while longer.”

 

And she disappeared down the hall.

 

---

 

“So tell me more,” Vlad leaned back in the chair. “About your ghosts, I mean.”

 

“Private information, I'm afraid. But you've come to me. I'm curious.”

 

“You're becoming well-known in the Ghost Zone,” he said, a bit taken aback by the man's lack of boasting. Rich men loved to boast, especially ones that had the creative skill this man seemed to possess. “They call you Dante.”

 

“A pseudonym, but I'm not inclined to reveal my real name.”

 

“Of course. But you were so easily traced back to this location.”

 

Dante folded his hands together. “You've run into Shadow? What did you do to make him talk? He's not one to open his mouth.”

 

“I noticed that about him,” Vlad smiled. “His mouth had an opening to the human realm.”

 

“While in the Ghost Zone. While in the human realm,, he's got a quick exit route to the Ghost Zone.”

 

“Clever.”

 

“What did he tell you?”

 

“Nothing much, but others are talking. They say you were responsible for the capture of the half-ghost, Danny Phantom?”

 

The man took a moment to answer. “I suppose. Humans are easily manipulated, and ghosts are no less. They cling to petty emotions. It is not hard to bend their will a bit.”

 

“And what of you?”

 

“What of it?”

 

“You're no ghost.”

 

“No, I suppose not.”

 

Vlad frowned. What was this man implying…?

 

“You were curious about my servants?”

 

His expression lit up. “They're novel, I must say.”

 

Dante grinned, a grin that would send shivers down any man's spine. “Then how would you like to witness a birthing?”

 

---

 

Acedia frowned at Avaritia, who was leaning against the door of the study, his ear pressed carefully to the crack in the door.

 

“You're not supposed to be doing that,” she said softly.

 

“Aren't you supposed to be waiting for Invidia?” he hissed back.

 

“He's already arrived. I'm here to tell him.” She paused, curiosity getting the better of her. “…What are they talking about?”

 

“They're striking up a deal. I can't quite hear.” He sighed and moved aside. “Go ahead. I'm tired of the old man keeping us in the dark.”

 

She rolled her eyes and knocked lightly, entering quietly.

 

“Ah,” Avaritia heard him say, “Very well. Come Master… Masters… You can become acquainted with my children.”

 

Vlad stepped out first, firing curious looks at the two child-like figures beyond the door, a grin working across his face. “Of course. I simply can't wait.”

 

He completely missed the dark smile of the man behind him.

 

Authoress Notes:

What to say, what to say?

Dante is the man who dreamed of the nine rings of hell, the ninth being the coldest with all the most powerful men at the time freezing in its shores. He ranked the sins, but his ranking confuses me.

I might describe the “birthing” ceremony ((it's nothing gross.))

Sam's not very nice is she? And any sane person really isn't worth your time, at least in my opinion.

Next Chapter: The authoress tries not to run out of ideas, and hopes her chapters are longer. ((We don't count on it.))