"I tried tracking Danny's cell," Tucker said, "but he must've figured Vlad would do that and finally turned it off. Or it died. You know he never remembers to charge the thing."

"I'll head to Dora's so you can stay out of the dead zone," Sam said. "If you don't want to challenge Skulker to see who can find Jack or Danny first, then head straight to Frostbite. That's probably where Danny went. Dora can drop me off and pick up Poindexter and maybe Johnny 13 and Kitty if she can swing it."

"Do you have extra Fenton Phones?" Jazz, being careful as always. Taking the lead, as she'd asked. Maddie stood back, holding the jet packs while the kids went over the plan. She'd checked everything over three times, knew these would work, but—

"Always," chorused Danny's best friends in unison.

They'd done this before.

They must have done this so many times before.

How could she and Jack have never noticed?

"Be mindful of the power supply on your jet packs," Maddie said, hardly believing that she was handing them to two fourteen-year-olds and being perfectly okay with letting them go into the Ghost Zone on their own, virtually unprotected. "They should be able to draw on the ambient ecto-energy within the Ghost Zone, but you will have to stop somewhere to allow it to recharge or risk being stranded."

"Don't worry. We got this, Mrs. F," promised Tucker as he shrugged on his pack. Sam was already tightening the safety straps on hers. Perhaps she hadn't needed to tell them as much about these as they had; it might not be the first time they'd used this particular invention. "We'll let you know if we find them. Any of them."

"We'll even ask Clockwork," Sam put in. "I don't think he'll tell us anything, but we'll try. Assuming we can actually find him and he's not just pretending he's not home again."

Maddie didn't know the names of half the ghosts they mentioned, let alone have any concept of where in the Ghost Zone they could be found.

She nodded anyway, pretending. Pretending to understand. Pretending to be strong. Pretending that this didn't feel as wrong as it did, letting these kids do what she could not. Adults were supposed to protect children, and she felt like she was asking them to run into fire for her sake.

But they'd tread this path before, gone this way far more often than she, and were much wiser than her for it. She had to trust their judgement. They knew better than she did. They knew more than she did. It was as simple as that.

And if it meant protecting Jack and having a chance of finding Danny and Danielle….

"Thank you." She wouldn't be able to say it enough. "Good luck."

The two flashed her grins and thumbs up, all signs of their earlier tiredness gone by now. They'd been given a mission, and they were ready for it. More than. She waved as they raced each other to the portal and dove into the Ghost Zone.

"You don't have to pretend," Jazz said softly. "Not with me, anyway."

She had to. She had to, or she'd be curled up on the floor of the lab again, crying until she had no more tears. She couldn't give up on this semblance of sanity. If she let her guard down, if she allowed herself to remember exactly what she'd done and who she'd done it to and—

Jazz walked over and hugged her, and Maddie felt her resolve crumbling.

"We'll get through this," Jazz reassured her, tightening her hug. "I know what I said earlier, but Dad will come back safe, and we'll find Danny and Danielle, and then we'll figure things out from there. This isn't going to ruin us."

It might have already, and she had no way of knowing.

Because she'd never listened.

Jazz waited a moment more before pulling away and stepping back. "Did you have any luck with the Booo-merang?"

"I reassembled it," Maddie whispered, "and fed it the copy of Phantom's ecto-signature that we had on file." She wasn't sure if it was perfect. The Booo-merang was more Jack's invention than hers, and she knew he'd made tweaks that weren't in the blueprints. She'd done what she could. If Vlad—

"We can tie a note to it," Jazz said as she took out her hairband, "so that Danny knows it's safe to come home even if we lose sight of it. I've done that before. It will get to him eventually." She moved to the computer desk to get a pen and paper and began to write. After a few moments, she looked back up at Maddie. "You should write something, too. So Danny knows he can trust my word."

Maddie moved slowly, finally reaching out to take the pen from her daughter with a shaking hand. She imagined accusations—accusations she deserved—and couldn't think of the right words to say. What could she write to convey what she felt? The depth of the wrong she'd done?

I'm sorry, she wrote. It looked trite. False. I hurt you both. It was an understatement, but at least it was an acknowledgement. I want to do better. She couldn't ask for forgiveness, not without doing anything, and even then…. Even then, she might not get it. She wasn't sure she'd deserve it if she did. Please let me try. She could imagine an offer of help being turned back on her, Danny spitting that they didn't need her kind of help, but…. But she'd rather that than write a plea that they come home and have him tell her this wasn't home for him anymore and wouldn't ever be again.

She had always thought she hunted monsters.

She hadn't realized when she'd become one.

Jazz gently nudged her hand aside and slid the paper away, neatly folding and then securing it to the Booo-merang.

"What if he doesn't want to come back?" Maddie asked. "What if he gets our note and ignores it?"

"He won't ignore it forever, even if he doesn't act on it right away." Jazz turned the device on, and Maddie saw the light at its head begin to blink. "That's not who Danny is." She flashed a grin. "Are you ready?"

She wasn't remotely ready, but there wasn't time for her to be mentally prepared for all that this would entail. "We have no way to follow it if it goes into the Ghost Zone," she said, "and even if we try to follow in the Fenton Ops Centre, we'll still need to be able to keep it in sight for that."

"Which we can. Dad added that tracking feature, remember? We'll link it to the Booo-merang. Just like the Spectre Speeder. And if it goes into the Ghost Zone, we can put Sam or Tucker onto it."

Maddie let out a breath. "Okay." She couldn't afford to argue. She didn't know enough to argue.

Jazz drew back her arm and threw the Booo-merang. It spun, making a quick loop of the lab.

And then it made a second loop of the lab.

And a third loop.

A lazy fourth.

And then it crashed into the dissection table, skittering across it before falling to the floor.

Something was squeezing the breath from Maddie's lungs, and she couldn't say anything. She couldn't do anything. She just watched as Jazz frowned and walked over to the device. She checked it over and tried tossing it again.

This time, it made two and a half loops before catching on one of their shelving units. Maddie winced as glassware shattered. Jazz fetched a broom and dustpan, sweeping up the pieces while Maddie watched in silence. As Jazz dumped the remains into the shards discard bin, Maddie summoned the strength to walk over and pick up the Booo-merang from where Jazz had placed it on the top of the workbench.

"What's wrong with it?" Jazz asked softly when she was finished.

Maddie looked at the Booo-merang's blinking light. "Nothing," she whispered. "The copy of Phantom's ecto-signature just isn't sufficient."

Jazz furrowed her brow and leaned closer, though Maddie knew there was nothing more to be seen. "What do you mean?"

"Ecto-signatures aren't like fingerprints; they don't stay the same unless some change is forced upon them. They change slightly over time naturally, to reflect the changes within each ghost."

"But it's always locked onto Danny. That's never been a problem before."

"That's why it hasn't been a problem. Because it could update its signature to evolve its records. Now, it's been entirely reset, and the ecto-signature I gave it is just too different to be recognizable as the same one Danny currently has. I…." So much must have happened to cause that change, and she'd been blind to all of it. "I'm sorry. This isn't going to work."

Jazz huffed. "It'll work," she said, snatching up the Booo-merang and hugging it to her body with one protective arm. "We'll just have to get the ecto-signature from Vlad."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Vlad. Like I said, he's obsessed with Danny. Trust me, he'll have a recent copy of Danny's ecto-signature."

"So you wanted to shoot him earlier, and now you want to work with him?"

"Oh, I still want to shoot him. Taking a blast from an ecto-gun in human form won't do as much damage as when he's in ghost mode, but it'll still hurt."

Human form. Ghost mode. It was jarring to hear Jazz talk about molecular fusion so offhandedly, to the point that she could mention it like that. She must have discovered and accepted this idea ages ago. And Danny—

"But whether I like it or not, it looks like we need him. At least until we hear from Sam and Tucker."

Maddie took a slow breath. The idea of working with Vlad…. It didn't sit well with her now that she knew the truth. There was too much of Plasmius in Vlad. He wasn't the same person she'd known in college. She had to stop thinking of him as such. "I don't think I can pretend to be ignorant of everything you've told me."

"You don't need to. Vlad would probably see through an act anyway. He won't be happy that I've told you everything, but he won't be surprised after what's happened. He'll take what he can get."

Maddie frowned and glanced at her daughter. "Meaning?"

"Meaning this would still give him the opportunity to spend time with you, and that might be enough bargaining power." Jazz hesitated. "I know that sounds bad. It is bad. I just…. I don't know if we can afford to wait for Sam and Tucker. Vlad definitely won't be waiting. And whatever Skulker says, he's really not the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter. He's not going to be a better option when it comes to asking for help. Vlad might have him looking already anyway."

Skulker. The ghost that used a mechanical exoskeleton. She'd seen Phantom—and Danny?—take it down multiple times. It made her want to question Jazz more about all of this, about halfas, about the consequences of which she was currently aware, but there wasn't time. She couldn't afford to distract herself that way. Not when Danny…. Not when Danielle….

"All right. Let's go." She was afraid that if she didn't commit, she'd find a way to talk herself out of going. Convince herself that they could find another way, whatever Jazz thought. The idea that Plasmius might have convinced Vlad to—

But Jazz was right. Different, albeit just as unscrupulous, options were out there to explain Danielle and her true relationship to the Fenton family. And Maddie wasn't in a position to point fingers when it came to unscrupulous behaviour. Not after what she'd done.

You don't understand.

She was convinced she'd never forget the cries.

I'm not just a ghost.

She didn't deserve to forget.

I'm human, too.

She couldn't just pretend this hadn't happened, that she hadn't done what she had. In order to do better, she had to remember. She couldn't allow herself to fall into old patterns and risk repeating the same mistakes, even unintentionally. She wouldn't be able to ease her guilt right away, but maybe, with time, with enough changes, with enough effort, she could…. She could accept what she'd done, if not forgive herself entirely. She didn't think she'd be able to forgive herself unless the others forgave her, and they….

They had good reason not to.

She could ask for it, but she knew very well she might not receive it. That hurt, too, just thinking about it, but—

"Come on," Jazz said, wrapping her free arm around Maddie and steering her towards the stairs, "I'll drive. I left a note on the fudge in case Dad comes back before we do. He'll see it there."

Vlad had not intended to come back after a quick change of clothes, whatever he'd tried to make it sound like. Maddie realized that now. Still, it only made standing on Vlad's stoop this early in the morning even worse.

When the door finally opened, Vlad himself was there to greet them, looking like he'd recently stepped from the shower. "Ah, Maddie, how delightful. And Jasmine. I hadn't quite made myself presentable for—"

"You can drop the act," Jazz said as she elbowed her way past him. "I told Mom everything."

Vlad raised his eyebrows. "Everything about what?"

"Phantom and Plasmius," Maddie whispered. She had to force herself to meet Vlad's eyes, and she saw motions flicker across his face until his features settled into a careful mask. Practiced. Polite. The same one he used to wear while convincing the higher-ups at the university that they should be allowed funding and space for their projects.

"Ah."

He didn't say any more. He simply stepped aside and let her in.

"We need a copy of Danny's ecto-signature," Jazz said. "I know you have one, so don't bother denying it."

"Showing your hand so early?"

Jazz rolled her eyes and looked pointedly at Maddie. Vlad glanced in her direction as well and then sighed. "I am doing what I can to search for Daniel. Whatever your implications, my involvement isn't a farce."

"Then prove it by giving us a copy of Danny's ecto-signature. You ruined ours, so if it was purely accidental and not on purpose, what's the harm?"

"Jazz," Maddie said, a warning in her tone. They could only push Vlad so far. They were still asking for his help.

And she didn't particularly want to meet Plasmius right now.

It…. She couldn't see him. She'd thought she would, now that she knew. She'd thought there would be something behind Vlad's eyes that she'd be able to identify, some little piece of Plasmius. Not because she doubted the truth of Jazz's words, she didn't; rather, she wanted to think that she could pick apart which being was more in control of Vlad, Plasmius or one of her former friends.

But all she saw was Vlad.

The same Vlad who'd stood up for her and Jack when they'd made their first group presentation on the paranormal. The same Vlad who'd stayed up late with her to pore over Jack's last-minute changes to their blueprints. The same Vlad they'd met again at the reunion and seen so frequently since.

"Surely you know I would hardly impede your investigation when it came to finding the little badger—"

"Which is why you deliberately destroyed the Booo-merang?"

"—but I'm afraid I really don't have a recent copy of Daniel's ecto-signature. He, ah, deleted my files just last week."

Jazz narrowed her eyes. "Fine," she spat. "Say I believe that. Say you really don't have a copy of Danny's ecto-signature. Why ruin ours?"

"I never intended to ruin it. I merely wanted to try to obtain a copy of it for myself."

Jazz pursed her lips and met Maddie's eyes. Maddie knew that long-suffering look on Jazz's face. It was the one she made when she was barely restraining herself from parroting back Danny's words in a mocking tone, trying to convince herself that she was an adult and above such childishness. Jazz was quite mature for her age, but she was still a teenager. Even…even if she knew as much about the world—and the Ghost Zone—as she did.

"I'm sure I could be of help in other ways. If Maddie and I—"

"You're not getting hours of alone time with my mom," Jazz interrupted. "What about Danielle's ecto-signature?"

"You really believe Daniel would allow me to keep that?"

Jazz's smile was sudden and triumphant. "Then you admit it. You know who she is."

"She's a ghost who's passed through this town," countered Vlad. "Whatever you and Daniel think, I do try to protect Amity Park. Keeping tabs on ghostly activity is merely part of that."

"You're unbelievable."

"Vlad," Maddie said softly, "please. Even if you don't think it's important, anything you could tell us would be appreciated. I'd never seen that ghost before, and I know Jack would have told me if he'd had an encounter with a ghost so like Phantom."

"My dearest Maddie, I can assure you that I harbour no ill will toward Daniel. I want to see him back with us as much as anything." Vlad spread his hands. "I simply do not have the resources Jasmine thinks—"

"Shut it, Plasmius. We're not buying that you're the good guy. If you won't give me the copy of the ecto-signature, I'll find it myself." Jazz turned and stalked away. Vlad, surprisingly, let her.

Or was it Plasmius who had? That's what she'd called him, but Maddie still couldn't—

"I'll make tea," Vlad said, putting his arm around Maddie and steering her towards what she knew was the kitchen. She managed not to flinch at his touch. Any other night before this, before knowing, she would have been so grateful for the support, but now— "Or coffee, if you'd prefer. We could do with something right now, I daresay. We'll catch up with Jasmine in a few minutes. I change my security codes daily."

"So it's all…true," Maddie managed. "You and Plasmius—"

"We really don't need to talk about such things right now."

Of course they did. How could they not? Vlad and Plasmius. Because of the proto-portal accident. It had to be. Months of hospitalization, bankrupt at the end of it, dropping out of college and—

And turning around and making millions. Billions.

Vlad had been skilled, but not—

"Please," she repeated. "Please, just…. It's really true? You and Plasmius? Like Danny and Phantom? And…and Danielle?"

Silence.

Vlad's steady steps never faltered. She was desperately trying to think of a way to broach the conversation again. She didn't want to let it go, to let it die, to let it lie between them unspoken. She couldn't. Not after what she'd done with Danny. And….

It's not that she felt comfortable with Vlad. After what Jazz had told her, she couldn't, and it made her realize that she hadn't been wholly comfortable with him before that, either. She'd wanted to think that maybe it was just her reacting to Plasmius's presence, but since she'd realized that she couldn't tell who was in control—

She wished Jack were here.

She wished he hadn't gone to search the Ghost Zone alone, but she wasn't sure there had been another choice. If it hadn't been him, it would have been her, and he never would have let her go alone. But one of them needed to stay on this side. If Danny decided to call—

Maybe they shouldn't have left the house.

She could have called someone to stay while she and Jazz came here. Or she should have come by herself. In case Danny phoned. He had their cell phone numbers, of course, but she wasn't sure how many of those numbers he had memorized; she knew he knew the home phone, but if his cell phone really was dead—

"Every situation is different," Vlad said at last. He led her into the kitchen and left her to lean against a counter while he busiest himself with preparations. There was no table to be had in here, oh no. Counters, islands, workspaces of all sorts, but nothing small and cozy, nothing intended for anyone to sit down and have a bite to eat or something to drink. This was a kitchen meant to be fully staffed, and—

It occurred to her that she had never seen Vlad's butler.

Or a maid.

Or any staff, really.

They were always mentioned, and she knew he must have someone—he could hardly keep a place this large clean by himself on top of his mayoral duties—but it always seemed to be their day off whenever she came by.

She only ever saw Vlad.

"What…what do you mean?"

"I doubt the girl is quite like the others."

"Her name is Danielle."

"Yes." His words were a whisper. "It is." He turned around and presented her with a warm cup of— Coffee, by the look and smell of it. Black.

She took a hesitant sip.

He'd sweetened it with sugar.

He remembered how she drank her coffee, even after all these years.

"I—" Vlad paused. "Daniel and I, our circumstances aren't quite the same."

He was admitting it, then. She hadn't thought he would after his earlier denials. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or terrified. A denial she could have spun into truth for herself, at least for a time. Long enough for her to find some steady ground to stand on. Long enough to make sure she wouldn't have her feet knocked from beneath her again.

"How do you know?" If she didn't ask, if she kept talking, she'd lose the opportunity entirely, and she knew she couldn't afford that.

"I've spoken with her. The ghost girl. She's come to me for help in the past. As I daresay you've realized, she's as much girl as she is ghost."

I'm human, too.

"And you and Plasmius—"

"I'm stable. Daniel is stable. Poor Danielle is not. Or she wasn't, the last time I had her in my lab."

"You still have a lab, then?"

Vlad smiled. "Oh, Maddie, I could never give it up. It reminds me too much of the treasured moments I used to spend with you."

"And Jack," she added pointedly, remembering Jazz's words. Vlad has an unhealthy obsession with you.

"Yes, of course."

The words came quickly, smoothly, but she wasn't sure they were honest. How could she? Jazz hadn't had the slightest bit of doubt in her voice when she'd said Vlad hated Jack. Hated. It was such a strong word. Maddie hadn't noticed anything herself, but she'd never looked for it, either. Jack's enthusiasm about his friendship for Vlad had always been her lens for their relationship, and Vlad had always been friendly towards her.

But recent experience had certainly taught her that there was so much she could miss—even from people close to her. If she'd never realized the truth of Danny and Phantom, she hadn't much hope of seeing past the façade Vlad put up around her.

Maddie took another sip of the coffee, buying time to collect her scrambled thoughts. "And Plasmius doesn't…hinder you?"

"Far from it." Vlad flashed her a smile she could no longer call genuine. "The situation has grown on me, and I do find ways to make the best of it."

How much was the honest truth and how much was a carefully scripted truth? Perhaps things had changed, but Vlad had rarely told direct lies in their college years, even little white ones. He'd delighted in misdirection and obfuscation. He had always been quite proud when he'd managed to convince someone of something false, telling perfect truths riddled with oft-unseen holes where he'd lied by omission. It was never in his papers, of course—he'd been far too credible for that and wouldn't dare risk being accused of falsifying results—but he had always loved a good verbal battle, to match wits with someone he considered worthy.

She'd seen him to do it so many times.

She wondered why she hadn't thought she could be on the receiving end of it until now.

Best to change tack, then. It was unlikely that she could catch him off his guard—he clearly knew so much more of the situation than she, and how could he not?—but she had to try. She had to know. "Why does Jazz think you have a copy of Danny's ecto-signature?"

"She is, no doubt, aware of the tracking I do, as is Daniel."

"So when you say Danny destroyed your files—"

"I'll admit I don't think it was Daniel directly; it's far more likely to be his friend Tucker's work."

Vlad said he kept tabs on ghosts to help him protect Amity Park, but Phantom fought those ghosts routinely. Phantom fought Plasmius routinely. Plasmius couldn't be helping Vlad protect Amity Park—unless Phantom simply saw him as another ghost and acted accordingly? She still didn't understand how much influence the ecto-entity had over the human host, but it would surely be greater when the ecto-entity was in control, and—

No. She couldn't make assumptions. She had to stop doing that. She didn't know how much was Vlad and how much was Plasmius, just as she wasn't sure how much was Danny and how much was Phantom. The notes she and Jack had accumulated on both ghosts were surely wrong; they had never accounted for human ties, and that would skew their results terribly. They knew nothing. She knew nothing.

Which meant she couldn't believe everything she was told, whether from Jazz or from Vlad. Each would have their biases, just as she had hers, and what they told her would be coloured accordingly. And there was always the chance that what they knew was wrong, even if they believed it to be true, just as she and Jack had been wrong.

Except….

Vlad was a primary source, and though Jazz's knowledge was second-hand, it would all come from Danny. She didn't want to mistrust either of them, but what they told her didn't always line up, and—

Maddie set her coffee down on the counter and took a steadying breath. "May I speak with Plasmius?"

Vlad spluttered, losing his composure and nearly choking on his own cup of coffee. "I beg your pardon?"

"I'd like to speak with Plasmius. Is that possible?"

"I— Yes, of course it's possible, but—"

"Then let me speak to him. Please."

Vlad set his cup aside in favour of closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I should have realized you were taking this awfully well. I am sorry, Maddie. I didn't doubt Jasmine when she'd said she told you everything—she's no reason to pretend otherwise, blatant as she's being—but I hadn't realized that you didn't yet understand."

His words chilled her. "What do you mean?"

He opened his eyes to look at her. For the briefest instant, red replaced familiar blue before it was blinked away. She started and took a step back, only to hit the counter. Vlad looked resigned as he said, "You're already speaking with Plasmius."