Dreamscape Alternate: My Life Going Ghost

Chapter 13: Remote Control
Chapter Warning: Contains violence, several references, and is quite disturbing at a level…

It's a frightening experience, a home invasion, especially if one walked through the front door and found themselves face to face with danger. Being alone during such an experience leaves little options, especially if the invader is standing directly in front of them…

In Mona's case she was alone and staring wide-eyed up at Vlad Plasmius, the vampire-ish evil halfa, who was floating less than ten feet away from her. Although frozen in fear, the brunette was well aware how dangerous the villain was and due to him being half ghost she was at a severe disadvantage. Running was pointless considering that if she reached the door it would take at least three seconds to undo the lock and by that time Vlad would have easily caught her…and she was already trapped within four walls in the first place.

"Well, well, well," Vlad floated downwards, not quite reaching the carpet, a smug and devious smile on his face, "if it isn't the young inter-dimensional, how should I put this, hitchhiker? Surprised to see me?"

Mona shivered, her lower right eyelid twitching, and felt her stomach churn before her voice came out as a high pitched squeak, "yes…"

"I guessed as much," He hovered for a short moment before landing. Mona's feet remained rooted to the spot as her mind ran in frenzied circles screaming "RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!" "And you know exactly why I am here?"

"To get information on how to finally defeat Danny and conquer the world…?" The brunette felt a sudden urge to make a break for it but remained in place, keeping alert for signs of Vlad's doppelgangers or Skulker should they appear out of nowhere.

"Ah yes, you are quite the bright one aren't you?" The evil half-ghost took a step forwards and Mona took one step back, almost tripping over the upraised floor behind her. "So tell me, how did you enjoy your stay here? I don't suppose these last few weeks here have changed your opinions about this universe, am I right? No doubt young Daniel and his friends think it would be better if you left."

"Yeah, so you'd stay away from me." She tried to gain some endeavor but edged backwards, feeling intimidated, as Vlad took another step forwards. "Get this straight Vlad; Spectra's mood-sucking days ended a while ago so don't try to pull any wool over my eyes. I know enough."

"Really, is that so?" Vlad stopped advancing but kept smirking. "What exactly do you know?"

"Cut to the chase, Vlad," Mona clenched her teeth, "Where is Desiree?"

The halfa tapped his bearded chin thoughtfully, "Desiree, hmm, your ghost-genie I presume?" The smug smile on his face reminded the brunette of a man on a high horse mocking those down below like they were all his to toy with. "I don't suppose you are thinking that I have her…as well as your way back home?"

"Most likely as bargaining tools so I'll spill everything about his future and the flaws for you to rip a gaping hole into the timeline for your own benefit. Is that what you're planning?" Mona glared.

"Why yes," Vlad grinned before gesturing towards her, "it took a great deal of time, but the fruits of my efforts are within my reach. I knew you would figure out my plan eventually but it appears I am two steps ahead of you…and my future son."

"Great deal of time…a few weeks of chasing me down in a game of cat and mouse?"

"Not exactly," He replied, "you are aware of the ghost zone being connected to this world, aren't you? It just so happens that one day I began to wonder: what if there are other worlds besides this one? So after hiring the top scientists to pick apart the ghost portal and discover the wavelengths that connect it to this world, I had a device capable of opening gates to other worlds."

"And Desiree," Mona put two and two together, "she was a part of your plan?"

"More of an accidental guinea pig. She crossed the portal and came out the other side, not as I had planned but a successful test nonetheless. But I did not expect someone like you to wish yourself into this world so eagerly without so much as a second thought…and for that ghost, whose entire existence is dedicated to careless desires, to start caring about you and try to stop me from getting to you." He picked a stray piece of lint off his flowing cape and stepped forwards until he was at least three feet away from her, Mona almost backing into a wall. "So the question is: do you want to risk her afterlife for your own selfish benefits?"

The phone rang.

Mona continued staring into Vlad's red eyes as he loomed over her, fear keeping her immobile, before the answering machine picked up after the fifth ring and the monotonous voice spoke up: "At the tone record message…"

*BEEP*

"Hey Mona, you there…?" Both the room's occupants recognized the voice and Mona felt a deep pit form in her stomach as she glanced towards the phone, located on the kitchen wall, out of the corner of her eye, pondering the risks of grabbing the receiver and calling for help. She also noted the faint echo in his voice. "It's me, Danny, and I was wondering if—" Vlad stepped back and leaned against the opposite wall before motioning with his hand for her to answer it.

Mona crab-walked, keeping her back pressed against the wall and eyes trained on Vlad, before reaching the phone. She tried to regain some composure, silently pondering a plan on how she could alert Danny of her current situation, before picking up the phone just as the other halfa was about to finish his sentence.

"H-hi Danny, what's up?" Oh, OH THAT'S CALM, real good! Mona bit back a stutter and tried to keep her voice as steady as possible. "I just got back. Did you find Desiree yet?"

"No, not yet, I was going to ask you the same question."

"Well, she didn't leave any trace behind, you…you know l-like a note or something along those…uh…lines. You know what I mean." She felt her composure slipping.

"I guess," Danny went silent for a moment on the other end of the line as Mona's mind continued racing. Don't panic, don't panic…gotta give Danny a hint…please help me…I want to get out of here NOW. "Are you alright? You sound…ah…nervous."

The brunette turned around slightly. Vlad had not moved from his place, keeping an eye on her. "I-I'm just worried about her, you know…I'm just going to wait here and see if she comes back, like you said earlier. I-I even ordered a pizza a la carte." Silently, she begged for Danny to pick up on the backwards hint or at least her nervous tone-of-voice. Just as she did so, Vlad motioned for her to end the call.

He was getting impatient and she was out of options. About the only thing Mona could come up with was buying more time.

"You sure…?" Danny did not sound convinced.

"Y-yeah, I'm sure. I've got to go; the delivery guy is at the door right now with the pizza Alucard—I-I mean a la carte—and he's getting REALLY impatient. I'll talk to you later, bye Danny!" Mona swiftly hung up before the halfa could start again. Just as soon as the call ended the brunette's poise and calmness was thrown out the window. Uncontrollable fear raced up her spine as she slowly turned back around. "What do you want…?"

The impatient look was slowly replaced by a dark smile, "I was hoping we could get to that part."

"If Desiree is hurt in any way…" The brunette started but faltered. She was in no position to be making threats.

"Oh…what would you do?" Vlad sneered, striding over until he once again loomed over her and once again Mona felt fear biting at her with its ice-cold fangs before forcefully removing them and glaring back at him.

"You should consider what I wouldn't do," She retorted despite him succeeding with his intimidation tactic. At this point, she felt like an ant facing off against a shoe. "If you let Desiree go unharmed, I'll tell everything you need to know. And then, you'll have to promise to let me go back to my real home, safe and sound…deal?"

"To be honest, I am not sure about your little treaty. You may try to weasel your way out of this the very instant I return her to you." Vlad prodded the middle of her forehead, making the brunette flinch, before he backed away from her and cast an arm out towards the direction of the living room. "Then again, you just might not be able to."

Mona turned sharply to her right, towards the area Vlad was motioning to, and immediately she felt her blood freeze. There, in the center of the living room, in a glowing cage, and unconscious (if it was at all possible) was Desiree. The wishing ghost was lying face down and a majority of her hair covered her face like a veil. Unable to hold herself back, Mona dashed towards the cage with both hands held out intent on grabbing the bars of the cage.

"Desiree! Desiree, wake up!" She only grabbed air before tripping and falling flat on her face before turning around, getting back on her feet and all-but-shouting in Vlad's direction. "Where is she and what did you do to her?!"

"Oh please, enough with the stupid melodramatics." The halfa scoffed as he approached and the hologram disappeared. "The silly specter sensed our, as in myself and my minion's, approach here and tried to stop us with her mediocre abilities only to be beaten back. She even said that she wouldn't let us get to you…can you detect the irony?"

"You…you evil…s—seriously crazed up…" Mona gritted her teeth, fighting back tears, before exploding, "I'll go! I'll tell you everything just let her go and then let me go after you're done!"

Vlad chuckled and placed a hand on her right shoulder making her look directly into his eyes. "I knew you would see things my way. So, do we have a deal?"

Danny, please hurry. I'm running out of time! "Yes."

"Good," The halfa gave the command, "release her", before Skulker appeared not too far away depositing Desiree on the floor in a heap in front of him. "Now for you to keep up with your end of the bargain…and by the way, whatever you told Daniel earlier, he's going to figure it out too late. So if I were you, I wouldn't expect a last minute rescue…"

"—pizza Alucard—I mean a la carte—and he's getting REALLY impatient. I'll talk to you later, bye Danny!" And she hung up leaving the half ghost floating in place right next to the city hall's clock.

"Pizza a la carte…? How can she think of food at a time like this?" Danny grumbled after the call ended before taking off back towards home with the Fenton Thermos slung over his back, containing both Bertrand and Spectra…including the Box Ghost. "I mean, considering Vlad's still around…then again, we're all still a bit stressed from what happened this week."

At least a minute later, the halfa was halfway back home, somewhere over Googolplex Cinema, when his cell-phone began ringing again. Danny halted in place and descended onto the roof before answering on the fourth ring, "Hello?"

"Danny, where are you? Tucker and I are still at school."

"Hey, Sam, sorry about that, I was headed back home to send three ghosts back into the Ghost Zone. The plan worked, we all stopped Spectra, Jazz is safe, and there are no more surprises for us to be worried about…at least I hope there aren't." Danny replied before squinting. Speaking of surprises, he had a sinking feeling that he had missed something important. That was when he remembered how Mona was slurring a la carte on the other end of the line and subtly stuttering when he called. "Al oo carte…Alucard…?"

"Danny, what is it?"

The sinking feeling twisted his stomach into a knot. "Sam, what's Alucard spelt backwards?"

"Alucard…Dracula. Why?" Alucard—Dracula—vampire—VLAD PLASMIUS! Danny panicked and turned in the direction of Mona's house.

"Sam, call Evelyn! Tell her to meet me at Mona's house, pronto! We've got a serious problem!"

"What? What's going on? Danny—"

"Do it!" He all but yelled before ending the call and flying full speed off the roof.

Evelyn had long since gotten back home to her apartment (which was paid for via a portion of the large sum of Vlad's money). No sooner had she locked the door behind her, the pink-haired teenager deposited her backpack on the couch as she made her way to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and leaned into it, rummaging around for food before pulling back out.

"Geez, the mozzarella spoiled," She muttered before tossing said food into the dumpster next to the sink with incredible accuracy. "Oh well, guess I'm going to have my pepperoni and salad wrap with provolone!"

The phone rang not too long after. Evelyn stood up too fast, hitting her head on the interior of the fridge, and peered over the refrigerator door at the phone on the wall while keeping the plastic wrap containing the tortilla bread in between her teeth. The teenager grumbled from the sting and plucked the bread bag out of her teeth, setting it back into the fridge as the ringing persisted.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" Evelyn sighed, her after-school snack interrupted, before picking up. "Bardsley residence, who's calling…?"

"Evelyn, we've got a serious problem."

"Sam? What's going on?" The jock noticed the worried tone.

"It's Danny, he told me to call you." Sam replied hastily. She sounded as though she was running.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Evelyn felt fear rush through her at what she heard next.

"Something about Mona and then Alucard being Dracula spelt backwards so we're headed over there right now—Evelyn? Are you still there…? Hey!"

The kitchen phone was left dangling by its cord and the apartment was once again vacant.

Evelyn shot through the front door, becoming tangible after landing on the tiled floor which lined the hallway/kitchen area until half-way to the living room. Looking around worriedly, the female halfa's neon green eyes scanned the surrounding area.

"Hello? Anyone here…?"

"No…not anymore…" Evelyn looked onto the direction of where the slightly hoarse voice originated from before making a beeline towards the living room and stopping just at the border. Danny was sitting up in front of the still unconscious Desiree while his gloved hand was fisted around what looked like a dark blue headband. His expression was unreadable but his tense posture and the tone of voice told Evelyn enough. "We're too late. Vlad already has her…"

The same fist that was holding onto the headband abruptly punched the ground causing a slight tremor which shook the room.

"Whoa, earthquake…?" Tucker and Sam, no sooner had they entered the front door (which somehow became unlocked—please, for the sake of the fanfiction, just run with it), jumped when they heard the loud noise from the living room.

"It's worse than that," Evelyn glanced back towards the front door as the two made their way over.

"Desiree…?" Sam recognized the wishing ghost.

"Oh come on, we just stopped Spectra!" Tucker all but yelled as the Goth next to him went over to Danny and Desiree before shaking the prone ghost's shoulder.

"C'mon wake up!" The sharp jerk on the shoulder had Desiree's red eyes slowly reveal themselves from under green eyelids. The wishing ghost shakily got up, holding her head with one hand as the other remained on the ground, keeping a tight grip on something. "Are you alright…?"

"Where…where am I?" Desiree groaned while both in pain and disoriented, before her eyes widened. It was at that time the genie remembered exactly what had happened before— "Skulker…! I sensed him and Plasmius coming here and tried to stop them but they were too strong and I—"

"Hey, slow down!" Tucker spoke up, trying to make sense of what the wishing ghost just said, "Seriously, we can't understand a word you're saying right now."

"Tucker's right," Evelyn added while stepping forwards, "we won't be able to stop Vlad or Skulker if you're panicking."

Desiree, as odd as it seemed, took deep breaths to calm herself down as much as possible as Danny got back up and stepped backwards, "My apologies, but Mona wished for me to protect her…and I failed that wish…"

"Not yet, we still have time to stop Vlad, right?" Sam tried to give a vote of confidence.

"Even if we do have enough time," Danny shook his head ruefully, "we don't know where he and Skulker could have taken her. They could be anywhere and I could have gotten there in time if I understood Mona's hidden keyword which she was practically throwing at me while on the phone!"

Evelyn gritted her teeth and all but stormed over before sharply jabbing the other halfa's shoulder to snap him out of it. Due to her past living with Vlad and the fact that her friend was in his clutches she took the matter seriously. "Look, I understand we're all under stress (myself included) but can we actually DO SOMETHING instead of standing around and feeling sorry for ourselves?"

"I didn't mean it like that," The ghost boy gripped his shoulder and giving the bluenette a half frown, "what I meant is: even if we have time we don't even have a way to track them down!"

"Our best bet would be to follow Skulker's signal and follow through from there but he could be out of range…" Tucker held up his PDA which still had a schedule for Skulker to follow, some of them listing something related to a Purple Back Gorilla.

Desiree cleared her throat causing the four teenagers to face her. "You do realize I can grant that wish," She then glanced down at her closed fist before opening it revealing a tracking device (resembling a rectangular shielded computer chip with a flashing light) which was far from battered, "but since only Mona's wishes don't come with a price, this could help our search."

"Sweet, just what the tech support ordered!" Tucker accepted the chip which was deposited into his palm.

"How did you get it off Skulker?" Danny asked.

"The ghost-hunter left his back open and I caught sight of the panel located on his shoulder. If I couldn't stop Plasmius, then pilfering the device you are referring to was Plan B." She replied, steadying herself enough to hover in place, as the techno "nerd" finished updating his hand-held with Evelyn anxiously and literally hovering over his shoulder.

"Good thinking, but you're going to have to stay here until we get back," Sam gently pulled the wishing ghost back down, noticing her wince once she was fully off the ground, "you're in no condition to do any more."

Desiree reluctantly sat on the couch.

"I've got Skulker's location," Tucker informed them before glancing to his left, "and will you please stop hovering over me? I can't concentrate."

Evelyn hovered more to the left and whispered an apology just as the PDA's "William Tell Overture" alarm went off along with the description and location: the public library.

For the first time in almost thirty minutes, Danny smiled confidently, "Say guys, how about we check something else out?"

Skulker was flying…

The ghost hunter was both angry and humiliated at the predicament the human device left him in. His controls, which were on autopilot and previously were simply following the coordinates to the ghost zone then to the hideout, now changed the destination to the last place he ever wanted to be in.

And once again, Skulker found himself faceplate to face with the same spectacle wearing, ancient, and frowning librarian giving him that blank yet mocking "oh-it's-you-again" expression as bits of plaster and dust from the gaping hole in the roof drifted down.

The ghost hunter frowned, his metallic exoskeleton refusing to go to manual until the task was completed, as the old lady in front of him pursed her lip and the bright pink bubble-gum which she was puffing popped after a long silence.

"Magazine with article on Purple Back Gorilla…?"

His voice came out as a weak drawl, clearly antagonized, as his bright green triangular optics squinted and the single word hissed through his teeth. "Yes…"

Just to make the situation worse, just as he was about to fly back out the same way he came in, the two halfas charged in through the hole in the roof and a battle ensued. Needless to say witty banter was exchanged and the casualties included several shelves being knocked down sending several hundred books flying while smoke drifted upwards from places energy blasts missed their targets.

The librarian swiftly left her post muttering: "They don't pay me enough for this."

Being outnumbered and at a severe disadvantage, Skulker's systems went offline leaving the miniscule green blob in the dark after Evelyn finished him off with a powerful roundhouse kick to the chassis sending him flying into a wall.

"No! You'll pay for this! I am the Skulker! Do you hear me?! Fear me!" The small blob shrieked after he was removed from his exoskeleton and held up by one leg, via Evelyn, as Tucker checked the exoskeleton. As he continued his shrieks of anguish, Sam, Evelyn, and Danny observed.

"Bypassed the security here…linked up to the router here…" Tucker muttered, as he was in deep concentration, before speaking up. "Well, I've got through everything he's installed in here, but he's got an incredibly long password that's going to take a while to figure out."

"How long…?" Danny couldn't help but ask with a worried tone.

"Well, I've got three letters down out of seventeen, K, B, and N, and they're in three different places so it shouldn't take too—" The nerd stopped in his sentence before looking down at the unfinished password with a knowing smile on his face. "Hideout coordinates coming right up!"

Rather bewildered, Sam peered over his shoulder at the PDA screen, "That fast?"

Tucker cleared his throat, "can't concentrate." and Sam took a step backwards while murmuring an apology.

Skulker couldn't help but smack his palm into the center of his face, which took up his whole body, while muttering: "I knew I shouldn't have watched that movie!" Danny and Evelyn only gave each other confused looks.

"Now, are you ready to talk?"

"Judging by the current situation, who's to say?" Mona replied, trying to keep calm despite being in a cage. Said cage was suspended over a tank of— "And may I ask a question before the harsh interrogation starts? Why am I in this cage and how did you get a tank filled with ghost sharks? Oh, that almost rhymed!" She looked down at the green shaded, carnivorous, and vicious breeds of "dead" sharks floating around in the tank which had a ghost shield on top of it. That meant ghosts couldn't get out OR in…but in Mona's case, she was going to become fish-food in a matter of seconds if Vlad wished it.

Speaking of "wish", "I wish somebody got me out of here…" she couldn't help thinking silently to herself, "and this reminds me of a classic villain dangling a hapless damsel in distress over a vat of acid…only the acid has been replaced by sharks…which are ghosts…and most likely want to eat me."

"Rather simple really, considering I hired the best ghost-hunter I could find and it turns out that there is a second "Dead Sea" only it is located within the Ghost Zone where, surprisingly, the ghosts of sea creatures life the rest of their afterlives. Ever heard of it?" Vlad asked from inside the dark sanctum which looked like a medieval torture chamber.

"Never heard about that…" The brunette furrowed her eyebrows in thought while trying not to imagine the cage sinking lower. Unlike the tank, the cage wasn't ghost proof. To make things worse, the brunette noticed that the scratch on her arm from the not-so-recent scuffle last Tuesday was still in the process of healing…and sharks were known to sense blood from a great distance. As though to prove that fact, the ghost sharks were swimming around intently waiting for their prey to get within biting distance.

"I suppose you're not as knowledgeable about this universe as I believed."

"The history and general aspects of the timeline yes, the overall geography of Amity Park and the Ghost Zone…no…" Mona stammered before glaring back down at the vat, "and STOP STARING AT ME!"

The sharks merely looked back up with fang-filled "grins" as though defiantly saying, "No".

"Also, the reason why you're in there," Vlad referred to the cage, standing off to the side next to a lever, "is so in case your friends arrive they will have to think twice before attacking me, I have a means of persuasion, and so you won't be able to get your hands on THIS." In his other hand, the evil halfa held up a black object with a red pointer in front of it: a remote.

It looked just like any average device to change the channel, volume, and record the show currently being aired only there were major differences. There was a grey shaded mini-screen displaying five numbers in a sequence and currently displaying: 1-2-3-4-5 (something only an idiot would use as a password). Buttons labeled by numbers one through nine were in a three-by-three cube shape in the center of the rectangular object, two arrow buttons lying horizontally across the top while two narrow oval buttons labeled "new code" and "open/close" were on the bottom.

"Simple in design, but more than capable of opening a hole in time and space," Vlad mused before noticing Mona staring intently at it, "and the only way for you to get back home is to tell me everything I need to know."

Mona shook her head before regaining some resolve. "The only thing you need to know is that whatever you have planned will explode in your face, Fruit Loop!" Wrong answer, the cage lowered itself an eighth downwards and Mona stumbled backwards in the small prison until her back met the steel bars. "Ouch…"

"We can't have that attitude," Vlad hid the remote in a pocket (he has pockets?) as he left a clone to stand next to the lever as he went over to a control panel linked up to a giant computer monitor and began to press a series of buttons on the keyboard. "So shall I let you be feasted on or will you tell me about…this?"

Mona, upon seeing the infamous gold key with a skull for the handle, started to panic. It was the key to Pariah Dark's tomb, the holding cell for the King of Ghosts. "It's too early! Not now!" She trembled, her sweaty palms gripping the bars in front of her. "I can't tell him about this! Danny's not ready!"

"Well…care to tell me?" He caught sight of her worried look.

"I can't," She shrank back, "you're not supposed to know about this until—" The cage dipped slightly and Mona almost lost her grip.

"Until what…?" The clone next to the lever sneered up at her.

"A long time after Danny becomes public enemy of Amity Park!" She clamped a hand over her mouth and shivered. "Why did I let that slip out…? Stupid-stupid-stupid…!"

"Really…? What else do you know?"

"Danny, you and Evelyn are getting close to the coordinates." Tucker spoke over the headphones which Evelyn and Danny were wearing as they flew through the Ghost Zone; the green aura rippling past them like white-water behind a speed boat.

"Good, because I am so going to give Vlad a taste of his own medicine once we get there!" Evelyn gritted her teeth while performing a swift aerial maneuver past a floating rock with Danny following close behind. "If so much as a hair is removed I am going to—" The female halfa bit back a snarl at the thought.

"We'll get there in time, Vlad won't hurt her. He needs her alive in order to get the information he needs," Danny reasoned, "I just hope she doesn't let anything slip out."

"Guys, the portal leading to the hideout should be on your left!" Sam spoke up. "Go through it!" Following the instructions, the two halfas turned and deadpanned.

"A gigantic floating football…"

"He's not very subtle is he?"

Back at the household in Amity Park, Desiree continued looking down at her hands with a wistful expression before frowning and looking up. "If that ghost child and his friends believe that I am going to just sit here and do nothing, they are sorely mistaken…" She immediately hovered out of her seat and flew out the door and made a beeline towards Fenton Works. "Mona chose me over her own safety…and she wished that I protected her…so I will grant it!"

Sam and Tucker only jumped back as Desiree charged through the portal, startling Spectra, Bertrand, and Skulker who had just been tossed back through to the other side as she followed the invisible trail left behind by the two halfas.

Mona hung her head, clearly disappointed with herself. Vlad's threats along with her wish to get back home broke her resolve to keep silent; not only that, the cage was now two-thirds of the way down. She told the millionaire mastermind everything he needed to know about the key, the history of Pariah Dark and how ancient ghosts trapped him in his tomb, including the "Crown of Fire" and the "Ring of Rage" the two instruments of his power. Vlad Plasmius even got the information about Valerie Gray and her eventual hatred towards ghosts.

"Good…I didn't think it would be so easy though." He smirked as Mona kept looking down. Still, one more question she wanted to ask was looming in the back of her mind. It had to do with her pink/bluenette halfa friend. Vlad's smile faded as quickly as it appeared. "Still, while you told me the history and how powerful the items are I still don't know WHERE they are."

"That's because I don't know about their location…along with something else…" She bit her lip for a second before glaring at Vlad. "Do you know a girl by the name of Evelyn Bardsley Masters?"

Vlad stared, clearly not expecting the question, before smiling. "Oh, so you've met her…I was wondering where she went to, and why a good sum of my account went missing."

"And for a good reason in my opinion, considering who her ADOPTED FATHER is…but something's been eating at my brain since I first saw her." Mona glared at him, trying to ignore the sharks which jumped up and hit the ghost shield before falling back down.

"What could that be…?" Vlad asked, stepping towards his clone and reforming with it.

"To be honest, Evelyn was not in this universe the last time I checked. In fact, you've never adopted a child when I last watched…and there was no mention of her or her deceased parents in the series." Mona recapped, counting off her fingers. "Plus I'm getting the feeling you know more about THAT than you are letting on."

"Well, you told me everything I needed to know and then some, so I guess I should tell you." Vlad casually leaned against the lever causing the cage to sink down at a snail's pace. "I needed a test subject for a project: creating a third halfa; one that would be both a loyal soldier and child. To do this, I needed someone around Danny's age, more or less a teenager."

Despite her current situation and that she was failing to squeeze through the bars of the cage, Mona made a gagging noise. "Ew…"

"Get your mind out of the gutter." The halfa frowned before continuing his tale. "My best solution was to adopt a child and in this case Evelyn was living with her parents, preferably distanced from the rest of the family. What I did not realize was that during that time my minions were in the process of high jacking an important supply being delivered to a rival company that I was planning to buy out, causing the accident which cost the child her parents and allowed me to adopt her as my own. Unfortunate but perfect timing…

"Eventually I began to set my plan in motion, acting as a perfect father figure to my adopted daughter. But a month later, I arrive in my study to realize Evelyn has discovered my secret laboratory…and not only that the ghost portal which was going to be upgraded has been turned on. There was a residing ectoplasm signature but nothing to indicate she was still alive…until now."

"You…you killed her parents…?" Mona stopped scooting up the bars, trying to get more distance away from the tank, while the horrifying fact wound itself around her mind…and one other…

"My minions went overboard and I merely took the opportunity presented to me…" Vlad waved his hand dismissively before glaring, "And now that you've told me her location I can easily finish what I've started faster than I've hoped."

"And what makes you think she'll return to you that easily?" She retaliated before the ghost shark leapt up and struck the underside of the cage, which just got past the shield, with its nose making her try to steady herself and climb out of reach.

"Simple, she doesn't know how the accident happened or who caused it. After I find her and get through to young Evelyn, she will learn to call me—"

"MURDERER…!" Evelyn all but screamed, fists blazing with ghost energy, as she flying tackled Vlad from out of the shadows. The villain lost his grip on the lever which hung loose and the chain holding up the cage went slack. Mona's eyes widened then clamped shut then she screamed as the tank flew upwards along with jaws filled with several rows of teeth opened wide.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa……………" The brunette stopped screaming after she was starting to run out of breath. It was at this moment she realized that she was still alive and breathing and nowhere near being turned into shark bait. Genuinely confused, she creased open one eye and looked down. Understanding that she was hovering over the shark tank instead of being in it, both eyes opened and she turned her head catching sight of the familiar black and white hazmat suit. "…wha……?"

Evelyn locked hands with Vlad, their heels digging into the ground as they tried to force each other down. "I can't believe this…after all this bloody time…the madman who killed my parents adopted me!" She yelled angrily while her level of ghost energy began increasing and rising up her in a deadly red aura. Vlad gritted his fangs at the rising energy before flipping backwards. Evelyn coughed at the jab to her stomach as she was flung off and into the computer screen which now sported a massive crack running vertically along it.

"You okay…?" Mona looked up and locked her gaze with Danny Phantom who was currently holding her up and out of danger while she clung to his shoulders. Momentarily the waves of panic and disappointment that were bottled up inside her escaped. The halfa watched as the brunette's brown eyes watered considerably and Mona bit her lip before burying her face into his shoulder; trying and failing to hold back a wail. "Wha—hey watch the suit!"

"I'm sorry! I tried not to but he made me talk and—he had Desiree and I didn't want her to get—no I'm not okay—I told Vlad everything! I'm such an idiot!!" As Mona wept aloud, making the halfa's shoulder damp from the salt-water, she inwardly berated herself for being such a crybaby at a bad time.

"Now Evelyn, be reasonable, I could've let you rot in an orphanage but I didn't—"

The bluenette halfa swiftly got back upright, leaping to the floor, and threw an energy sphere at Vlad who blocked it with a shield. "Reasonable…? You could've made sure your minions didn't go overboard and get people killed you uncaring and manipulative son of a—"

"Watch your language!" Vlad reprimanded before a frenzied blur of green, black, and blue outlined by red rammed into him. Evelyn audibly cursed at her attacks being blocked by the elder halfa and Vlad noticed something very peculiar happening to the bluenette's green eyes, the pupils disappearing into white, while the red aura seemed to make her blue hair take on a dark violet shade.

Danny landed on the floor and set the trembling brunette down, Mona sliding into a sitting position on the ground, before watching the fight taking place and catching sight of the cracked computer screen and the key to Pariah's tomb being displayed. "What is that…?"

"Something Vlad should not even know about yet," Mona cringed at the sound of Evelyn firing at Vlad in a violent rage and the blasts striking the walls and the sides of the tank containing the ghost sharks. One of the stray blasts smoldered the lock making the ghost shield keeping the sharks in disappear and both teens watched in horror as the phantom fish floated out, caught sight of the prey that escaped earlier, and snarled.

"What a day to forget the Fenton Thermos…" Danny remarked standing in front of Mona in a ready to fight posture. Just as he did so, Evelyn blindsided Vlad and the remote stored in his pocket sailed to the floor and skidded over to the two teenagers. Mona immediately turned her attention to the Dimension Remote that collided with her foot and grabbed it after wiping tears off her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Maybe we don't need one!" She declared, regaining some composure, and pressed a series of buttons at random "42424" before pressing OPEN, aiming at the ghosts, and tripping the halfa in front of her. Instantly the remote caused a portal to appear where Danny was standing not moments ago and the sharks dive-bombed through it before Mona swiftly pressed CLOSE and the portal closed shut.

"That was close…" Danny got back on his feet, ducking down slightly as debris rained down from overhead. "Where did you send them?"

"I…" Mona faltered from her seat on the floor and furrowed her brow in thought, "I haven't got a clue."

The ghost sharks stopped, genuinely confused of their location before they started falling downwards at a speed of nine-point-eight miles per second and accelerating swiftly. As though they had experienced the situation before, the phantom sharks simultaneously thought: "Oh no, not again!" before they met the ground at terminal speed with several occupants inside a white spherical space ship keeping watch.

"Wait a minute…wasn't there supposed to be a sperm whale and bowl of petunias in place of those missiles?"

"Don't jinx it!"

Evelyn all but roared as her punches and kicks were blocked and leapt backwards, skidding to a halt with her heels digging into the ground. The red aura now seemed to resemble flames that flickered with a non-existent wind as Vlad and the two teens on the sidelines watched with alarm.

"Ghost Rage…?" He mouthed. Evelyn unleashed a battle cry, fangs replacing her canines, as she lunged forwards with a fist extended. Vlad had enough sense to dodge before the bluenette's fist embedded into the wall and he raised a barrier to block an energy ray thrown at him. "Evelyn, stop! Your powers are getting out of control! If you keep this up you'll bring the base down on us!"

"Then hold still, old man, and let me finish getting revenge for what you did to my family!" Evelyn snarled, resembling a maddened feline as she tugged her hand out of the cracked wall, before flying upwards and throwing more powerful energy blasts, now more of a red color, at Vlad who blocked any that were headed for the computer monitor, intent on protecting the information gathered.

Danny quickly formed a ghost barrier to block the stray attacks headed for them as Mona curled into a defensive ball.

"What's going on?" The halfa yelled over the fighting.

"I don't know! I never saw anything like this!" Mona looked over her arm before shielding her face and the Dimension Remote again. "We've got to snap her out of it! Even though Vlad's a completely crazed up fruit-loop we need him alive!"

"I don't think she's going to listen!" Danny was forced backwards, his feet creating small ditches into the ground. "Any ideas…?"

"None," the brunette flinched, "if Desiree were here, wishing that Evelyn would calm down so she could listen to us and that Vlad would forget everything I told him about Pariah Dark would fix everything!"

It was around this time, the two teenagers taking cover in the corner noticed a familiar green mist flowing past them. Danny, for the first time, felt glad to see a certain wishing ghost.

"So you have wished it…so shall it be!"

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion to the two halfas waging in mortal combat. Evelyn's narrowed eyes slowly widened while the green pupils reformed and the dark red aura faded back into the natural white outline. At the same time, Vlad felt alarm sinking into his mind as the information he needed for his plan was swiftly removed like an eraser getting rid of graphite on paper. The vampire-like halfa grabbed his head while he yelled in horror and anguish immediately afterwards.

"Danny, destroy the monitor!" Mona all but yelled. "It's got the information recorded on it!"

The halfa she was addressing dropped the ghost barrier around them and reached back, charging up ghost energy and releasing it in a ray that streaked past the already antagonized Plasmius and decimated the super computer sending metal shrapnel flying upwards before clattering onto the ground.

"No!" Plasmius yelled in dismay at his plans being foiled before turning on them and charging up a ghost ray. "You little rats, you'll pay for this!"

Plasmius abruptly found his attack cut off by a ruthless uppercut, courtesy of a recovered Evelyn, and was thrown backwards into a wall. The evil halfa's back met the wall and he was knocked unconscious as the female halfa landed just three feet away and watched mercilessly as two black rings originated from the older halfa's middle and spread out, replacing the halfa with a worn out old man.

"No, you're going to pay." Evelyn scowled as a green aura engulfed her right hand and she grabbed Vlad's collar with her left. "I'll be sure of that."

"Evelyn, don't!"

The halfa stopped reaching back and looked behind her at the ghost, halfa, and human. Mona was standing a bit ahead with a desperate look."Don't do it! We need him alive for the timeline!"

"Are you joking?!" The bluenette snapped, anger clearly written into her eyes. "You expect me to give this guy mercy for what he's done to all of us? He killed my parents, is trying to get rid of Danny's father, and he kidnapped you in order to get information that would let his plans progress!"

"Yes, he's an insane man seeking revenge, but if you destroy him you'll sink to his level and become something worse! I really don't want to sound like a broken record Evelyn, but if you get your revenge it'll consume you from the inside out for the rest of your life, just like him!" Mona tried reasoning. "We never met your parents, but I don't think that's the kind of life they wanted you to have!"

"We're your friends, Evelyn! We don't want that to happen to you!" Danny added on.

"What they said…" Desiree put in the afterthought.

The bluenette's free hand clenched, caught between cancelling the ghost ray and firing it. Evelyn's shoulders were hunched as she glared at the ground and gritted her teeth as the words sunk in. Even though she wanted Plasmius to pay for ruining her life, the bluenette hated the concept of turning into him. "So he's just going to get off scot free?"

"No, he won't." Mona replied while keeping a relaxed tone that was mixed with unease. "Vlad will get what he deserves in the end. It's called KARMA."

Evelyn squinted, lowering Vlad down. After a moment of consideration she shoved him to the ground and turned away from the prone figure. The halfa tensed then released a long sigh and slowly walked back to the trio standing next to the exit.

"Let's get out of here…before I do something I'll regret later." She muttered before they escaped the villain's temporary lair…leaving the villain halfa to observe his destroyed surroundings once he regained consciousness…

To be continued…

Finished May 16, 2009
Edited/Posted May 23, 2009

Whew, another chapter done, although I think the bit with Desiree was cheesy as heck. Now to wrap things up for the characters of this story! Chapter 14 is coming soon, preferably before June 10th. Yes, I've given myself a deadline, it gives me a LOT of motivation in case Writer's Block decides to strike again.

Please Review on this Chapter!