Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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The glass had shattered as Plasmius broke free from the containment unit. Pathetic, really. They thought they could contain him, especially now that he had something more than delusions and dreams to fight for. He wouldn't just roll over and accept a fate such as they had. So what if he was a criminal? Everyone had those they cared about.

Break the glass and become free. Shatter the illusion. Now, he had something from his past- before he was like this- with him. Daniel never understood just what his father had taken from him. Maddie? Yes. Also, his little sister- Jack had ended up shattering the bond between them. He'd been too blind to see how she'd react to revenge. Now? He still loathed Jack, but Christine mattered more than the grudge.

Wolves are howling. Vlad stepped through the portal as pink smoke filled the room. So we rise, and we can't be held down.

The smoke would follow him in trials- his core was burning, sparking, surging. To threaten a ghost's obsession was to ask for doom, to threaten a halfa's obsession was infinitely worse. Halfa's were of two worlds, torn between life and death. Those who knew them for what they were and didn't reject them... They were the power to a halfa's fire. Daniel knew that full well.

There's a revolution coming and those fools can't stop it.

Not a cold and dark revolution of despair, but one with love and life, for Christine, had unlocked a wildfire from him.

A ghost of despair and dread lurks- cross him and grim will your fate be.
Grown cold and hardened in his desires, nothing else can he see.
A spark can start a fire, a butterfly a windstorm, kindness a seed.
For those he these he will fight whoever reaches him and make him free...

For their bond is evergreen even in the darkest of times.
A Phantom of her past, a maiden unaware of his crimes.
Of the past pain and childhood memories her voice chimes.
And the Wisconsin Ghost's endeavors she can make into reason and rhyme...

Evergreen is the Wisconsin Ghost's love for his darling.
Evergreen though rarely seen, evergreen to those who are keen.
Evergreen in both the broken core and wounded heart.
Evergreen though they were ripped apart.

And her name is Christine.

Chapter Text

Vlad floated in the air intangibly- those in the area sensed him. The chill in the air caused by his core taking heat from the area. Even if ghosts were ectothermic, his core drained heat from the air around him sometimes. He had a fire core- a blazing burning fire roared within him. People felt the air stir as he moved by, the worried or cautious looks were nothing of concern. No one could see him. He wasn't here for them, but to find her.

"Genevieve." a voice spoke, "There have been rumors spreading of- ghosts."

"James, ghosts don't exist." she breathed. "If they do, we don't tell her."

Vlad followed the two, a happy couple. He meant them no harm, but something stirred in him as they spoke. So he walked at a distance, stalking them. He made sure not to make them uneasy, even if they felt as if they were being watched. Besides, they seemed to be going somewhere. Perhaps it'd give him a clue as to where Christine was since she hadn't been in Amity Park. His little sister.

"Sickening," she muttered before speaking up, "She'll flip if she hears this..."

"I know." he paused. "We never tell her."

The man looked somewhat like Mr.Masters would if the accident didn't happen. A black ponytail, but his face bore a mustache in addition to a short beard. He wore a brown overcoat and a black sweater. A man who didn't obsess over riches, a man that hadn't been scarred and mauled by life. As if he had the likable traits of both himself and Jack.

The woman wore a lavender suit and a tight brown bun. She was serious and calm, but still clearly feeling and emotional. She was a woman who seemed to know something more was amiss, one who was wise beyond her years. Mature, but not stiff. She wasn't much like him at prima facie.

"James," she breathed, "Christine is going to find out."

"Genevive," he grabbed her shoulder. "Remeber what she told us?"

Genevieve nodded, "Let's hope it's a hoax."

James and Genevive noticed his core draining the heat now. He'd spent too long following them, but he couldn't leave now. He had to know where she was. They started walking faster and he picked up the pace to match them but fell back to avoid chilling the air close to them. He heard their whispers- they worried he was the Wisconsin Ghost.

"James," her voice trilled softly. "He's after us."

James and Genevieve ran now, afraid that he'd harm them. Unleashing ropes of plasm, he bound the two together. He'd rather not attract attention, but he couldn't let them slip away. They knew her, and they cared about her. Hurt them? 

His core drained the heat more fiercely now, even if he wanted to stop it. Ghostly obsessions made cores hard to keep in check, and his life before the accident was his, but the bitterness had warped it. It had warped his obsession to a point, and it terrified him. How would his core react to Christine being stolen from him?

"What are you?" James stuttered.
"Oh my- James he's going to kill us!"

"Of course not!" his core flared at the very idea. "You two are only trying to protect her."

Jaws fell as he popped into visibility. He shifted a brow and cracked a smirk- no one suspected that Vlad Masters was the Wisconsin Ghost. If they did, no one believed them. He came closer until he stood over them. Tense silence drenched the unnatural chill in the air; the two didn't exactly trust Plasmius.

"Y-you don't want revenge?" James choked out. "You don't want to murder her?"

"NO! " 

Sweet Blazing Butter Biscuits, what on earth have you two heard?!

 Vlad felt his core surge and he shoved it down. These two were her friends, so of course, they'd worry some ghost was out to get her. Him, though? Well, it was a little known fact he was her brother. Still, why would we want to? ...They thought he blamed her for the accident. 

Vlad unintentionally sneered at the two, "I'm her brother."

"You're the Wisconsin Ghost?" Genevieve gaped. "But, but-"

"-we thought you were just posing as her brother." James finished.
"Of all the rumors I've heard," he pondered. "that one actually makes sense."

Vlad huffed and released the binds. They'd not run now, hopefully. Three stood in the ghostly cold air and stared at each other for a while. These two were barely younger than her, yet they seemed to be the ones guarding her when he wasn't there. Bless them both.

"You're-" James whispered. "Dead?"

"Half dead," he snorted. "Keep a secret."

James looked at him and pushed his glasses up. Vlad saw the man look him over a few times as if to try to get a grip on the fact their best friend had a half-ghost brother. Half-vampire, half something in the man's eyes. Half-monster was what his expression said, but his eyes revealed he was more than glad to meet him. At least, after he knew no one would be harmed.

"Where is she?" he asked softly.

"She wasn't in Amity?" the two asked at once, and then Genevive scowled. "...then they kidnapped her."

Red flared as he wanted to snap something. A branch, metal, the arm of whoever took her. Who would dare take his darling Christine? Did this mean they went after the rest of his family as well? Did this mean they were all in danger? No, sweet butter brickle no. All of them are innocent.

"Who," he growled. "Dares?"

The two looked at each other. Slowly, a woman walked up. A Guys in White agent had bitter tears running down her face. She gripped the ghost's hand without any hostility and looked into his eyes. Blonde and a little taller than he was, wearing eyeliner that was running in black streaks under her eyes. Uncomfortably tight, Vlad could feel her anger towards the kidnappers.

"Vlad?" she bitterly spoke. "I'm sorry."

"Helena?" he gasped.
"I thought they wanted people and ghosts to co-exist and not..." she kicked a rock, "I should be protecting you two, not putting you in danger."

Vlad placed a hand on her shoulder, "Helena, don't blame yourself. You're not like those crack-pots."

"We're breaking her out." Genevieve decided. "I'm a lawyer and I will sue them or so help me."

Suddenly Vlad was frightened of someone younger than his kid sister- ghosts he could handle, but a lawyer who knew his secret, and his crimes?

An architect, a lawyer, a Guys in White agent, and a half-dead billionaire are going to storm a secret government agency, not to mention Helena's mother was going to come along, no matter how much everyone else didn't want her to. Edith Sanders dispised most things ghost, but she'd tolerate it to save her niece. A half-ghost nephew, she'd learn to accept. Edith Sanders was worse than Vlad, but she kept her anger sane.

Edith Sanders was a mother bear to her family, and even if her husband's side of the family was insane, she'd fight tooth and nail to keep them safe.

The Guys and White didn't expect Christine's friends and family to be a little nutty, but they did know she was a psychologist.

Her family was completely sane- Christine could clinically prove that they were all sane.

...but didn't get called the Mad Masters as kids for nothing, you know.

Chapter Text

Helena Sanders couldn't believe her bosses would do this, she couldn't believe they'd kidnap a civilian. It Helena hard, realizing why they'd taken her. Christine was protecting Phantom. Her cousin Christy was human, but her fire was near a ghostly obsession. To protect her students as they were her own, to protect children. Even ghost children. Of course, she'd be seen as a threat.

"Danny Phantom?" Genevieve asked. "Legally he's a minor. And Miss Masters has no criminal history."

"...and he federal anti-ecto act they're referring to only applies to full ghosts anyway," Helena added.

"What." Vlad spoke, "What?"

"The Federal Anti-Ecto Control Act was not meant to destroy ghosts entirely, but to provide legal guidelines for them," Helena explained. "There's a lot they don't know about them though..."

Helena tried to learn the facts, she tried. 

"You knew?" he asked. "About us?"
"About him." she sighed. "I thought you were a full ghost driven mad by your pain by the time I got involved with the Guys in White."

Helena hated herself for not coming to him sooner. She was supposed to keep them safe- she was the oldest of the three. Vlad and Christy were her responsibility. Now wasn't the time to "dump on herself." Now was the time to act.

"Explains why you shot at me." he snorted.

Vlad you brat- this can wait.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ghosts- her family never believed in them. Her husband and kids perhaps still thought they were fantasy, but she couldn't deny it. She was a ghost. Silvery wings, silvery eyes, silvery hair... Humans didn't become angels when they died, but as a ghost she couldn't help but think of the angels. That always reminded her of her kids.

These men, the Guys in White, were not entirely unknowing about how ghosts actually are. Some of them, yes, were innocent. Not knowing what their superiors did to ghosts, thinking the ghosts they captured weren't going to be harmed. Like little Helena, who had no idea these men were vile and cruel.

"Freeze!" a voice commanded.

The ghost beat her wings and sent a whirlwind out, knocking the small group of agents over. All she wanted was to free the other ghosts, grab her baby, and leave. The first one was easy. The second was not- they were hiding him. Vlad, her baby boy, they took him. They took HIM.

Rushing past the men in a frenzied flight, she heard a young voice crying out for help. Her baby... Wings beating, knocking the men aside, she plowed through their "defenses." Only stunned, they'd be fine. She wasn't about to kill anyone, good heavens no. She just wanted to save her baby...

White hair, he had white hair. White like the snow. White like wool. White like the bedsheets he'd use as a cape. White like the roses in their family garden...

Vladdles... My little Vlad... she thought as she rushed over. I'm sorry!

Mrs.Masters looked at the boy on the table. Cold metal surrounded the white-haired teen, clad in spandex. Her baby- no. This wasn’t Vlad. Her Vlad was older than this, her Vlad wasn’t so young… His eyes were weakly begging her to free him, not to hurt him. Why, why did these men do this to a halfa child?

This was the halfa the other ghost spoke of- the Fenton’s son. The ghost with angel wings fluttered them and the iron cuffs around his wrists and ankles vanished. Danny was scooped up gently by this ghost, who had met his parents before so much had changed. Tears of silvery plasm sparkled in her eyes as she saw that they’d tried to… No, never. Never let that happen.

Ursula Masters’ obsession was to keep families together-she watched as hers crumbled before her very eyes. The Guys in White couldn’t be the enemy since little Helena worked here. Poor child had no idea what nasty men her bosses would be. Besides, Helena had tried to keep him out of here…

"H-huh?" the boy croaked as white rings swept around him. "Who are you?"

"I-it's" she had to force her voice to be calm, "alright. I won't hurt you... Your parents knew me before I passed..."

The child looked into her eyes, "I still don't know who you are."

"Ursula Masters," she couldn't hold back the tears as she felt the electric current in his core.

Ghost portals had caused nothing but pain in her life. No one knew how dangerous they were when first encountering them, at least it seemed so. This- this electricity was too strong to be a small portal. The Fenton portal is full-size like the other ghosts talk about. No one would let her near it, nor near the other portal. Fentons would rip her apart (fool's talk!) and the other one... Why had they kept her from the other portal?

Jack and Maddie never meant to have any of this happen. Not to their son, who they didn't know was a halfa. Not to Vlad who... Was he alive? Dead? Did he even have a ghost?

"Vlad's mom?" he breathed.

"You," she gasped. "Know where he is?"

Please let him be okay! What about little Christy? She was so heartbroken- my babies, my poor-
"Yeah," he coughed a little. "You don't?"

She shook her head and her wings fluttered slightly as she took twists and turns through this unholy maze. Her hair was gold and her skin blue- she was a ghost. Was he? Was he... dead? Was her daughter too?

"They're both alive," he tried to comfort her.

Bless you, child, bless you. She drew him in a tight hug and tried to escape as soon as she could. His mother, his father, his family would be so worried... He was their baby. He might not know it, but Jack and Vlad were almost like brothers last she knew. That black hair, those icy eyes... 

"Thanks." his voice was muffled. "You're hugging me a little too tight."

"S-sorry." Mrs.Masters loosened her grip a little.

The boy seemed to trust that she wouldn't hurt him. The poor child was with all the nasty sort of ghosts much of the time. Poor choice for a portal location, but his parents didn't know. Portal... Portal, that's it!

Green swirled in the air as she slipped into their portal and headed to the one portal that she shouldn't be heading towards. No one wanted to tell her Plasmius was her son, but her core had a sinking feeling. A sinking feeling this fearsome ghost was her little boy. Crying for help from the hurt, and lashing out in pain. The child in her arms could tell her the truth.

Electric his ice core hummed. Electric Plasmius' core should hum.

She ran a hand through his dark black hair and managed a smile. He wouldn't lose his family- she'd swear that his family wouldn't crumble. Hers did in a flash, in a spark everything wilted. The halfa child would have his family, be tucked in tonight as if he were small, and have his family hug him tightly.

 His core thrummed more strongly now, recovering from... Whatever he went through. As if even now his core could feel the pulsing of hers, like feeling the heartbeat of a human. Her core was a wind core, but her powers were structured on a mother's love. Maybe her core was calming him?

"Your son's a little..." he muttered sleepily. "different."

"And Christy?" she asked, hoping she was okay.
"She's" he hesitated. "They arrested her."

What- Christy?! No, no, no! Little Christy- arrested? No... She'd never... No.

"Why?" she gasped. "What did she ever do?!"

"...Tried to keep them from taking me." Danny answered.

If they hurt my little girl so help me, so help me... She never hurt them, so why would they do this to her? All she was doing was protecting the halfa. All she was doing was protecting family and they took her! Why- why I never! Helena would never stand for this, the child always tried to keep Vlad and Christy out of trouble. If Vlad is Plamius... Oh dear.

"Where is she?"
"I-" he coughed. "I blacked out..."

His core surged and nearly shocked her- he felt guilty. He blamed himself. His obsession was to save others, to protect... The boy's entire ghostly obsession was to be a hero. Her core barely kept him calm, kept him still enough so his injuries wouldn't get worse. She felt fidgety and on edge now- her little girl...

"Let's" she whispered. "Get you home."

Chapter Text

Ursula glared at the ghost threatening the child. Danny was in no way his, Danny was hers. She hissed softly and bared her retractable fangs for a second, before hiding them again. Do not wake him, do not wake the child. Let him sleep, for he was weary.

A faux pass sheriff came too close for comfort. Several feet away was still too close, within eyeshot was too close. A mother bear robbed of her cubs was not to be crossed… Daniel would not be robbed from her; he would not be taken captive again. Did Walker not remember a mother’s love?

Silver eyes flashed and she let the wind stir her hair and a breeze ruffled her feathers. Awaken her furry, awaken the guardian angel in her. She would smite him. Give him a warning, and if he was unrelenting and unrelenting, smite him. She silently vowed that.

“Last warning.” She whispered. “before I strike.”

He won’t heed my warning; I feel it in my core. Danny can’t be taken my him. His law is cruel and cold, so never let the monster win. Try to steal my loved ones and pay the price… Face the music.

She let out a mournful song to activate the amulet around her neck, it sparkled. Ice seeped into the locket and drenched her song; his core was willing to accept her as an ally. Haunting and chilling was her lament, letting her broken heart fuel the energy she provided.

"Cold and raw the north wind doth blow"  she began.

Walker fired a blast and she curled her wings to shield the boy. Walker had started this- he'd went after Daniel before. Did he not understand what power she had? Did he not understand what artifact she had found? Hardly. The ghost was a fool.

"Bleak in the morning early,"  her breathy whisper continued.

MPs came closer in droves. Foolshearted ghosts. She wasn't destroyed as they had thought. Leading her into a trap just to be rid of her, eh? Well, well, they'd face the consequences. A Masters family did not roll over when crossed!

"All the hills are covered with snow,"  she flapped her wings while clutching the child to her body.

She let the ice from his core frost her wings and it sent arctic wind towards the ghosts. Freezing over, frosting, falling the ghosts were like snow in the zone. Hundreds of them were encased in ice. Danny's core was stronger than any she had drawn from before. It was only the excess energy she had used, the ones that leech into the area around a ghost. Byproducts. And she had frozen Walker's "army."

"And the winter's now come fairly." she smiled.

Danny was awake. Of course, the boy would be. While she wasn't loud, the other ghosts were. Tsk tsk, they should no to let a child rest. A mischievous gleam was in his eyes and Mrs.Masters figured he had a smart mouth like little Christy's from what other ghosts had said about him. (Christy's was worse when she was that small.)

"Really?," he laughed. "A nursery rhymes."

"Well, Danny."  she smiled. "Doesn't ti fit that little trick?"

Danny stared at her. He thought that power belonged to her, oh no. Most of it was his. He was a powerful, powerful ghost. Halfa born from arcing lightning, halfa warrior for all. He was only a boy and yet he was a warrior. His obsession was to be a hero...

"No, you did that," she whispered. "You."

Silver wings glimmered with frost as she flew on. They'd thaw, they'd thaw and come for her. At least she could keep Danny safe. The boy was hers, Maddie and Jack would protect him, but she was his guardian in the ghost zone now. Dead she was, but gone she was not. Daniel Fenton-Phantom was her grandson, even if she couldn't say it to him out loud.

Ectoplasmic orbs swirled around them. Danny’s eyes lit up, and Ursula knew he loved the stars. He loved the night sky and what lie beyond. Someday, maybe he’d go there. For now, his bed is where he needed to be. He’d been in and out of wakefulness, trying to keep awake out of gut reaction.

“Mom and dad,” she tried to warn her groggily, “won’t be convinced.”
“Shoot me?” she questioned. “Hardly, Danny.”

He muttered sleepily in protest, but she didn’t catch the rest. Like her kids, trying to argue to stay up later.

Ursula’s eyes darted as she traveled. More danger lurked… Was she paranoid? No duh, the child was hunted like prey. She would get him to safety, she swore it. Frost continued to coat her wings further, but it didn’t hurt at all. Wind came in both scorching blazes and bone-chilling gusts.

She flapped large and slow to land, taking in the sights. This was the rim of the portal. A portal, in a large swathe of the zone her friends in this dimension warned her not to go near. Now she was here. Finally, he’d be home where he needed to be.

She stepped through to the bridge between worlds. In a mirage-like haze, the human world was afar at the other end. Instinctively, her wings curled around her body. Tenting, gently, around the boy to keep him hidden. Forcing her steps to go on, the last portal she went through was the Guys in White gateway…

Mrs. Masters stepped from the Fenton portal and her eyes gleamed. Maddie and Jack were pointing ecto-guns right at her. Wings tented over her body, to protect the boy, to hide him from those who would hurt him. Slowly, slowly she unfolded her wings. Neither one recognized her at all. Ursula knew exactly who they were.

"Jack, Maddie" she spoke calmly, "I found him."

Chapter Text

So Ursula found herself in a containment unit. Maddie and Jack had to wait until Danny wouldn't stay awake anymore- he refused to let them contain her. What was concerning to Danny's parents is that she didn't run, but she stayed. As if there were no danger for her, she actually stayed.

None of the tests had been as bad as what those two, agents K and O, had done to her. Horrid men who were a loud minority in the organization, horrid men who were not acting within the agency's protocol. They bullied those they had a hierarchy over, they were nasty, nasty men.  Men who knew that ghosts could feel pain and that most were not evil, unlike Jack and Maddie who were misguided and misinformed. Still awful, but Jack and Maddie would listen to reason eventually.

"Alright you," Maddie spat. "Why did you have our son?"

They naturally didn't recognize her. After all, she hardly looked like she did when she was alive. Grew her hair out too, which didn't help. She had black hair when alive and she didn't know why it was golden now. It didn't make sense even to her.

Shifting her wings, she folded them against her back- this unit wasn't meant for winged ghosts. Of course, they must not deal with wings often. Winged ghosts? It seems strange when they don't need wings to fly, per se. Winged ghosts did need their wings, however.

Not as cramped when a reporter put my core in a jar by accident- grave robbing crime spree brought him to the area. Frightened him something fierce when I got out later that night, though I didn't mean to scare him.  Thought I was an angel, and then finding out I was a ghost didn't help much. Nice enough man. Just always ends up being a target for ghosts...

Lance Thunder, he was a nice man. Just in the wrong places at the wrong times. His daughter, though I've never met her, probably worried about him. Those two shouldn't have to worry. No, they should be able to be safe in their own homes, and not fear ghosts. Tsk, that is no place to open a portal to the ghost zone...

Jack and Maddie didn't know their calculations were off again. That area they opened the portal in is a den of crime. Not all ghosts are criminals there, goodness no. Safe? Hardly. 

Ursula was silently reminiscing... Don't call it monologuing. Don't.

"The Guys in White took him," she wanted to growl, but it would only scare those two kids, "I returned him."

"Oh really?" Maddie crossed her arms and gave the stink eye.

Ursula calmly nodded. She did have their son when he was beat-up, so in an assumption, blaming her was almost guaranteed. Not nearly like this as college students. Maybe the accident scared them or released a nasty ghost Maddie encountered? Maybe the idea of ghosts terrified them as they got older? Kids...

"Then why," Jack glared. "Was he hurt?"

"I didn't harm him," she solidly spoke. "Two men did."

Maddie stepped closer to the containment unit and looked down on the "angel ghost." Being a ghost was one of the few facts these two had right. She had an angelic theme, but she was a full ghost. It didn't sit well with the Fentons, admittedly. Jack looked at her coldly ever now and then while bringing up files on the computer.

Creating a file for her. Hm, interesting. So how much did they know? Not much as far as ghost culture went, probably. So they'd not understand how insulting talking about prodding cores was. As little kids who said things they, really, really should not.

Not knowing exactly why they were bad or that they shouldn't say those kinds of things. At least that'd start off with the less brutal kinds of research. Those idiots went right to dissection... Sickening when innocent agents perish in ghost attacks because of a few bad apples. ...Ursula Masters hadn't killed anyone.

"Lies!" Maddie snapped.

Lies? No, no, Maddie. Neither of those two was there, so they would not know. They thought they knew everything, as some children did. Still children. These two were still children.

 "You weren't there," she corrected.

Maddie glared at her, eyes flashing. A mother's anger. Ursula was wise enough to go along with what Maddie believe, in part. At least not resist until matters got worse. After all, they had tried to- well, she didn't need to explain what they'd tried to do to him...

"What did you do?!" she demanded.

"Tried to heal him," she responded civilly. "The tests will show that."

Jack and Maddie didn't believe that for a moment. A screen showed a flicker of core research, ghost typing by plasm, classification, obsessions. Trying to compile what little evidence they had on this "hostile" ghost. So they would work, trying to build theories and hypothesizes before beginning the tests. Danny would flip over this.

 Muttering and whispering did not hide their words from Ursula. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but her core did pick up on words keenly because of the air movement- not volume. Both of them had breath tell-tale of their fear. Thinking they hid it well, and they did, but certain signs were hard to control. Even for these two.

Short glances to the ghost highlighted their words. Nothing much of interest, yet. General "she's a ghost so she can't be good" type of conversation. A sigh was held back as she wondered if her daughter had picked up that kind of talk from the Fentons. How did Vlad take this, since he was a halfa?  

"No blood," she pointed out. "Only plasm."

Ursula would wince at the next whisper, thankful the kids didn't realize she could hear them. Even benevolent ghost catchers took this matter seriously. ...Not exactly the best situation for Mrs.Masters. She could still believe this was safer than the facility she was in earlier, but for how long?

"That means," Maddie whipped around to Jack. "she was overshadowing him!"

Chapter Text

Jack waved Maddie over and the two hissed whispers. Influence, hypnotism, overshadowing. What some would call overshadowing others would call possession. Not good for Ursula Masters. Possession was not her forte in the slightest, really she'd never even thought to use it. Many ghosts would readily use that power, even if they were benevolent. Not her.

Beakers clanked and mixtures bubbled. Anti-possession measures would do nothing if there wasn't any, but two of the Fendonts wouldn't believe her.  A little girl crept into the room, wondering what was going on. That raven hair, those blue eyes... They had a little daughter? Ursula knew they wouldn't hurt a ghost in front of the kids, even if they thought that ghost was influencing them. It would still hurt them, the Fentons thought.

"Go back upstairs." Maddie gently instructed. "It isn't safe."

The girl shook her head and moved to the containment unit. Putting her hand on the glass, even when her mom sharply told her no. Ursula carefully reached out with her fingertips and did the same. A slight, slight pulsing met her. Heartbeat and core in between each other. 

Core. the word echoed. Why does she have a core...

"Mom," she rubbed her eyes, "she brought Danny home."

The girl looked sadly at the "angel ghost" and Ursula managed to give her a comforting smile when her parents weren't looking. She held a blanket and a teddy bear that looked a little like Albert Einstien, and Ursula wanted nothing more than to tell her it was going to be okay. Mouthing the words to the child, she saw the girl relax. Her parents didn't notice the ghost had communicated with her, and Ursula smiled. She had a grand-daughter, more than she knew.

A core that hums electric and yet... Her core feels different. I can't place it. I- Jack and Madeline Fenton I swear you kids have to stop meddling with portals. For crying out loud you don't know your children are halfas! They are halfas for crying out LOUD. You don't know how to properly heal cores, do you? He's hurt. His human half is fine, but his ghost half would do well with attentive care.

"Dad," the voice asked from further in the house. "Is Danny gonna be okay?"

Ursula Masters let out a sigh of relief as the words she needed to hear were said aloud. However, she did not look forward to dealing with Jack and Maddie when they assumed she was possessing kids. A morbid assumption even for those two, in her mind. Ursula put a hand to her forehead and let slip a sigh, these two...

I swear these kids need someone who understands cores, and goodness only knows how Vlad is doing... Jack and Maddie are unknowing- I have to remember they just don't know. They love their kids. They'll accept them even as halfas. They will, they will... How do I tell them about who I am?

"Alright," Maddie growled, taking Ursula by surprise. "Now talk."

Shifting her cramped wings Ursula gave Maddie a stern look. Not the best option, but she should not talk to her elders that way. Right, right she was also being held captive. Not like make-believe at all. Yet, she would have to cooperate. Most ghosts who escaped had also been quite brutish in their interactions with the Fentons. Rumors, however, were not to be trusted.

Letting her expression relax, Ursula closed her eyes and breathed in a few times. Wind cores were strange like that, breathing was more common. Many ghosts thought it strange, but with a wind core, breathing was a comforting habit to pick up.  The fearsome Fenton duo did not take to it well. Too bad for them, breathing kept her core calm.

"Breathing?" she prodded. "You're not alive."

Her rhythm was off. No, too fast. Too slow. Not consistent. Finally, she managed to get it down, but shallowly- the Guys in White were worse about her "living mannerisms" than the Fentons would be.

"If you would know cores properly," she was breathing as if she were alive now, "It would make sense."

A wind stirred her feathers and she could relax further. Her core was weary from the past events, she wasn't used to these high-intensity interactions. A little breeze from within tossed her hair a little and she could finally speak. She breathed in so she could respond.

"Now, you know you need to be more clear Maddie," Ursula spoke like a mother, not a captive.

"Manipulation eh," Jack accused. "It won't work on us."

 Ursula sighed. Her core was too fond of them to be scared, even if she should be. Did she blame them for what happened to Vlad? No. Could it have been prevented? Yes. Changing the past was unwise and, besides that, Clockwork wouldn't let her try.

"How is that manipulation?" she questioned. "How can I cooperate if neither of you are clear?"

Silence.

"Why did you possess him?" She spat. "So you could kidnap us all?

Ursula felt her core flare and the wind whip her hair, "I did nothing of the sort."

Her wings flared open, hitting the sides of the containment unit.  She cried out and folded them again, forgetting about the tight space. The wind whipping her hair died at that moment.  Plasm shone in her eyes, but the harsh glow faded into calmness again. Never would she do that unless she absolutely had to, and certainly not for that reason. Insulting...

Ursula held back the building tension in her core. They'd feel bad enough, and scared enough, once they realized who she was. They'd realize she knew them. Not just as ghost hunters, but as people. As her son's friends. She didn't want to frighten them, and losing her temper would guarantee that.

Soon they were taking plasm samples and analyzing what they could. It fascinated them she didn't struggle or fight back, so long as they kept away from her core. Trust her they did not, but it was odd a ghost was "cooperating." Ursula managed to steal a glance at the screen. Not much of anything that would cause her harm, thankfully.

• From: Humanoid*
• Size: human-sized
• Plasm color: silver

* Has a pair of large silver-feathered wings

Eyes wandering to the machinery, it was strange to think they'd built it themselves. Jars and vials of plasm were stored in a cabinet, just samples mind you. Papers littered a table next to inventions in the works, and of course, there was a diet soda. Food shouldn't be in an area with ectoplasm, in her mind. She has not seen their microwave yet, nor would she approve. Ursula caught a better view of the plasm analysis as she pondered the lab.

Her plasm was healthy. Of course, it was. What lit more warning bells is that she had Phantoms' plasm on her when she first came into the lab. Her plasm was like normal ghost's, but simply not a type they'd seen before. Silver plasm?  What was silver denoting- what power level was it?

Silver was a supercharged version of grey and even then, it was even weaker than green.

But it was highly stable.

Mrs. Masters curled her wings around her body and gazed out of the containment unit. She'd been here a week even with the kids demanding her freedom, including the youngest. A raven-haired girl sat on the other side of the glass- she smiled widely at the ghost. She held a model rocket, but with glitter smothering it. Glitter on the floor and everywhere- even leaking into the containment unit. It settled on her silvery wings like snow.

“Danny’s gonna love this.” She smiled.  “It’s so sparkly!”

Glitter coated her sweater and hands, clinging to her hair. Maddie and Jack had told Dani not to talk to the ghosts in the basement. Certainly not this one. Danielle, however, was not going to listen when this ghost was a friendly one. One that shouldn’t be trapped. Besides, she was okay with using glitter in the lab.

“Sweetie,” Mrs. Masters started gently. “I think your mom and dad will find out you were here.”

“So?” she looked up with innocent eyes. “You’re not gonna hurt us.”

Mrs. Masters closed her eyes and gave a warm smile, her granddaughter was so sweet! How in the world was she a halfa, though? Was she in the accident with her brother? Poor kids… Dani put her hand to the glass and a slight chill came to Mrs. Masters’ core. Both of them had ice cores. Phantoms of ice and snow and they were only kids.

"They're scared of me sweetie," Ursula explained. "they think I hurt Danny."

Danielle sat right near the glass now. Ursula sat with her legs crossed, trying to spread her wings as much as she could. Cramp. She was getting a horrible cramp. Ow, ow, ow.

"Your core feels," she softened her voice, a little frightened now. "Like Plasmius'"

Silence.

“So,” she asked quietly. “You’re Vlad’s mom?”

Ursula hesitated before nodding.

Vlad Percival Masters, why is she scared? She should not be afraid of you- she is the Fenton’s daughter, right? That look in her eyes is not something I should see.

Neither one realized that Maddie had heard that last part. She had heard her daughter in the basement. The three words were a question, and that question shook Maddie. Maddie Fenton had fully viewed the nodding of the angelic ghost.

"Y-you remember your human life?" Maddie stuttered from the stairwell.

"Of course," Ursula was sitting as if she wasn't in place ghosts feared to the core; she sat as if talking to old friends.

Jack, Madeline, you kids must have encountered too many of the wrong ghosts. To break your trust and make you fear them, even the Phantoms. To the point you can't see he's your son and she's your daughter, to the point you both are paranoid ghosts will take your children away. Sadly, you have to see that humans can be monsters just as much as ghosts can. You fight the ghosts since you can't fight the humans...

 "Mads," Jack breathed from behind her. "I-it has to be a trap."

His eyes widened like saucers, wanting it to be true. Yet, they couldn't deny this ghost had brought home their baby. Hadn't attacked. Hadn't actually possessed anyone. Ursula knew to be patient, they were still as kids in her mind. Last time she saw them she had been alive. That seemed like ages ago, ages. So much had changed...

"Jack?" her voice cracked. "We both know it's her."

 Dani sat down the rocket, stood up, reached over and opened the unit before her parents could stop their little girl. Carefully, Mrs. Masters stepped out and unfurled her wings. Cramped. Cramped, cramped, cramped. Stiff, sore- ow. Next time make it accommodated for wings, please. 

Silence. Coating the air and everything.

More silence, but inside the humans was a cacophony.

Thick, heavy silence from the two fearsome Fentons, and within, a swelling maelstrom.

"Y-" the word died in Maddie's mouth. "Could have..."

"I never wanted to," she explained in sad remembrance of her son's accident.

 Danny and Jazz walked in jaws dropped to find their parents willingly hugging a ghost, with her wings curling lightly as if to hug back. She held Dani gently in her arms. Walking quickly down the stairs, the two joined the reunion in place. Jazz and Danny couldn't help smile at the glitter that covered the ghost and their little sister. It made her wings shimmer softly as if they were in candlelight.

Chapter Text

So the break-out didn't go as planned. Mrs.Masters had brought, only with hours of convincing, the Fenton children with Jack, Maddie, and herself to the facility her daughter was being held.

A different one than she and Danny had been held prisoner in. For human suspects and not ghosts, for one. Eyes darting, she floated above the floor, making sure to avoid the pressure sensors. Dust swirled about revealing the laser alarm system. Cross her once, shame on you. Cross her twice shame on her. Cross her by harming kids and she will fight.

"She did not," an agent scoffed. "That ghost wouldn't harm a fly."

"Exactly." one countered. "but she would harm a human."

Only if you attack the innocent, you dimwits. You went after Danny when he did nothing to you. You hurt him. You kidnap my daughter and threaten the Fentons. You talk about mutilating my son and going after everyone in my family solely because of what Vlad has done. Anyone ever tell you to not enrage a ghost?  Or right, I never told you who I was, now did I?

"Something is watching us..." A third agent stuttered. "This place is ghost proof right?"

"Working on it, we need more funding to finish." agent K drawled before the two adults left the child alone.

She glided past, trying not to scare the child. Shifting into a different light spectrum, or "turning invisible" to avoid frightening him. No, she was only after the two dunderheads who were the cause of most of the animosity between hunters and ghosts. The ones who kidnapped her grandson and her daughter. Never harm her kids without expecting a fight from her. Really, that's one of the few ways to tick her off.

Alarms sounded and agents rushed at her. Guns drawn and shooting at thin air, she darted upward above the attacking agents. Glaring at the two who were pushing the others to shot when half of them would rather not, she snarled. Green bolts found their mark. An angelic ghost fell from the air and to the ground, thoroughly miffed.

Mrs. Masters found herself flinging agents off. Swarming at her they tried to subdue her, priceless, she let her core surge and wind whipped the room. No, she would not be caught again. She was back, oh she was back alright. And these two fools had crossed her one too many times.

Silver eyes blazing, she managed to trap them all in place with wind currents swirling around them, save the two agents she was here for. The agents trapped weren't in any harms way, and in fact she "imprisoned" them to protect them. A gleam in her eyes, for a flash, betrayed she was somehow similar to Plasmius.

“Now,” she whispered. “Leave my family, leave the town of Amity alone.”

Mrs. Masters’ eyes gleamed brightly. They thought grey plasm was weak? Yes, maybe as afar as plasmic shots went, but it was near impossible to destabilize. She’d been in the youngling ghost state for far too long and despite her plasmic "weakness", she had her core's type to give her strength.

Daniel Fenton was the halfa who had been trapped in a youngling stage, so his core was furiously growing. His core would surpass hers easily, yes. As for a full ghost, she was forever stuck in the “lowly” grey plasm state. Thus the elemental side of her core was rivaled by few.

“Fools,” she laughed. “You think I’d let you attack the home of my children?”

Agents K and O were lifted into the air a little as her wings snapped open furiously. Eying them unblinkingly, she gave them a critical look. Not malevolent, but stern. Somehow it was more frightening than outright rage to some of the agents. That she could be so calm as she "attacked." 

"Now," she narrowed her eyes a little, "Where is my daughter?"

"Daughter?" agent K challenged. "You can't remember your human life."

Blazing eyes showed her building anger. Hands shaking she grabbed the front of their shirts. How dare they accuse her of forgetting, not knowing, what they'd done to her children? To her grandchildren? To the town that was a haunted hideaway and a shelter to her family?

"Oh really?" she challenged soft and calm, "You hurt Vlad and Christine first..."

“Mrs. Masters?” Agent K gasped.

All of the other jaws, save Danny's, dropped silently.

A grin flashed across her face before falling into a scowl. Oh, she wouldn't hurt them. Just scare them a little. Make it known that as gentle of a ghost she was, she had her limits of what she would tolerate. Danny, however, couldn't forget Vlad's anger. Mrs. Masters did not know the full vent of her son's anger, his ghostly fueled anger that is.

“Mrs. M, wait!” Danny pleaded. “They’re just idiot jerkfaces!”

Pausing, she heard the horror in his voice. Relaxing her grip she set the two down. They had families too, so she'd never really harm them. Even if they were idiot jerkfaces... Backing away she softened her gaze when she looked to Danny, but it hardened when she stared at agents K and O. Yet, she gradually worked on weakening the windstorms trapping the other agents

“…I don’t need to waste my time with you two scum,” she growled. “Have fun with the lawsuit you curs- we’ll all see you in court.”

“Lawsuit?” they said in disbelief.

“Lawsuit,” she smiled sweetly, but eerily. “And it’s only against you two, the rest are ensured innocence.”

 Turns out that Christine's friend group, including her brother in cousin, had the support of the rest of the agency in springing Christine from this joint. Gregor had heard from word of mouth she was Casper's school counselor. It was crazy that they'd target her. It made a little sense when Gregor find out she saw all three halfas known to exist as a family. Now kidnapping her was dumb if agents K and O knew that.

The other agents blinked and stared at this ghost. They sat their weapons down and hesitantly came closer... She smiled and tried not to flinch- she was still wary of them as long as their superiors were nearby. The white-haired boy was the one to get the closest. Then he let a warm grin spread.

"I'm Eli-" he corrected himself sheepishly, "Gregor. You knew I noticed you and yet," he smiled a little wider. "I wasn't scared of you. I only said something to warn you."

 Danny realized even if Gregor was a jerk while dating, he actually was a decent guy.

A few weeks after the lawsuit.

Mrs. Masters managed to shift to a human disguise once it was only the Fentons watching. She wanted to get this right before she used this around her blood relatives since they'd be far more sensitive to the details. Her gold hair became black, her silver eyes turned to a midnight blue, and her skin went back to its human color. Her dress went from white to a grey color, and the mist from her hidden wings lingered in the air a few seconds after the change was done.

Mrs. Masters laughed lightly, "Vlad's looks take after me a little don't they?"

So the masquerade has begun, and although the public in Amity wouldn't blink at it after a few weeks, rumors have spread that the ghost of the Vlad Masters' mother was suddenly active. So the masquerade goes on, three halfas hiding their ghostly side and a full ghost (usually) walking as a human outside Amity. Now as the legend goes, her ghost is benevolent enough.

Sometimes a vampire spirit can be seen with an angel ghost, or two white-haired kids can be seen floating and swooping in the cold winter air with her watching in love. She often visits Wisconsin University around Christmas, singing in the halls, as she decorates the college unseen. When the students come back, they know a ghost decided to liven up the place.

They know she is a ghost, and that she is the mom of Vlad Masters of all people, but they never know why she'd haunt the college. He was a graduate, but no one knows why she'd haunt the halls. Some say Vlad Masters had a child who had passed away who was buried in Wisconsin. Others say she has buried there herself. Vlad's classmates would all agree it was the accident he was in- she was preventing any more tragedy.

And so she gained the title, Wisconsin Angel.

~Fin~