Hey everyone! I know everybody's waiting for the newest chapter of Betrothed, but I just needed to write this. PLOT BUNNY ATTACK (among other reasons stated after the story is finished). The next chapter of Betrothed is ALMOST FINISHED! Patience! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom *sadness powers activate*

Vlad sat in his overstuffed armchair, staring out the window at the dreary day, watching the rivulets of rain race down the pane of glass. He recalled his childhood, when he used to see which droplet would reach the bottom first. How did he ever become so alone? Ah, yes. Jack Fenton. Vlad narrowed his dull blue eyes and glared at nothing in particular. Now that he was finally cured of his ecto-acne, he finally knew the reason for his condition.

He'd told Jack several thousand times not to drink soda in the lab or during a project! Jack didn't think; Jack never thought. And Vlad paid for Jack's carelessness with his own humanity. Vlad sighed. The day he lost it all, he had planned to tell Maddie that he loved her. Up until that day, Maddie and Jack had never shown any interest in each other. Neither one of his "best friends" had come to visit him in the hospital. His thoughts switched to his hospital stay.

His admission into the hospital marked the beginning of the worst period of his life. He received few visitors. The only people who had entered the dismal hospital room were a couple family members, and his nurses. Vlad had always been a nice boy. He had so many friends in his youth. He was the president of his class in high school and was voted Prom King in his Junior and Senior years. Surely, some of those friends would have come through for him. No such luck. Everyone was busy going on with their lives. Sure, he received cards, flowers, chocolates, balloons, and cheerful teddy bears wearing little t-shirts that said 'Get Well Soon!' Not even Jack and Maddie bothered to visit. They didn't even call.

Vlad paused in his thoughts, stroking his goatee. This day seemed particularly awful to him, but why? He couldn't put his finger on it. He strained to recall the date, and he didn't feel up to checking the calendar. He remained in his comfortable chair watching the rain and his memories picked up where they left off.

Though Maddie had never visited or called, she had sent countless letters to him, informing him of recent happenings at school as well as gossip. The only detail she had neglected to include was her relationship with Jack.

Three years later, Vlad's ecto-acne had cleared up, though he felt some residual pain in his cheeks and forehead and still felt incredibly weak. Odd things had been going on around the young man, like how he occasionally awoke on the floor underneath his bed and spilled numerous glasses of orange juice because his cup slipped out of his hands so many times. Vlad had blamed his medication when he woke up under his bed. He believed he had been sleepwalking. And luckily, he was alone each time he found himself in that predicament, so he was never plagued by the task of explaining himself.

One day, quite out of the blue, instead of his weekly letter from Maddie, he had found himself opening a fancy cream-colored envelope with shiny, gold lettering on the front, "To Mr. Vlad Masters." Vlad was perplexed as he ripped open the envelope to find an invitation – to Jack and Maddie's wedding. He read through Maddie's small note to him in disbelief at least thirty times, each time growing more furious.

Dear Vlad,

I know I should have told you about my relationship with Jack, but I never knew how to word it. We were the three musketeers, and I didn't want to make that friendship feel awkward. I should not be making excuses. I should have told you so much sooner; when it first started three years ago. I understand that it may be coming as a shock to you, but I really hope you can make it. Jack and I miss you very much.

Sincerely,

Maddie

Vlad finally snapped. His anger grew to an uncontrollable level. The invitation went up in pink flames as he clutched it in one fist. He didn't even notice in his rage. He let out a scream of agony and transformed suddenly, black rings enveloping his body. He caught sight of the mirror in the bathroom across from him through the open doorway. The figure he saw was not himself, but a blue-skinned, red-eyed, vampiric creature. He staggered back, shocked by his reflection and collapsed on the bed, transforming back into his normal self just as a worried nurse entered. He covered for himself, telling her he had just had a nightmare during his nap, somewhat believing the lie himself. She regarded him with skepticism and left the room. It was then that he noticed the charred remains of the invitation and reality came rushing back. That day, he began to learn how to use and control his powers.

Vlad couldn't decide whether that was a good memory or a bad one. He had finally learned about his abilities, but the way he did it was so painful and awful…

After five lonely years in the hospital, Vlad was cleared to leave. After that agonizing day he had discovered his ghost powers, he had begun to plot. All traces of the sweet, innocent, caring Vlad who had existed before were gone. He would become the wealthiest man alive. Vlad spent five years attaining his fortune. He overshadowed countless millionaires, forcing them to sell him their business empires and give him large sums of money. He robbed banks all over the country. No one could find the perpetrator. There was no evidence, not even on the security camera. Vlad's powers made sure of that. He would win Maddie over. He secretly hoped that she'd see him in magazines and on television and come running back. The thought made him slightly giddy, although it never actually happened. He vaguely recalled the novel The Great Gatsby, which he had read in high school. In the excitement of his newfound fortune, Vlad could not remember how it ended, but he did remember that Gatsby did something similar to this to win back Daisy, the object of his affections.

As Vlad sat in his armchair, he finally remembered that, though Daisy and Gatsby rekindle their romance, things end tragically for Gatsby, who meets his demise. Vlad cursed F. Scott Fitzgerald for providing the depressing ending that did not give the billionaire any reassurance. He returned to his thoughts and skipped ahead.

In ten years, Vlad had become very accomplished. He decided it was time to put his plans into action. He sent as many mercenaries as possible to test Jack Fenton's ghost hunting prowess, and ordering them to kill him if they were able to. However, each ghost he sent returned with stories of an unfamiliar ghost child who defeated them. From the research Vlad had gathered from multiple sources, mostly Skulker, Vlad learned the boy's name was Danny Phantom and he started appearing a few months after the completion of the Fenton Portal, Jack Fenton's latest experiment, based on the one which ruined his life. After the failure of all of his minions, Vlad decided to take matters into his own hands.

He sent the invitations to all of his college classmates, announcing the gathering of the year: a college reunion. The majority RSVPed, obviously not wanting to miss such a gala, including Jack and Maddie, who also included that they'd be there early so they could spend time with him. It had been years since he had contacted them. The day of the Fentons' arrival, Vlad's butler alerted him to a rather large and unusual recreational vehicle rolling down the lengthy, gravel-lined driveway.

Vlad remembered how meticulous his morning routine became that day. Not one hair had been out of place. Each article of clothing had been ironed nine times. He had straightened his tie and gone to wait outside in the doorway. As soon as he saw the two children exit the vehicle, his heart had wrenched in jealousy. Those should have been his beautiful children.

He took a deep breath and emerged from the shadows just as the happy family trudged up the steps. He quickly looked over all of them before greeting them, beginning with the red-haired young woman who resembled her mother. He looked over Jack, who had since traded the lab coat he had worn in college for a Day-Glo orange spandex jumpsuit and had possibly doubled in size. Vlad's concealed anger grew tenfold as he took in the man's goofy smile. His gaze lingered longest on Maddie, whose turquoise jumpsuit accentuated her curves and whose cropped haircut framed her face beautifully. He ended with the adolescent boy. Something about him seemed familiar somehow. Vlad pondered this as he led the love of his life and her children into the house and locked Jack outside.

Maddie introduced him to her children, Jasmine and Daniel, and he was rather pleased that she didn't immediately return to the door to let the big oaf in. Vlad shook his head. He didn't even remember the rest of that day. All he knew was that Jack continued to blather on about ghosts as he gave the family a tour of the castle, that Maddie, as well as her children and Vlad, was incredibly irritated by Jack's numerous overzealous explanations, despite her love of ghosts and her husband. It gave Vlad false hope.

It was that night that truly stood out to Vlad. It was the night he realized he wasn't so alone after all. He could tell that Danny Phantom was a half-ghost, like him, even if Skulker hadn't informed him. But he had no way of knowing who he was. Skulker, among other ghosts, wouldn't disclose the information for fear of competition, no matter how much he was willing to pay. He tried hinting to the boy that they were alike during their first battle, calling his battle tactics and abilities, "so year one." He couldn't possibly have expected that the boy was Daniel Fenton. (Though, later that night, after he deposited the boy in his room, he slammed his head on his desk for being oblivious to the similarities between the names "Danny Phantom" and "Danny Fenton"). How did the boy acquire his powers? Vlad imagined it had something to do with the Fenton Portal.

The boy was the son of ghost hunters, and, though Jack Fenton was a bumbling ignoramus, his inventions had a surprisingly high rate of success. How did the boy manage to remain under the radar? Vlad stared out at the rain and paused briefly in his thinking, watching the grey clouds roll by through the raindrop spattered windows, and then resumed.

The boy's ability to keep his powers a secret was one of the primary things that appealed to Vlad. He had to be very sly and sneaky to avoid detection by his parents' inventions. The boy possessed cunning much akin to Vlad's own. It was this thought that got Vlad thinking about other similarities. That night, Vlad decided to be the child's mentor, whether Daniel liked it or not.

The plan that night was sure to fail because of Danny Phantom; Vlad realized that, but still had to at least try. The pieces were all in place and he wasn't going to let the ghost child stand in his way. It could have gone much more smoothly if Vlad had not made that one fatal flaw: revealing his other half. Vlad didn't know what possessed him to reveal his true self to the child on the night of the reunion. He had made the realization that his plan would most likely fall to shambles, but disclosing his true identity ruined all subsequent plans as well. The boy would never trust him again! Vlad attempted to create numerous memory-erasing devices that would suit his needs, but none would work the way he desired. There was no solution that wouldn't damage Daniel's mind.

He sighed, examining his fingers absentmindedly. It was that one error that ruined Vlad's chances of ever having a son and the woman of his dreams. He pondered over and over in his mind the possible reasons for doing this and concluded that it was a mixture of his rage and envy at Jack Fenton and his need to be accepted; accepted by the only other one of his kind, the boy who should have been his son.

He tried making his own versions of Daniel, unsuccessfully ending up with a enormous, grey lunkhead, half of a blackened skeletal structure that unsettled him so much he required it to wear a sheet, a demonic and incredibly unstable version that could shrink to the size of a pea, and a treacherous twelve-year-old girl. They ruined his technology and lost all of his information, ruining his best chance of gaining the perfect half-ghost son.

Vlad stared out the window once more, closing his eyes and trying to clear his head. What day was it today? Why did he wake up feeling so depressed? He stood, walked to the kitchen, and checked his calendar. It was his birthday. He hadn't gotten a single call, message, or visitor to wish him well. Another year older…

This story was written for a variety of reasons:

1: A plot bunny attacked me. This is partly based on the song "Master of Disaster" by Seether. (Which I don't own. I'm really thorough with disclaimers). I thought it kind of describes Vlad's feelings toward Jack "You stole my dreams…"

2: I want to work on my description. So I wrote a story without any dialogue (Hence the title). I feel I've improved a bit!

3: I kind of wanted to give input on how Vlad got his powers and fill in some holes in the plot (for example, in "Bitter Reunions," Vlad remarks that Danny's ectoplasmic energy blasts are "so year one," and makes it sound like he knew Danny was Phantom already, then sounds somewhat surprised when Danny turns human again. I'm not sure if he was being sarcastic when he said "Well, what do you know?" sinisterly and evilly, but still…)

4: I feel bad for Vlad. He's such a lonely guy.

5: We were reading The Great Gatsby in school and Gatsby's use of his money reminded me of Vlad. And Gatsby dies at the end for those who don't know. It's a good, but depressing book.

Till next time!

TheNumberFour