Danny could hear nothing but his own heavy panting and his footsteps as he ran. His chest hurt from running so far and so long, but he couldn't stop. He ran as if his very life depended on it; which it probably did. Almost there, he thought. Come on, Danny, just a bit farther. You can make it.
He saw the mansion in the distance. Vlad Masters' house. If he could just get there, he might be safe. It seemed like hours before he finally reached the house. He rang the doorbell and yelled, "VLAD!"
It took what felt like ages before the door opened. Vlad looked very annoyed. "Daniel, it is almost 1 in the morning, what are you doing ringing my doorbell at this late hour?"
"V-Vlad, please. I need your h-help." Danny gasped.
"Daniel, what's wrong?" Vlad asked, a concerned look replacing the annoyed one.
"N-no time to explain." Danny said. "Please."
Vlad moved aside and ushered the boy inside. "Please, Daniel, tell me what's going on."
Danny locked the door and sat down. "W-water first. Ran all the… way here."
Vlad nodded and ran off to the kitchen, returning a few moments later with a glass of ice water. "Why did you run? Why didn't you use your ghost form and fly?" He asked.
Danny looked at Vlad, then looked down sadly. "Because I can't."
"Why can't you?" Vlad sat down beside Danny.
"I'm not Danny Phantom anymore. I'm just ordinary Danny Fenton." Danny whispered. "They separated us. They still have Phantom."
"Daniel, what are you talking about? Who are 'they'?" Vlad seemed confused.
Danny sighed. He really didn't want to talk any more about this. "I'll… I'll tell you later." He said. "Don't wanna think about it right now."
Vlad nodded understandingly. How many times had he wanted to just forget about something? He draped a blanket over Danny's shoulders. "Alright, Daniel. You can tell me when you're ready."
"Alright, Phantom, nap time's over." His captors, the Guys In White, entered the room.
Phantom lay against the wall, crying. His wrists were in chains and his ankles chained to the floor. "Danny," he whispered, "What did you do to him?"
"He got away." One of them responded. "But we caught him, and punished him.
Phantom had no way of knowing whether or not they were telling the truth, "Y-you're lying," he whispered.
"Not at all, Phantom." Another one said. "Not at all."
Phantom curled up and bit his lip. "Is he still alive, at least?"
"Yes." The first one said.
"Let me see him." Phantom whispered.
"No."
For a moment, sorrow and anger seemed to be fighting within him. The anger won. He leapt up and lunged at the first one, but the chains on his ankles held him back. His eyes glowed with anger and he yelled, "YOU SCUM! YOU FILTHY BASTARDS!"
One of them pulled out some sort of ghost tazer and zapped him. "Down, boy."
Phantom cried out in pain and fell to the ground. The anger faded and was replaced once again by sadness. He started sobbing again. The Guys In White left, but he didn't notice or care.
After a while, though, he realized he was alone again. He focused ectoplasmic energy in his hands and started trying to break the chains holding him. He knew they were ghost-proof, but that wouldn't stop him from trying.
Danny woke up on Vlad's couch. He hadn't even known he'd fallen asleep. Vlad was sitting on a chair nearby, reading. "Unh…" He groaned.
Vlad put his book down. "Good morning, Daniel." He said.
"G'mornin…" Danny mumbled. "Wha's for breakfast?"
"Waffles, if that's okay." Vlad said.
"Sounds good," Danny said. "Uh, later, d'you think you could come with me… back to that place and try to rescue Phantom?"
Vlad blinked. "Daniel, do you really think that's a good idea?"
Danny nodded. "Phantom's my… uh, Phantom's… well, I care about him, and that's enough, okay? I wanna get him out of there."
Vlad nodded. "I understand." He said. "Very well then."
"Thanks," Danny smiled.
"But it will be dangerous, Daniel." Vlad said.
"I know." Danny said. "It's the Guys In White, obviously it'll be dangerous. And difficult. But… I really want to save Phantom."
Vlad sat beside the boy and smiled. "Then we will save Phantom," He said.
