Um, Hello. Well, this is my very first fanfic. I hope you guys enjoy! Just before we begin; I just want to state that love Danny Phantom, and I am a DXS shipper. Though; I only watched a few episodes of the show. For one reason or another, Nickelodeon doesn't show Danny Phantom anymore, so I have only watched till episode 15.

I can safely say though, that this fic is placed before PP, and Danny and Sam are both 17. Don't ask more questions on where exactly it takes place in the timeline, don't worry about it, actually, it won't be important in this fanfiction.

I got the inspiration for the beginning chapters from the novel Candor. Of course, in an awesome DP style. But don't worry, the plot will leave Candor, after a few chapters, and float on its own.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Danny Phantom, or any of its characters. Nor the plot line of Candor. Or, basically anything else you recognize that might remotely resemble something anyone else owns.

Sacrifices

Prologue

Sunlight illuminated the room full of papers, letters, junk mail, and envelopes. The office was a neat and plain one, like all the others in the town; The mahogany chairs and matching table expertly polished, the faint smell of coffee and old books lingering in the air, the faint – almost undetectable – music playing in the air, the calming atmosphere bought by the dim sunlight, the plush plum carpets. It all seemed fitting.

In the room, stood Danny Fenton, working animatedly with the flyers, accompanied by a fake, plastic smile on his face. Once all the leaflets were neatly piled up, he glanced at the reflection of the pathetic excuse of a town he lived in, through the window.

Amity park. There are no birds chirping, no mid-autumn breeze blowing the bushes, no faded children's laughter in the background; it's as if a sound-proof blanket has covered the city, letting the little spark of life within, diminish away.

It's weird how the weather can reflect his moods.

There isn't anything to notice, really: all the old Victorian houses painted elegantly white, the perpendicular windows draped generously with dark velvet curtains, all the lawns neatly trimmed to a proper, fitting manner. Neat, sweetly polished, calm cool and collective; that's the nice and easy town of Amity for you.

Obviously, the town is perfect. Not a hair out of place.

Odd, you might think, that a city with so much madness can be so calm. Well, let's just say that: If you stick around, you will get the message.

Being controlled by Vlad, that is.

Danny grit his teeth and stiffened his jaw. The smile was no longer there.

It happened like an insignificant blur. He was very young when his family died, leaving him and Jazz alone. Being the closest of friends with his dad, Vlad offered to take care of the two defenseless orphans. Jazz refused, and without a seconds chance was sent to boarding school, out of Amity.

Danny hasn't seen her since.

Vlad then soon took over the city. He was just seven. So little. So young. So stupid. He never knew how Vlad did it, how he managed to do it, but it was done, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

It was as if he wasn't in control of his body. He would get up at six in the morning – on the dot, without an alarm clock - and he would get ready for school as if it was programmed inside him like a robot. He would do his laundry. He would do all his homework. He would do his chores without complaint. He would never miss curfew. He was the top of all his classes. He was perfect, obedient, just like all the other kids in the city.

Until, one night he experienced the same thing.

He snuck in to the basement – the forbidden part of the house, the house that he and Vlad lived in - and found a pleasant surprise; it was a laboratory. And it had a weird portal in the far corner of it.

He discovered ectoplasm. He became half ghost. He also discovered how Vlad did it.

He sends ectoplasmic messages, to the human brain, and he controls them. He controls everyone, all the people of the city. Through the music. Through the soft melody you hear, hidden in speakers all around the city, he makes you do things.

Like wake up at six in the morning and get ready for school without the need of an alarm clock.

Being half ghost meant that he could use his own ectoplasm and resist the messages. He can be his own self, but he still needs to blend in with the others, so that things don't look suspicions. The last thing he wants is to go into the 'listening room'. He shuddered at the thought.

Hence, the reason he is here, in a dinky shop that people from outside the city, come inside the city to visit. To book a space for their child, to live here. This little office/shop, is where he works. Well, this is where Vlad wants him to work, but he only actually does to keep up the act.

Now, why on earth would any sane parent want their child to live in a city that is being mind controlled, you ask?

Two reasons. One; no one except Vlad, who does the mind controlling, and Danny, who found out what he has been up to, knows about the messages.

Two; it looks so promising. It is, actually. He looks guiltily down at the brochure.

'Got a rebel in your hands? Does your child need discipline? Drinking problem? Depression? No matter what the problem; it can all be solved here. Amity: The place where you can start again!'

It's not a metaphorical statement, either.

With a final huff of exasperation, he slumped in his chair.

There was nothing he could do about it. Yet.

The door creaked open, sending a soft ding echoing through the room.

Ok, let me clear one thing for you guys; Vlad doesn't know that Danny is half ghost, and Danny doesn't know that Vlad is a half ghost either. Ok? Any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks for reading. The first chapter will be up sooner than you think. Please review.

~Mark the tiny giraffe.