"Why his friends?"
Vlad hadn't been pondering much as he rested in the Fenton's basement-turned hospital. He was suffering from ecto-acne, and had inflicted the same curse upon the friends of young Daniel. Sure, he could have just gone to Madeline and she would have helped with no objections. Daniel might have protested; but his parents surely would not allow him to intervene with Vlad's well-being. So, why had Vlad resulted to inflicting the same danger on Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley?
There was no denying it; Vlad had given two fourteen year old's a potentially fatal disease as motivation for Daniel to find a cure. Why would he do such a thing? It was basically an attempt at murder…Why did he not entrust his life to Daniel? The boy would not have let Vlad die; they were both still human, after all. Danny would have allowed Vlad to be saved despite their animosity towards each other, no doubt about it. Maybe the boy would object to it initially before offering a hand, he had when Vlad confronted them at the Nasty Burger.
That was a good enough excuse.
Vlad reasoned that he couldn't risk Daniel's hesitation…and the boy would certainly not hesitate if his friend's lives' were on the line. Problem was, deep in his mind, Vlad knew Daniel never needed motivation. Vlad never had to threaten the lives of the boy's dearest friends just to ensure either life or the last laugh. So then, why? The answer was not one Vlad would even admit to himself. If Vlad were to have been in Daniel's position, with his enemy approaching him for help and mercy, he would have laughed and gladly watched that enemy suffer until death. Such an atrocity would never have even graced Daniel's mind.
If Vlad hadn't sickened Daniel's friends, the boy would have proven himself the better person, even if just to Vlad. By making the boy's friends sick, Vlad made sure there was no generosity. He made Daniel's actions self-beneficial. Somewhere deep in Vlad's mind, he could not allow Daniel to demonstrate mercy towards him. No way. Vlad was always the superior, the puppet master, the strongest, smartest, fastest, most experienced…He would not be outdone by a half-grown little rat like Daniel. Most of all, beaten in a test of mercy. Impossible.
Daniel couldn't be better than Vlad. At least the boy never proved he was, and Vlad intended for it to remain that way.
...
A/N
I really like this one. I'm starting to think I have a time-share in Vlad's head, with as much time as I've been spending there lately. Wrote this one a while ago. I could swear I published it...I was actually quite confused for a while, because I didn't have it written in a document, then I thought I must have dreamed it, but no! Just in a stack of digital notes on my computer. Go-figure.