Thanks for the great reviews everyone! Especially from you Sholay!

I still don't know how this story will go but I'm willing to give it a shot! So here we go with-

Chapter 2: Waking Nightmare

Weird. Danny stretched his arms and legs out as far as they could go, his light blue eyes fluttering open. Weird, but nice. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept so soundly. It seemed as though he hadn't moved in his sleep at all throughout the night.

The teen let out a contented sigh.

But wait… What was…?

Danny's brow knitted together as something in the back of his mind started bubbling to the surface. Had he… dreamed of something last night?

The ghost boy slowly sat up in his bed, eyes staring straight ahead in concentration. Yes, he had dreamed of something last night, but what was it?

The dream itself was very cloudy. No shapes or colors really came to mind when he tried to remember what had happened in it. But he did remember the feelings he had inside the dream, odd as it sounded.

Cold. Yes, he remembered feeling very cold, icy air touching his bare skin. But then he felt warm. Too warm in fact. It had actually burned him. Or at least, it felt like it was burning him.

Burning pain. It coursed through him for a minute before gently cooling down like a slow dying flame leaving a comfortable warmth in its place.

Then there was a voice. A voice that might have made him shiver if he hadn't been so snug in his blanket. It echoed in his mind, "Good night my little Daniel." It was a soft coo, something close to a gentle caress, but the voice itself was deep and haunting. "Good night my little Daniel." As if sealing some sort of promise.

Danny shuddered, rubbing his arms as goose bumps erupted on them. What a weird dream. But the cold shiver disappeared as soon as it came, a strange warmth in his chest quickly spreading and taking its place.

Danny absentmindedly rubbed his chest only find that his shirt was open wide and that-

"AHHHHHH!"

There was a tattoo on his chest.

The raven haired teen fell off his bed in panic sputtering things like, "W-W-W-What i-i-is… H-H-How d-did…?"

However his unintelligible sputter was soon cut short as he heard rushing footsteps up the stairs coming towards his room with the unmistakable sound of his dad's voice shouting, "GHOST!"

"Oh No!" Danny quickly buttoned up his shirt as fast as he could managing to cover up the tattoo just before his parents burst into the room.

"Where is it? ! Where's the ghost? !" His father boomed holding up a large silver gun.

"Danny what's wrong? ! What happened? !" His mother cut in rushing past her husband to get to her son.

"N-Nothing! Nothing's wrong!" Danny said defensively.

"What's going on? !" Jazz asked looking more frightened than both her parents. "I thought I heard Danny scream."

"I didn't scream!" Her little bother argued. Only girls screamed after all. His was more of a manly yell. Yeah, that's was it.

"Did you fall out of bed Sweetie?" Maddie asked noticing the blanket still wrapped around her son's waist even as he sat on the floor.

"Y-Yeah, that's it." Danny answered quickly getting to his feet holding the blanket up to his chest as if his shirt might suddenly turn invisible. "I was just got a little freaked out because, because…"

"Because there was a ghost in your room!" Jack finished, his gun ready to fire. "Where did it go son? ! I'll get that spook and tear it apart molecule by-"

"NO!" Danny shouted a little too forcefully. All three pairs of eyes stared at him. "I mean, there wasn't a ghost. I just had a nightmare or something. But it's fine now! No more nightmare and certainly no ghosts so ummm, if you guys could maybe…" The teen pulled the blanket up even higher, his cheeks turning pink as if his family had burst into his room while he was naked.

"Oh!" Jazz's face lit up in understanding. "Come on you two," Jazz said pushing her parents out of her brother's room. "Let's give Danny a little privacy, he is a teenager now, you can't just going bursting into his room like this anymore."

Maddie started to protest but luckily Jazz already had them out and was closing the door leaving Danny in the silence of his room.

The ghost boy sighed in relief letting the blanket fall to the floor.

"Ok," Danny whispered to himself slowly. "None of that really happened. It was just a dream and when I take off my shirt there won't be any tattoo." He stated as calmly as he could trying to convince himself that it had all been fake. That there had been no ghost in his room last night whispering things to him in his sleep and that there wasn't a black knot printed on his chest.

Closing his eyes tightly Danny blindly removed his shirt and tossed it aside. Then, peaking one eye open, he looked down and paled in horror.

There, right over his heart, was a web of black strings twisting and knotting together like two threads being knit together as one. Danny's heart doubled in pace. H-How did this happen? WHEN did it happen? ! Danny lightly traced the tattoo with his finger half hoping it would rub off like magic marker.

It didn't. Instead it glowed, much like his eyes would when he would become angry or change into Phantom. A bright neon green shined through the tattoo as if there was a glow stick in his chest and the light was seeping through the cracks.

Danny slowly removed his finger and the light slowly died turning back to its dull black color once more. The ghost boy leaned on his bed for support, finding it hard to breath.

What was this thing? How did it get there and why was it there?

The teen experimentally traced his finger along one of the threads on his chest and the tattoo glowed brightly once more.

Did this have something to do with his ghost powers?

Danny let out an annoyed little sigh. Of course it had to do with his ghost powers. It wasn't as if he would wake up with a glowing tattoo on his body if he were a normal teenager. But what did it mean? Was he getting a new ghost power?

The ghost boy had a sinking feeling that wasn't the answer. Aside from the strange tattoo on his chest he didn't look or feel any different.

Well, aside from…

Danny shook his head. Why now of all times did he feel like going out flying?

That was one thing he couldn't make sense of. He had just woken up from a strange dream, found out he has a tattoo on his chest and screamed, or um, yelled so loud that his entire family came charging into his bedroom.

And yet there was a feeling in him that told him to change into Phantom right this second and fly out of his bedroom and go looking around Amity Park.

Looking for what, he had no idea.

"Ugh, this is too weird, and I fight ghosts."

Meanwhile…

Vlad Masters stood in his overly large pallor room gazing out a window at the beautiful Wisconsin landscape.

But it wasn't the scenery he was enjoying.

A smile tucked at his lips. It wouldn't be long now. He'd give it an hour maybe two before he would see Danny Phantom flying over the horizon.

He chuckled softly at the thought. The boy would have so many questions. First would be the mark on his chest of course but that would bring up many others.

Do you have anything to do with this?

What is it?

Why is it on me?

What's going to happen to me?

And Vlad, being the patient man that he was, would let the little badger go through his string of questions before answering with a question of his own. Something along the lines of, "Why Daniel, I'm surprised at you. Barging into someone's home unannounced and accusing them of such things." He could already imagine Danny glaring at him but that glare would soon disappear as soon as he asked, "What makes you think I had anything to do with this, my boy?"

And that simple question would be the start of Daniel's undoing. It would make the boy stop and think about why he believed so strongly that it was him behind the cause of the mark. It would make the boy wonder he had so desperately wanted to see him and ask him for his help, for his guidance.

The start of Daniel's undoing and the beginning of their alliance. Danny wouldn't realize that the mark on his chest was a lot more than just a sign of possession. It was oh so much more. Daniel would be drawn to him now like a moth to the flame. The magnetism he had felt towards the older halfa when they first met would be increased a hundred fold until the boy couldn't bear to leave his side.

And best of all, Danny won't want it any other way. None of it will be against the boy's will. Danny will crave his companionship just as he craved the boy's. With Vlad's essence in the boy they were connected now by something even thicker than blood, a bond that could not easily be broken.

And while Danny can't stay away from him, he'll win the boy over. He'll teach Danny all he needs to know about his ghost powers, spend quality time with him, (something Vlad knew his parents didn't have time for what with their obsession of ghosts taking up all their spare time) show the boy genuine care and even love and everything else would fall into place.

No more villainess schemes or trying to force Danny into joining him. By the time the week was out Danny would be his obedient apprentice, his loyal protégé, and his adoring son.

There would be a few bumps here and there of course. Vlad was not naïve in any sense of the word and certainly wasn't expecting the little hybrid to join him immediately. Daniel was terribly stubborn and thick headed, but that only made his loyalty all the more precious. For the man knew that once the boy had set his heart and mind on something there was no changing it, especially when it came to loyalty.

It was Danny's loyalty that kept him loving and adoring his parents despite their hatred of anything spectral and ghost-like, and his loyalty to Amity Park that kept him risking his life on a daily basis for a town full of ungrateful citizens of which most despised him.

And so once Daniel realized that he felt a genuine love for him, that he accepted the boy just as he was unlike so many others, (his parents included) and that he only wanted what was best for him, (which consequently was being by his side) then Daniel would have no reason not to be loyal to him.

If anything the boy would be more devoted to him than anyone else, Vlad being the only one who could ever fully understand and care about him as a whole.

Vlad walked away from the window, a tranquil smile on his face. It won't be long now…

Back at the Fenton's

Danny was on edge. It wasn't hard to see. Especially not for Jazz.

First was Danny coming downstairs wearing a gray hoodie two sizes too big for him that he had hardly ever worn before. (He was afraid someone might see the black tattoo underneath his thin white shirt) Second, Danny couldn't seem to sit still, even when he was eating breakfast. It was like he had an itch on the bottom of his foot that he couldn't scratch.

Danny just kept tapping his spoon against his cereal bowl while impatiently tapping his foot at the same time as if he was waiting for something important.

Jazz also noticed how Danny seemed to keep rubbing his chest through his overgrown hoodie as if he had something uncomfortable underneath.

"Uh, Danny?" Jazz asked puzzled. "Is something bothering you?"

Danny just kept staring down at his cereal deep in thought and rubbed his chest again.

"Danny!" Jazz reached over the table and grabbed his wrist trying to get his attention.

"What? !" Her little brother snapped pulling his hand away.

"I asked you if something was wrong." She replied, that annoying look of worry on her face. "You won't sit still and you keep itching your chest. Do you have a rash or something?" She reached for the zipper of Danny's hoodie only to have him push his chair out and back away.

"I don't have a rash Jazz! I'm fine!" Danny snapped clutching the front of his hoodie defensively.

"Well you sure aren't acting like it!" The redhead argued back but her face quickly softened. "I'm just trying to help Danny. If something's wrong you can tell me. You know you can trust me."

"There's nothing wrong Jazz." Her little brother replied irritably picking up his untouched cereal and throwing it away. "And I don't need your help either. I can take care of myself." He added stubbornly.

Jazz looked at her brother sadly for a moment. "You don't have to do everything on your own Danny." She said softly. "Everyone needs a little help from time to time. Even you…"

"And how could you possibly help me?" Danny asked a little sharper than he intended. Jazz's turquoise eyes widened. "You don't even understand what I'm going through…"

"Danny…"

"Look I gotta get going or I'm gonna be late for school." The raven haired boy stated quickly and paced out of the kitchen without so much as a glance at his sister.

Jazz stared down at her feet and sighed. "I would understand if you just tell me…"

I hate ending chapters on a sad note but there it is. I hope it's good so far. Next chapter Danny will be at school and he'll tell Sam and Tucker about his "tattoo".

Hehehe, Danny doesn't know what all that mark is going to do to him but he's already feeling the effects. And for as clever as Vlad thinks he's being, he doesn't know all the effects it will have on Danny either…

So stay tuned to find out!

Review and let me know how I'm doing so far ok! I NEED encouragement!