Eeeeeeeee! People reviewed me! And they want more! /happydance
So yeah. I'll answer some reviews. (Shadow Moss got a reply via email because it was the first one I saw before logging off.)
Ivylei-67: I can see where you're coming from with Vlad being exceptionally soft. He's being so nice to Danny partly because of his obsession with Danny, and partly because they both know what the GiW do to ghosts, and not even Vlad is heartless enough to want to leave Danny in their hands. Plus, if Danny dies, he no longer has someone to mould in his image. ;D But I like to think Danny is starting to rub off on him a bit, since he's rubbing off on Danny.
And panic is justified when you learn that someone who wants to perform lots and lots of painful experiments on you has just discovered who you are. xD
Pearl84: Omgggggg. I love Checkmate~ Is it weird that I feel honoured to have you review my story? Well, I feel honoured when anyone reviews my stories...
Thanks for the advice concerning detail. I always find it a bit hard to relay my thoughts into words. D; I'll be trying to flesh out the chapters a bit more in the future.
AnneriaWings: Don't worry; Vlad will regain some of his flair soon. He's safe in the Ghost Zone! But "his little badger" is not, so expect angry badassery.
PhantomMouse1115: Looks like you got your wish!
Oh, I'll do a small bit of explanation, since this was good enough to be a full story. It's set in series three, between D-Stabilized and PP. Vlad's obviously a bit mellower than cartoon Vlad, but he'll still kick butt (I promise!)
Valerie knows about Vlad (natch) and is more tolerant to Phantom, but still does not know about him being Fenton. Well, she does now, but that's irrelevant.
Maddie and Jack are still completely ghost crazy. They didn't know Danny F was Danny P until the last chapter.
......................
Amity Park was devastated. Their hero was a fifteen year old boy! But he wasn't going to be protecting them any time soon. Shortly after his unexpected reveal, Danny Fenton had been captured by the Guys in White, a Government organisation bent on the capture and experimentation of ghosts. His arrest was recorded by a young film student, who promptly sold it to Action News. They had aired a message saying the footage would be shown that night, as it was urgent.
Sam and Tucker sat in their Health class, not paying attention to Tetslaff. In turn, she left the two to their own devices, rightly assuming that they were unable to focus after their best friend's capture. Unfortunately, the rest of the class did not grant them this pleasure. Dash and Paulina frequently threw notes to Sam and Tucker, who blatantly ignored them. Sam had the feeling she already knew what the A-Listers were asking. She didn't know the answer.
Tucker glanced over at his Goth friend, and was surprised to see a tear make its way down her cheek. Sam rarely showed any emotion, even when Danny was involved. He understood though. He had done his fair share of crying. He briefly thought about Jazz. She had been taken to Principal Ishiyama's office, and had been picked up by her parents shortly afterwards. Tucker felt bad for the Fentons. Not only did Danny's parents have to deal with the news that their son was half ghost, they had lost him to the Government. He gazed up at the clock and sighed. Why couldn't the school just let them go home?
......
Jazz lay on Danny's bed. She breathed in the musky smell of his room, and tried not to cry. Her parents were downstairs in the lab, throwing things at the walls if the noise was any indication. She didn't blame them. Casting puffy red eyes across the NASA posters and model rockets that littered her brother's room, Jazz briefly wondered if Danny was even still alive. She buried her face into Danny's pillow and howled. Their family had been torn apart.
......
Jack threw a lab table at the wall. It clanged uselessly against the metal surface and fell onto another lab table, shattering the beakers that were still intact on it. Maddie watched dully from her vantage point on the stairs. None of their research seemed important now. Their son was gone, their friend chased into the Ghost Zone, and their portal destroyed. Well, Jack had seen Vlad as a friend, but Maddie refused to even let his name be spoken in the house. Not any more, not after today.
They had heard the GiW announce the true identities of the Wisconsin Ghost and Inviso-Bill while out on patrol. Hurrying to the school, they were just in time to see their son and Vlad flee in the direction of FentonWorks before being chased by what looked like half of the GiW entire staff. They had tailed Vlad and so missed the capture of Danny, since they kept moving when Vlad turned back.
"We can help them; we can make them human again!" Jack had exclaimed happily. Maddie wasn't interested in anything like that for the moment. She just wanted to hold her baby and tell him she was sorry for hunting him.
When they reached the house, Jack and Maddie hurried inside and headed for the basement. They could hear somebody already in there. Jack made to call out, but Maddie stopped him. There was a high chance it was the GiW, and they would not be here for a friendly chat.
Maddie had crept down the stairs and was surprised to see Vlad, standing alone in front of the portal. Jack followed her and both of them stared silently at the man. They flinched when his fist smashed into the wall beside the portal. The metal wall was severely dented, and Maddie could feel the waves of fury and sadness flowing off her once-close friend. He muttered something that she couldn't hear, but Jack did, and he stiffened. Then Vlad dove into the portal. Maddie stepped forward, as if to follow him, but Jack grabbed her and hauled her behind a table just as the portal exploded into tiny pieces. Maddie screamed in fury. The swine! He'd destroyed the only link to their son! In her fury and anguish, she didn't notice Jack letting go of her. He sank to the ground, his hands curled into fists.
"They have him." His voice cut through Maddie's anger like a knife through warm butter.
"What?"
"Just then, Vlad said he was going to find someone, then he was going to rescue Danny. Mads, they've got Danny." Jack turned to look at her, his eyes filled with sorrow. Maddie could hear a keening wail fill the basement. When Jack reached out to hold her, she realised she was making the noise and she collapsed into his arms.
The Guys in White had captured her son, and only a miracle would pry him out of their hands.
......
That night, every person in Amity Park was glued to Action News. The presenter, a young blonde woman named Tiffany Snow, rushed through minor news segments. It was clear she was uninterested in anything but the "main event". The entire town agreed with her.
"And now, we come to tonight's big news story. Danny Phantom, Amity Park's resident hero, was captured today by the Guys in White after his secret identity, Danny Fenton, was revealed. As many people know, the Guys in White are a branch of the government dedicated to protecting humanity from dangerous ghosts. It makes you wonder why they went after Phantom." Tiffany laughed bitterly with that last sentence, but continued with her spiel after prompting from an off-screen voice.
"Danny's violent 'arrest' was recorded live by an amateur film student. We are showing this in the hopes that the government will be shamed into releasing Danny Fenton. Please note that there are scenes that may be distressing to young children or those of a delicate nature." Tiffany turned to her left, where she knew the video would be originating. She couldn't see it here in the studio, but every member of Action News had watched the tape at least once. The images were practically burnt into her retinas. They sickened her to her very core.
At home, Sam sat gripping her chair with black lacquered nails. Her parents sat rigidly on a flowery sofa, sneaking glances at their daughter. Only her grandmother attempted to comfort the girl. The living room was silent as the video began.
A black figure flew through the sky, ignoring the gasps and shouts on the pavement below. The view jostled and heavy breathing could be heard as the camera owner ran after Danny, desperately attempting to keep the focus on the halfa.
"Oh man, oh man, I can't believe I'm actually filming this!" A joyful voice panted. Shouts of surprise could be heard as the camera dodged from side to side, narrowly avoiding bystanders.
The cameraman skidded to a halt when several white figures shot through the sky after Danny, shooting wildly.
"Oh, shi-" The disembodied voice started running again. Yet more heavy breathing, as the cameraman desperately tried to keep his camera on the action.
Suddenly, Danny stopped in midair and screamed. A small dart protruded from his shoulder blades. Electricity seemed to arc from it to the rest of his body, before he plummeted.
"No!" No more movement towards the action. Before Danny hit the ground, three more darts struck him, provoking even more screams. There was an audible crunch when his lithe form struck the pavement.
"Oh my God! What the hell are they doing?" And yet, the cameraman did nothing. Four more darts were fired; four more screams echoed in the air. The black covered body twitched violently on the ground.
"Daniel!" A voice shouted out from above. The camera swung up to show a vampiric ghost dressed in white floating in the air.
"V-Vlad... Get out of he-here..." Danny's voice could just get heard. It was painfully weak.
"Are you insane? I'm not leaving you!" The vampire ghost yelled before dodging the attacks of the Guys in White.
"Dani is... is in the Ghost Zone. You... you have to protect her!" Back to Danny. Ectoplasm was dripping out of the corner of his mouth. He wrapped his arms around his waist and sobbed in pain.
"Oh God..." The camera began to shake.
"Danny!" Anger and remorse flickered across Vlad's face as he gazed down at Danny.
"Go!" The younger halfa spat out ectoplasm. It spattered across the pavement and sizzled visibly. Vlad was clearly torn, but he turned and flew away.
Danny smiled faintly before slumping to the ground. White rings swept across his body, returning him to his human form. Even unconscious, the darts were continuing to electrocute him.
"Daniel Fenton! If you refuse to come quietly, we will have to use force!" One of the government officials stepped forward and pointed a gun at the prone teenager.
"He's frickin' out cold! What is he gonna do to you?" A man on the opposite side of the road yelled. The camera spun to face him. He wasn't alone. There were several people stood around in varying degrees of shock.
"He is a dangerous half-ghost, half-human hybrid! He could kill at any time!"
"He's a kid! And you shot him out of the sky!" The same man was yelling.
"He's never hurt anyone! In fact, Phantom has saved our lives plenty of times!" It was a woman calling out this time.
The official who had spoken - he seemed to be their leader - turned and murmured to one of his colleagues, who nodded and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. They emitted a low green glow. The man hesitantly walked towards Danny, followed by two other Guys in White who had guns trained on the unconscious boy. One swift movement later, and the teen's arms were secured behind his back. A white van pulled up, blocking the view of those on the other side of the road. The side of the van opened, and Danny was hauled inside.
"What about the other hybrid?" One of the men asked. The leader shook his head.
"Long gone. We'll have to make do with the child one. There's potentially a third one, from the scant conversation between the child and the adult. They mentioned another Danny. For now, take the child to headquarters. Make sure he doesn't come round. If he wakes up, he could try and break those handcuffs." The other man nodded and stepped into the van, sliding the door closed. It sped off down the road, leaving a small group of GiW behind.
"Is that guy recording us?" One of the Guys in White turned to the camera; the camera turned and fled. Images of horrified citizens flooded the view of the camera as it jolted about. Eventually, the cameraman ran down an alley and stopped.
"They... They killed Phantom?" A heaving breath, and the video ended.
......
Tucker stared at the screen in front of him. He was dimly aware that his parents were talking to him, shaking his shoulders, but all he saw was Tiffany Snow, tracks of black mascara trailing down her cheeks. All he heard was very voice, shaking with anger, telling Amity Park that the cruelty demonstrated by the GiW proved they were not to be trusted.
That hadn't happened, right? They hadn't tortured Danny, hadn't shot him from the sky. That hadn't been Vlad acting so upset and refusing to leave Danny alone on the street. It was a trick.
It had to be. It had to be!
Tucker let out a moan. Danny had been taken prisoner, and Vlad had narrowly avoided the same fate. He and Sam had learnt from Jazz that Vlad had fled into the Ghost Zone using the Fenton Portal, destroying it in the process. Sam said that Vlad had told Danny that the Wisconsin Portal was also destroyed. When Jazz pressed her about how she knew, Sam had whispered "I heard it over the Fenton Phones."
Sam had heard every minute of the chase, and Danny's capture, until the headphones had shorted. Tucker felt bad for his friend. She was in love with the halfa, and his arrest had torn her apart. But not as much as it had torn apart the Fentons. Tucker and Sam could both hear the sobs of Jazz and Danny's parents. It was horrible.
"We have to get him back." Tucker mumbled, not paying attention to his parents' gasps. He pushed past them to the hall. His father, Maurice, called out, but Tucker ran through the door.
They had to get him back!
......
Sam never took her eyes off the video while it played, but afterwards she began to shake. Her breath came in short pants and she rocked back and forth unconsciously. Her parents remained still, horrified by the video and their daughter's reaction. Only Sam's grandmother acted. She pulled a paper bag from what seemed like midair and forced Sam to breathe into it. Rubbing a soothing hand on Sam's back, the old woman waited until the young Goth's panicked breathing turned into sobs. Then she drew the girl into her arms, muttering soft words of condolence.
"I... I have to go see Jazz. And Tucker." Sam hiccupped.
"Then hurry, babushka. Hurry to them." And Sam did. She fled the house. She fled to the only two people she knew would understand.
......
Jazz had forced herself to watch the video. As soon as her brother started screaming, she began to wish she hadn't. Her parents stood in the kitchen doorway, watching silently. When Danny hit the ground, there was a sharp crack from their direction. Snapping her head towards them, Jazz saw that her father had snapped part of the wall off. He didn't even blink. He just dropped it and kept watching the television.
They watched as Vlad attempted to help Danny. They watched as Danny sent him away. They watched as their son, their brother, their Danny was bundled into a van and driven away.
Jazz couldn't cry any more. The tears wouldn't flow. She was pretty sure her parents couldn't cry either. They were all so exhausted.
The sudden banging on the door startled Jazz, and her parents. Jazz swiftly moved to see who it was. She swore quietly in surprise when she saw Sam and Tucker outside. Funny. She wasn't usually the swearing type. The door swung open and the two teenagers hurled themselves inside.
"We have to do something!" Sam cried out.
"Anything!" Tucker panted. Despite living closer to the Fentons, he was more out of breath than his Goth friend.
"What can we do?" Everyone turned to look at Jack, stunned at his defeated tone of voice.
"What are you talking about, Mr. Fenton? We can find him, break him out-!" Jack raised a hand to cut off Sam.
"We can't fight the government. They'll make laws up to stop us. They'll lock us up and throw away the key. If only... If only I'd gone faster, followed Danny instead of Vlad! We could have taken him away instead of letting them take him!" Jack broke down, the stress of the day falling on him hard. Maddie wrapped her arms around her husband's shoulders.
"You're just going to leave him?" Sam snapped.
"Sam, enough!" Tucker begged, but his feisty friend paid him no attention.
"Of course we aren't going to leave him in their hands." Jazz cut in. All eyes turned to her. She folded her arms and glared back at them all.
"We just need a plan."
.....................
Oh, snap! Another chapter done!
Next chapter, you have the prospect of one or two of the following:
1. The revelation from the view of the A-Listers, Valerie and Lancer
2. Danny waking up in the GiW facility
3. Vlad in the Ghost Zone.
I might end up mashing a couple of those together, but they'll probably all get done at some point.
If you reviewed on my first chapter, but I haven't replied, don't worry, I'll reply either personally or in the next chapter.
Auf wiedersehen for now!
