A/N: So thanks for the reviews and stuff again guys! It makes me feel really good. So it's come to my attention that some people might think this is a slash fic. It's not. Sorry if I'm giving off that impression. Vlad's just being protective and Danny is just scared. And sorry for the delay in updates. I've been kinda busy. This next chapter is long, so hopefully that makes up for it! I want to explain the opposite decisions Danny can make in this chapter. Being a teenager, he doesn't know what he really wants, so that's why he'll think one thing one moment and change his mind not too much later. I hope it's not too confusing. And sorry if my description of Wisconsin is wrong. I'm basing it off what I've seen in the show. R/R! Oh, and I still don't own Danny Phantom. Wish I did, but I don't.
Danny's POV
My heart stopped beating, I'm sure. My face was flushed of all color, and my eyes were wide. Vlad thinks the Guys In White know what we actually are. But...how? There's no way. Absolutely no way. It's impossible.
"You're lying." was the only thing my primitive mind could come up with to explain what Vlad just said.
"I'm not, Danny. We both have a lot at stake here." Vlad reasoned with me. I couldn't hear him, though. I couldn't hear the engine of the limo or the sound of the tires moving over the road. I couldn't hear. I began to panic. What if they call my parents? What would they do? Would my parents accept me? Would they defend me? And if they did, would they create some Fenton-named machine or weapon to 'remove Phantom from my body and rip him apart molecule by molecule'?
I began to hyperventilate, thinking of all the horrid things my parents could do to me. I started looking back and forth, as if searching for an answer or explanation in my own mind. I felt Vlad grip my arms tightly.
"Daniel, stop it. Pull yourself together. This won't solve anything." Vlad said, staring into my eyes. I felt hot tears run down my face.
"B-But what i-if they-they call my p-parents?" I said between sobs. I hated the fact I was losing it in front of Vlad, my arch enemy, but I had no choice. I was freaked out. Vlad sighed.
"I know you're scared. If worse comes to worse, I'll shelter you from them. But right now, you need to get control of yourself. I don't need your emotional outburst to cause the limo to glow green or something. We have a cover to keep." Vlad said gently. I didn't want him to hide me from my parents. I didn't want to never see them again. I didn't want the Guys In White to know my secret. I didn't want any of this to be happening!
More tears fell down my face, and Vlad sighed again. He looked around suspiciously to see if anything was glowing, then reached into his pocket. It took me a moment to realize what he was doing, but by then it was too late. He jabbed the needle into my arm and pushed on the plunger. I gasped, looking up at him to see if he really just did that. he sighed and layed me down on the seat of the limo.
"I'm sorry, Little Badger, but I can't take any risks. You're tired anyway. I'll see you in a little bit." Vlad said, before everything became unfocused. I felt the drug course through my veins, and before I knew it, I was asleep.
I woke up after a few hours. Apparently the drug putting me to sleep actually kept me asleep, which means Vlad lied earlier. Or I really was tired. I propped myself up on my elbows and looked around the limo. There was half an empty bottle of wine and a glass by the fridge. I can only imagine who finished that off...
Vlad was asleep on the black leather seat diagonal from mine. I guess he was kind of tired, too. Or he's passed out drunk. Either way, I'm kind of happy he's asleep. It means I don't have to deal with him right now...and, as much as I hate to admit it, he'll be refreshed and ready to fight if the time comes. I sighed. I didn't want to rely on him. I've never wanted to rely on him. And I never want to rely on him again. But right now, I need him.
I went over to the fridge and opened it to look for a soda. All there was was beer, wine, and moonshine. Obviously this isn't a kid-friendly limo. I shrugged and grabbed a Coors Light. I opened the can, and smelled it. It smelled like pee, and I wondered if that was normal. I wish Vlad was awake so I could ask him. He's got to be a master with alcohol. I took a sip and immediately hated the taste. It was bitter and burned my throat. I like sweet-tasting things that don't affect my throat in any way. I left the can in the cup holder. Maybe Vlad will drink it.
I looked out the window of the limo. All I saw was fields of yellow grass. There wasn't a tree or hill in sight. Is this Wisconsin? It can't be. From what I remember, it's full of forests, not grass. Where are we? I sighed in defeat. I would have to wake Vlad up.
I walked over to his seat, and put my hand on his shoulder to shake him awake. I immediately paused though. This is my chance to get hi back for the hotel bed thing. I chuckled, already knowing what to do. I walked over to the side of the limo and took some wine bottles out of a metal bucket. Placing them neatly aside so they wouldn't break, I filled the bucket with ice. Since there was no ice in the fridge, I just used my powers. After is was about half full, I opened the fridge and took out three cans of the nasty-tasting beer. Pouring them into the bucket, I walked over beside Vlad. I placed the bucket next to him, and turned my attention to some hand towels sitting by the fridge. I walked over to them and turned them invisible. I chuckled again, and walked back over to Vlad.
I heaved the bucket up to about my chest, stood over Vlad, and then turned it intangible. The amber liquid and cold ice spilled all over him, and he woke up screaming. I was on the floor laughing, and Vlad stared at me in shock. It was nice to see him lose his cool. He was trying to wipe the beer off, unsuccessfully, and I laughed harder, my gut beginning to hurt. Vlad looked at me again and smirked.
"Very well, Daniel. We're even. Now hand me a towel that I'm sure you've hidden." He said, fighting back a smile. I grabbed my abdomen as I stood up and walked over to the invisible towels. I made them visible again, and handed him one. He turned himself intangible to get the excess beer and ice off of himself and then used the towel to dry his suit. He brought the collar of his shirt up to his nose and made a face.
"Did you put beer in there?" He asked, completely baffled. It took me a moment to compose myself from my laughter before I could answer.
"Yeah. Now you get to walk around smelling like pee." I said, smiling.
"Well played." Was all he said before pulling out a bottle of cologne from a cabinet under the seat. Who keeps cologne under a seat? Especially when this limo is rented? And how did Vlad know it was there? Fruitloop.
"Now that that is over with, how do you feel, Daniel?" Vlad asked, still trying to musk his newfound pee scent. I shrugged.
"Fine, I guess. Why?"
"Because I see the opened can of beer in the cup holder." He observed, putting the cologne away.
"And I see a half empty bottle of wine by the fridge, but you don't see me pointing it out." I rebutted. He has no right to judge. He's probably been drinking since he was one. And even more since my mom chose my dad.
"You just did." He said, smirking.
"Your point?" I said, wondering why we were having an argument all of a sudden. Vlad sighed.
"If you're still upset about your secret, I can-" Vlad started to say, but I cut him off.
"I'm not. Really. I was looking for a soda, but nothing was in the fridge. I took one sip and didn't even like it."
"Now you're trying to make me angry." Vlad said, smiling. I chuckled. We sat in silence for a while. I started wondering if the limo could play music when Vlad spoke up.
"Come here." He ordered.
"Huh?" I looked at him, waiting for an explanation.
"I want to check on the tracking device." He answered, holding out his hand so I could give him my wrist. I got up and sat next to him. Vlad pulled the sleeve of my shirt up and twisted my wrist back and forth to study the watch. He suddenly made his hand glow pink, and the watch transformed. It was no longer a watch. It now had a screen on it, and a keypad underneath. It looked like a slide-phone.
"Whoa!" I exclaimed, watching what Vlad was doing. He chuckled.
"You'd be surprised what it can do, Daniel. It can do much more than just track you. If we're separated for any reason, I can also communicate with you through it in a very unusual way. If I am strong enough, I might even be able to teleport you back to me through it. That's not all, either." Vlad was having a great time bragging. But I didn't care that he was. This thing was something to brag about! Vlad began typing on the keypad and looking through his options.
"So, what are you doing now?" I asked.
"I'm trying to calibrate it so it works both ways. That way you'd be able to track me, as well. Mine, of course, would still be the main watch, however." He answered as he typed away. My arm was starting to fall asleep from the way Vlad was holding it, but I couldn't care. This thing was awesome. Maybe it can play music too...
I stared out the window for a little bit while Vlad did his thing. The yellow fields were starting to get old. Yellow fields? Oh!
"Vlad!" I suddenly said, startling even myself. I had forgotten why I woke him up in the first place.
"Yes, Dear Boy?"
"Do you, by any chance, know where we are?" I asked. Vlad stopped fiddling with the watch and looked out the window. He raised an eyebrow at the view.
"No, I can't say I do." He answered, still staring out the window.
"But haven't you taken the route from your house to mine, like, a million times?" I asked, getting a little worried. What if we were lost?
"Mansion, Daniel. Mansion." He said again, and I groaned in frustration. "And yes, which is why it is quite odd." He looked out the window some more. I watched him, trying to figure out why he doesn't recognize this part. Maybe he just forgot about it? Or maybe it looks different when you're in the air? Vlad perked up suddenly and started looking around the limo.
"What is it, Vlad?" I asked, trying to stay out of his way. He grabbed my wrist and transformed into Plasmius, willing me to change as well.
"Why did you-" I began.
Vlad shushed me and turned us both intangible. He tried to fly through the roof of the limo, but couldn't. After rubbing his head from banging it against the roof, he cursed. Really cursed.
"What?" I had to shout to get his attention. He looked at me, and sighed angrily.
"I don't know where we are. We can't phase through the roof. You don't find that a bit suspicious, Daniel?" He said, then immediately started cursing under his breath again, looking around. I could reason with Vlad not knowing where we are. Maybe the GPS system took us on a different route. But not being able to phase? That's weird.
"All right. Stay quiet, Daniel. I'm going to open the door and we'll fly out. Transform." He told me. His eagerness to escape started to make me a little nervous. I turned into Phantom. Seeing the familiar white rings around my waist was comforting. I always felt more brave when I was Danny Phantom. Fenton was a wimp, but Phantom is a hero. Vlad grabbed my wrist again and opened the door.
To my surprise, it actually opened. I could've sworn it would have been locked. Vlad sighed in relief.
"Let's go." He said, and we flew out of the limo.
"If they didn't know we were ghosts before, they definitely know now." I told Vlad. We had stopped and were now just floating in the air. Vlad was pacing with one hand on his forehead.
"I know, I know. But it was either our secrets or the risk of being taken to one of their outposts. I chose the greater of the two evils." Vlad began pacing again, and I just looked down toward the road. The limo had stopped. It was sitting in the middle of the road, and a gun was sticking out of the roof. An ectogun. Vlad was right. That is a Guys In White limo.
The gun fired at us, and was headed straight for Vlad. He didn't see it coming. I gasped, and flew in front of the shot to take the hit. Vlad, coincidentally, saw that happen, and immediately flew towards me to catch me before I fell. I couldn't concentrate on anything. Everything was blurry and spinning. Even when Vlad said my name, it sounded echo-y and far away. I saw a bright flash of white light, and wondered if that was me changing back. Vlad began shaking me, trying to bring me back to my senses. I just stared at him through half-lidded eyes. I couldn't recognize his face, but I knew it was him. Who else would it be?
"Daniel. Danny, wake up. C'mon now. Fight it off, Dear Boy. You are the biggest idiot known to man, you know that, right?" Vlad was talking to me, very calmly and gently. focusing through the blur, I could see Vlad taking angry glances back at the limo as it sped away. He seemed really angry, but I couldn't figure out why. Vlad flew toward the ground and sat under a big tree. It was the only tree in the sea of yellow. He held me in his lap and made death threats toward the Guys In White under his breath. Before I fell asleep, it suddenly occurred to me that Vlad might not care if I'm hurt. He only cares about the fact that if he fails, it'll be a shot at his pride. I was angry when I felt the peace of sleep wash over me.
Well, there's chapter 4. Danny has begun to distrust Vlad. Let me know what you guys think! Virtual brownie to anyone who reviews. (No flames please, I'm still pretty new at writing.)
