Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom, I'm a big fan and was feeling nostalgic.

Chapter 9: Looking For Answers

Vlad's POV

As soon as Daniel was safely tucked away again, I decided that to make better use of my time and effort I would continue my search for answers instead of concerning myself with the 'what ifs' for now since hearing about it second-hand from his parents and from Daniel himself only during those feverish spurts was getting us nowhere...

I needed answers.

And some of those answers at least were already at my fingertips sitting right on the security footage that I nearly forgot about after Daniel's first panic attack down in the lab. Or no, that was the second one since the first was outside in the rain and now this latest one was the third. Well, as they say the third time's the charm so it was Daniel's troubling emotional state that motivated me to do what I had to to ensure that I could make sure he was properly taken care of. And for starters that meant stabilizing him physically so that his fever wouldn't interfere with addressing his clearly traumatized mind.

As for the culprit behind his poor health, I knew I needed to know everything about that blasted gun they used on him. Running a diagnostic of one of its bullets was one thing, but finding the blueprints and examining the weapon itself would allow me to make a more effective antidote and prevent this weapon from EVER being used again. Not on Daniel or any other ghost, half or not. Myself included.

Before I decided whether to sneak in or go to Fenton Works 'in person' while my duplicate did all the work, I needed to make sure that Daniel couldn't make another escape attempt while I was gone. So my first order of business was to repurpose the human ghost shield I used back when I was testing Jasmine by forcing her to face her little brother in combat while wearing the new and improved Ecto-Skeleton. This time however I decided to use it on a smaller scale so that Daniel couldn't leave his room, because I didn't want him wandering around in his condition even just down to the kitchen. Truth be told I already had one installed in the mansion itself that I could use but as I said, I didn't want to risk him poking his nose around where he shouldn't or worse, have him be seen outside the mansion by a nosy reporter.

Judging from the consistency of the previous panic attacks I also deduced that moving Daniel to the lab was out of the question as waking up there would only make him feel more trapped and liable to lash out like a cornered animal. I didn't want to do this either, trapping him in his room but sadly Daniel had forced my hand, which was nothing new really...

Still, I didn't want him to feel too isolated or unable to get the things he might need while I was away so I arranged to have a television moved to that room along with a small fridge and a snack tray which I hoped would be enough to appease him for now should Daniel wake up before I returned. After all, the downside of leaving his ghost powers intact was that his body was burning off the sedatives and the nutrients I'd given him much faster then a normal human. I knew that was mostly due to his fever trying to burn off the infection but his body didn't know that and was simply burning off everything I gave him at an alarming rate, which included the morphine I was giving him for the pain and the temporary antidote for the metal's effects.

I wasn't going to be able to make a better antidote until I studied the weapon itself so first of all I needed to know what it looked like either way before I stole it from Fenton Works. And believe you me, as much as I enjoyed stealing and improving the few beneficial inventions my darling Maddie and that oaf have made, this was one that I simply could not allow to exist or any others like it. I couldn't let the Guys in White get their hands in it either because that would spell disaster not only for me but for Daniel and every other ghost in the world. And no matter how useful this weapon might be against a more powerful ghost then myself, the risk greatly outweighed the benefits, which meant it was something that I was determined to leave well enough alone after this because hopefully I would never have to make an antidote for it again...

Bracing myself for the horror I was about to witness I had cleaned up the mess I made earlier and brewed a fresh batch of freshly ground coffee before I got started watching the footage. Of course, having a feeling I might need more information I decided to download ALL of the security footage to sort through at a later date. For now all I needed was the recordings from the day my little badger was so brutally attacked by his parents. And good lord was that going to be painful to watch, but it was going to be even harder not to shoot a Jack shaped hole in the monitor once I saw him actually shoot the dangerous weapon unknowingly at his own son.

Sipping on my coffee I pulled up multiple screens so I could watch what happened down in their lab where the Fenton Portal was along with what was happening through he rest of the house, especially Daniel's bedroom. The spy camera in Daniel's room was only set to record whenever he 'went ghost' as he put it and a little after or when those two friends of his were around since I did not wish to invade his privacy to that degree, because even I found that repulsive. Not to say things didn't slip through but I ignored them for the most part like when he was talking to his friends online or playing a videogame instead of doing his homework like a typical teenager. Still, I found myself both fascinated and disturbed by what I saw to the point of pausing the other screens to focus on Daniel's daily routine from that day...

When the security camera first activated it was because Daniel had just flown through his bedroom wall at one in the morning, his eyes drooping as he haphazardly set his trademark ghost-capturing thermos on his dresser so he could take a quick breather before releasing the ghosts he caught back into the Ghost Zone. He transformed back into his human form a few seconds later gripping the edge of the dresser as he swayed dizzily and looked up at his reflection in the mirror.

"Is it always going to be like this?" Daniel asked his reflection after tracing one of the dark circles under his eyes. But of course, no one answered him so he sighed, reaching for the thermos once again when Daniel gasped when his ghost sense went off again and he groaned. "Seriously?"

After that, he almost angrily snatched the thermos, transformed, and flew out the window again to take out his frustration on the next ghost. By the time he returned, it was four in the morning now and Daniel was practically dead on his feet, if he had any since he was still in ghost form sporting a spectral tail as he briefly flew down to the lab, released the ghosts, then fell face first onto his bed and was asleep in almost an instant.

Only a few short hours later, his sister knocked on the door and Daniel jerked awake, having slept through both his alarms and told him to get ready for breakfast. Daniel however, just glowered grumpily at her and said, "You know what, I think I'm going to call in sick today. I couldn't focus on school even if I wanted to. Do have any idea how many ghosts I fought last night?"

Worried, Jasmine put her forehead to his, checking for a fever which I found quite endearing actually, but upon finding nothing she frowned. "Danny I know ghost fighting is your thing, but you really need to learn how to pace yourself and manage your time better. Not every ghost has to be captured right away and clearly you need more sleep. At this rate even mom or dad will start to notice how bad you look and start asking questions!"

"Good!" Daniel suddenly snapped as he flung out his arms, glaring at her. "At least then maybe they'll notice I even exist! Look I know they're excited about that new gun they're working on and all -which by the way looks really painful and I really don't want to be on the receiving end of that thing- but when I came home from school yesterday and told them I was going to the moon just to see if they were paying attention do you know what they said? Mom said 'ok sweetie, have a good time' as she waved me off and Dad said 'don't forget to do your chores before you go son, and no being later for curfew this time!' Jazz, I could've told them I was off to join some murder cult called the 'Dastardly Unicorns' and they wouldn't have bat an eye! Sometimes I wonder if they even care..."

With a sigh Jasmine pulled his arms down and smiled unsurely as she replied, "Of course they care, Danny. It's just...you know how they get. Besides, you can't call in sick. You have a test today remember? One that you actually managed to study for and felt so confident about! Don't you want to pass it and show them how smart you are? Maybe then they'll pry themselves away from their work to give you some much needed praise, because they need to see how amazing I already know you are!" Pulling her reluctant little brother into a hug, Jasmine continued warmly, "Danny I know you're a smart kid so don't let something like a lack of sleep get you down. I promise if you do well on this test then I'll take you out to see that movie you wanted to see, what was it, Star Raider 3?"

Smiling sheepishly Daniel corrected, "It's Star Thief 3 actually, but yeah." With a sigh he hugged her back and apologized, "I'm sorry Jazz, I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just really tired that's all. I hope I can stay awake long enough in class to remember even half of what you helped me study."

"Well if you want to do that then the first step is a good breakfast!" Jasmine beamed, pulling Daniel to his feet and half dragging him downstairs.

I couldn't help but smile and appreciate everything his elder sister did for Daniel, especially since he needed at least one person looking out for his well-being while he was looking out for everyone else's. Still, it bothered me that this footage was from the day that Daniel was shot and from the sound of it his parents were still working on that gun at that point. That meant that when he got home in ghost form and they used it it had only JUST been completed without them testing it first on a real ghost or at least an ecto-infused target to take readings of to properly celebrate the power output of those bullets. It sickened me to know that Jack once again was so eager to test out their new toy that taking any safety measures was the furthest thing from his mind. But what should I expect of a man who refused to listen when both Maddie and myself warned Jack not to turn on the proto-portal until we were sure the calculations were correct and it was safe to use...?

At any rate, once Jasmine and Daniel left for school I returned my attention to the recordings from down in the lab where Maddie and Jack were still hard at work 'perfecting' their new weapon. Of course, Maddie was the only one making adjustments and telling her husband it wasn't ready yet every five minutes. Really, could Jack be any more childish? And a dangerous child at that playing with something potentially lethal. Not to humans obviously, but to a ghost if they even could be completely destroyed. Still, I gathered some useful information from watching them when I noticed how when Jack got bored of waiting for the gun he decided to tinker with the Ghost Portal. Of course, after awhile when it started making strange noises Maddie got fed up with him messing with and turned it completely off. And when she did a feeling of dread clenched my heart as it got closer to the estimated time that Daniel had returned home.

Sadly I didn't have any cameras at Daniel's school anymore so I had no idea how his day had gone save for what he told me during our battle where he shouted something about being fed up with every ghost and their dog -literally since he'd been visited by an actual ghost dog that he was having a tough time getting to back off- was giving him a hard time and my appearance was the icing on the cake. So from what I could deduce, aside from the two ghosts Daniel faced that morning plus how ever many he captured during the previous night, he had fought more or less at least five more ghosts, myself included, the day this all happened. And if Daniel was this fed up they must've been more the usual Specters...

Well if I felt guilty before about being so hard on him before I felt much worse now since I had a better idea of just how strained Daniel was the entire day. I practically inhaled the rest of my coffee as the appointed time arrived when Daniel made it home after our fight, since I assume he hadn't met any new ghosts on the way home, and mentally steeled myself for what I was about to see. Glancing at the camera in the kitchen where Maddie and Jack were finishing their late dinner while making the final touches, to my horror I watched as Daniel walked past them with a small wave as he unsteadily made his way upstairs...in ghost form.

I was in just as much disbelief as his parents when I saw it because judging by his usual habits Daniel would transform back to his human form the moment he was inside the house if not before. But this time he was so out of sorts that Daniel completely forgot to change back. And that innocent mistake had proven disastrous...

Snatching the new gun off the table and handing it to Jack who was currently unarmed, the couple rushed out of the kitchen and followed Daniel to the staircase where Maddie's eyes narrowed and she hissed in a commanding and frankly uncharacteristically harsh tone, "If you value your afterlife, don't you dare move."

Daniel of course tensed, not knowing what was going on yet so he tried to cover it up by asking but, sadly it was too late. To them, Daniel was just another ghost who had just invaded their home and they were ready to defend it and their children to the death, especially against something that itself was dead. I winced in sync with Daniel when Maddie snarled that she wasn't his mother and demanded to know what he was doing in their house, assuming of course that Danny Fenton was safe and already in bed at this very moment since as it turned out Jasmine had been invited to a slumber party with some friends and wasn't going to be home until the next day, which was now today.

My anger boiled though when the simple-minded Jack told his wife not to bother asking 'it' any questions until they had captured the ghost boy. And of course Daniel had every right to be upset about being called as such but now wasn't the time to worry about that. His parents both had their guns trained on him and he needed to get out of there, right then, or fight back. Instead, Daniel foolishly tried to negotiate with them and it ended in disaster. Jack exclaimed that he wasn't about to let Danny Phantom endanger his family and before Maddie could stop him, Jack fired at Daniel's shoulder.

Actually seeing him sustain the injury made my eyes burn brightly in rage and the screens flickered slightly, my god there was so much more blood on him then there was when I saw Daniel falling from the sky since the rain had washed most of it away. It was like scene out of a horror movie as I watched the ectoplasmic blood gush out of his wound and stain his white gloves as he fled downstairs in the hopes of escaping to the Ghost Zone or tricking his parents into thinking that's what happened. Smart. But sadly, it was in vain since the portal was still shut off from earlier much to his dismay. After that he flew back to his bedroom but Jack spotted him and both of them gave chase. In desperation Daniel turned human after he tripped over himself and screamed when doing so irritated his wound and the pain nearly robbed him of his consciousness. The moment his blood turned red and continued to stain his shirt Daniel realized that there was no way to hide this and panicked. I panicked as well the moment I saw him fling open the window and throw himself from the second floor of his house, but much to my relief he wasn't doing something as foolish as attempting to commit suicide and instead fled from Fenton Works in human form, on foot, since the ghost shield was still up since they had turned it on to trap him inside not knowing that Daniel was only half-ghost and their own son.

After that I had no more footage of Daniel but saw as his parents stared in horror at the sight of the mixture of red and green blood all over Daniel's room before they rushed downstairs to get to the Fenton Assault Vehicle and gave chase, now assuming that their son had been abducted by Danny Phantom. The rest I could only guess from my own observations and from the looks of it, they had taken the gun with them. My only hope was that they had put it away in disgust once they realized it had harmed Daniel's human self too and that would be enough of a reason for them not to use it again for some time. Judging from their horror-stricken expressions and the phone call they made to me they only regretted using the gun after finding out that it had harmed their human son. They could care less about Danny Phantom and now had more reason to despise and hunt down that ghost boy. If only they knew that what they were hunting and nearly murdered was their own child...

Leaning back in my seat, I sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of my nose. My heart was still racing too just from watching that whole scene unfold. I could only imagine what living through it must have been like for Daniel. No wonder he was so traumatized! If my parents had gunned me down like that I would've felt the same, only worse since my parents were even less forgiving people. Well aside from my father, he was a good man but his life was cut short through a fatal disease. After that my mother was never the same and always looked so sad when she saw me since I reminded her of my father whom she lost. Not long after that she lost her life too, though that was something I didn't want to think about now.

My primary concern was Daniel, who was still alive and if I had anything to say about it...would soon have the father he deserved and not the one who tried to kill him point blank. After turning everything off, I adopted an air of professionalism and began running through scenarios in my brain of how to get that gun without the Fenton's suspecting my involvement either in ghost or human form, and how to deal with Daniel once he regained consciousness again since there was more to his emotionally compromised state then what his parents had done. Whatever it was, it went much deeper, somewhere darker in his heart and all of this simply dragged it back up to the surface. And I was determined to get to the bottom of it one way or another with or without Daniel's consent...