I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the songs/quotes used before the fic.

The cabbage is a familiar kitchen garden vegetable

About as large and as wise as a man's head.

-Ambrose Bierce

There is a certain feeling –a vibe if you will- that people in general get when someone else does something incredibly and undisputedly… creepy. Take Vlad for example, the man is long, skinny, middle aged with a cat, and he experiments on little boys (clone incident) in his basement. Oh, and he basically stares at you like you are a specimen under a microscope with the intent of picking apart your unread life story and your weaknesses, from the way you hate sandwich crust to the fatal allergies and phobias incased in your delicate psyche.

It was a freaky experience, and from what Danny had been through, that is saying something.

It was like Vlad had been slowly easing up to personal questions as if he was worried that he may not answer them or get angry and lash out at the older man. He hadn't scared Vlad… Had he? Danny knew that his Games were not exactly fun to watch, but it was not enough to make Vlad cautious, was it? The feeling of Vlad being anxious of him suddenly sent a sick feeling into the pit of Danny's stomach. How far from the pure, innocent Danny Fenton had he gone if Vlad, the embodiment of sick and twisted, was frightened of him? How long will it be before he is so deranged that the Head Ancient is scared of him?

A shudder sluggishly meandered through his lithe frame at the thought, although it could have been contributed to by the laser focused stare burning into his skull being abruptly changing into a smirk that was so Vlad, it should have been illegal.

"What?" The teen asked questionably with a hint of anticipation in his voice. It was never good when the rich half ghost smirked; it was like dropping a bag of high explosives on LOST. It never ended well and often had an ironic twist. However, Vlad just beamed and lit up like a match (destructive properties optional). His smirk was now a full on creepy grin as he looked at where Danny's eyes would be if the hood was not there.

Now, at this point, Danny would have loved to say how calm, cool and/or collected he was when facing a smiling Vlad, however, that would have been a lie. With hands shaking with unstoppable tremors, the teen tried in vain to take less shaky breaths to try in desperation to get the unreliable vibrato put of his already insecure voice.

He knew Vlad had figured it out, that he was the child he had stalked, become arch enemies with, spied on, and tried to mentor all at the same time.

The tremors moved up to a violent level at this, threatening for his arms to have uncontrollable muscle spasms at the mere prospect at having to cope with his old life again. Danny honestly did not know if he could handle the old enemies, the old lack of real friends, or the absence of family again; although, if anything could be found from his trembling body, he couldn't handle it.

What he could handle was protecting the ghosts of the Ghost Zone and training with Clockwork, his mentor, his friend, his family, and his savior. Even throw in all of the politics with the Observants and Ancients and the young man could still keep grips on reality and maintain control.

Sighing with a shallow breath (his midsection still hurt like hell), Danny leant his head against the metal headboard behind him and closed his weary eyes. It felt like all he had recovered, worked for, and loved had been stolen from him, and frankly… he felt like Prometheus after he had been eaten alive by vultures- broken, but the world wouldn't let him just die already.

It was tragic if you really thought about it.

"I know who you are."

Arched eyebrows rose on Danny's face as he turned his thumping head to face the elder half ghost again. His former archenemy had that all knowing smirk lying on his dapper features along with the suit Danny could always remember him wearing with the cheesy little red bowtie. As he looked at Vlad, he felt so much nostalgia working its way into his brain. And with a jolt he realized…

Nothing had changed, at all.

Sure, Danny had known that the Ancients would set him in the human time- a mere two weeks after he had left compared to the four years he had experienced; however, he couldn't help feel a familiar surge of familiarity, like a lost cat after it had found its way back home.

He supposed, now that he thought about it, that with the Clock Tower off limits and the Fenton household no longer a wanted option… That Vlad was his last tie to his days as… Just Danny, not Danny Fenton (Vlad hated Jack, why would he ever use Jack's name?), not a powerful entity… He was just Danny. (Well, technically it was just Daniel, but whatever.)

And he was honestly surprised that he missed it.

Danny swept his hood back to his shoulders as he replied so he could look Vlad square in the eye, "Yeah, I know." There was a slight resignation in his voice now, "I think inside, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it from you."

The teen watched with a slight wince as he watched the graying man's ego grow to a prodigious size that never seemed to bode well for anyone. Vlad grinned ruthlessly before saying with a slight bravado in his voice, "Well, you did make it quite obvious. After all," the elder half ghost boasted, "you gave me so much information to use. The strange powers, the irregular pulsing in exchange for a heartbeat, the glares you give the guards that show you are a thousand times more powerful than them, and the fact that nobody has told me why you are actually here.

"It took me awhile," Vlad admitted, "much longer than it should have, however, I have cracked the code. You, Scaeth, are an Ancient spying on me!"

Well…

That was about the stupidest thing he had ever heard. The accused just stared at Vlad for a moment, opening and closing his mouth to release a cleverly worded taunt or a nicely worded insult, but nothing came out except, "You have got to be kidding me."

"Of course not!"

An Ancient, an Ancient spy.

Wow.

You know, Vlad was a college graduate, a business typhoon, a powerful half ghost, a middle aged man, a billionaire, a genius with strategy, a ruthless villain, and a crazy amazing geneticist (if anything could be seen from the cloning incident).

And that was what he came up with?

For the first time since before the trial with Clockwork, Danny found himself smiling at the man's stupidity with a great genuine smile at the half ghost. Shaking his head, the teen could help but add with a fond, but still nostalgic look in his eyes as he looked at the man. Feeling an urge to just screw all the secrets he had and dump them on Vlad almost overwhelmed his common sense, but Danny thought against it. The teenager found himself liking the lack of loco parenti fruitloopiness coming from his former arch enemy, and he thought it would be nice for their relationship to stay that way for awhile. But… Danny couldn't fight a strange feeling in his gut that told him Vlad would not stay ignorant for long; however, Danny would cross that bridge later (hopefully much later).

Now, what to tell Vlad?

A lie would be the easiest, but he wasn't much of a liar from what Clockw- from what people have told him. And he can't tell the elder man the entire truth…

Filling his lungs with air (but mostly pain caused by the ribs he knew must be broken) and figuring he would just wing it, Danny looked into Vlad's eyes. "I'm not an Ancient spy. I'm not an Ancient. It is just the opposite actually, I have made an enemy out of them and they have made an enemy out of me." At this the half ghost in front of him looked abashed and slightly crestfallen at his misconception before quickly masking all emotion with a face of indifference.

Nodding contemplatively Vlad said with a contemplative voice, "I understand."

However, Danny could practically see the gears turning in the older man's head from the facts he had been presented. He wished he could stop the middle aged man's brain from working for a few moments, if only to stop conclusions from being made… No matter how outlandish they were.

"Well," Vlad clapped his hands as if he was punctuating the word and banishing the dreadful mood, "I must be getting back to cleaning the lab and-"

Danny interrupted the man as guilt rushed through him. He really shouldn't have held a Game in the lab… Not that it was really his fault, but still… Vlad really hadn't done anything to 'Scaeth' yet to deserve a trashed lab.

Wincing slightly he said with a guilt laced tone, "Sorry about that. He- I mean… It's hard to control sometimes. I didn't mean to basically demolish your lab."

A surprised look swam around Vlad's features as an awkward silence fell on the two of them that was thicker than pea soup. A swift nod from the elder man was the only acknowledgement Danny received before a puzzled look took over the surprise and Vlad left the room, locking it behind him.

So what do you think? Good? Bad? Terrible? Disappointing? Amazing?

Any predictions on what will happen next? I have been dropping hints throughout the fic so far on events to come.

And I must apologize yet again for the lateness on this chapter... I have a million excuses... But you guys probably don't want to hear them. :D

Thanks for sticking with me and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review!

kirby