Upon hearing their son's desperate plea, Jack and Maddie instinctively turned to understand why Danny was trying to spare Vlad Master's life. Their weapons remained targeting Vlad's head in a potentially fatal manner.

Vlad also couldn't help but to glance over in the same direction, having similar thoughts to the Fenton's regarding why on earth Danny would interrupt this critical moment. His eyes widened with shock as he saw Daniel pulling against the three other teenagers with all his might, and appeared to be mere seconds away from completing his ghost transformation.

"Vlad call him off!" Jack shouted at his captive, fearful for the safety of his wife, son, and indeed Sam and Tucker. They were unsure of the capabilities this new ghost may possess.

Vlad narrowed his eyes at Jack, "Lower your weapons." He challenged darkly.

"Call him off or I'll finish him off!" Maddie threatened, accurately clutching her ecto-gun and showing no sign of backing down.

Vlad felt a sickening rage boil inside of him as he glared hatefully at the woman. You would willingly kill a child, yet I am the monster he thought grimly.

"AHHH!" Daniel screamed in a rage, and successfully forced the release of Sam and Tucker's grip on his body. The two teenagers gasped in surprised as they fell to the ground and involuntary backed away from the potential danger. Daniel continued to fight against Danny's hold, whose ghost powers enabled him to continue to struggle against the clone.

"Stop it!" Danny yelled angrily, but it was too late. The two black rings which had been stuck around Daniel's torso suddenly progressed, one vanished at the top of his head the other disappeared at his feet. Transformation was complete.

Danny gasped as he was suddenly staring into a pair of terrifying red eyes. Eyes which reminded him so much about the evil Danny from the future. With Danny caught off his guard Daniel took his advantage and roughly shoved the other teenager across the room. Free from restraint, he turned and began charging towards the two people who were threatening his father's life.

Having saw what the clone had done to Danny and his friends, and realising that he was now targeting her and her husband, Maddie made her choice and held up her gun for aim.

Vlad looked at Maddie in horror, fearing that she would make true on her threat. He was desperate to just reach out and snatch the gun from her but there was nothing he could do, Jack's gun remained targeted squarely at him.

"No!" Vlad demanded, "Daniel stop!"

Sure enough, the younger half-ghost stopped in his tracks, and looked to his father for further instruction. However, he did not feel confident about obeying this order, fearful for both their lives.

Sam and Tucker apprehensively watched the display, not knowing what to do or how to help. But despite their hatred for Vlad and their dislike for this new clone, neither one of them wanted to see their best friend's mom demolish someone who was still technically a kid.

Danny had also picked himself up off the floor, and was now floating in the air. He'd seen how the clone had immediately stopped at Vlad's command, but was still undecided if it would be wise to attack him given how close in proximity Vlad was to both of his parents. He knew Vlad was angry and vengeful and one wrong move could be enough to send him over the edge.

"Look Maddie, I've done what you've asked." Vlad stated almost desperately. "He's stopped he won't hurt anyone I promise, just please don't shoot him."

"What makes you think a promise from you means anything, Vlad Masters?" Maddie scoffed, her aim staying put.

"Maddie you know yourself, if you made a promise which your child's life depended on, you would move earth and the Ghost Zone to see it through." Vlad argued, "You have my word, Daniel won't harm anyone."

As Danny slowly lowered himself to the ground he felt his expression unstiffen, it wasn't often that Vlad allowed his humanity to show through the cracks. But every time Danny looked at Daniel he saw flashes of the bleak and dismal future which once could have existed because of his evil self; the evil self formed by his ghost half and Vlad Master's. The same genetics which had now formed Daniel.

Clockwork explained that the timeline could take many paths, Dark Danny threatened to return. Could that horrible future still happen, and could Daniel cause it? These were the thoughts which were tormenting Danny.

"I don't want to fight." Daniel stated, directing his words to Jack and Maddie Fenton. "I just don't want you to hurt my dad."

Despite being calm and rational, and giving some credit to Vlad's promise, Jack and Maddie had not been swayed by the young half-ghost.

"He's not your dad ghost clone," Jack said coldly, "He's a menace to society, and he's coming with us where he will be locked away in solitary confinement for the rest of his days…if he's lucky."

"But…But…" Daniel stammered fearfully.

"And you're coming along as evidence for the jury." Maddie added. "Any funny business out of either of you and the guns go off, there will be no second warning."

()()()

It had felt like hours as the seven individuals travelled back to Amity Park in the Spector Speeder, both Vlad and Daniel were being held at gun-point the whole journey and everyone was tense.

The silence was deafening. Daniel had changed back into his human form, at the sharp demand of the Fenton's. He had kept his head down and stared at the ground since he'd sat down, he'd drawn the short straw of being squished on to the floor due to the lack of space and seats. He was worried that if he looked up he would give someone a reason to create an argument. Or that he might start to cry.

Vlad on the other hand kept his gaze on Danny, often locking eye contact with him. Danny inwardly cringed every time this happened. He felt like Vlad was trying to get into his head and mess with him. Why else would he stare?

At one point Vlad shot Danny one of his famous smirks as he met his scowl.

"You know, it's such a shame that Danielle isn't here for this little reunion." He said, breaking the silence.

Danny's eyes glowed green with anger. 'There it is,' he thought. Let the mind games begin.

"Who said you could talk, Vlad?" Maddie snapped from the steering wheel. Jack remained silent, but the ghost weapon in his grasp could speak volumes if necessary.

"My rights have not yet been removed, Maddie." Vlad drolly, "I figure I may as well get my fill whilst I can, and being allowed to voice myself is a fairly basic right."

"Until your words start to hurt people and create destruction." Sam said daringly, but not quite meeting the man's gaze.

Vlad looked in her direction with a cold expression, "If I had a weapon in my grasp and was pointing it towards an innocent young person with intent, I would not be lecturing anyone on hurting others or causing destruction, Miss Manson."

Sam tried to ignore him, but truthfully she was not comfortable with having the task of being armed and ready should Daniel try something.

"Leave her alone Plasmius." Danny warned, "And leave Dani out of this."

"Hm. You'll have to find her soon Danny." Vlad mocked. "Your mother may want to use her as evidence in the trail."

As much as it would have given Danny great satisfaction to sock Vlad hard right in the jaw at this moment, the teenager resisted the urge and had to restrain himself, as did everyone else.

Shortly after these brief interactions, the Spector Speeder returned to the basement at Fenton Works. As each individual slowly exited the cramped space and into the Fenton's lab, they saw Jazz waiting for them, along with Dani.

Danny was relieved to see Dani with Jazz, he had been worried that she'd might have run off again after hearing his harsh words. He gave her an apologetic look and intended to speak to her sincerely later on when he got a chance. He was feeling very guilty about hurting her feelings with his carelessness. He was met with a sour expression from her, an expression which was also directed at Vlad at one point. Vlad couldn't help but give her one of his subtle smirks.

Despite seeing that her family and friends had been successful in capturing Vlad, and the new clone whom Dani had told her about, Jazz kept a fairly calm yet blank expression.

"Shall I contact the authorities?" She inquired seriously.

"Yes, I think that would be a good idea, Jazz." Her mother responded.

Jazz nodded and left the lab, Dani followed behind her without saying a word.

Jack ordered Vlad and Daniel to stand against the wall, a good distance apart. He was desperate to try out some of his ghost restraints on Vlad and Daniel, but knew that now was not the time for experimenting. The slightest malfunction could result in Vlad being able to escape, or possibly hurt someone. Keeping them at gun-point was simple and had got them this far.

"Sam, Tucker, it's been a long day. Why don't the two of you head home before your parents' start to worry." Maddie said softly.

Sam and Tucker didn't really want to take the huge hint and leave. It annoyed them when Danny's parents forgot that they were skilled in fighting ghosts and handling dangerous situations. But they knew better than to argue with their friend's mother so they said a quick goodbye to Danny and reluctantly left.

Danny looked at Maddie, "Why did you ask them to leave? They've been a great help."

"Honestly Danny, when all this gets out I don't want their parents accusing us of putting them in danger." Maddie answered, because truthfully she felt they had already been in enough danger.

"Jack, Maddie, by all means let them send me to prison, burn me at the stake if you want but please don't let them take Daniel he has no part in this. Hide him before the authorities and Guys in White get here." Vlad pleaded.

All three of the Fenton's raised their eyebrows, it was a strange thing to see Vlad Masters on the verge of grovelling.

"No!" Daniel said in a panic, "I don't want to hide, I want to go to prison with you."

"I'm guessing he doesn't know what prison is." Jack said dryly.

"He doesn't know what anything is, he was literally born yesterday!" Vlad snapped.

"You have an interesting definition of being 'born' Vlad." Maddie sneered.

As this conversation proceeded Danny couldn't help but watch Daniel, and in some strange way, feel sorry for him. Born yesterday? It all seemed so unfair. But Danny was still struggling to get beyond the possibility that Daniel could be evil to care too much.

"What are you guys talking about?" Jazz asked as she re-entered the lab and overheard the heated conversation. "The clone can't go to prison, he's a minor. Can he be convicted of anything, has he even committed any crime?"

"No." Vlad said irritably.

"That's not true, my friends and I practically saw the two of you stealing at the mall today." Danny argued.

"Prove it." Vlad challenged.

Danny scowled, he knew he couldn't actually prove it. Vlad had gone about it so sneakily there was no evidence to prove Daniel was a thief.

"So if we can't have him locked away with Vlad or otherwise, what's going to happen to him?" Danny asked with genuine curiosity.

"I'm sure the Guys in White will think of something." Maddie mumbled darkly.

Both Danny and Vlad gasped in shock.

"Maddie no!" Vlad said coldly. "You can't hand him over to the Guys in White, they are totally barbaric."

Danny shivered slightly, he would feel horrible about handing Daniel over to the GiW, evil or not he was still just a kid, just like him. No ghost should be at the mercy of the GiW

"Mom, what are thinking?" Jazz ranted, "We all hate the Guys in White, and they are insane. Remember they tried to kill Danny several times? If we give them this clone they might try and go after Danielle as well, maybe experiment on her."

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Jack pondered. "We can't hide an accomplice/evidence from the authorities, they would arrest us!"

"Once again your inability to think things through ruins yet another life!" Vlad yelled.

"Shut up Vlad! He's only here because of you!" Danny shouted.

"If you had just left things alone none of this would be happening, but no! You just have to keep on playing the 'hero' don't you?" Vlad sneered.

Maddie raised her gun, "Vlad I swear if you do not leave my son alone I will blow you away." She threatened.

"You leave my dad alone!" Daniel shouted daringly and he quickly stepped forward and shoved Maddie hard.

Caught unaware, the woman lost her balance and fell to the ground. She and her weapon where not a threat to Vlad at this point.

From there, it was like everything that happened in the following few seconds happened in slow motion

Upon realising that the clone had assaulted his wife, Jack turned and quickly targeted Daniel, prepared to shoot.

Enraged, Vlad realised what Jack intended to do, and transformed, prepared to stop Jack by any means.

Danny, who was already in ghost form saw Vlad transform and was prepared.

As Vlad darted at Jack, Danny charged at him, causing the three of them to collide into one another.

Jazz, who helped her mother on to her feet, screamed as the ecto-gun went off and a loud bang followed.

Daniel gasped in fear as he saw the huge gaping hole in the wall behind him, knowing it had been intended for him.

Realising what Jack had done, Vlad growled angrily at the man and violently grabbed his neck, intent on squeezing the life right out of the man.

Danny knocked Vlad off of Jack with an ecto-blast, leaving his father alive but gasping desperately for air.

Dani rushed into the lab after hearing all the noise. She observed Vlad and Danny fighting fiercely, Jack catching his breath, and Jazz stood with her mother who was aiming her weapon again at Daniel. She felt conflicted in deciding who to fight or who to assist.

"Mom no!" Jazz protested.

Maddie would have rather have had a shot at Vlad, but she was fearful that she would accidentally hurt her son. Her daughter's pleas fell on deaf ears, she had had enough of Vlad Plasmius and the trouble he and his clone had caused. One shot equalled one less problem.

Daniel stared at Maddie as he realised her intention. He wished he was more skilled in his ghost powers. He could escape, turn invisible, attack her first with an ecto-blast. But he knew he couldn't yet, he'd never felt more human than what he did at this moment.

Daniel glared at her, deciding that he didn't care if she took the shot, but he wouldn't allow her the satisfaction of seeing the fear in his eyes.

Vlad saw Maddie out of the corner of his peripheral vision, what she was about to do. He had had enough of the Fentons. They had robbed him of everything, they would not take his son.

Vlad roughly grabbed hold of Danny with both hands and threw him hard over his shoulder.

He did this at the same time Maddie fired her gun.

The blast was a direct hit. Daniel watched in horror as Danny dropped to the floor before his eyes, involuntary turned human, and blacked out.

All at once several screams echoed in the lab, all out of fear for Danny. Jazz and Maddie rushed over to him, begging him to respond. Jack, still gasping for air also attempted to aide his injured son.

Vlad watched the display silently, he felt some sort of strange relief as the Fenton's panicked over their fallen family member. He finally felt that there was some sort of justice in the universe.

Vlad was so engrossed in the drama he hadn't noticed that Dani has stealthily flew across the room in her ghost form. He appeared to be the only one who acknowledged a loud crash and a yelp.

"This is all your fault!" Dani screamed as she repeatedly punched Daniel, whom she had pinned to the floor.

Daniel's eyes flashed red for a second as he came to his senses and roughly pushed her off before kicking her hard in the stomach.

Vlad was horrified and dumbfounded as he watched his 'children' fight one another with such brutality.

However, it was a different voice shouting that seemed to bring him back into reality.

"POLICE!"

"No!" Vlad gasped, he was nearly out of time.

He had to get out of the Fenton's home, and fast. He couldn't get caught, he couldn't be locked away. He needed a second chance, his time was now.

He quickly glanced over at the weeping Maddie and Jazz, and wheezy Jack. The half ghost smirked with delight.

"Well Fenton's, it's been fun but that is my que to leave." Vlad announced cheerfully as he strode towards Daniel and Dani. "Do give Danny my best Maddie, if he ever wakes up that is!"

None of the Fenton could acknowledge, let alone stop Vlad, they were all in shock over Danny. Especially Maddie. But they heard him, his cheery demeanour, his condescending remarks. A true villain at his peak.

Feeling up to the heavy duty task of transformation after hours of resting his ghost half, Vlad reached out and grabbed both Daniel and Dani by their wrist.

By the time the authorities reached the lab only the Fenton's remained, pleading for help as Danny remained unconscious.

()()()

Hello readers,

Firstly, my apologies for the extremely long wait…I feel bad!

Secondly, apologies for the not so long chapter. I've decided to take the story in a different direction and this chapter is allowing me to do that, and this seemed an appropriate place to end.

Finally, I will try to update a little bit faster in future, but life and writers block can be a hard thing!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter please let me know, all the best until next time!

xseriouslyx