I was almost done checking the top floor of Vlad's mansion. I hadn't found anything, not even Gregor's bedroom which I had been hoping to find, if only to prove to myself that he was a fucking creep. The upstairs was just full of rooms that looked more for show than use. Vlad probably spent most of his time downstairs in the labs with his ghostly minions, but I needed to be sure that he wasn't hiding anything upstairs, assuming that I would never look there. As I neared the end of my search, I realized that I was likely over Tucker's fifteen minute limit – probably by a lot – but I wasn't concerning myself with that either. He probably wasn't keeping track any more than I was.

I ducked into one of the last rooms, phasing through the door. It looked like all of the others – dark and sparsely furnished. There was a chest and a bookshelf at the very back of the room, though, and I had to check them. I wouldn't put it past Vlad to hide something in an obvious place. He often assumed that I was as dumb as a post, and while that was sometimes accurate, on the odd occasion I could figure shit out. I skimmed across the bookshelf. It was full of old college textbooks and books on the paranormal that would be considered old even when Vlad was born. There was nothing important there. I even phased my head through the bookshelf to see to the wall behind it, just to make sure it wasn't hiding a door. I was reaching into the chest when there came a cough from behind me. I spun around, only to see Plasmius staring at me.

"Snooping, I see," he sniffed.

I created one of my green balls of energy and threw it at him. "Motherfucker!" I shouted at him. It was the first time that I had seen him one on one at this damn party, and I wasn't going to waste my opportunity to attack him as mercilessly as he had Jazz.

Plasmius' lip curled. "Now, now. Do you really think calling each other names is going to help anything here?"

"Why? Why Jazz? What does she have to do with anything?" I shouted. I was determined not to cry in front of him – determined not to display any emotion that he could use against me – but it was so fucking hard to control myself when I knew what he had done to Jazz; when I couldn't get the image of her bloody body out of my head.

"What doesn't she?" Plasmius asked calmly, deflecting my second attack with ease. "Poor little Jasmine, murdered by her brother's selfishness."

"Vlad, I swear –"

"Killed because he valued ghosts over his living, breathing sibling."

"She's not dead!" I bellowed.

"Not yet," Plasmius said flatly. "But, little badger, unless you give in to me, she will be."

"I'm onto you," I told him. "I know that you'll be coming after her. I can keep her safe now."

Plasmius studied me for a moment, before he rolled his eyes. "Daniel, you always knew that I was coming after her; that all of the people in your life were going to be made to suffer because of your stupidity. Don't act like this came as a shock to you."

"Jazz is innocent!"

"No one is innocent," Plasmius shot back at me. "Tell me this: do you know if she's still breathing right at this moment?"

Now he was just trying to fuck with me. "My parents would come and tell me if anything –"

"Do your parents know where you are?" Vlad asked, taking a step toward me. "Does anyone? And, do you know who is with Jazz right now? I have ghosts that are very loyal and who would love a chance to get revenge on the Fenton family. She could be taking her last – "

I leapt for him, surprising Vlad, and punched him in the face. I could have attacked him in any number of ways, but there was something fucking satisfying about sending a fist into his jaw. Vlad reacted immediately, sending a blow into my stomach. I ducked out of his range, green energy crackling at my fingertips. Vlad attacked again without hesitation, and I had to dive away from his pink energy. He snarled at me, but I rushed at him. What I really wanted to do was strangle him, but I knew that there was no way I would be able to. Instead, I tried to pummel my fists into his stomach in order to wind him and then I would go for his face. Vlad went intangible, and I fell through him. Spinning around, I saw that he had floated up into the air toward the high ceilings, his feet nearly touching the bookshelf. I joined him in the air, staring him down.

"This is only going to end one way," I shouted at him. "You're going to die and I'm going to win."

Vlad's eyes flashed from my face to just behind me. "Oh, but Daniel, you're forgetting one thing."

I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

"You have more to lose."

He fired an energy blast and I went intangible to avoid it. It took me a minute to realize that he wasn't aiming for me. I spun around in the air, taking in the scene that I'd previously had my back to. I hadn't heard Tucker open the door to the room we were in; hadn't noticed that he was there until now. He was on his stomach, trying to get out, although he was moving so slowly.

He hadn't avoided Vlad's attack.

"What the fuck?" I shouted at Vlad.

I wanted nothing more than to go to Tucker's side, but I knew that I couldn't turn my back to Vlad right now. That would be like asking to die. Yet, I couldn't keep myself from turning my head to see if Tucker was still moving, getting himself away from the danger as best as he could. Vlad took full advantage of my brief distraction, and aimed for me. I didn't have fast enough reflexes, and his blast caught me in the chest. I doubled over and let out a gasp. My heart seemed to skip several beats and the edges of my vision grew black and fuzzy. While I gasped, I saw Vlad prepare for another attack. I tried to rush my recovery, but it wasn't me he wanted. He wanted Tucker. Time around me slowed and I watched in horror as the pink ball of energy flew toward Tucker. I was too slow to dive in front of it and protect my best friend. Tucker fell limp against the floor move. I couldn't even tell if he was breathing.

"Motherfucker," I ground out, trying to straighten myself. Vlad didn't give me the chance, and fired at me again. I dropped a foot toward the ground.

"Jasmine will die. Tucker will die. Samantha will die," Vlad listed off, advancing on me. "Maybe your parents will succumb as well. And then, after you watch the hell that you have caused, perhaps then I will kill you. You see, Daniel, you can't win. You were born to lose!"

I glared up at him, energy crackling at my own fingertips. I fired at him, but he elegantly moved out of my way. A smirk came over his vampire like face, and before I realized what was happening, he had duplicated himself. There was a copy of him standing right in front of me.

"Goodnight," the copy, or perhaps the real Plasmius, cackled, and then everything went black.

(-.-)

I woke up, adrenaline immediately pumping through my veins. My eyes flashed open, convinced that Plasmius was still standing in front of me, and readied myself for an attack. I bolted upright, and then looked around, confused. This wasn't the room in Vlad's mansion that I expected be in; the room that Vlad and I had fought in. In fact, Vlad wasn't even in view. I was in a little stone room, a cell actually, judging by the one wall that was nothing but bars. I looked around, trying to see if Plasmius would jump out at me, but there was no Plasmius. There was, however, someone sleeping on the other side of the cell straight across from me. I squinted in the faint light provided to us. I could tell immediately that it wasn't Tucker – too slim and feminine. That made me feel like throwing up. I didn't want Tucker down here with me, but Tucker being down here would have meant two things: that he was alive and that the person lying across from me wasn't Sam.

But I had no idea if he was alive or not and it was obvious that the person was Sam.

I stood up, not really knowing what to do. My first instinct was to barge my way out of here, but there was something telling me not to do that – that I didn't quite know everything that I should yet, and that if I acted too rashly I could ruin everything. Admittedly, that 'something' sounded a lot like my sister.

As I stood, there came a loud rattling noise and a strange weight on my hands. I looked down. I had manacles around both wrists with large chains leading back to the wall. I pulled at them, and as I shifted around, noticed that there was yet another chain around my ankle.

I collapsed back down to the ground, feeling exhausted and wanting to giving up. It was the first time that I had felt despair so fucking thoroughly, and it felt like it was going to destroy me.

I looked to Sam, trying to gauge if she was awake. Even if she hated me, just seeing her face would give me hope. As I watched, she lifted one of her pale arms up and touched the stone in front of her. I thought about calling out to her, but then I realized that it might panic her more. I clenched my lips together, watching as she slowly sat up with her back to me. She stood up, the skirt of her large gown making swooshing noises. Suddenly, she kicked out, seemingly at nothing, and I jumped, wondering what the fuck she saw that I didn't. Then, her own chain scraped along the ground, and I understood.

She started to turn and I began to worry what she would do when she saw me. She looked at the cell bars, whimpered, and that was when she saw me. Her face became stony, and I could do nothing but stare at her beautiful face with concern.

"Don't panic," I urged her, although that was all I wanted to do. I wanted to panic, scream, and lose my fucking mind because I couldn't fucking handle this. But I had to. This wasn't just about me: this was about Sam, Tucker, and Jazz.

Sam began to hyperventilate, her eyes staying locked on my face. My brain spaced out on the horrifying reality of our situation to think, Good, she's still star struck by my beauty.

"What happened?" Sam demanded, her voice too high. Her large purple eyes seemed to get even bigger, her breath came in shorter and shorter gasps, and I thought she was starting to shake. I hoped she wouldn't fucking pass out.

I stared at her for a moment, wondering if she meant what had happened to her or what had happened in general. I couldn't tell her what had happened to her; I could barely tell her what had happened in general. We hadn't yet discovered Vlad's plan. I barely knew more than she did.

"Why?" Sam screamed, and I started.

"Fuck," I said – my first reaction to everything. I never meant for any of this to happen. I had wanted to protect her. "I'm fuckin' sorry, Sam."

She glared at me with a hatred I hadn't known she was capable of, snarling, "And what the hell do you have to be sorry for?"

Everything, of course.

I don't own anything recognizable. Thanks to my betas: Forever Sky.

~TLL~