The radio filled the car with its upbeat tunes and commercials yet there still seemed to be a thick silence in the car as Lancer drove. This time Danny didn't sleep, he was staring out of the window, every little car passing made him flinch, the sound of every horn making his fists clench. Danny looked up at Lancer occasionally which made Lancer nervous. The road was long through the mid-west. Ten miles felt like hours, days, years and the silence stretched on forever which was why the radio was turned on in the first place. Danny coughed a little then sighed a bit.

"Are you ok?" Danny asked glancing over at Lancer.

"Yes… I suppose?" Lancer answered while passing a semi-truck.

"Suppose, another way to say maybe." Danny grumbled folding his arms. Lancer managed a nervous chuckle.

"Yes, in a way." Lancer sighed a little, "It's just a lot to digest, I have questions." He admitted. Danny groaned.

"I supposed you'd be insane if you didn't." Danny looked up at him. "You don't think I'll kill you do you?"

"Uh…." Was all Lancer could answer.

"I already told you I wasn't going to kill you." Danny said a bit indignantly. Lancer nodded.

"I don't mean it that way." Lancer said.

"Then how did you mean it?" Danny asked. Lancer coughed a little nervously.

"I meant it more as… for heaven's sakes Mr. Fenton, I'm scared." Lancer finally said. This caused Danny to start laughing.

"What's so funny?" Lancer said slightly offended.

"It's just… I am too." Danny said giving him a wry smile then looked up to a place beyond Lancer's view, "I think I've always been scared. I just guess it's a relief you are too." Danny glanced back at Lancer, "I've been scared for a long time. Ever since the accident." Danny stared down at his hands, "ever since I became this way."

(There is no turning back now that you've woken up the demon)

Maddie stood in the white room next to the white beds with the white curtains and the white walls, the white furniture and the white lamp in her white jumpsuit. Jack was busy scratching like crazy, the new white suits didn't agree with him, and while the GIW had obliged and given them jumpsuits as opposed to just suits, Jack wanted his standard Day-Glo orange spandex. Maddie sighed picking up the white folder that was on her own separate bed (shenanigans weren't allowed on base) and began to read.

Danny's face stared out at her. His human face looking cocky and yet she could still see the fear in his eyes. A bruise had started welling up on the side of his face since the picture was taken. Maddie felt a lump rise in her throat but quickly choked it down. The next picture erased that lump when she saw it. Phantom. His green eyes seemed to glow even from out of the photograph. His smirk seemed to be directed at her taunting her with it. He was a ghostly parody of her son, but at the same time she knew. She knew that it was her Danny. She had seen those same ghostly eyes filled with emotions before, emotions she never thought possible for a ghost. Maddie shook her head to dispel such thoughts and continued through the file.

There were many papers on the things they had learned about Z, about the things they had extracted from him, his psychological profile and how he eventually broke down. Maddie didn't want to know about most of this, because somewhere he was still her baby, but she shoved this thought aside thinking about the job she had to do, how she and Jack were responsible for the creation of this creature. There were a few discs in the folder with different labels. Hypnotherapy, Experiment #666, Project: Level Up, Dissections 1-5, Dissections 6-10, Dissections 11-15, Dissections 16-20, Dissections 21-25, Dissections 26-30. Maddie counted up to 100 dissection videos on the discs.

Jack suddenly popped up over her shoulder grabbing one of the discs. He stared at it then greedily popped it in the DVD player that had been provided for them.

There he was. Danny. Maddie held her breath as her baby lay on the table strapped down at the wrists the forearms and the upper arm, then at the ankles calves and thighs. His large blue eyes swiveled around anxiously, there were sharp instruments on the table next to him.

"So are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?" Danny asked smirking confidently though his eyes betrayed his fear. The man who was working on setting up the equipment didn't answer but continued about his business.

"You know my parents are going to be pissed when they find out about this." Danny joked. The man grunted, "Or at least they would be if they weren't the ones who put me in here in the first place. But I'm sure they'll realize their horrible mistake and come barging in. I mean come on; my mom would never let me get hurt." Danny said. Maddie choked down a sob. "She'll totally come busting in here guns blazing and shooting you guys to hell and… saving in me…" Danny broke off looking down. Maddie stared at him trying her best to hate him, but he was just too… too Danny.

"Who are you kidding?" The agent setting up the equipment said suddenly straightening up from his work. Danny shrugged, well attempted to, the agent looked at him "You're parents know what you are and were glad to be rid of you filthy ghost." The man exited the room and cast a glance back.

"No one is coming for you, and if they are, well, we have full ownership over and we are authorized to protect government secrets by any means possible. Which conveniently includes your filthy putrid impure body." The man then closed the door behind him and a couple minutes passed before a group of doctors and two agents came in. The first man stopped looking stunned as he stared at the boy on the table.

"I think there has been some mistake… This boy… he is human." The Doctor stared at the boy. An agent with the group shook his head.

"Sorry, let me take care of that." Then the agent went over to the table where Danny was being held down and flipped a switch. Danny screamed gritting his teeth and two rings of light formed at his waist and began to travel their separate directions. Maddie had seen this before and fought back her urge to throw up in disgust. Danny seemed to fight with the light as it moved up and down not sure what to do and at first he seemed to be winning. Then the Agent twisted a knob and Danny's screams grew louder the white light eventually washing over his body leaving a white haired green eyed boy. The doctors' eyes were wide.

"This boy was Danny Phantom." The Doctor said. Then a slow smile spread over the Doctor's face.

"That is most interesting." He picked up a scalpel and began to advance on Phantom whose green eyes were wide with fear, the cocky smile gone, "most interesting." the Doctor repeated.

And he began to cut.

(In me)

Danny awoke with a jolt and a sharp yelp that made Lancer jump and nearly swerve into the next lane. Danny was gripping the door handle so tightly that the upholstery had ripped and the foam padding was falling out. As his breathing slowed Danny let go of the handle rubbing his head and looking out the window at the mountains in the distance.

"Are you ok?" Lancer asked. Danny nodded holding his head.

"It feels like sleeping is the only thing I can do on this trip." Danny said bitterly, "I just wish I could avoid the dreaming." Lancer nodded.

"Did you dream… about… that… place… the place you were… before you came here." Lancer said not quite sure what to say. Danny nodded, usually he would have made a funny quip about Lancer's lack of coherent English, since Lancer was after all an English teacher, but he was still trying to shake off the remnants of yet another nightmare.

"Can I help?" Lancer asked. Danny shook his head.

"No, not really." He muttered. Lancer nodded, understanding, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Well maybe if you talked about it." Lancer suggested. Danny's eyes narrowed, did Lancer want to know for his own sick reasons or was he genuinely concerned. Lancer, seeing Danny's expression, added, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"Ok." Danny said with a sigh of relief. The car fell back into silence as they continued along the road. The wet pavement stretched out before them the grey clouds gathering overhead in a serene stormy fashion. Like something from a movie. It was foreboding and Lancer decided to take it as an omen, perhaps foreshadowing. There was a storm on the horizon, and it was brewing quickly. Lancer couldn't yet tell the size of it, the impact it would have, all he knew was that it was coming.

The first rain drops started to fall.

And suddenly the road exploded around him.

Hey!

So I haven't updated in a while as many of you may know.

And I have left you with an evil cliffhanger, for which I apologize, but there was just no continuing it from there. The story would turn out wrong.

I also want to say sorry for the slow updates. And thank all of you who have the patience to stick with me.

Please leave your lovely reviews as I deeply enjoy reading them.

Also please VOTE in your reviews for which story chapter of mine you'd like to be out next either this one or any others you might be following and I'll try to update more often.

No promises though.

Anyway.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

Con-San out!