"Talking."

'Danny thinking.'

'Narrator talking to Danny.'

Chapter Eleven

Danny laid on his couch staring at his TV. The silence pounded in his ears as he furrowed his eyebrows and concentrated even more on the black screen.

'You know, the TV is a lot more entertaining when it's turned on.'

"Shut up."

'Come on, don't act like this is all my fault. You were the one that lost control.'

"I know." Danny's phone vibrated on the side table, and he sat up.

'So why are you mad at me? You should be mad at your lack of control.'

'If I hear his smug voice one more time…'

"Hello?"

"Daniel James Fenton, this story on the news better not have anything to do with you or I swear…"

"Vlad."

"…do you not have any comprehension of the consequences of your actions? No, obviously…"

"Vlad."

"…because if you did you would have handled the situation with a little more thought. I understand that they were bad people…"

"Vlad!"

"…but don't you think this will draw suspicion to where you are. A normal human wouldn't be able to melt another human. This could draw so much attention…"

"VLAD!"

"Yes?"

"Calm down."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. He heard Vlad hang up, and jumped as a cloud of purple smoke filled the room. He stared at the man, now in his ghost form.

"Calm down? Calm down! You've drawn so much attention to your city that the possibility of people you don't want investigating coming here is enormous! Do you really expect your parents not to take that chance, especially with how paranoid they are about ghosts? Or what about Ms. Manson and Mr. Foley? Don't you think that they would think it was you?"

"I'm sorry." Danny looked down with tears in his eyes. Vlad's eyes softened, and he changed back to his human form with a sigh. He sat on the couch next to Danny, and put his arm around him. Danny leaned into him and let the tears fall.

"What happened?" Vlad said, rubbing Danny's back.

"I lost control, and he took over."

"How did you lose control?"

"I was only trying to scare them away from the lady. I didn't want to hurt them that badly. I saw my reflection in a window. My eyes were glowing, and I lost all of my control over him." Danny was bawling now, and Vlad was having a hard time understanding him.

"Don't worry little badger. It's fine."

"NO!" Vlad started. "No! It's not. If I lost control that easily, what about now? What can make me lose concentration now?"

The two sat in silence for a few moments, until Vlad started speaking again. "How about you start using your powers again?"

Danny sniffled, and wiped his nose. "What?"

"If we get you used to your ghost side coming out, you won't lose your concentration when it shows through. And it will help you with your current occupation." Vlad said with a hint of disgust.

Danny giggled. He knew Vlad wasn't a big fan of what he did for a living, but he supported him as long as he did it for good reasons, which he did.

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

"I always am."

"Shut up." Danny punched Vlad in his shoulder, and stood up.

"Well it's true." Vlad laughed.

"Yeah, sure." Danny started walking towards his bedroom.

"Where are you going?"

"To bed. It's eleven at night here."

"Ah. When will you start using your powers again?"

Danny paused at his bedroom door. "I guess tomorrow. I'll fly around for a bit."

"Good." Vlad changed back into his ghost form. "Goodnight, little badger."

"Goodnight."

Vlad transported back to his house, and Danny walked into his room and shut the door. He undressed until he was only in his boxers, and climbed into his bed.

'Let's hope for the best.'

He laid under the covers for almost half an hour, before finally falling into a restless sleep.