As promised I got this out quickly. Thank you for everyone who reviewed, they really helped in getting this chapter out faster.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own DP

"I would choose to be with you, if the choice was mine to make."

-Unknown

I was lying against the wall in the corner of the cell, letting my thoughts wander. It had been by my estimate about four days since I had been weighed. I looked towards the door, where by water bottle stood, barely enough water in it for one sip. My stomach ached from the lack of food, and my throat was so dry I could barely swallow. I crawled slowly over to the door, and reached out for the water. I uncapped it and tilted it up in the air. A few drops fell into my mouth, doing nothing to quench my thirst.

Maddie hadn't come down for a few days, although I knew she would come soon, before I fainted from dehydration. I looked past the clear wall of the cell, trying hard to look past my grimy reflection staring back at me. I was like a skeleton, my eyes and cheeks sunken in, my green eyes dull and lifeless, grime covering me. My hair hung limp and was now a grayish color from all the filth covering it. My jumpsuit was stained with a collection a sweat and ectoplasm, and was hanging off my thin, malnourished frame. How long had it been since I was captured, maybe… twenty-two days. Yeah, that sounds about right. It's been four days since I was weighed, and about three days before that, Vlad told me I had been missed for fifteen days. Twenty-two days in all. It felt like a lifetime since I had seen anyone besides my mom and Vlad.

Speaking of Maddie, she just came down the stairs with another water bottle. She handed me the water bottle, and then picked up the phone. As I was sipping from the water bottle, careful not to waste it, I listened to her conversation.

Vlad, he needs to go to school, I know you are the mayor and all, but I care about his education!

Why does he need to stay at your mansion, you've had enough time. I know this was one of the agreements for helping me capture phantom, but it has been almost a month!

And I appreciate you helping me, but he has to come home. Today. Meet me here in an hour. Goodbye.

Well, that was the most encouraging thing I have heard in a while. Vlad's going to have to make up an excuse, that'll be fun to watch. It looks like his plan has failed. Now maybe, just maybe, Jazz, Sam and Tuck will look down here. Hell, even my mom will be looking for me. Ironic, huh.

I heard Vlad before I saw him, his expensive shoes slapping against each step on his way down. He glanced over at me, a look of pity on his face that is only there for a second, then vanished.

"Hello, Madeline, how has your day been going?" Vlad said, stalling for time.

"Where's Danny, he was supposed to be here," Maddie said, glaring at Vlad.

"Now about that," Vlad said sheepishly," I don't know where he is."

"What!" Maddie exclaimed at him," How could you not know where he is? How long has he been missing?"

"A few days. I have been trying to find him," he lied.

"Well, you better get out there and look harder. I am calling the police!" she stated, and reached for the phone.

"Wait… I will take care of it, I will contact the police. You need to look more into Phantom's anatomy, and once that is done, you will have all the time in the world to look for your son." Vlad commanded.

"No," Maddie spat," I will look for my son today, experiments tomorrow. My son comes before Phantom, and you should know that."

She walked out of the room, leaving a very surprised Vlad in her wake. He then looked toward me.

"Well, it looks like that plan failed." I stated, my voice scratchy from lack of use.

"Well, Daniel, looks like you're not in the best situation to be saying that," he said, clearly frustrated that his plan hadn't worked longer.

He left after that, leaving me alone, just me and my pitiful reflection. You know, if I wasn't in my ghost form with my green eyes and white hair, I doubt even my friends would recognize me anymore. But then again, I'm not the same person I was before. That was my last thought before I drifted off to sleep, too weak to do anything else.

"Phantom. Phantom! Wake up."

As I opened my eyes, I once again found myself chained to the table, Maddie glaring at me, obviously in a bad mood.

"I'm awake," I croaked, my voice rough from disuse and lack of water.

"Now let's see what makes you work…," she trailed off, as she picked up a knife.

She proceeded to tear straight through by jumpsuit from the base of my throat down to my stomach.

"How do you have any scars?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"Ghost fighting," I replied.

"But you're a ghost, ghosts are just ectoplasm, they don't even have real skin!" she argued.

"Whatever you say," I mumbled," But the truth is right in front of you."

"Well then, onto the experiment that really matters," she said, a faint hint of excitement in her voice.

Like the last time, I felt a sharp, burning sensation from the top of my abdomen to my navel. She seemed intrigued by the green-hued muscle and tissue underneath my skin. I couldn't stop screaming when she made an incision on the skin above my lungs and peeled it back. Unimaginable pain was all I felt as she examined underneath the skin feeling my rib cage, and seeing the rise and fall of my lungs as I screamed. I had almost passed out when she stopped and the skin started repairing itself. I was seeing black spots but I wasn't unconscious yet.

"Interesting," she mused," you have actual organs, unlike any other ghost I have ever seen.

"Huh, just like a human, imagine that," I hissed, my teeth still clenched in pain.

"You will never be like a human, Phantom. Ghosts are not even living, they have no heart, they do not care for anyone," she stated, completely convinced of herself.

"How do you explain me then," I asked, wondering what she thought about her recent discoveries.

"Well we will see if you have a heart, but no matter what it cannot beat because you are not living," she declared," And besides, how do I know you don't have an ulterior motive for fighting other ghosts?"

I stayed silent, knowing that no matter what I said, she would not believe me. To prove her point, she made an incision above my heart, well, where my heart would be in my other form. I clasped my teeth together, trying not to scream. She cut all the way down to the ribcage before I yelled this time.

"See, you have no heart," she stated, as my chest heaved, trying to get enough oxygen to my lungs. "What is that?" she asked, pointing to where a blue glow radiated from my chest.

Crap. She found my core. She made another incision, this time in the very middle of my chest. I would have screamed but my voice gave out before I had a chance. As she peeled back more of my skin, ectoplasm flowed down my body in rivulets, pooling on the table. Spots appeared in the corners of my vision. As she continued, I yielded to the darkness threatening to overcome me.

I woke up back in my cell and Maddie was gone. The places where Maddie had torn off the jumpsuit were hastily stitched together. My chest throbbed, but the only visible evidence of the experiment was a series of fresh, pink scars running up, down, and across my chest, crossing at some points.

As I looked around, I spotted my water bottle lying in the corner, so I crawled over to it, and filled my parched mouth with water, not caring about saving it, although I knew I would regret it later. After a minute, the water was gone, and my stomach felt like it was ready to burst. As I lay there, staring into space, I tried to forget the experiences of the past day. I knew she thought I was less than human, but to hear it out loud confirmed it. She didn't care about the ghost half of me. Would she ever? If she found out, would she want to eliminate that half, or would she accept me? There was no way to know now, but how could I prove I'm not evil if that happens. But deep down I knew the answer. It was up to her. The choice had never been mine.

So how was it? I tried to make it as good as the last chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it! R&R