Yay! Can you believe it? I'm updating already! Luckily my crazy test week is over, so I've been working on my stories! Oh, and this chappie is dedicated to my good friend, Shining Zephyr and her muses! SZ, you'll see why after ya read! Happy Reading! It's pretty long!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom

Chapter 20: Dark Consequences.

Skulker stood motionless in front of his employer's bottom-stairs lab. His eyes were wide with shock as he stared at the shambled house that the maids were attempting –without much success-- to clean-up. …It didn't take long for an amused grin to curl up on the hunter's lips.

"Fright Knight just lost our bet," the hunter stated with a chuckle, "I knew those two couldn't live long under the same roof without trying to kill each other."

Skulker's attention went to his employer, who was walking down the stairs, taking care not to step on the pieces of ceiling and broken decorations that littered them.

Vlad quickly noticed how amused his ally was and glared at him. "I'm not in the mood, Skulker," he warned, and walked past the ghost, towards a smaller dining room since the larger one was destroyed.

The hunter smirked, but didn't say anything and just followed the man.

The half-ghost sat down and let out a sigh as he rubbed his temple. He had such a horrible headache and his body ached all over. Remembering Skulker was in the room with him, he asked, "Do you have any news for me?"

"No, everything is quiet in Amity Park," Skulker replied, taking his eyes off the cracked walls and looking back at his employer.

"What will you be having for breakfast, sir?" the ghost butler interrupted.

"Bring me a cup of coffee, a fruit salad, and two aspirins," Vlad replied as he continued to rub his temple.

Skulker cleared his throat, trying to carefully pick his next words. "So…I assume you had some trouble with the whelp… What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

Vlad sighed angrily before looking in the general direction of the stairs. His eyes flashed red as he angrily answered. "I found Daniel in my secret lab."

Skulker chuckled, his arms crossing in front of him. "Oh, I see; he found the mainframe."

Vlad narrowed his eyes at the smiling ghost. "I said I wasn't in the mood," he growled menacingly.

Skulker held his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright," he said, amusement still in his tone of voice, "It's over now, so calm yourself."

Vlad sighed away his anger. "It's not over. It's only the beginning," he said tiredly, watching Derek return with the pain killers he wanted. Without a word, he grabbed the two aspirins and swallowed them.

Danny found himself in a very deep sleep; one he didn't want to wake from. However, something kept nagging at him. Something felt…. uncomfortable. He really couldn't place what the feeling was exactly because he was unconscious. But his body seemed to sense it; and it soon pushed him out of his slumber.

The teenager groaned as he slowly began to stir. But the second he had acquired awareness, he realized that the uncomfortable feeling was pain; and it was coming from his throat.

Danny's eyes snapped open, and his hands instantly wrapped around his neck. The now withering boy's eyes squeezed back shut, and he whimpered from the excruciating agony he felt. But when he did, his mind jolted with realization and fear.

He sat up, his hands still clutching his red and swollen neck.

"What..."

Danny's eyes widened when he realized no sound came out of his mouth. He attempted to speak again, but all he caused was more unbearable pain, and still not a single sound came out.

He began to shake and hyperventilate, which only made his throat ache worse. "My throat! My voice! What did he do to me?!" he thought frantically, his eyes tearing as he tried over and over again to get his vocal cords to respond.

Danny fell back on his bed. He grabbed onto his pillow in desperation and buried his face into it. "I can't talk," he thought as more involuntary tears sprang from his eyes.

How could he? How could Vlad hurt him like this? Sure, his enemy constantly caused him physical pain. But nothing as severe as this! The man had destroyed his vocal cords! …But why? ... And… was it permanent?

His mind quickly recalled Plasmius' last words to him and the unique way he attacked him before passing out…

"He did this on purpose…he messed up my throat just to keep me from using my-"

The young hybrid felt pure rage explode within him and he all but jumped to his feet. With fisted hands and glowing green eyes, he transformed into Phantom. But when he did, he felt a piercing pulse of pain course through his throat. Danny fell to his knees as he let out a silent scream.

His throat was so injured that even the moderate tingle of his energy rings passing over it was very painful. Luckily, the coldness of his ghost form soothed away the extra burning sensation enough to get his mind to focus. Phantom stood once again; and with narrowed eyes, he flew out of his room. The anger still flowing wildly through his veins kept his mind focused and determined on the only thing he wanted at the moment: Revenge.

"Have you ever considered releasing some of those creatures? Maybe then you would not have the need for so many cages, or the need to expand your domain," Vlad said, clearly annoyed with the real reason for Skulker's visit. The hunter wanted more supplies. But Vlad had just given him a large stock a few days ago, and the older hybrid was not in the mood to oblige him again.

Skulker crossed his arms indignantly. "I will do no such thing. I do not criticize your personal life, so do not criticize mine," he replied with the same annoyance.

Vlad rolled his eyes, but waved a hand dismissively. "Fine, I'll-"

He dropped whatever he was going to say upon feeling Danny's ecto signature come to life. With a tired groan, he rested his elbows on the table and buried his face into his hands. "Here we go," he murmured.

Vlad, however, never expected the boy to arrive so quickly.

Skulker was about to ask the man what was wrong, but he was startled by the white and black blur that flew into the room. As it made a sudden halt in front of his distracted employer, the hunter immediately realized the blur was the young half-ghost. The hunter's eyes widened the instant he saw the large sphere of bright green energy already formed in between the teen's hands.

"Plasmius! Look out!" Skulker shouted just as Danny released his attack at the older half-ghost.

With a gasp, Vlad reacted to his ally's warning, and threw himself out of his chair, landing not-so-elegantly on the hard floor.

Danny's ecto-attack slammed into the chair the man once occupied, instantly exploding it into sawdust.

Vlad's head snapped up towards Danny after witnessing this. "Daniel!" he gasped out, his eyes wide with disbelief.

But the teen wasn't staring at him anymore. Danny's glowing yellow-green eyes were locked onto Skulker, clearly furious with the ghost for causing him to miss.

Without hesitation, the boy shot an ecto-blast at the hunter, throwing him back onto the table with a surprised cry. Skulker sat up amidst the remains of the destroyed dining table, and stared opened-mouth at his right shoulder. The blast had taken off a large chunk of it!

Skulker's green eyes narrowed at the teen responsible. "Why you little-"

Vlad immediately jolted from his shocked state and jumped to his feet. "Skulker, no!" he exclaimed, preventing the ghost from firing his missiles at the boy.

This brought Danny's attention back to his main target. But before the teen could attack, the Vlad transformed and instantly vanished from the spot.

Danny, blinded by rage at losing sight of the evil man, began to fire ecto-energy in every direction, not remotely caring about all the destruction he was causing. All he cared about was finding his arch-enemy so he could make him feel a fraction of the pain that he was in.

Plasmius suddenly reappeared behind Danny and quickly seized the boy's arms. Danny let out a muted growl --that he horribly regretted-- as Vlad forced his hands behind him, stopping his rampage. Regardless, Danny continued to fight wildly against his arch-enemy, using all his supernatural strength to break free.

"Stop it, you little rat! You deserved it!" Vlad spat out as he actually struggled to keep a hold of the teen.

The man's words enraged Danny further; so much, in fact, that a surge of raw green energy exploded out of his body, pushing Plasmius away from him.

The older hybrid was forced to bring up an ecto-shield in order to protect himself from the bombardment of ecto-blasts the younger hybrid sent his way. Still, some of them were so strong that they actually pushed him back.

"Okay, perhaps those were not the best words to say at the moment," Vlad mumbled to himself as he continued to block Danny's constant attacks. It was all he could really do. The boy wasn't leaving him a single opening to do anything else.

Danny ignored his growing fatigue and pain, and pressed forward with his assault. Each blast became sloppier and stronger than the last, but he didn't care. He wasn't giving his arch-enemy the remote chance to attack. It was his turn to make this heartless jerk suffer!

Unfortunately, Danny was too focused on his goal, and he didn't see the net Skulker fired at him until he was caught and sent skidding across the floor within it.

Danny glared up at Skulker, who looked back at him like he was fighting against his every fiber to keep himself from wasting the teenger that very second.

Vlad lowered his shield and walked towards the struggling boy, who slowly stopped attempting to break free... It didn't take a genius to see Danny was in a lot of pain.

Plasmius grabbed the net and lifted up the trapped boy to his eye level. Danny silently stared back at him with narrowed eyes, his right hand curled into a fist, while his left hand was wrapped around his throat.

"I warned you," the man said angrily after a moment of silence.

Danny lashed out in response, and attempted to punch Plasmius in the face, but the net prevented him from doing so. Instead, he only managed to make himself dizzy from the swaying the net did as a result.

"But you don't need to worry; you'll heal," Vlad continued with narrowed eyes. "Consider yourself lucky that all you got was a sore throat!" he exclaimed before roughly letting go of the net.

Danny landed back on the floor with a thud, the fall upsetting his throat even more. The boy clenched his teeth and momentarily shut his eyes as he waited for the extra pain to pass.

Vlad turned his gaze towards Skulker and gave him a small nod.

The hunter clearly understood his ally's silent order, although he wasn't happy with it. Grumbling, he pushed a button on his wrist, and the net surrounding Danny vanished.

Vlad glared down at the teen and menacingly said, "I suggest you leave before I decide to make your injuries permanent."

But Danny didn't move and just looked up at the man with angry, pained eyes. There was no doubt he was debating something in his mind…

Just when Vlad thought he would have to force Danny to leave, the young half-ghost suddenly reacted by vanishing into invisibility. The billionaire then felt the boy fly out of the room…He couldn't help feeling surprised that Danny had left so… willingly.

What Vlad didn't know, however, was that the teen had left willingly for a reason.

While trapped in the net, Danny got an idea. His arch enemy might be too strong for him to take on physically, but that didn't mean he couldn't make Vlad suffer. The man would pay for what he did.

"And I know exactly how to do that," the young half-ghost thought darkly, flying into the laboratory that was located in the middle of the castle's main staircase.

Danny quickly grabbed the beaker with the orange goo off the shelf, before looking around for something else. A dark smirk ghosted across his face when his eyes landed on a nearby thermos.

He walked over to it and picked it up. He studied it for a moment, before looking at the beaker in his hands. He knew he wasn't thinking straight; he knew what he was about to do was wrong… But he didn't care. With both objects in hand, he flew back to the small dining room.

Meanwhile, Vlad had changed back into his human form and was currently surveying his destroyed dining room. The man took a deep breath and momentarily shut his eyes in an attempt to keep his anger under control. He looked back at the area where he once sat, and walked over to a slightly battered briefcase lying on the ground.

With a sober expression, he bent down and picked it up. He pulled out a white napkin from his suit's pocket and began to wipe off the pieces of wood and food covering his expensive briefcase.

The whole time Skulker just stared at his employer. What could Plasmius have possibly done to make the whelp that angry? He had never seen him act so violently in his after-life… It was truly a shocking sight.

"Plasmius," the hunter called, bringing his alley's attention to him. The ghost gazed at Vlad with an unreadable expression as he asked, "What did you do?"

The billionaire looked down at the briefcase in his hand for a moment, before looking back up at Skulker with a serious expression. "You know that new attack he used in the simulation room?"

The ghost slowly nodded.

"Well, he used it against me last night…" Vlad pointed to his neck and continued, "and so, I-"

The man paused, and suddenly sighed in frustration at realizing Danny was coming back.

"Oh cookie crumbs!" he cursed loudly, placing his briefcase down, just as the teen arrived in the room, "Daniel, I don't have time to- Ahh!" Vlad cried in alarm, his hands raising in front of his face in hopes of blocking the object the young half-ghost suddenly threw at him.

The object was the glass beaker. And so, the second it hit the older hybrid's shoulder, it shattered, and its contents –the glowing orange goo—splashed the man's face and body.

In the back of his mind Vlad knew what was now covering him from head to toe, but he was too shocked to do anything more than stare at the glaring boy in disbelief. But the burning sensation that quickly spread and intensified throughout his body finally snapped him out of his stupor.

"AHH!" the billionaire screeched in agony, his hands clawing at his face and any other exposed area the goo had directly touched. In blind panic, Vlad changed into Plasmius… And he quickly regretted it.

The man's piercing screams grew stronger as the goo began to burn through his jumpsuit, reaching every inch of his ghostly body. Plasmius stumbled backwards, before suddenly vanishing in a puff of pink smoke.

The dining room fell into a dark silence.

Skulker slowly turned his eyes to Danny, who just continued to glare without a single word or movement at the spot Vlad had once been. Suddenly, his prey looked at him, and he couldn't help but feel a tinge of fear. But it quickly vanished.

Skulker growled at the half-ghost and willed out a large gun from his working shoulder. But before the ghost could fire, Danny lifted up the thermos and effortlessly sucked him into it. Without any form of expression on his face, the boy capped the thermos close and then tossed it uncaringly behind his back as if it was nothing more than a piece of unwanted trash. With that same eerie calmness, Danny left the dining room and flew up to his room to wait.

Vlad reappeared above the outdoor pool; and using what little coherency he had left, he dived into it. The cool chlorinated water was like an ointment to his burning skin… but only temporarily. Although the orange goo quickly washed off his body, it had already done its cruel job.

The first things that emerged from the water were Plasmius' shaking hands as they grabbed onto the edge of the pool. His body cried in protest as he pushed himself out of the pool, but he still managed it. He stayed on his knees, panting heavily while holding his swollen blue face in his hands.

The half-ghost's hair was no longer curved upward, but flattened against his head, and his half-eaten cape was awkwardly wrapped around his soaked body.

Vlad's rigid breathing and shaking limbs slowly settled, and he lowered his hands from his face.

He stood up, his face distorting further from pain as he did so. He didn't need to see himself to know that every inch of his body was swollen; the pulsing pain said it all.

Using his intangibility power, the hybrid slid the water off his body, and immediately his hair and outfit returned to their normal look... well, as normal as his clothes could look after the goo had eaten holes through it.

Vlad hissed from pain and anger, while his hands balled into fists. "That's it," he growled out, his red eyes becoming terrifyingly darker and brighter. "I'm going to kill him!"

The man shot into the sky like a bullet, and flew at full speed back into his house. His ghost sense and mind was so focused on finding Danny, he didn't even notice Fright Knight entering the main hallway when he passed by it…. He also didn't think to simply teleport to where the teenager was.

Instead of phasing through Danny's bedroom door, Plasmius blasted it out of his way. He then sent two red energy beams towards the boy's bed, causing it to instantly explode into a mess of feathers and wood.

Vlad, however, realized too late that the young half-ghost wasn't on the bed.

"Ahh!" the man yelled when a green ecto-blast threw him out of the room and crashing into a nearby wall.

Danny was instantly upon Plasmius. He grabbed the fallen villain and punched him in the face with such force that it sent the billionaire to the opposite side of the hallway. Danny flew after him, firing another energy attack as he neared.

But Vlad quickly went intangible, and the blast tore a hole through the wall instead of him. The man growled as he floated to a standing position just in time to counter another one of his young rival's blast with one of his own.

Red energy met green energy, creating a violent explosion that riveted both opponents back from the force. Plasmius slammed into the wall behind him while Phantom skidded across the wooden floor.

Danny got to his feet in time to see Vlad split himself in four. With a silent growl that he regretted, the teen phased through the floor, and landed on the first floor. He couldn't fight all four of them at the same time; he needed to split them up.

"Stupid boy!" Vlad thought with disgust as his three duplicates and he phased through the floor as well, following the boy's ecto-signature. Didn't the brat learn yesterday that he couldn't hide from him?

But Plasmius was shocked out of his thoughts when he felt the young hybrid's signature abruptly disappear from existence. He noticed too late the human Danny standing behind him.

The blue-eyed boy fired four quick but strong blasts at his enemy and his duplicates. Each attack met their target, and once again Plasmius found himself slamming into a wall.

To Danny's surprise, the attack was enough to cause the man's copies to disappear in a puff of smoke. He didn't question his luck and instead decided to use it to his advantage.

But Danny hadn't counted on the pain he would feel when he changed into his ghost form once more. Just like in his room, the teen fell to the ground in pain, clutching his burning throat.

Vlad didn't hesitate to take advantage of this.

The man fired a hot blast at Danny's back, throwing him across the room. The young half-ghost turned his focus back on Plasmius in time to see him fire a strong ray at him. Reacting quickly, he rolled away from the attack. Immediately, he jumped to his feet and flew at the older hybrid.

The teenager fired his own ecto-energy at Plasmius, before diving towards him. The man had no trouble deflecting the blast with his hand, but wasn't able to dodge the two fists that collided with his face, sending him reeling towards the ground.

Dazed, Plasmius momentarily stayed where he was, and clutched his aching jaw. Since when could the boy land so many hits on him? He was almost certain his young rival had struck him more times than he had Danny! He quickly realized his anger and pain were to blame. He couldn't focus and the teen was taking advantage of it…. But then, of course, he failed to realize that Danny was in the exact same frame of mind.

Vlad was literally kicked out of his thoughts by Danny's foot striking him on his side. The man gasped out, mentally cursing himself for practically giving the boy the shot.

Danny wasn't allowing Plasmius any time to recover and he fired an ecto-blast at his defenseless enemy.

Or so he thought.

Before the attack even made it to Vlad, he vanished. And in a blink of an eye he was right in front of the floating ghost-boy.

The older hybrid seized the younger one by his neck, and threw him to the floor with so much force that the wood floor dented where the boy impacted it.

Danny let out a silent cry, due more to being grabbed by his sensitive throat than because of the impact with the ground. However, he forced himself to push aside his pain and got right back into the fight.

The half-ghosts were so focused on one another that they didn't notice they had had a spectator ever since they brought their violent fight to the first floor.

Fright Knight watched on in shock, still not believing what he was seeing. Just by their silence, the ghost knew that his master and the young boy were fighting with the sole purpose of terminating each other… it was then he bitterly recalled that Skulker won their bet.

The knight saw his master fire two eye beams at the teenager, but the child dodged them and quickly lunged at the man and punched him. The Spirit of Halloween found it odd that the half-ghost child seemed to be winning this fight. But why? He knew that the man was stronger than the boy. And he should know. He had fought them both at one point. Something, then, had to be wrong with his master… and his physical appearance was solid proof of that.

Seeing the boy punch his master into a nearby lamp table finally pushed the ghost out of his frozen state. He had enough of watching; he wasn't letting that insolent child win against his master.

Fright Knight pulled out his sword and flew towards Danny, who had his back to him and was ready to fire another ecto-blast at Plasmius.

Vlad, on the other hand, saw the spirit, and suddenly screamed, "NO!"

Danny's eyes widened as he whirled around and saw Fright Knight's sword coming down on him. But just when he was sure he was going to be run through, a red ray ripped the sword out of the ghost's hands, before he could deliver the deadly blow.

"You stay out of this!" Vlad roared at Fright Knight, before directing his focus back to the boy "I want to end his existence myself!"

Danny had been taken aback at witnessing Plasmius just save him, but when he heard the man's reason for doing so, the emotion vanished. Since he couldn't voice something in response to his enemy's words, he decided to let his actions speak for him.

"Ahh!" Vlad shouted at having a blast thrown at his face, sending him sprawling back to the ground.

It was all Plasmius' mind could take, and his cry of rage was solid proof.

The man jumped into the air above the teen, his aura actually glowing red before he split himself in four.

Danny took a step back at seeing all four Plasmius' produce bright red ecto-energy in their hands; and instantly, they fire it. All the teen could do was squeeze his eyes shut as all four ecto-rays engulfed him.

The energy Vlad had released was so intense, it lit the entire surrounding area with a red glow and a loud boom resonated through the house when the attacks hit their mark.

The house gave one strong jolt, and then, there was silence.

Vlad panted heavily as he waited for the smoke to clear. When it did, it revealed a human Danny, trembling from the effort it took to hold himself on his hands and knees. The teen was breathing rigidly, his body covered with scrapes and bruises.

The older half-ghost floated down to the ground, and joined back into one. He walked forward until he was standing a foot from the other half-ghost.

Danny gazed up at him and glared defiantly despite his spinning head. One of his hands was wrapped around his aching throat, while the other held into his aching side.

Wordlessly, Vlad lifted a hand above him and lit it with red energy, his cold and angry eyes locked onto the teen's own.

Danny didn't even blink at the man's actions. If this was the end, so be it. He would face it with dignity. At least this would also be the end of this monster's sick game.

"Give me one, Daniel. Just one good reason why I shouldn't end your life right now," Vlad stated darkly. Somewhere in the back of his mind, there was a voice screaming at him to stop, that he was about to throw all his plans out the window. But his rage blinded his care.

Danny grabbed a piece of broken wood beside him and flung it with all his might at the man's face as a response. The piece of rubble harmlessly went right through the older half-ghost's head. But that didn't make the wordless insult any less disrespectful.

Vlad's raised hand began to shake and his breathing picked up. He stared at the fearless teen, who seemed to silently assure the man he had lost. This only fueled Vlad's growing fury and the energy in his hand intensified. He knew the boy wouldn't withstand a blow like this in his human form. Just one would be fatal. It would be very easy.

Fire it! his anger screamed.

FIRE IT!

And he did.

The blast flew towards Danny, but instead of hitting the boy it landed inches in front of him. The young half-ghost was thrust backwards from the force of the attack and smashed against a large vase at the other side of the room.

Vlad let out another scream of rage as he spun around and let out two more rays towards a nearby wall. WHY?! Why couldn't he destroy this brat?!

"Fright Knight!" the man screamed.

The ghost standing on the side lines quickly floated over to his master. "Yes, my liege?"

"Get him out of my sight before I destroy him!" Plasmius roared, pointing towards the battered teen on the ground.

Danny glared at the man, but internally he was trying to figure out why the man hadn't finished him off. His thoughts were interrupted by Fright Knight's strong hands, painfully grabbing him around his torso, before the ghost threw him on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"No!" Danny mentally shouted, kicking and punching the ghost with all his might. "This isn't over!" The teen immediately attempted to transform into his ghostly counterpart, but he didn't have the energy to do so.

The knight ignored the boy's tantrum, and looked back at his master. "Uh…Where should I take him?" he asked.

Plasmius glared spitefully. "I don't care where you take him! Bury him underground if you must; just get him out of my sight and make sure he stays out of my sight!"

The spirit of Halloween hesitated for a moment, clearly unsure of where he should take the child. But he soon decided and headed up the stairs.

Vlad watched as Fright Knight took away the flaring Danny. The man's teeth were clenched so hard he was surprised he hadn't broken them yet.

Once the boy was out of sight, Plasmius leaned his back heavily against a nearby wall, and finally allowed himself to show the overwhelming pain coursing mercilessly through his body.

He didn't hesitate to change into his human form, but his swollen blue skin merely transformed to swollen bright-red skin. Since the goo was designed to burn ghost flesh, his ghost half was the more injured, and his pain had significantly decreased with his change. But he was still in unbearable agony.

Vlad hissed loudly as he pushed himself off the wall, forcing his feet to carry his weight once more. He angrily walked back to his room and then into his bathroom.

He opened a medicine cabinet and pulled out a strange looking bottle.

"I hate that brat!" the billionaire grumbled angrily as he grabbed his rinsing cup and filled it with water. The dark thoughts coursing through Vlad's mind had his eyes glowing red as he opened the bottle containing a dull green powder.

Using a small spoon that was also inside the bottle, he measured out an amount and mixed it in the water.

Immediately the water glowed a ghostly green. He momentarily glared at the cup in his hands, but then he swigged the contents down. The man's body lighted with the same ghostly green glow the water he drank had, but it quickly faded away.

He pressed his hands against the bathroom counter and sighed deeply when the pain he felt diminished to a bearable level.

The medicine was designed just for that. It reduced pain and inflammation. The older half-ghost had discovered a while back that ghost plants held unique qualities. Qualities he had learned to harness and use for different purposes. The powder he had just consumed was one example of this. Another example was the ghost vitamins that Vlad gave Danny. The vitamins were a mixture of normal vitamins with ghost plant proteins. These proteins made the vitamins absorb and react faster inside a ghost's –or half-ghost's-- body system.

Vlad looked down at his watch and became even more enraged… if that was even possible.

He was late for a meeting with the investors he was going to buy company stocks from. Grumbling to himself, he headed to his closet to pull out another suit to replace the singed one he currently was wearing.

Fright Knight had debated on where exactly to take the teenager. He had first thought of his master's training room, but he didn't know how to use it, so he couldn't really lock the half-ghost in there. Then for a moment, he actually contemplated Plasmius' suggestion of burying the kid underground. There was no way Danny would be able to escape since it was obvious he was too weak to use his powers. However, burying him underground would probably kill the human child, and if his master hadn't done it just a few minutes ago then that meant he didn't want the whelp dead. …Drat.

Lastly he recalled Skulker telling him Danny's bedroom was somewhere on the second floor… he just couldn't remember exactly where. . Even so, he had no problem finding the boy's room… the blown-up door was enough clue.

Meanwhile, Danny, oblivious to Fright Knight's musing, was still struggling to escape the ghost's hold. He wanted to pound the spirit mercilessly for taking him away from his fight with Plasmius, but he was far too exhausted and in pain to get his powers to respond in any way. And the fact that he couldn't even attack the stupid ghost verbally filled him with even more anger.

Fright Knight walked into the child's room and headed for the closest door, which so happened to lead into the study room. The ghost forcefully threw Danny into it, and the teen collided with the bookcase, causing several books to fall on him.

The Spirit of Halloween stared menacingly at the half-ghost, who was on the ground clutching his aching head. "I wouldn't have let you live, boy," the ghost assured darkly, before turning and exiting the room.

Danny immediately got up and sprinted to the door with every intention of getting out. But when he grabbed the handle to pull it open, he let out a soundless yelp. The freakin' door was burning hot!

On the other side, Fright Knight smiled as he continued to melt the metal handle in order to bind it permanently to the door frame. For some reason he didn't think of locking the teen in the old fashion way: using the door's lock. Still, his way was just as—or maybe more—effective. Either way, the whelp wouldn't be going anywhere for a while.

"Well, at least not until he restores his lost energy," the knight thought smugly as he finished his handy work. With an uncaring expression, he left the room.

Danny pounded and kicked furiously on the door, trying with all his might to knock it down.

"No! Let me out! I'm not finished with him!" he screamed in his mind.

He continued with his efforts until his aching hands and body couldn't take the abuse any longer. With one last punch at the door's hard wood frame, he fell to his knees in front of it.

His body was completely spent of energy, and as his adrenaline faded, his pain resurfaced with all its intensity. Danny wrapped his hand around his neck, and clenched his teeth. His entire body was in absolute agony, but the pain in his throat was foremost of them all.

Danny just stayed on the ground, his head filled with dark thoughts. In the back of his mind, his conscience kept telling him what he had done was wrong. It kept asking him how he could have just thrown his morals out the window like that. But he still didn't care; he didn't regret what he did to that, that… he couldn't even think of a great enough insult for Plasmius… at least not one his parents would approve of.

It was then he realized he had tears rolling down his cheek from how angry he was. The teen scornfully wiped them away, and his eyes narrowed as he thought, "This better NOT be permanent! Because if it is, that twisted jerk is going to wish he never met me!"

Vlad stomped down the stairs and made his way to the small dining room. Using a napkin, he carefully wiped off some orange goo that had fallen on his briefcase, before picking it up. The billionaire sighed in relief after he checked the contents and saw they were unharmed. The briefcase itself didn't look as nice as it used to, but he didn't have time to transfer everything within it to another briefcase. He would have to take this one as it was for today.

It was then Vlad caught sight of one of his red-and-white thermoses on the floor. With a roll of his eyes, he picked it up.

He walked off towards his first-floor lab with his briefcase and thermos in hand. Arriving, he headed to the ghost portal at the far end of the lab, and then inserted the ghost container into the releasing unit.

Vlad quickly typed in something into the portal's control panel and its doors opened, revealing a ticked off Skulker on the other side. The ghost quickly flew into his employer's lab and instantly pulled out a large gun from his suit.

"Where is he?! I'm going to adorn his head on my wall!" Skulker fumed.

"For once that sounds pleasing," Vlad thought with clenched teeth. But instead he said, "Stay away from him."

Skulker angrily watched his employer –who he noticed looked as red as a tomato—leave the lab without another word.

Vlad walked out of his castle and then stepped into his limo. He groaned for a moment as he sat stiffly in the car seat. Every tiny moment and every little thing that rubbed against his skin –like his clothing—was painfully irritating. An angry sigh left the man's mouth as something within gnawed at him as he thought of the young boy... and how much pain he also must be in.

Vlad muttered a dessert-related curse under his breath, and quickly pressed a button beside him, "Just a moment," he told his driver, stopping him from starting the car.

The billionaire stepped out of his limo, his hands balled into tight fists as he stomped back into his house. "I can't believe I'm doing this!" he said angrily to himself.

Vlad entered his room and headed straight into his bathroom. He quickly grabbed the bottle he had used earlier, plus an additional one, and left his room once more.

He soon made it to the kitchen, and roughly pushed the two swinging doors open.

George, who had been occupied with cleaning some kitchen appliance, was startled by the slamming sound of the doors and quickly went to investigate.

But before he could move, his employer came into view. The cook's jaw dropped at the sight. "Uh… Sir?"

"Don't ask!" Vlad snapped, walking pass him and towards the stove. He angrily looked through the cabinets, pulling out the things he needed.

George cringed when the half-ghost slammed a tea kettle on the stove-top after having added water to it.

Muttering incoherently, Vlad turned the stove on full blast, before crossing his arms as he waited for the water to heat.

His cook kept staring at him the entire time both in apprehension and as if he had grown an extra eye.

Minutes later the three maids suddenly phased into the kitchen in a frenzy. "George?!" Martha called out.

"George!" Patricia exclaimed, catching sight of the cook, "You are not going to belie-"

"Sir!" all three maids cried in surprise when they realized their employer was there. But then they visibly cringed at the man's appearance.

Vlad shot them a glare, before turning his attention to the whistling tea kettle. He grabbed it and poured the hot water into a teacup. He added the tea bag and two spoons of honey, before lastly adding a measured dose from each of the medicine bottles he had brought from his room.

He placed the tea on a small carrier as he changed into his ghost form. He couldn't keep himself from wincing at the extra pain that resulted from his transformation.

Without so much as a glance towards his still-stunned staff, he phased through the ceiling with the carrier in hand.

Vlad wasted no time in changing out of his more injured side once he landed on the second floor. It was then he recalled he didn't know where Fright Knight had taken Danny…

He decided to try his luck with the boy's room. It was the most likely place for him to be… well, there or somewhere underground…. He didn't put it past the Halloween spirit to actually take his previous words literally.

Walking into the now door-less room, he quickly noticed the teen wasn't in the main area of it. With a raised eyebrow, the older hybrid's eyes fell on the nearby melted door handle. He rolled his eyes and whispered something about Fright Knight having no common sense, before phasing into the office.

Danny Immediately jumped out of the desk chair he was in and adapted a fight stance when he saw his enemy enter the room.

The half-ghosts just glared at one another for a moment, but then Vlad broke their stare-down contest, and placed the tray with the tea on the desk.

Danny took a quick look at what the man had just placed in front of him, before returning his attention to him.

"Drink it!" Vlad ordered spitefully.

In response, Danny grabbed a nearby book and flung it at Vlad's head.

The billionaire yelped when the hard book slammed him in the forehead, and for a second, he saw stars.

Vlad's eyes turned red and he fired a pink blast at Danny, throwing him into the chair behind him.

"Or you can sit there and suffer!" Vlad spat out, before phasing out of the room.

The older hybrid walked out the teen's room. He hissed and rubbed his aching forehead, but quickly stopped when his sensitive skin reacted with more pain instead of relief.

With a massive headache, he finally left his house and headed to his meeting that had started two hours ago.

Danny pushed off the chair that had somehow ended up on top of him, and slowly got up while glaring in the direction of the door. But his glare soon fell to the hot tea still on the desk.

Danny's anger left him and apprehension slipped in. He stared fearfully at the tea, uncertain whether he was alarmed more by the fact that it had come from his enemy or that it was glowing a bright green.

The teenager cautiously stepped closer to the tea while debating on what to do with it. He was almost sure the hot beverage was supposed to do something for him…like the ghost vitamins… they had made him feel better…

Danny wrapped his hand around his throat. The pain was killing him! But… he didn't want to drink something that glowed and came from Vlad again…

A defeated sigh left his lips when his pain won over his fear and defiance. He picked up the tea with shaky hands and closed his eyes as he took a small sip.

Danny gasped and almost dropped the cup at the strange sensation that passed through his body. He opened his eyes and realized he was glowing ghostly green! But before he could panic, it went away.

It was then he realized that the pain in his throat and body had significantly lessened. This time, he didn't hesitate any longer and continued to drink the hot liquid. The fact that he didn't even like tea never crossed his mind. He was too happy that his pain was fading to remember something like that.

Danny was less than halfway finished when he lowered the teacup from his mouth. Something wasn't right…he felt very drowsy….

The teenager glared down at the tea, and silently cursed Vlad. That jerk had added something to the drink to make him tired.

Danny's anger didn't last long though. The drowsiness growing within him took away the energy for it. He clumsily placed the cup down on the desk, and in the same manner, sat-down against the nearest wall. He grabbed his head in his hands, feeling his eyelids and body growing heavy with fatigue.

Danny didn't even realize when he fell asleep.

By one in the afternoon, Vlad was done with his job affairs and was on his way home. He currently was having a calm conversation with the repair company that had come to fix up his house after Danny's earlier fight with Skulker and the others.

"Yes, I know you were here two days ago!" the billionaire shouted into his cell phone.

……………………………

"I don't care! I'm paying your company more than all of those people combined! Make them wait! I want this done today!"

……………………………

"No, it's worse than before."

………………………….

"In an hour? Good. Don't be late," Vlad said before hanging up on whoever he had been speaking to.

The billionaire placed his phone back into his coat's pocket, before leaning his head back against his car's seat. Shutting his eyes, he let out a deep sigh as he recalled all the stares he got from everyone he saw today.

The worst of it was when he walked into the conference room for the meeting he was late for. At the sight of him, the people who had been waiting for his arrival either spat out the beverage they had been drinking or sat stunned with wide-open mouths.

It was humiliating.

Of course, he had no trouble coming up with a believable cover as to why he looked like a ripe tomato that had gotten into a fight with a grinder. He simply told them it was an allergic reaction to something. No one questioned him further… although some insisted he should go to the hospital.

But even with his believable explanation, the stares were still there; they never went away… he felt like he was reliving his years with ecto-acne all over again.

Vlad groaned when he saw his castle come into view through the limo's window. For the first time in his life, he didn't want to come home… Having Danny live with him was turning out to be a bigger nightmare than he thought.

Suddenly that nagging feeling in his mind returned, and Vlad found himself contemplating his actions since last night…. Perhaps he had overdone it…

But then, he quickly recalled what Danny did to him today, and he snuffed out his growing regret. "He shouldn't have been snooping around in my lab," he grumbled as he stepped out of the limo.

Now that he wasn't blinded by rage, Vlad saw the extent of the damage to his house upon entering it. The main hallway had more holes through the walls and ceiling than he could count; the grand stairs looked on the verge of collapsing; and any decorations he once had, had been blown to pieces. And this was only one section of his castle!

He knew both of his dining rooms were in shambles, and that his largest living room had been completely obliterated by the boy's strange attack. Those areas, however, were just the places they had spent the most time in. He didn't even want to think about all the other places they had chased one another through.

With a huff of frustration, Vlad headed up the stairs and towards his room. To his dismay, the second floor also looked like a tornado had ripped through it. Still, it was nowhere near as bad as the first floor.

But then he recalled he had blasted Danny's bedroom door and bed into pieces… He cringed at that. And then shook his head.

The boy had really made him lose it today.

Vlad honestly never planned on harming Danny to the extent that he did. Sure he was angry last night, but he mostly attacked him just to scare him. He needed to make sure the teenager wouldn't try sneaking into his lab again. But Danny just loved rebelling against him; and Vlad couldn't help getting ticked off every time he did.

Even so, the billionaire wouldn't have hurt him like he had just because of that. After all, harming Danny wasn't part of the plan.

But that attack… the same attack that destroyed all his months of hard work; the same attack that killed his perfect clone, his perfect half-ghost son… having the boy use that attack against him once more made him furious!

And then Danny's actions today… Well, that truly destroyed any rational thought from Vlad's mind… he seriously wanted to kill him.

Sitting down on his bed, the billionaire sighed and rubbed his temple, having yet to realize he had a purple bruise on it where the book had hit him.

Vlad tiredly looked down at his watch and mumbled, "He should be out for a few more hours."

Deciding to check up on Danny, he stood and headed to the teen's room. On the way there he continued to observe all the damage around him. Every now and then the billionaire would flinch as he passed by the remains of a priceless artifact, or of something of equal or greater value to him… like his Packers possessions.

Truly, Vlad was beyond surprised that the castle was still standing.

The older half-ghost phased into the study room, and found the younger one fast asleep on the floor.

Immediately, Vlad felt his anger begin to boil once more, but he pushed it aside. Gently –so he wouldn't wake him-- he picked the boy off the floor. But the truth was Vlad highly doubted he could wake Danny even if he tried; the ghost plants' sleeping spores were very effective. Still, it didn't hurt to be careful.

Vlad walked out of the study room and headed to the walk-in closet. He looked up at the pull-down stairs and realized he couldn't lower them since his hands were occupied.

Bracing himself for the jolt of pain to come, he turned into Plasmius, causing the boy in his arms to shiver from the ghostly chill all ghosts emitted from their bodies.

Groaning softly, Vlad flew up and quickly landed in the lounge that was part of teen's room. He changed into his human form as he laid Danny on a large sleeping sofa.

Vlad gazed at the sleeping boy for a moment, simply observing his soft and even intakes of air. The man's blue eyes then moved to Danny's red and swollen neck, before he knelt beside him. With a soft sigh, Vlad grabbed the boy's chin and lifted his head slightly so he could examine his neck more closely.

Although Danny was not awakened by the man's actions, his face did scrunch in pain. And Vlad was sure, the boy would be whimpering if his vocal cords worked.

The older half-ghost frowned, realizing that he could actually see his handprint branded on Danny's neck. "Maybe I was too harsh…" he whispered, lightly touching the young half-ghost's throat.

He let go of Danny's chin and stood. Vlad stared at the boy for a moment longer, contemplating his actions once more. But then, he shrugged it off. What was done was done. It's not like he had permanently harmed him. Danny would heal… just like he would heal as well.

Vlad hissed as he changed into his ghost form once more. He looked back at the teen, but now he was glaring. "Then again, you deserved it," he said through clenched teeth from both pain and anger.

Plasmius phased back down to the room's main area and headed out. Wanting to escape the extra pain that came with being in ghost form, he quickly became Masters.

Vlad brought his hand over his mouth as he yawned. He was so exhausted, but unfortunately he couldn't sleep like he wanted to. The repair company would be here in less than an hour, and he had several calls to make. He needed to replace his destroyed furniture…

Yes, having Danny here was truly a bigger nightmare than he had thought.

-Vlad muse glares- You all know what to do. And those who do not click the button below will have to face my wrath!

Pearl: -jaw drops- You did not just threaten our readers! -glares- I swear, you crazy muse, if I lose just one of them because of you I'm burning your Maddie doll!

Muse: -pulls plush Maddie closer- I'd like to see you try that! I just did you a favor, girl! So don't you threaten me or you'll be facing my wrath!

Pearl: Ugh! Whatever, I'm not in the mood to argue with you; I'm just saying you could have asked nicely!

Muse: I don't plea to anyone! -glares at readers- You all have an obligation to fulfill so get to it. -vanishes-

Pearl: heh... -rubs neck nervously- I'm really sorry; he is um... grouchy after this chappie. Yeah... um, hope you guys liked it! And um, if you're not too mad let me hear your thoughts, kay?

See ya!