Dawning of a Sun

by pearl84

A twist in destiny makes the month old Danny F. half-ghost and places him in the hands of the ghost king: Plasmius. Stuck in between a Human and Ghost war, will this young prince find his true self? And most importantly, who will he fight for?AU DxS VD-FS

26. Chapter 24: Roots of Darkness

Okay, it's been quite a while, so let me give a brief recap of this story:

Danny went to the Dragon Realm in hopes of making his father and Elliot's father friends again, so that the two kids could be friends. But Danny's plan backfired. Ember got hurt. And Aragon and Vlad got into a huge fight. Naturally, Vlad forgave Danny after a talk with him. Danny promised his father never to get himself into such danger again, while Vlad promised him he would do his best to fix things with Aragon, so that Danny and Elliot can be friends. Meanwhile, Spectra is still trying to get close enough to Danny to touch his signature and record it on that black bracelet/ device Tom gave her. Desiree is feeling better after Vlad took her to that Energy Nova, but they have made plans to visit her doctor in the morning, anyways.

Well, I think that's the just of it. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. And it's extra long to make up a bit for the long wait. Happy Reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. But the OCs and the AU plot is my own.

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Chapter 23: Roots of Darkness

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With only Cujo for company, the six-year-old Prince was in a small garden, near the palace entrance. And while the child was on his back, on top of the ghost pup's large form, said dog was also on his back, asleep.

There was a pout on Danny's face as he stared up at an Energy Nova, swirling with its usual speed and pattern. But his thoughts were on anything but the mass of pure energy in the atmosphere. They were on the fact that he was still grounded!

Sure, he was glad that his father was not mad at him anymore. But now, he was so bored that he really wished that he wasn't under punishment! He had hoped that he could at least go to his playgrounds; but just before his parents had left to Kuracisto home and clinic, his father had made it clear that just because he wasn't upset with him anymore and just because the child had promised never to do something like he had yesterday, didn't mean that he wasn't going to be punished for his disobedience and his going to the Dragon's Realm But now, instead of being punished forever, the Prince was told he would have to stay on the castle grounds for two weeks!

"That's forever!" Danny grumbled, his tail sharply swishing from side-to-side in his frustration and boredom. His sudden words and actions, however, stirred the large pup on which he was lying, and Cujo's hind legs twitched from Danny's tail slightly tickling his stomach.

Cujo let out an annoyed whine before he yawned loudly. However, his attention went to the smaller ghost on his chest when the child suddenly rolled on his stomach to look at him.

"Is it eleven yet?" Danny questioned the ghost dog, remembering that his mother said she would be back around that time. Although he could tell time by the clock in his bedroom, all Danny knew when it came to the Energy Novas and time-telling was that their color depended on the time of day. But how to tell what time it was exactly…. the Prince had yet to comprehend that much.

But by the way Cujo looked over at a Nova and tilted his head in confusion at it, the pup clearly had no clue how to tell time from it, either.

"Never mind," Danny said, rolling his eyes before turning on his back again. His boredom soon had him inspecting his hands, his thoughts going to the claws that would soon be coming out. He was glad for that. It was annoying how his fingertips were so sensitive. And now that he thought about it, so was his upper gum line. In fact, when he passed his tongue over it, the Prince could feel something sharp protruding just barely from his gums. Anĝela had said that the discomfort in his mouth and fingers would go away when his fangs and claws fully unsheathed themselves. And then after, he would be able to retract and hide them at will---like any other ghost.

Danny smiled as he slowly let his ice energy cover his hands, its familiar feel as soothing as always. But then he molded the cold energy into an ice crystal, and inspected it briefly before putting it in his mouth. As he sucked on it like a Popsicle, he made another one in his free hand before turning around again and offering it to Cujo. But because the ghost dog was currently in his large form, the ice crystal was more like an ice chip for him.

Danny grinned at the fact before sitting up on his companion's chest and mumbling through the piece of ice in his mouth, "You probably didn't even taste that. Turn small."

Cujo barked and did so, only for the Prince to roll off him since they were now the same size. But Danny was hardly hindered by it and just sat back up on the grassy ground. But as he started making another ice crystal for Cujo, the pup's attention suddenly went to something several feet away from them. And the ghost dog suddenly growled untrustingly.

Since the Prince had his back to whatever had Cujo upset, he quickly dispelled the cold energy in his hand and turned his head, asking, "What's wrong?"

But the child's question was quickly answered when he caught sight of Walker and Bullet walking down the main path towards the castle's entrance.

Danny chuckled even with the melting ice in his mouth as he said, "Just Walker and Bullet, Cujo. Heh. They are kind of scaring looking, though!"

Cujo almost seemed to laugh and nodded in agreement.

But as the child continued to watch his father's law enforcers, Danny noticed Walker was carrying a circular, green-glowing metal sphere in his left hand.

"Hey, what's that?" he mumbled curiously, pulling out the remaining ice from his mouth and detractingly tossing it in the grass.

But when the child began to float up, clearly about to go after Walker and Bullet, Cujo quickly whined and gently grabbed one of Danny's hands in his mouth.

"What?" Danny asked with a frown.

Cujo whined back worriedly.

Danny just rolled his eyes in amusement and said, "You're weird, Cujo."

The pup growled in protest. But when his companion flew off after the adult ghosts, Cujo's ears perked up in alarm and he ran after the child, barking.

Danny flew down the main path, smiling thankfully at the two ghosts who opened the palace doors for him when he reached them. He quickly spotted Walker and Bullet who had entered the palace a few seconds before.

"Hello!" Danny exclaimed, flying right in front of them and forcing them to halt in their steps.

The sheriff frowned at the sight of the child, while Bullet smiled calmly and greeted him back.

"What is that?" Danny then asked, pointing at the device in Walker's hand.

But Walker just raised an eyebrow before moving around the Prince and continuing forward.

Bullet smirked at that, but said nothing and followed the other male ghost.

Danny, on the other hand, frowned after the two for a moment before flying again after Walker and saying, "You are not going to tell me what that is?"

"Where's your father?" Walker questioned, still ignoring the Prince's question.

Danny's eyebrows creased further as he flew alongside the adult ghost, but still answered, "He's not here."

The sheriff instantly stopped; and with a heavy frown, he looked at the child and further questioned, "He's not? Then, where is he?"

"He went to the doctor with my mother," Danny replied before looking back at the shiny object and adding more excitedly, "Is that a toy?"

"Just wonderful. I made this trip for nothing. Are you sure they're not home?" Walker asked, annoyed. "Do they commonly leave you all alone?"

The Prince blinked at the older ghost. "Alone?" He shook his head. "No, I'm not alone. I am never alone. Cujo is with me. See?" he said, pointing at the ghost dog, which growled when Walker and Bullet glanced at him. "Oh, and Dora is here! She watches me all the time. And George is here, too! And Derek and Carl and all the garden ghosts and all the maids and also the---"

"I get it!" Walker quickly snapped, jolting the child into silence. But seeing the Prince then frown in discontent at him, the older ghost rolled his eyes and turned back around to leave. "Come on, Bullet," he muttered at the other ghost.

Danny briefly stared after the two, but he then slowly followed after them again, asking, "You are not going to wait for my father? Is the toy for him?"

Walker suddenly growled before looking at Danny and asking, "What toy are you talking about?"

Danny rolled his eyes and just pointed at the object in Walker's hand.

"This isn't a toy!" the sheriff snapped. "It's a very important device, which is too complicated and dangerous for…" Walker trailed off.

"It's dangerous?" Danny questioned, now looking down at the device with wary eyes instead of curiosity.

The sheriff didn't answer right away, and instead looked down the halls to see if there was anyone around. And when he found no one in sight, save for himself and Bullet, a calm smirk curled the ghost's lips as he looked back at the Prince.

"Actually, it is sort of like a toy. But it's a toy for adults, you see. I made it for a special purpose," Walker said.

"You said it's dangerous," Danny repeated with a frown.

"If you don't know how to use it," the ghost sheriff said dismissively. "I had come to show it to your father since it would be a great aid for him and his warriors if they were ever to need a quick exit out of the human world---or even a quick entrance…"

Danny's eyes widened. "That can take you into the human world?"

"That's right. See, it can create a temporary portal at any place and at any instance," Walker informed the child, before raising the glowing metal sphere up to the floating child's eye level and adding, "All you do is press the single button on it---this one right here---and it will release enough concentrated energy to rip an opening for about twenty seconds… Neat, huh?"

But Danny didn't reply and just stared at the device with an unsure look.

"I'll let you hold it if you want…," Walker suddenly said, getting a surprised look from Bullet who had been quietly listening this whole time. But the sheriff ignored him, already guessing what his best general was thinking about his actually daring to let the Prince hold something so dangerous. But Walker knew full well what he was doing.

Danny was also startled by the male ghost's offer; and his eyes snapped at full attention at Walker as he also quickly shook his head and replied. "I don't want to hold it. It's dangerous. And it makes portals. And my daddy said not to go near them!"

Walker lightly laughed. "Who said anything about activating this device? It's not dangerous to hold it if you know how to use it. And I just told you how to use it, remember?"

But Danny just shook his head again.

However, this time, Walker frowned and extended the device as he said a bit more seriously, "It's not going to bite you. Take it. You kept bugging me about it. So, now, take it. In fact, why don't you give it to your father for me?" he added with a smirk again.

"You give it to him," Danny muttered, floating back a bit.

And while Bullet now looked both unsure and confused about what Walker was doing, Cujo began to growl softly at Walker at perceiving his white-haired companion's unease.

"What's wrong, Prince Phantom? Are you afraid?" Walker asked almost darkly, walking towards the child at the same rate he kept moving away.

"Yes," Danny whispered truthfully. He didn't want to touch that thing. It would just get him in trouble again. And he didn't want that!

"Well, you shouldn't be," Walker answered. "But how about I prove it? How about I activate it?" the ghost questioned boldly, placing his thumb on the button as if he was going to press it.

Danny gasped before suddenly bolting down the hallway with a worried Cujo barking and running after him.

"Prince, come back!" Walker called after him, though he obviously didn't want him to come back since he burst into laughter right after.

Realizing the other male was just messing with the child, an amused smile melded onto Bullet's face as he stared in the direction where the Prince had fled. "Well, that got rid of him fast."

"That's what he gets for being so damn annoying," Walker answered with a satisfied smile before gesturing to Bullet for them to leave.

"You know… he's probably going to tell his parents on you," Bullet commented with a raised eyebrow as they walked towards the castle's exit.

Walker thought about the fact for a moment, before shrugging. "It's not like I physically did anything to him. Kids need a good scare from time to time. It toughens them up. And now that I think about it, that's probably why the brat can't call for his parents. Nothing ever happens to him. It's pitiful. If he does become the next king, he's going to be more pathetic and weak than his father."

Bullet chuckled, but then he silenced for a moment as they passed by some guards at the door. But when they finally were alone, he spoke up again. "Hmm. I wasn't aware that the Prince couldn't call to his parents. That's quite strange."

Walker nodded. "Indeed. Spectra was the one who told me. She said she heard Desiree and Lydia talking about it once. But, you know…," Walker said thoughtfully, his mind going back to something Bullet had said earlier. "You might be right about the child telling his parents on me.… But… if he has other things to worry about, then he won't even remember…" the sheriff added with an evil grin.

Bullet just stared in confusion.

But before he could question Walker, the ghost spoke up again, ordering, "Bullet, I want you to go to Spectra's home."

"Okay…," Bullet mumbled, still confused and not understanding the sudden change of topic.

"Yes," Walker said, evil smile still in place. "She has been complaining about not being able to get that brat alone to get what she wants… Go tell her she now has her chance. Like I said, kids need a good scare from time to time. And the Prince is long overdue for a real one…"

Bullet just smirked his agreement.

---

Vlad was quite relieved after he and Desiree finished with the doctor. The ghost specialist had confirmed that the Queen's going within an Energy Nova had been a wise choice. It had definitely fixed the ghost mage's unstable core and energy deficit. Even so, Kuracisto advised her to continue to consume the energy pills and even take a few trips to a nova now and then to continue to recharge her core—at least, until they were sure she was over her bizarre illness for good.

The doctor had almost laughed at the mention of the ghost mage's belief that she might be dying. But, instead, he had assured her that her condition wasn't life threatening, especially now that she was looking a lot better. Needless to mention, the Queen was still young and fluctuations in her body, even seemingly bizarre ones, were not that uncommon. Still, the doctor predicted any lingering weakness or ailments would be gone, at the longest, in a month.

So, it was after that relieving news that Vlad finally told his wife about his going to Aragon's to try and talk with him. Desiree had actually smiled and kissed him and told him she was quite proud of him for what he was going to try to do. Of course, that only solidified for the King that this was the right thing to do. Besides, anything that earned him smiles and kisses from his wife and son had to be a good thing…

The royal couple soon parted ways. However, as Vlad soon began to see the place at which he had asked Aragon---via Lu----to meet him, Vlad began to grow quite nervous. He didn't even know if Aragon had accepted to meet with him at all. Unfortunately, Vlad had not been able to talk to Lu since he did that morning to ask her the favor of delivering his message to the dragon leader. So, Vlad didn't even know what to expect.

But when Plasmius landed on the island just outside the actual Dragon territory, he quickly spotted Aragon leaning against a large tree with his arms crossed.

The moment he saw the King, the Dragon Leader stood up straight and raised an eyebrow at his former friend. "Sending a neutral creature to deliver your message and requesting to meet outside of my territory… Quite wise, King Plasmius."

"I didn't want to intrude on your home again," Vlad answered, his voice almost quiet as he stared back at the older male, noticing the still visible wound on his former friend's face---a wound Vlad had made with his very claws.

"And…no sentry?" Aragon suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

Vlad briefly stared at him in confusion. But suddenly realizing what the ghost was thinking, the King shook his head. "I did not call you here to have you arrested, Aragon. I told you before I left that the problem we had yesterday would stay between us. Did you think I changed my mind?"

Aragon shrugged. "Truthfully? I thought you might have been lying to me…"

Vlad sighed at the jab; but said nothing.

But Aragon suddenly walked over to him; and unexpectedly grabbed Vlad's left shoulder, calmly inspecting the still healing wound on that shoulder---ironically, caused by Aragon's claws.

"Hmm… So, then," Aragon abruptly spoke again, letting go of Vlad's arm and crossing his arms again. "If you did not come here to arrest me, then, what do you want?" he asked, his face falling to a deep frown.

Vlad looked silently at his former friend for another moment; before he honestly and simply said, "I want you to stop hating me."

"Unlikely," Aragon replied right away. "Anything else?"

Vlad closed his eyes briefly before looking back at Aragon and soberly asking, "Why?"

"Why?" Aragon repeated with a light chuckle, though it had a hint of bitterness in it. "Well, where should I start? Your betrayal? Your wife's brainwashing my sister out of our customs? Your taking the throne? My son's death? Your attacking my kin? Or this?" he asked, pointing at the wound on his face.

"You attacked me, first," Vlad muttered.

"You attacked five adolescents. Of course I attacked you!" Aragon snapped.

Vlad frowned in aggravation. "What did you expect me to do? Let them continue to harm my son?"

"He shouldn't have stepped foot on my territory. And yet, I don't fully blame your son. I blame you as well. Perhaps if you would teach him boundaries, these sorts of things wouldn't happen."

Vlad exhaled sharply; but then he shook his head. "I didn't come to argue with you, Aragon."

"Then why are you here?" Aragon demanded, now fully glaring at his former friend.

"Why are you?" Vlad retorted with a serious look, knowing his former friend could have just as easily refused to speak with him. And yet, here he was.

The Dragon Leader frowned in response; but then with a sigh, he answered, "I am here because I do not like to see my son upset. And he's very upset over the fact that he cannot see your son… I fear Elliot might be trying use your son as a replacement for Gregory---or perhaps, he already has, which would explain why your son's absence is as troubling to him as the loss of his brother."

"Then, you understand the solution?" Vlad said with creased eyebrows.

"Of course I do," Aragon replied. "However, I will not allow it. My son's safety comes foremost. And even if it means denying him something that he wants, I will deny it to protect him."

"Aragon," Vlad said with a troubled gaze. "Our sons have nothing to do with our differences. It's unfair to make them pay for our mistakes!"

"Your mistakes, King Plasmius," Aragon quickly correct him.

Vlad turned from the other ghost and looked up at the atmosphere, trying to find the patience and words he needed to get through to the dragon ghost. The King soon turned around; and with a sad look, he asked, "What do you want from me, Aragon? What do I have to do for you to forgive me? Or to at least convince you that our sons have every right to a friendship if they wish it? Do you want me to humiliate myself before you? Must I beg you for forgiveness? I swear I'll do it if it means you will put an end to your senseless hate towards me!"

But when Aragon didn't answer, Vlad's voice turned desperate as he exclaimed, "Why can't you understand? I did what I did for our race! Everything I sacrificed was for you and everyone else! I never picked the throne over our friendship! I had no other choice! You made me choose! But I never wanted that, Aragon! I considered you as much my brother as I do Skulker! And it tears my core that you hate me so much when I have never stopped caring for you! So, please, what is it going to take to earn your forgiveness? What must I do for things to be as they were before I was King?"

Aragon still didn't reply; and Vlad just looked away in defeat. But then the dragon leader let out a loud sigh, capturing his former friend's attention. "Alright. Follow me."

Vlad frowned in confusion when the dragon ghost turned from him and began to walk towards the edge of the island. But deciding to do as he ordered, the younger male ghost followed after him.

Aragon stopped at the cliff and briefly glanced at his former friend, before abruptly diving off the island heading straight down.

"Aragon!" Vlad called after him, before quickly diving down himself and flying after the other ghost.

Being that there were fewer Novas the further down one traveled in the Ghost World, the lighting dimmed and the temperature cooled more and more. But all too use to their environment, both male ghosts' red eyes just brightened more and their auras glowed brighter, keeping their core temperature in their normal state.

However, as they finally reached the bottom, small orbs of different colors floated around them and around the numerous graves surrounding them. Vlad looked around at the ominous environment. It was so different than the upper stratospheres. The ghosts, the sights, even the feel of the place were very different. Usually ghosts that lived down here had special abilities that helped them thrive in the less energy-rich and darker environment. But it was also in these lower parts that most graveyards existed.

"I see you still do not care much for these places," Aragon commented with slight amusement as he walked past the King.

Vlad frowned after him, but then followed him, asking, "Why are we here?"

"You will know in a moment," the dragon ghost answered, his voice suddenly very grave.

The King didn't reply and just continued to follow his former friend. But as he did, the odd multicolored orbs floating in the atmosphere seemed to gather around Vlad, touching him in any place they could. But he just placed a hand against his symbol, not caring as long as they did not try to touch him there. Last time he had come to a place like this and these orbs touched him, it had been a bit overwhelming. Each orb's feel was unique and foreign; so being touched by several of them at once was like having several ghosts all touch him at the same time. It was quite unpleasant.

Aragon, on the other hand, did not have as many orbs hovering around him as the King did. And he hardly seemed to care whether they touched his symbol or not---though he did swat them away from time to time if they would do it too often.

Finally, the dragon leader stopped in front of a grave that was by itself on a small hill. And Vlad instantly understood why they were there.

"I initially did not want to make my son a grave," Aragon said as he stared down at Gregory's tomb. "However, I realized it would help Altiĝis accept that he is gone and give his disappearance a sense of finality…"

Vlad didn't say anything when Aragon suddenly silenced. And the King had a feeling the dragon ghost didn't want him to speak just yet.

Still keeping his eyes locked on the grave in front of him, the dragon leader continued, "I know that his body is not resting here. And I think that is what hurts most of all. However, I find myself visiting this place even when I know my poor young son is not here." Aragon touched his symbol before using the same hand to tenderly touch the tombstone.

Vlad stared sadly at his former friend before quietly saying, "Aragon, I am very sorry for your loss. If I could---"

"Be silent. I am not finished," Aragon interrupted, though his voice was not angry, just sober.

The King just sighed.

"It took me some time to understand why I keep returning to this place…The real reason is not this empty tomb, you see," Aragon explained, finally looking at the King. But then he looked at a blue orb floating in front of his face and suddenly trapped it in his hands. "My constant returning is due to these things," the male dragon said seriously, staring at the glowing orb.

Plasmius frowned in confusion and looked down at the orb that almost seemed to push against the hands holding it captive. But the King knew that these orbs were not ghosts. They were not living things---though some believed, otherwise. And, apparently, Aragon was one of them.

"Do you remember the tale I once shared with you in regards to these mysterious energy orbs, Vlad?" Aragon asked, looking at the other ghost.

The King almost jolted at hearing his former friend call him by his first name. He had not called him 'Vlad' since he had become King…

A bit overwhelmed with what it could mean, it took Vlad a moment to quietly answer, "Vaguely. I know you said that some believe these orbs are the souls of ghosts. Others think they are memories or parts of deceased ghosts that are left behind after their death. And then, others, like I, believe that these are just accumulated balls of energy and gases that come down from above."

"What makes you so sure?"

Vlad watched as Aragon let go of the blue orb, allowing it to finally float away, before the younger male answered, "I suppose I do not like the idea of these things being the lost souls of ghosts."

Aragon smiled in slight amusement. "They are not lost souls, Vlad. They are souls in waiting. You see, the tale says that sometimes ghosts are so bond to another ghost before they part that the soul of the deceased remains in our world until their loved one also passes away. Only then, do they both part together for eternity. That is where the term 'soul-mate' comes from, you see. However, the term does not just refer to mates, but any pair of ghosts sharing such a strong bond that they need each other to head into the next life…"

Plasmius stared at his former friend with an unsure look. "Why are you telling me this? What does this have to do with your son, Aragon?"

"Because my deceased son shared a powerful connection with Elliot," Aragon replied with a small smile.

Vlad's eyebrows creased, finally understanding what his friend was thinking. But that only filled the King with more pity for his former friend and he said, "Aragon…. You cannot believe that your son's soul…" But Vlad trailed off, not wanting to finish.

Knowing what he was going to say, though, Aragon shook his head and replied, "I do not think that. At least, not anymore. You see, I had been coming here every day for many years in hopes of finding evidence that perhaps Gregory's connection to his brother had held him back from eternity. That is the other reason why I built this empty tomb for him. The tale says that the 'waiting soul' will hover closely to its grave, and, at other times, secretly watch over their soul-mate… But after all these years, I have not seen Gregory's soul."

Vlad sighed. "If this tale was true, Aragon, why would you want your son's soul to linger behind? How could that change anything?"

Aragon glanced back at Gregory's grave before answering, "I know it is selfish to want my son's soul to be here. I should be happy that it is not and that it means he is finally at rest, in peace, in… heaven. But, you cannot imagine the immense pain and guilt that I carry with me, Vlad. And I do not dare even let you feel it; because I know it would immensely scare you," the dragon ghost said sadly, looking back at his former friend. "I would die if only it meant I could have a moment to talk to Gregory. To tell him how sorry I am for failing him, for being unable to protect him as a father should protect his offspring. I would give my life for that opportunity, Vlad. I would give my life to know my son forgives me for letting him get hurt. That is why I wish that Gregory's soul was here… But it's not. So, the best I can do for Gregory is to protect his twin. To never allow what happened to him to happen to Elliot."

Plasmius just stared sadly at the other male, not knowing what to say. Before, he would have not hesitated to touch the other ghost's core in hopes of comforting him with his energy and emotions. But that was when they had been friends. Not now.

"That is why I have to protect my son, even from future threats," Aragon said, now a grave look on his face.

Understanding what the other male was saying, Vlad frowned and seriously replied, "Aragon, my son is not a threat to Elliot."

"I have no reason to believe otherwise," Aragon answered. "As long as I feel you are a threat to my son and kin, I cannot think anything differently of your offspring."

"I'm not my uncle, Aragon. You know that! We grew up together! How can you believe I am a threat?"

"I warned you to stay away from Pariah's evil relics. And you not only did not take heed and used them regardless, but you also took the throne! You tainted yourself with pure evil! I cannot trust you anymore!" Aragon said angrily.

"You are founding your assertions on beliefs and myths, Aragon! I am not going to turn evil, nor am I going to turn against my own kind. It's absurd!" Plasmius snapped.

"Myths always have some truth in them, Vlad. Perhaps, some more than others…. But how can I know how much of the tale surrounding those evil relics is false? I cannot risk my son like that."

Vlad just looked away in defeat, knowing he wasn't going to convince his former friend.

"However… there might be one thing you can do to prove to me that you are not a threat to my kin, that you are that same ghost I used to call brother…," Aragon suddenly said.

Vlad's eyes snapped back to the other male. "There is?" he asked in surprise.

"I do not want to see Elliot sad if it is unnecessary."

"What do I need to do?" Plasmius asked, almost quietly, briefly wondering if the ghost had in mind to humiliate him after all. But he had meant what he said to the other ghost. If that's what it took, so be it. If that's what he needed to do for his son to be with his friend, then he would humiliate himself.

"It's simple, Vlad," Aragon said, walking closer to him until he was about a feet from him. "Allow me to touch you."

The King instantly tensed.

And noticing it, Aragon frowned. "I used to touch you without reserve before. You know my feel. And I vividly remember yours, which is why I will know for certain whether or not Pariah's evil resides within you. Your core will not lie to me…"Aragon slowly raised a hand towards his former friend, but noticing him tense some more, he paused and asked soberly, "Why are you frightened?"

But Vlad couldn't answer him. He was frightened of Aragon's reaction. If he let his former friend touch him, what could he say to him to explain the reason why he hardly felt like he used to when they had just been friends? He couldn't say anything, except the truth----the truth about what had happened to him for using the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage. And if Aragon spurred him away now when he didn't know about that, he was sure to do so if he knew… His former friend would never understand that just because he felt differently didn't mean he was different----or that he was evil.

"I will not allow my son near your own if you do not prove to me at this very moment that you are no different than before!" Aragon said forcefully. But when the King still didn't answer him, the dragon ghost drew closer, grabbing Vlad's shoulder with his other hand as he suddenly grew desperate. "Do you not understand? I do not want to hate you anymore! I swear on my dead son's grave that everything will go back to how it was before you turned King. Vlad, I'll join the Kingdom! I'll be at your side again! I'll serve you unconditionally! But I need to know you are still the same ghost I trusted before! I need to know for the sake of my remaining son and my kin! I have a responsibility to them and I cannot put them at risk! Once. Let me touch you once!"

Vlad didn't move as his former friend's hand drew closer. But just when it was inches away from touching his core, the King gently grabbed Aragon by the wrist, stopping him from going further.

"I wish you could understand," Plasmius told him sadly. "But I know you will not."

"Why?" Aragon asked with a firm look. "Why will you not permit my touching you?"

"Because I have changed," Vlad answered truthfully, watching as the other ghost's eyes widened with fear with his revelation. "But that does not mean I am not still your friend."

"According to me, you are not," Aragon snarled, suddenly yanking his hand away from the other ghost. "You sicken me, Vlad! I cannot believe you will not give me as much as a simple touch!"

"It would only make things worse between us," Plasmius answered with a distraught look. "So, I must deny you, save you any further disappointment…"

"You couldn't disappoint me further than I am now," Aragon said coldly.

"You're wrong," Vlad assured him soberly.

"So, it is true! You are tainted!" Aragon accused him, taking a step away from his former friend.

"No, I am not," Vlad said with a frown. "Aragon, please, just trust me! I am not evil. Yes, I have changed, but I am not evil. I am your friend! Just trust me!"

Aragon's eyes narrowed as he darkly warned, "Stay away from me and my kin, Vlad. And you keep your son away from Elliot, or so help me…"

"Aragon!" Vlad called after him when the dragon ghost whirled around and took to the sky.

However, to his surprise, the male dragon did halt his departure. He looked back at the Ghost King, an apathetic expression on his face as he said, "One more thing: Inform Dorthian that if she gives her hand in marriage to Skulker, I will deny her as my sibling. She will no longer be welcomed among our kin or on our land. Therefore, I advise her to think twice before she permits Skulker to taint her with his signature."

Vlad's eyes widened, equally as shocked by his former friend's words as the fact that he knew anything about Skulker's wishes to marry Dora.

"How do you know about that?" the King asked warily.

Aragon smirked. "And here I thought there were no secrets between you and Skulker. It seems I am not the only one who believes you are unworthy of trust... Good-Bye, King Plasmius."

Vlad didn't say anything this time; and instead, just let the dragon ghost leave. It was pointless to argue any further with Aragon, let alone react to his insults. Even so, they still hurt.

The King briefly contemplated his dark and foreign surroundings and the glowing orbs floating around. But then, with a sad sigh, he took to the sky to head home. He had hoped to at least get the ghost to agree to their sons' friendship. But Aragon was set on the belief that if the King was 'evil' so was the Prince.

If only Aragon could see how wrong he was on both counts.

But Vlad knew there was no blinder ghost than the one who did not want to see. If he would have given Aragon what he wanted, ultimately, all he would have done was feed the dragon ghost's false beliefs…

"I'm sorry, Daniel," the King whispered dejectedly, knowing his son was going to be very disappointed…

---

Spectra and Bertrand paused about a yard from the royal palace. She was so thrilled with the fact that she finally had the chance to do what she wanted that she couldn't stop grinning.

"This should be quick," Spectra commented to her partner as she adjusted the black bracelet on her wrist. "Just wait for me here. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

Bertrand nodded. "Fine. But be careful."

The shadow ghost smirked and winked in reply before she darted towards the castle in the distance. She reached and entered it in no time. Her pace was both quick and perky as she traveled through the numerous hallways with memorized ease; all the while, she ignored the several ghosts that greeted her as she passed by.

Her focus was on getting to her little nephew's bedroom, deciding to start her search for him there. Of course, she did keep an eye out for him as she floated through the halls just in case. But, ultimately, it was as she had predicted. The child was in his room.

"Hey, Danny," she greeted him after opening his bedroom door and finding him on the floor playing with something resembling building blocks, only that they were glowing.

Obviously, the child had gotten over Walker's little 'practical joke'. Then again, a few hours had already passed since then…

The Prince blinked up at her in surprise, but then he grinned and waved at her. "Hi, Aunt Spectra! I didn't know you are here!"

She didn't reply right away. Instead, she floated closer to him before sitting down in front of him on the ground. "Are you having fun?" she asked sweetly, reaching over to gently touch his face.

Danny nodded. "Yes. You want to play with me? I am making Cujo a cave!"

"Are you now?" she questioned, her smile faltering slightly when she finally noticed Cujo staring intently at her from on top of the child's bed.

"Yup!" he said as he continued to stack up his multicolored glowing blocks.

"Well, sure! I'd love to help you out!" she beamed, grabbing one of the blocks and then stacking it on top of the ones the child had already stacked.

Danny just grinned happily at her, but continued to work.

Spectra quietly grabbed another block, distractingly molding the energy-made toy from a square to a triangle shape, while she kept her eyes trained on the innocent child. But then, out of the blue, she suddenly asked him, "Danny… Do you love me?"

"Yes," the child replied without hesitation and shot her a quick smile before looking back at the block in his hand and molding it into some unidentifiable shape.

Spectra just grinned again. If she wasn't so selfish, she'd actually feel touched that her nephew truly loved her. But, instead, she felt quite smug, knowing the child's blind trust and care for her was going to make this so easy…

"You're so sweet, did you know that?' she asked, scooting closer to him and grabbing his chin to make him look at her. "You're also very cute," she continued, moving her other hand, the one with the bracelet, to his shoulder, playfully drawing circles on his skin with her index fingers. "And very soft…. And fragile…"

But he was so confused and distracted by what she had said that he didn't notice that his aunt's finger was slowly running down his body, moving closer to the symbol on his chest. But then, just before Spectra could touch the child, Cujo suddenly barked loudly, jolting both the Prince and the shadow ghost.

"What is it, Cujo?" Danny asked, moving away from his aunt and going over to the ghost puppy.

Meanwhile, Spectra glared daggers at the dog. She was really getting sick of the stupid mutt. If only she could get a moment alone with the annoying pest, she would gladly get rid of it.

"You hungry?" Danny asked. And getting a bark from Cujo, he said, "Okay. Come on."

If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn Cujo smiled smugly at her as he jumped off the bed and moved beside Danny. But she was sure of one thing: the dog was onto her.

"Cujo is hungry, Aunt Spectra. I got to go to the kitchen."

"Can't it be a little later? I thought we were playing," Spectra said with a frown.

"No. He says he is very hungry. We can play later," Danny replied.

Spectra sighed. "Fine. I'll go with you…"

Cujo let out a quiet growl with the female ghost's words; but otherwise, did nothing but stick beside his companion. The puppy didn't know why she was so set on touching the Prince; but he didn't like it---especially when Cujo vividly remembered how she had tried to do the same when the shadow ghost had snuck into the bedroom while his companion and his mother had been sleeping…

Oblivious to his aunt's intentions and to Cujo's unease, Danny flew out of his room to feed the pup. Spectra just calmly followed behind her nephew and the ghost dog, watching them with a frown. She was going to have to get rid of Cujo if she was to get close to her nephew…

However, when they reached the kitchen, Spectra got even more annoyed now that there were several ghosts around them, including the main chef, George. She narrowed her eyes in hate as she glanced at the ghost dog. She could now see why the dog was 'pretending' to be hungry. And she huffed at his ruse even as she begrudgingly admitted that for a primitive ghost, Cujo was pretty clever.

"So much for this being quick?" she thought with a roll of her eyes as she watched her nephew fly back and forth, making Cujo who knew what.

Several minutes later, Danny was finally done and Spectra didn't waste any chance at telling him, "Let's go back to your room, Danny, while Cujo finishes his meal, okay?"

Danny opened his mouth to agree; but the ghost puppy quickly barked something at him and the child paused. "Um… Cujo says he wants me to stay."

"Who cares what he wants!" Spectra suddenly snapped, startling her nephew and quickly getting frowns from the other ghosts around them. She mentally cringed, before quickly backtracking and saying more sweetly, "I want to spend time with you, Danny. Don't you want to spend time with me?"

"Well, it will have to wait. The child needs to have his lunch," a voice interrupted them

Spectra quickly looked over at the voice and frowned when she saw Dora standing at the kitchen entrance. "Fine. I'll eat with him," the shadow ghost replied back with slight bite in her voice.

"You are welcome to join us if you wish," the dragon maid replied, putting just a bit of emphasis on the word, 'us'.

The shadow ghost resisted the urge to glare; but instead she smiled calmly and nodded.

"Come, young one. You need to go clean up, first," Dora told Danny, extending her hand to him.

Danny didn't hesitate to take it. But as they began to leave the kitchen, Dora turned back to Spectra and said, "If you are not yet informed, then allow me to inform you that your sister is not here. However, she should be back shortly. And until then, the Prince is under my charge... We will meet you at the dining area."

"Fine," Spectra muttered under her breath, realizing she was going to have to take more drastic measures to get what she wanted…

---

Dora quietly listened to the young Prince as he chatted away at the dining table about school and other light things that occupied the six-year-old's mind. However, her attention was really on Spectra. But the shadow ghost, who was more engaged in Danny's conversation as she ate with them, either didn't notice Dora's gaze or didn't care.

It's not that Dora didn't like her friend's sister, but ever since she had known Spectra, the female ghost had given her a bad vibe. Not only that, but she was just so… reckless and sometimes down-right selfish. Dora didn't trust her with the Prince. It was as if Spectra didn't understand that she was dealing with a child, and not an adult ghost; so she often did things with the Prince that could get him hurt----like that one time when she had taken him to Ancient Paradise.

Dora knew that the Queen felt that same about Spectra. The shadow ghost just didn't know how to handle a child…It had to be true. Why else would she act so carelessly with him…?

"Hey, Danny," Spectra suddenly said, cutting off the ranting child. "You want to come to my house after this? I have something to show you…" she added with a secretive smirk.

Danny blinked a bit, but then his lips curved with curiosity, "What is it?"

"You'll see if you come… okay?" Spectra said with a larger smile.

But before the Prince could reply, Dora firmly interrupted, "I think not."

The shadow ghost instantly looked over at the dragon maid and frowned. "Come again? If you have forgotten, I'm Danny's aunt. I can take him wherever I want."

"Not when his mother and father are not home and he's under my keep," Dora replied calmly.

Spectra suddenly looked angry, "Now, listen here---"

"Mommy!" Danny abruptly exclaimed, jolting both female ghosts. But when they both turned towards the dining room's entrance, they finally saw what the child had seen…

Desiree smiled when Danny flew into her arms. "I missed you!" he said, hugging her. "Is Daddy home, too?" he added, hopeful.

The ghost mage kissed the child, but then shook her head. "Sorry, little Phantom. He is not. He went to… you know," she said with a wink. "I'm sure he'll be back in a couple of hours, though."

Danny grinned at that and nodded.

"Hello, milady," Dora then said with a smile. "How was your trip?"

Desiree acknowledged her sister's presence with a calm smile as she moved over to the dining table and sat Danny back down in his chair. As she took a seat beside him, she finally replied to Dora's question, "It went well. You and Vlad were right. I was overreacting. And I am feeling a lot better."

Dora smiled in further relief. "That's good news, milady. I'm sure your husband was most pleased with the news, too."

Desiree nodded. "Immensely. But so am I. You know I hate worrying him."

"Yes, he does have enough to worry about, being King and all," Spectra suddenly said, jumping into the conversation. "But I'm glad to see you are well, lil' sis!"

Desiree finally turned her gaze to her sister and raised a curious eyebrow. "Spectra, I'm surprised to see you here so early…"

The shadow ghost shrugged lightly and said, "I was in the neighborhood; so I thought I'd spend time with my nephew."

Desiree just smiled again. But then she turned back to Dora and asked, "So, was he any trouble?"

Dora shook her head. "Not at all, milady." But then she frowned and added, "Although…he was upset about something earlier. I didn't really understand him, though. But he said something about Walker coming by…"

Spectra instantly frowned, knowing exactly what Dora was talking about since Walker had mentioned it to her.

Desiree, however, didn't notice since she looked over at Danny with a frown of her own and asked, "Walker came by, little Phantom?"

Danny's happy demeanor instantly fell and he nodded and looked away. Still, he quietly replied, "He said he was going to show Daddy this toy; but then he---"

"Desiree, do you think I can take Danny off your hands for a bit?" Spectra abruptly asked, cutting the child off.

A bit startled by the sudden interruption, Desiree looked over at her sister with confusion. "Come again?"

"Well, I would like to take him to my house. I have something to show him… But I can't tell you since, well, it has to do with you and Vlad's anniversary coming up… so, it's a secret."

Danny's interest quickly peaked at that and he quickly forgot all about Walker again. "I want to go! Can I go, Mommy?"

Desiree frowned back at the child. She still had not forgotten about their interrupted conversation about Walker. But… it could not be too important, since Danny seemed fine. Still, she made a mental note to ask him about it later and just returned to their current topic.

"Danny, you are under punishment, remember?" she said with a raised eyebrow.

Spectra frowned. "Really? Why?"

But Desiree just kept her gaze on the Prince, who now looked disheartened with his mother's reminder. Still, she did answer her sister, "It's a long story. But let's just say he went somewhere he shouldn't have…"

The shadow ghost raised an eyebrow, while Danny lowered his gaze from his mother. Still, Spectra pushed aside her curiosity and insisted, "Well, just because he's under punishment doesn't mean he can't leave the palace for a bit, right? Or is he under house arrest?" she questioned with a smirk.

Desiree rolled her eyes at her sister. But she knew Spectra was somewhat right. The Queen didn't know how long Vlad planned on keeping Daniel under restriction, but surely they were not going to keep him locked inside that whole time. She knew the child didn't like being confined; it really was in a ghost's nature to dislike it, especially one as young as the Prince…

"Do you want to go with your aunt?" Desiree asked the child.

Danny quickly looked up, his spirit instantly lifting. "Yes!" he exclaimed with a pleading look.

Desiree hesitated a bit, but then nodded. "Alright. But nowhere else, understand? You are not to go to your playing grounds."

Danny nodded happily. "Okay, Mommy! I promise."

The Queen then looked at her sister and added a bit sternly. "Take him only to your house, Spectra. And I want him back in an hour."

The shadow ghost grinned. "You got it, little sis."

Desiree nodded. She knew Vlad wasn't going to be very happy with Spectra taking Danny, but he'd get over it. Her sister could be careless sometimes, but it's not like she would let something happen to the child…

Dora had just been silently watching the exchange with a frown. But whatever she was thinking was quickly interrupted when Desiree suddenly addressed her.

"You know, this would actually be good time for you and I to go to the market, Dora…," the Queen said with a suggestive smirk.

The dragon maid raised an eyebrow. "Milady?"

Desiree's smile widened as she explained, "As Spectra said, Vlad and my anniversary ball is coming up. We need something special for the occasion…"

Dora's eyebrows creased in confusion. She understood why her friend needed something special. And that the Queen would want her company and opinion in the matter. But why would Desiree think she needed something special?

Of course, the dragon maid was oblivious to Skulker's intentions of proposing to her at the party…. Even Spectra wasn't clued into that. That is, until now…

Getting a significant look from her sister, Spectra mumbled an 'Oh' before clamming up. Now the shadow ghost got it. She had wondered whom Desiree had been talking about when she had mentioned that her anniversary celebration would also be an engagement celebration… Now, it was obvious to her. Dora and Skulker…

"Figures. They have been dating for a couple of years now…," Spectra mused, barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Still, I can't believe she even likes Skulker? Yuck… Then again, he's in love with a dragon ghost. Can't decide which fact is more repulsive…"

"Alright," Dora agreed slowly. "We can go, if you would like…," she mumbled, clearly still confused.

"Mommy?" Danny suddenly called. And when his mother looked down at him, he added, "I'm finished eating. I can go now?"

"Of course we can!" Spectra abruptly beamed before her sister could say anything.

Danny grinned before he hugged his mother and said, "Bye, Mommy! I'll be really good!"

The Queen, a bit surprised by the suddenness of the child's retreat, just managed a small smile in response.

However, as Spectra grabbed Danny's hand and began to leave, Desiree quickly called to her. And getting her attention, she worriedly told the shadow ghost. "Take care of him, Spectra."

Spectra smiled sweetly in reply. "You know, you worry too much. See you in a bit!" And with that she left with the child.

It was only when they were gone that Dora finally spoke up, voicing her thoughts. "Milady, I do not believe your husband will take too kindly to your consent of this…"

Desiree sighed. "I know. But it's just for an hour. And Danny has always been fond of my sister… That in itself must mean something, right?"

Dora slowly nodded. "I suppose…"

The Queen was quiet for a moment, but the she shook her head and suddenly stood from the table. "Come. Let's get going."

Dora smiled as she, too, stood. "You know something you are not telling me, milady."

Desiree smirked. "I'd never keep anything from you, Dora."

"Uh-huh. We shall see," her friend replied with a suspicious look, while the Queen laughed in return.

---

"Why didn't you tell me you went to see Aragon, Skulker?" Vlad asked with a displeased frown as he stood at the hunter's doorstep.

Skulker raised an eyebrow and answered, "Good to see you, too. Do you want to come in before we start arguing?"

Realizing his own forcefulness, the King sighed. "Sorry. I guess I'm still upset over my conversation with Aragon…," he explained as he came in.

Closing the door, Skulker looked curiously at his friend. "I would not call your encounter with Aragon yesterday a 'conversation' exactly…"

"I was referring to today, just about an hour ago. I went to see him," Vlad said quietly, crossing his arms and looking away.

The hunter's eyes widened. "You went back? Plasmius, why would you---"

"I had to try, Skulker," Vlad interrupted him, knowing his friend was about to scold him for going. "I had to try for my son's sake. And…I don't particularly like that Aragon hates me. Plus, I…really felt bad for attacking him as I did yesterday."

"I'm sorry, but he deserved it," Skulker told him seriously. "Even so, you shouldn't have gone back. If there's anything I know about Aragon, it is that he's as stubborn as they come. Or are you going to tell me you managed to change his mind?"

Vlad finally looked back at the hunter. "I came close. He told me he didn't want to hate me anymore. He even said he would join the kingdom…. He was willing to let Daniel and his son have a friendship…"

Skulker's eyes widened with disbelief again. "Truly?"

Vlad just nodded, though he lowered his gaze once more.

Skulker took a step closer to his friend and attentively asked, "Well, what happened?"

"He wanted something in exchange."

Skulker suddenly rolled his eyes and said with slight distaste, "Figures."

Unlike Vlad, the hunter hardly held any sympathy for their former friend. In fact, Skulker didn't understand why Vlad was always beating himself up over the dragon leader. It was Aragon who was a poor friend. Not the King. Aragon turned away from Vlad when Skulker knew the King had needed him most. He had needed his support and all Aragon did was spurn him away. Even if the dragon ghost didn't agree with Vlad's becoming King, it was wrong of Aragon to do what he did. A good friend should be loyal to the very end, no matter what.

Since then, Skulker had lost his respect for Aragon. And also ever since then, Skulker had stopped calling the dragon ghost a friend as well.

"What exactly did he want? For you to beg him?" But when the hunter voiced the question, he instantly tensed with the likelihood of it and added, "Tell me he didn't ask you that."

Vlad shook his head and huffed. "If only it had been something so simple…"

"Something so simple?" Skulker questioned back. But realizing what the younger ghost meant by that, the hunter quickly frowned. "You would have done that? Darn it, Plasmius! How many times do I have to tell you? Aragon deserves nothing from you after the way he's treated you! If anyone should beg for forgiveness it is him!"

But as if Vlad hadn't heard him, he placed a hand on his symbol and quietly said, "He wanted to touch me."

Skulker froze.

"I had to refuse," the King continued soberly before the hunter could react.

Skulker let out a sigh of relief. "For a moment there, I thought you were going to tell me that you let him."

"What for? So he can find out that he's right? So that he can find out that my uncle placed some irreversible curse on me?" Vlad asked bitterly.

"You're not cursed, Plasmius," Skulker said with a frown.

"Sometimes I'm not so sure," Vlad admitted with a sigh before he looked down at his hands and let his red energy seep out. "My powers…Sometimes they frighten me. They keep… growing. It's not normal, Skulker. Ghosts reach their potential by the age of twenty-five. My powers should have stopped developing years ago… But they haven't. My energy just keeps getting more powerful. The way I fought yesterday, Skulker... It felt as if my chest was going to explode from the amount of energy I could feel inside me…just ready to pour out…"

The hunter just stared at his friend, not knowing what to say.

But Vlad finally looked up at him, fear in his eyes as he moved closer to his friend. "I wanted to let him touch him. I really did. But I was afraid of his reaction if he discovered the truth about me. But on my way back, I realized that that is not the only reason I didn't let him…. I was also afraid that he could be right about another thing. What if whatever my uncle did to me really is suppose to make me evil?"

The hunter quickly opened his mouth to protest, but the King caught him off-guard when he suddenly grabbed Skulker's hand and placed it on his symbol.

"Tell me the truth, Skulker," Vlad said worriedly. "When you touch me…Do I feel evil?"

The hunter frowned again, but then sighed. "Vlad… I'm going to tell you the truth… But when I do you, you better not bring this up again or I'm going to have to hang your pelt up on my wall."

The King smiled weakly but nodded.

"You feel as evil as your son," the hunter told him seriously.

Plasmius' eyebrows instantly creased down. "Skulker… my son doesn't feel evil. Far from it."

"Precisely," the hunter agreed. "Vlad, you are not evil and you don't feel evil. Dark might have done something irreversible to you, but it has not changed who you are. You might feel different than before, but it is not in a bad way. There really is no true way to explain it, but when I touch you, I'm almost reminded of an Energy Nova. You're core is untainted. So, how can you feel evil? How can you be cursed? No, Plasmius, Aragon is not right. Not in the slightest."

Feeling and seeing how sincere his friend was, Vlad felt a great relief wash over him. And with a smile, he just as quickly grabbed his friend in a hug and told him, "You're a good friend, Skulker."

The hunter hugged the younger ghost back and replied, "So are you, Plasmius. Just a little too soft," he added, thinking of Vlad's perseverance with Aragon.

He pulled away from the King before further telling him, "But I can't take that away from you. And I don't want to. Even so, you have to stop tormenting yourself over Aragon. Don't seek him out anymore, alright? All he does is confuse you, and it's starting to make me angry."

"Skulker," Vlad said with a mild warning tone in his voice, knowing the hunter wouldn't hesitate to start trouble with the dragon ghost. "I don't need any more problems with Aragon."

"Then, don't go see him again. I don't care if he's Dora's brother. I will cut off his head if he continues to take advantage of your emotions like this!"

"Calm down. I won't be seeing him again. He made it clear that he now hates me even more for denying him," Vlad muttered. But right after he said this, the King paused and said more seriously, "But it's funny that you are warning me to stay away from Aragon when you yourself paid him a visit not too long ago. And you didn't tell me… Why?"

Skulker frowned, catching the slight hurt tone in his friend's voice. But then he scoffed angrily and said, "It's not because I don't trust you---If that's what Aragon told you…" And seeing his friend glance away, the hunter gritted his teeth. "You need to stop caring so much about what Aragon thinks or says."

"I wish I could," Vlad said with a sigh.

Skulker shook his head. But then with a sigh, he added, "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you going over to Aragon to speak to him on my behalf. No, don't even try to deny it. You know you would have," the hunter added when his friend tried to protest. "I didn't expect his approval in regards to Dora and I. But it was my obligation to try. I did it for her."

Vlad nodded. He knew that even if Dora wasn't aware of Skulker's intentions to propose to her, she knew her brother well enough to know he would not agree to Skulker's courting her. So, Vlad was sure the dragon maid would not let her brother's opinion influence her decision when the time came for her to accept or deny Skulker's marriage proposal.

"Speaking of doing things for significant others," Vlad said, a smile finally curving his lips. "I stopped by Nocturne's abode before coming here. I want to do something special for Desiree for our fourteenth anniversary. And, well, I need a bit of his… magic."

"Oh?" Skulker asked, a grin splitting his face.

---

"I don't understand why Cujo could not come, too," Danny mumbled as they finally reached his aunt's home. His companion had really been adamant on going with him, but his aunt had kept the ghost pup from following by making sure he stayed inside the palace.

"I told you, Danny, he would have gotten my house dirty," Spectra replied with restrained annoyance.

"Yes, primitive ghosts are always rolling in who knows what," Bertrand added, who was now with them.

Danny frowned, still not getting what the big deal was. After all, he was sure Cujo didn't roll in anything that he didn't, either…

When they entered his aunt's abode, Danny quickly perked up at the somewhat new sights. He didn't come to his aunt's home very often; so he didn't really remember it very well. However, when he heard a soft click, the Prince looked back at his aunt and Bertrand.

He blinked when he realized that the click had been from the door's being locked.

"Come on, Danny," Spectra said sweetly, moving further into her home and gesturing for him to follow.

The child smiled and floated after her, not noticing how Bertrand disappeared into an adjacent hallway.

Danny sat down on the couch beside his aunt and looked up at her expectantly. "What are you going to show me?"

"Well, I bought a gift for your mom and dad and I wanted to know what you thought of it," she answered with a smirk.

"Oh," Danny mumbled, a bit thrown off by the fact, since he had thought the surprise was maybe another human item.

And as if reading his thoughts, Spectra's smile widened. "Sorry, little nephew. No human toy this time. I haven't found any lately. But I promise to get you another soon. But… what about you? Have you found any new items?"

"I did!" Danny quickly said. "I found a metal box with buttons!"

Spectra raised an eyebrow. But as Danny continued to describe it, she finally realized that what the child had found was some type of remote which had rusted over time. It was probably once from some anti-ghost device.

"You know…you're pretty lucky to have found the few things you have. There aren't a lot of human items around here anymore."

"Yes, I know," Danny muttered.

"But I know where you can find some more, a lot more," Spectra quickly added, a secretive grin curling on her face.

Danny's eyes quickly widened and he asked with bated breath, "Where?"

"The human world," she whispered. "You could…go."

But the child's eyebrows quickly creased and he shook his head. "No. I cannot."

"Why? You know where one of the portals is. You go out there, get some stuff, and then come right back in. It will be fast. No one will find out."

But the Prince shook his head again. "I promised my father I will never go there. He says it's dangerous. He said humans are dangerous! I can't!"

Spectra rolled her eyes. "Come on, Danny. You're daddy just worries too much. He just doesn't think you can handle it. But I think you are very smart and brave. Aren't you?"

Danny frowned. "Yes."

"Well?" But when the child looked away, Spectra added, "You know, if you're going to be a King like your father some day, you can't be scared to try new things. And you can't be scared of humans. You're father's not. In fact, he goes to the human world all the time."

Danny tensed, but quickly looked at his aunt. "He does?"

"He does," Spectra replied. "He just keeps it a secret. But a lot of us know it's true. If he goes there, why can't you?"

Danny was quiet for a moment, but then asked, "Have you been there?"

Spectra grinned. "I have. A lot of times. The human world is nothing like this world. For one, it's not as dark as this place. And it's not as green, at that. When you look up, there's something called a sky. It's big, bright, and blue. Infinite. Also, nothing is floating. It is all on the ground. You see, there's a lot more gravity there than here. It's amazing, Danny. At least, I think so," she said with a wink.

Danny's eyes were wide with wonder. But as he remembered his father's words, it faded again. "I want to go… But I cannot. I promised."

Spectra resisted the urge to growl in anger. She had not realized Vlad had trained his brat this well. It was definitely going to put a nick in her plans if the child was not stupid enough to venture into the human world…

Well, she had him here now. At least, she could finally get the next part of her plans accomplished. She would have to worry about the rest later.

Spectra moved closer to the now quiet Prince. But before she could speak again, Bertrand came back with a cup in his hand.

"Here, kid. Have a drink," he said, coming up behind the child on the couch and offering him the cup.

Danny looked at it before he lifted his gaze up at the shape-shifter looming over him from behind and shook his head. "No, thank you."

Bertrand frowned over at Spectra, who returned the expression before she turned her eyes back at Danny and sweetly said, "Are you sure? I think you're gonna like it."

But the Prince still shook his head. "I'm not thirsty. And I'm full from lunch," he told her, placing a hand on his stomach.

"Fine, we'll do this the hard way," Spectra then said with a sigh.

"Huh?" Danny asked, not getting the comment.

"Spectra, are you sure?" the shape-shifter questioned with unease. "What if…"

Danny looked between the two adults, confused.

"He'll be fine. After all, my nephew loves me… right, Danny?"

The child slowly nodded.

"Fine," Bertrand said reluctantly before turning around and heading back to the kitchen to throw away the beverage in the cup. Shame. It was one of the good sleeping potions, too.

Danny turned slightly to watch Bertrand leave. But he then looked back at his aunt when he felt her move off of the couch. He blinked when she knelt right in front of him.

"You know, Danny, I love you a lot, too," she told him moving closer to him so that she had one hand pressed on the sofa next to Danny's spectral tail and her other hand resting on his cheek.

Danny smiled. "I know."

"Do you?"

"Huh?"

"Well, how do you know I love you if you have never felt my core?"

Danny's eyebrows creased as he replied, "Um... because you tell me?"

Spectra chuckled as she ran her fingers through her nephew's white locks. "Silly child. You can't believe someone loves you without feeling that they do. That's something humans do, because they have no other choice. And that's why a lot of them suffer disappointment. Someone saying that they love you is never enough. You need proof. You need to feel it yourself."

"Okay," the Prince mumbled. "So… you want me to touch you?"

"Only if you want," Spectra said sweetly. But when the child nodded and reached for her symbol, she grabbed his hand, stopping him and adding, "But first, you have to let me touch you."

The Prince instantly tensed with the request. It wasn't that he didn't trust his aunt to touch him, but that he knew from experience that every time someone new touched him, it was a bit overwhelming at first, so it made him apprehensive about it.

"Why you want to?" the child asked quietly, suddenly aware of his aunt's proximity. He didn't even notice that Bertrand had returned and this time had moved around the couch to face the child…

"Well, you're always saying that you love me, but you have never let me prove it," she said with a pout. "How can I believe you if I don't have proof?"

"I… okay. But can I touch you first? Anĝela said my core is um, sen…sentitive, so sometimes it doesn't feel good when I get touched, so it helps if I touch you first."

Spectra pretended to ponder it for a moment, but then she smiled and said, "How about I'm just really, really gentle?"

She didn't want the brat touching her. Not only did she not want his hands on her, but even at this young age, ghost children, including Danny, were good at picking up emotions. And although the innocent little Prince probably wouldn't recognize more of her darker emotions, he could pick up on some of them that might make him realize she had ill intent towards him. She didn't want to risk it.

Danny's brows creased in worry. "But---"

"You'll be okay, I promise," Spectra interrupted, lowering the hand in his hair down his face and then down his neck, moving slowly towards the green-glowing, star-like symbol on his young chest.

Danny unconsciously pressed himself deeper into the couch. "Aunt Spectra, I'm not… I don't' want…" But the child couldn't form coherent sentences from how scared he suddenly was.

"Relax, Danny," Spectra muttered. "This will be over before you know it," she added, watching as the black bracelet on her wrist began to glow as her hand moved closer and closer to the child's symbol.

"Aunt---" the Prince began, only to gasp when her entire hand was abruptly resting against his symbol. A violent jolt followed his surprise, but his aunt only pressed harder against him. He didn't even see Spectra's brightly glowing bracelet from the assault he was feeling on his core. It was as impacting as when he had been slammed into a tree by that dragon's tail…

"Stop!" he suddenly cried out, pushing against her hand when his core began to burn. He had never felt anything as horrible as his aunt's touch. He felt like, like… he didn't know! But it felt bad! It hurt! She was hurting him!

"Hold still, Danny!" Spectra snapped when the child began to struggle against her.

"Please, stop! Stop! You're hurting me!" Danny cried out as tears sprung to his eyes. He wanted to get away! She was doing something bad to him! He knew it! But he couldn't understand what! But his core was screaming at him to do something, to make her stop. That if he didn't make her stop, he was going to… to lose something.

"No!" he screamed, his body going intangible, only to realize he couldn't phase through the couch or her hold.

"Okay, Spectra, I think you can stop now. The hunter just said it would only take a few seconds, remember?" Bertrand spoke up as he nervously watched the child's panic attack. He was acting like Spectra was killing him. In fact, he was reacting even worse than he had when she had touched him as a baby!

But the shadow ghost kept her hand in place.

"Spectra, what the heck are you doing?" Bertrand exclaimed over the child's own screams, especially when he was now crying out for his parents. What if Spectra's actions finally activated the child's link with them? That would be a disaster!

"Spectra, stop touching him!" he said again, quickly moving closer to her and grabbing her shoulder.

But the shadow ghost hardly heard him. It was like she was in a trance. Her eyes were wide with hunger as he pressed her hand so hard against the child that her claws were beginning to dig into his skin.

"Bertrand, you have to feel him. He's so…," But unable to form anymore words, she abruptly used her other hand and yanked her partner closer.

Bertrand yelped as he stumbled forward. But since he automatically stretched his hands forward to catch himself, one of his hands hit against the couch above the panicked child, while his other hand landed right above Spectra's hand….the one resting on Danny's symbol.

Bertrand gasped, feeling the child even through Spectra's hand. And by the violent jolt the child let out again, he could feel him.

The shape-shifter instantly knew why Spectra was so mesmerized. The child felt like nothing he had ever felt. He held so much raw power and yet it was so clean, so pure. It was like touching something forbidden, maybe even angelic. But what made it so overwhelming was how fragile, how easy it would be to take that from the child, to absorb all that purity, all that power, darkening his core until it shriveled up and was left with nothing… So easy… So easy and so… dangerous.

This was the King's son!

"No!" Bertrand hissed out, pulling his hand away. But he then looked at Spectra and gasped when he saw a purple hue was now lighting up Danny's body. She was feeding off him!

"Spectra, are you crazy? Get a hold of yourself! This is Plasmius' brat!"

"I want it," Spectra growled darkly, absorbing more of the wholesome energy within the child. "I want him."

Danny's struggles began to weaken when his vision began to spin. He felt bad. He wanted his mommy and daddy. He wanted them to make this stop. He didn't want, he couldn't let, his aunt to take away…his…his…

"NO!" the Prince screamed.

"SPECTRA!" Bertrand yelled in surprise when he saw the child's claws spring out of his hands.

The shadow ghost gasped when she saw razor sharp claws come at her face. But before they could hit their mark, someone grabbed her from behind and yanked her back, making the claws miss by an inch.

Danny sobs of fear and pain only became louder as a sharp pain coursed through his hands. He didn't even need to see the green blood seeping from his fingers to know he had just really hurt himself by forcing his claws out as he had.

Spectra blinked, trying to push down her high brought on by feeding off the child. But when she saw Danny holding his hands against his chest and the blood now smeared all over him, her eyes widened in alarm.

"Oh-o," she whispered, finally realizing she had crossed the line---or more like jumped right over it.

"Spectra! Look what you did!" Bertrand exclaimed in alarm. "Oh, crap! We are so dead!"

"Shut-up, Bertrand!" Spectra snapped, suddenly close to panicking herself. She quickly looked over at Danny, trying to think of what to do. "Danny," she called gently.

Danny continued to cry; but when he heard his aunt's voice, he looked up at her with large pained, scared and hurt eyes.

"You…," he whimpered, though his word hardly came out from being mixed with the green blood now coming from his mouth…

Spectra cringed. "Danny…I didn't mean to…," she said gently, taking a step towards him.

But the instant the Prince saw his aunt move towards him, he cried out in fear and suddenly threw himself off the couch.

"Danny!" Spectra exclaimed in surprise.

"Mommy!" he sobbed out, unable to focus enough to get airborne.

"Bertrand, where's that sleeping potion?" Spectra said urgently.

"I threw it away!" he snapped at her.

"Why would you---Oh, never mind!" she growled out and quickly moved to her nephew to pick him up.

But the second Danny felt her touch him, he lashed out in blind panic, this time his freshly exposed claws slicing her lower arm.

"Ah!" Spectra cried out, pulling away from him and gripping her bleeding arm. "You stupid brat!" she growled out in her anger. "Bertrand, don't just stand there. Grab him!"

Danny wasn't sure why, but the thought of Bertrand touching him was just as frightening as his aunt's touching him.

"Daddy! Mom--Help! He-help!" he continued to cry out as he began to struggle to pull himself off the ground. But no matter how much he called to them, they didn't come. And he knew they wouldn't. He knew he couldn't call to them no matter how much he needed them right now. He had to get to them. He had to escape. He had to get to them! If he did, everything would be okay! He would be okay.

Feeling a hand grab his wrist, Danny screamed again and pulled against it.

"Prince, calm down!" Bertrand pleaded, and quickly grabbed the child's other hand when he tried to swipe at him with it.

"No! Let me go! Mommy! Daddy!" Danny yelled, pulling against his captor. But unable to pull his hands loose and use his claws, his instincts kicked in again and he suddenly tried to bite the older ghost.

But quickly reacting, Bertrand let go of the child to avoid it. "Kid, you better calm down. You do not want to measure up against my fangs, 'cause mine are much bigger," he warned as he turned into a cougar.

Danny hardly heard what he had said; all he saw were sharp fangs and claws. And with a whimper, Danny suddenly found enough focus to jolt up into the air and bolt for the door.

"Danny! Stop!" Spectra said, forgetting her arm and flying after him, while Bertrand did the same.

Danny grabbed the handle, but only cried harder when he couldn't get it open and his fingers began to throb more from his using them. But no matter how much he yanked at the door, he could not open it.

"Danny, please! I never meant to hurt you!"

"No! You don't love me! You hurt me! You're bad!" Danny cried back, only to gasp when he saw a hand try to grab him again. But this time, he turned intangible and flew over to a nearby window.

Bertrand growled, tired of this. And he quickly ran at the child, determined to tackle him into submission. But Danny caught sight of the shape-shifter's intentions and dodged him. But then, Bertrand couldn't stop, actually shattering the window as he smashed right through it. He ended in a daze just outside the window.

Danny froze in surprise, as did Spectra.

"Danny…," she said slowly, knowing the child could now escape.

"You hurt me," Danny whimpered before suddenly flying right out through the window.

"No!" Spectra exclaimed, now knowing she was in trouble. She quickly unlatched her door and flew out the door. But by the time she had, Danny was already becoming a dot in the atmosphere. Geez! The kid could fly!

"Bertrand!" Spectra snapped, noticing her partner trying to address a wound on his leg from crashing through the window.

But before she could say anymore, the shape-shifter turned back into his true blob form and glared at the female. "This is all your fault!"

"I couldn't control myself, alright?" she bit back.

"No, of course, you couldn't! Since you have your little sister watching your back, you don't care if you mess up! But I don't have her protection! Do you know what Plasmius is going to do to me when he finds out? I'm dead, Spectra!"

"Look, you can stand here and yell at me, or you can go get the brat back before he makes it back to the castle!" Spectra yelled at him.

Bertrand frowned at her. "What about you?"

"I can't catch up to him! But you might have a chance, since you can fly faster than me! Bring him back, Bertrand! We'll put him to sleep and then when he's done freaking out, I'll talk to him, okay?"

"Put him to sleep? With what?" Bertrand asked.

"What do you think?" she asked, barring his fangs at him.

Bertrand was about to protest, but realizing he was wasting time, he growled and turned from the female ghost. However, before he took after the Prince, he muttered to her, "One of these days, I'm gonna get sick of cleaning up your messes."

Spectra just frowned, but then sighed and glanced down at her cut arm. "Little freak," she grumbled. "… Just like his father, too…"

---

Danny continued to clutch his bleeding hands close to his body, trying to ease the pain from both his throbbing fingers and his aching core. He could hardly see anything past his blurry, tear-filled eyes, and something else... His mind was a muffled mess. He had no idea where he was going, but he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. His brain was set on autopilot and his instincts were set in flight mode.

He choked as his throat burned with the mixture of blood and something bitter running down it. But he kept going. He kept moving. He just wanted to get to his parents. He needed to get to his parents. Everything would be okay then. He would be okay. No one could take away what was inside him if he was safe with them. He had to get home. He had to… go… to keep flying…just keep… flying.

But those same thoughts that had been circling within Danny's mind were suddenly blending into his ever increasing lightheadedness. And with it, he began to slow down… He couldn't think straight. Every time he swallowed, it made him feel worse…

"Prince!" he heard a faint call from behind.

The sound of a horribly familiar voice instantly flipped a switch in Danny's foggy mind. And he gasped out a sob, before picking up speed again, knowing it was Bertrand. But he couldn't fly as fast as he wanted anymore. Something was very wrong with him.

"Help!" he pleaded in a raspy voice to the empty atmosphere, his vision now only a blur of colors. But right then, in front of him, he saw something bright and small, coming closer and closer with the speed of light. However, it zoomed right past him, for a second making him think he was imagining things…

But Bertrand soon saw what the child had when the bright orb was suddenly right in his face, forcing him to halt in surprise. He only had a second to realize that it was no orb, but a Butterfly Fairy ---specifically, Lu.

The little fairy barred her small fangs threateningly at the much larger ghost when suddenly, her entire body flared a bright blue, but with a brightness of a strobe light.

Bertrand cried out in pain as he covered his sensitive eyes from the painful brightness. And temporarily blinding the evil ghost, Lu did a sharp loop back around and zipped back to Danny, who was still flying forward, though he was beginning to lose both altitude and speed.

She managed to come up to his ear, and whispered into his ear, "Prince... Clockwork alerted me of your plight. Keep moving. You are almost there. "

"Lu," Danny whimpered, his flight coming to a stop when he suddenly gripped his spinning head. "Help. He…"

Lu squeaked in alarm as the child suddenly dropped down several feet, only to somehow jolt himself to a stop.

Lu hovered beside the child, glancing over at Bertrand who had finally managed to regain his vision. But then she glanced in the distance, seeing her home just several yards away. When it came down to it, she knew she couldn't protect the child from Bertrand; but if they could just get to the Island of Emotions…

"Danny, you must keep going… Please! Follow me. I will guide you," she told him, flapping her wings and making them change colors to capture his failing attention.

The child blinked rapidly, trying to distinguish something within his blurry surroundings. But seeing the familiar flashing of his little friend's wings, his eyes and mind focused enough to realize Lu was really there with him. And if she was there… then he couldn't be far from his playing grounds.

"Prince!" Lu said urgently when she saw Bertrand flying at them again before she took off, hoping he would follow.

Fortunately, he did.

"Lu!" he whimpered, not wanting her to leave him alone, so he forced himself to fly after her.

Meanwhile, Bertrand growled in anger. "Stupid bug!" he sneered as he poured on more speed when he saw that the child had made it to the Forest of Emotions----or more like crash down there. He frowned when he saw the atmosphere and surroundings around the child instantly begin to change, turning dark and cold to match the child's despair.

"Isn't that a nice little beacon for the King?" Bertrand grumbled sarcastically, knowing anyone would see that.

Still, he pressed on. He had to at least try to get the child back. And as he began to near, he smirked when he saw Danny was just lying on his side, in the same spot he had crashed. Honestly, Bertrand was surprised the child had made it this far. Considering this was the first time the child's fangs had fully sprang out, he knew from his medical practice that they were spilling their toxin down the child's throat like crazy, especially when his body was sensing danger. The toxins should have knocked him out instantly, but the effects seemed to be delayed with the Prince. Still, Bertrand could tell it was working out just fine, and he knew that the child couldn't last much longer.

He wasn't escaping.

Bertrand landed down a few feet from the still crying , though barely moving, Prince. Lu was hovering over him in concern; but when she spotted the shape-shifter, she instantly flared her wings menacingly.

Bertrand, however, just raised a hand and fired an ecto-blast at her. The little fairy gasped, barely making a shield to protect herself. But the strength of the blast was strong enough to send her flying back several feet. Still, she refused to back down and with an angry glare on her face, she suddenly let out a sharp shrill.

Bertrand cringed at the sound before growing in annoyance. "Stupid, pesky…" He trailed off when he saw the rest of the Butterfly-fairies suddenly appear to their leader's aid. But then they all hovered beside Lu and shrilled at the same time, bombarding Bertrand with more than a brief discomfort.

"Ahh!" he screamed, covering his ears when he felt like they were going to explode.

Lu quickly took the opportunity to move closer to the child and whisper, "Prince? Follow me, Prince."

Danny raised his heavy head to look at her before he forced his body to rise off the ground and slowly follow his friend, while Bertrand was occupied with the other fairies.

Danny blinked rapidly when he found Lu had taken him to the 'Mermaid' lagoon. And, of course, the mermaid-looking ghosts there were instantly alarmed by the child's condition.

"Hide him," Lu told them urgently.

They all nodded before one of them, the same one that had played with Vlad not long ago, reached out for the child and scooped him into her arms. But right then, Bertrand appeared and glared furiously at Lu and the mermaids.

"Hand over the Prince," he demanded darkly, his hands coating with his energy.

Danny's friends glared back before the mermaid with Danny disappeared underwater with him.

"Darn it!" Bertrand exclaimed in frustration and zoomed forward----only for a tree to suddenly bend down and wrap one of its limbs around his body.

Bertrand gasped, only to see the mermaids' eyes glowing brightly as they kept a hand against the ground near the lagoon. He had forgotten these creatures could command their surroundings at will!

But feeling the branch wrapping tighter and tighter around him, Bertrand quickly transformed into a small fly, freeing himself. But that only meant he was now fair game for Lu.

She came at him, her small hands glowing with her energy. But not wanting to waste his time fighting a creature he could squash under his feet if he wanted, he veered down. And before anyone could react, Bertrand turned into a gator and splashed into the water, heading after Danny.

The mermaids all hissed in anger and swam down after the intruder.

Meanwhile, Lu---and now the other fairies---hovered above the lagoon, knowing that they could do no more for their friend.

Or, actually….

With firm frown on her face, Lu suddenly took off into the atmosphere, heading for the large palace in the distance…

---

Wet, cold, hurt, and hardly conscious, Danny whimpered as he was put back on dry land. He was too upset to really realize the mermaid had brought him to the underwater cave where he kept his human items.

"Prince, this is as far as I can take you," she told him worriedly as she passed a hand through his wet hair. "I fear you might not be safe here for too long. You must keep going."

I want… Daddy," he whined. "She hurt me… She… Mommy." The child just began to sob again as he gripped at his symbol.

But before the ghost mermaid could say anything, she heard a sudden commotion vibrating through the water and she knew something was wrong. She looked around the cave at all the different underwater tunnels leading to different places. The place was labyrinth---one which not even she, nor her kin, knew full well. But she knew the Prince did. However, he was too hurt and upset to realize he was still in danger.

Luckily, the mermaid knew of where some of the tunnels led; so picking one that the child very commonly traveled, she raised her hand towards him and quickly encased him in her energy. Using levitation, she moved him into the tunnel. Instantly, the current swept him up and he disappeared into it.

Hopefully, he would make it to the other side…

She frowned in concern, but knowing she could do no more, she turned back around, heading out of the tunnel that she had used to get to the cave. However, when she found her kin, they were all looking around in confusion, clearly having lost sight of Bertrand…

And the shape-shifter had accomplished that by simply turning back into a small fly; and using a bit of invisibility, he had slipped right passed them. Bertrand soon reached the underwater cave, knowing of its location since Danny had told his aunt all about it and how he kept the human items here. However, when he saw Danny was nowhere in sight, he let out a frustrated yell.

"There is no way I can find him in this freakin' maze!" He said furiously, as he stared at the numerous tunnels and passages within the cave. He didn't know this stupid place that well!

But realizing this was the end of the line, he sighed in defeat and turned to head back to Spectra. But as he did, he muttered fearfully, "I am so dead."

---

"I can't believe her!" Desiree hissed out as she floated down the castle's hallway with Dora at her side. "I told her an hour, Dora! It's been almost two!"

"I'm sure it just slipped her mind. You know how forgetful Spectra can be," the dragon maid replied, though it was only to calm her upset friend.

But the Queen was as livid as ever as she continued to make her way towards the castle's entrance, set on getting Danny back herself.

"I am so tired of her irresponsibility. I sweat when I---" Desiree paused in her angry rant when she suddenly turned the corner and all but ran right into her husband.

Vlad jolted to a stop; but since he was actually also looking for his wife, he frowned in confusion at her and questioned, "Desiree, where's Daniel? I found Cujo literally trying to knock down the front door! I didn't even get a chance to find out what was wrong with him since he just ran off!"

The Queen's anger finally melted off her face, revealing just how worried she was. She kept trying to tell herself that everything was fine, that her sister could take care of Danny just fine. But… the unexplainable anxiousness inside her was almost unbearable.

But what Desiree did not know was that it was because of that same feeling circling inside Vlad that he had been looking for her and was now asking about their son. The King had been calmly conversing with Skulker one moment and the next… he was suddenly very agitated. And although he had hoped it was just his imagination or maybe some lingering emotions from his encounter with Aragon, the look on his wife's face told him the contrary.

Something was very wrong.

"Des… Where's our son?" he asked with quiet dread.

Desiree bit her lip as she answered, "Oh, God, Vlad. I'm sorry. I didn't think that---"

"Desiree," Vlad cut her off, his face tensing.

"Spectra took him to her abode…," Desiree whispered out.

Plasmius' eyes widened in alarm. "You let her…" But he didn't finish and instead he suddenly clenched his hands in fury.

"Vlad, wait!" Desiree exclaimed when her husband abruptly turned from her and stormed towards the castle's entrance. "Please, don't jump to conclusions! I'm sure Danny's---"

"He is not fine!" Vlad shouted at her, abruptly stopping and turning towards her. He didn't understand how he knew that. It wasn't like his son was calling to him. But he still knew something was wrong.

"How could you have let Spectra take him?"

"Vlad, she's my sister for goodness sake! You make it sound like she would purposely hurt him!" Desiree exclaimed back, though her face was more anxious.

"Your sister's an evil wench!" Vlad hissed back.

His wife gasped in shock. She had never heard him insult anyone like that.

"And I swear if she…" But Vlad didn't finish his words and just spun on his heels again and continued towards the entrance, leaving a distraught and shock Desiree behind.

As he finally made it out, he instantly took to the sky, moving as quickly as he could. He prayed with all his being that he was wrong, that he was just overreacting. But after finding out just how vile Spectra could be some time back, the King couldn't help but fear the worse. Still, it was one thing to try to seduce him. But to hurt an innocent child, her own nephew? …Was she capable of stooping that low?

Vlad's eyes shrouded with fear, but he kept going, hardly noticing he was passing right over the Forest of Emotions in his hurry. That is, until something small and brightly-glowing collided against his stomach. The King startled and quickly halted in mid-flight. He looked down, only for his eyes to widen with recognition.

"Lu?"

The little fairy momentarily held her aching head from her collision. But hearing the King's voice, she quickly forgot all about it and lit up in panic.

Vlad squinted his eyes against the light, but when in her rambling and pointing he managed to catch his son's name, he gasped and said, "You know where he is?"

Lu nodded and wasted no time in taking Vlad to his son.

Plasmius' worry and fear only intensified when he was led to a series of caves where the atmosphere around them and ground itself was very bleak. And at seeing Cujo was already there, whining and pawing at a specific place, the King knew that his son was here and was very upset.

Vlad moved closer to the cave, but frowned anxiously when he found no opening to it, save for a small hole just large enough to fit his arm through. He briefly closed his eyes; and using an ability only he possessed, which was the sensing other ghosts' energy without the need to physically touch them, he quickly searched for his son's unique feel.

Oh, he was in there alright.

Vlad quickly tried to phase through, only to discover he could not. Well, that explained why Cujo was scratching at the solid green rocks.

"Daniel? Daniel, can you hear me?" Vlad called, trying to peer through the opening. How had his son gotten in there? This opening was small, even for him!

"Blast!" the King whispered in agitation when he realized he couldn't even teleport inside. This cave was definitely made up of something that canceled out ghost powers…

But no anti-ghost rock was going to keep him away from his son.

Vlad raised his hand and watched as it disintegrated into a red mist. He couldn't say breaking down his body into only spectral energy was the greatest feeling; but at the moment, he didn't care. In an instant, the King was only but wisps of energy, which instantly seeped right into the small opening. And finally inside the cave, he just as readily solidified.

Vlad didn't have to search very long for his son. He spotted him instantly. And the sight of him jolted his core with dread.

"Daniel!" he exclaimed, rushing to where the motionless child was splayed out in a puddle of water.

Vlad's eyes only further widened when he scooped him into his arms and found that his claws were out. And by how swollen his fingers were, they had definitely come out forcefully.

Vlad glanced at the underwater tunnel a foot away, certain that his son had come that way. But there was something worse than water drying at the corner of his son's mouth: Blood.

The water had washed most of it away, but it was clear that his son had at one point been bleeding!

"Daniel," Vlad called to him, grabbing his face to look at it, and to further inspect the child's mouth. And when he did, the King confirmed his suspicion of the origin of the ectoplasm: Daniel's fangs had also sprung out in the same forceful manner as his claws.

"Daniel," he called again, fearing his son was unconscious when he didn't respond the first time. But then… green blurry eyes slowly opened to look at him.

"Da…Daddy?" the child whimpered, only for his eyes to well with tears.

"Shh," Vlad said, holding him closer, though he was careful to not hurt his hands anymore. "You're okay now," he assured him, moving his hand to the child's symbol in hopes of calming him.

But the moment his son felt his hand near his core, he whimpered again and recoiled away from the touch… something he had never done to his father.

Vlad tensed and he pulled the child away from him. "Daniel… What…?" But he trailed off when he finally noticed his son's dimmed symbol and…. a forming bruise….in the form of a hand… right above his core.

"Oh… my poor child," Vlad choked out, fury and horror coiling around his core as he held Danny close again. She had… touched him… She had dared to put her… filthy hands on his child! And the fact that the father knew how horrible she felt only made the knowledge worse.

But he gritted his teeth and forced his own emotions back, knowing his son needed his comforting energy. The six-year-old was softly shivering, though he was mostly very tense. And yet, Vlad could tell he was barely conscious. Of course, he knew it had to be from the toxin in his fangs. And if his son was like any other ghost child, he would be unconscious by now. But although Vlad knew Danny was sensitive to foreign energies and chemicals, he also knew that his son was very tolerant of his body's natural energy and chemicals.

"Daniel, I need you to calm down. You're claws won't retract until you calm down," Vlad gently whispered, hoping his son could understand him.

But Danny just whined some more and said, "It h-hurt. She… hurt me."

Plasmius sighed, realizing his son was in some form of shock and his body couldn't relax because of it. At least, not without help.

"Daniel," Vlad whispered in his ear, a hand against his son's cold and wet face. "I need you to trust me," he further told him as he grabbed one of his small hands and raised it to expose his wrist.

Danny just dimly nodded. But he hardly saw his hesitant father bring his wrist closer before his father leaned down and pricked him with his fangs.

But he felt it.

His son let out a soft cry before he began to weep again. Vlad did his best to comfort him, going as far as using his blue energy. But as the new toxin slowly circulated though the child's system, his crying eventually fell into soft sniffles and his tense body slowly began to relax.

"Daddy… I'm sleepy," the child barely muttered.

"Sleep, then, little Phantom," Vlad answered back, watching as his son's claws slowly retreated back inside his fingers---which meant his retractable fangs had to have also now done the same. "Everything will be better when you wake up… I promise."

And believing his father, the child finally gave in to the effects of the toxins in his ectoplasm.

Now that his son was asleep, Vlad passed a hand against the two puncture wounds on his son's wrist. And although he knew the wounds would heal in less than an hour, he really felt bad for having to hurt his son. He had never had to do that to him. But it had now been the only way to get him to calm down. Not only that, but he was sure his son would have found it worse if he had to be conscious for when Vlad dissolved both their forms to get them back out.

Vlad stood with his senseless child in his arms, though he paused when he glanced at the bruise on his son's chest again. However, knowing that the most important thing right now was making sure his son was okay, he quickly turned his focus on getting Danny home.

Still, the burning anger pulsing in his chest was deadest on one thing:

As soon as he was sure his son would be okay, he was going to find Spectra. And he was going to make her pay.

---

Desiree and Vlad quietly watched as Anĝela finished inspecting the still slumbering Danny. The female doctor sighed with some unknown emotion as she placed a hand on the child's dim symbol one last time before turning to face the anxious parents.

"His fangs and claws will be fine," she soberly said. "With the ghost plant remedies, his hands should heal and the inflammation around his gums should also go down. Once he's better, he should be able to use his claws and fangs without trouble or pain. But until then, make sure this doesn't happen again---which brings me to my next point." At this, Anĝela's face tensed with restrained anger as she pointed at Danny's symbol. "With all due respect, Queen Desiree, you should have a serious talk with your sister. She really hurt your child. Doesn't she know how fragile his core is? And for her to leave such a visible bruising on his skin…"

Anĝela sighed sharply, knowing it was not in her right to say what she really thought, though she really wanted to.

"Maybe it's just her abilities. Perhaps she had no ill intent. But whatever the reason, she should not ever touch your son again. For one, he is currently very weak because some of his energy was actually taken from him---whether intentionally or not, I cannot say. But on top of that, whatever might be in your sister's own energy could permanently harm his core. He will recover this time; but if this repeats itself… It's better that it doesn't."

"It will not," Vlad said with restrained anger, while Desiree just nodded and looked away.

Anĝela nodded as well, but then she said, "I will take my leave now. Send for me if there is any change or further problem."

Desiree and Vlad agreed and thanked her. And while the Queen escorted her out of Danny's room, Vlad went over to sit beside his sleeping child on his bed. He grabbed one of his small hands, softly rubbing the slowly healing puncture wounds on his wrist. Anĝela had said that had been the best thing the father could have done, being that the child, in his shock and fear, was fighting against his body's need to rest. It had at least avoided the Prince causing himself further harm.

"Vlad," Desiree suddenly called to her husband, a hesitant tone in her voice. The Queen was so scared and confused, both for Danny and her sister. Her core was ripped in two. She was so angry at her sister for hurting the child like this, but she also couldn't believe that Spectra would hurt Danny on purpose. There just had to be an explanation.

"Vlad, please talk to me," the Queen pleaded when her husband didn't even look at her.

But Plasmius still kept his sober face on his sleeping son. However, after another tense moment, he finally spoke, his voice decisive and cold, "I am going to have your sister arrested."

"What?" Desiree gasped softly. But then her eyes widened and she suddenly exclaimed, "No, you can't!"

"Yes I can!" Vlad hissed back, getting to his feet and narrowing his eyes on his wife. "I can, Desiree. And I will. And if I find out Bertrand had anything to do with this, I'll have him locked up, too! I am taking this to the Council, and I swear I will show her no mercy!"

Desiree just stared at her husband in utter despair before whispering, "Vlad, please. She's my sister."

"And he's your son!" Vlad all but yelled back, pointing down at the six-year-old.

But Desiree just creased her eyebrows down at Danny, not daring to say what she was thinking in response.

"I already informed Walker. He has his orders," Vlad muttered.

Desiree looked back at her husband; but just when she was about to say something, a sudden knock on the door jolted the couple.

Vlad kept his gaze on the ghost mage as he soberly said, "Come in."

"Pardon me," Dora timidly said, noticing the tension in the room.

But when the dragon maid suddenly bit her lip and hesitated to say what she came to say, Desiree's eyebrows creased as she asked, "What is it, Dora?"

"Milady…," Dora said with a sigh. She paused again before quietly saying, "Your sister is here."

"Oh, my God," Desiree whispered, knowing things had just gotten much worse. But then she readily gasped when her husband suddenly brushed right by her, confirming her belief.

However, she quickly reacted and grabbed one of his hands, pleading, "Vlad, wait. Let me---"

"Stay with Daniel," Vlad cut her off, his face tense with anger.

"No, Vlad, please, just---"

"You are not going to stop me, Desiree," the King cut her off again with a glare. "Not this time. Stay with Daniel."

Desiree gasped softly when her husband pulled his hand away from her and left their son's room.

Dora bit her lip as she watched after her leader before looking back at her distraught friend.

"Milady?" she called worriedly at her.

But Desiree just looked back at Danny and went over to him. She sat beside him on the bed and gently placed her hand on his core, though she bit her lip at the handprint-shaped bruise on the child's chest.

But her touch suddenly stirred Danny and his glassy green eyes opened to look up at the Queen.

"Mommy," he said sleepily, dimly noticing her soothing touch on his symbol.

"Little Phantom," she whispered back sadly, caressing his face with her other hand. But then she slowly withdrew her hands from him and stood back up.

Danny just stared at her, clearly still out of it, though part of him wanted to understand why his mother was leaving him so quickly. "Mommy?" he called again, this time sounding more like a whine, since his limbs felt too heavy to reach out to her.

"Dora, stay with Danny," Desiree quietly told her friend, though she was staring down at the child. But she then quickly turned from him and left the child's room.

Dora just sighed, knowing this was going to end badly.

---

Spectra looked around the throne room with a scowl on her face. She couldn't believe what a mess this had turned out to be. Honestly, what was wrong with her bratty nephew? She had just touched him for crying out loud! Well… sure, she had siphoned off some of his wholesome energy and sweet little emotions, but the kid had freaked out from the very instant she had touched him!

"Useless Bertrand. Couldn't even bring the brat back," she grumbled. Thanks to him, she was now going to have to play her cards just right, or this was going to end badly for her. It was why she had decided to just tell Dora to call for her sister, instead of going to her nephew's room---since Spectra was certain her sister and husband were currently hovering over Danny like the obsessed parents they were.

At least Walker had given her the heads up about the King warranting her arrested---and she was sure that when Danny was well enough to talk about what had happened, Bertrand was going to be neck deep in this mess, too. But, hopefully, if this went as she had planned, she would be able to get at least herself out of the frying pan. And she would do that using her sister's gullibility….

Spectra's scowl melded into an evil smirk. Why was she worrying about this so much? She got what she wanted. And even if her sister didn't believe her about Danny, her plans would still move forward all the same. All she had to do now was find a way to get her nephew to bite into her plot and venture into the human world…Only problem was, the brat wasn't going to get hooked so easily, especially now that she had probably lost his trust…

Spectra sighed in annoyance, only to suddenly jolt when the throne room's doors were suddenly thrown open. She almost grinned at the sight of the King----all by himself.

"You have a lot of nerve showing your face here," Vlad growled as he approached the female ghost with a fearsome glare.

"Look, I'm sorry. I promise I did not hurt him on purpose," Spectra replied with a frown, raising her hands up in a pacifying gesture.

"I warned you, Spectra," Plasmius hissed, not buying her words. "I told you that if you ever harmed my wife or child, I would make you regret it!"

Spectra tensed when she finally realized there were two of the king's guards standing at the door. Crap. Vlad wasn't messing around anymore.

She quickly turned her gaze back to the King and said, "Come on, Vlad. When have I ever hurt Danny before? I'm telling you, it was just an accident. I love my nephew!"

"You're such a lying witch!" Vlad growled out, fisting his hands on his sides to control the urge to hurt the female.

Spectra frowned at the insult. "Okay, I get you're upset, but don't be---"

"What kind of ghost are you? How low must someone be to actually hurt a defenseless child? To actually feed off of one?"

"I didn't---"

"STOP LYING!" Vlad suddenly screamed, jolting Spectra. "I'm not an imbecile, you conniving harlot! I know what you did! I know what you are doing! But that's all going to end right now! I'm having you arrested, Spectra! And I will be taking this to the Council." Vlad suddenly drew closer, all but towering over the female ghost as he added in a dark whisper, "And I swear that if the Council gives me the option of sentencing you to death, I will do it."

"Oh, really?" Spectra challenged with narrowed eyes. "So, sweet little Plasmius, the King who has never gotten his hands stained with ectoplasm or blood, is actually going to slay his wife's own sister?"

"You don't know what I'm capable of," Vlad sneered back.

"You don't scare me, my King," Spectra said with a calm smile. "You see, my sister has a pretty little leash on you. And as long as she's around, you're just going to be all bark."

The King's eyes narrowed even more. "Be careful, Spectra."

"No, I don't think I will," she answered in challenge. "You see, I have done nothing wrong. I have every right to touch my nephew."

"No, you don't!" Vlad shouted, his aura flaring red. "You had no right to put your tainted hands on him!"

"Oh, right, because you would know, wouldn't you? What is it with you and him, huh? You both freak out by a simple touch," she said with a hitch of an eyebrow. "Well…if it makes you feel better, I'll tell you… your son feels very nice---maybe nicer than you."

Vlad just stared hatefully at the female ghost, feeling something dark begin to swell in his chest. But suddenly fearing what he might do, he took a step back from Spectra and coldly ordered his guards, "Get this disgusting female out of my sight."

Spectra gasped when the guards moved forward and grabbed her arms. "Wait. You can't do this, Vlad! I didn't do anything to your son!"

But Vlad didn't say anything and the guards began to take her out of the throne room and to Walker's prison.

But quickly glancing out of the room and catching sight of something, Spectra's eyes lit up with wickedness before she suddenly glared at Vlad and shouted, "Fine, arrest me! Go tell the Council how I touched your son! I'll be sure to tell them how your son's a little freak!"

Vlad's rage suddenly exploded, obliterating his remaining self-control. And before he even knew what he was doing, he stormed over to Spectra and backhanded her across the face. The guards gasped in fear and took a step back, while Spectra was sent crashing to the ground from the force of the hit.

"MY SON'S NOT A FREAK, YOU DESPICABLE WENCH!" the King screamed, causing the entire room to literally shake under his fury.

"VLAD!"

The King's red aura suddenly vanished, jolted by the sudden, unexpected voice of his wife.

Desiree quickly went to her dazed sister's side, helping her sit up. "Spectra?" she worriedly said.

The shadow ghost cringed at the sudden throb in her head. Geez, she felt like she just got smacked with a bat. But shaking her daze, she focused her eyes on Desiree before she suddenly wrapped her arms around her sister and began to sob.

"Desiree! Thank goodness you're here! Your husband's gone crazy! He's trying to kill me! Don't let him hurt me anymore!"

Desiree just wrapped her arms around her sister and stared up at her husband, a mixture of fear, disbelief and anger in her eyes.

Vlad just stared back at his wife, his face as tense as ever. But then he turned his gaze to the crying Spectra, and muttered in disgust, "You are so pathetic."

"Yeah?" Spectra rasped out, letting go of Desiree and glaring up at the King with tear-filled eyes. "Well, you are nothing but a brut! You're a monster! And I'm going to tell the Council how you attacked me!"

Vlad rolled his eyes before looking over at his guards and ordering. "Just take her away already."

"No," Desiree suddenly said, her eyes narrowing further on her husband. "I am not letting you arrest her."

The guards just stared between the royal couple, clearly unsure of what to do.

Vlad, on the other hand, turned his angry gaze to his wife. "Are you opposing my command, Desiree?"

His wife just stared back at him, but the determination in her narrowed eyes gave him his answer. Vlad met her gaze for a tense moment, but then he suddenly scoffed in disgust and unexpectedly left the throne room without further word.

Desiree looked after him, before glancing back at her sister and asking, "Are you alright?"

"Does it look like I'm alright?" Spectra replied, clutching the forming bruise on her face.

Desiree sighed before she suddenly got back to her feet and told her sister, "Go home, Spectra."

"Wait, Desiree!" Spectra called out when she saw her sister's intention of leaving her. The shadow ghost paused, before quietly saying, "I didn't hurt Danny on purpose… You believe me, right?"

Desiree just looked back at her with a deep frown. But then without a word, the Queen turned around and left the throne room herself.

Spectra frowned at that, but then she sighed deeply and stood up. She glanced at the two guards, staring at her. "Maybe next time, boys," she said with a smirk before floating past them to leave.

When she finally was out of the castle, she smiled smugly at the sight of Walker and Bertrand waiting for her at a distance.

"What the heck happened to your face?" Bertrand exclaimed in alarm.

Spectra rubbed her aching cheek, but then shrugged and said, "Just collateral damage. It was worth it, though. The only thing I regret is that I won't be there to witness my sister and Vlad go at each other's throat."

Walker raised an eyebrow, impressed. And here he thought nothing could come between the King and Queen. Huh.

"By the way, now that I remember, I need to talk to you about my little nephew," Spectra suddenly said with an evil smile at Walker.

"Well, I don't care. The only reason I am here now is because I wanted to see if you really did manage to squirm yourself out of this one," Walker answered with a frown.

"Just listen. I'm sure I can make it worth your while, alright?" she answered.

Walker rolled his eyes, but still said, "Fine. What do you want to tell me about the bratty Prince?"

Spectra grinned. "Well…"

---

Turning the corner in search of her husband, Desiree caught sight of Dora, instead.

"Where is he?" she asked her friend with restrained anger.

And pretty sure the Queen was talking about her husband, Dora's eyebrows creased in worry, though she answered, "In your son's room. He told me to go."

Desiree didn't say anything and quickly continued to Danny's room, not ever seeing Dora shake her head and sigh before continuing to move in the opposite direction.

However, just as the Queen made it to the Prince's room, the King was exiting it.

Vlad watched in earnest as his wife approached him.

Desiree paused right in front of him, briefly staring angrily at him before asking, "What is wrong with you?"

Plasmius scoffed before replying, "I could ask you the very same question, Desiree. But since I am not giving your demented sister the pleasure of making us fight, then I am just going to go to my room."

But Desiree only became more livid when her husband turned from her and left for his room. She quickly followed after him, exclaiming, "Vlad! You are not going to just walk off after what you did!"

"Watch me," the King replied coldly, not slowing in his steps.

"How could you do something like that? What were you thinking?" Desiree continued.

But Vlad didn't say anything. However, at that moment, he reached his private dormitory. But when he tried to open the door, his wife quickly pressed her hand against it and held it close.

"You are not ignoring me," Desiree told him angrily.

Vlad couldn't take it anymore and he suddenly glared furiously at his wife, hissing, "Are you this blind? Can't you see that she did all that on purpose? She wanted me to hit her, Desiree! She provoked me just to make us fight!"

"You're kidding! You're actually blaming her for what you did?" Desiree asked in angry disbelief. "Vlad, you hit her! You even scared your own guards by your display of anger back there!"

"She called Daniel a freak, Desiree. A freak!" Vlad snapped back.

Desiree frowned, her angry slightly subduing with husband's words. After all, she had not seen and heard Vlad's entire argument with her sister. But she had heard that part of it. Still, she told him, "Vlad, you still had no right to hit her… What if Danny would have seen you?"

"At least he would have seen that I defend him, regardless," Plasmius answered coldly.

"Excuse me?" Desiree asked, her glare returning.

"You heard me," Vlad told her seriously before yanking the door open and heading into his room.

Desiree's aura suddenly turned bright pink as she quickly followed her husband into his room, both too upset to even remember to close the door…

"Are you saying I don't defend Danny?" Desiree growled, further pushing open the second door into her husband's bedroom when she followed him in.

"Oh, I'm saying a lot more than that," Vlad bit back, turning to face her. "Look at you. You're livid over the fact that I hit Spectra; and yet you were practically begging me not to arrest her, even when you can see how much she hurt Daniel! Not to mention you dared to add insult to injury by defying my command to arrest her in front of everyone!"

"What am I supposed to do, Vlad?" Desiree shouted back. "Lash out blindly at anyone who even remotely looks at Danny the wrong way, like you do? Twice, now, Vlad. This is the second time you act like, like…"

"Like what? Are you going to call me a brut, too? Or perhaps, a monster, or a freak?" Vlad sneered.

"Don't put words in my mouth," Desiree snapped back. "What I'm saying is that you need to control yourself!"

"Not when someone hurts my child," Vlad replied. "Something you obviously have no problem with!"

"How can you say that to me?" Desiree exclaimed angrily. "Of course, I'm upset to see Danny hurt! You think I'm not mad at Spectra for what she did? But I just so happen to have enough restraint to not attack others!"

Vlad's aura quickly brightened with a red hue, showing his growing fury. "I haven't attacked her! And if I had, she would have deserved it, anyways! You have no idea who your sister is and what's she capable of!"

"Oh, right. And you do because you grew up with her, huh?" Desiree retorted in sarcastic anger.

"No, I know because I have had the misfortune of finding out how she feels," Vlad said with clenched teeth.

"What are you talking about?" Desiree questioned impatiently.

Vlad briefly regarded his wife with seriousness, but then he asked her, "When was the last time you touched your sister, Desiree? When was the last time she touched you?"

"What? What does that have to do with what we are talking about?" Desiree questioned, suddenly both confused and angry.

"I didn't want to tell you this. I wanted to save you the anguish of the truth. But this has gone far enough," Vlad said soberly. "Your sister is evil, Desiree. She doesn't love you. Quite the contrary."

Desiree's eyes widened in angry disbelief before she hissed, "How dare you say that to me! You don't know anything about---"

"If she loved you, Desiree, she wouldn't have hurt your child," Vlad cut her off before he added in an angry whisper, "If she loved you, she wouldn't have forced herself on me."

"What are you saying?" Desiree gasped out.

"I'm saying that she cornered me in her bedroom, threw herself on me, and put her hands and mouth on me! I'm saying that for all intent and purpose, your loving sister did the same thing to me as she did to our son! Do you see now why I am furious at what she did? You have no idea what it feels like to have someone as, as vile as Spectra do something as obscene as what she did to me! And worse, she did it to our son!"

But Desiree just stared at him in shocked disbelief; though then, she quietly asked, "When was this?"

"The same day I last went to the human world and I went to her home to retrieve the human item she found. She was even sick enough to bring it up in front of you on my return!" Vlad said in disgust.

But the Queen stayed quiet again. However, she suddenly shook her head and muttered, "I can't believe that."

"I beg pardon?" Vlad asked, appalled.

Desiree looked at him with creased eyebrows as she said, "That makes no sense, Vlad. Spectra has never done something like that before. Why would she do it now? And, Danny… She has never hurt Danny before… There… There must be some explanation for all this…"

"I can't believe this," Plasmius said in angry disbelief. "You actually don't believe me! God, she was right about you. How can you believe her over me?"

"I'm not saying I don't believe you! I Just----"

"No wonder you don't care that she hurt Daniel. It seems Spectra is just so much more important to you than me or him!" the male ghost muttered in revulsion. "You make me ashamed, Desiree. I would never have fathomed that you could be so much like your sister."

"It seems we are both discovering new things about each other, then," she sneered back, clearly hurt by his words. "And maybe I am questioning your word, after all. Really, Vlad, my sister forced herself on you? How funny that with your being such a powerful male ghost, you couldn't do a thing to stop her? Or did you not want her to stop?"

But when she saw her husband fist his hands in anger, she narrowed her eyes further at him and growled, "Oh? Are you going to hit me, too?"

Plasimus just stared at her for a moment before coldly replying, "I have never raised my hand at you in my life. And I have never been unfaithful to you, either. If I was interested in having more than one female, then I wouldn't have bothered to marry you."

"Oh? So now having married me was a bother?" Desiree questioned back.

Vlad shook his head, knowing his wife was now just twisting his words on purpose. But he then stared seriously back at her and asked, "Do I mean so little to you, Desiree? Does Daniel mean so little to you? Desiree, we are your family! And yet, all you can do is lash out at me for defending that? For defending Daniel?"

Desiree's hard look melded into desperation as she answered, "Please don't put me between a rock and a hard place. She's my sister, Vlad!"

"AND I'M YOUR HUSBAND!" Vlad abruptly screamed at her. "DANIEL IS OUR SON!

"HE'S NOT OUR SON!"

Plasmius instantly reeled back, his eyes widening in horror with his wife's words. For a moment, there was a tense silence as the King just stared at the Queen, whose eyes had now filled up with unshed tears.

"You cannot possibly mean that," Vlad suddenly whispered.

Desiree shook her head. "I'm so tired of pretending. I'm tired of having to lie to everyone about Danny when I know the truth… He is not our child, Vlad! And I'm tired of your need to convince yourself otherwise! I'm tired of you trying to convince me of it when I can see how he is not my son. The truth is that Danny will never be our son! That is why he cannot call to us. We are not his parents; his parents are out in the human world somewhere! So, yes, with all the pain in my core, I do mean that."

The King could only look at her in earnest. But he then shook his own head and said, "I never thought you could be so selfish, Desiree."

"How am I selfish, Vlad?" Desiree demanded. "I'm just not delusional like you!"

"Let me tell you something," Vlad suddenly sneered, approaching her until he was inches from her face. "Bonds are not formed out of only ectoplasm or blood or genes. In fact, all that means nothing! The most evil being that has ever existed shared physical ties with me, and all he did was try to destroy my life! You might not believe Daniel is your son, but he is my son. He has been since the day I gave him my signature. He has been for the past six years! I know his feel and he knows my feel as well as our own. I love him. And if that makes me delusional, then, fine. But if you think that some link or some physical thing is what makes a child your own, then I think I am very accurate in calling you selfish!"

"Stop talking to me like I don't love Danny, too!" Desiree exclaimed. "I love that child! You have no idea how much!"

"Not nearly enough from all that you have just said!" Vlad sneered back.

Though reeling from his words, Desiree pressed on, "Let's not forget who is always with him when you abandon us for weeks at a time! But I don't have to prove anything to you. I know how I feel. But that's just it. You don't care about how I feel, about how this six-year-façade makes me feel!"

"If it's such a burden, you are free to go," Vlad said coldly. "I'll set you free, Desiree. You can go find yourself someone who can give you a child 'worthy enough' for you to call your own. And you won't even have to worry about ruining your reputation---that is, what's left of it after the rumors I have heard about you…Or are they just rumors? I'm not so sure anymore."

Desiree's mouth parted slightly, but then she quickly raised her hand and slapped him.

Vlad jolted in surprise and took a step away from her.

But at that moment, a small whimper came from the doorway. Desiree and Vlad's eyes darted in alarm in its direction and they tensed at seeing Danny staring at them with large eyes while clutching his three-headed lion toy fearfully against his chest.

"Mommy? Daddy?" he questioned quietly. He had seen his parents upset with each other before, but… but not like this. Although he had not really heard about what they were arguing, let alone did he understand it, the child had heard their muffled screaming from his room… And now… why did his mother hit his father like that?

"Danny," Desiree said worriedly, moving towards him---that is, she would have, had her husband not suddenly stepped in front of her.

Vlad glared at her, his warning to her as clear as if he had said it:

Stay away from him.

Desiree just averted her gaze back over to Danny, though she didn't try to get near him anymore.

Vlad hesitated only slightly before finally turning his own eyes back to his son; and it took all his willpower to calmly, though worriedly ask, "Why are you out of bed, little Phantom?"

Danny didn't readily reply, and instead continued to exchange looks between his parents, trying to understand why they were so mad at each other. But then he looked at his father and quietly said, "I got scared."

Plasmius' eyebrows creased. "Of what?"

"I… I don't know," Danny whimpered, suddenly feeling like crying.

Vlad sighed, knowing his son could tell something was wrong. He should have closed the door. But the sight of his crying son suddenly washed away his anger, leaving a very deep sorrow in his chest.

He looked back at his wife. Everything he had said to her and everything she had said to him were suddenly as one knife piercing his core.

"Desiree," he called to her, moving closer before lifting his hand to her symbol. But unlike before, he didn't touch her.

"I want you to know that I love you. God knows that I do. And God also knows that I have never questioned my feelings for you. Never. …Until today," he told her sadly, his voice slightly quivering before he abruptly turned from her and went to attend to his son.

"Come, Daniel. Let's get you back into bed," Vlad said with a small forced smile as he picked him up.

Desiree just quietly watched her husband take the child away. But the entire time, Danny quietly stared back at her in confusion. However, the moment they were gone. Desiree placed a hand against her core and staggered back until she sat down on her husband's bed.

She brought up her other shaking limb to her mouth as a sob shook her frame. And unable to hold back her sorrow and pain, she just gripped at her core, leaned forward, and wept.

---

Danny stared quietly as his sober father tucked him back into bed. But the child then reached forward and touched the King's signature. Vlad tensed slightly, but then weakly smiled at his son.

However, his father's core did not lie and the Prince knew what was barely hiding behind the smile.

"You're sad, Daddy," Danny muttered worriedly.

"I'll be fine, little Phantom," Vlad told him quietly before pulling away just enough to move away from his son's touch.

Danny's eyebrows creased as he suddenly said, "I'm sorry."

The King was a bit surprise by the remark. And creasing his own eyebrows at his son, he asked, "For what, Daniel?"

The Prince was quiet for a moment before his eyes filled with tears.

"Daniel… what's wrong?" Vlad asked in concern, placing a hand against the child's face and gently stroking his cheek with his thumb.

"I-I tried, Daddy! I did!" Danny whimpered. But then he suddenly sat up and jumped into a troubled rant. "I didn't mean to hurt Aunt Spectra with my claws! I didn't mean to pull away from her touch! But it hurt! And I got scared! I'm sorry, Daddy! I'm sorry I did that and I'm sorry I went to the Forest of Emotions when I am punished and I was not supposed to go! And now you and mommy are mad at each other because of me! "

"No, little Phantom. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault," Vlad quickly assured him. But then he paused and sighed. "…Daniel, I am upset with your mother. But it is not your fault. And you don't have to worry… You know we always work things out. Everything will be just fine." But as he said this, the King wasn't sure of it this time…. He had never before fought like this with his wife. The things she said…. And even the things he said to her… they hurt deeply. And Vlad honestly didn't feel like making up with her any time soon. The offenses he could forgive… but her putting Spectra over him and Danny… and then saying that Daniel wasn't their son after all these years…How was he supposed to put something like that behind them?

But knowing he needed to talk to his son about something important, Vlad forced his thoughts away; and with a smile, he sat down on his child's bed before gently ordering, "Come here, little Phantom. We need to talk."

Danny smiled when his father took him into his protective arms and then laid them both back down on the bed.

Plasmius just caressed the child for a moment, a pensive look on his face. But he then moved one of his hands over to his son's symbol and gently touched it, noticing with relief that the bruise Spectra had left on his chest was slowly beginning to fade.

"Daniel, what you did was right," Vlad suddenly told him, getting a surprised look from the child. "Your aunt had no right to hurt you like she did. You did the right thing trying to defend yourself."

The Prince stared at his father in confusion. "But… she's my aunt. I have to let her touch me. And you said I am not supposed to use my powers against others, right?"

Vlad sighed again. "It's not always that simple, little Phantom. Look, in here---Do you know what is inside here?" he asked the child, pressing his hand a bit more on his son's symbol to let him see what he meant.

Danny stared down at his chest before looking back up at his father and replying, "Yes, my core is inside. It's where my powers come from."

"Yes, that's right. But your core is also what keeps you alive. Or better put, within your core is the very thing that gives you life, little Phantom." But when he saw his son's eyebrows crease in confusion, Vlad told him, "Daniel, inside here is your very soul. And it is because your soul and core are together, that we can feel each other. What you feel when someone touches you are not just emotions and energy, Daniel. You can feel that someone's very soul. And although it is your soul that gives you life, it also reflects how you live that life---You can tell what kind a person someone is by the feel of their soul. It is always truthful."

Danny looked thoughtful with his father's explanation. And although he knew what a soul was, he had not known what his father had just told him about it…

"So, you see, my child, something so sacred and so delicate as that has to be protected," Vlad told him seriously. "Daniel, no one. And I mean no one, not even your mother or I, has a right to touch you there if you don't want them to. Your core and soul are your own. And if anyone tries to touch them without your permission or hurt them, you have every right to defend yourself."

Danny looked back at his core as his father withdrew his hand. But the child then pressed his own hand against his core, thinking how it had felt bad when his aunt had touched him, when… Bertrand had, too. Or the Prince thought he did. He had felt someone else touch him at the same time as his aunt… But everything was so blurry.

Still, Danny now understood what it was that he feared his aunt would take away from him…. His soul… She had not just hurt his core, but his soul. It had felt like she was…destroying it.

But that confused Danny, too. And looking at his father's own symbol, the Prince touched it, asking, "Why doesn't it hurt when you or mommy or my friends or Clockwork touch me? Why did my aunt hurt me?"

Vlad's face fell into a deep frown. Just the thought of the female ghost sent a surge of fury through his body. And by the way his child warily moved his hand away from his symbol, he had noticed.

Vlad readily forced the emotion back, though he answered, "You know how there are different types and strengths of energies. And your core is naturally sensitive to them. But… it also has to do with your soul, too. It can be affected by other souls through touch… and if someone has, let's say, bad emotions, well, you feel that." The father sighed when he saw his son staring at him in confusion before he added, "It's complicated, little Phantom. Perhaps when you are older, I'll explain it more to you. Just… be protective of your core, my son. What it holds within is priceless."

Danny nodded as he wrapped his arms tighter around his father.

Vlad just quietly held the child for a moment, thinking of the close-calls his son had had as of late. It truly frightened the father. Why was Daniel getting hurt? Why did it seem like Vlad couldn't protect his son as of late…? And worse, why did he currently feel like he had to protect the child against his own wife?

How could Desiree do this to him after all these years?

Had he not made their keeping Daniel her choice? Had he not told her that if she did not want the child that he would give him up in spite of Vlad's wanting to keep him?

Or… Had Desiree just agreed to keep Daniel because it was what he wanted?

But that was even worse! That meant she had lied to him! That meant she was just pretending to be happy… she was pretending to love Daniel? He mentally paused when he suddenly remembered one of his conversations with Spectra…

"How can you and Desiree be related and be so different?"

"Same way as you and your uncle. But then, maybe Desiree and I are not all that different. And you just don't know it yet."

"Daddy?"

"Yes?" Vlad asked quietly, though he felt as if his soul was being torn in two at the moment.

"What happened with Elliot?"

Plasmius turned his sad gaze to his son and told him, "I tried, Daniel…I'm sorry."

Knowing what his father was telling him without really voicing it, the Prince looked away, feeling a painful lump constrict his throat. He would never be able to see Elliot again.

Danny suddenly gripped at his father even tighter and just buried his face in his chest.

"I'm so sorry, little Phantom," Vlad repeated, hearing his son's quiet weeping.

Danny nodded against the King's chest, believing that his father indeed had done his best to fix things with Aragon. At that moment, the child decided this was the worst day of his life. His aunt had hurt him, his parents were mad, and now he had to accept that Elliot and he couldn't be friends.

"Why don't we go eat, Daniel? It's already dinner time," the King suddenly asked, in hopes of getting his son to think about something else.

But Danny shook his head again and quietly said, "I'm not very hungry."

Vlad stayed quiet for a moment, knowing the last thing on his own mind was food, too. But he was still worried for his son. It had been a hard day for him, and he could tell the child was still emotionally, physically, and even mentally exhausted.

"Alright, Daniel. But if you are not going to eat, then at least get some rest for me, okay? Anĝela said you need to get a good long rest---something which you have yet to really do, little Phantom."

Still sniffling a bit, Danny frowned, unsure if he wanted to sleep. He still felt pretty upset about what his aunt did. But if his father was here, maybe he could. After all, the child was sure that as long as his father and mother were around, nothing could hurt him.

"Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?" Danny asked, finally looking up at his dad again.

Vlad smiled sadly. "I was actually planning on sleeping with you tonight, little Phantom. That is, if it's okay with you."

At any time, Danny would have been delighted by the news. It wasn't very often his father slept with him. It was usually when he was sick or when he pleaded him to… But right now… the child knew why his father wanted to sleep with him.

"You don't want to sleep with mommy?" Danny questioned sadly.

Knowing it was pointless to deny it since his son could feel he was upset, Vlad just shook his head.

Danny sighed before he placed his small hand against the side of his father's face and said, "It's okay, Daddy. You can sleep with me. And don't worry, mommy still loves you. And I love you, too."

"You're a good son, little Phantom," Vlad told him as he grabbed his son's hand on his face and kissed it.

Danny couldn't help but response with a small giggle before snuggling in his father's arms again and finally closing his eyes.

"I want you to know that I love you, too, Daniel," Vlad told him seriously after a long moment. "And I will always defend you… no matter what," he assured his now sleeping son.

---

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully, I did not lose all of you after such a long wait. But hopefully with school momentarily out of the way, I will have another chapter up sooner. And by the way, we are finally approaching the climax of this story's first arch. I find that when I write complicated and long stories, it is easier to keep a good structure if I break them down into archs. And judging by the amount of chapters I have so far and by the depth I have planned for this story's plot, I think you guys are looking at another 'Checkmate', length-wise, anyways. I told myself I'd never write anything as long as CM again... and, well, here I am now with this story. Tsk. Well, I am enjoying it; so I shouldn't complain too much. I hope you all are enjoying it, too. In any case, let me know.

Until next time, my dear readers!