So sorry for the delay. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years,

Sparkle on, my friends.

The Life We Fight For

Chapter 29: If I Relent

Vlad's fist landed with a heavy 'thud!' on his expensive desk. His eyes were blazing with ire and panic.

"This cannot happen!" Vlad shouted, his voice so loud it slammed against the study's walls. "Daniel cannot be allowed to see this woman. The first thing he'll do is jump through my portal headfirst!"

Godfrey had led Dora away nearly an hour ago to clean up and alerted Jazz to the situation. With any luck she would keep Dora occupied for a while.

"That ghost chose the biggest wrench he could find to throw into my plans," said Vlad with a huff. "Unbelievable."

Vlad knew he couldn't ignore Dora forever, but he sure as hell could try. After successfully hiding Daniel away for months now all his hard work was going right down the drain and he refused to sit back and watch.

Sinking into his cushioned desk chair, Vlad let out a frustrated sigh. He'd done nothing but worry over Daniel for so long that it was enough to make even a Masters weary.

'How is Daniel still alive after nearly a year of doing this alone?' Vlad thought, remembering his own struggles. He hadn't chosen the heroic and dangerous path as Daniel did, but he'd still had his moments of stress and anxiety.

He suddenly felt a chill wash over him. Holding in the shudder creeping up his back Vlad sat up straight and held his breath, listening intently. His ghost sense wasn't quite as physical as Phantom's but it still caused a reaction. And this ectosignature ran cold, so it couldn't be Dora…

His suspicions were proven correct when the study door opened without a single knock or call. Vlad crossed his arms and put on a stern face.

"Those with the desire to heal would know better than to leave their beds." said Vlad as a sleepy, pajama-clad Daniel entered.

"I couldn't sleep," said Daniel rubbing watery eyes rimmed red with fever. Vlad's lips pressed into a tight line.

He grabbed some paperwork he needed to get done and gestured for Daniel to follow him to the couch against the far wall. Daniel stretched out across the seat lazily while Vlad settled himself on the end.

After a few seconds he carefully let some of his dormant ectoenergy come through to heat the room as well as set off Daniel's ghost sense. The boy shuddered a bit but relaxed immediately after.

"Any particular reason you're unable to fall asleep?" asked Vlad. Danny rolled over onto his back.

"Not really," Daniel answered, a bit too casually. Vlad dismissed it as his own paranoia and looked down at his paperwork. Nothing but sloppy proposals and boring reports.

"By the way," said Vlad. "There is something I wanted to talk to you about."

Daniel looked up at Vlad through his sweaty white bangs. "Yeah?"

"I'm hosting an event soon," Vlad told him, keeping his eyes on the paper in his hands. "Assuming you are well by then, you'll be attending."

He kept his expression neutral while Daniel's gaze bore into him, as if the boy thought he was being tested. Finally Daniel rolled his eyes and then closed them.

"Yeah, right," he scoffed.

"I'm serious," said Vlad, "you need to interact with other people now and then, little badger."

"I'm not a big fan of acting snobby just for the sake of 'interaction'," said Daniel, "but thanks anyway."

Vlad let out a soft chuckle and reached over to ruffle Daniel's hair. As he neared he could feel the heat radiating off Daniel and lay his palm against the teenager's forehead instead. It wasn't much hotter than before, but it certainly wasn't getting better.

"I'm fine," said Daniel in a soft mumble. If Vlad didn't have sensitive hearing he might have missed it.

"A blatant lie," Vlad said, removing his hand.

Admittedly, he was worried at how little Daniel had argued or even cared about his upcoming event. He'd expected at least a near fist fight. It wasn't like Daniel to roll over and simply do what he was told.

Still Vlad kept quiet, his only relief coming in the form of Daniel's eyes finally closing and his breath evening out. It seemed rest could help almost anything...


The day was downright dismal.

With Danny out of commission and her eyes feeling strained from all the reading, Jazz Fenton had found an all new meaning of the word boring. Her need to scour Vlad's libraries could only be satisfied so many times!

And to top it all off, the cheesehead had found another ghostly mess to get involved in. As Jazz walked down a particularly long corridor she wondered just how long she could take living in this house. Constantly being surrounded by silence and isolation was not at all good for a healthy teenage psyche.

When Godfrey had called her upstairs she'd been attempting to figure out how to play the video games Danny had in the basement theatre. It took nearly half an hour just to figure out how to turn the volume off of full blast, after which she was finally able to concentrate enough to learn that it was not ghosts but zombies attacking her in disturbing realness.

"So much blood…" she said with a shiver.

Jazz made her way to the correct sitting room Dora was supposed to be in and took a second outside the door, listening. No sound could be heard inside but there was a faint change in the temperature. Living with Danny helped her hone her senses and she could tell right away that it was not a normal spike of heat.

Jazz entered the room with a friendly smile on her face. "Hello? Dora?"

The room had a large window spanning the entirety of its far wall, letting in lots of bright light. Dora was seated right in front of said window in the corner, surrounded by flowers in decorated vases that looked as if they belonged in an art museum.

She was dressed in a long, modest dress of blue velvet accented with gold lining and jewels. It couldn't possibly have been from her era but it looked beautiful on her all the same.

"Good afternoon sister of Danny Phantom!" Dora said cheerily.

"It's just Jazz, thanks," she replied. "What's all of this?"

Dora held up the freshly picked lily she'd been admiring with a bit of embarrassment. "I'd mentioned how we don't get to see many things like this in the ghost's realm, and within seconds the servants were bringing them by the bushel."

Jazz recognized a few such as the classic wild roses, morning glories, and daffodils; all parts of gorgeous bouquets dressed in ornate, slim vessels big and small.

"It's hard to imagine being surrounded by swirling green all the time, with no clouds, stars or fauna…" said Jazz. Dora chuckled softly, hidden behind a gloved hand.

"There are plenty of beautiful sights in our realm as well, you know," she told Jazz."It just might take a bit of searching, since it is such a fearsome place that everything it grows is, well..."

"Evil?" Jazz suggested.

"Complicated," said Dora, "Nothing is ever born evil. Not even a ghost."

Jazz nodded in understanding though she wasn't so sure she agreed. But Dora probably knew much more than Jazz did about that kind of thing.

Jazz took a seat opposite Dora and sighed. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Dora replied. Jazz looked her in the eyes as confidently as she could.

"Did you really help Vlad find Danny on Ivix's Island?" asked Jazz. At Dora's surprised look she explained, "I may have overheard a conversation or two…"

Dora chuckled softly behind her hand and shifted her gaze to the window. Jazz frowned, unsure if she was being laughed with or laughed at.

"I did tell Sir Plasmius where Danny was, yes," she said.

"Why?" Jazz asked, "I'm glad you did, but…I thought you were on my brother's side?"

She was glad Danny came out of that fight alive but couldn't help wanting to understand Dora's reasoning. The Queen knew Danny was on a secret mission, so why expose him?

"I wasn't certain I should, at first." Dora replied honestly. "But there was something different about Sir Plasmius that I couldn't ignore."

"About Vlad…?" Jazz said, raising an eyebrow. Dora turned to face Jazz once more.

"I'd like to ask you something now, if I may," said Dora.

Jazz still wanted to know more about Dora's encounter with Vlad but decided not to push it. She knew an uncomfortable response when she heard one. Jazz nodded to Dora and relaxed into her seat.

"Why is Sir Plasmius hiding Danny from me?" Dora asked.

Jazz looked confused. "What do you mean by hiding?"

"I've tried to get an audience with your brother since I came here and I have been given no explanation as to why that has not happened." Dora explained, a bit of irritation worming its way into her voice.

Jazz looked down at the ground, deep in thought. Danny was technically being hidden, yes, but not from Dora or any other ghost allies. Why would Vlad not want Danny to see her?

"Is he not really here?" Dora asked worriedly, clasping her hands together in her lap.

"He is, I promise." said Jazz, "Danny's perfectly fine- well, sort of anyway. He's sick."

"What?" said Dora in surprise. "How is that possible?"

Jazz flinched at the sudden excitement. "Uh, because he's half human?" she replied.

"Did the sacred relic not work? No, there's not a chance it wouldn't heal him completely, but then how…?" Dora wasn't talking to Jazz anymore, tapping her chin as she tried desperately to figure something out.

Jazz meanwhile, was completely lost. She had no clue as to what Dora was talking about, or whom she was even referring to anymore.

"What kind of relic?" Jazz finally asked. Dora looked up after a few more moments of silence.

"The earring I gave Danny when he visited was a very powerful, ancient relic that is meant to push the user to use power they wouldn't normally be able to tap into. It works best when the situation is dire." Dora looked down again. "It takes a toll on the body, but with the earring in and a day or two of rest he should have replenished all of the energy lost."

Though what Dora was saying made much more sense, there was still something off. Jazz ran a hand through her hair as she thought back to the last time she saw her brother, and as far back as when he came back unconscious from the Ghost Zone.

"I have never seen Danny with an earring, I didn't even notice his ear was pierced." she said, realizing what might be wrong. "What would happen if he didn't rest it off like you said?"

"Exactly what seems to have happened, sadly." said Dora, "Only, if we don't get that earring back his core could be permanently damaged over time. I don't think it's likely for a ghost like Phantom to succumb to the strain, but it's a serious possibility."

"Well then, looks like we've gotta find this relic," Jazz said with a sigh. "There's no rest for the weary in this world."


Waking up had never been so hard. It was a seriously underrated privilege to simply get up and be alert.

Danny slowly began to come to and the first thing he noticed was that he wasn't in bed, and then the scent of paper and leather. Definitely not his bedroom. Finally he opened his eyes and the numbness in his body melted away.

He immediately wished he was asleep.

Everything hurt. The sudden realization made his eyes sting with liquid he refused to recognize as tears. Blinking quickly he took a deep breath- which, turned out to be a bad idea, since his throat felt as if he'd swallowed a sword whole. He ended up coughing roughly into his arm, startling the person he was currently using as a pillow.

"Daniel?!" Vlad called worriedly, helping him into a sitting position. Danny finished his hacking and focused on catching his breath.

"You weren't coughing before," said Vlad, "Something else to add to list of things to be treated."

Danny shook his head, still gasping. If Vlad thought he was getting worse he'd up the dosage. No way was he taking more of that medicinal gunk than he had to.

"Is the cough why you couldn't sleep?" Vlad asked him, ignoring Danny's defiance.

Finally able to breathe somewhat comfortably, Danny replied, "Yeah…it kept waking me up."

Danny moved to a better position, pulling his knees up and curling around them. Vlad pressed the back of his hand to his forehead and Danny didn't bother fighting.

"Anything else I should hear about?" Vlad asked, putting some firmness into his voice. He was lucky enough to be in charge of a child that always aimed to please, and hated disappointing others. A stern word was often all he needed to get his Daniel talking.

"I don't know," Danny said, exasperated. "I just ache all over. And my chest hurts."

"Are you sure it's your chest, not your core?" asked Vlad, "Chest pain could mean a respiratory infection, which we can treat. But if it's your core, it could be dangerous."

"I said I don't know," Danny said, his tone stretching a bit with his growing irritability.

Not a soul in the world could have pulled a better answer from him. The longer he was awake the more he wished that he wasn't, and his building discomfort was a direct cause.

"I know you're not feeling well," said Vlad, "but don't think for a moment it means you're free to whine at me."

Danny looked over at Vlad and saw the firmness in his expression. Though he doubted he would get in trouble while sick (Vlad was much too soft sometimes), he didn't want to anger the only person that could actually punish him.

"Sorry," Danny said, "it's…my core. Feels like it's on fire."

"You're surprisingly calm to be on fire," Vlad said with a raised eyebrow. Danny shrugged.

"Got used to the pain. Ghost fighting, remember?" said Danny, wincing when his throat began protesting any further talking. He was grateful, since he didn't want to keep lying. He really wasn't all that great with pain, but he couldn't let Vlad know that.

Vlad noticed his tension and didn't question any further. He got up and went to the intercom, leaving Danny to spread out on the couch and relax. Or try to, anyway.

He could hear what Vlad was saying, but didn't care to tune in. That is, until he heard the mentioning of a 'guest'. Danny cracked an eye open and listened, but he couldn't make sense of what Vlad was talking about other than he wasn't happy about it. Danny's vision began to blur, forcing him to close his eye again.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Danny didn't think anything of it until he heard the person on the other side pleading.

"Sir Plasmius, please open up!"

The sound of a door opening was all the indication Danny received that Vlad might have heard the voice too. He recognized it, but for some reason couldn't place it. Stupid cold.

There were voices around him now, fading in and out. His name was being called every so often but he was too tired to respond. The only thing keeping him from falling asleep was the grounding hand pressed to his shoulder, strong and firm. His father's hand.

No, that wasn't right. His father's hands were large, not slender, and gloved, never bare. His father spoke loudly and with a booming voice, one that could shake the walls and make Danny's sensitive ears hurt. But this father had a calm tone, soft but stern, and always strong.

Danny loved them both. Why couldn't he have the both of them? There was probably a reason, he just couldn't remember. It was hard to remember anything with how much his core was bothering him.

There was a hand on both shoulders now, shaking him gently. Danny tried to open his eyes but they refused to budge. Why couldn't this father just let him sleep?

"Daniel!" a voice broke through, fearful but low and even. "Don't fall asleep!"

Only one person ever called him 'Daniel'. To everyone else there was just plain old Danny, always in some kind of trouble.

"Please, little badger," came the voice again, "just open your eyes for me."

But Danny was so tired. Not just physically, but tired of the stress, sadness, and pain his life had been consumed by. Why on Earth would he want to go back to it?

"I'll do better, I promise." Again, the voice interrupted. "It'll be so much better for you here, just give me another chance, alright? Just one more..."

He could feel energy starting to return to his body, yet he still didn't want to move. But his father's voice kept calling him, and this time it had sounded more distraught, cracking and pitched as if…

Danny mustered the strength he had left and opened his eyes.

"Don't cry, dad."


Jazz had opened the door, being the first to push past Vlad and get to Daniel. Dora was second, explaining frantically what the two had discovered.

"I need that relic, Sir Plasmius," said Dora. "Before Danny's core can no longer take the strain."

"I understand that!" Vlad exclaimed, running a hand down his face. "If I knew where it was I would have sent Godfrey for it already."

Dora and Vlad looked on as Jazz knelt next to Danny. The boy was barely clinging to consciousness, but surely he wasn't fading just yet.

There was still time.

"Think," Dora said, "when was the last time you saw Danny wearing an earring?"

"An earring?" Vlad said, his eyes widening. He remembered now… "After the fight, that girl took it out- to stop him from continuing the battle!"

"You mean Sam?" Jazz said, standing. "I can get it then. I'll call her and get her to meet up with me."

"My only concern is whether Danny can hold on for that long. His core is already weakening." Dora told them worriedly.

Vlad fell instantly into a panic as he realized Dora was right. Daniel's signature was weaker than usual, especially for his ghost form.

"Take Godfrey. He'll get you there quickly." said Vlad, trying to sound unaffected. "Now go!"

Jazz dashed out of the room and out of sight. Vlad then knelt down beside Daniel and put a hand on his shoulder. The boy was burning up. His entire body felt entirely too warm.

"I did this," Vlad said softly, "I should've just told him the truth, then he would have never gone into the Ghost Zone in the first place!"

"Don't blame yourself now, he still needs you," said Dora.

Vlad sat completely still next to Daniel, watching and waiting. Dora sat down beside him and put a hand on his arm, drawing him back to reality with her touch.

"We must try to keep him awake, his core is weakening too fast," Dora said.

As he grabbed hold of Daniel's shoulders, Vlad shook him as firmly as he dared, calling out.

"Daniel! Don't fall asleep!" he said.

There was no indication he was heard. Daniel's face was not completely relaxed but the remaining tension there was quickly fading.

"Perhaps we can slow the process if we transfer a bit of our energy," she said, "You are one of his kind, so your energy may help even more."

With a quick nod and a new sense of determination Vlad let go of Daniel and held his palm over the teen's chest. A small, glowing, pink light danced around his fingers as he concentrated on what he was attempting to do.

A ghost's core was extremely sensitive, and even more so if said core had a temperature preference. Daniel may not like the heat but if it would keep him conscious for a while longer, Vlad didn't care.

When Daniel still showed no improvement Vlad increased the amount of energy he was putting out, despite his hand shaking with the strain. Dora put a hand out to stop him, seeing his struggle.

"Please don't push yourself," she said. "You'll only make things worse. I do not need two patients to attend to."

Vlad wasn't listening, instead watching closely as the last bit of tension started to leave Daniel's body. Any remnants of the anger or frustration he'd felt earlier were gone, replaced by worry and panic. He had forgotten what it felt like until Daniel began living with him and had made it his personal mission to give Vlad regular heart attacks.

"Please little badger, just open your eyes for me," he said urgently. Dora gave up moving his hand and settled hers atop it, providing her own energy alongside Vlad's.

"At this rate he'll be comatose by the time they return," Dora said worriedly.

Vlad could hear his heart pounding loudly in his ears, drowning out his rational thought. Daniel was going to slip right through his fingers. After all the growth and compromise they'd achieved the past few months, he wouldn't even get to enjoy the result. He wouldn't get to hear Daniel chattering and calling him 'father' with that awkward expression on his face.

"I'll do better, I promise," Vlad pleaded, his vision blurring. "It'll be so much better for you here. Just give me one more chance, alright? Just one more…"

His arm gave out then, forcing him and Dora to stop trying to jumpstart Daniel's body. Vlad held his breath, watching the boy's face as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

But he didn't move. Daniel stayed completely still on his back, relaxed. Vlad dropped his head to his chest, unsure of what to do.

It wasn't fair, he didn't deserve to lose Daniel! He'd finally feeling like the universe was giving him a chance, letting him have the family he'd always wanted, and now…it was as if fate was laughing at him.

If he didn't have Daniel, his life was meaningless.

A hand touched his cheek and he suddenly felt angry. Dora had given Daniel the relic in the first place, even telling him where Ivix was so he could go on with his reckless mission! Vlad's head snapped up, red eyes blazing with hate as he opened his mouth to yell.

But the two green eyes he saw froze him in place.

"Don't cry dad," said Daniel, just as the moisture in Vlad's eyes turned to drops racing down his face. It lasted only a second, a single moment of vulnerability between him and Daniel before Vlad was regaining his composure.

"Then don't worry me so much," Vlad said with a half-hearted chuckle. Daniel's hand drew back and he looked around in a daze.

"Dora's here?" he said, his voice slurred and soft. Dora smiled at him and moved closer.

"It's me, Danny." she said sweetly. "Why don't you sit and talk to us for a while, so you won't get tired again?"

Daniel started to sit up and Vlad hurried to help, his uncharacteristically frantic actions making Daniel laugh. The sound was like music to his ears.

"What did I miss?" Daniel asked. "When did you get here, Dora? And what the heck just happened to me?"

"One at a time, little badger," said Vlad, sneaking in a temperature check by resting his hand on Daniel's neck. To Vlad's relief his body was much cooler than before.

"What's important is that I must apologize to you," Dora said with her head bowed. "I should have told you not to take out the relic I gave you. If I had, you would've healed properly and avoided this mess."

"The earring made me like this?" asked Danny.

He remembered Sam taking it out of his ear after the battle. It was like an instant spell of vertigo had hit him and he'd passed out within seconds. The relic was more powerful than either of them had realized.

Vlad stood suddenly, eyes unfocused. Danny moved to question him but Vlad raised a hand to quiet him. After a few seconds, Danny could hear it too. The front door had opened and there were voices beneath them.

"They've returned," said Dora, looking up at Vlad.

"Who?" Danny asked. Vlad ignored him, moving his hand to inspect Danny's left ear.

"The piercing has sealed," he said, "We'll have to do it again."

Danny's shoulders slumped at the news, but he said nothing. Dora went and opened the door as loud thumping footsteps could be heard in the hall.

"Danny!" he heard just as Sam's figure could be seen almost as a blur running toward him. She pushed a small box into his hand quickly, his sister followed close behind.

"I'm sorry," she said, "if I had known you needed this-"

"It's not your fault, Sam," said Jazz.

"Now is not the time!" Vlad snapped, taking the box and removing the earring. Dora stepped forward.

"I'll do it," she said gently, wary of Vlad's mood. "The area will be more sensitive the second time around."

Vlad handed it to her reluctantly and she knelt beside Danny. She put it to his ear and he tensed. Dora hesitated, not wanting to hurt him, but Sam put a hand on her arm and shook her head.

"Just do it randomly, surprise pain is the best when dealing with a ghost-powered boy," said Sam, grabbing Danny's hand. Dora nodded and went ahead with it after a few seconds of silence.

A grunt was all Danny let out before letting out a cold breath. "That wasn't so bad."

"That was the easy part," said Dora, "Now your core will be flooded with healing energy, like…"

"A jumpstart," Vlad finished. His arms were crossed and his eyes were regaining their usual malice. "Something else that could have been avoided had Miss Manson minded her place."

"It's not her fault," Danny said, rolling his eyes. "You don't need to make an enemy out of everyone, okay? I'm fine, alr-!"

A rush of cold washed over him and Danny was forced to still. Pain shot down from his head to his toes, striking particularly harsh at his chest.

Sam was the first to react. She grabbed Danny's hand and pressed it flat against hers, their fingertips touching. Vlad knelt down to try and calm Danny but Sam held up her free hand, glaring at him in warning.

"How bad?" she asked, taking in his tightly closed eyes and tensed muscles. After a few seconds she felt his ring finger pressed against hers.

They'd used this technique more times than she wished to admit. Danny got hurt more often now with his accumulating list of enemies.

Her thumb represented 'one', her pointer finger 'two', and on down to five. Danny didn't like talking through pain, and telling him what she was going to do before she did it was a big no-no. If he tensed and anticipated it his ghost powers might decide to intervene. She'd gotten shot at more times trying to stitch him up than in battle!

After several attempts they'd come up with their technique. And so far it had worked for every round of stitches or even the occasional reset bone.

"Is it just your chest now?" asked Sam. Her thumb could also be used as a yes, with her little finger being the opposite. She waited a minute, and finally felt a small push against her thumb.

"What does that mean?" Vlad asked, eyeing the two. "What is this?"

"We came up with it a while back when we started fighting more ghosts," said Sam, "It's getting better, right Danny?"

"Yeah," he said, raising his head and giving a small smile. "Thanks, Sam."

They broke contact and Sam stepped back, a hint of pink on her cheeks. Jazz let out a breath and sat down on the couch.

"Let's not mess with any more ancient, spooky relics, okay guys?" she said loudly. While the others laughed, Vlad wasn't amused.

"While I'm glad you are no longer dying," he said, eyeing Danny, "I think you and I should head upstairs, you still need to rest this off at least one more night."

Danny knew Vlad well enough by now to know that he was telling half the truth. He also knew he was doomed if he didn't listen.

"But why?" said Sam, "I'm not leaving until I know for sure he's okay, Plasmius."

"It's fine," said Danny, standing up and stretching. "You can just stay here tonight. I'm sure there's a dark enough room somewhere."

"This was once my house, you know," said Vlad as he led the two away from the group.

"You have more than enough room," said Danny dismissively. "But what do you really want to talk about?"

As they approached his bedroom Danny changed back into his human form for the first time in what felt like ages. It was strange to feel things like his heart beating and the need to breathe.

"I'll be blunt," said Vlad as he and Danny entered the bedroom. "What am I to you?"

Danny stared in confusion for a moment, unsure of what Vlad was getting at.

"Do you remember what you said when you woke up? What you called me?" Vlad asked. Danny's face went beet red and his eyes shot straight down to the floor.

"I wasn't really thinking, I didn't understand what- I don't know...!" Danny said in a rush of embarrassment. "I'm sorry, honest. That wasn't supposed to come out like that."

"You regret it?" asked Vlad, his face neutral and difficult to read. If he was angry, he wasn't showing it.

"What? I don't know!" Danny replied hastily.

He dropped onto the edge of the bed, staring at the space-themed designs. He was kicking himself for getting himself into this situation in the first place.

"We tend to say what we really think when we feel vulnerable," said Vlad, "Daniel…"

All of a sudden Danny was forced to meet Vlad's sincere, cobalt eyes. The hand on his chin was firm and grounding, as always.

"You don't need my permission to call me 'dad'. I know I can't replace Jack, but perhaps I can put a different meaning to the term," he said. Danny was silent for several moments, thinking carefully.

"It's not that simple," he said finally, "Some days I want nothing but to hate you and go back to being enemies, back to Danny Fenton. Other days I like training, listening to you talk about your work or helping you in the lab...and I just want to fit in as Daniel Masters."

"I understand," Vlad said, letting go of Danny. "How about you just call me whatever it is you feel strongest in that moment, alright?"

Danny nodded in agreement. At least he wasn't forced to keep calling him 'father' anymore. Vlad lifted his hand to feel his forehead and smirked.

"Back to normal it seems," he said. "Too bad, I was just beginning to enjoy the silence."

"Hey!"

Back to normal indeed.


Next Chapter: Vlad's schemes deepen, as does his guilt.


Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought. (or just spam SPARKLE in the reviews :P)

See you next time!

-P