Chapter 36

The night was all quiet with very few people wandering the streets. With the recent murders, it wasn't surprising to see people being cautious about being out late at night, and especially the women. He saw hardly any women around and those he did see were walking in groups. They were all older women, and Vlad doubted they were virgins, which meant they were likely safe from the incubus lurking around town, but he was glad to see they were wary enough not to go out alone at night. Vlad didn't want the incubus to have the opportunity to attack another person in his town.

"You're still concerned about Daniel and the shade situation, aren't you?" Lancer questioned, walking beside the vampire as they patrolled the streets for any signs of the incubus' whereabouts.

From Daniel's retelling of his rape, Lancer was given a fairly good description of what the incubus looked like. Vlad knew there were plenty of incubus in the world and the one that arrived in town wasn't necessarily the same one that raped Daniel, but the description still remained their best bet on identifying the incubus. Unless they somehow came upon the incubus in the act of feeding upon someone, which Vlad really hoped wouldn't be the case.

"Daniel may be too kind for his own good," Vlad said as his mouth pulled into a frown. "He looked for goodness in a being that was attacking him and wanted to save it. It's a noble idea, but also one that has potential to stab him in the back if he puts his trust and faith into the wrong being. But," he heaved a sigh, "Dan seems to show genuine concern for Daniel's well being. I'm not sure how much I like that fact, but if he stops any further harm from coming to Daniel, I'll be thankful for his guardianship."

"There's a bond between them." Lancer stroked a hand over his bearded chin. "I imagine being trapped within that dark place together after Daniel died forged a deep connection. I'm not sure that Dan could have actually killed Daniel with their essences bound to each other. Killing Daniel's soul may have complicated Dan's existence on this plane."

"I suppose Clockwork was right about this." Vlad glanced down the alleyway they passed it, looking for movement among the shadows. "The Ghost Writer's power wasn't necessary to solve Daniel's price. And that unusual form change will at least protect Daniel's identity if he has to use his powers where he may be seen. I do hope he will be wise enough to at least find a suitable hiding spot before switching his appearance. I understand he's had reason to be cautious in the past, lying to his parents about the things he's experienced, but this power is new to him. He lacks control at the moment, and that leaves him prone to mistakes. Those mistakes could be costly if someone witnessed what he can do. Especially someone of the human population."

"While his grades may not be the best," Lancer said as he paused, and Vlad stopped walking to turn back to him, "Daniel is a fairly bright young man. Everyone is bound to make mistake in their lives, but I hope you're not thinking him an idiot."

"I only worry that he's inherited some of his father's ability to blunder things." Vlad frowned with a flat stare. "Jack was always prone to clumsiness, which often led to accidents. I understand some of that was a result of his over eagerness to hunt the supernatural. I only worry that Daniel may put himself in danger if he's not careful."

"Vlad." Lancer sighed. "He has people to protect him here. Dan especially will want to keep him safe since their existences are linked. But there is another matter to be concerned about regarding Daniel."

Vlad frowned, brow drawing together as he stared at the witch in front of him. "What do you mean?" From the serious expression on Lancer's face, Vlad didn't think he was going to like the next words out of the man's mouth. He thought any worries about Daniel's safety was laid to rest after they dealt with the issue of the shade. So long as Daniel followed their order to stay in his home, he wouldn't be at risk of being ambushed by the incubus again. Vlad hoped that was true. But even if the incubus did seek out Daniel, Dan would be there to stand in the way and protect the young man.

"The day after the solstice when Daniel came to me with the proposal to help Dan," Lancer started, and Vlad's brow creased even more, "Skulker followed him to my house. He saw Daniel use his cryokinesis, and I'm afraid he may have taken interest in Daniel."

"What?" Vlad shouted at that announcement. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"

Lancer frowned as he took a look around the street. Several of the people wandering past them turned their heads at Vlad's sudden exclamation. Lancer stepped closer to the vampire and spoke in a lower voice so that none of those people could overhear them. "Because Dan was the immediate threat at that moment. I thought we should deal with him before turning our attention onto Skulker. Then this whole thing with the incubus came up. We have time to come up with a plan to deal with Skulker. He can't do anything to Daniel or Kwan while still under your watch and serving his sentence. We can figure something out before graduation."

Vlad frowned, breathing in deeply to calm his anger. "I see why Clockwork warned that Skulker had the potential of leaving this planet with more than one of my students." His jaw clenched tightly, and he wished he had the excuse to attack Skulker at that moment. The alien would not be taking any of his students if he could do anything about it. But until Skulker made his move, Vlad's hands were tied. The council would not sit idly by if he stepped out of line and broke intergalatic law. Without proper cause, harming Skulker could start a war with the planet of Cyonetic, who as Vlad gathered weren't satisfied with the punishment handed down on one of their own.

"I had that thought as well after that encounter," Lancer said, frowning deeply at this development. "But I think Clockwork was expecting us to figure out a way to help the shade. With Dan's guardianship, Daniel should be well protected against Skulker. And it's possible that Dan could serve as another protector for Kwan. They have a nice group of friends that will surely fight to the end if necessary to keep Daniel and Kwan safe."

"It shouldn't be their duty to deal with this sort of problem," Vlad argued in a grumble, his shoulders tensing with anger. "Their safety is my responsibility. I should be the one protecting them from any harm that threatens them. They shouldn't be the ones having to fight against a selfish, egotistical alien."

"I agree it's not something they should have to face. But the fact that they're being surrounded by people that care so much for them is a great help to both Daniel and Kwan." Lancer frowned as his green eyes swept around the street. "And for now, we should turn our attention to tracking down that incubus to ensure no other women are murdered." Annoyance scrunched up his face. "If I had been able to get something off those women that belonged to the incubus, I might have better luck tracking it. It left the bodies in too wide an area for us to search. It could even attack outside the area and dump the bodies here simply to make it tougher to locate it."

Vlad could understand the witch's frustration. Lancer could cast a locator spell with great ease and track the incubus down within a matter of moments. But a locator spell required something of the person to work when the identity was a mystery. If he needed to locate someone that he knew, Lancer could cast the spell without need of an item related to that person.

"Vladdie!"

"I'd know that voice anywhere," Vlad growled, his whole body tensing up when he heard that shout of his name. Lancer hardly hid the amused twitch of his mouth, and Vlad snarled at him. When he turned around, he immediately regretted the action as he was drawn into a crushing hug by the man's thick log sized arms. If he were still human, the squeeze of the arms around him might have cut off his supply of air and caused him to suffocate. Vampires, luckily, didn't have to breathe. But the allusion of breathing kept people believing that he was still alive.

"See, Maddie! I told you that had to be Vladdie that shouted!"

"Jack, dear, perhaps you should let him go before you break him," Maddie suggested kindly, and her large husband sheepishly released his hold on the vampire.

Vlad held back a sneer as he straightened his suit. Jack couldn't see that his own son was no longer a mere human nor could he tell that the man he just held in a vice grip was a vampire. It was no wonder they could never get their hands on anything supernatural. Vlad probably would have remained as ignorant of the world around him if he had left Europe all those years ago to travel back to America with the pair. Thinking about what could have been was a pointless past time. What happened couldn't be changed, and he was satisfied with the life he had now. Before, seeing the pair together would have incited a jealous rage inside Vlad to see Jack with the woman he once loved, stealing her from right under his nose. But after being turned, he had more to worry about than a betrayal of a friend. He didn't think after the people he drained and killed that Maddie could ever love a monster like him, even if he had no choice in his actions.

"You two are looking well," Vlad said with a strained smile as he smoothed down his silver hair.

Maddie looked lovely as ever, her brown hair short and straight now, so different from the long, frizzy hair that Vlad remembered her having last they saw each other. Childbirth hadn't hurt her figure even slightly. Jack, on the other hand, was still as big as ever, never losing that broad torso of his football days, though he packed on more weight than muscle over the years. He lost the mullet they both sported in their youth, and his dark hair was white on the bottom. They still looked happy and healthy, and completely in love with each other.

"I can't believe we're running into you here like this," Maddie said with a bright smile on her face. "How long have you been living here?"

Vlad glanced toward Lancer, who only wore an amused look as he waited silently for the vampire to speak with his old friends. This was not a conversation he looked forward to after learning of the arrival of the Fenton family in Amity Park. "Only a few years," he told Maddie with a courteous smile.

"I was just thinking about you the other day, Vladdie." Jack smacked a hand onto Vlad's shoulder, nearly knocking the vampire over with his strength. "But after leaving Europe, we didn't have any way to contact you." He frowned, like the years apart truly hurt him, and maybe it did. They were best friends in college, spending many a night up late discussing theories and researching into the supernatural. They were fond memories for Vlad, though he didn't bother to think on them very often.

"Yes, well, I understand that you started a family after returning from Europe," Vlad said with perhaps only a touch of bitterness. He would never have children of his own, and not simply for the fact that he was involved with another man. Vampires were incapable of reproducing. They could sire a childe, but they couldn't conceive children through the same means as normal humans.

"Two wonderful children," Jack boasted happily with a proud smile. His dark blue eyes shone as an idea struck him. "You should come visit! You can meet them! I bet they'd love to hear about the old days and all the crazy adventures the three of us used to have together."

"Perhaps I should leave you to get reacquainted," Lancer said, trying but failing to hide his amusement with a pleasant smile at the couple.

"Oh, how rude of us!" Maddie looked truly regretful. "We've interrupted something, haven't we?"

"Interrupted something?" Jack frowned at his wife in confusion. Then he glanced between Lancer and Vlad. "Vlad, you-" His eyes nearly bugged out of his sockets, and he leaned in close to Vlad to whisper. "But I always thought you had a thing for Maddie. I always felt kind of bad about it." He frowned with an unusual miserable look in his eyes.

"At one time, I did," Vlad agreed. "But I can hardly fault you for being the one she chose." But again, at one time, he would have. It was amazing the way time could change a person. "And as you can see, I haven't been completely alone in my life." He took hold of Lancer's hand, like making a point for a dull mind that couldn't pick up on the subtle hints. "This is Lionel Lancer."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton." Lancer bowed his head to the pair.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Mr. Lancer." Maddie turned a smile onto Vlad. "And we're so happy for you, Vlad!"

"Lancer," Jack mumbled, tapping at his chin with a fat finger. Then he snapped his fingers before pointing at the balding man. "You're Danny's teacher!"

"Why yes, I am. He's a pleasure to have in class. A bright boy as long as he applies himself." Lancer clearly had an attachment to the young man, and Vlad rolled his eyes at the teacher. Not many students gained the witch's affection, but Lancer seemed to take Daniel under his wing. Perhaps Daniel confiding in him about his greatest secret was the reason behind their bonding. In a short time, Daniel found enough trust in his teacher to openly speaking with him about the rape, something he certainly hadn't told his parents anything about.

"We know his grades aren't the best," Maddie said with a frown. "But with all the moving around, he's had a hard time keeping up with classes."

"I'm sure as long as he can focus on his class work and not get too distracted, he'll have no trouble graduating," Lancer assured her, putting it gently.

Vlad had seen Daniel's grades and knew the young man needed a lot of work to get up his grades. That would be much easier for Daniel to achieve without threats to himself and his friends hanging over his head like a dark cloud. Hopefully, once the incubus was dealt with and they found some way to eliminate Skulker as a threat, then Daniel would be free to devote his time to studying.

"He's fit in quite nicely at Casper High, wouldn't you say, Vlad?" Lancer smirked at the vampire, who shot a glower toward him. Both Jack and Maddie stared curiously at Vlad after that question was put to him.

"Yes," Vlad agreed, narrowing his eyes at Lancer before turning a pleasant smile back to his old college friends. "Daniel has quickly found a nice group of friends at our school." When his friends blinked at him, Vlad sighed, realizing this chance encounter was going to lead to more meetings with Jack and Maddie. "I'm the principal at Casper High."

"Danny never told us that!" Jack looked hurt that he was only learning now that his son's principal was his college buddy.

"Well, I'm sure the boy had no reason to think that we might know each other." Vlad patted the larger man, though of course, Daniel was aware that Vlad knew his parents. After learning that Vlad was a vampire, Daniel obviously saw the reason why Vlad wasn't thrilled with the idea of reuniting with his old friends.

"Oh," Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I guess that means you've already met our son. Hopefully not for anything bad."

Vlad shook his head. "No, he's done nothing to warrant a visit to the principal's office as yet," he assured Jack with a kind smile. His jaw clenched as a sharp pain stabbed at his brain. "However, I wouldn't say no to a visit to your home. Perhaps share a nice hot cup of coffee." He sent a look at Lancer, who picked up the meaning right away. It was the look that usually meant one of their students was in trouble. "Right now would be good."

Jack and Maddie both blinked at urgency that tinged their friend's voice. "Well, of course, Vladdie," Jack agreed, turning to lead the way to their home.

Daisuke Kazamatsuri: Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed their meeting. 8D I had to go look up that song. XD;;; It was a pretty good song~

fullmoonwolf950: It was very strange coming on and suddenly having the appearance look so different. _ And then photobucket did their massive change. *flips a table* I really don't like photobucket's change. Haha! I blame reading Full Metal Alchemist ages ago! XD;; Alchemy seemed like the best choice of pulling off helping Dan. With the whole exchange thing between Dan and Danny. 8D Danny has his knights to protect him~ I just never understood what the thing was with homestuck. D8

XD: Indeed, the ideas are flowing! But how did this story end up so long? _ ;; If I had a good idea, I wouldn't mind writing a Dan/Danny story. XD;; I think Danny's dreading that moment when they all learn. And he's probably thankful that Sam's back in Wisconsin so she can't smack him for not telling her about it sooner! XD;; I like how they upped the characters from 2 to 4, but then I look at my stories and I'm just... I have so many characters and couples involved in some of the stories! D8 Pandora wouldn't be taking any of Pariah's crap! XD;;

Aurthor's Note: I forgot to add this to the last chapter. My friend akiwitch did an awesome design for how Danny looks as Phantom in this story. Check it out! kimurasato. tumblr post/45621277446/more-on-writing

I really hate that they don't allow linking on here. *sighs* So I hope that worked.