Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom
Chapter 36: Nothing Left
Giving his bow-tie one last tug, Vlad lowered his hands, silently staring at himself in his room's full length mirror. The sober look on his face all but screamed the man's mood, and the soft sigh that suddenly escaped his lip only confirmed it.
His perfect plan…It was ruined. All the work, time, and effort that he had invested in all this had been wasted away last night. Everything had fallen apart in an instant.
He couldn't proceed with his plan to eliminate Jack now that Daniel's sister and friends knew he was involved in the boy's disappearance. If something happened to Jack now, they would know it was his doing. And Vlad was certain Jasmine would not keep quiet then. She would tell Maddie everything. And that would be disastrous.
That would ruin his life.
But if he couldn't get rid of Jack, how could he continue with the next part of his plan? How could he win Maddie now?
The events from last night wouldn't leave his mind. They almost tormented him. But to his confusion it wasn't the lost of his plan that bothered him most; nor was it the appearance of those three teenagers…It was Daniel.
What happened last night had clearly affected the boy. It had driven him to an extreme the man never thought possible for the teen to reach. But how affected was he?
That's what Vlad needed to know.
The billionaire no longer cared about questioning the young hybrid about the bracelet or about anything else now that he had calmed down and had some time to think about this whole mess. It was quite obvious that Daniel had been just as shocked by the sudden appearance of his loved ones as he had. The boy did not know anymore than he did. It would be pointless to question him. Besides, what good would it do now? It wouldn't fix his shattered plan.
However, Vlad had wondered all last night how the bracelet became damaged in the first place. Sure, it was meant to withstand strong amounts of ghost energy, but it did have a limit. And with just a bit of careful deduction, he got a pretty good idea how: only a very high amount of force could have caused the device to malfunction.
It was very possible that the previous spike in the boy's energy could have been partially responsible for the device's failure, but not fully. It was obvious that the bracelet's malfunctioning had occurred during Daniel's trip to Amity, since it had been working fine before then.
Daniel's high energy—which had sky-rocketed during his fight with Ms. Grey--combined with the strong attacks the girl hunter had subjected the boy to, had to have caused the cloaking device's damage.
He really should have checked the bracelet upon the boy's return. That had been his error…. An error that had cost him his perfect plan.
But there was nothing Vlad could do about it now. What was done was done. Right now, all he cared about was… Daniel. He needed to see the boy to ease the unsettling feeling inside him. It had made him restless all last night. And it was still tugging mercilessly at his mind. He needed it to go away.
With a louder sigh, the billionaire turned from the mirror and walked out of his room. His plans were on hold at the moment. They could wait. His revenge could wait…. Maddie could wait.
But making sure Daniel was okay could not.
The unsettling feeling seem to swell inside him when he found himself in front of the boy's room. The older half-ghost was not one to hesitate in his actions. But he was now. He just had this horrible notion that something was wrong.
Vlad lifted his hand to the closed door, and after a slight pause, he knocked. "Daniel?" he called, using everything within him to keep his voice calm and collected. But at receiving no answer, his voice almost wavered as he said, "Daniel, I'm coming in… alright?"
Not receiving an answer for the second time, he quickly walked in. What he first saw put a frown on the man's face. Daniel's bed was still neatly done…meaning that he hadn't slept in it.
In hopes of finding the teen asleep on the sofa bed above, Vlad walked over to the walk-in closet, and headed up the pull-down stairs. But when he got to the lounge, he found it as empty as Daniel's main bedroom.
Vlad's frown only deepened, and the unsettling feeling surfaced enough for him to realize what it was: fear.
Vlad quickly changed into Plasmius, before phasing out the still-broken glass doors, the ones leading to the balcony. He flew up, giving the morning sky and his surroundings a quick search. But he found no sign of the young half-ghost. And he couldn't sense him either, so he wasn't close by…
Vlad looked towards the forest, nervously contemplating the possibility of the boy heading out there in the middle of the night and not returning. Would he? There were….creatures out there; and although it was springtime, the nights were still pretty chilly in Wisconsin. Daniel could get sick… or hurt…
Plasmius swallowed hard. But remembering he had not checked the other sections inside the child's room, he quickly teleported back inside.
"Daniel?" Vlad called as he appeared inside the study room. "Daniel, if you are in here, come out," he demanded as he headed over to the entertainment room. But it was empty.
"Sugar canes," he whispered, returning back to the main area of the room. "…Perhaps he's at breakfast…"
No longer feeling calm enough to walk, the older hybrid teleported into the kitchen, and quickly spotted the ghost cook making breakfast.
"George?"
The chef jolted in surprise with his employer's sudden entrance. "Sir!" He sighed, relaxing. "It's times like this I'm most thankful that I'm a ghost!" he said in amusement, holding a hand to his chest.
But realizing that Danny wasn't in the kitchen, Plasmius was still too unsettled to really pay the other ghost any mind. "George, have you seen the boy?"
"No, I haven't. In fact, I haven't seen the young halfa since dinner yesterday," he answered, giving his employer a curious look when he noticed the man's suppressed alarm.
"Thank you," Vlad answered quickly, before vanishing as quickly as he came.
He reappeared at the bottom of the main stairway, deciding to try a different tactic. From years of practice, the older hybrid had learned to increase the range of his ghost sense. Currently, the boy wasn't close enough for him to 'automatically' feel him, but if he intensified his inner sense, perhaps he could find the boy. That is, if Daniel was in ghost form.
Reaching inside himself for his ghost sense, he quickly increased that hot tingle, and was instantly aware of how close his servants were when their ecto-signatures overwhelmed his radar. But another instant later, the energy signature he was searching for touched him. It had taken a more conscious effort for the man to do that now that the boy's energy was no longer elevated like before.
Vlad released his elevated ghost sense, and it settled with his sigh of relief. Daniel was inside the house. He was just in a far area of the mansion. Walking in the general direction that he had felt Daniel's ecto-signature, he soon pinpointed the boy's exact location.
One of Vlad's eyebrows rose up in curiosity. What in the world was the teen doing in the simulation room so early in the morning?
"Well, at least he isn't out in the forest," he thought to himself, moving towards the control room instead of entering the actual simulation room. He had a gut feeling that he should observe the young hybrid before approaching him…
As he headed toward the viewing glass, he passed the control mainframe and quickly glanced at it. He did a double take, and immediately backtracked to it.
A gasp left his lips as he stared at the program level Daniel was running. "Thirty?! That's three-times the level I told him to train at!" he exclaimed, before quickly walking over to the viewing glass.
Vlad's eyes went wide as he watched the sweat-drenched and panting young hybrid inside the simulation room. The room was throwing more attacks at the teen than he could handle, but what worried the man most was that Danny didn't even try to avoid being hit.
In ghost form, the boy was just firing away at the assault weapons around him. But the machine's own blasts were getting more hits on him than he on them
Unconsciously, the older hybrid cringed when he saw one of those blasts slam Danny into a wall across the room, sufficiently weakening him enough that he reverted back into his human self.
But seeing this wasn't as disturbing as seeing Danny getting back up, changing into Phantom, and continuing with his careless acts.
It was all Vlad could stand to watch.
"Pause Program," he quickly commanded, before whirling his cape around himself and teleporting into the simulation room.
Danny glared at him, angry with the man's interruption. "What?" he spat out.
The boy's look was enough to make Vlad pause for a moment. How long had it been since he had seen Daniel look at him like… that? Well, it definitely confirmed his suspicions on how much the events of last night affected the teenager.
Plasmius sighed away his slight hesitation, and calmly replied, "We need to talk, Daniel."
Danny scoffed. "That's a first," he remarked coolly, before addressing the room again. "Resume Program."
Danny flew up and fired several ecto-blasts at a couple of targets with an almost emotionless look on his face.
Vlad watched him from below for a moment, before letting out another sigh and following the teen up. As he got to him, the room fired a blast at the older hybrid, who instantly detected it and thoughtlessly placed a hand behind him and produced a shield.
"How long have you been here?" Plasmius asked as the attack struck his shield.
Turning towards the man, though his gaze wasn't really on him, Danny shrugged. "What time is it?" he asked indifferently, before firing a blast directly over Vlad's head and successfully destroying the weapon that had fired at the man just seconds ago.
"Past eight," Vlad answered, momentarily glaring at the teen after seeing how close his energy blast came to actually hitting him. Noticing several weapons suddenly appear around them, the older half-ghost turned intangible, his arms calmly crossing in front of him to show the boy he was awaiting a response.
Unlike Vlad, Danny didn't turn intangible; so when the guns fired, the energy rays didn't harmlessly go through him like they did Vlad.
Plasmius watched soberly as the boy was thrown across the room again. But this time, he didn't get far enough to slam against the far wall; instead, he fell a couple of feet before finally hitting the hard ground.
Again, Danny changed back.
Shaking his head, Vlad floated down next to the boy, watching him stand as if nothing had happened. In fact, aside from a few soft grunts, the young hybrid did not give any sign of feeling the brunt of that hit and fall.
Ignoring his spinning head, Danny forced his ghost form forward again, before finally giving his enemy a response to his earlier question. "I've been here since three this morning. You do the math, since you know that I'm no good at it," he said offhandedly, and then flew back up.
A loud gasp was Plasmius' response to the boy's comment, before he quickly shouted, "Systems off!"
Danny instantly glared at the man below, and just as fast, landed right in front of him, angrily asking, "What are you doing?"
"Daniel," Vlad began, just as mad. But then, he paused, and his anger melted into a deep worried frown. "Daniel," he said once more, and sighed yet again. "I'm… I'm very concerned about you," he said sincerely.
Danny raised a single eyebrow, a strange silence shrouding them both… One that the teen broke with his sudden cynical laugh.
"Systems on!" the boy ordered through his laughter. Danny flew back up, and resumed what he had been doing. "You know, Vlad, if I didn't know you, I would have believed that," the teen told him, his laughter dying into a sarcastic smile.
The boy's mocking tone instantly put a glare on Vlad's face again. "Systems off!"
"Would you cut that out?!" Danny exclaimed, his pretend mirth suddenly turning into heavy annoyance.
Vlad quickly floated up, right in front of him, and shouted, "I'm not going to stand here and watch you batter yourself!"
"There's the door," Danny quipped, pointing to where the door would normally be. "Systems on!"
"Systems off! Daniel you're being reckless! You have been here for over five hours! What in blazes are you trying to do?!" Vlad exclaimed, his frustration with the boy's attitude clearly ringing in his voice.
Danny rolled his eyes. "Look. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Thank you," he added with sarcastic anger, before shouting, "Systems on!"
"Systems off! Daniel… I'm warning you," Plasmius said darkly.
But the man's threat only received another snide laugh from Danny. "Really?" he asked, crossing his arms in front of him and smiling smugly at the angered man. "And what are you going to do if I ignore your warning? Waste me? I don't see how that would fit into your elaborate schemes, Sir."
Vlad said nothing, and instead, ignited his hands with pink energy as his response. He didn't need to waste the teen to get his point across.
"O-h," Danny replied slowly, his eyebrows rising in fake understanding with his simple word. His head slightly tilted for a moment as he regarded his enemy with a calm thoughtful look. But then suddenly, he turned from him and waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Go ahead. It wouldn't be the first time anyways. Systems on!"
Vlad's jaw and hands clenched in anger as he watched Daniel begin firing again, paying no attention to him at all. It took everything inside the older half-ghost to not follow through on his threat. At the moment, Vlad could see it would be pointless to physically punish the boy.
But that didn't mean he wasn't going to put him in his place. "Computer, terminate all running programs, and initiate complete system shut down," Plasmius suddenly ordered.
Danny whirled around and looked down at his enemy with creased eyebrows. He had never heard that specific command before. But his eyes quickly went back to his surroundings as he heard the room announce, "Programs ceased. Initiating complete system shut down…Now."
The young half-ghost's eyes widened slightly as he watched the room begin to revert back to its plain and empty appearance. "Systems on!" he quickly shouted; but this time, the room didn't obey him. A growl left Danny's throat, and he quickly looked back at Vlad. "What did you do?!" he exclaimed furiously.
"You are done here," Vlad responded with a calm, but angry tone.
Danny fisted his hands on his side, his eyes narrowing further. "Fine!" he spat out. "I don't need your stupid training room… The real thing is better anyways…" He hadn't meant to blurt out his last comment. Still, it didn't matter to him if Plasmius had heard it. He was going to act on that sudden idea just the same, and flew towards the now visible door.
And indeed, Plasmius had heard his extra comment, and what the man guessed it meant, didn't bode well with him. Immediately, the older hybrid materialized in front of the younger one, blocking his exit. "You're not going anywhere," the man assured him darkly, quickly glancing at the boy's bracelet and noticing it was white and, obviously, working.
"Try and stop me," Danny growled out boldly, before walking right through Plasmius. The teen had not caught his enemy's quick glance at the device on his wrist.
Ignoring the strange feeling caused by the boy's passing through him, Vlad looked down at the glowing red device around his own wrist, and quickly typed something into it just as Danny reached the door.
Vlad turned to face Danny just as the boy froze at feeling a sudden tingle coming from his white bracelet, and then seeing it turn bright red. Alarmed, the teen looked towards his enemy, "What did you- Ahh!" he abruptly screamed when the device on his wrist shot what felt like bolts of electricity through his entire body. By the time it was over, Danny was on his hands and knees, no longer in ghost form.
Vlad floated closer to the young half-ghost as the boy grabbed his head, and with a slow moan, slowly got to his feet.
"Well, at least it isn't permanently damaged," the man remarked causally to himself.
Danny looked up angrily at his arch-enemy, and noticing that he had changed back, quickly called forth his powers. But nothing happened.
The boy's hands coiled into tight fists, his breathing suddenly becoming irregular when he realized Vlad had short-circuited his powers. "You… " he whispered darkly, "You cannot imagine just how much I hate you!"
Plasmius ignored Danny's comment, and lightly took hold of the boy's right wrist. He was surprised to find the teen did nothing to resist him, but kept it to himself. And even when he lifted Danny's wrist to his eye level, and pressed a button on the white device around it, the boy did nothing to fight him.
Danny just continued to stare hatefully at Vlad, too consumed with internal fury to really care what the man was doing. The teen didn't care to notice how the white bracelet he wore turned red under his enemy's touch, or how it suddenly began to glow brighter. But he could no longer ignore the device when he suddenly heard a soft 'click' sound from it.
Startled by the sound, Danny quickly looked down, and saw the unclasped black bracelet just as Vlad removed it from his wrist. To say the boy was shocked was an understatement.
Changing into his human form, the older half-ghost turned without a word from Danny, the bracelet the teen once wore held lightly in his right hand.
It wasn't until Vlad reached the door and grasped its handle that he looked back at Danny, who was still frozen and staring at him in complete surprise.
"Go eat, Daniel," he stated, effectively putting a glare on the boy's face again. "And, yes, that's an order," Vlad added in mocking anger, before slamming the door close behind him.
Danny's teeth clenched so hard, his jaw ached. But without his ghost powers, he could no longer keep his exhaustion from overwhelming him, and he dropped to the ground.
Silently, he stared coldly at the white metallic ground. And aside from anger, nothing else seemed to be hidden behind his icy blue eyes. How could there be, when all he felt was hollowness within his chest? His feelings--or at least those worth feeling --had left him sometime during his sorrow last night. He had cried for what seemed like hours, and his tears only stopped when he accepted what he did last night. And what it meant.
His loved ones had been taken from him the day he was forced to come here. But last night, he had pushed them from his life. They were gone forever because of his own doing.
He had nothing left.
Perhaps his previous compliant and withdrawn attitude had been a way to protect himself from the darkness that had finally consumed him now. It was his way of conserving what little hope he had while finding himself in such a bleak situation… He knew now it was naïve to hope.
And when his weakening hope died, so did his protective emotions…so did the tears. Last night, everything had almost seemed to clarify itself right before him. He clearly chose to work for his arch-enemy. The nightmare he had insisted he was in all this time had suddenly stopped being a nightmare. It wasn't a nightmare: it was his truth, his reality.
It was when he accepted all this that the empty feeling inside him had overtook him. He felt nothing anymore. Nothing…. except for darkness… It felt like he was…dead.
"You're kidding!"
"Not at all, dear sister. Danny Phantom is currently living at my employer's house," Dazzler said lightly, crossing his legs on the couch he sat on.
During his occasionally trips to the Ghost Zone, the controlling ghost would at times pay his sister a visit at her lair. And now that he had some rather interesting information to share with her, it definitely had called for a 'get together.'
Spectra broke into a full fledge laugh, and remarked through her amusement, "That's the funniest thing I have heard in a while, Dazzler! Everyone in the Ghost Zone thinks the kid's dead! Amity Park thinks he's dead!"
Dazzler hands fisted, his anger unconsciously making him lose his humanoid appearance; he changed into his shadow form as he spitefully remarked, "If only that was truly the case."
"Now, now," Spectra said brightly, also in her shadow form, "there's no need to get upset. After all, it isn't anything we can't fix, right, Bertrand?"
The shape-changing ghost, sitting beside Spectra and across from Dazzler, smiled evilly and nodded. "If the kid is as messed up as Dazzler here says he is, then it should be a snap to 'fix'!"
"Not to mention he's all alone," Spectra added, tapping a thoughtful finger on her lips, before squeaking in excitement, and adding, "I could only imagine how miserable he must be! Oh! We just have to pay him a visit, Bertrand!"
"Not so fast, my sweet sister," Dazzler intervened, frowning at her and Bertrand. "Vlad Plasmius will not allow you to harm the child. Believe me, I would have already ended that little runt's life myself if I could. Consuming his life force would be more than satisfying," he added darkly.
"But didn't you just say the kid's the way he is because of him?" Bertrand asked the other male ghost, raising an eyebrow on his humanoid face. "Why would he care when he is obviously out to make the brat miserable?"
Dazzler nodded. "Yes, that's all true, but he still will not let anyone near the child. And trust me when I tell you that my employer is a force you do not want to tamper with," he warned seriously. The controlling ghost knew firsthand what the older hybrid was capable of. He worked for him because of the benefits it brought, but his respect for the man was out of fear, not loyalty.
"So I've heard," Bertrand answered thoughtfully, but then his eyebrows creased, and he added, "But all this still makes no sense. Why hasn't he wasted the kid? Aren't they supposed to be enemies?"
Dazzler tapped his chin. He really hadn't thought about this. But now that Bertrand brought it up, it was quite peculiar. "From what I've heard around my employer's estate, he did come close to killing Danny Phantom on more than one occasion since he arrived. But… his purpose for keeping him alive I cannot say."
Dazzler silently paused, again trying to figure out what the older hybrid could possibly be trying to do. But not coming to any conclusion, he shrugged. "You know, I'm fairly sure Skulker knows exactly what's going on. But I wouldn't even bother asking him." He rolled his eyes, and added, "Skulker would never betray my employer. If I didn't know any better I'd say they almost consider themselves friends."
"I'm not sure if I could picture Skulker having a friend," Bertrand said with a chuckle, "But he does have a strong belief in honor, or something as laughable," he added with a roll of his eyes.
"Let's forget about your freak-of-an-employer's motives and that midget-hunter-in-a-can for a sec, okay?" Spectra suddenly said, cutting into the conversation. "If we can't take care of 'this matter' directly, then why don't we take care of it indirectly?" Spectra asked evilly.
"Go on," Dazzler stated, an interested smile tugging on his lips, knowing that 'the matter' his sister referred to was the young hybrid.
"We'll just have someone else do the job. Of course, I'd prefer to deal with the little freak myself, but I'm not letting this opportunity of revenge slip through my hands only because 'your employer' is standing in the way."
Dazzler shook his head. "To get to the runt that 'someone' would have to face my employer. And no one is going to go up against Vlad Plasmius, Penelope. His reputation is very well known throughout this place."
"So is the kid's," Bertrand brought up with a smirk, "And because of 'his fame' I'm sure a lot of ghosts would risk going up against that other freak for the chance to get even with him."
Dazzler rolled his eyes at the other male ghost. "You don't understand, Bertrand. The amount of power my employer holds is not his only playing card. Why do you think he barely has any enemies? He is a master of manipulation. He can practically bend anyone or anything to his will. It's almost unbelievable."
"Well, there is one ghost I know of who I'm sure has a few 'playing cards' of his own," Spectra said evilly. "Perhaps, even enough to counter your 'supposedly' all powerful employer. Not only that, but I know he'll jump at this chance for revenge with or without that other freak in the way." Spectra silenced for a moment, her eyebrows creasing, before she smiled again, this time looking specifically at Dazzler. "But to play it safe, we could wait until he's not around to get even with the kid. And you, my darling brother, can help us with that," she cooed.
"You're asking me to betray my employer?" Dazzler asked with a heavy frown.
"Why not? What's so important about your work with him that you let him control you?" Spectra asked, smirking at her brother.
"No one controls me!" Dazzler shouted, his eyes turning a bright gold. "I only work for him because it benefits me to do so! I could end my alliance to him at any time! I simply choose not to!"
"What exactly do you do for him?" Bertrand asked, interrupting the arguing siblings.
"Dazzler does 'jobs' for him here in the Ghost Zone," Spectra answered before her brother could. "You could say he's that freak's hit man—or hit ghost. You know, being that Dazzler can waste both humans and ghosts alike by feeding off their life or core energy." She shot her brother an innocent smile in response to the annoyed look he was giving her.
"And how does that benefit you, Dazzler?" Bertrand questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Can't you just find your own 'meals' yourself?"
Dazzler rolled his eyes. "Yes, and, no," he admitted. "I cannot take any being's life or core energy unless I can control them first. But the stronger the being is—physically, but more importantly, mentally--the harder it is to gain control over them. Still, if I want a 'good meal'--as you say-- the choice victim would be the one who is mentally strong."
Bertrand gave him a strange look. "That doesn't sound right! Seems like if they were that strong, then, they would be able to keep you from doing anything to them."
Dazzler nodded. "In some ways, that is true. You would be amazed how practically impossible it is to control someone who has strong self-confidence. Still, it's not impossible, and they would be worth the fight. Once I had gained control over them, their energy would be the most satisfying for me." He unconsciously smacked his lips at the thought.
"Is that why you are scared of Vlad Plasmius? Because you can't control him?" Spectra piped up, smirking wickedly at him.
But Dazzler was not bothered by her remark, and just shrugged. "I have no problem with admitting that I am wary of him, Penelope. And you're right, I cannot control him… I learned that the hard way several years ago. But it doesn't matter now. I so happen to like my deal with Vlad Plasmius. He weakens the ghosts himself or has someone else do it, and I get to finish them off. I gain more power and he permanently gets rid of unwanted ghost thorns in his side. It works perfectly."
"Yes, and on your side you clean his stables!" Spectra added smugly.
Dazzler gave her a dry look. "Are you trying to be funny, or annoying? Because neither is really coming through."
With a grin, Spectra quickly flew over to her brother and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I'll stop if you agree to help me…. Remember when we used to work together when you lived in the Ghost Zone?" she cooed.
A smirk grew on Dazzler's face as he flashed his gold eyes at her. "How can I forget? You would feed off our victim's misery, thus lowering their self-esteem, and I easily gained control of them and consumed what was left."
"Yes! Wasn't that fun?" she asked animatedly, unwrapping her hand from her brother's neck and clapping excitedly.
"Yes," he agreed with a chuckle, his sister's odd behavior amusing him--not that he wasn't use to it.
"Then you'll help?" Spectra said with a smirk, but seeing him frown, she added, "Come on, brother dearest! If your allegiance with him means that much to you, then we'll just make sure he doesn't find out, okay? Besides, if doing this means getting rid of that little freak don't you think it's worth it?"
Dazzler tapped his chin thoughtfully, before nodding. "Alright, I'll see what I can do. My employer frequently heads out so it shouldn't be too difficult to get him out of the way."
"Wonderful!" Spectra beamed. "Oh, I'm so gonna enjoy this!"
"As I," Dazzler agreed darkly.
"And I," Bertrand added with a small chuckle. He smirked evilly at Spectra as he said, "So, tell us more about this ghost you know of that has his own 'playing cards'. Exactly who did you have in mind, Spectra?"
"What did you think you were doing?" Maddie asked angrily.
"I just wanted to see if I could find Danny," Jazz responded softly, sitting up on her bed. Danny's friends and she had not arrived back to Fenton Works until late morning, where the worried and displeased Jack and Maddie were waiting for them.
While Maddie dealt with Jazz, Jack immediately took Sam and Tucker to their respective homes to face the wrath of their own parents.
However, when the upset mother was about to demand an explanation from her daughter, the sixteen-year-old had suddenly fainted right in front of her.
Alarmed, Maddie had intended to take her straight to the hospital, but Jazz had come to a moment later and pleaded her not to take her to the emergency room. The girl insisted that all she needed was some rest and a hearty meal, and she promised she would do both if her mother would let her stay home. Maddie agreed only when her daughter made good on her promise, and both of them were relieved in the end.
It was now early afternoon, and to Maddie and Jack's relief Jazz had woken, looking much better. In fact, it was as if her once weakened condition had never happened. And with their daughter's recovered health, they turned their direct attention back to what she had done.
"Jazz, you helped Sam and Tucker skip school! You took the speeder which is severely damaged! And you were gone for over half a day without our permission and while in your delicate condition! Do you realize how dangerous your actions were?" Maddie asked, her tone elevated with anxiety.
"I'm sorry, Mom…" she said, tears welling up in her eyes as her thoughts drifted slightly away from their conservation. Her worry for her brother had resurfaced now that she was fully awake.
"Gosh, Princess, don't run off like that again," Jack said with a worried look, "For a moment, we thought that, well, we thought you wouldn't return, like Danny." Jack stared fearfully at her daughter, adding, "We don't want to lose you, too."
A deep guilt swelled in her chest at seeing how scared and worried she had made her parents by leaving like she had. "I'm really sorry," she said again. "I just miss Danny so much… I wish I could bring him home," she said truthfully.
Jazz wanted so much to tell her parents everything, but her brother's plea for her not to played itself over and over again in her mind. And by the desperation in his voice, she knew that was one thing Danny had not faked.
But to make matters worse, there was also her fear of Vlad Masters' actually trying to hurt her father like he threatened. At this point, Jazz believed the man capable of anything.
"I know, sweetie," Maddie said, sitting beside her daughter, effectively pulling her out of her thoughts. The mother grabbed her hands as she added, "We all want him home. But risking yourself like you did will not help him."
"What can?" Jazz thought sadly as she embraced her mother. But that was what the teenage girl was determined to find out. There had to be a way to help her little brother.
There just had to be.
Three days later…
"So you say she wants to meet him first?" Vlad asked, turning his gaze away from the device he was working on in his secret lab, and regarding Skulker with a deep frown.
"That's right," his ally answered. "She said she has to see what she's dealing with before taking the job…. Or something of the sort," he added dryly.
Vlad rolled his eyes, annoyed with how bizarre ghosts could be. "Did you tell her I would reward her for her services?"
The hunter picked up one of the components belonging to the ghost device his employer currently held in his hands, and curiously inspected it, while distractingly replying, "Yes. I did. Twice, in fact. But she still refused to take the job without meeting him first."
"And why can't she come here to meet him?" the billionaire asked angrily.
Skulker shrugged, placing down the device, and looking calmly back at his ally. "You know she's very skittish about leaving her lair, Plasmius."
Vlad rubbed his temple with a hand. "I cannot send him into the Ghost Zone, Skulker."
"I don't see why not," the hunter shot back lightly. "The whelp always ventured into the Ghost Zone before coming here. And just to point out the obvious, he has managed to survive just fine without you… A little too fine." Skulker murmured the last part angrily.
"I suppose…" Vlad answered distractingly. "I have to give it some thought. The boy does need the stimulation, but I still don't like the idea of sending him in there, even for a short time. Daniel might have fared just fine without my intervening before, but a lot has changed since he came here, Skulker. The boy…He's…" Vlad sighed before shaking his head. "I need to give this some thought."
Skulker rolled his eyes, but didn't comment. He didn't understand his employer's reluctance, or his odd desire to protect the child. The ghost boy was quite capable of fighting his own battles. He had never needed anyone's protection and rarely required help to stay alive. So, to the hunter, the man's hesitance was absurd. But if Plasmius wanted to stress himself over something so simple as that, that was his choice.
"I've been meaning to ask you to fix this," Vlad suddenly said, moving over to a table and picking up Danny's black bracelet.
One of Skulker's eyebrow's quickly rose before he accepted the device from his employer. "The cloaking device? What happened to it?"
"I believe it got damaged when the boy went to Amity Park."
The hunter frowned. "You do realiz—"
"Yes, I do. But it's a little too late to prevent it," Vlad cut him off, his eyes narrowing as he thought of what happened three nights ago.
The hunter couldn't help but be surprised by the news. "You mean—"
"Yes," the man interrupted again, "They know he's here. And before you ask me how that went, let me tell you it's a long story. One I wish not to revisit. Just know that I talked to Fright Knight, and asked him to return to his lair. I can no longer have him do that task I assigned him," he informed him, angrily.
Skulker threw his employer a confused look. "So, you have called off all your plans now that the whelp's—did you say his friends?--know he's here, but you still want to proceed with something as unimportant as finding the child something to do? I hate to tell you this, but your priorities seem questionable."
Placing the device in his hands down, Vlad crossed his arms, and leaned lightly against a table behind him. "I'm not completely pushing aside my plans. I just need to find a new way to go about them, Skulker. As for the boy, well, it's not as unimportant as you believe. More than ever, he needs this mental stimulation. It is why I want to take care of that before anything else. Meanwhile, however, I do need to buy myself some time, at least until I find a way to rectify this whole other situation."
The billionaire paused in silent thought, but then he raised a questioning eyebrow at Skulker. "Have you seen those three vultures?"
The hunter smirked. "No, but I could easily track them down."
"Good. I think I know just how to buy myself that time, and give Daniel's little friends and sister something to occupy their time with," Vlad said darkly, but then he smirked wickedly at his ally. "If anyone—or 'ones'--are good at spreading rumors, it is those three annoying birds. I'm sure most ghosts in the Ghost Zone are aware of the boy's absence in Amity Park. But if they are not, I want those vultures to make them aware of it. Furthermore, when you find them, tell them to also announce that I will be offering a reward to whatever ghost can take over Amity Park."
"Reward?" Skulker repeated, interested.
Vlad rolled his eyes. "This doesn't apply to you, Skulker. I need ghosts that those brats will not associate with me to do this. I don't really care if whoever does or does not succeed in taking control of that pathetic town, I just want those nosey children busy for a while."
"Alright, I'll find those three buzzards and relay your message for you." Skulker then smiled. "But, if you don't mind, I would like to relay this to one other ghost. I'm sure Ember would be more than interested to hear about your offer, especially when it involves taking over the whelp's hometown…."
Vlad shrugged uncaringly. "Tell your girlfriend what you like. Just make sure--like with all the other ghosts that take up my offer--that she doesn't mention my involvement in this."
"That shouldn't be a problem," the hunter replied, his smile widening. He looked down at the cloaking device and started to fiddle with it. "Hmm… It doesn't seem permanently damaged, Plasmius. I could get this fixed in a couple of days."
The billionaire nodded distractingly, his mind still on his plans. So instead of replying to his ally's words, he continued, "Skulker, I also want you to tell those vultures that once they have accomplished that first assignment, they are to head to Amity Park themselves. I need them to keep an eye on Jasmine and the boy's friends, but tell them not to be sighted by them." Vlad's eyes narrowed as he added, "Perhaps, this time, those birds will manage to do what I say without making a bigger mess of things."
Skulker chuckled, knowing the three birds were horrible at following instructions. "They definitely give the saying 'bird brain' a deeper meaning," he quipped, earning a smirk from his employer. Placing down the cloaking device on the table, but making a mental note to work on it at some other time, Skulker noticed the older half-ghost had a completed version of the device the man was working on laying on the table—its pair to be exact.
The hunter picked it up and with a raised eyebrow asked, "What did you say these instruments were for?"
Vlad, who had been silently thinking, slowly looked at the object about which the ghost had been talking. He immediately gave him a dry look. "I haven't told you what they are for yet."
Skulker resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Fine. I get it. It's one of your secret projects."
Vlad smiled slyly. "Not exactly." He grabbed the device out of his ally's hand and placed it back on the table. And without another word, he walked off towards the lab's exit, knowing his lack of explanation would irk the ghost.
And he was quite right.
The hunter finally rolled his eyes as he watched his employer leave without telling him what he meant or what the strange glove-looking devices he was working on were for. Although he knew the man would eventually fill him in, it still annoyed him to be left in the dark.
Danny was very surprised that Vlad had not spoken to him in three days. Besides receiving a courteous greeting from the man whenever he ran into him, his enemy had not uttered a single additional word to him--let alone had sought him out. In fact, Danny noticed the billionaire had barely been home—period--for these past three days.
Of course, the young hybrid could care less about the older one's reason for his sudden distancing. He was simply glad for it. Just the sight of the man since what happened with his sister and friends triggered a dark, swelling rage inside him. And still yet, it only seemed to freeze his heart even more. But more importantly, it made him feel like he would lose what little control he had built up around himself, the shell that would now keep his tender emotions, his weak ones, driven within him. He couldn't let them return. It would be too painful…
This was why Danny was going out of his way to not give Vlad a reason to come near him. He was doing everything that he had been told to do. He was eating three times a day. He went to the simulation room once a day, and kept his sessions at Vlad's 'advised' thirty-minute mark. And he was even being 'productive'.
It disgusted the teen how he was behaving like a 'good little boy' for his arch-enemy. But if that kept the man from speaking to him, he could bear it.
But Danny had wondered for the longest time why Vlad had removed the bracelet. It had been so shocking to see him do that. The teen thought he would never get that thing off again. In fact, he had gotten so use to having it on, he almost felt naked without it now. And that was just as disturbing as Vlad's having taken it off to begin with.
The teen had, however, realized that he shouldn't really be so surprised by his enemy's actions three days ago. After all, there really was no point in making him wear the device any longer. His location wasn't a secret anymore. And the man didn't really need the bracelet's 'extra pushes' to keep him in place. The jerk had his sister's life to serve him as enough of a push for him. And… there was his deal with him—not that Danny would really keep it if it wasn't for the threat on his sister. Yes…Vlad could now control him without even lifting a finger
Danny didn't really care, though. His enemy couldn't injure him anymore than he was. At this point, the teen didn't even care if all he was to the man was a prize to prove his victory over him. He had no problem with being the man's 'trophy' …just as long as Plasmius enjoyed him from afar.
"Hello, young halfa" the cook greeted him as the teen entered the kitchen.
"Hi," Danny replied coolly, walking right pass the ghost without any more acknowledgement. Having come for a snack, he placed the book he had brought down with him on the counter and headed right to the fridge. He pulled out the first thing he felt would satisfy his rumbling stomach, which so happened to be grapes and lemonade. He could feel George's eyes still on him, but he ignored them as he calmly pulled out a bowl and a glass. Once he had served himself his desired amounts of the fruits and beverage, he put everything neatly back where he had found it.
Without a word, Danny grabbed his book and then his snack, and finally left the kitchen.
The boy didn't see—not that he would have cared, anyway--George shake his head and sigh, before silently turning back to the tea kennel on the stove.
Sitting down at the kitchen table, Danny opened his book to the page he had left off at, and began to read. As he did, he snacked on his grapes and sipped on his beverage. For a good ten minutes, everything seemed to fade away, his focus completely on his book. It was why he didn't notice someone new entering the kitchen, nor did he notice his approach. It was only when a hand touched his shoulder that he noticed.
Danny tensed in surprise, but, almost as quickly, an angry scowl replaced it. "What do you want, Vlad?" the teen asked, not bothering to take his eyes off his book and look up.
"I believe you are mistaking me with someone else."
A fearful gasp left the boy's lips in recognition of the voice, and he all but jumped out of his chair when his wide eyes confirmed the entity beside him was indeed Dazzler.
The controlling ghost smiled kindly at the frightened teen who had not hesitated to put a few feet of space between them. But then Dazzler's eyes shifted to his surroundings, silently surveying the area.
Danny noticed the ghost doing this, and he couldn't help but do the same. Conclusion: they were alone.
The boy's eyes quickly narrowed, and with fisted hands, he transformed into Phantom. Danny was sick of this twisted ghost. And he was sick of being intimidated by him. He already had enough of that from Vlad. He wasn't going to have someone else messing with him. That was all going to stop right now.
"We just keep running into each other, don't we?" Dazzler commented, a smirk tugging on his humanoid face.
Defiantly, Danny stared right into the ghost's currently honey-brown eyes. "Yeah," the teen icily responded. "I guess Plasmius must not be giving you enough to clean up at the horse stables." His eyes narrowed further as he growled out, "What do you want this time?"
To Danny's confusion, Dazzler paid no mind to his jab, and instead walked closer to him. It took everything in the young half-ghost to hold his ground and bravado, especially when the ghost began to circle him. Dazzler began to literally study him with the same intensity a judge would a stallion at a show competition.
"Hmm…" the controlling ghost said thoughtfully, "I can't help but wonder how a little runt like you causes so many hassles for us ghosts."
"You're going to find out if you don't back off!" Danny threatened, turning his head respectively with the ghost's circular movements.
Dazzler paused in front of the boy's face, and tilted his head, amused by his words. "I'm quite surprised you're looking at me… Aren't you afraid I'll do…. This?" The ghost's eyes suddenly turned bright gold, instantly paralyzing the teenager.
Unable to move a single muscle to defend himself, Danny's eyes widened as he watched the same gold mist that he saw at the barn when he first met Dazzler begin to circle him. But it then turned into the shape of a clawed hand and stopped directly in front of his chest.
"Let go of me!" the young half-ghost demanded, but there was now unmistakable fear lacing his voice.
"But I'm not even touching you," Dazzler answered evilly, his eyes still glowing a deep gold.
Danny tried to move his eyes away from the evil ghost's as he felt that eerie attraction towards the entity grow inside him. He knew now it was being caused by that gold mist in front of his chest, and that it was seconds away from painfully plunging inside of him.
"Did I ever tell you how enjoyable the feel of your life in my hands is? …It would give me so much power," the ghost whispered evilly, letting a single claw on the mist-made hand push itself inside the boy's chest.
All Danny could do was let out a painful gasp.
"You're too easy," Dazzler said with a small chuckle. "I'm must admit, I'm surprised. I thought you would be harder to control. But in the end… I don't mind. To your fortune, however, you're my employer's new favorite toy. Otherwise…"
Danny cried out as the gold mist plunged inside him, but a hand against his mouth reduced his loud cry into a muffled sound.
"Like I said, too easy." Abruptly, Dazzler's gold eyes changed back to their honey-brown color. And, instantly, Danny's body dropped to the ground, the gold mist vanishing from existence just as quickly.
White rings passed through the dazed teen as he panted heavily from fear and pain. But knowing Dazzler was still present, Danny quickly forced himself to his feet.
It was then that the young half-ghost realized he had lost his ghost form, and he growled. Danny was about to change into his ghost form again and blast the smirk right off Dazzler's face when a third presence made himself known.
"Dazzler… what a surprise to see you here."
Both Danny's and Dazzler's eyes jolted in the direction of the third voice.
"S-Sir!" the controlling ghost blurted out in surprise. He had been so focused on the young hybrid, he didn't even hear his employer come in!
Vlad walked closer to Danny and Dazzler, only halting once he was beside the boy. But he ignored the teenager all together, and instead, he raised an expectant eyebrow at the ghost. Clearly, the man was awaiting a response from him, one that Dazzler didn't hesitate to give.
"I just got back from the Ghost Zone. And I was on my way to talk to George when I so happened to run into the little hybrid here," Dazzler answered, sounding composed again.
Vlad placed a hand lightly on Danny's shoulder, without taking his eyes off the controlling ghost. And like he expected, the boy was too busy glaring at Dazzler to notice his actions.
"I see," Vlad answered with a calm smile.
"Yes. I just had to stop to greet him. He's such an intriguing little thing." At his last statement, Dazzler shot Danny a dashing smile.
Vlad momentarily frowned at the ghost's last comment, not really liking his choice of words. But he said nothing, and instead, looked down at the stiff boy beside him. Daniel was so tense, it reminded Vlad of a coiled up rattlesnake ready to strike.
But what the billionaire felt under the hand he had on Danny said much more to him. It was really why he had touched the boy at all. He needed to confirm his suspicions. And the teenager's shivering form was all the confirmation he needed.
"You know, Daniel," Vlad began, abruptly breaking the tense silence, his calm gaze back on the controlling ghost. "Dazzler here takes care of several pieces of my property a little further out. Although, his main focus is on the stables out back… Have you been there?"
Dazzler tensed with the question; though, what unnerved him more was his employer's piercing gaze on him. But he forced himself not to show it.
At being addressed, Danny finally became aware of the hand on his shoulder, and he dropped his fix stare on Dazzler. "No," the teen answered coolly, before shrugging off the man's hand and stepping away from both his enemies. He left the kitchen without another word, but made sure to glare at both of them before he did.
"Fiery, isn't he?" Dazzler stated with a smirk, his gaze towards the direction Danny had just exited.
"Yes, he is," Vlad replied evenly, although he was currently studying the ghost beside him with a serious expression on his face.
Dazzler returned his eyes to his employer and smiled calmly. "Well, I must be off. As you know, I have things to take care of."
"Of course," Vlad simply said, although he continued to regard the ghost with an intense yet oddly serene look.
Not able to mask his discomfort any longer, Dazzler broke his eye contact with the older half-ghost, and turned from him without another word.
Vlad watched the ghost's retreating form for a moment. But then, suddenly, he called out to him, "Dazzler?"
The ghost froze, before slowly turning to face his employer. "…Sir?"
"You dare touch the boy ever again and I will have him use you as target practice," Vlad said seriously, the calmness in his eyes now replaced by deep threat.
Dazzler's eyes widened, and he quickly stuttered in defense, "S-Sir I—"
But Vlad raised a hand, silencing him. And without any further regard towards the ghost, he turned and calmly walked off further into the kitchen, his hands held behind his back.
Dazzler glared at his employer's retreating form for a moment. But then he fisted his hands and sharply made his own exit.
Well, gang, another crazy chapter executed. Yay! I gotta tell everyone, I'm having a hard time finding the time to reply to reviews, but I will still try. But if you don't get a reply, you'll know why. I'm in my last year of college and my science classes are insanely hard! So, it's either study 24/7--not really cause then how would I be updating, right?! LOL!--or fail! Can't have that! I want to graduate already! Blah! I'm so tired of school I'm not even sure if I want to go to med-school anymore. Perhaps after a nice long break… Meh. Anyways, let me apologize to you guys, and know I really, truly, appreciate all your support! Until next time! Perhaps the next time you hear of me will be with an update for 'Dawning of a Sun'. Won't that be fun? And a long chapter it is, let me tell you! Okay! That's enough blathering! As always, my muse and I await all your yummy thoughts! We sprinkle them on our badger-shaped cookies! Yum!
One final note! DannyTimmygirl has written two more one-shots dealing with this story! And Bloodmoon drew a picture of yours truly! Quite flattering, I must say! LOL! So, check em' out, kay?
--remove spaces and '()'
Bloodmoon's DA account:h t t p (:) / (/) bloodmoon14. deviantart. com/
DannyTimmygirl's FF account: h t t p (:) /(/) w w w. fanfiction. net/u/1371399/
Thanks guys--er, girls--Heh-heh!--for your creative work!
Ta everyone!