Checkmate

by pearl84

Vlad forces Danny to leave everything behind in order to save Jazz. But just when the billionaire believes to have won his chess game against his young rival, Danny makes a single unexpected move. Now, it's anyone's game. But is it about winning anymore?

38. Chapter 37: Arguments

Hey, everyone. I know, I know. 'What took me so long?' And, of course, my answer will be that school is evil! But I don't want to rant about it at the moment… maybe later… Heh. But sorry for the wait. I hope this long chapter makes up for it. And it is one of my personal favorites. So, hope you guys like it. And… no promises, but I will try my best to update again during the end of the weekend to make up for the long wait, kay? Well! On with the story!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

---

Chapter 37: Arguments

"Find anything?" Jazz asked, looking at Tucker through her computer's live web cam. They were all grounded. Danny's sister, however, only got a week's sentence, while Danny's friends got two—being that they had also skipped school….

But, of course, it had been worth it; since now, they at least knew where Danny was and that he was safe--for the most part, anyway. And it was because they were all grounded that the three teenagers were now forced to keep in touch through their computers until their punishment was over.

Then again, if their parents knew that they were currently on the computer, talking to one another, they would get in bigger trouble. After all, being grounded meant no interaction with friends outside of school whatsoever. And definitely no electronics-- and that went double for Tucker, much to his dismay. However, they could not wait for two weeks for Danny's sake, so they had no choice but to break one of their folks' grounding rules.

"Well, it depends what you mean by 'anything'," Tucker answered, raising an eyebrow.

"Tucker, you know what she meant," Sam interrupted, looking annoyed through Jazz's computer screen. And, of course, Tucker could also see through his own computer the look on the goth girl's face. "Did you find anything relating to Danny?" she asked.

"Geez, Sam, could you talk any louder? You're going to get me caught," Tucker said, now not only looking annoyed, but also nervous himself.

"Come on, you two, can we please focus? We can't stay on long, remember?" Jazz interjected, briefly wondering how her brother dealt with his two squabbling friends all the time. Of course, the girl knew that Sam and Tucker—and Danny, of course--rarely really fought with each other. But she also knew that her brother was often the median, the mediator, of their trio whenever Sam and Tucker would get into their usual 'debates'. She now began to wonder how Sam and Tucker were holding up without Danny around…

"Okay, right. Sorry, Tucker, I'm just worried," Sam said with a small smile.

"Its fine, Sam," Tucker assured her, returning the smile, before looking down at something that Jazz, of course, could not see. "I ask what you meant by 'anything' because I did find a lot on Vlad—and a lot more pictures of him. Seriously, it was disturbing. But, anyways, I'm not sure if the stuff I found could be tied to Danny somehow." The boy's eyebrows furrowed, before a smile returned to his face; and when it did, several documents popped up on Jazz's computer.

"What's all this, Tucker?" Sam asked, clearly having received the documents as well.

"Okay, well, the first sheet is Vlad's personal info…. I got it off some private government website; you know, those that have everyone's stuff on them," he said sheepishly.

"Tucker, you hacked into the government's private database?" Jazz exclaimed, but quickly realized her tone of volume and lowered it. "You could get into mega-trouble for that," she added seriously.

Tucker smirked, and looked like he had shrugged as well. "Don't worry, Jazz. I know what I'm doing. Besides, it's just for our own use."

Sam didn't seem bothered by it, but rather, interested. "You seriously got everything on the guy, Tucker. I mean, his birth date, health record, his… He was born in Florida?"Sam said, creasing her eyebrows in wonder.

"I could have found most of that by just asking my parents," Jazz said dryly, not at all surprised as the younger girl had been at that bit of information.

"Not his private cell phone number," Tucker shot back, smirking. "From what I could see, the dude only uses it for business stuff. So, I doubt your parents have it."

"Yeah, Dad just has his house number," Jazz remarked, quickly scanning down the billionaire's profile, although she wasn't really looking at it.

"Okay, well, I don't really think we needed this much information about Vlad. What else do you have?" the older girl asked, closing the private document, and going to the next one the teenage boy had sent her.

Sam had been silent during their conversation. She had been reading the information Tucker had sent, and she frowned deeply at whatever she was now reviewing. But Jazz's remark snapped her out of her concentration, and she closed the personal file on Vlad. Arching her eyebrow questioningly, she asked, "Are these all the companies he owns?"

"Yup," Tucker answered, still sounding quite proud of himself. "But I haven't even tried going through them. That's how long the list is. And this list doesn't even include the personal stuff he owns, like houses. Seriously, the guy controls enough stuff to take over the world!"

"Don't even kid about something like that," Jazz said with a shudder.

"I'm surprised he hasn't tried, though," Sam added with a roll of her eyes. "I mean, isn't that what all lonely, evil villains want? And yet, he's never shown an interest to 'take over the world," Sam frowned thoughtfully at the end.

Jazz also frowned at Sam's words, silently agreeing and pondering why the man so far had never shown interest in world domination.

"Let's just say the dude is wonky and leave it at that, okay?" Tucker said, not interested in arguing about the older half-ghost's behavior. He needed to get off soon, or he was going to get caught. But first, he needed to tell the girls what he had found. "Anyways, I've been trying to find everything Vlad has been up to in the past month-in-a-half. And all I really found was that he bought some shares from a company owned by some Vazier guy. It turns out that Vlad bought off the shares of every single board member in this company, which means the dude now practically owns enough of the company to equal the influence and rights of the actual owner."

"He's probably trying to steal that company," Sam said with a scowl.

"Yeah, I think so, too. But the thing is that everything looks, well, legal," Tucker informed her, somewhat perplexed.

"Not that this isn't interesting, Tucker, but what does this have to do with Danny?" Jazz asked, while scanning the documents on the business deal Vlad was currently working on.

"Nothing. At least, I don't think so," Tucker answered. "Like I said, I'm just trying to find everything he has been doing lately. Look, the thing is that whatever Vlad is up to against Danny isn't going to exactly show up on anything I could ever find by 'visiting' private sites', Jazz. I don't really see how 'researching' is going to help us find out what's going on."

Jazz got quiet for a moment. But when she did, Sam asked, "Well, what about his movements here. I mean, did you find anything that could suggest he has been somewhere specific in Amity?"

"No, I didn't. I mean, if he was like any of us, er, well, not including you, since you're rich--" Tucker received an eye roll from Sam at this comment "—I could find out where he's been, since he would have to take some sort of transportation to get here from Wisconsin. But the guy has more private aircrafts and cars than probably everyone in Amity has combined!

Everything he does he keeps private. What he does as Vlad Masters is almost as big a mystery as what he does as Vlad Plasmius," he told her seriously.

"Tucker," Jazz suddenly spoke up, clearly an idea swirling in her head. "This company he's trying to buy. What does it do?"

"Uh…" Tucker said, clearly looking down at something. "I really didn't look too much into it. But its supposedly one of the world's leading communication providers."

Jazz bit her lip in thought, before she spoke again. "Vlad might be good at hiding what he does, but most of his schemes require…. technology or something that has to be made, like that bracelet Danny had on. He had to have gotten the supplies to make it from somewhere, right? Maybe if we find out where he got it, and what exactly he used to make it, it could lead us somewhere."

"I guess I could try…" Tucker said, thoughtfully. "It might take me some time, though. As you can see, the dude owns a lot of stuff. His supplies could have come from anywhere."

Sam suddenly sighed. "Look, my parents are into all this business stuff. I'm going to ask them about these companies, especially this recent one Vlad's trying to buy. I'm pretty sure my parents would know something about a money-hog like Vlad Masters," she said, sounding somewhat annoyed; probably by the thought of having to talk to her folks about money.

Tucker nodded. "While you're at it, ask them about this Vazier guy, just in case. I'll do a background check on the dude as well."

"Alright, and I'll ask my parents if they have spoken to Vlad lately," Jazz added, but then she glared at nothing in particular as she further said, "That creep is pretending to help them look for Danny, so I'm sure he has talked to my parents." Her eyebrows creased. "We also have to look into the possibility of Vlad trying to do something against my dad, you two. Maybe he's somehow using him in all this. After all, Vlad's always trying to waste him. And after Danny, he's usually that jerk's target."

The younger teens nodded.

Jazz continued. "I'll look into--" A gasp from Tucker silenced Danny's sister.

"Oh man, my mom's callin'! I gotta go, guys! I'll look into that stuff and get back to you with it as soon as I can! See ya!" Tucker quickly said, before that part of the screen he had been on went black.

Jazz and Sam silently looked at each other's computer image for a moment, before Sam spoke up. "Jazz, I've been thinking…You know how we first thought Danny left because he felt bad that he took you outside of the hospital, causing you to relapse that night?"

Jazz just nodded.

Sam creased her eyebrows. "Have you thought of the possibility of your illness having to do with all this? I mean, you got sick like a week or so before Danny left. And he was acting really strange… and we now know Vlad was around at some point during the time before Danny left…"

Jazz crossed her arms, a deep frown on her face. She sighed before answering, "I have thought about it, Sam. But how could Vlad possibly have anything to do with my illness? I mean, the doctors diagnosed it as some form of severe anemia. But in the end, it's a normal illness people get all the time. How can Vlad cause something like that?"

Well, he made Tucker and I sick once, too, remember?" Sam said with a frown of her own.

"Yeah, but he sprayed you guys with something to make you sick. He was physically there to infect you guys with ecto-acne. Vlad has only been physically near me after I already was in the hospital," the older girl responded.

Sam nodded, seeing that the girl had a point. "But we still shouldn't disregard the idea. Whatever is keeping Danny at Vlad's has to be something really bad that he can't do anything about. I know you are all better…. and, well, maybe, you getting sick before Danny left was just a coincidence, but, we still should look into it."

"Yeah, I agree, Sam. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I'll ask if I can have more tests done or something."

Sam nodded, remaining thoughtful. But then she snapped out of it, and said dryly, "I better get off. I don't need another week added to my punishment. I already doubt I can survive two weeks of isolation with my folks without going crazy."

Jazz smiled at her in amusement. "Okay. Good luck. I'll see you at school."

Sam nodded, and the screen she was once on went black on Jazz's computer.

With a sigh, Danny's sister pulled up the file containing Vlad's private number. She leaned over towards her nightstand, grabbed a pen and notepad lying on it, and turned back to her computer.

"This might come in handy…" she mumbled to herself, quickly jotting down the number. After saving the documents, she closed them, and then tuned off her computer.

But a worried look had grown on her face. She really hoped that whatever Vlad was up to, it didn't directly involve her family or Danny's friends… or herself.

Or worse….

What if what Vlad was holding over her brother had something to do with Danny himself? Was it possible that that bracelet was meant to harm him, or maybe more than just…. harm him?

Dread filled Jazz at the very likely possibility. "Don't worry, Danny. We'll find a way to get you out of there," she whispered, staring sadly at her mattress. "I'll get you out of there, even if I have to tell Mom and Dad everything to do that."

---

It had been a good thing that Vlad had gone into the kitchen for that hot tea when he had. He hadn't expected to see either Dazzler or Danny there, but he was especially surprised when he found the young half-ghost looking seriously ticked off with the controlling ghost. Luckily, he had caught the problem before it had gotten out of hand. And although Vlad hadn't known exactly what the ghost had done to the teen, he was certain Dazzler wouldn't try anything further against Daniel. Dazzler feared him too much to not heed his warning.

Still, the billionaire needed to talk to the young hybrid about Dazzler. But while he had been drinking his tea, another more pressing matter took priority in Vlad's mind. And it was this that had made him put down his tea, leave the kitchen, and head back to his private lab. Luckily, Skulker had still been there, since he was working on some upgrades for his suit.

The older hybrid had thought about whether or not to send Danny into the Ghost Zone. And after some careful thinking, he decided that perhaps a small trip would not be too risky for the child, and possibly even good for him. But only if he sent someone with Daniel. And there was only one ghost Vlad relied enough on for such a task. Too bad said ghost wasn't very happy with the news…

"I won't do it!" Skulker said with finality, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Why not?" Vlad demanded angrily.

"Why not?" Skulker repeated, exasperated. "Do you even realize how many times you have asked me to degrade myself lately?" he questioned, remembering how the older half-ghost had him spy on—more like babysit--the whelp before bringing him here. Not to mention being forced to be the man's 'messenger boy' as of late.

"Stop being so dramatic, Skulker! It's not as if I do not reward you for your services!" Vlad snapped back.

"Not this time. I refuse to be seen with the whelp in the Ghost Zone! I have a reputation to uphold and the last thing I need is to be seen with him!"

Vlad sighed angrily, before rubbing his forehead and calmly saying, "Skulker, I would not ask this of you if it wasn't important." He looked at the hunter. "You know the Ghost Zone better than anyone else I know."

"You know it just about as well as I do! Why don't you go with him? " Skulker argued back.

Vlad turned away from the ghost, and looked over at the mainframe. There was a silent pause from the man, before he soberly answered, "Because… he becomes unstable around me."

"Oh, and sending him with me will be a soothing stroll in the park for him?" the hunter retorted in sarcastic anger.

Vlad turned back to the ghost, clearly losing his patience with him. "Look, Skulker, I need to get him out of this house. There are things I need to take care of, and I can only do them when he's not here, because if he finds out about all this beforehand, he'll refuse!"

"Then force him!" Skulker exclaimed angrily.

"I do not want to force him!" Vlad yelled back, stunning the ghost into silence. The man sighed, and regained his composure. "Skulker…" Vlad said seriously, placing a hand on his ally's shoulder. "You are the only one I have enough confidence in to do this for me. I can assure you, the compensation for this will be well worth your trouble."

The hunter remained quiet for a moment, before nodding and grumbling, "Fine, I'll do it… But I will be taking a few back routes to avoid being seen," he added with a raised eyebrow.

Vlad smiled, removing his hand from the ghost. "That's precisely what I want," he answered, before smirking and raising an eyebrow of his own.

"Now, what do you need from me?"

---

Lying on his back, Danny stared angrily at the ceiling above him. He had been silently fuming to himself for quite a while now.

He was so fed up of being around all these stupid ghosts; and even more fed up with being around a certain stupid half-ghost! How messed up was it that he couldn't even sit at a table without being harassed?! And then Vlad just had to show up and stick his nose where it didn't belong.

A growl left his throat with his last thought. How long had the man been watching anyways? Plasmius had probably enjoyed seeing his lackey treating him like a puppet and on the brink of wasting him. Heck, maybe even the evil hybrid himself had ordered Dazzler to mess with him. … But then why did the controlling ghost tense with Vlad's presence?

Danny quickly decided he didn't care. What annoyed him was the fact that Dazzler didn't try anything else with the man around. The teen had wanted that ghost to make a move; a small taunt, a flash of his eyes, and he would have gone at Dazzler--with or without Vlad present. That ghost might have thought he had the upper hand because he could control his body and do that other creepy thing, but Dazzler had no idea who he was picking a fight with, especially now. He might have shown his enemies compassion before, but there was no chance they would get it from him now.

At least not anyone related in any way to Plasmius.

The teen's eyes flashed green, before he closed his eyes in hopes of quelling the dark emotions swirling inside him. He knew he needed to stop thinking about Vlad, but, lately, it was as if the man's presence was everywhere around him and everywhere inside him. The jerk was like a looming shadow that suffocated his being, his mind… his will.

The man's presence in his life was pure torture.

"Knock-Knock."

With a loud groan, Danny rolled on his stomach and deeply buried his face into his pillow. The absence of his ghost sense foretold who was at the door, and his voice simply confirmed it.

"Daniel?"

"What?" the boy replied dispassionately, his voice muffled by the pillow.

"May I come in? I would like to speak with you."

Danny said nothing, knowing Vlad would come in anyways. The teen didn't even get why the man bothered to ask, when he would undoubtedly do whatever he wanted in the end. And the click of an opening door proved the teen right.

Vlad's shoes made soft taps on the wooden floor as he approached the boy lying on the bed. He silently looked at Danny for a moment, expecting the boy to sit up and look at him. But seeing that the teen had no intentions of doing so, he spoke up. "Daniel… you forgot your book."

Danny didn't show it, but that was the last thing he had expected Vlad to say to him. He came here just to give him his book back? Indeed, in his anger, the teen had forgotten the book he had taken to the kitchen on the table.

But Vlad, of course, had not come to the teen's room to just nobly return the boy his book. Now that he had Skulker's cooperation, he needed to tell Danny about 'the trip'. But the book had been the excuse he needed to broach the topic of the trip and something else he needed to discuss with Daniel.

"You left it on the…" the billionaire trailed off when he saw one of Danny's arms lift upwards—which looked quite awkward since he still had his face buried in his pillow while lying on his stomach.

With a frown, Vlad placed the book into the teen's extended hand. But immediately after grabbing it, Danny carelessly let it go.

"Thump."

The billionaire's frown deepened as he looked down at the book at his feet; some of its pages were now wrinkled since it had opened during its fall and landed face down on the rug. The man felt a surge of annoyance swell inside him, feeling oddly insulted by such a trivial thing. But he pushed his irritation down, and, instead, decided to just do what he came to do. He picked the easier of the two remaining topics.

"Daniel, about what happened in the kitchen….Why did you not tell me you were having problems with Dazzler?"

"Should I have?" Danny muffled back, sounding bored.

"Yes, you should have," Vlad replied pointedly. The boy's current posture was gritting on his nerves. He felt like he was talking to a blasted log! And Danny's disregard for the seriousness of the current topic was not helping the billionaire suppress his growing aggravation. Still, he managed to continue in the same calm, yet serious, voice. "Daniel, you know I strictly asked everyone to keep away from you. What you do not know is who Dazzler is and what he is capable of. He's a very dangerous ghost."

"Weird. I would have never guessed," Danny answered sarcastically.

Vlad crossed his arms angrily. "You could at least look at me when mocking me."

"Is that an order?" Danny asked flippantly through his pillow.

"That's enough, Daniel!" Vlad yelled, his irritation finally exploding. "I'm not doing anything to you, so stop being so hostile!"

The man's words ignited Danny's own anger; and using his arms, quickly pushed himself up into a sitting position. "How else do you want me to act towards the person who destroyed my life?" he growled back with a dark glare.

"You don't think I know what this is about?" Vlad snapped back. "What happened three nights ago was your own doing! I didn't tell you to attack your sister, you little rat!" he yelled.

Danny's eyes flared green as he jumped to his feet in front of the man. "No, you forced me to!" he screamed back with all his pent up rage. This was why he had not wanted the man near him. The teen knew they would hit this topic sooner or later; and now that they had, he felt his control over his emotions quickly slipping away.

Vlad's eyes turned bright red, "I'm sick of you blaming me for every one of your stupidities!"

"And I'm sick of you!"

"Ugh! This is ridiculous!" the man exclaimed mostly to himself as one of his hands went up in anger. "We cannot cross one word without wanting to blast each other into a wall!"

Danny responded with a short cynical laugh. "Since when have we done anything else besides that?"

Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose in order to keep himself from strangling the boy in front of him. The man soon looked back at Danny, a cold glare on his face. "You might not like me; you might hate me, but you chose to submit to me, Daniel. And that means you will treat me with respect."

Danny crossed his arms in front of him, and for a moment simply regarded the man with a bitter stare, but then, he spitefully answered, "You think I don't know that? What else do you think has kept me from kicking your butt these past three days? Why else do you think I don't blast you in the face right now?!"

"You want me to waste you, don't you?" Vlad whispered darkly, energy seeping into his now fisted hands.

"I don't care what you do!" Danny spat back hatefully. "In fact…" The teen stepped back, spreading out his arms. "Go ahead. I'm wide open."

The older half-ghost's red eyes narrowed into slits, and his energy began to intensify within his hands.

An odd dark smirk tugged on Danny's lips, although his glare was still on his face. "Come on, fruit loop," he taunted, still holding his exposed posture. "…You know you want to."

The boy's words rang in Vlad's ears, but oddly, it didn't make him angrier. Quite the opposite. With deep sobriety, he silently stared at the young half-ghost in front of him. But then, the energy in his hands abruptly vanished and he turned to leave.

Danny's smugness vanished as he watched his enemy moving towards his room's exit. "Wait… Where are you going?" he asked, surprise in his voice.

"I refuse to play your childish games," Vlad answered emotionlessly, before opening the door and walking out, not bothering to close the door behind him.

Danny's eyes flashed green with anger. "Oh, no you don't!" he exclaimed, quickly walking after him. And upon stepping out of his room and catching sight of his enemy walking down the hallway, the teen demanded, "Get back here, Vlad! You started this, so now, finish it!" The teen couldn't believe the nerve of this jerk! There was no way he was going to let Vlad get away with riling him up by coming into his room, touching the subject about his sister and making threats, and then just leave without doing anything!

Too bad the billionaire had decided to do just that.

"PLASMIUS!" Danny suddenly screamed furiously, his control over his emotions collapsing completely.

But his enemy didn't even flinch and still continued walking down the corridor with his hands calmly held behind his back…

Danny took off in a sprint, and quickly blocked the man's path by placing himself in front of him. "Finish it! Finish it, you twisted coward!" the teen shouted, his hands fisted on his side.

Vlad's sober look never left. And without even looking at Danny, he turned intangible, walked right through the boy, and continued towards his room.

"No! NO!" Past all logic, Danny lunged at his enemy's retreating form. But Vlad somehow sensed it, and turned intangible once more. This, of course, caused Danny to hit nothing but air, and he tumbled forward, fell, and skidded to a halt a few feet in front of the man.

Vlad finally halted, and with a collected and calm voice, assuredly told the boy, "You better get all this out of your system now, Daniel, because I will not tolerate it a second time."

Danny stood up, and without any hesitation, charged at his adversary once more with tight fists. This time, however, Vlad didn't turn intangible. Instead, he grasped the boy's wrists, his hold strong enough to keep the young hybrid from fully using the ghostly strength currently surging through his human form, but not enough to completely stop the teen's angry blows.

All the billionaire could do was silently watch the boy as he continued to growl and swing at him over and over again. Just the fact that Daniel had not even turned ghost and was currently attacking him with his mere fists said so much to the man. The older hybrid didn't have any desire to stop or defend himself against the younger one. How could he, when the one attacking him wasn't his super-powered adversary, but a mere, hurting fifteen-year-old boy? Vlad felt a sudden urge of sadness and… regret rise within him. And it took all his willpower to keep it from showing on his face.

From how much effort he had been putting into his punches, it didn't take long for Danny to tire. And when he couldn't even stay angry anymore, he finally stopped.

For a moment, all that could be heard were the boy's heavy pants. His eyes had lowered to the ground after his final swing at his enemy, so the sorrow that now filled them remained unseen by Vlad. The man didn't need to see it, though. It rang in the boy's next words.

"… I never did anything to you to deserve what you've done to me," Danny whispered, still not looking at the person holding his wrists.

Vlad couldn't keep his own emotions hidden any longer after hearing those heart-wrenching words. He gazed sadly at the teenager in front of him, before softly replying, "I know."

Danny slowly looked up, hoping to find an explanation to such a simple answer within the man's eyes. But above all, he wanted to know what the unmistakable regret in his enemy's voice had meant. Though, much to his disappointment, the teen didn't find it. In fact, looking at Vlad only confused him further, and Danny told him, "I-I don't understand."

The billionaire actually lowered his gaze from the boy's own until it was on his own hands around Danny's wrists. The man let go as he returned his sad gaze to the young half-ghost with a shake of his head. "You never will," Vlad answered sorrowfully, before moving passed him, and continuing to his room.

Danny just stared forward, feeling as if his enemy's words had just detonated a bomb inside his head. As the soft clicks of Vlad's shoes faded, the teen leaned back against the wall next to him and closed his eyes. He couldn't deal with all this anymore. His mind, his body, his heart… and even his soul were utterly exhausted with so much pain and confusion… It was too much.

As he slid down against the wall, Danny found himself pleading to someone he hadn't thought of in a long time; someone who he still couldn't decide if it had been he who had let the entity down, or if, instead, he had let him down…

"Clockwork… make this stop… Please," he whispered. But Danny knew that even if the ghost were listening, he wouldn't answer his plea.

---

Vlad's three maids, butler, and chauffeur were sitting at their usual lounge, ignoring the muffled shouts coming from upstairs, when the ghost chef phased through the wall adjoining the kitchen.

"They're fighting again, huh?" George asked with a shake of his head, not really expecting anyone to answer him.

Niane, who looked saddened by something, quietly nodded. But Derek and Carl looked at the cook, acknowledging his words with uncaring shrugs before returning to the domino game they were playing.

Sitting on the couch across the youngest maid, Patricia asked with perplexity, "Why did Master Plasmius even bring him here to begin with?"

Martha, who sat beside her shrugged. "Your guess is as good as--"

"Dazzler?" she suddenly said when the controlling ghost walked into the lounge. "What a surprise to see you here."

Everyone turned their attention to Dazzler just as the ghost rolled his eyes at the maid's surprise. "You know, that's the second time I've heard that today," he answered dryly. "Am I committing a crime I am not aware of by being here?"

"Of course not," Derek answered for Martha; and with a raised eyebrow, added, "It's just that we all know you dislike being indoors,"

"Yes, it's quite unlike you," Carl agreed, watching the controlling ghost sit upon a lounge chair."

"I just thought it was time to vary my surroundings," Dazzler said with a smirk, not noticing that Niane had been regarding him with a heavy frown ever since he had entered.

"Or maybe, you're after a certain young halfa," George answered smugly, folding his arms in front of him.

"The young halfa?" the butler and chauffeur repeated curiously, momentarily pushing their game aside.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Dazzler replied carelessly, picking up a nearby newspaper, and ignoring Derek and Carl all together.

George chuckled. "Don't try to play it off. I've been in the kitchen all day up until now. I heard everything."

Dazzler shrugged. The fact that the chef had heard his earlier 'talk' with Danny Phantom and then with his employer held no importance to the controlling ghost. After all, not one of them got involved in the other's affairs. It was almost some unspoken rule between everyone that worked for the older half-ghost.

"I don't like him," Dazzler answered. "Last time I heard, you felt the same way."

George nodded in agreement. "I'll give you that one. But to be honest, now that I've gotten to know him somewhat, the young halfa really isn't as bad as I had first believed."

"Funny. I dislike him even more after having met him," the controlling ghost said dryly.

But before George could respond, indiscernible, but increasingly loud, shouts interrupted his train of thought. This time, however, the only angry voice that could be heard was that of the young boy.

"Terrific!" Martha exclaimed angrily, "Now they're going to start destroying the house again and we are going to have to clean up their mess!"

The cook couldn't help but laugh heartedly at the female ghost's comment. "At least you don't have to deal with the halfas afterwards! You should see them after one of their fights! Sometimes I could swear they are going to set the kitchen on fire with their looks alone!"

"I agree with George," Derek said, shuddering lightly. "Though, I worry more about the young halfa. Boy, does that child know how to give glares!"

Carl chuckled. "I suppose Dazzler and I are the luckier ones here, since we spend the least amount of time in the castle," the ghost chauffeur commented, sharing a smirk with the controlling ghost.

"Wait…. I don't hear anything anymore," Martha stated, and everyone looked up, trying to catch the slightest sound. But there was none.

"Odd. No blasts?" Patricia mumbled, confused. But then her tone turned into one of curiosity as she asked Martha, "Do you think Master Plasmius finally killed him?"

"Oh, I truly hope so," Dazzler answered casually, his eyes calmly scanning something in the newspaper he held, not caring about the curious stares Martha and Patricia gave him at his words.

Derek and Carl, however, looked at Dazzler quizzically before looking at one another. But then with a dismissive shrug, they returned to their game.

George rolled his eyes at Dazzler's comment, but he didn't respond to it. Instead, he glanced at Niane, who had her eyes glued to the ceiling and was clearly not paying attention to anyone in the room.

"Niane, why don't you go check on them?" George suggested with a calm smile.

The girl ghost startled, her eyes widening. She quickly looked over to George and squeaked "Me?"

The cook nodded, his smile widening. "Yes. The young halfa likes you--I think," he added under his breath, his eyebrows momentarily creasing, before he smiled calmly again. "Plus, you would be the least conspicuous out of all of us."

"I'll go," Dazzler offered, shooting the youngest maid an evil grin.

"I'm sure you would," Niane answered, frowning heavily again. "But you do not need to bother yourself; I'll go."

Dazzler raised an eyebrow when he saw the girl ghost actually glare at him, before floating out of the lounge via the ceiling. He could not recall ever seeing such an expression on her face before. But he dismissed it with a smirk, and mockingly remarked, "Well, someone has a little crush." And Dazzler really believed that, too. Why else would the maid get so upset with the thought of his hurting that runt?

Martha smiled at the controlling ghost. "Well, he is a cutie," she said, referring to Danny. "I wouldn't blame Niane if that's true."

"Yes," Patricia agreed, looking thoughtfully at the place her youngest sister had been sitting at. "But it's really a shame he's not full ghost."

George couldn't help but laugh at their comments, while Derek, George, and Dazzler just rolled their eyes.

---

"Master Danny?"

Still sitting at the spot Vlad had left him, Danny lifted his lowered head and looked at the ghost maid that had appeared so suddenly that his ghost sense barely had time to react.

She stared at him forlornly, before softly telling him, "Dinner is ready."

"I'm not hungry," he whispered back, before burying his face back into his hands.

Niane bit her lower lip as her eyes shifted toward the empty hallway which led to her employer's room. She was going to get in trouble for this; she knew it. But she needed to interfere if only for this distraught boy's sake.

"Listen to me," she suddenly said, looking back down at Danny who was now also looking up at her, a bit taken aback by her grave tone of voice. "I know this is going to sound a bit random, and maybe even absurd... And I know it isn't my place to tell you this, but, maybe, it's time you thought a bit more carefully about what you are doing."

Danny blinked at her. "What I'm doing?" he repeated, confused. "...I'm just sitting here."

The girl's sober look didn't falter; and all but ignoring the boy's confusion, said, "Why do you not give him a chance? He is not exactly what you believe him to be."

Now he knew what she meant. She was talking about Vlad… Danny couldn't help but answer with a soft, bitter chuckle and a shake of his head. Although he knew he should be used to it by now, Danny couldn't help but feel resentful with the ghost for once again siding with the evil half-ghost.

Still, he managed to keep the anger out of his voice, and decided to reply to her question with another. "Can I ask you something?"

Niane just nodded.

"What would you do if someone took away everything from you?" he asked soberly.

Sadness now replaced the sobriety in Niane's red eyes and she lowered them from the teen's blue ones. She couldn't answer that.

But as far as Danny was concerned, he didn't need her to. Her silence was enough of a reply, and he nodded. "Exactly. Glad you get it," he told her bitterly, before burying his face back into his hands.

Niane stayed quiet for a moment as she mentally debated whether or not it was wise for her to continue. And her uncertainty reflected in her tone when she spoke again, "H-Have you ever wondered why?"

Danny sighed softly. He had hoped that had been the end of their 'little chat'. But he answered anyway; although, this time, he didn't bother lifting his face from his hands. "Why what?"

The ghost maid's eyes returned to the boy, even if he wasn't looking at her. "Why he does what he does," she elaborated, the insecurity now gone from her face and voice.

Danny couldn't keep his anger down anymore, and he looked up with a glare. "Does it matter?! Nothing justifies what he is. What he's done!"

"Quite true, Master Danny," she answered, her serious look not faltering. "But perhaps knowing that would at least help you find a way to end all this."

The young hybrid stared at the ghost, now too confused to stay angry. "What are you talking about?"

Niane sighed softly, before a mysterious intensity glowed in her eyes. "There is always light at the end of a tunnel, only sometimes, it takes a great deal of effort to find it."

Sadness spread on the boy's face, and he lowered his gaze with a shake of his head. "No…," he whispered. "Sometimes there is no light…. Some things are just…hopeless."

The girl's eyebrows creased in concern and sadness. "You do not truly believe that," she assured him. "But if that was indeed true and there is no light, then why not create your own? Vanish the darkness with your own light, Master Danny."

"What does this have to do with Plasmius?" he asked tiredly, wishing that everyone would just stop confusing him.

"Everything," she answered softly.

Danny sighed. "Niane," he said, looking up at her seriously, "I do appreciate that you're trying to do help somehow, but I don't think you really know who you work for. And if you do, then you do not know my history with him. You have no idea what he has done; what he has tried to do to the people I care about and to me. Inside, I used to feel sorry for him, and I'll even go as far as admitting that there was a moment when I understood how easy it is to take the path he has. But all that is now gone," he assured her angrily. "Vlad doesn't even deserve my loathing, Niane. He's a heartless monster, and that's all he will ever know how to be!"

Niane just stared at him with wide eyes, making Danny momentarily regret saying all that to her. But then the ghost's eyebrows creased in sympathy.

"Master Danny," she said sadly. "Your resentfulness is clouding more than your judgment. It's clouding your very heart. And isn't that how people become…. heartless?"

"Niane, please, just stop," Danny suddenly pleaded. "Look, I'm really tired. I don't want to talk, especially not about him." He sighed. "Please, I just want to be alone."

The ghost sighed herself, before nodding. "I understand." She gave him a sad smile, and added, "If you get hungry, you know where to go."

Danny nodded, returning her smile with a small but genuine appreciative one of his own. The boy watched the maid give him a small curtsey, before she vanished in front of his eyes. His eyes lowered then, staring blankly at the cold wooden floor he sat on. But it wasn't long before he reacted again and slowly got off the ground. He really was tired--in more ways than one, of course. However, he had no interest in going to his room to sleep. He needed something else right now… He needed fresh air.

Changing into his ghost form with an expressionless look on his face, Danny floated upwards, phasing through the house until he was outside. The large trees a distance away from him marked his destination, and he silently flew towards it.

---

Sitting on his bed with his hands neatly placed on his lap, Vlad shook his head at the troubling thoughts going through his mind. After that argument with Daniel, the man realized just how unstable the boy became in his presence. It would frighten the older half-ghost if he wasn't so worried… and exhausted.

Vlad had been trying so hard to avoid Daniel just so that he didn't have to deal with his own instability caused by the boy. But there was always something that prevented the man from staying away for too long. And it seemed that with every encounter, things became worse between the teen and him.

He wished he could co-exist with the boy, if only because they were living under the same roof. But as much as he wanted this to happen, it wasn't. Whenever he would try to show any form of kindness towards Daniel, the boy would spur it away. Not that he could blame him, however. After all, Vlad knew what it was like to have everything taken away from you by a single person. He knew the pain that came with having your life destroyed without doing anything to deserve it.

And the dark emotions that came with it….Vlad knew just how it felt to deeply hate the one responsible for ruining your life…

The boy's words had hurt him more than his strongest physical attack ever could. Vlad knew he wasn't a person of morals… they had died a long time ago…. But even without them, the boy's words tormented him, playing themselves over and over again in his mind…

"I never did anything to you to deserve what you've done to me."

He felt no better than his enemy, Jack Fenton.

Vlad suddenly glared at nothing in particular, and his hands fisted against the bed's mattress. He hated feeling sorry for the boy. Why did he keep forgetting that Daniel was Jack Fenton's brat and his enemy?

The man saddened again. Why did something inside him have to constantly remind him that Daniel was also Maddie's son, that he was the only one like him… that the boy could be his son if it wasn't for Jack…?

The truth was Vlad never really considered having kids for a reason he didn't want to recall... But meeting Danny made him want to. Sure, his interest for the boy sparked only after discovering he was also half-ghost. But now….after over a year of knowing the teen, his interest for the fifteen-year-old was due to so much more than that.

The boy's personality, his determination, his… glow…. and even at times, his stubbornness, attracted him in a fatherly way towards the child. Though there were many times when Daniel's quaint morals did annoy him, there were still other times when some sort of admiration for the young hybrid inadvertently surged within him.

With a deep sigh, Vlad hung his head, his eyes closing as he whispered, "I'm losing it." His mixed emotions for Daniel confused him greatly. He just couldn't sort through them. He couldn't decide what it was that he really felt about the boy. And even as these confusing feelings had troubled him before, now, with the boy near him so often, they undoubtedly tortured him.

"Knock-Knock."

Startled, Vlad quickly looked towards his door. He was a bit bothered that he had been so overwhelmed by his thoughts that he didn't sense the entity now outside his door before it got there.

"Sir?"

With a soft sigh, the billionaire relaxed, and in his usual collected tone of voice, answered, "Yes, Derek?"

"Dinner is ready."

"Thank you, Derek. I'll be down in a moment," he answered without missing a beat.

"Very well, sir," the ghost answered, before Vlad felt him retreat down the hallway.

The billionaire stood from his bed, and headed to his bathroom to make sure he looked acceptable. It didn't take long for the man to exit his bathroom and then his room. Even though his face was expressionless this entire time, his thoughts were on how he would have to confront the young half-ghost again sometime today if his plans on having Skulker take Daniel to the Ghost Zone tomorrow were to stay on schedule.

By the time Vlad reached downstairs, he had decided he wasn't hungry; so instead of heading to the dining room, he went to the kitchen. He wasn't feeling well and hoped a calming cup of tea would fix that.

Vlad walked over to a cabinet and took out a tea kennel. After filling it with water, he moved over to the stove, placed the kettle on top, and turned the knob on the range. It was obvious that throughout his actions the man was thinking again because he didn't notice that his chef had walked over to him, until that ghost spoke.

"Sir, you're not dining?" George asked, curiously.

This time, Vlad didn't startle and just shook his head at the ghost without looking at him.

The chef sighed, and regrettably remarked, "Ever since the young halfa came here, so much food has gone to waste."

Vlad sighed himself at the mention of Danny. Placing an empty cup on the counter, and still not looking at the ghost, he answered, "A lot more than just food has gone to waste since he got here."

George just stared at his employer, suspecting that underneath Vlad's poker-face façade, the man was severely distressed about something. And after the shouting that went on above a moment ago, it didn't take a lot of pondering as to what that something was.

Knowing his employer usually took honey with his teas and seeing he had not grabbed it himself yet, George went to retrieve it for him. But as he did, the chef spoke. "If I may be so bold to say, sir, maybe you're approaching him the wrong way."

Vlad sighed once more. He was aware that Daniel and he had been arguing loud enough to be heard by anyone in the house. So, he knew George was referring to the boy. For some reason, he couldn't get himself to tell the chef to drop the subject. Instead, as he watched the ghost place the jar of honey on the counter beside him, he responded soberly. "Tell me, George, how can two enemies possibly co-exist?"

George crossed his arms on his chest as he stood in front of his employer. "Honestly? They cannot," he answered with a light shrug. But then he raised an eyebrow and added, "That is, not until 'they' stop seeing each other as such."

Vlad calmly nodded, before moving over to an upper cabinet. "That's what I thought," he answered, pulling out a tea pouch and some other odd glowing jar. "But that will never happen between Daniel and I."

"Not if you don't try," the ghost chef evenly shot back without missing a beat.

Vlad instantly turned to George with a piercing glare. "You don't think I have?!" he exclaimed angrily. He stomped over to the ghost as he continued, "The second I even attempt to show him anything but hate he attacks back with twice the effort! Daniel is the most stubborn person I have ever met!" The man slammed the items in his hands on the counter, causing the chef to jolt in surprise. But Vlad was too furious to notice it; and unable to hold it in any longer, the man exploded. "I cannot stand him, George! I cannot stand anything about him! He's such a hard-headed, reckless, inconsiderate, disrespectful, immature, arrogant, defiant little--"

"He's just a child, sir," the cook interrupted soberly.

Vlad scoffed in anger, although he seemed to deflate somewhat. "Oh, please, George. Daniel is not some fragile, little defenseless boy. Believe me, I would know better than anyone."

George shook his head. "From what I've heard and seen he is beyond something weak. But whatever he might be, no matter how strong he might be, he is still a child. And like any child--even though he does a very good job of hiding it-- he's afraid of being alone."

Vlad just stared at the ghost, clearly silenced by his words. But suddenly the whistling of the tea kennel gave the man the excuse to look away. He picked up the kettle and began pouring the water in the mug, before he finally spoke in a thoughtful voice. "Daniel isn't… I don't believe he's afraid of something so…."

"Simple? Insignificant?" the ghost supplied with a raised eyebrow. "Is it so hard to believe that he is? After all, aren't we all to some extent afraid of finding ourselves alone, with no one to aid us, support us… love us?"

Vlad, who had been about to add a dose of the odd glowing powder in the jar to his tea, briefly paused in his actions upon hearing George's last words. "I… suppose," he answered evenly, adding the dose and watching how the tea briefly glowed bright green before it vanished.

George nodded, before adding, "And that fear is many times stronger in a child. Now imagine how much stronger it must be for a boy who is as unique as the young halfa, who faces danger more times than most of us… and who has to cope with the unending possibility of losing not only his life, but of those around him."

Vlad looked at George. The ghost didn't know of everything he did to the boy, or anything else in his ghost and human lives for that matter. And that wasn't surprising, really, since the chef didn't involve himself—nor did Vlad want him to-- in any affairs outside of, well, being a chef for him. So, George did not know how much his words were cutting through him. If indeed Daniel was afraid of… being alone…. The billionaire couldn't keep a small pang of guilt from surfacing.

But then, Vlad shook his head at his chef, before going back to making his tea. "There is nothing I can do about that."

"Perhaps not," the ghost answered with a frown, "Or perhaps you could. Perhaps you could alleviate it…." Finding his employer's eyes back on him, George crossed his arms again, continuing, "You see, sir. Before the boy can look at you as something else besides his enemy, you have to stop seeing him as your enemy, and see him for what he is."

Vlad crossed his arms himself, tiredly asking, "And what's that?"

"A child with amazing abilities, strength, and vigor. But…. a child nonetheless."

Vlad sighed sadly. "George, I know that."

"But you forget it."

The man could find nothing to say to that, so George spoke up again. "You know, from what I've heard, the young halfa works very hard to do good, to save those in need…I find it quite admirable." The cook suddenly chuckled lightly. "Not that that means I have changed my disagreement about his fighting against other ghosts."

But upon not receiving any reaction from his employer, he quickly sobered up. "Sir, perhaps, for once, it is the young halfa who needs saving. From what? I'm not sure. But I've noticed that behind his defiance, there's something else in his eyes, something that shouldn't be there…." The ghost eyebrows creased. "He needs help. And I honestly can't think of anyone better to do that than the only other halfa: you, sir. Maybe you could be able to see what no one else can; maybe you could understand what it is he needs to be saved from."

Vlad shook his head sadly. "No, George. That cannot be. Even if I wanted that to be true…" He sighed once more. "There are things that you do not know," the man assured the chef with deep gravity. "And it's because of those things that we cannot and will not ever see each other as anything but enemies." Vlad's eyebrows creased in sorrow again. "I understand everything you are telling me. I know what I would have to do to have things… change. George…I know what he wants. But… I cannot give it to him. I must not give it to him… For doing so would be a betrayal to myself."

The ghost lowered his folded arms, an unsure look in his face. "I might not know the extent of your problems with the young halfa, but nothing is irreparable, sir."

"This is," the man assured him, a look of cold acceptance overcoming his face. He seemed to truly believe that things were…irreparable.

The chef shook his head. "At least--"

"George," Vlad suddenly interrupted, a neutral expression returning to his face. "I appreciate your words. I appreciate your attention. I…." His eyes lowered as he whispered, "I needed to get that off my chest." He looked at the ghost again, this time with decisive blue eyes. "But this ends here," he told him in a definite voice.

George knew that when his employer decided on something, there was nothing that could sway him from it. And the man had just decided this was the end of their conversation…. The ghost had to admit he was surprised that his employer had allowed him to go on about this in the first place. But now it was time to stop.

"Yes, sir," George replied calmly. And noticing that the older halfa had finished making his tea, added, "I'll return everything to its place for you."

Vlad smiled and gave him a thankful nod. He then turned his gaze to his prepared tea, grabbed it, and without another word, left the kitchen.

Now alone, George silently moved over to the cabinet to return the jar of honey and the other glowing jar to its place. As he did, he let out a calm sigh, before remarking to himself with a quiet chuckle, "The young halfa the most stubborn person he has met? I personally find him to be just as stubborn,"

---

A few hours later found Danny in the 'telescope room'. Ever since Vlad had shown him the place, he had been itching to return to do more than just look at the things there. He wanted to touch the mainframe, the star maps, the… grand and expensive telescope. But he had refused himself that. He would not give Vlad the pleasure of knowing how much he liked this room. But, with boredom as his catalyst, he could no longer ignore the strong temptation of the room… So, he sinned.

As he adjusted a lens on the state-of-the-art telescope, the teen realized that it was a very good thing that he knew a lot about telescopes. Otherwise, he would have never figured out how to work an advanced one such as this one. Fleetingly, the boy wondered if Vlad knew how to work the star-gazing device. For some reason, Danny doubted that he did.

Lifting his eyes from the eye piece on the telescope, Danny's blue eyes gazed past the large instrument and to the visible sky through the clear glass dome above him.

He wasn't looking for any ordinary constellation that he could view with any common telescope. No, he was searching for a galaxy in deep space, one he had only seen in photographs. And now that he had the chance to see it with his own eyes, he was determined to find it.

Currently sitting on a wheeled chair, he pushed himself towards the mainframe, and looked down at the controls. He still hadn't figured out how to use everything on it, but he was quickly getting it. And after two hours of being here, he had learned enough to search for what he wanted to see. Watching the large screen that showed the section of the sky currently in the telescope's view, Danny rotated a remote attached to the control panels shaped like a black ball. He moved his chair over to the planisphere from which he was getting his bearing, and traced something along the map with his finger, his lips wordlessly counting as he went.

A small smile tugged on his lips when he finished, and he quickly rolled back to the screen he had been viewing. He rolled the sphere-like remote under his palm, and behind him, the telescope moved to its indicated position.

"There," he whispered, his smile growing.

Danny quickly rolled his chair back to the telescope and looked into the lens. Slowly, he began to adjust and enhance the many lenses that had to be perfectly aligned as he took the telescope's view deeper into space. Ten minutes later, he hit Pluto. He grinned.

But, he was not done yet. He was looking for a galaxy, so it was obviously past the planets that were found in the galaxy Earth belonged to. But the sight of Pluto indicated to the young half-ghost he was moving in the right direction.

The boy continued with his actions over and over again, moving from the telescope, to the mainframe, to the map, and so forth. It wasn't until an hour later that he hit his prize. And a gasp of amazement escaped him.

Danny knew the galaxy was beautiful; but it wasn't until now that he was looking at it with his own eyes, able to admire the slow moments of the burning stars and dark planets, that he could truly see and know just how beautiful they all were. It was truly one of the most awing things he had ever seen.

With a smile, he looked back at the screen on the mainframe that reflected on a larger scale what he could see directly through the telescope. He was going to have to learn how to work the camera system on the computer if he was to take pictures of the galaxy. And he was definitely going to take pictures of it!

He looked back at the telescope and returned to looking through it. Never in his dreams did he ever think he would have the chance to see something so important to him this early in his life. After all, only those who were professional astronomers got their hands on such a sophisticated telescope. For once in quite some time, he felt…. happy.

It was hard, however, to escape the memories of all the times his friends and him would sit up on the roof of the Op Center at Fenton Works and star-gaze. Of course, the telescope he had back at home compared nothing to this one, but he always had fun--they always had fun. And he never got tired of looking at the constellations and planets they would find in the sky. But most importantly, he never got tired of simply relaxing below the night sky with his two best friends….

His two best friends who now hated him…. Not that he could blame them….

"I'm glad to see you've finally found something to entertain yourself with."

Danny briefly tensed with the appearance of Vlad's voice, but then quickly relaxed, while bitterly thinking, "Perfect timing."

However, the teen didn't look at the man, and continued to look through the telescope as he answered with a shrug, "You said I could use it, right?"

"That's right," Vlad replied causally without missing a beat. However, the man was wondering how the teenager had figured out how to use the instruments in this room so quickly and without asking him… Not that he would be of much help, since he didn't really know how to use these instruments himself….

The man's eyebrows suddenly creased with intrigue when he noticed the mainframe's screen. There was an image of some sort of star cluster; but the colorful gases moving along it showed it wasn't just any ordinary star cluster. Maybe a galaxy? Was the boy really that knowledgeable in astronomy to the point that he was capable of finding something as complex? Or maybe it was merely a picture Danny had brought up on the screen…. A very vivid and life-like picture….?

If Vlad wasn't so utterly shocked, he would have realized he was just standing there, staring. He was having a hard time believing it. Was it even possible that this clueless, C-average teenager could actually know enough astronomy to carry on a decent conversation with a seasoned astronomer? It had caught the man completely off guard.

Unlike Vlad, Danny was aware of the silence in the room. And it wasn't long before the teenager had enough of it.

Danny lifted his eyes from the telescope, but didn't look at Vlad. Instead, he glared at the stars above him. "Did you want something? Or did you come to keep your threat?" the teen snapped, clearly annoyed with the man's seemingly purposeless presence. Why couldn't the guy just leave him alone for a few freakin' hours?!

The boy's hostile tone of voice returned the billionaire to his senses, and he quickly felt his anger begin to rise. However, he suppressed it, determined to not get into another argument with the boy.

"Neither," Vlad answered coolly with much effort. "I merely came to inform you that tomorrow you will be going to the Ghost Zone with Skulker. Good night, Daniel," he ended in the same voice, before turning and walking back towards the door.

Instantly, Danny spun around in the chair he was sitting on, a look of pure disbelief on his face. "Wait, what?" he barely managed to ask.

But either the man ignored him or didn't hear him, because Vlad closed the door behind him without another word, leaving the teenager alone in the room once more.

Danny jumped to his feet, and quickly ran towards the door. But, suddenly, he halted, remembering the telescope. He looked distraughtly between his hard-earned finding on the mainframe's screen and the closed door. If he left now, he'd have to start from scratch again. And since he still didn't know how to use the camera system on the mainframe, he couldn't even take pictures of the galaxy that had taken him almost two hours to find.

With an annoyed groan, he quickly moved back to the control panel, and shut the entire system down. As he ran out of the room, the telescope slowly retracted back into the room and the glass dome changed back into a normal ceiling.

"Vlad, wait!" Danny exclaimed, after running down the long staircase and finding the man just about to exit the mapping room.

Vlad paused, but didn't turn to look at the boy as he tiredly asked, "What is it, Daniel?"

Although he was a bit out of breath, Danny's bafflement was still evident in his voice. "I don't think I heard you right. Did you say I'm going to the Ghost Zone with Skulker?"

"Yes. I did," Vlad answered evenly, before stepping out of the room without closing the door behind him. Somehow, he knew the boy was not done.

Danny's mouth gaped open as he watched the billionaire's form retreat down the hallway. But he soon shook off his shock, and ran once more to catch up to his enemy. Now overwhelmed with curiosity, the surprise in his voice vanished. And as he fell in step with Vlad, he tilted his head slightly with interest and asked, "What for?"

"To meet someone."

Danny instantly halted in his tracks, and just stared at the older hybrid like he had grown an extra head--or something that would qualify just as bizarre. However, his incredulity quickly melded into something else. Something that got Vlad to stop his retreat and finally turn to look at the boy…

"Ha-hah-ha-ha-ha!"

Vlad just raised an eyebrow at the hysterical teenager. And the boy called him loopy…

"L-Let me get…t-this straight," Danny managed to say through his laughter. "You want me to go into the Ghost Zone…. with Skulker to… m-meet a ghost, r-right?"

"Yes. Why is that amusing?" the man asked with a frown; but upon seeing the boy just laugh harder, he began to feel his patience slowly start to shatter.

"Oh man! That's rich! You want me--" Danny said, jabbing a thumb towards his chest. "--to go into the Ghost Zone--" He lifted a finger. "--with Skulker--" He lifted a second finger, marking his words, "--to meet some ghost!" Danny lifted a third finger, before grabbing his sides with his hands and laughing heartedly again.

"Are you done?" Vlad asked annoyed, a scowl now on his face.

"Wait," Danny answered, lifting a finger, and then continued to crack up some more. He soon took a breath and smiled as he said, "Okay, now I'm done." But then, his face instantly turned to a heavy frown as he added, "And my answer is 'no'." Without another word, Danny walked right passed his enemy, heading towards his room.

This time, it was Vlad's turn to catch up. "I'm sorry. I don't believe I ever said it was an option," the man stated matter-of-factly.

Danny paused to glare at the man beside him. "I am not going into the Ghost Zone with that maniac!" he exclaimed, his arms going up in anger. "If you want to waste me that badly, then just do it yourself!"

"What the blazes are you talking about, Daniel?!" Vlad snapped back, now sounding as angry as the teenager. The billionaire found it ridiculous how the boy seemed to always believe everyone was out to get him. Seriously, was he that paranoid?

"No one is going to waste you!" the man continued. "So enough of your absurdity! It's merely a short trip; in fact, consider it your first task for me."

Danny crossed his arms with an angry huff, and his eyes lowered from the man for a moment, before he looked back at him again. He was still mad, but it was clear the boy had deflated somewhat.

"Who am I meeting?" Danny asked crossly, though his voice was back to its normal volume.

Vlad waved a hand dismissively as he resumed walking towards his destination. "You'll find out when you get there."

"Oh, okay," Danny answered with sarcastic anger, following after the man towards the now visible main stairs. "Will that be before or after Skulker tries to skin me?!" Danny shouted, his hands fisting on his sides.

Vlad, who had been descending the stairs, paused on a middle step and looked back at the boy with a glare. "I'm not arguing with you again, Daniel. I think once is enough for a day," he said with restrained anger, before continuing his descend.

"Hey, you're the one who started this!" Danny exclaimed, stomping down the stairs after his enemy. "You're forcing me to go into the Ghost Zone, where my enemies live, accompanied by one of those enemies, to probably meet ANOTHER ENEMY!" Danny screamed at the top of his lungs.

In an abrupt motion, Vlad whirled around and grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt, effectively stunning the teen into silence. "You can kick and scream; you can throw all the blasted little tantrums that you want; but none of it will change one single thing!" the man growled in the Danny's face. "It will not change the fact that you are here; it will not change the fact that you are bound to me; and it will not change the fact that you are going to the Ghost Zone whether you want to or not! "

"Then you're going to have to drag me in there!" Danny snarled back. "And then I'll show you kicking and screaming!"

"You want to challenge me, you little rat?" Vlad whispered vehemently, pulling the boy closer. "Go ahead. I dare you. But rest assured. You will lose, just as you always have, and just as you always will!"

Danny's eyes only narrowed further with his enemy's words. "You don't get it, Plasmius," he growled spitefully. "I can't lose anymore; not when I don't have anything to lose!"

"You overestimate my patience, boy, and that is a dangerous mistake," Vlad assured him darkly. "Have you thought about all I could make you do? I haven't made you hold your word to its full extent, but do not make the mistake of believing I will not. If to humiliate you is what you want, then I will not hesitate to fulfill your wish! I will degrade you, until you are lower than dirt, until you are nothing!" The man's voice had dropped to a quiet, but even darker tone than with what he had started. But the young half-ghost was not intimidated in the least.

Danny's lips slowly spread into a cynical smile, before he chuckled in the same way right in the man's face. "Degrade?" he asked amused. "Oh please! What are you going to do, huh? Kick my butt? Put me in a cage?" The teen's mocking look suddenly turned into one of bitterness as he continued, "Take a good look at me, Plasmius. Can't you see it? Can't you see that I don't care anymore?!"

Danny paused as he saw a flash of red in the man's eyes, betraying the sober look with which his enemy now regarded him. A dark and smug smirk slowly began to tug on the boy's lips. "What's wrong, Uncle Vlad?" Danny teased, his eyes narrowing with the same eerie amusement showing in his smile. "Aren't I what you expected? Aren't I the perfect, submissive half-ghost pawn you've always wanted?" He raised an eyebrow at the silent man, and added. "Or… is it that I'm not and you've finally lost at your own twisted game?" Danny suddenly chuckled. "That's it, isn't it?" The young hybrid grinned cruelly, before whispering at the man, "You're pathetic, Vlad Masters."

Vlad's sober look never left him, even with the boy's last words. However, the man suddenly seemed inclined to let go of the teen's shirt, though he still simply stared coldly and silently at him. But the older half-ghost's eerie calmness vanished all too abruptly. And faster then Danny could comprehend, Vlad lifted a hand and slapped the boy hard across the face.

Danny yelped in both surprise and pain, and stumbled backwards. However, he managed to keep his footing, but then quickly froze in place. His eyes were as wide as could be, while he held his left hand against his red, throbbing cheek. The boy's shock, however, didn't last long. And his blue eyes quickly narrowed. "Why you--"

"Master," Vlad cut off coldly, "That's what you will call me from now on."

A dangerous look appeared on Danny's face, and he suddenly switched to his ghost form. It was clear the boy was on the verge of striking out against his enemy, obviously not caring about whatever consequences it might bring.

But Vlad seemed unfazed by the young hybrid's threatening glare, and he calmly crossed his arms. "No, that won't do," he continued, thoughtfully tapping his chin, before regarding the boy with a clever smirk. "Ah, I know: Father. You will call me 'Father'. I find that more appropriate, don't you?" he asked cruelly.

Danny's defiant glare abruptly changed into a fearful gaze; even his aggressive posture vanished with the man's words.

And Vlad noticed it. "What's wrong, Son? I thought you didn't care what I did?" he mocked with a smile.

The teen's eyes lowered from his enemy's own, his white rings quickly changing him back to his human self. "You're not my father," he whispered fearfully.

Vlad chuckled uncaringly. "That's beyond the point. I'll be what I want; and you will be and do what I want."

"Y-You're not my dad," Danny restated once more, this time his voice filled with barely restrained emotion. "Please, don't ask me that."

The man forced himself to maintain his cold demeanor after hearing Danny's pitiful plea. Was calling him 'father' that horrible for the teen?

Ignoring all the emotions that the question had brought, Vlad grabbed the boy's chin, forcing him to look at him. "You will go tomorrow. And you will do so willingly. For if I hear another word of protest from you on this, I promise you, Daniel, that I will reveal to you a side of me you cannot even begin to imagine," the man vowed darkly, before roughly releasing the teen's face.

Danny just gazed back with angry eyes, although the defiance in them was no longer there. But then, without a single word, he turned from the man and quickly retreated towards his room.

Vlad watched the boy climb the stairs with a stern look, but when Danny vanished from view, the man's eyes lowered. "No, my boy, I didn't finally lose… I finally won," he whispered sadly, the hand with which he had struck the teen coiling into a soft fist.

Knowing that sleep was now the last thing he would be able to do, Vlad retreated to the mansion's library, hoping that a book would occupy his mind enough so that he wouldn't think.

---

Closing the door behind him, Danny leaned heavily against it, before lifting a hand to his still hot cheek. Who did that jerk think he was? He had no right to treat him like this! He had no right to force him to…

The boy hung his head, his hand dropping to his side. No, Vlad had every right. He had given him the right to control his life…. The man was right, too. His reluctance to go to the Ghost Zone had not been because he was worried about the many enemies in there. After all, he had gone to the Ghost Zone countless of times, and he was quite capable of defending himself against any hostile ghosts. No, his reluctance was due to the fact that he hated how he had to do everything the man said. Vlad could have at least asked him to go to the Ghost Zone. Instead, his enemy just informed him of the decision he had made for him, as if rubbing in the fact that he didn't have a say over himself anymore.

With an angry sigh, Danny moved over to his bed and sat crossed leg on top of it. His blue eyes glared down at his hands resting in between his legs. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the teen knew this had been his own doing. He had no right to complain. How could he when he made this choice?

But…. what else could he have done when it had been his only choice? From the very beginning, Vlad had just given him this one choice: submission.

"He planned all this out," Danny realized, his eyes flaring green. "And I fell right into it!" he shouted, his hands fisting against the mattress.

But he knew it was too late for regret. His word was binding, especially with his sister's life acting as the cohesive. He could never retract the deal he made with Vlad. And that left him with no other choice but to pay the consequences of his mistake. And he was indeed paying dearly for it.

Danny stood up from his bed. The anger on his face had snuffed away, revealing what he kept trying to hide: sadness. But for the moment, he was too tired to mask his true emotions.

Suddenly overcome by the need to sleep, Danny went to the bathroom to change into his pajamas and get ready for bed. He didn't know what time it was, though he knew it was late since he had been star-gazing for a couple of hours. But even if it wasn't time for bed, he wouldn't have cared. He felt too drained to try to stay awake any longer. He just hoped that tonight he didn't have to suffer through nightmares. Ever since he came to his enemy's abode the teen had been plagued with disturbing dreams. And most seemed so real, he couldn't help but be frightened by them.

---

Seeing that it was the end of the day, Vlad's ghostly employees had returned to the lounge in which they liked to relax. Well, all except Derek and Carl. This time, they were not there.

But Dazzler was present, much to the maids and the cook's surprise. In fact, they suspected the ghost had not left the room since he had first arrived several hours ago. The maids and the chef had been sure that the controlling ghost would have long since become sick of the confinement of the lounge. But they were clearly wrong. However, they said nothing to Dazzler about it. The ghosts were too busy trying to ignore the shouting going on to really care about anything else.

"Can ghosts get headaches?" Martha asked, rubbing her temple.

George shrugged at the maid's question.

"Because I'm almost certain I feel one with all the screaming that's going on!" she said, annoyed.

"Martha, I don't think you feel a headache," Patricia said calmly, her eyes and hands currently occupied with crocheting.

Martha glared at her sister. "How are you going to tell me what I can and cannot feel? I know what I feel. And I feel a headache."

This time, Patricia regarded the other older maid with a frown, and halted her knitting as she said, "It's just not possible."

Niane rolled her eyes when she heard her sisters start arguing about why ghosts could or could not get headaches. The girl ghost hadn't noticed that Dazzler, too, had rolled his eyes at the two older maids.

The controlling ghost wasn't very thrilled with being indoors, but he knew he had to tolerate it so that he could find the 'opening' his sister needed for her plan. And to do that, Dazzler needed to keep an eye on his employer and Danny Phantom. The ghost knew it was only a matter of time before the older hybrid left the house to attend to one of his many business dealings.

Pulling himself away from the book that he had been reading after hearing the voices of the two arguing hybrids, Dazzler turned his attention toward the door. They were getting closer since their words were now distinguishable. The ghost smirked, realizing that could only mean they were coming downstairs.

"Will that be before or after Skulker tries to skin me?!"

"I'm not arguing with you again, Daniel. I think once is enough for a day,"

"Hey, you're the one who started this! You're forcing me to go into the Ghost Zone, where my enemieslive, accompanied by one of those enemies, to probably meet ANOTHER ENEMY!"

Dazzler eyes widened in utter surprise, but he quickly lifted his book in front of his face, covering his expression from the other ghosts around him. Did he hear right? Was his employer making Danny Phantom go into the Ghost Zone? If so, then this was even better than waiting for the older hybrid to leave the house! The runt could come to them!

Now anxious to hear more, Dazzler pulled away from his thoughts and focused back on the arguing half-ghosts. This time, he could hear his employer's angry voice...

"….it will change one single thing! It will not change the fact that you are here; it will not change the fact that you belong to me; and it will not change the fact that you are going to the Ghost Zone whether you want to or not! "

"Then you're going to have to drag me in there! And then I'll show you kicking and screaming!"

Dazzler's eyebrows creased when he was unable to hear his employer's response to that comment since the man's voice had fallen into a whisper. However, Danny Phantom continued speaking loudly, and the older hybrid soon did the same….

"You don't get it, Plasmius, I can't lose anymore; not when I don't have anything to lose!"

"You overestimate my patience, Daniel, and that is a dangerous mistake. Have you thought about all I could make you do? I haven't made you….. "

Meanwhile, the older maids continued their squabble, too focused on one another to take notice of the hybrids. However, George and Niane were listening intently to Vlad and Danny. But their interest, of course, was not for the same reason as Dazzler's. They simply couldn't help but be amazed--in different ways-- with the fact that these two similar beings could actually dislike each other as much as the half-ghosts did. The things they were telling each other were, well, terrible!

Dazzler, however, found it quite comical. If he knew that the two hybrids' arguments were this interesting, he would have begun spending more time indoors sooner.

"…….Or… is it that I'm not and you've finally lost at your own twisted game? That's it, isn't it?

The three listening ghosts knew the boy had said something more at the end…. something that made their employer fall silent…. And they knew that was not good.

"Master. That's what you will call me from now on….

While George winced at his employer's words, Niane shook her head at them, her saddened red eyes lowering to her hands.

"No, that won't do….Ah, I know: Father. You will call me 'Father'. I find that more appropriate, don't you? …What's wrong, Son? I thought you didn't care what I did?"

The grin that had crawled into Dazzler's face after hearing his employer's degrading command towards the young hybrid momentarily faltered. How was the title 'Father' more demeaning than 'Master'? And why in the world would the man even want Danny Phantom to refer to him as such?

But the controlling ghost didn't get the answer to his question. The boy's response to his employer's words had come in a whisper, preventing him from hearing it.

The three ghosts heard the older hybrid chuckle uncaringly before saying, "That's beyond the point. I'll be what I want; and you will be and do what I want."

Again, the young hybrid's response came in a whisper. But before Vlad's servants could wonder why, their employer spoke again, this time, in his darkest tone of voice yet.

"You will go tomorrow. And you will do so willingly. For if I hear another word of protest from you on this, I promise you, Daniel, that I will reveal to you a side of me you cannot even begin to imagine."

Dazzler's eyes widened once more as the house finally silenced. But then slowly, a sinister smile spread on the ghost's lips, one that remained covered by his book.

Surprised, George commented to the young maid, "I can't believe he's sending the young halfa into the Ghost Zone.

Niane didn't look at the ghost, much less give him a response.

George gave her a quizzical look upon noticing her dejected demeanor, but the chef soon quickly dismissed it with a sigh. "Well, I hope he knows what he's doing," the chef added with a shrug. Without another word, he stood and phased back into the kitchen.

Crossing her arms, Niane sighed, for once in agreement with the chef. She ignored her sisters continuing quarrel, preferring to just stare gravely at nothing in particular.

Meanwhile, Dazzler was so engrossed with what he had discovered that he had not heard a word of George's comments; and he had long since blocked the voices of the still arguing Patricia and Martha.

His mind whirled with the numerous ways to take advantage of his employer's little idea. And deciding on one, Dazzler placed the book in his hands on the coffee table, before calmly standing, and making an inconspicuous departure.

As he headed towards the bottom-stairs ghost portal, a quiet chuckle escaped the controlling ghost's lips, while thinking, "My employer just handed us that runt on a silver platter."

---

Pearl: Just wanna say thanks for all the reviews! As always, I will try my best to reply to them, but I might not be able to. Depends if I have tests or HW… Blah. Still, know that your reviews are my chocolate! Makes me very happy inside! Heh-heh! And, man, I just gotta say I am awed by the number of reviews I have for this story. I'm approaching 1,000. Holy Smokes! But I don't mind at all!! So, send more of your thoughts my way! And maybe I'll reach 2,000! Heh! I'm kidding … Although that would have to be some sort of record… hmm. Okay! Until next time!

Vlad muse: Yes… until next time… Son. –laughs evilly and disappears-

Pearl: Don't ask, because I don't get it, either. –goes off to find muse to put him in an asylum.--