Hello, everyone! I know this a bit late; so sorry about that. I'm also sorry to have to say that I won't be able to reply to reviews. At least, I don't think so. I've had a lot of things this week. So, I might try to later in the week, but I can't guarantee it. But thank you for all your wonderful reviews! You guys know they mean the world to me. And on a good note, you can expect another chapter of CM in a few days. This chapter turned out to be too long, so I had to split it in half. So, the next part should be up soon enough! I hope you all enjoy this one---*glances at title* Heh…

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. But the OCs are mine.


Chapter 53: Returning Troubles

Maddie's eyes fluttered open and she frowned in confusion at all the white and the sound of beeping instruments surrounding her.

"Mom? /Maddie?" she heard two familiar voices call to her.

The woman looked towards the voices; and seeing the blurry outline of her husband and daughter, she smiled tiredly at them as she whispered, "Hi, there. Sorry, I must have overslept. Don't worry, though. I'll have breakfast fixed up in a jiffy."

Jack and Jazz glanced at each other, before they smiled amusedly, yet tenderly, at Maddie. But it was Jazz who spoke up and replied, "Mom, you're in the hospital. Don't worry about breakfast right now, okay? But are… are you okay?" she added worriedly.

Maddie mentally paused as she tried to take in what her daughter had just said. But it soon hit her and she remembered what had happened. "Oh… Hmm… Now I remember…" She looked directly at her husband and smiled, "Jack, honey, did you get those ghosts?"

Jack smiled back, though there was guilt shining in his eyes. He was about to reply when Jazz cut him off.

"Mom! Forget the ghosts!" she said a little frustrated. "You were hurt last night! Don't you remember?"

Maddie frowned a bit in worry for her daughter, before she shifted her hands to sit up. But when she did, she realized how sore she was. Thankfully, though, Jack readily assisted her.

"Jazz," Maddie said once she was sitting. "I'm fine, honey. Don't look so upset. Besides, it's no big deal." She looked herself over before smiling back calmly at her daughter and adding, "Just a broken arm. I heal fast."

Jazz was torn. She wanted to be angry, but she was relieved at the same time. "Mom, how can you say it was no big deal? You could have been killed!"

Maddie now gave her daughter a bit of a stern look. "Jazz, you need to calm down. You should know by now that getting hurt is always a possibility with the work your father and I do. Trust me, okay? I'm fine."

Jazz nodded quietly, suddenly deflated. But then she smiled at her mom; and coming closer, she gave her a gentle hug, careful to mind her splintered arm.

Maddie returned the hug and stroked her daughter's hair. "I'm sorry I scared you, sweetie."

"I'm just glad you're okay, Mom," she whispered, blinking back tears. She pulled away; and glancing at her dad, she asked, "So, what happened?…Dad said something about some ghosts attacking you and then that the Specter Deflector… malfunctioned?"

Ever since her dad told her that last night---though it was hard to understand all of it from how upset he had been---she had this horrible knot in her stomach. How was it possible that that ghost device could have malfunction? It never had before. And although there was a chance that her father could have dropped it or something similar could have damaged it, Jazz had a feeling it was not her father's fault or random bad luck.

She had already discovered that Vlad had put a camera in the lab. And when Danny's friends had arrived yesterday, Tucker had discovered that the ghost portal had been tampered with---or more specifically, the ecto-filtrator. However, during that time when Tucker was trying to figure out what Vlad had done to it, Jazz had gotten that call from her dad, telling her that her mom had gotten hurt. The three teens had had no choice but to drop everything and head straight for the hospital.

Now, it was morning. Tucker and Sam had left late last night from the hospital since they had school today. But before Danny's friends had departed, they had assured Jazz they would call to see how her mom was and that they—or, rather, Tucker---would continue to work on the bracelet. As for ecto-filtrator, they would have to wait until they had a chance again to get together at Fenton Works without the elder Fentons being there or any other interruptions… But now, after what had happened to her mom, Jazz was determined to have Tucker check one more thing: the Specter Deflector.

Jazz did not realize that the room had fallen silent with her last question until a moment later. She looked back at her mom, and noticed she was glancing worriedly at her dad. But it was her dad that looked distraught. And Jazz knew that he was probably feeling bad, thinking it was his fault for the ghost device's hurting his wife.

Jazz quickly decided it was best to leave them alone.

"Um, listen, I'll be right back. I'm gonna get something to drink at the café, okay?" she said with a small smile. And not waiting for any response, she headed out. The moment that she was out of sight, she pulled out her cell phone and hurriedly dialed Sam's number. She needed to share her suspicions of Vlad's possible involvement with the malfunctioning of the Specter Deflector...

Meanwhile, Jack and Maddie sat in silence for a moment, before the woman spoke up, her voice clearly troubled, "Jack, honey, what's wrong? It's not like you to be so down and… quiet."

"Gosh, Mads, I just feel so bad," Jack said, looking at her with shame. "I don't know what happened to the Specter Deflector. I… I don't even remember even touching it. It had been there on one of the lab counters this whole time… All I can think of is that I might have accidently dropped it on the ground or something… I… Maddie, I'm so sorry!" Jack finished, quickly gripping her good hand as if pleading for her forgiveness.

The woman smiled lovingly at her husband and readily squeezed his hand in comfort. "Oh, Jack, don't be silly. You have nothing to apologize for. I should have known better than to put on the Specter Deflector without properly calibrating and testing it first. Not to mention, I always make sure to bring the key with me; and this time, I left it in the Assault Vehicle." She suddenly sighed sadly as she then added, "I just wanted to catch those birds so badly. Jack, we have to find Phantom. I don't know why, but I just know he's involved in all this somehow. I-I want my baby back, Jack. I want our son home again," she whispered.

Jack nodded, sadness now in his own eyes. "I know, sweet cheeks. And I told you; we are not resting until we find that Phantom kid. And we are definitely not gonna give up until we find Danny. But right now, I'm worried about you… Are you sure you're okay?"

Maddie smiled again and she winked as she replied, "Come on, Jack. You know I can take a hit---or several. My arm will mend in no time. Not that it's gonna stop me from ghost hunting. I'll just probably need an extra hand. And, luckily, that extra hand has always been you."

"Aww, shucks, Maddie," Jack said, chuckling a bit, now feeling a lot better. "But, yeah, I'm pretty good at what I do, huh?"

Maddie chuckled back. "Of course you are, honey." She then sobered up a bit as she asked again one of the questions she had asked when she had first woken up. "So, those ghosts got away, didn't they?"

Jack sighed. "Well, yeah. But I did send them back to their slimy home; so, at least they won't be harassin' anyone else around here for a while."

The woman nodded. "Good." She paused, before she asked another question. "Did the doctor say when I can leave yet?"

Jack smiled. "He said that he just wanted to keep you overnight to make sure you were alright. Luckily, you only have a minor fracture to your hu…um...some part of your arm. He said it would heal in about a month or so."

"So, then I should be able to leave today," she said with a relieved smile; and getting a nod from her husband, she added, "Good, because we need to get back to tracking down Danny Phantom… Or this 'Plasmius' ghost… those specters said that Phantom was with him…"

"Yeah, but we don't know where either of them are. Maybe… Maybe they are in the Ghost Zone… We haven't searched there…"

Maddie frowned. That was true. They had not searched the Ghost Zone. But, then, they had never been in there. It would indeed be very risky. But… if it meant finding Danny…

"You're right, Jack. We are going to have to go in there and find the ghost kid. I just know he's the key to finding Danny."

Jack nodded in agreement. "But it will have to wait until you get better and we check out all the ghost weapons. I'm not letting what happened last night happen ever again. Plus… I was in such a hurry to get you to the hospital that I left some of the weapons back at the scene, including the Specter Deflector… I'm gonna have to go find them. We need to figure out what's wrong with the deflector, though, and fix it."

Maddie nodded back. "Hopefully, the ghost devices are still there. We were in a pretty secluded area of the park. So, chances are that they will be there. Still, the sooner you get out there, the better. Why don't you go now? I'll just have Jazz drive me home and we will meet there."

Jack looked a bit unsure, but then he said, "Well, okay. But let's wait for the doctor to come check you out before I leave, okay?"

Maddie smiled. "Okay, Jack."


Having decided to meet before school, Sam was currently at Tucker's house—or more specifically, in the teenage boy's room. He looked half-asleep, but was still eager to show his female friend what he had found out about the bracelet.

Tucker yawned a bit, before stuffing a piece of bacon in his mouth, courtesy of his mother. Sam, however, waited quietly—yet anxiously—for the desktop computer in her friend's room to boot up.

But recalling Danny's mother, she spoke up. "We need to call Jazz, Tucker, to see if Mrs. Fenton is okay. I know the doctor had said that aside from her broken arm, she was okay, but we better make sure."

"Definitely," Tucker agreed. "It's weird, though, right? How the Specter Deflector messed up, I mean."

"Yeah… weird…," she muttered under her breath, her eyes narrowing in suspicion, but she said nothing else.

Another moment of silence passed, before Tucker spoke again. "You know, we can't really turn this thing on. But I can, at least, bring up its database and the list of all the programs that are on its system," he said, as he linked the black bracelet to his computer via a connecting cable.

It had been very difficult for Tucker to figure out how to expose the bracelet/device's circuitry. The boy had discovered that it was only readily accessible when the device was activated. But it could only be activated by two specific ghostly signatures. And by comparing it to the Boomerang's own data of ghostly signatures, Tucker now knew that those specific signatures were namely Danny's and Vlad's.

So, unable to activate it, Tucker had to literally cut through the priceless black gem that made up the bracelet to get to the circuitry within it. It was a shame, though. The bracelet had been very stylish. But finding out how to help his half-ghost friend was, of course, more important.

"So, there really is no way to activate it, Tucker?" Sam asked, finally speaking up.

Tucker shook his head. "Not without it being on either Vlad or Danny's wrist. But I did find some pretty interesting things on this bracelet or device or whatever it is. Problem is, that the information is in codes. And I can't really read it. I tried several deciphering systems, but nothing matches up with the codes. But then, there are some commands that I did figure out, since they were linked to a program that I did recognize."

"Uh, we don't all speak techno-lingo, Tucker," Sam said with a roll of her eyes. "Can you be more specific?"

Tucker smirked smugly over his shoulder at her, before turning his attention back to the computer. "Okay, look, here is a list of all the commands and programs that are on this 'bracelet thing'," he began pointing at his screen.

Sam frowned when she stared at all the numbers and letters without any form of recognition. "You said you can understand some of it?"

"Well, yeah, I think," Tucker answered. "Look, take this code: 'AudLD01'. Its program is a communication program. And since usually computer codes are abbreviations of the type of program or system it is using, I concluded that this code stands for 'Audio Linked Device…"

"Okay… that kinda makes sense… But what about the numbers?" Sam asked, sounding slightly confused.

"Well, this number '01' shows up on a lot of the commands on this bracelet. And then, there is another number that also shows up just as frequently: '0102'. And this bracelet's actual system has the component number '010203," Tucker said, pointing at the screen as he talked.

"Translation?" Sam asked dryly.

It was Tucker's turn to roll his eyes, but he still answered, "Sam, I think that this bracelet is linked to two other systems. I think it might be linked to that mainframe in Vlad's private lab. I think that because, as I tried to break through Vlad's mainframe security system, the '01' number always showed up on there. But I also think that this bracelet's linked to another device, which has the code of '0102'. See, this bracelet belonged to Danny and its code is 010203. Then, I think it was the last one made. I think the '03' stands for it being the third device on the system. And judging by the command codes, this bracelet is linked to devices '01' and '0102'. Like I said, the '01' is the mainframe. But I don't know what the '0102' is. But it's obviously also linked to the mainframe since it has '01' in its code, too."

"It could be that Vlad has his own device like this one," Sam muttered thoughtfully after a moment. "I mean, if he gave Danny this device, he would want to have something directly on him that could control it at all times."

Tucker shrugged lightly. "That makes sense, but we can't know for sure. But, okay, going back to the code 'AudLD01'---or now, 'Audio linked device to mainframe'. See, it's this code that activates the program that creates a communication link between this bracelet and the mainframe. Then, there's 'AudLD0102'…"

"And that's the communication link between this bracelet and the other device we are not sure about," Sam finished, smiling a bit at figuring out what Tucker was saying.

"Exactly," Tucker said with a smile, but he then he frowned a bit as he continued, "But the codes just keep getting more weird and complicated. See, these two codes: SpecAnt01-010203 and HomoAnt01-010203? Well, they are the command codes for two different programs. But both programs are linked. They kinda look like… I don't know… like…programs you would see on medical devices or something… I can't figure it out…"

Sam bit her lip thoughtfully as she stared at the screen; but then, she smiled as she got a clue on what the codes could mean. "Well, since you're saying that it might have something to do with medical science, then, it's possible that the 'homo' part of the second code stands for 'human'."

Tucker blinked. "How do you figure?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Because unlike you, I pay attention in biology. So, I know that the term 'homo' is the genus that includes modern humans and their close relatives."

Tucker frowned just slightly in irritation; but seeing as her friend might be onto something, he then asked, "Okay, well, what about the 'Ant' part?"

"It's a common acronym for the word 'Anatomy," Sam said with a small smirk. "The code could stand for 'Human Anatomy'. And if I got what you said earlier right, then the code could be the link between the mainframe and this bracelet for this specific program."

Tucker shot the smug girl another annoyed look. "You would have never figured that out unless I had told you that other stuff first…"

Sam's smile widened and she just shrugged in response.

The dark-skinned teen grumbled something, but turned his attention back to the computer screen. But then he smiled as he quickly figured out the first code. "If this second code stands for 'Human Anatomy', then this one stands for 'Spectral Anatomy'. But wait…" Tucker frowned, before looking at Sam, "Why would Vlad have programs like these on this bracelet?"

"Isn't it obvious, Tucker?" Sam said with a scowl. "Danny is half-ghost. So, for some reason, Vlad has been keeping tabs on his human and ghost anatomy."

"But why? I mean, that's kinda creepy," Tucker asked, looking perturbed.

Sam crossed her arms as she answered, "When are the things that Vlad does not creepy, Tucker?"

"Good point," Tucker muttered, before looking back at the computer. "There are literally over one hundred codes and programs, Sam. And, ultimately, we won't be able to figure out what they all mean. Like I said, without being able to activate this bracelet, then it's like trying to use a shut-down computer," he said with a sigh.

Sam sighed herself, before saying, "Well, we have to try, Tucker. I mean, is there nothing that stands out on this thing?"

Tucker frowned in thought. "Well… there is this one code…"

"What is it?" Sam asked, her friend's tone of voice making her anxious again.

The boy quickly scrolled down the list to find what he was talking about. "It's this code: BS-NB 3501. It's obviously linked to the mainframe. But I don't understand what the '35' means. And I definitely don't know what the 'BS-NB' stands for."

"Okay, but what makes this code so special?" Sam asked.

"Because, Sam," he replied, looking at her. "It has no program. Every other code in here has a program directly on this device, which links it back to that mainframe. But this code, BS-NB 3501, is just in here without its corresponding program."

But Sam was still unsure of why this was as significant as Tucker seemed to believe. "I don't get it this time, Tucker."

The boy frowned in thought; but he soon smiled at his friend as he figured out a way to explain it. "Okay, well, you usually turn on a TV with a remote, right? So then, let's say that these codes are remotes and that the programs are the TVs. Each code—or remote---activates---or turns on—its specific program—or TV. But with this 'remote'---'BS-NB 3501'---"

"The TV for it is not in the bracelet," Sam excitedly cut him off when she caught on. But then realizing she was talking like Tucker, she blushed and quickly stuttered out, "Uh, I-I mean, the program for it is missing."

Tucker smiled slightly, but nodded. "Yeah. So, as you can see, I can't even guess what the code means. But I'm sure it has to have a program. And considering that the bracelet is undoubtedly linked to that mainframe in Vlad's lab, then there's a good chance that the mystery program is on that mainframe. For some reason, Vlad only wanted to be able to link the bracelet to the mystery program but not have full access to it through this bracelet."

"But why would…" Sam began, but in the next instant, her words melded into a loud gasp, with Tucker echoing hers with his own, when the bracelet suddenly made a whirling noise.

'"Tucker!" Sam yelled as she abruptly pulled him out of his seat, just as an electric jolt shot out of the bracelet. It then quickly traveled through the cord connecting it to the computer, and instantly blew up the boy's computer.

Tucker and Sam yelped as they turned away from the small explosion. But when they looked back at the smoking mess, they noticed that the bracelet was still intact… And…

The bracelet… was glowing red…


Vlad decided that he should have known better than to think things would continue to go this well for him for too long.

But what George was telling him at the moment was something he had not truly expected. To be told that three human teenagers had intruded into his home---and, of course, he already suspected these 'three teenagers' consisted of Daniel's sister and friends--- was enough to make him not only lose his appetite, but to send a cold wave of dread down his spine.

However, his shock only lasted a second or two.

"What?!"

The ghost cook took a step back from his suddenly furious employer. "I-I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, sir. But I thought you would want to k-know… I don't really know why those human kids showed up, though… "

Vlad didn't realize his eyes were glowing red as he turned his head slightly to the wall adjourning his employees' lounge, "Everyone, get in here right now!" he demanded.

In an instant, the three maids, the butler, and the chauffeur materialized in front of their employer and the cook.

"Is there a reason why all of you failed to inform me of these three intruders until now?" Vlad asked them, his eyes slightly narrowing.

The ghosts looked at each other, but it was George who braved a response. "Well, sir, you came in so late and weary from your extended trip that I thought it was best to leave it until now. We really did our best to get them out as quickly as possible…"

The man's anger slightly settled with the ghost chef's last comment. The billionaire knew it wasn't their fault, and in reality he wasn't really upset with them, but rather, with the occurrence. There was a tense silence as Vlad seemed to attempt to figure out what to do about the appearance of three of Daniel's loved ones…

"Who saw them?" he finally asked, looking back at his employees. And although his eyes were back to their normal blue hue, he still looked angry.

George glanced over at Niane as he hesitated slightly to reply, "Aside from myself, sir? Dazzler…"

"And myself," the youngest maid quietly admitted, looking almost fearfully at her employer.

Vlad instantly locked gaze with the ghost girl. But for some reason, he did not know what to say to her, and returned his eyes back to George as he further inquired. "And where in blazes is Dazzler?"

George tensed even more at the darker tone of voice the man had used to ask for the controlling ghost. Clearly, his employer had another bone to pick with him…

"We don't know, sir," Derek suddenly spoke up, getting his employer's attention. "No one has seen him in the past two days---Or more specifically, since those humans came here."

Vlad paused again in thought. But then abruptly, he looked back at Niane, who all but drew back from his intense gaze. "Tell me, girl. Where exactly did you see them?"

The ghost maid timidly, but readily, answered, "George and I first caught sight of the three humans at the top of the main stairs. But then, the younger of the two human girls ventured into your bottom laboratory, while the older one and the boy went to your…private laboratory…"

Niane's eyebrows creased in uncertainty when she saw the older hybrid's eyes flash red with the news.

Vlad was so angry he felt like breaking something. He really did. But he knew better than to let him emotions slip like that. It was hard, though. But still, he forced himself to think logically through this. And when he remembered that George mentioned 'they' had scared the three 'humans' off, the man frowned deeply, though his voice now held slight curiosity.

"And who am I to thank for getting rid of these three intruders, hmm?" he asked, glancing at George briefly, before looking back at Niane.

But this time, the girl did not answer. No one did.

"Is there a reason why no one is answering me?" Vlad inquired, now sounding more angry than curious again.

"It was I, sir," George blurted out, getting the man's attention. Niane looked at the ghost cook in disbelief, but it was clear she was beyond relieved.

Vlad noticed the ghost cook briefly glance at the younger maid, and he crossed his arms. "You?" he asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "You, George? You alone forced three children who are very well accustomed to seeing ghosts and fighting against ghosts—and who I presumed brought ghost weapons with them and from what you said also brought a dog? You expect me to believe that you handled them all on your own?"

The chef gave him a meek smile. "This old ghost has some fight left in him, you know… Besides," he then added, sobering up, "Dazzler had a hand in it, too."

Surprise quickly replaced the man's skeptical look. But he then readily frowned. "Dazzler? Did he…?"

Understanding what the man wanted to know without his need to voice it, George shook his head, "I am not sure, sir. I did not see what he did. I was busy trying get rid of the girl in the laboratory. I assume he took care of the children in your private lab…"

Vlad didn't reply. Something in all this didn't click. But he was not truly interested in finding out what. Right now, he wanted to find out exactly what those three nosey brats had been up to in his mansion.

Still, he briefly glanced at Niane, who readily looked away. He could tell that she obviously knew more about this than she let on; but for some reason, she did not want him to know it… The man almost frowned when the girl tensed just as he had that thought …

"Niane," he began, getting her attention. But then he paused. And deciding against what he was going to say, shifted his gaze back to all his employees. "All of you. Not a word of this to the boy. Understood?" he said seriously.

Everyone nodded their agreement. And without another word, Vlad walked out of the kitchen, heading towards his bottom lab.

"That was scary," Carl muttered, breaking the silence that had shrouded the ghosts in the kitchen. It had been a while since any of them had seen their employer that angry…

"Well," Martha said with a sigh, "I suppose we should start doing our morning duties..."

Patricia nodded in agreement before she and the other older maid vanished through the lounge wall. At that moment, Carl glanced at Derek and suddenly grinned. "Hey, you want to switch jobs for the day? You can drive Mr. Masters around and I'll attend to the house around here."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Nice try," he muttered, knowing the other ghost was just nervous about being around their fuming employer right now. The ghost butler silently left the kitchen, also phasing through the wall connecting to the employee lounge.

Carl frowned after him; but then quickly followed, calling out as he did, "Derek, wait a minute! Driving is very relaxing. It's good for your health. Really!"

At any other time, George and Niane would have laughed at the two male ghosts. But instead, they soberly stared after them, waiting to be left alone. And it was only then that the youngest maid looked at the ghost chef.

"George, you didn't have to do that. I---"

"It's fine, Niane," he cut her off with a faint smile. "You have never told me what someone like you is doing here, but you must have very powerful reasons. Besides, I don't mind taking the credit for protecting our home---and as you saw, Mr. Masters would not have had it any other way. I think he believed me, anyway."

Niane bit her lip. She knew he had not believed them. He was suspicious of her. But had decided not to say anything about it...

The young maid sighed. "Thank you, George," she just said, before floating up a bit and giving him a friendly kiss on one of his cheeks.

The chef chuckled a bit. "Anytime. Now, I must leave you, I have to prepare something for the young halfa. Problem is, I don't know what since I really don't know when he will wake…"

Niane smiled and nodded, before she vanished to do her own chores.


Vlad slammed his hand against one of the metal tables, effectively denting the metal in his anger. He had already checked the bottom lab for anything that those three brats might have taken. But everything was there. And even if the culprit—or culprits---had gone out of their way to make sure they didn't move things around too much, Vlad knew someone had searched through his things all the same. He could tell because he was very precise with how he kept his things organized.

But he was now in his private lab. And it was even more obvious someone had been in here in his absence. Daniel's male friend---for Vlad knew he was the only one who could do it---had attempted to break through his security system on the mainframe. And by the looks of it, he had almost succeeded.

Vlad did not know what had prevented the boy from accessing all his information on the mainframe, but the man was at least relieved by the fact that it seemed that he didn't succeed. Not only would they have found out how he was forcing the young hybrid to be here, they would have also tried to shut down the mainframe in their attempt to get rid of the nanobots in Jasmine's body. And that would have been disastrous. After all, it was the mainframe that controlled the activation level of the nanobots. And if the mainframe was shut down or destroyed, there would be nothing controlling them and they would surely become fully active…

Jasmine would be done for if that happened.

Vlad frowned, his hand relaxing slightly against the metal table. Even though he had threatened the young hybrid with his sister's demise, he really wasn't looking to cause it. The older hybrid had known that he did not have to really do that in order for Daniel to agree to his ultimatum. It had just been the seal-proof way to get him at his side. So, in the end, assuring the boy that he would end his sister's life was a ruse. He really wouldn't do it. And Vlad knew that he would never have to since Danny would never have dared call his bluff...

"Blasted children. They have no idea with what they were tampering!" Vlad muttered furiously. In his anger, he felt that it would have served them right for them to accidently harm Jasmine in their attempt to help Daniel. It would have taught them why they should not play with things they knew nothing about!

But, internally, he was relieved by whatever prevented them from accessing the mainframe. He knew Maddie would die of heartbreak if one of her children perished. Vlad could never do that to her.

However, it really wasn't the possibility of what those blasted children could have done that had Vlad fuming the most, but it was his discovery of one precise thing.

The bracelet he had given to Daniel was gone.

Vlad was certain they could not activate the device since it was made to only activate in the presence of Daniel's ghost signature. And with further promoting, it would activate with Vlad's signature or with a direct instruction from the mainframe.

Daniel's sister and friends could only discover so much from it without being able to activate it. But it was enough to put the man on the edge. Primarily because it had a direct link to the nanobots in Jasmine's body. After all, one of the reasons Vlad had made the device was to prevent the teen from getting near his sister just in case he tried anything. So, really, it was a good thing for Jasmine that they could not activate the device. Doing so would trigger the command on the device to excite the nanobots. And although it would not kill her, it would make her severely ill…

Vlad needed to do something about that. And he needed to do it now. With that bracelet in their hands, they would not only be one step away from figuring it all out; but if they somehow activated the device, it would both hurt Jasmine and that would mean that they would surely realize the truth.

The thought promptly made the billionaire move to the mainframe. He quickly began to type in several commands, before he suddenly paused. The device had many features and one of them was that it had that tracking system. And according to the radar, the bracelet was not only in Daniel's male friend's home, but it was currently linked to some other device.

Vlad knew then that they had accessed the database on the bracelet.

Suddenly even angrier, the man's eyes flashed red as he quickly typed something into the mainframe again. "They want to play with fire? Then I'll let them get burned," he muttered darkly. And with a final press of a button, he short circuited the bracelet, knowing it would destroy whatever device was currently linked to the bracelet.

And he was right, of course. It was at this precise moment that Tucker's computer exploded.

But then the man opened another program, the one tracking the nanobots within Jasmine's body. And according to it, Jasmine was nowhere near Daniel's device. So, it was probably just the boy's nosey friends that had been tampering with the bracelet. And, fortunately, he could completely make sure that those two children were alone at the moment…

The man suddenly turned into Plasmius; and the expensive, but normal-looking, watch on his own wrist suddenly changed into a glowing red device, looking very much like Daniel's own device when it was activated by his ghost form.

Turning his attention to it, he quickly turned on the scanner. And confirming that there were only two people near the bracelet's vicinity, the man then just as quickly activated the communication system between the bracelet and his own device. As a result, his device glowed even brighter---as had the device that the teens had, now that both devices were linked.

Pressing a button, he raised his device a bit higher to his mouth, before speaking into it….


Sam and Tucker gasped right after the device had begun to glow red. But then, a red beam shot out from it; and moving like a spinning clock hand, quickly scanned the room. And a couple of seconds after, they heard Vlad's voice through the device.

"I would have thought that both of you would have respected your friend's wishes and just let him be," they heard him say. "But, of course, you two have the bad habit of not knowing---how would you brat's say it?—'when to take a hint.'"

Sam was the first to come out of her shock; and suddenly fuming, she marched right up to the device. She didn't know if Vlad would hear her or not, but she still shouted, "We're not stupid, you jerk! We know you are keeping Danny there against his will! And we are not going to rest until we find a way to put an end to your sick schemes!"

A mocking laugh sounded from the device, proving that indeed the man could hear her.

"You're delusional, girl. But I hardly care what you or Daniel's other friend believe," he said with disregard, but his voice quickly darkened. "However, I do care for the fact that you have dared—twice!---to invade my home! I promise you something, Ms. Manson. If any of you three have the audacity of trying that again, it will be the last thing you or they do. Understand?"

Sam looked like her ears were about to smoke from how angry she was.

"We're not afraid of you, Vlad! And if you want us out of your hair, then you better drop your schemes and let Danny come home!"

Before anyone could say anything, a knock at Tucker's door interrupted them.

"Tucker? Is everything okay up there?" they suddenly heard the boy's mom say from outside the door. "I thought I heard something…explode? …You didn't blow your room's light fuses by connecting all your gadgets at once again, did you?"

Tucker gasped, and quickly ran to his door to keep his mom from coming in. "Uh, no, everything's fine. It's just coming from the TV!"

"Well, turn it off! You're going to be late for school," she reprimanded.

"Okay, Mom!" Tucker readily replied, before looking at Sam who had fought to keep quiet while Tucker had been talking to his mom. And Vlad somehow had known they had someone else close by since he had remained silent as well.

But that silence was quickly disrupted by Tucker, who marched up to the glowing bracelet and angrily said at the man on the other end, "Dude, you owe me a computer! And Sam's right! You need to lay off. Danny is not interested in being your evil apprentice! He never has been and never will be! So, why don't you just stop already?! If you really have any sort of creepy feelings for my friend, then you would let him go and leave him alone! You already have done enough damage as it is!"

"As I told you're female friend, Mr. Foley, I do not care whether you both believe Daniel is with me out of choice or not. The point is that he is here, and he is not leaving. You should get use to that fact. As for your computer system, consider it your payment for tampering with my own systems," Vlad replied coolly, before he suddenly sneered, "Foolish children, did you really think you could come here without my knowing it? Not only do you break into my house, but you actually dare to steal from me? I invested a lot of time on that device!"

"Yeah? Consider it a payment for being a jerk," Tucker spat back angrily.

"What's wrong, Vlad?" Sam added, "Are you afraid we're gonna find out the truth? Is that why this device is so important? You had to have given it to Danny for a reason; and because we all know you don't care about anyone but yourself, I know it wasn't a birthday gift out of the kindness of your black heart. And if your thick head hasn't realized it yet, then, yeah, we do know that you gave him that bracelet or whatever it is."

There was another pause, before Vlad spoke again, his tone of voice now calm but cold. "Ms. Manson? Mr. Foley? Tell Jasmine that this is my final warning to her and you both. Stay away from my home and from Daniel. And just to get my point across, I am giving you two exactly ten seconds to get rid of the bracelet. Good-bye."

Sam and Tucker were left in silence as the bracelet abruptly turned black again. What had the man meant by his last comment? But before they could say anything, the device suddenly turned red again, only this time, it was a darker hue. And then… it started to beep.

"Sam…?" Tucker muttered with dread as he finally figured out what Vlad had meant.

And by the way Sam's eyes widened in horror, she clearly had as well. "Tucker!" she shouted, "The bracelet! We have to get it out of here! It's going to explode!"

Tucker finally jolted. And as Sam grabbed the device, he rushed to his window to get it open. But he was so panicked that he couldn't grip the latch with his shaking hands.

"Tucker!" Sam yelled at him, as the beeping got louder and her panic grew.

"I'm trying!" he shouted back, just before he finally shoved open the window.

Sam quickly made sure that there was no one in the streets below, before she threw the beeping bracelet out the window. Reacting just as quickly, she shoved Tucker and herself to the floor.

And just as they covered their heads, a loud boom resonated from outside, shaking the entire house to its foundation. The two teen's yelped as pieces of ceiling came down on them; and they briefly heard Tucker's parents shout in alarm.

Then, as quickly it it had happened, it was over.

Tucker and Sam looked gravely at one another, before getting off the floor. They walked back to the window and just stared at the large crevice now in the middle of the street.

"He was really ticked off at us for going to his house, wasn't he?" Tucker muttered, finally breaking the silence.

"I don't care, Tucker," Sam replied, her hands fisting in anger again. "We just lost the only clue we had!"

Tucker smiled slightly. "Not quite, Sam. I did save the list of codes and programs on my PDA. At least, we have that. Maybe we can figure them out. Maybe we can still find the answer we are looking for somewhere in those codes and programs."

Sam deflated slightly, before nodding.

At that instant, however, Tucker's parents barged into his room, looking horrified. "Are you children alright?" Mr. Foley asked. "There was some type of explosion just outside the house!"

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other, before the boy replied, "Oh, yeah! We heard it! Weird, isn't it? But, yeah, we're fine and---"

"Tucker, what happened to your computer?" his mom cut him off when she noticed the smoking electronic device.

The teenage boy had to keep himself from cringing with the question. "Oh, uh…It, um, fried? Yeah, overuse! I guess I should have listened to you guys about not having it on for so long! But! No time to worry about it now! We're gonna be late for school! And you don't want that!' the boy ranted, before he spotted his book bag, grabbed it, and then grabbed Sam's wrist.

The girl yelped in surprise as she was dragged out of the room. She only barely managed to grab her own book bag on the way out.

"See ya after school!" Tucker said with a large, though nervous, grin. He kissed his mom, before hurriedly adding, "Thanks for breakfast. And don't worry, I'll fix this mess when I get back! See ya!"

"Bye!" Sam quickly said, waving at her friend's parents as she was dragged away.

Mrs. and Mr. Foley blinked after the two teens, too startled by their sudden departure to find anything to say to them…

When Danny's friends made it outside, they cringed at the mess caused by the explosion. But Sam quickly pursed her lips, before saying, "Come on, Tucker."

Tucker frowned as his friend began to walk the opposite way of school. "Sam, where are you going? School is that way."

"Forget school, Tucker. We have to find Jazz and tell her what happened. That, and we need to find out exactly why Vlad has been messing with the Fenton's lab. That jerk thinks he so smart, but he doesn't realize that has left his dirty fingerprints all over the place. Now, it's all a matter of gathering them and putting this puzzle together. His schemes have to end now. For everyone's sake," she said seriously.

Tucker knew they were going to get into trouble for missing school. But his friend was right; this was more important. "Okay, let's go," he said as he quickly caught up with her.

But right then, Sam's cell phone went off. And looking at the caller ID, she knew it was just the person she had just been about to call: Jazz.


"System '010203' self-destruction completed," Vlad read on the mainframe screen, before he pressed his hands against the consol and sighed deeply.

"I should have guessed they would never buy Daniel's act---at least, not completely," he muttered quietly, as he recalled how good of an act the teen had put on. He briefly closed his eyes as he tried to subdue the rest of his anger, frustration, and… worry over these turn of events.

But then a sudden thought came to mind. One that, for some reason, scared him more than he could understand. Had…Daniel been involved in his friends and sister's attempts? Could he have known somehow? And perhaps his change in attitude with him was indeed a trick… A trick to distract him while his friends and sister put their plans into action…?

Vlad's eyebrow creased before he shook his head in denial. "No, he could not have known," he said quietly. He glanced up at the mainframe as he continued, "I told Daniel about the trip to Germany a few days before we left. He could not have possibly alerted Jasmine and his friends of our absence for those four days…"

Yes, that was right. Plus, there was no way for the boy to talk to them. He had blocked his internet connection a while back. And he would know if the boy used one of the phones in the castle…And… Had the boy brought his cell phone?

Vlad bit his lower lip nervously. He didn't know the answer to that…

The man stayed silent as his thoughts circled in his mind over and over again. But not being able to come to any solid conclusions over anything, he sighed again. This was just prefect. Now, not only was he troubled with the fact that Daniel's friends and sister were a little too close to the truth than they knew and he had originally thought, but now he was greatly suspicious of Daniel again. What were the chances that just when the boy decided to call a truce, his friends and sister would break into their house and take the bracelet several weeks later?

Vlad turned his attention back to the mainframe and pulled up a file. He had installed a camera in the boy's room sometime back after Jasmine and those other brats had uncovered Daniel's whereabouts. He pulled up the last three days to see if anything had triggered the sensor that would automatically turn on the camera. And as he had expected, an image of Jasmine, Ms. Manson, and Mr. Foley sneaking into the castle through the boy's upper lounge began to show on the screen. It was only a visual recording, but the man hardly needed to hear them to know what they were planning on doing.

Suddenly angry again, the billionaire abruptly terminated the feed. What good would it do to watch it anyways? What was done was done. This was what he got for being so careless! How foolish of him to just leave Daniel's bracelet in plain sight! And furthermore, he should have activated the human shield before he left!

The man's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden ring of his cell phone. He slightly groaned, remembering he had just been about to head out to DALV before finding out about this.

He pulled out the phone; and while he massaged his temple, trying to ease the sharp headache he now had, he muttered, "Hello?"

As he figured, it was his secretary.

"Hmm…No, I'm fine. Just a bit tired…Stephanie, I have a favor to ask of you," he suddenly said with a sigh. And hearing her agreement, he said, "You see, I'm running a bit late; so I will not be able to stop by at DALV. I have that meeting at the Vazier branch in about an hour, as you know. So, is it possible for you to come by to pick up those documents from the closure? I know you are leaving for a trip early tomorrow… But…"

The man closed his eyes in relief as his secretary assured him it wouldn't be a problem. "Thank you, Stephanie. You truly are indispensible." The man faintly smiled at her reply, before he said, "Alright. Just come by when you can. I should be back at my castle by noon… Very well. Ta."

Vlad hung up with a sigh, before looking back at the mainframe. So much for a good day. And the worst part was that he had no means of easing his anxiety. Although he had destroyed the bracelet, he could only hope that Daniel's friends were not able to find out too much from it. But he hardly had time to go to Amity Park any time soon to find out. So then…

"Wait a minute," he muttered, as he recalled something. "Didn't I tell those blasted vultures to keep an eye on those nosey brats?"

He growled in irritation at the three vultures' unreliability. And to his growing frustration, he couldn't even ask Skulker to find them for him---being that they were no longer allies…

The thought of the hunter made Vlad briefly frown with some unknown emotion. But the thought triggered another, and he suddenly looked over at the instruments under the white cover on one of the far tables. Vlad quickly walked over to them; and checking under the cover, he sighed in relief to see his project had not been tampered with…

He lowered the cover and returned back to the mainframe. He quickly turned the screens off, before walking out of the lab. He would have to figure out what to do about Daniel's friends and sister when he returned from his meeting. After all, he couldn't leave one thing unattended for another…


It was past eleven AM when Danny finally stirred. With a yawn, the teen sat up and stretched. Right after, however, he blinked at the sight of his room. How had he gotten here? All he vaguely remembered was making it to Vlad's car…

Still feeling groggy, he lightly shrugged it off and yawned again. It was too early to ask his mind to recall anything right now. And luckily, he would not have to until tomorrow, since Ms. Thomas would not be giving him classes again until then.

He briefly glanced at the clock and realized that it wasn't as early as he thought. Still, it did not surprise him. After all, they had gotten back an hour or two before dawn…

He passed a hand through his messy hair, before finally moving off his bed and going to the bathroom. A nice shower would wake him right up.

A good fifteen minutes later, Danny was freshened up and indeed fully awake. He finally noticed that his room was dark since the curtains were still closed and all the lights were still off. Well, except for the light coming from his dresser… But wait. He didn't have a lamp on the dresser…

Danny instantly turned his attention to that piece of furniture, and his eyes widened with wonder when he realized that what was glowing was the water globe Vlad had given him. Apparently, the man had placed it there for him.

Seeing the glowing then triggered the memory of what Vlad had said to him when he had first opened the box. Something about understanding why it glowed when the lights were off…

He understood alright.

In the current darkness, the miniature city of Berlin within the globe was sparkling, making it look just how the actual city did at night. And what was more amazing was that tiny fiber optics surrounding the glass dome twinkled, like the stars. The illusion was perfect. Danny had never seen anything like it…

A small smile curved the boy's lips as he moved to the dresser and quietly inspected the glowing water globe. It had felt strange when Vlad had given him this…And yet he had not felt any desire to reject the gift. Maybe that's why it had felt strange. Or maybe because he had never thought that the older hybrid would give him something so…simple?

It was hard to explain. Obviously, the globe itself was far from simple and it definitely wasn't just any cheap, common gift shop globe. It had been specifically made for him. But Danny had been surprised to have Vlad give him something like this. It didn't seem like something he would give him… Or maybe he felt like that because this was the first time Vlad had ever given him something with no other purpose but to give him something. A simple gift. No deeper meaning. No ulterior motives. No strings attached. Just an honest gift.

That's why the boy had felt no reason to reject it. He had gladly accepted it because he was sure Vlad had just wanted to simply and sincerely give this to him. Nothing else.

The boy's smile slightly widened. He didn't know if this meant anything, but he didn't want to think about it. He was feeling too lighthearted to attempt to dive into the doubts that still plagued him over what he was doing. They had greatly settled over the past weeks; but nevertheless, they were still there…

The boy suddenly shook his head, before finally moving away from the globe and heading to the window. He readily drew open the curtains, allowing the sun's light to finally brighten his room. He briefly stared thoughtfully at the view outside, before looking back at the globe. And although it had changed back to its day look, he smiled at it again, before suddenly turning into Danny Phantom.

He turned intangible and flew out of his bedroom door, heading downstairs. He was kind of surprised with the sudden desire to go greet Vlad's ghost employees. Then again, they had grown on him considerably since he came here.

But he was also hungry. And he also needed to find Vlad. He had not really used his ghost powers in the past four days and he was feeling slightly… eager to waste some energy as well as practice some more of what the older hybrid had been teaching him...

As he neared the kitchen, a mischievous grin grew on his face with a sudden idea. He turned invisible, before flying into the kitchen. And spotting the unsuspecting George cleaning one of the kitchen counters and humming to himself, the teen quickly flew up to him

"Boo!" Danny exclaimed in his ear.

With a gasp, the ghost chef all but jumped out of his ghost skin, before turning to face the sudden voice.

The ghost's surprise melted into a half-annoyed, half amused look when he saw the young hybrid, floating a few feet off the ground, laughing.

"If I wasn't a ghost you would have given me a heart attack, young halfa," George said with a shake of his head. But then, he turned to the fridge and pulled out a prepared glass of fruit smoothie and handed it to the boy with a knowing smirk.

Danny chuckled as he landed on the floor and accepted the drink. "Then it's a good thing you're a ghost, George," he retorted before taking a sip of the drink. It tasted really good and his empty stomach sure wasn't complaining.

"So, how was the trip?" the ghost chef asked, ruffling the teen's white hair as he moved passed him to pull out some items from one of the cupboards.

"It was fun," the teen replied truthfully. But the question made him remember one of his own. "Hey, George, do you know where Vlad is?"

George paused as he grabbed a container of seasoning. And because he was facing the cupboard, Danny didn't see the brief frown that fell on the ghost's face with the mention of his employer. The chef really did not know who those three humans were, but he had a feeling they were connected to the young halfa. Why else would his employer forbid them from mentioning their intrusion to the child?

But George planned on honoring his employer's wishes; not only because he respected him, but because he did not want to see the halfas fighting again. It would be a shame to throw away their efforts because of something like this. Besides, it wasn't as if the child was not being cared for here, anyways…

"Uh, George?" Danny asked, curiously, when he did not get a response.

The chef finally turned to him and smiled calmly, "Sorry, young halfa I was thinking. As for your question, Mr. Masters left early this morning. He had a meeting of some sort."

"Jeez, he can't stay still for long, can he?" Danny murmured mostly to himself.

But having caught the comment, George chuckled. Still, he said no more on the subject, and instead asked, "So, do you want brunch or would you rather wait about an hour for lunch?"

Danny took a big gulp of his smoothie before shaking his head. "I'll wait for lunch. This---which, by the way, is really good---will hold me till then," he said, referring to his drink.

"Well, alright. But then, do you have anything in particular you want for lunch?"

Danny smirked. "I want a sandwich. Think you can manage it, George?"

The ghost rolled his eyes, knowing that the boy had picked something that simple mostly to annoy him. But since he was now a little more use to making such simple things since the young halfa seemed to like them, he nodded. "I think I can handle it. But what kind?"

Danny shrugged lightly, though his clever grin widened with his reply. "Surprise me."

George chuckled again, but just nodded.

The teen took one final swig of his drink, before setting the cup down on the counter. And with a playful salute to the cook, he finally left the kitchen, phasing through the wall connecting to the employee lounge.

On the other side, Danny smiled as he quickly caught sight of the three ghost maids, who had by now finished their morning work. However, only the two eldest maids noticed his entrance since they were sitting on a couch that faced the boy, while Niane was sitting on another couch with her back to the young half-ghost.

But seeing Martha about to greet him, Danny quickly placed a finger against his lips, silently telling her not to say anything. The maid quickly closed her mouth, but she and Patricia couldn't keep from chuckling a bit, already guessing what the boy was up to.

This caught Niane's attention. And with a confused frown, she turned her head, having noticed her 'sisters' glancing at something there. But when she looked back, there was nothing there. The younger ghost turned her red eyes back to Martha and Patricia, before asking, "What's so f---?" But her question melded into a surprised squeak when her eyes were suddenly covered from behind.

"Guess who?" Danny asked, though he tried to make his voice sound deeper to mask his actual voice.

But Niane already knew it was he. "Hello, Master Danny," she greeted him, an amused smile on her face in spite of her eyes still being covered.

Danny frowned before quickly floating around the couch to face her. "How'd you know it was me?" he asked, honestly curious.

Niane smirked at him as she pointed at his white ghost gloves, before adding, "Among other things…"

Danny huffed in mock annoyance. But then he gave her a secretive look as he asked, "You busy?"

If the ghost girl could blush, she probably would have. Instead, she slowly shook her head and hesitantly replied, "Not really… Why?"

Danny smile widened. "Because I'm bored and I wanted to know if you'd hang out with me for a little while."

Niane quickly lowered her gaze, her fingers playing nervously with her dress as she debated something with herself. But she then glanced up again, though her eyes focused on Martha and Patricia, who nodded encouragingly at her.

It was enough for her to finally decide. Niane smiled at the boy; and with a nod, replied, "Alright."

"Great! Come on!" Danny exclaimed, before quickly flying straight through the ceiling.

Niane giggled at his actions, for once actually sounding like, well, a teenage girl. And without further prompting, she followed after him. But when she finally reached the outside of the house, where the sun was brightly declaring it was midday, she spotted the young hybrid waiting for her there.

Danny raised an eyebrow at her, before a challenging grin grew on his face. "I'll race you to the forest?"

Niane smirked at him. "If you insist, Master Danny," she quirked, before abruptly taking off.

"Hey!" the boy instantly protested, before shooting after her. "I wasn't ready!"

But the ghost girl just laughed back at him. "Looks like you finally met your match, Master Danny," she called back at him, before picking up speed.

"Ha! You wish!" Danny yelled at her, before pouring forth all his speed.

From how fast they had been going, it didn't take them long to reach the young hybrid's favorite spot near the large stream coursing through the older hybrid's property. Ultimately, the small race had been a tie, since Danny had been able to catch up to Niane. But the boy was particularly impressed that she had been able to match his speed. He had yet to meet anyone faster than he; and even rarer to find someone as fast…

He would definitely have to race Niane again in the future.

But for now, the ghost boy and ghost girl had settled down on top of some good-sized rocks that were situated just on the edge of the stream.

"You know, I have never been out here before," Niane commented as she leaned forward and placed one of her hands in the water, a thoughtful look on her face.

Danny raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Really?"

The ghost maid lightly shrugged as she directed a small smile at the boy. "I have other things to worry about than the scenery, I suppose. But I see why you enjoy coming here. It is quite a soothing place."

Danny nodded as he looked around the forest. "Yeah, it is. And I kinda understand what you mean. I also don't usually have time to go to some place like this and relax. I mean, when I was back home…" The teen paused as his gaze fell on the stream. "I'm actually not much of a nature person… But this place… This place is nice."

Niane just stared thoughtfully at him for a moment. But she suddenly spoke again. "Master Danny? I have heard much about you… May I ask? How did you become…?"

"Half-ghost?" he finished for her, smiling. He quickly began to tell her the story about what his parents did and about the portal and how it wouldn't function at first. He told her how he and his friends had gotten curious about it and how Sam had encouraged him to check it out. He then told her how he had gone in and that he had accidently turned it on…

"I don't think I've ever been in so much pain in my life," he commented, almost shuddering. "Anyways, my parents had not been home that day, but my sister was. So, when she heard me scream, she came running to the lab. My friends said that when I came out of the portal I was in my ghost form, but I quickly changed back. I guess I was really weak or something. Point is, when Jazz got there she just saw 'regular' me looking ready to pass out. And I really was. I felt so sick and weak. I kinda remember my sister helping me to my room and telling my friends to go home. When I got to my room, I finally passed out…."

Danny paused as he thought about something, but then he continued, "I'm not really sure how long I was out… But when I finally woke up, I first realized I was no longer in my room, but back in my parents' lab. I kinda later found out that I had phased through my bed; and since the lab is right below my room… Well, that's how I ended up there. Anyhow, when I woke up, I still felt pretty bad. But when I suddenly felt all tingly, I went over to a mirror in the lab. Yeah… That's when I finally found out and saw this," he ended, pointing at his current ghost form.

Niane smiled a bit at him. "My…That's quite a story…You must have been quite shocked to discover your new self."

"Yeah, I was shocked," he readily agreed; but then he suddenly laughed. "And literally, too!"

Niane laughed softly at his witty comment, before asking, "So, what happen next? Did you readily choose to do what you do?"

Danny's smile fell and the ghost maid quickly knew she had said something wrong…

"You mean, what I did," he muttered with a sigh. But then he shook his head. "I guess it was mostly because I thought it was the right thing to do. I mean, there are only two things you can do when you are suddenly given the power to, well, practically change the world…"

"And those two things are?" Niane prompted.

Danny looked up at her. "You can either change the world for better or for worse. I decided to use my powers for good; to fight against evil; against any ghost who wants to hurt innocent people. I…I don't regret that. I don't think I ever could. I know it was the right choice. But, I don't know…," he said, his gaze slipping away. "It seems every time I try to do the right thing, it is someone close to me that ends up paying for it. I mean, if it was just me then I wouldn't mind so much; but my actions somehow end up affecting my family and friends… and it's not fair, you know? I thought I had this responsibility of fighting against the bad ghosts that threaten my real home. That it was my responsibility because I have the power to stop them and I was the one who activated the ghost portal, which is mostly where these ghosts get out from. But… now… now I'm not so sure if it really is my responsibility… If I made the right choice. I mean…I'm just a kid…"

Niane's eyebrows creased in sympathy. "Perhaps…But you are a very special boy. And I must say that you made a mature and brave choice. Not everyone chooses the right path so readily, being that very often the right path is the harder path."

"Yeah, well. No one ever mentioned it was also a dead end," Danny replied bitterly.

"A dead end?" she repeated, tilting her head slightly. "Perhaps you think so because you are momentarily lost on this so called path…"

"Maybe," he replied sadly. "I guess I never expected to end up…here. Niane… do you believe everything has a purpose?"

The ghost maid looked away briefly; but when she turned her red eyes back to him, she nodded. "I do."

Danny stared soberly at the girl for a moment, before further saying, "I once told you that Vlad was evil. And you replied that just because he was evil in my eyes didn't mean he was evil in everyone else's. I'm pretty sure you were including yourself in that 'everyone else's' See, I…think I know the purpose of why I ended up here. I think I can help Vlad. I think it's the right thing to do; or at least, try to do. But… it's hard for me to see pass all the evil he has done and is still kinda doing. So, I need to know. Why are you so sure he's not evil?"

Niane's gaze saddened as she silently gazed at the stream for a moment. She really shouldn't be talking about this to the boy, but she felt compelled to do so.

"I'm sure that he's not evil because when I first saw him, he wasn't."

Danny's eyebrows creased. "You mean when you first met him in the Ghost Zone? He told me about that."

The ghost maid looked at him again, but didn't seem surprised by the news. "You said it was hard for you to see past his evil deeds. Well, that's just it, isn't it? For some reason, he was not like you. He didn't readily pick the right path. So, then, I ask you. What makes someone truly evil? His choices? But can't a person change his choices?"

Danny nodded, somewhat understanding what she was trying to say. She also believed Vlad could change.

"I suppose it's easier for me to see past what he has become because I knew him before he choose such a sad path. He wasn't evil. He isn't evil... He has just forgotten who he once was."

Danny sighed deeply. "Well… looks like I'll have to get him to remember." He smiled at Niane as he added, "Thanks for telling me all that. It really helps me."

"No, Master Danny. Thank you. You are a very noble person. Very few can find it in their hearts to forgive---let alone help---someone who has hurt them."

But Danny didn't reply.

Niane's eyebrow creased again with sympathy. "You miss your loved ones greatly."

Although it was more of a comment than a question, the boy nodded. "Yeah. And more than I could ever explain," he said sadly, his eyes returning to the stream. "Everything I see, everywhere I go; there is always something that reminds me of them. Sometimes I think I'm going to go crazy from it…," he told her in a whisper.

But the teen abruptly shook his head. "It doesn't matter, though. It's not like I can do anything about it," he said bitterly, leaning forward and picking up a pebble from the bed of the stream. "I'll never be able to go home. And after everything, maybe I don't deserve to. At least, I know I don't deserve to ever see them again." And with the last comment, he angrily threw the pebble as far down the stream as he could. He still vividly remembered how he had treated his sister and friends after they discovered his being here...

"Oh, no," Niane said worriedly, getting the boy's attention. "Master Danny, you must be careful. If you truly believe that everything has a purpose, then you must stay strong, or else you could lose yourself in all this. As for your loved ones, of course you deserve to see them and much more. You deserve to be happy."

Danny gave her a small sad smile, now realizing why it was so easy to talk to the ghost girl about almost anything. "You…You remind me of my sister. That's something she would say."

The ghost maid returned the smile. "She's a good sister, then."

The teen nodded. "Yeah, she is."

"And you're a good brother," Niane added.

Danny frowned in confusion at her. "How would you know that?"

The maid's smile widened. "Because anyone can see how much you love her."

The young hybrid nodded his agreement again. Of course he loved Jazz. After all, he gave up his former life for her. And that's something he would never regret and would readily do for her and all his loved ones as many times as necessary.

But thinking about them was so painful for him. And he didn't want to feel down right now. He had been feeling very lighthearted up till now. Maybe it was better to cut this conversation off here, before it made him feel too sad. He didn't want to be sad.

Danny sighed his emotions away, before raising an eyebrow at Niane, who was staring curiously at his sudden change in demeanor.

"Alright. I told you about me. Now, you gotta tell me about you," he told her with a small smirk. He had not planned this; but he was now glad she had asked him about himself. It was now the perfect opening to get the girl to finally satisfy his own curiosity about her.

But Niane frowned a bit at him. "What do you want to know? You said Master Plasmius told you about how we met in the Ghost Zone. And I'm simply a maid here…"

Danny studied her briefly before he asked, "Did you really save Vlad from three ghosts when you two met?"

The ghost maid shrugged lightly. "If you want to call it that."

"You fought them?" the teen continued.

Niane suddenly chuckled. "No, I hardly raised a hand. I suppose they got bored after seeing the poor boy fall unconscious." But seeing Danny give her an odd look, she elaborated, "Well, he was a boy back then, anyways. Point is, they left and I just waited for him to wake up to make sure he was alright. Between you and me, he was terrified when he first saw me. Not that I blame him, since he had just been attacked by three other ghosts."

Danny smiled slightly, but something about all that just didn't click for him. Still, he decided to ask another question, one he had been thinking about for a while now. "Niane, what did you do before you met Vlad and came to work for him?"

Niane looked a bit startled by the question, but she still replied, "I was just in the Ghost Zone…"

"No, I know that," Danny said, shaking his head a bit. "I mean, everyone, even ghosts, has a past, right?"

"Oh," she replied, her gaze falling to the stream, having finally understood what it was he was really asking. "Well…that's…that's complicated, Master Danny."

"Complicated?" Danny repeated, his tone of voice urging her to elaborate. But when she did not, the boy frowned. Vlad was right. Niane really was secretive when it came to herself…

Although he was slightly put off that she wouldn't tell him anything about her, Danny decided it was best to not force her to do so. "It's alright. You don't have to tell me," he mumbled quietly, now also looking out at the stream.

However, the long silence had the teen's thoughts drift slightly, enough for him to remember what had happened to him there in the forest not too long ago…

Danny sighed, not realizing that it had come out shakily. But Niane had and she quickly looked at him, worriedly asking, "Are you alright?"

The boy slowly nodded, as he turned his gaze to her. "Yeah, I was just… thinking." But the truth was that he was trying not to think. He didn't want to recall what had happened to him. It filled him with this illogical feeling of panic…

"I'm sorry, Master Danny," she suddenly sadly said. She really felt bad for him. And she felt bad for having to drive his loved ones away, even if it had to be done.

"For what?" he asked, confused.

"A lot of things," she admitted, looking at him. "But, at the moment, for ruining your cheerful mood. It was not my intention."

Danny smiled. "It's okay. I kinda needed to get that out of my system. I haven't really been able to talk about any of this to anyone. And it's nice to finally be able to. That's another reason why you remind me of my sister."

Niane smiled warmly back. "I wouldn't mind hearing more about her…"

The boy's spirits rose a bit more. Telling someone about how special his sister was was something he did not mind doing at all. And he readily began to tell Niane all about Jazz.


It was about twelve-thirty in the afternoon when Vlad finally got back from his meeting. He sighed deeply, glad to be home. Everything had gone well in spite of the fact that it had been hard to concentrate.

But on the drive back, he had finally allowed himself to think about his current problems. All of them had been caused by his own hesitation; and, lately, his lack of proper planning. And then it dawned on the billionaire that he had been making one stupidity after another ever since Walker's attack on Daniel.

And even when Vlad now realized all this, he still was hesitant to form any kind of plan. But then, when he tried to force himself to come up with some kind--any kind--of plan, any semblance of one that he formed shattered in his mind as his thoughts returned to one thing or, rather, one person:

Daniel.

He had had everything set up before the boy's unexpected change. And the first part of his plan had gone well. When he had first decided to use Jasmine to get the boy at his side, Vlad had been determined to make the boy submit. But then when he succeeded, he had felt bad for it. He had hated to see the teen so broken.

Still, he had proceeded with the second part of his plan. And it was also supposed to have been simple. He had convinced Jack to enter the Ghost Zone with the belief that Phantom had his son. Vlad had set up everything in the Fenton's lab for it, too. Something Vlad had all but forgotten until now, now that he was thinking about it…

Knowing Jack was more often than not a terrible ghost hunter, Vlad had simply disabled the Specter Deflector: the only device that could have truly protected the man. But simply destroying it had not been as promising as inverting a few connections to make it repel humans instead of ghosts---and that's exactly what the older hybrid had done. Then the hidden camera in the lab was to watch his enemy's moves. And finally, his insertion of a new ecto-filtrator containing a control chip had been to have control of the Fenton portal so that Vlad could make sure Jack could not get back once he went into the Ghost Zone.

It had all been a matter of waiting for the fat oaf to fall into his trap. And once he had, Vlad had planned on returning Daniel to Maddie, claiming he had found the boy. She would still be upset over her husband's lost, of course. But she would also be immensely happy and grateful of Vlad for giving her Daniel back. It would have been the perfect way to gain her trust, and eventually, her love…

But then, those nosey brats had to find out about Daniel's being with him.

So, letting Fright Knight simply dispose of Jack was instantly out of the question. He doubted Jasmine would keep quiet about his and Daniel's secrets if he caused her father's demise.

And yet, now that Vlad thought about it, he was glad that he had been forced to call off that plan. Before, he had not cared that Daniel hated him. If the billionaire would have caused Jack's demise, Danny, obviously would have at least suspected him of being responsible for it. But it's not like Daniel could ever have proved it or done much about it. After all, once someone was gone, nothing could be done to bring that person back…

So, no, he had not cared what the boy thought. Why should he have? Daniel already hated him anyways. But now… now things were different. Now, Vlad cared what Daniel thought—or more specifically, he cared whether the boy hated him or not. He didn't want the younger hybrid to hate him again…

And yet, Vlad knew if the boy found out everything that was going on in Amity Park, he probably would despise him even more than before... But what to do now? He wasn't about to let Daniel go, especially not now. But what was he going to do about the rest of his plans? He still wanted Maddie. How was he to get her without losing Daniel? And what about Jack?

Vlad's latest plan regarding his enemy, then, was no longer to cause his demise, but to simply get the man out of the way. He had heard of a powerful artifact in the Ghost Zone; and after searching for several months--way before he decided to force Daniel at his side---he had found evidence of its existence—or more specifically, he had found evidence of a scroll that depicted the exact location of this other relic… But he had not had time to pursue this artifact. Well, until now.

And so, about a month ago, he had sent Fright Knight on a specific mission. He was to retrieve this scroll for him. But since then, so much had happened with Daniel…

Fright Knight had not returned yet. And, honestly, Vlad did not know if he wanted him to. Because when the ghost did, it meant he would have to finally decide. Would he move forward with his plan to find and use this artifact against Jack? Or would he not?

But if he did not, how was he to win Maddie? And if he did, how was he to do it without losing Daniel?

Vlad groaned when he realized that his thoughts had come back full circle. This was absurd! And worse, he had realized that there was not really anything he could do about Daniel's friends and sisters without it bringing serious repercussions.

He was at a standstill.

The billionaire sighed deeply as he headed up to his private study. When he got there, he set down his suitcase and glanced towards his fireplace. He would have to find some solution to all this. But he was too drained from the lack of sleep, his work, and mostly his circling thoughts, to even try right now. Perhaps after lunch…and perhaps after he saw Daniel…

Part of him wanted to see the boy, but another part wanted to avoid him. After all, Daniel was the reason he was having such a mental dispute with himself. Not to mention that after his friends and sister's intrusion two days ago, he was still worried that Daniel might have known about it after all. And that his change in attitude was only a trick…

Vlad sighed sadly, before he turned and headed back out of his study. He couldn't even describe the pain that he felt at merely thinking that the boy was just playing with him. Now, if he were ever to find out that it was true… He didn't know what he would do.

As he finally made it back down the main stairs, planning on heading to the kitchen, a voice calling him from behind made him instantly freeze in his tracks.

"My liege?"

Vlad could have laughed at the cruel irony of it all. Instead, he just sighed and turned towards the ghost. "Fright Knight."

The ghost gave him a strange look, but then floated closer. "I have retrieved for you the Ancients' Scroll of Order. It was indeed where you presumed. Though I must admit, it was more than difficult to find it in such a deceiving maze as is the Dark Forest."

The billionaire moved a little closer to Fright Knight as the ghost pulled out a rolled up glowing, silver scroll.

Vlad's eyes widened in awe. And at that moment, he all but forgot his dark purpose for this seemingly harmless ghostly parchment. The man had always been a sucker for unique artifacts, whether they were ghost or human. It was why he loved collecting them as much as finding a good use for them. The Crown of Fire, the Skeleton key, were just two of the couple of ghostly artifacts he had collected in his years as a ghost. And now, he had this scroll... And if the legends were true, it would further lead him to an even more priceless ghostly relic…

"It's beautiful," he whispered as he accepted the rolled-up scroll as delicately as if it were a new-born infant. The man ran one of his fingers against the unbroken red seal that was keeping the silver scroll in its rolled-up state. But as he did, the scroll's white aura flared red, as if perceiving his touch and Vlad suddenly shuddered at the strange sensation that suddenly passed through his body.

"My liege?" Fright Knight spoke up, sounding apprehensive. "Do you truly plan on seeking that powerful artifact? At the very least, it will be dangerous retrieving it…"

Vlad slowly nodded, still looking almost mesmerized by the silver scroll. But then, as if he snapped out of it, he looked up at his ally and dismissively answered, "Yes. Well, then I will have to tread carefully, hmm? Besides, you have nothing to be concerned about. This is something I plan on retrieving myself."

Fright Knight quietly nodded as he watched the man carefully slip the scroll into one of his suit's inner pockets.

The older half-ghost opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could even get another word out, a familiar feeling instantly made him forget everything. The man eyes darted to the top of the stairs just as a laughing Danny and Niane phased through the ceiling.

The young hybrid almost instantly noticed Vlad and Fright Knight; and his amusement and smile melted away just as quickly. He didn't even see Niane oddly cringe at the sight of her employer and the teen barely heard her say, "I best go tend to my duties now…"

Danny just stared soberly at his two enemies as the ghost maid vanished from his side.

Mentally cursing his continuous bad luck today, and already having a good idea of what the boy was thinking, Vlad quickly thought of what to say.

"Daniel…," Vlad said, forcing a small smile on his face. "I apologize for leaving this morning without---"

"Don't worry about it," the teen cut him off, his voice colder than ice.

Danny redirected his stare at Fright Knight, who was silently glaring at him. But the boy did not react to his hostility. Instead, he turned human and walked down the stairs.

But when Vlad saw that the boy was planning to leave without saying anything else, he quickly asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving so you two can continue scheming," Danny replied with angry sarcasm as he walked around his two enemies.

Vlad frowned deeply. "Daniel, wait. You don't know---"

"Save it, Vlad. I don't care," Danny interrupted again, pausing only to look at the man with a serious expression.

Vlad's eyebrows creased as he watched the teen walk off towards the back of the house.

"Sire? You were saying?" Fright Knight suddenly said, staring at his employer with a strange look again.

Vlad sighed, before soberly looking at his ally. "Thank you for retrieving the Ancients' Scroll of Order, Fright Knight. But that will be all. I…I will let you know if I require your services again."

"Of course, my lord," Fright Knight replied, bowing slightly.

Vlad watched as the ghost knight phased right through the bottom lab's door. And knowing that Fright Knight hardly liked staying out in the human world for long, the man knew he was returning to his abode in the Ghost Zone.

Vlad's eyes turned in the direction Danny had left. He wanted to go after him, but what was he going to say? The boy's assumption was practically the correct one, save for that, now, the billionaire wasn't sure if he was going to carry on with his plans…

"Mr. Masters?" Derek suddenly interrupted the man's thoughts.

"Yes?" Vlad asked, sounding tired.

"George wanted me to inform you and the young hybrid that lunch is ready."

Vlad nodded. "We'll be there in a moment," he replied, before the man turned, and followed after the boy's footsteps…


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