Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom, I'm a big fan and was feeling nostalgic.

Note (10/8/2018): Don't let the chapter name fool you, I have something very special in mind so be sure to pay close attention...it's important.


Chapter 51: Let Me Save You

(Chapter inspired by Monsters by Katie Sky)


Danny's POV

At first, I honestly had no idea what Vlad meant by 'something more suitable' until I realized he was talking about my hazmat suit. So, I transformed after finishing my breakfast and cleared my throat to let him know I was ready. Vlad had long since finished his own and even though he was pretending to I could tell that Vlad wasn't reading his newspaper since his eyes weren't moving at all. And then there was also that sly grin on his face, a grin that Vlad wasn't even trying to hide anymore.

Who knew it would be so easy to get him so excited? Then again, Vlad's been wanting this almost as much as I have ever since we met. That didn't make that smile of his any less creepy though. It was like Vlad was already daydreaming about all of the things we were going to do together from now on. Well, all I can say to that is it's a good thing taking over the world isn't on his to-do list anymore, because I didn't want any part of that nonsense.

And here he thought my hero complex was childish...

After clearing my throat again more loudly, I put my hands on my hips and gave him a look, asking, "So, are we doing this or what?"

Raising an eye brow at me, Vlad neatly folded his paper and set it aside before explaining with a light chuckle, "Daniel, I'm afraid you misunderstood me. It's still too soon to train with your powers so I have something else in mind. What I meant is for you to change into something more comfortable for exercising in. I believe you have a tank-top among your clothing I brought from home, don't you? I plan to change in the locker room near the training room as well."

"Wait what?" I blinked, changing back. "But I thought we were going to train with my ghost powers!"

"We will, eventually," Vlad smiled, pushing his chair back before explaining a bit more seriously, "However it has come to my attention that your ghost core isn't the only thing that's suffering from an imbalance. I'm afraid your ghost-half is as well my boy. There's still plenty of room for growth though and I intend to make sure that you reach your maximum potential so that no one ghost nor human will be able to touch you. You already have the raw skill from being forced into all of those dangerous and potentially life-threatening situations. And like me, after obtaining your ghost powers you sadly lacked the proper guidance and direction from someone more experienced to bring out the best of you. You've only fought to survive until now, which has pushed you to extremes which has served you well to a point but now it's time to hone your skills further since this time you DO have someone who can show you how best to balance out both halves. Walk with me Daniel, I'll explain more along the way. What you're wearing now will have to do I suppose since I doubt anything of mine would fit you..."

Curious, I followed after Vlad, jogging every once in awhile just to keep up since his pace was a lot faster then I expected. He noticed me lagging behind a bit but didn't say anything and told me a bit more about his past when it came to his powers and how he trained. I've always wondered about that. Vlad's had his powers for 20 plus years so it made sense that he had to go through a lot of the same things I did; though I guess one of the advantages of not being a teenager when it happened is that Vlad was more or less able to live somewhere on his own away from other people to train in secret once he got out of the hospital. I felt bad when he told me that his stay at the hospital before finally being discharged lasted about five years and Vlad had to visit the hospital regularly for at least another three before being declared completely cured of his ecto-acne, which they called 'radiation poisoning' since only my parents knew what the real cause was.

After that Vlad moved back to his hometown for a bit and jogged the forest trails he'd grown up using every morning and went to the local gym when no one was there at night to train with his ghost powers. Obviously Vlad didn't tell me what he did the rest of the time but I had a feeling it involved a lot of plotting against my dad eventually, ghost-related experiments, robbing banks, and you know, all of that bad-guy junk. Thinking about it still left a bitter taste in my mouth but it was a part of who Vlad was. I couldn't hold it against him, especially now that he was finally getting over some of it thanks to what we've been through together lately. So I listened to him basically explain how because his transformation was much more gradual then mine Vlad did everything he could think of to make sure both halves of himself were as strong and healthy as possible to avoid problems in the future, plus he studied his own ghost DNA to take care of his own medical needs which is how he came up with that ecto-restorative stuff Vlad used to help me.

When Vlad asked me if I've done any sort of weight lifting and stuff when we finally made it to his training room, well, the door to it anyway I groaned. "Believe me, I've tried but there was just never any time to even think about going to the gym which I only started to seriously consider after my powers were shorted out by one of my dad's inventions that shrunk Dash and me and we basically had to make it back to the Op-center alive while Skulker was chasing us while making sure Dash didn't find out the truth about me. Figures he thinks Danny Phantom is the coolest guy ever but hates the real me. It was like 'Honey We Shrunk Ourselves' but with a crazy ghost trying to kill us and at one point I had to overshadow a rat and then-"

"Slow down Daniel, are you telling me that your father invented a...shrink ray?" Vlad asked with a mixture of disgust and morbid curiosity.

I nodded and shrugged, "Dude, have you met my parents? They've invented almost every cliche science thing known to man and made it ghost-related. You should know, from the spying and stuff. Believe me, after that happened I really wanted to start doing more in human form too but...between how things were at home, at school, and how I barely had time to even catch up on my sleep most of the time I just gave up on it and focused on my ghost powers since I needed those more anyway like you said to make sure I wasn't pushing up daisies in the morning. I tried using the gym at school a few times but either a ghost always showed up or Dash and his buddies would take over and force me to leave, if I even got that lucky and they didn't use ME as the punching bag. So, ok I was kinda surprised we're not training with my ghost powers but I'll admit, I'm kind of looking forward to this too. As long as it has the desired effect and isn't totally pointless I'm all for it!"

Vlad nodded in approval but frowned at the mention of Dash bullying me and added, "You know Daniel, I stand by what I told you once before, you didn't have to subject yourself to that boy's adolescent foolery. Even if you're too noble to use your powers against him...I wonder why to this day you've never thought to use those sharp wits of yours to your advantage Daniel, since that hardly requires physical force. You're smarter then everyone gives you credit for. And more importantly I know you're smarter then you give yourself credit for as well. Honestly, you could have spared yourself so much torment by simply putting that jock in his place with a few choice words."

"Maybe..." I answered quietly, "But then I wouldn't have been true to myself if I became the bully instead like I almost did that one time. I'm better then that...aren't I?" Realizing I meant to say that to myself and not out loud I blushed and looked away, not wanting to see the odd expression that flitted across Vlad's face as if I basically just told him I thought of HIM as the bully.


Vlad's POV

Choosing to ignore the uncertainty in Daniel's voice when he made his last comment, I showed him to the new training room and was pleased to see everything was set up exactly as I instructed. It was more or less a personal gym on the surface that also lead to my simulation chamber where Daniel and I would be doing advanced training with his powers before too long. Perhaps while we were here I would ask Daniel to let the computer run a diagnostic so that the room wouldn't attack him on sight since for now it was only set up to prevent him from entering the room by accident while flying through the castle.

Once Daniel was settled I asked him to wait for me while I changed into my work out clothes. No doubt Daniel's expression was going to be priceless upon seeing me in anything aside from my business attire, but he would soon discover that even I enjoyed wearing casual clothing from time to time and I didn't solely have suits in my wardrobe. True, for the most part I simply wore them out of habit or because I was in fact working on running my businesses and needed to look the part but now that I had his measurements I wanted to hire a tailor to see to Daniel's wardrobe as well to replace the rest of those old rags he was still carrying around.

I may have given them to him to make sure Daniel felt more comfortable and had a little piece of home, but with any luck, once he began filling out more he'd outgrow them anyway and NEED new clothes. Not that Daniel suspected that was part of my plan of course, but I at least I've caught a glimpse of how stylish my little badger looks when tidied up. Honestly, if we reached a point where I could bring him out in public I'm sure it will surprise him to discover that part of the reason girls never noticed him in Casper High was partly due to his poor taste in clothes that made him look more like a twelve year old child then a fifteen year old young man.

Speaking of which, Daniel would need to get his learners permit soon as well now that he's turned fifteen. I kept thinking about those sorts of things as if Daniel really was my son but I hesitated upon reaching for my work out clothes, as much as I wanted this to last there was always the chance it wouldn't and I could let my obsession with him cloud my judgment like before. If I lose control again, I could very well lose Daniel forever. This situation was still extremely delicate and I had nearly forgotten about the looming threat of this creature haunting his waking dreams. I knew about his nightmares of course but to see his face twisted in such fear and agony...it troubled me deeply. I hated seeing him like that. I hated it now more then ever since Daniel was in my care now which meant I had to do something about this before things could escalate again. He was right about one thing, it was too soon to let our guard down just yet and if I had anything to say in the matter I was going to make sure Daniel was powerful enough to destroy this being with his own two hands to prove to himself that there was nothing he couldn't accomplish and overcome. And if Daniel didn't have the strength to do it himself...

I would do it for him.

I may not be the villain in his life anymore, but, because Daniel was so precious to me I found myself longingly hoping that I could become a hero in his eyes. I wanted to see Daniel look at me the same way he did the day we met, if only once more. I wanted to see him always wear that carefree and rascal-like smile brighten his face like it had while we were competing against each other in that game. That was my real little badger right there, the one I loved more then anything. And I could tell that for a moment our pasts didn't matter, we were together in that moment and never wanted it to end. I could only hope that there were more of those moments to come and I was going to do my damnedest -pardon my language- to ensure that Daniel would never have to doubt if he had a future anymore because I would give him one whether it was back in Amity Park or here with me. Because from now on...I wasn't going to keep letting him fight through life alone. He had me. And he would always have me...whether Daniel wanted me there or not.


? ? ? ?

Things were progressing just like they were always meant to. Whether they accepted it or not, in the end, they were meant to be together in one form or another for better or worse. It was destiny. Though destiny has a funny way of bringing people together and ending one part of the story. From here Danny could only grow stronger and in turn Vlad would start to feel things the man thought he'd long since forgotten...

It takes two to form a bond, but only one or more to destroy it. For while Danny was recovering from the wounds his old life left on him, his friends and family were forced to live in a world without him for once and realize just how big a part of their lives he was all along. Funny how you don't know what you've lost until it's gone, a constant friend, a constant smile and a greeting at the door now only met with silence. When he was there, Danny might as well have been intangible. No one saw him, even when he was right there. No one heard him, even when he was crying out for help. No one could understand his pain and could only see their own because they weren't as strong as him.

It wasn't like any of them were special so it was as though they were constantly dragging him down with them since they were the ones who couldn't see past their own plans for his future and shape him to their liking just as much as Vlad wanted to. Sam, the girl with feelings for her best friend she refused to voice because she thought it would ruin her friendship with him and their other friend and she assumed Danny was always blind to her feelings just because he never admitted them either and had his own way of doing things and didn't always agree with her; Tucker, the ever loyal friend whose loyalty was second only to his fascination with technology to disguise his longing to be even half as incredible as his best friend Danny Fenton who at least knew what he wanted to be when he grew up and girls noticed him; Jazz, the loving sister who always believed in her little brother but never once tried to treat him solely as her brother and not someone she had to fix since she tried and failed to get their parents to change; Valerie, the naive yet fiercely determined young woman who would stop at nothing to get rid of the ghost boy that she blamed for ruining her life and everyone elses until it finally began to dawn on her once her hated enemy was finally gone...that new ones who cared nothing for their victims were endangering not one family, but the lives of everyone in Amity Park now that their hero was nowhere to be found; and finally, Danny's parents who for the first time in their lives also realize the danger they've put everyone in creating that portal and yet it was now their only clue to saving their son who they felt duty bound to bring home.

In the end, the supposed heroes of the story have come to realize that they're not so selfless as they used to believe and pushed the real one away who let them take and take and take until the only thing left was his wish for freedom; away from their agendas, away from the constant fear of failure, for his life, and the harassment he suffered at the hands of friend and foe alike. And now, the person they all thought was the villain, was the only one who could save Danny now.

The only one who could save him...

...from himself.