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Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.


Chapter 55: Intangible Trust.

The next day brought about both of half-ghosts' usual routines. And while Vlad had gone back to taking care of his work, Danny had returned to his tutoring sessions with Ms. Thomas. The hybrids' 'talk' yesterday had all but been forgotten and they were back to their normal interaction---or normal as of late, anyways.

Currently, though, their uneventful day was really closer to finishing up than beginning, being that it was around four PM. However, for two high-powered ghost hybrids the word 'uneventful' was more technical than literal…

Danny flew up, dodging a blast heading his way as he did. But then spinning in mid-air, he faced his assailant---or assailants, which happened to be two ghost weapons that had sprung out from one of the simulation room's walls. He quickly released his own attacks on the devices, effectively destroying them.

But the boy wasted no time; and seeing two red-and-white bull's-eye targets suddenly spring out on the opposite side of a metal wall in the center of the room, he zoomed towards it, easily avoiding a large barrier in his way by turning intangible.

He was training at a higher level today; so the attacks were far quicker and more frequent. But he found that he could handle them pretty well. His real problem, however, was that this level of the simulation room was set on a timer. The objective was to destroy all the targets within a certain time limit. It had sounded easy when Vlad had explained it; but now that Danny was doing it, it was far from it.

Thing was that the older hybrid had not mentioned that there would be ghost weapons distracting him from accomplishing his goal. And the man also failed to mention that the targets would be moving around, disappearing from one spot only to reappear at some other random spot. So that meant that by the time that Danny could evade the weapons' attacks, the targets had already vanished from the spot he had seen them before he could reach them.

But the teen was determined to finish the exercise before time ran out. Still, his frustration was evident when he fired his ghost energy, but only had enough time to destroy one of the two targets that he had been trying to reach. Danny growled as the second target disappeared and then appeared at the opposite side of the room. But then seeing another target appear above him and then another appear to his right, the ghost boy darted towards the closest one, which happened to be the one on his right.

As he moved towards it, he raised a shield above him as an energy ray came at him from above. He then dove in order to avoid a second ray coming straight at him. Immediately after, he turned intangible, passing straight through two metal walls, before he took aim and destroyed his intended target.

Danny chuckled smugly as he said, "This might be a higher level, but I'm still above it." With a smirk, he then quickly fired three consecutive energy rays, destroying the three ghost weapons firing around him. But when he caught sight of another weapon emerging from below, he reacted again and destroyed it as well before it even had a chance.

He chuckled again, before diving for a target below him, unaware that with the destruction of the ghost weapons, several more appeared. They had now doubled in number…

But focused on the target below, he continued to dive down towards it. But before he could get close enough to fire an attack, two red lasers, looking much like those used to protect expensive artifacts, shot across the room. They instantly began to move from side to side in front of the target, obviously protecting it.

But Danny was not discouraged. Quickly noting the pattern of the laser's movements, he sped up and distorted his abdomen into a wisp of smoke to snake in between the hot, moving lasers. He finally fired his attack, destroying the target. He then angled sharply back up to avoid the lasers again. And clearing them, he gathered energy in both hands and destroyed the source of the lasers on opposite sides of the room.

"Too easy," he said haughtily.

"One minute remaining."

Danny instantly frowned upon hearing the room's warning. He glanced around and quickly counted the moving targets. He still had five left to destroy and they were scattered around the room. Not to mention, there were now weapons all around him; and they were soon joined by four new lasers…

"Okay… Maybe it's not so easy," he mumbled to himself, as he thought of how to destroy the remaining five targets with less than a minute to spare. And it seemed all the more impossible to successfully complete his exercise when two barriers unexpectedly appeared between the targets. Danny sighed. It was as if the room had perceived his current dilemma and was trying to make things worse for him.

But suddenly coming up with a solution, his grin returned; and knowing the older hybrid was watching him from the control room, he called out, "Hey, Vlad, watch this."

With the room's 'ten-second-left' countdown ringing in his ears, Danny quickly inhaled as much air as he could, feeling his core swell with his energy. And a fraction of a second later, he released that built-up energy in the form of his Ghostly Wail.

The room began to shake under the powerful attack, while everything the raw waves of power touched was turned into rubble. Danny did not stop until he saw that all the weapons and targets had been taken out. Still, he hadn't meant to take out the metal barriers as well; but they, too, were now in a heap in the corner of the room only because they had been in the way.

"And all under a minute," he said proudly, but breathless, before he lost his ghost form and he fell on his hands and knees, exhausted.

As the boy panted and waited to regain enough of his strength to get up again, Plasmius suddenly materialized a few feet from him. Danny quickly looked up when he heard clapping.

"Impressive, dear boy!" Vlad exclaimed as he smiled calmly and continued to clap his gloved hands. But then, the older hybrid crossed his arms; and as he tilted his head to the side, his smile grew with sudden smugness, before he asked, "But now, tell me… How are you going to defend yourself against… those?"

Danny's eyes widened when ghost weapons suddenly emerged all around them. And they instantly fired.

The boy squeaked in alarm as his hands instinctively went to cover his head; and he shut his eyes to brace for the pain to come. But then when he heard the energy blasts slam into something that was not him, Danny cautiously lowered his hands and dared to look up.

The teen slightly frowned when he saw there was pink dome around him; but seeing a similar one protecting Vlad, he knew it was the older hybrid that had produced them.

"Terminate program level thirteen," Vlad commanded the room, as he allowed the shields to dissipate.

"Program level thirteen terminated."

Knowing he was still too weak to stand, Danny just sat up and angrily crossed his arms. That had been so unfair!

Vlad stared down passively at the frustrated boy as he spoke up again, "Luck, dear boy, will only get you so far."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that all those weapons were going to come out in the end? I thought you said once I nailed all the targets I was finished!" Danny protested, staring up at the older hybrid.

Vlad raised an eyebrow. "That's precisely the point, Daniel. You were supposed to have known. This exercise was to teach you to plan ahead---or, at the least, make you see the consequences of not doing so. You see, my boy, this exercise simulated your being forced to face a new situation, a new foe, if you will. When you know nothing about what you are up against, it is crucial that you take the time to observe your surroundings, then learn and understand what is currently in your favor and what is against you."

Vlad paused; but Danny did not reply. He just stared at the man as if trying to figure out what he was saying.

So, the man continued again, helping him along. "I know that it seems that if you throw the first punch, you will gain the upper hand in battle. But, more often than not, this strategy will fail you. You must learn, Daniel, that the most powerful weapon you possess is your mind. You must realize that if you attack first, you are putting yourself at an unnecessary disadvantage. You have to let your opponents have the first punch; and give them the second and third, if you must. The purpose of you doing so is to learn your opponent's every move, before you reveal any of your own. Only then, can you truly be at an advantage, hmm?"

Danny uncrossed his arms, though he still did not look very convinced. And he raised a skeptical eyebrow as he questioned, "Okay, that sounds logical. But then, what does it have to do with what I just did? How was I supposed to know that I was going to be attacked like that? It was completely unexpected."

"And that is completely untrue," Vlad retorted. "There were plenty of signs, Daniel. If you did not see them, it is because you indeed failed to take the time to observe your surroundings, to learn your opponents' moves---even if in this case, they were mere weapons. I even told you what you needed to do. I said that the objective of this exercise was to destroy the targets in a set amount of time. That is all you had to do."

"So, what? You wanted me to ignore the weapons?" Danny asked in disbelief.

Vlad smirked. "Yes. Exactly," he said, earning a frown from the boy. But the man just continued. "If you would have observed what was truly happening around you, Daniel, you would have realized that every time you destroyed an assault weapon, two more emerged in its place. They multiplied at double the rate that you destroyed them. Therefore, Daniel, you should have known that all those weapons you destroyed with that wail of yours were going to come back at you two-fold."

Danny's eyes widened with the realization; but now shocked as well, he said nothing and just let the older hybrid proceed. "The truth is, my boy, that if you would have simply taken a minute or so to figure out how the program worked, you could have finished this exercise in two or three minutes. However, since you started blasting away at everything from the start, you only made this exercise more difficult than it really was for yourself. Like I said, Daniel, luck will only get you so far. You cannot continue to just fly blindly into battle and merely hope that you will come out on top," Vlad ended, his voice turning truly serious towards the end.

Now finally seeing the man's point and unable to deny it, Danny fell back on the floor; and covering his face with his hands, he sighed loudly in exasperation.

Vlad smiled down in amusement at the irritated teen lying on the floor, before he spoke again, "Now, that power of yours is excellent for offense. However, by the fact that you revert back to your human half every time you use it, you obviously have yet to build enough durability to properly will it. See, your wail is a perfect example of why it is important for you to develop a good control of your energy flow. You have to learn to control such a powerful attack, Daniel. But you cannot hope to do that if you do not first develop a proper control of your actual energy. I can assure you that if you simply learn to regulate how much energy you put into your wail, it will not be as draining for you. It's very much like the way you regulate how strong your energy blasts are. It's the same principal. My point is, Daniel, that until you learn your fundamentals, you should not depend on your Ghost Wail. It weakens you significantly. And the last thing you ever want to do in the face of danger is to leave yourself defenseless---as you did a moment ago."

"But sometimes you don't have any other choice," Danny retorted, removing his hands from his face to look at Vlad.

Vlad nodded in agreement. "True enough. There are times that no matter how you handle the situation, the odds are still stacked against you. Sometimes---though they are few---you have to go for the 'all or nothing' strategy. However, that is no excuse to not plan ahead. Improvising is a last resort, Daniel. And if you are going to go for that 'all or nothing', if you are going to leave yourself powerless, then you better be completely sure that you leave your opponent as powerless as yourself by the end of it. And that does include any trump cards, like an ally your opponent may have in wait. You exhaust all their cards, understand? In other words, if you lose, then you have to make sure your opponent loses as well. After all, if you consider the rather unique circle in which we find ourselves, failing to at least overcome your opponent could be a fatal mistake."

Danny frowned in thought as he finally got to his feet. Now he understood the older hybrid's point. He did go all out during a battle a lot of times, with no hint of any planning behind it and totally blind to possible outcomes. Even then, all his efforts at times had not been enough. If it hadn't been for his friends—or pure luck—his rash actions might have been the end of him… He really did need to be more careful.

"I will not ask you to run another exercise program for today since you are clearly spent," Plasmius then said, pulling the teen out of his thoughts. "However, I want to instruct you on something new right now. I want to fine tune your… senses."

Danny gave him a quizzical look. "Senses? You mean, my ghost sense? But there's no ghost here. Well, at least, not one that sets off my ghost sense, anyways."

Vlad just shot him a smug smile as he calmly replied, "You cannot pick up my ghost signature, dear boy, simply because you have yet to learn how to do so."

"Seriously?" Danny replied, looking completely shocked. All this time, he had just thought that he could not sense Vlad because he just couldn't

Vlad nodded. "It works differently for us, being that we are half-ghost. I know so because the way I detect your ghost signature is very different from the way I detect any other 'normal' ghost. And I can only 'feel' you when you are in ghost form. You see…," he continued, now looking thoughtful himself as he tried to explain something that he just simply felt. "…because we are half-ghosts, our ghost signatures are not as easily picked up as that of a typical ghost. So, for me to sense you, for you to sense me, it requires a deeper… intuition…"

"And that's what you're going to teach me now?" Danny asked, a hopeful smile on his face.

But Vlad shook his head, slightly amused with the boy's look. "Sorry, little badger, but that is one of the few things I cannot teach you. Not only does your 'ghost sense' work differently than my own; but, as I said, it works differently for us. Still, there is one thing I can assure you. You do not learn to develop your ghost sense. You develop it through… feeling."

The young hybrid's eyebrows creased deeply, unsure if he understood what that meant. But deciding to ponder on it later, the teen returned back to the matter at hand. "Okay, then, what are you going to teach me now?"

Vlad smiled secretively, before he pulled out from his ghost suit a metal circular disk that was the size of his hand. But, in actuality, the thing reminded Danny of a donut.

"Sometimes you must learn to rely on your other senses, dear boy," Plasmius began, holding out the device to allow the boy to look at it more closely. "This device is going to help fine tune your hearing, in specific. I am sure that by now, you have realized that all your senses, your strength, and so on, are enhanced while you are in ghost form. But I am certain that you did not know you can build upon these natural abilities, hmm?"

Vlad chuckled at the awestruck look at Daniel's face, before continuing, "Learning to further enhance your hearing will be quite beneficial for you---most especially, in battle. Imagine how much more invincible you could be if you could make it so that it is virtually impossible for anything or anyone to surprise you. Well, my boy, I am here to tell you that that's a reality. And this device will help you make it so."

But although the prospect of that sounded amazing, a frown fell on the boy's face. With his arch-enemy's words, he had suddenly remembered the fight that they had had after the older hybrid had discovered him in his private lab…

Vlad was about to ask him what was wrong, when the teen stared up at him with a slightly sober look and abruptly asked, "Can you really hear someone's heart beat?"

Plasmius quickly realized about what the teen was thinking. In that fight, the boy had turned human to escape him and the man had merely used his hearing to find the boy by the sound of his racing heart…

But not wanting to give any indication of recalling the fight, Vlad just smirked at the teen. "With a bit of concentration, yes. Yes I can. And you will, too---once you learn to enhance your hearing. Now morph, hmm?"

Danny was about to reply that he was too weak from his Ghostly Wail to morph when he instantly realized something:

He felt just fine now.

Wanting to prove it to himself, Danny called forth his ghost form; and when he changed without any difficultly, the teen blinked in surprise. "Wow…," he muttered, sure he had never been able to recover so quickly before. This training stuff really was paying off…

Vlad briefly smiled, as if guessing the boy's thoughts. Ultimately, though, the man did not need to guess. He could see himself how much and how quickly the young hybrid was improving. The boy not only caught on quickly, but he was always so very determined, which helped him a lot. But then again, that wasn't surprising to Vlad. Daniel had always been powerful. He just needed a bit of guidance on how to take advantage of his natural gift… At least, then, the man would like to think he could take some credit for the boy's improvement…

But deciding not to say anything on the matter, Vlad just resumed his teaching. "Good. Now, have a seat."

Danny pulled out of his own thoughts and stared quizzically at the man. "Have a seat? Here? On the ground?"

"Yes," the man replied with a small nod.

The teen gave him an unsure look; but then with a shrug, he sat down, crossing his legs under him before looking up expectantly at the older hybrid.

But Vlad didn't return the boy's glance. Instead, the older hybrid was now admiring the device in his hands just before he said with a proud grin, "I made this ingenious little device, by the way. I named it the Plasmatic Resonance Enhancer!"

"Wow…Sure sounds like a step up from the name 'Plasmius Maximus'," Danny said, dryly, clearly not impressed. Seriously, did Vlad even realize how much he sounded like his dad at the moment?

Vlad frowned down at the boy as he annoyingly thought, "Well, I thought it was fitting…"

But instead of saying anything, he just turned his gaze back to the device and began to press a couple a buttons on it. "The Plasma—this device's mechanics are fairly simple," he began to explain. "It works by emitting a faint beeping sound that's specifically set to a frequency and wavelength that is sensitive only to spectral entities. In other words, humans cannot detect the pitch. But, of course, we can. Observe."

Vlad set down the 'donut-shaped' device on the floor, and it instantly came to life. It split and then pulled itself from the middle, now looking very much like a yo-yo minus the string before it began to hover a feet off the metal ground.

Danny's eyes slightly widened when he started to hear the device emit a faint beeping. But its echo was so weak—and had he not been expecting it--he would have dismissed the sound for an inconsequential random one.

"So…what…now?" the teen asked slowly, as he turned his gaze back to the older hybrid.

"All you have to do is stop it," Vlad replied.

But before he could elaborate, Danny lightly chuckled. "Stop it? From what? Floating?"

"I was not done, Daniel," he answered, slightly irritated, before he bent down and pushed a single button on the device.

Instantly, the 'Plasmatic Resonance Enhancer' started moving around the simulation room.

"Oh…," Danny muttered as he watched it.

"The energy source that keeps this training device going is right below the ground upon which you are sitting," Vlad explained, capturing the teen's attention again. "The metal surface acts as a conductor between that source and that device. The floor's metallic property naturally absorbs the electrical energy from the power source below and, just as naturally, transfers it into the device, which keeps it working. Therefore, my boy, the only way to stop the device is to eliminate its conductor."

But when he realized he had lost Daniel with all the technicality, Vlad sighed, before simply saying, "If you turn the floor intangible directly below the device, you stop the device. Is that better?"

Danny's eyes quickly lit up with understanding. "Oh, I get it! Geez, Vlad. Why didn't you just say that in the first place? But, is that all? Man, I totally got this," he then said with a smirk as he quickly placed his right hand flat on the ground, and turned his gaze to where the device was. "Intangibility coming up!"

"You really are impatient, Daniel," Vlad said with a helpless sigh, before he suddenly created blue energy in his hand and then molded and solidified it.

And having heard his comment, Danny paused in what he had been about to do, and looked up at Plasmius as he asked, "What do you me—Gahh!" he abruptly cried out as his arch-enemy fired something at his eyes, blinding him.

"Vlad! What are you doing?! Get this off me!" the teen shouted in alarm as he gripped at whatever was on his face. But to his growing panic, it would not budge no matter how hard he yanked at it. It was like it was glued to his face!

The older hybrid rolled his red eyes at the panicking teen, before he annoyingly said, "Calm down, Daniel. It is just a blindfold. It's not going to hurt you."

"But I can't see!" Danny yelled back at him, before trying to get up.

But Vlad quickly grabbed one of his shoulders and kept him from doing so. "Yes, I know. That's the purpose for it, Daniel! Now could you please stop panicking and just pay attention to me?"

Danny reluctantly stopped struggling; and he noticed he could no longer hear the faint beeping of the device from how loud his heart was pounding in his ears. This was definitely past his comfort zone. But wanting to get it over with, he forced his tense hands to stay at his sides and did his best to listen to Vlad.

Vlad shook his head, but just returned back to what they were doing. "I blindfolded you because I want you to stop this device by using only your hearing. Now, this isn't about 'trial-and-error'. And it most definitely isn't about luck. You have to fully concentrate, Daniel. Detect from where the beeping is emitting and then aim your intangibility power towards it. Let me forewarn you now: if you miss, the device will send its own attack back at you."

"What?!" Danny exclaimed, before he instantly began to yank at the energy-made blue blindfold again. This was way past his comfort zone!

Vlad laughed at the boy's overreaction. "Honestly, Daniel, you really need to calm down. It will just be a small shock. …In fact, it feels very similar to the one that you receive from when you touch a charged metallic surface. It's harmless. But it will be enough to get you to focus. Then again, if you just stop the device on your first try, you will have nothing to worry about, hmm?"

Danny could hear the man's amusement in his voice. But the teen just sighed in surrender and lowered his hands to his sides again as he muttered, "Fine. Just stop talking so I can start already."

Vlad smirked; but said nothing as he rose a few feet off the floor. He crossed his arms and calmly watched the teen from where he floated.

Danny sighed one more time in order to get his heart to slow down. And as it slowly did, the teen furrowed his eyebrows and did his best to focus on the faint beeping coming from the device. He could tell 'the sound' was moving around him, but it was so soft that he was having a very hard time pinpointing it.

"It's on the left of me… but where exactly?" he thought. But deciding to take a chance, he hesitantly placed his left hand flat against the ground and sent his intangibility forward to where he believed the device to be.

"Did I---?" Danny began, only to receive the answer to his unfinished question in the form of a sudden zap. The teen instantly yelped and all but jumped off the ground.

"You call that 'a small shock?! That hurt, Vlad!" Danny exclaimed as the remaining tingles of the electric zap coursed through his skin.

Plasmius broke out into a full-hearted laugh; and Danny started to believe the man was getting some sort of enjoyment from this. The thought did nothing to calm his growing frustration.

Calming down a bit, the older hybrid finally spoke up, "Oh, come now, Daniel. You are being dramatic. It isn't that bad."

Danny growled at the man's amused voice, and angrily crossed his arms. "Yeah? Then why don't you come do this? I sure enough don't want to. And I'm not going to! So, get this weird mask-thing off me!"

Plasmius rolled his eyes at the younger hybrid's childish pout. But then suddenly coming up with a way to motivate the teen into doing the exercise, he gazed calmly back at Daniel, and said, "Alright, I'll bargain with you."

"No, Vlad. Look, I don't feel comfortable with---" Danny began to say; but he was readily cut off.

"Listen to me before you say 'no', Daniel," Vlad said, frowning slightly. "Just… do the exercise for… ten minutes or until you manage to stop it---whichever comes first. In return, I will teach you whatever you want."

Danny's frustration instantly melded into disbelief. "Seriously? You will drop the whole 'you gotta first learn the fundamentals' thing and teach me whatever I want?"

Vlad rolled his eyes, but still calmly replied. "Only for today. But, yes."

A grin slowly curled on the teen's face as the prospect of that began to swirl around in his head. "Anything I want, right?"

"Yes, Daniel. Anything," the man answered with an impatient sigh.

"Then, you got yourself a deal, cheese head," Danny quipped happily, before focusing on the device once again, now completely determined to get this done.

But for once, he found that his determination was doing nothing to aid him in stopping the training device. Its beeping was just too soft for Danny to find its exact location with just his hearing alone! And the fact that is was moving all over the freakin' room did not help matters! It was worse than looking for a needle in a haystack! At least you had your eyes for that!

Still, the young hybrid tried and tried again, each time receiving a light shock that told him he had failed. But it wasn't receiving the jolt that bothered the teen, but the fact that he could not do this!

Danny suddenly growled in frustration with his last failed attempt, before he exclaimed, "Darn it! Vlad, this is impossible!"

"Hardly, dear boy," the older hybrid replied calmly, his arms crossed casually in front of him as he stared down at the teen. "Perhaps if you would stop guessing its location, you could find it."

"Uh, I can't see, remember? All I can do is guess!" Danny retorted as he sent his tangibility out across the ground yet again, only to receive yet another zap from the device at his miss. The teen just growled again and fisted his hands against the ground with his frustration.

"Daniel, you are not listening," Vlad said with a sigh as he floated down just a bit. "And getting upset over the fact is not helping you. Believe me, you do not need your eyes, let alone do you need to guess anything. Stop trying to find the device. Listen to the sound. If it's too faint than simply enhance the sound. Enhance the sound and then target the device itself."

"What?" Danny replied, looking up at where he guessed Vlad was, feeling even more frustrated with the man's confusing advice. "How am I supposed to enhance the sound, Vlad?"

This time, Plasmius did not answer right away. Instead, he rubbed his temple, now looking a bit frustrated himself. "Daniel," he finally began, his voice stern and slightly irritated. "How many times have I told you that you have to focus when doing anything with your powers? Stop trying to rush into things. Take the time to concentrate, to focus, to think. Listen to the sound. Focus all your attention into it. Use that to visualize the device's movements. Only then, will you be able to correctly predict where it is and where it will be."

Danny sighed, realizing that the man was right. He was getting upset and inpatient instead of trying to figure out how to do this.

"Okay," he thought as he calmed down completely. "He's telling me to listen… and… focus…"

With a deep sigh, the younger hybrid slowed down his breathing, before placing his hands flat on the ground to his sides. He focused on his hearing. And the more he did, the more he began to hear things that he had not before. All the sounds were faint, but he could hear them. The beeping from the training device was still there. But, now, so were the quiet whirling of the simulation room's mechanics. There was also the electric sound of wires and even the device's electrical energy source below him. But what amazed him most of all was that he could not only hear his own heart beat and soft breathing, but he could hear the older hybrid's own. If he was asked where the man was, Danny could answer with assurance that he was hovering a few feet in the air in front of him, but slightly to the left...

But realizing that he was not truly focusing on what he needed to be, Danny pushed back his awe and turned all his attention to one single sound: the device's beeping.

Instantly, all the other sounds around him vanished, as if muted by some unknown force. Danny just listened… and listened. And then, gradually, as if that same unknown force was turning up the volume, the beeping grew louder and louder; and, suddenly, the teen could hear it as loudly as Mrs. Tetslaff's whistle.

At that instant, the teen finally understood what Vlad had meant. He really did not need to guess the device's location with how loud the beeping was against his ears. Now, it was all so obvious. He did not need his eyes, because he could follow the sound as well as if he was visually following the device. He could see its movements in his mind. And he could now indeed predict where it was going, too…

The ghost boy's right hand suddenly began to glow with his intangibility power. And it suddenly moved outward, as if his power was his very hand stretching towards the moving device. But instead of going directly for it, the energy moved in front of the incoming device. And as the teen predicted, the device came towards his intangibility power, like a fish to bait.

Instantly, the beeping stopped and a small clunk echoed in Danny's ears. Before he could question it, however, the blue blindfold that had been over his eyes suddenly dissipated…

"You truly are a fast learner, Daniel," Vlad said with a pleased smile as he floated back down to the ground.

Danny blinked his green eyes a few time to adjust them to the light again, before looking back to where he knew he had last heard the device. And seeing that it was now turned off and on the ground, the teen smiled and quickly stood up.

"Hey, I did it," Danny said as he moved over to the training device and picked it up.

"Funny, I recall that you said it was impossible," Vlad teased smugly.

"And I recall that you said, 'Hardly, dear boy,'" Danny mocked back, trying to mimic the man's voice, though his gaze remained on the device in his hands.

Vlad rolled his eyes, though he was clearly amused. But without further words, he walked over to the teen and calmly took the device from his hands.

Danny quickly looked at him, and a clever smirk curled his lips as he told him, "And I also recall you making a deal with me…"

The older hybrid chuckled, but still nodded. "So I did… Very well. What will it be, then, little badger?" he asked, crossing his arms expectantly.

But the boy's own smile vanished into a slight serious look; and he did not hesitate to reply, "Teach me how to duplicate."

Vlad was slightly surprised by how quick the boy had answered him. He had expected Daniel to at least think about it for a moment. But he clearly already knew what he wanted to be taught...

But then, the strangle smile that slowly appeared on the older hybrid's face, suddenly made the teen very nervous.

"Is that what you want to learn?" the man asked with a suddenly eerie calm voice, his red eyes boring into the boy's green ones.

Danny blushed, and unconsciously took a step back from the older hybrid, before he answered, "I-I, yes." But suddenly even more nervous, he jumped into an explanation. "Look, the thing is that I've tried to learn it on my own. And I just...I don't know. I can't seem to get it. I mean, I've figured some of it out. I mean, I can make one duplicate now. Or, well, most of the time, I can. But the thing is that I can't hold it. When I do make a good copy, it just lasts for a second or two tops, and then it's gone. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I just can't get it. And you…you make it look so… easy…," the boy trailed off, looking away.

"Hmm…," was all Vlad answered, a thoughtful look on his face as he stared at nothing in particular. He did not know how to feel about the fact that the one thing the boy wanted to learn most was an ability the man was certain Daniel had picked up from him. After all, there were very few ghosts who could duplicate. It simply took too much energy. And Plasmius had yet to find any being that had mastered the art of duplication as well as him; let alone better than he. This was the one ability that the older hybrid took pride in the most. It had taken him a lot of work to will it to the extent that he could---and that extent was only stretching further with his ever growing powers. Duplication was one of his most important aces---it was his most common advantage against others…

So, although he felt a little too smug about the boy's request, he also was unsure. Did he want to teach Daniel such a powerful tool? But the question had him recall a similar one that he had asked himself when he first offered to train Daniel:

How wise was it to be teaching the teen everything he knew?

"Well?" Danny suddenly asked, slightly irritated that Vlad wasn't making this any easier for him. If he had known it would be this awkward to ask the older hybrid to teach him duplication, he would have not even bothered.

Vlad lowered his gaze to the boy again; but for some reason the boy's nervous, annoyed, and mostly, expectant look, put a calm smile on the man's face. He wasn't sure how wise it was to teach Daniel what he knew. But… he wanted to.

"Very well," Plasmius replied, his smile vanishing into a causal look, before suddenly making three duplicates.

Danny stared apprehensively at the copies, unable to keep the memories away of how many times his arch-enemy had quickly beat him in battle like this…

Vlad, on the other hand, was not even thinking of that. So, it confused him when he noticed how tense Daniel was. But then realizing why, he slightly frowned. Still, he knew better than to touch the subject.

"I duplicated to first give you a bit of understanding on how this all works," the real Plasmius began, pretending to not have noticed the younger hybrid's apprehension.

And that seemed to help Danny relax and think logically again. After all, he really had no reason to fear Vlad right now. Even more appeased, the teen just stared quietly at the man as he continued to explain.

"Now, duplicating is quite simple."

"For you, maybe," Danny murmured under his breath.

But Vlad caught the remark and smiled smugly as he said, "Yes, well that may be true, but I really do mean that it's simple. See, dear boy, although the art of duplication takes the phrase 'multitasking' to an entirely new level, it ultimately comes down to successfully performing several fundamentals and simple energy manipulations at once. Let me demonstrate…"

Danny watched as the real Plasmius raised a hand in front of him and produced a spinning sphere of pink energy. And then a second after, his three duplicates did the same.

"Your duplicates are part of you. Or should I say that they are part of your energy, being that all they truly are is energy. That is why when it comes to commanding a duplicate, it essentially works the same way as your commanding, say, an ectoplasmic energy blast."

The older hybrid stretched out his hand at one of his duplicates; and in an instant, it dissolved and returned to his hand as ghost energy. But then that same energy just as quickly became a pink ecto-blast, proving his point of it all being interchangeable.

The man then continued, as Danny just watched him intently. "However, duplicating is more than just energy manipulation, as I mentioned. You have to give your duplicate a purpose."

"A purpose?" Danny repeated, not following him.

"Yes, let me explain. Your duplicate simply does what it was created for. You mentally give it its purpose. So, for example, if I simply make a duplicate with the thought or intention of scouting out a place that I feel might be unsafe for myself to physically enter, then that is all that duplicate will do. If it is attacked, it stands no chance, because I did not create it with the intention of a battle. Now, of course, if I make a duplicate with that intention, then it will be efficient in that. And it will use everything that I know to fight. Do you understand now? You both mentally and energetically manipulate your duplicates. It is tricky at first to form a duplicate just as you want it. But, the more you do it, the more secondhand it becomes. And there comes a point where you create it as you want almost subconsciously. Of course, the more 'features' you give your duplicate, the more energy it takes from you. And that energy will return to you when you call that duplicate back and so will its memories."

At that moment, one of Vlad's remaining two duplicates came closer to the boy; and Danny raised an eyebrow when it smirked at him, before whispering in his ear, "Tell me something."

Danny blinked in confusion; but then quickly catching on, he smirked back and said, "You need to hurry up and get to the point already."

The copy frowned at the boy in response; but it did not do anymore, since it suddenly dissolved and returned back to the real Vlad.

The instant the duplicate absorbed into the older hybrid, Danny grinned at the annoyed look on the man's face.

"Yes, well, you will have to endure one last lecture before I 'get to the point,' Vlad answered dryly, before firing a direct blast at his copy.

Danny gasped as the duplicate skidded across the floor, before he stared back at the real Plasmius. "Dude, you just attacked yourself!"

"Hardly, Daniel," Vlad said with a slightly condescending voice. "Duplicates are just energy, remember? If it is harmed, it does not harm me. That's what I wanted to tell and show you. However, that does not mean you want to just let them get harmed. You do want to give it a sense of self-preservation. The older hybrid fired an attack at his duplicate again; but this time, the copy was ready and it raised a shield protecting itself.

"You see, Daniel, the more injured your duplicate returns to you, the more energy you lose. As I said, a duplicate is an extension of your energy. And if that energy is not spent, you can return it back to you without losing it. But as your duplicate fights, its wastes energy in energy blasts and such, and it equally loses strength the more blows it receives. That, of course, means you lose energy. So, although you do not physically get hurt if your copy gets hurt, it can weaken you. If your copy is destroyed in battle before you can call it back to you…"

Vlad suddenly fired a bolt of red electricity at his copy; and although the duplicate had a shield up, the attack was too strong. And it was destroyed with shield and all.

"You still regain your duplicate's memories, but you lose all the energy that you used to make that copy," Vlad finished, looking back at Danny.

The teen stared at the man with a slight frown, before he asked, "So… if that's true…Didn't that affect you? I mean, you just destroyed your own copy."

"Well, of course it did," Plasmius answered with slight amusement. "I just have years of practice and built endurance and power."

"Oh, right. I forgot," Danny replied, dryly.

Vlad chuckled smugly, but he then calmed a bit and said, "Well, then, now that I have explained the technicalities, let's work on the actual practice, hmm?"

"Definitely," Danny replied, perking up. "You got no argument there."

The man rolled his eyes, but just continued. "Now, you said you can successfully duplicate; but you cannot hold it for long. Well, then, your problem is obvious; and so is its solution."

"Really? What is it?" Danny asked expectantly.

Vlad tilted his head slightly and crossed his arms as he calmly replied, "You need proper focus."

Danny sighed in exasperation, before he irritably said, "Oh, come on! Do you even realize how many times you have said that to me?"

"And yet, you still don't get it," Vlad retorted, looking unfazed.

Danny frowned; but could not find anything more to say.

Vlad gave him a small encouraging smile as he added, "Chin up, my boy, you are improving at an astonishing rate. You truly are. But, you need to understand, that every ability has its specific focus. You did a marvelous job just now at figuring out what the proper focus was for enhancing your hearing. But, for duplication, it is a completely different type of focus. Now, it's very good that you have learned all on your own how to manipulate your energy enough to create an actual copy. And I also have to commend you for not trying to make several copies and just starting with one. That is how it should be done. You have to learn to walk before you can run, after all. However, remember that I told you that duplication also requires mental manipulation---mental focus. In other words, you already know how to create a duplicate, you are just not holding the right state of mind. That is why your duplicate does not last."

Danny thought about that for a moment, before he calmly asked, "Okay. Then, what is the right state of mind?"

This time, Vlad did not reply right away. Instead, his eyebrows creased as he tried to think of how to explain it. After all, being able to practically have more than one of you was complicated and confusing enough…

But suddenly thinking of a good analogy, the older hybrid smiled. "Ah, I know," he said. "Tell me, dear boy. Have you ever felt entirely split about something?"

But Danny just gave the man a quizzical look.

Vlad sighed slightly and he frowned in thought again. This was harder to explain than he thought. "In other words…Have you ever been given two choices; but you can only choose one? However, you wish you could choose both? So, you struggle to make your decision; because, deep within you want to choose both ways?"

Danny slowly nodded. He kind of understood what the man said. But not really… He wasn't sure if he had ever felt like that. He usually just choose what he thought was right. So… no… he really could not think of a time when he wanted to choose two directions at once… Or rather, want both directions equally as much....Was that what the man meant?

Vlad smiled a bit. "There are times when we cannot have all the things we want most; especially when there is a conflict of interest between two or more of those things. Ergo, if it is two contradictory things, you have to often choose one or the other. But when it comes to our powers, that universal law is broken. That is what duplication is all about. You now have the physical ability to do two or more things at once. That is why, in your mind, you have to think and even feel split. When you duplicate, it is because you are in need of having more than one of you at that given moment."

Danny frowned again as he tried to understand such a complicated concept. It was difficult for him because he really wasn't sure if he had such an experience to help him understand, let alone did he understand how to apply it to his powers.

Still, he gave it a shot. And still in ghost form, he creased his eyebrows in concentration, before trying to duplicate. It took him a little effort, but he successfully created a copy. Too bad that it joined back with him before he could even do anything with it.

"You have to think as two, dear boy," Vlad said, watching the teen intently as he tried again. "Pretend, for example, that you want to be at two places at once, and then apply it."

Danny tried thinking of just that; and although he was able to split and hold it this time for a few seconds more; his copy still unwillingly returned back to him.

Vlad's eyebrows creased with some unknown emotion as he asked with slight surprise, "You really have never felt torn between two given choices?"

The teen paused in his efforts and looked up at the man. "I don't really know. I mean, one choice always outweighs the other, right? Two complete opposite things can't both be equally important. So, then, why would I ever feel… split about it? Why would I want to choose both ways equally when both ways can't really both be right?"

Vlad sobered a bit as he replied a little quietly, "You'd be surprised, Daniel..."

Danny gave him a quizzical look, before sighing and trying again. But failing once more, the boy shook his head. "I don't get it…"

The older hybrid nodded, before placing a comforting hand on one of the teen's shoulder. "You just need a good experience of that feeling, Daniel. I can assure you that once you understand firsthand what I mean, it will be very simple for you to then mentally and physically apply it. As I told you, my boy, there are things I cannot teach you. Your powers might be both mental and physical; but they are as equally emotional. You have to feel a certain way to apply some of them. Duplication is one of those. Think about what I told you, hmm? I am certain you will figure it out, and then you will be able to do what you want."

In spite that he was dishearten by the fact that he could not learn duplication as quick as some of the other things he had, Danny nodded and even smiled a bit at the man. His encouragement made him feel a bit better. And he felt even better when he remembered how quickly he had recovered from his Ghostly Wail. He really was getting stronger. And in spite of the fact that he very often got impatient with the older hybrid's long explanation and repetitive nature, he did appreciate it. And he could see that it all ultimately did help him understand his powers. And that was in large part the reason why he was picking things up so quickly. It was amazing how intricate his abilities were; and he was certain he would never stop being awed by how much Vlad knew about their powers, especially when the man had learned it all on his own…

"I think that's enough for today," Vlad suddenly said, bringing the boy back to reality.

"Seriously? Can't we like practice one more thing? I'm so close to being able to condense my energy," Danny said as he raised a hand in front of him and began to make his energy swell and grow at an astounding rate.

Of course, the teen was referring to one of the first things the man had got him working on: the manipulation of his raw green ghost energy to ultimately make blue energy. Danny had in no way given up on trying to do that. The prospect of learning to will a whole different kind of energy was just too enticing! But although he was getting really good at compacting his raw energy more and more---and it was also getting less and less draining for him---he had yet to reach the intensity needed to change his green energy into that blue energy.

Yesterday's practice had actually been mostly about that. Vlad had also further explained that not only was his compacting his energy bringing him closer to making blue energy, but it also was bringing him closer to gaining full control and stability of his powers. And that had only enthralled the teen even more to practicing this specific technique…

But aside from all that, there was one other reason Danny was so attracted to it. Every time he willed such raw energy in his hand, it filled him with a feeling that he could never truly explain. The closest he could come to describing it was that it made him feel…. empowered…

Danny's eyes slightly narrowed as that very feeling began to swell inside him; it both frightened him and allured him… However, just as Danny had gathered enough of his raw ghost energy into his hand and was about to start concentrating it into that now all-too-familiar dark energy sphere, Plasmius calmly grasped his wrist.

The boy instantly lost his concentration and the energy vanished back within him. For a moment, he looked slightly disoriented. But snapping out of it, he looked up at the man responsible and frowned.

"Do not overdo it, Daniel," Vlad advised, though he was staring at him with a scrutinizing gaze. "You might be growing stronger, but you have to know when to stop, hmm? Besides, we also need to stop now because I need to head to Vladco for some things. And your practicing to manipulate raw energy is the one thing I am against you practicing alone. You have seen how dangerous it is…"

Danny nodded, as he recalled how he had damaged the ghost-proof simulation room the first time he had tried willing his raw energy. It was pretty intense.

Seeing the man change back, the boy followed suit, before curiously asking, "So, does that mean you are not going to be here for dinner. I mean, it's close to that time already, right?"

"Yes, it is. And I do not think I will return in time. So, you will have to forgive me, dear boy," he said, with a small apologetic smile.

Danny nodded and calmly replied, "That's okay. I have plenty of homework to do, anyway." He then raised his arms in the air and stretched out his sore muscles as he added, "And a shower and nap are really starting to sound good just about now."

Vlad chuckled, but his smile abruptly vanished as he recalled something very important. How could he have forgotten? He had wanted to do this since yesterday. But with all the drama from then, the billionaire had realized it was better to wait a bit until some of that tension between them eased. And although with this new day, his and the boy's interaction was now back to relative normalcy, Vlad was still unsure if he wanted to discuss this with Daniel. After all, he did not really need to. This was an issue he could resolve on his own...

Still, the man wanted to know just how serious the issue on his mind was. He wanted to first measure the boy's reaction and response to it, before he decided how to handle that very important 'something.'

"You okay?" Danny suddenly asked, having noticed the man's abrupt change in demeanor and silence.

"Hmm?" Vlad asked, finally focusing back to the boy's question. He smiled calmly. "Yes, I just recalled something I have been meaning to mention to you… I was thinking of telling Ms. Thomas to suspend your classes for tomorrow…"

Danny raised a questioning eyebrow. "How come?"

Vlad casually crossed his arms, though his gaze was now completely locked on the boy's own as he answered, "Well… I thought we could change our routine around here a bit. Or, rather, skip it all together. At least, just for tomorrow."

"Okay…" the teen muttered, not sure at all where Vlad was going with this and where his sudden urge of 'playing hooky' had come from…

"I suppose it is unexpected," the man continued in his same causal tone. "But I thought about this with specifically you in mind… I have noticed how much you like spending time in forest, Daniel. But I can assure you, there are things out there you have yet to discover. I'd like to show them to you tomorrow. And there is no better way to take a stroll through there, then on traditional horseback. Are you interested?"

But the instant the man mentioned the prospect of going to the horse stables, Danny's eyes widened in fear. He unconsciously began to back up as he fought to keep the sudden surge of all his memories of the ghost who was there from overwhelming him.

Of course, Vlad noticed the teen's reaction; but the man wasn't at all surprised by it. It was like he had been expecting it. But now watching the boy with an even more studying gaze, he calmly asked, "What's wrong, my boy? I was under the impression that you liked it out there. And, yet, you look anything but thrilled with my idea…"

Finally realizing he was moving away from the man, Danny forced himself to stop. But even though he tried, he could not keep his voice steady as he answered, "I-I do like it out…t-there. I-I just…I don't w-want… I…I never rode a horse," the boy abruptly said, staring up at the man with a nervous and almost pleading look.

Vlad raised an eyebrow, though it was mostly due to the teen's look rather than his actual comment. But the man then just waved a hand dismissively and said, "Then, I'll teach you. Believe me, it isn't anything difficult to learn."

But clinging to his excuse to help him focus, the younger hybrid was able to calm down enough to reply, "I-I don't know, Vlad. Why do we have to… do that? Can't we just fly to the forest?"

Vlad purposely placed his arm around the teen, and began to walk them out of the simulation room as he said, "Oh, but I insist, dear boy. It will be a good experience for you…" But mentally the man added, "And it will allow me to finally find out exactly what Dazzler is doing to you…"

Danny hardly noticed the man's arm wrapped around his shoulder. He was too worried to think about it. And to his growing anxiety, he could not think of anything else to say to the man. Obviously, Vlad was set on this. And to change his mind about it was virtually impossible.

"Just don't think about it," the teen repeated like a mantra in his mind, in hopes of quelling his fear. But even though he was managing to suppress his memories, he was unable to suppress the sudden shiver of fear that coursed down his spine.

And Vlad felt it.

In an instant, the older hybrid spun the teen in front of him and firmly grabbed his shoulders. "That's it, Daniel! What's going on? You are going to tell me! And you are going to tell me right now!" he demanded.

The older hybrid had been willing to respect the boy's wishes of not speaking of this when he had first realized the truth about Dazzler on the plane; and he had even been willing to hold off on the topic because of everything that had happened with their return. But not anymore! He was done with this stupidity! The teen was obviously troubled by the thought of the controlling ghost; and the man was not going to let him keep refusing to tell him why!

Danny froze, and stared at man with large eyes full of fear; but it wasn't directed at his arch-enemy, but, rather, on what the man was demanding of him. He couldn't tell him because it meant remembering everything!

The teen shook his head and nervously replied, "I-I don't know what you're talking about…"

But that only set off the man's anger more. "Do not play dumb with me! You know exactly what I'm talking about! I don't know if your refusal to speak of it is some sort of foolish teenage pride or some absurd belief that you can resolve this on your own; but I am not having any more of it! I want the truth, Daniel! Why do you go off in a panic the second I mention anything relating to Dazzler?!"

Danny gasped, just before that illogical sense of panic exploded inside him. "Let me go, Vlad!" he screamed as he fiercely began to struggle against the man's hold.

But Vlad just held him tighter and his eyes narrowed, "No! You are not going anywhere! Not until you tell me what's going on!"

"No! I can't!" he yelled back, struggling even more as the mental dam he had used to keep his memories of Dazzler suppressed broke, and they began to cascade over his eyes, like some horror movie.

But at that very moment, Vlad's own eyes widened as wave of dread washed over him…The boy's eyes…They were flashing gold!

"Daniel… What's wrong with you?" he whispered, his hold slightly weakening. The older hybrid only knew of one being whose unique abilities carried such a hue. So, there was now no doubt in his mind that this was Dazzler's doing. But he still did not know what the ghost had really done. Vlad had never seen Dazzler do anything like this before…

The younger hybrid was shaking like a leaf by now; but for some reason, hearing the man's own fear in his voice, helped ease his own—if only enough to understand his question and reply, or more like, whimper, "I-I don't know, Vlad. Just…let me go."

Vlad's eyebrows creased in further worry, before he sighed and finally let go of the teen. He watched as the boy instantly backed away; but when Daniel did not just run out, like he obviously had wanted a moment ago, the man felt a spark of hope. Did the boy want to tell him the truth but was just too afraid to do so?

"Daniel," the older hybrid began, looking increasingly desperate by the minute. "Please, I only want to help you. Let me help you. I can, but you have to trust me."

Dazzler's spell abruptly switched off when the man's last words took priority in the boy's mind. But all Danny could do was stare at his arch-enemy, not believing what he was asking of him…

Vlad lowered his gaze as some form of sadness fell over him. "I… know I am the last person who should be asking you for your trust… But, please, at least this once. Trust me enough to let me help you," he pleaded, looking back at the teen.

Danny took a shaky breath, but his breathing was much less hectic. Is that what Vlad thought? That he wouldn't tell him about…that ghost because he did not want the man's help?

The teen lowered his eyes as he realized that the man had every reason to think that. After all, he had not wanted his help in any way before. But that had changed some time ago. And Danny most definitely felt different now. He did want his help. And as the boy thought about it, he knew that---and he felt that---he did trust Vlad enough to let him help him… But the teen's fear wasn't only for himself…

Danny pushed back his black hair and closed his blue eyes with a shaky sigh. He didn't want to break down again in front of his arch-enemy; but he had to try to tell him everything. He just had to be stronger than whatever that ghost did to him…

"Vlad," the boy finally spoke up, though he kept his eyes shut as he fought to get out what he needed without being overwhelmed with fear. "There's something you need to know… but I can't tell you. I want to. But I can't. I-I don't know why; but every time I think of…" But he suddenly, visibly tensed, unable to think, let alone say Dazzler's name.

However, the teen finally opened his eyes; and although his eyes were shrouded with fear, there was an intense seriousness in them as he pleaded, "Vlad, I need you to trust me. For both of our sakes, don't push this any further."

Vlad was clearly taken aback by the boy's own request for his trust. But hearing his last comment put a serious frown on the man's face. "You cannot ask me to just act as if there isn't anything going on! And I refuse to turn a blind eye to the fact that I am completely certain who is behind all this; and that that very ghost set you up with Walker! And that he has done something to you now! No, Daniel. I will not let Dazzler get away with this!"

Danny instantly grasped his head and whimpered at the mention at the ghost's name.

And that was all the older hybrid needed to see to reaffirm his decision.

"I'll destroy him for this!" Vlad growled out, his eyes turning red.

But when Danny saw the man turn into Plasmius, Dazzler's spell was overpowered by an even greater fear…

"No!" the teen exclaimed, grabbing one of the man's arms to stop him from going anywhere. "Vlad, you can't go! Don't. Don't go near him!"

"Why not?" Vlad demanded angrily, not understanding the boy's refusal.

Danny squeezed his eyes close again, unaware that they were continously flashing gold. But he could feel that mounting panic all too well as he tried to answer. But he couldn't! Why wouldn't Vlad just trust him on this?!

But at the sight of the once again shaking teen, Vlad's eyes narrowed with further determination; before he easily slipped out of Danny's hold and turned to the door…

"Vlad, s-stop!" Danny pleaded as he fought with his overwhelmed mind.

But Plasmius just fisted his hands and kept walking.

The teen gripped at his hair in desperation. He had to tell him!

Danny eyes were almost solid gold by how rapidly they were flashing with the hue. And yet he still fisted his hands and forced himself to shout, "Don't you get it?! That's what he wants! Vlad, Dazzler is after you!"

The older hybrid instantly spun on his heel and stared back at the teen in utter surprise and confusion. "What are you talking about, Daniel?"

The boy was shaking badly by now; but in spite all his fear, he was determined to tell the man everything. Maybe then, he would listen.

"H-He was there in the forest that d-day. With Spectra and Bertrand. I-It was supposed to be a t-trap; a trap for you. Daz-Dazzler told me…He told me he was after you," Danny whispered, though aside from fear, there was clearly worry in his voice as well.

Vlad quietly regard the young hybrid, before he sighed and walked closer to him. He then placed a hand on the boy's shoulder again as he gently spoke, "Daniel, his powers do not work on me. I am honestly surprised they even work on you…" The man's eyebrows creased in regret as he added, "But I suppose this is my own fault. I should have caught this sooner. But I am going to resolve this and put an end to that nuisance once and for all, alright?"

Danny shook his head. "No. What if you're wrong? What if his powers do work on you?"

The man smiled a bit at the worry on the boy's face, but he still was not swayed. He could see now that waiting anymore, even a day, was too much. This had to end right now. And by how badly things were, he was glad that he had realized this now. Taking Daniel anywhere near the controlling ghost would have been a terrible mistake.

"Really, Daniel, there's no need for your concern," Vlad finally assured him. "So, please, trust me that I can resolve this matter and just stay here."

Before the young half-ghost could say any more, Plasmius teleported out of the simulation room, leaving him alone. The teen just stared at the now vacant spot, looking completely torn. He wanted to believe, to trust, so badly that the older hybrid was right, that Dazzler was powerless against him. But Dazzler had spoken with so much certainty of his being able to harm Vlad… So, then, if the controlling ghost's powers really did not work on the older half-ghost, then what had Dazzler meant? How was he going to overpower Plasmius?

As he tried to find an answer to his question, Danny began to nervously pace. There was something more to this than he had yet to understand. But what? And what was he supposed to do? Vlad wanted him to let him take care of Dazzler. But the teen just wasn't sure about that. But he was also petrified of just thinking of the controlling ghost! Now, to have to face him? Could he do that?

"I can't just stand here and do nothing!" he exclaimed, suddenly angry with himself for letting his fear paralyze him like this. But even with his fear acting against him, a deeper determination set into the boy and he transformed.

He flew out of the simulation room, heading straight for the bottom lab. As he searched for a specific ghost device he knew Vlad had to have somewhere around the lab, he felt his heart beating harder against his chest. Just knowing what he was about to do was making it harder to keep his mind from being overwhelmed by Dazzler's spell.

"I can fight this," he said firmly, referring to that fear as he found exactly what he had been looking for and wrapped his hands around it. "I will fight this. I have to!" he added with conviction, before taking to the air and phasing straight out of the castle…


Dazzler was leaning against a wooden post inside the stables, seemingly staring at the feeding horses. He had returned this morning from the Ghost Zone. And being that he was able to return via one of his employer's now open portals, he knew that the hybrids had returned.

That was very good news…

After his trip, Dazzler was now, of course, back to full strength and now even more than eager to carry out his plans. He just needed to get the little runt alone again, and then just wait for his possessive employer to jump into the fray. After that, it would be all too easy…

He would have some fun with them first, though. After all, he wanted to gloat that he could finally control the 'all-powerful' Vlad Plasmius. And he had grown to really hate Danny Phantom; so he was more than wanting to make that runt suffer…

Dazzler paused in thought as he abruptly recalled a new worry to his plans: Niane.

Ever since he had discovered what she was, he was a bit apprehensive about his plans. He couldn't help but wonder if that spirit would try to interfere… After all, she had kept him from wasting the runt that one time at the pool by showing up before he could. And then, more recently, she had kept him from wasting Danny Phantom's friends and sister. So, then, would she get in the way of his plans now?

Dazzler's eyes narrowed and they briefly flashed gold at the thought. "Just let her try," he muttered darkly. "I'll waste both of hybrids before she even has the chance."

The controlling ghost did not understand why Niane was even around, let alone why she had an interest in the two half-ghosts. But he did not care. And although he knew that he could never go up against the spirit, he could keep her from getting in his way by using not only the hybrids as leverage, but also what he knew about her.

"I would love to see the look on my employer's face if he knew…," Dazzler said with a smirk.

Ironically, though, Dazzler had actually run into Niane this morning. And although she had said nothing to him, he had made sure to remind her to keep away from him and keep her mouth closed. Ultimately, the controlling ghost had a feeling she had too much to lose to interfere; but in case she didn't, he had plenty of things to use against her.

Dazzler's smirk widened as his thoughts returned back to the hybrids. He still remembered vividly how the little hybrid's life energy had felt in his hands. It had been so intoxicating. It was why he could not help but narrow his eyes hungrily as he simply imagined how much more invigorating his even more powerful half-ghost employer's life energy had to be.

"I just need that little runt to play as my trump card and this game will be as good as mine," he thought with a smug chuckle.

Too bad that his early triumph was interrupted by an unexpected voice.

"Dazzler?"

The controlling ghost jolted a bit in surprise, and whipped his head to his left to stare at the owner of the cool voice.

"Sir?" Dazzler asked, raising a confused eyebrow at the man. He really had not expected to see his employer here. What did he want?

But ignoring the nervous flutter in his stomach, the ghost moved away from the wooden post and stood straight. He folded his hands behind his back as a calm and pleasant smile quickly masked his confusion.

"Forgive me. I am just a bit surprised to see you here. I cannot remember the last time you set foot in your own stables," the shadow ghost said, his eyebrow heightening.

Vlad just stared at the ghost, feeling his inner rage grow with the traitor ghost's casual voice.

Dazzler frowned a bit at the man's lack of reply. "Sir? Is everything---" But the ghost never finished.

Plasmius abruptly raised a hand and shot the ghost at point blank with a red blast.

The controlling ghost gasped just before the attack slammed into his stomach and then further slammed him back into several mounting equipment on the wall behind him. Dazzler's hissed in pain as he grabbed his stomach, only to feel and see his hand covered in his own ectoplasm. A wave of absolute fear swelled inside the ghost as he stared up at his attacker.

Vlad gazed darkly at the ghost as he kept his glowing hand raised and aimed at Dazzler, clearly ready to fire another attack.

"Wait. I-I don't understand," the male ghost stuttered as he unconsciously pressed himself harder against the wall behind him. This was not what he had planned!

"You're a fool, Dazzler," the older half-ghost growled out, his anger now truly showing. "Did you really believe I would not figure out everything you have done? Everything you are doing?!"

Dazzler's eyes grew even larger. Plasmius could not be talking about what he thought, could he?! It wasn't possible! But before the controlling ghost could answer, the man released a second attack. However, this time, Dazzler reacted and turned intangible before he could be harmed. But his actions, in turn, sent the ghost through the wall he had been pressed against and he fell back outside the barn.

To his misfortune, however, Plasmius suddenly materialized in front of him before he could even get to his feet. "Sir, wait! Just calm down!" he quickly said, as he stumbled to his feet and began to back away from the other approaching male.

"No one betrays me, you fool!" Vlad exclaimed as his hands began to cackle with his electrical energy. "And no one, no one, touches what is mine!"

Dazzler cried out in alarm as he dodged a bolt of red energy; but before he could do anything else, a glowing rope wrapped around his neck, just before sending a surge of electricity through his body.

Vlad mercilessly stared at the screaming ghost, who dropped to his knees, his hands grasping the rope in an effort to pull it off him.

"Stop!" Dazzler shouted, before he was able to focus enough to use his own energy to destroy the rope around his neck. The ghost fell to the ground, his form quickly becoming his real shadow one as he desperately raised a hand in front of him, as if it was going to save him.

But the ghost was now in just as much shock as panic. There was no doubt now in his mind that Plasmius knew the truth. But how? The only explanation was that Danny Phantom had told him. But did that mean his spell had failed? How was that possible? No, it wasn't possible! The boy was too weak! But then, how had he managed to tell the older hybrid the truth?!

However, this wasn't Dazzler's greatest dilemma. The runt wasn't here! He had nothing against the older hybrid if the younger one wasn't around! His control on the man relied on the boy's presence. But, obviously, Plasmius had had the foresight of making sure Phantom stayed far away from here.

His employer was going to destroy him; and even if he tried, he would not be able to stop him! He was too powerful for him!

Knowing all he had at this point was his words, Dazzler quickly stumbled into an explanation. "I-I can understand your being angry. B-But I can explain e-everything. J-Just give me a moment to do so! I-I have been with you for years! I would never p-purposely betray you!"

Plasmius stopped his approach; but his eyes narrowed further. "You're pathetic, Dazzler. I am honestly surprised that a coward like you would even dare to try something like this! But then, you always were an opportunistic parasite. You thought the boy was an easy meal, didn't you? You even involved those other leeches like yourself to attack him. Well, then, Dazzler, it seems you forgot one very significant detail in all this."

Plasmius suddenly split into four and surrounded the ghost, before he darkly said, "You forgot me."

Dazzler gasped as the hybrid and his duplicates fired red energy blasts at him at the same time. But the controlling ghost quickly produced a purple dome around him, shielding himself. And knowing he was going to have to fight for his afterlife at this point, he quickly followed that by a purple blast at one of the copies.

Not expecting the quick attack, Vlad's duplicate was instantly destroyed by the powerful blast. And the older hybrid instantly knew the ghost was at full strength. Too bad it would do him little good against him.

Glaring darkly, Plasmius continued, "Finally picking on someone your own size? Or should I say someone more powerful than you? We both know how this will end. But you are free to squirm as I destroy you. It will make it all the more enjoyable for me."

Dazzler quickly dodged the incoming attacks of Vlad's two remaining duplicates, before spinning around to face the real half-ghost; and narrowing his eyes in anger, the shadow ghost fired two energy blasts at him.

But the man just raised his hands and absorbed the incoming energy into his hands before throwing it right back at the controlling ghost.

Dazzler gasped in fear as he raised his hands in front of himself and fired his purple energy again at the incoming energy. But as the opposite forces collided, Dazzler was pushed back by the older hybrid's more powerful energy. Still, he kept his own energy coming, knowing if he allowed his employer to win in their power struggle, it would be the end of him.

But the controlling ghost stood no chance and Vlad's power quickly began to overcome his own; and having forgotten about the man's copies, he was at that instant caught off guard by two blasts to his back.

Dazzler screamed in pain as he lost his concentration; but before he could be hit by the real Plasmius' energy, he managed a shield to protect himself. Still, the copies solid hits on him had the ghost panting in pain on the ground.

Vlad approached the injured ghost, his hands once more crackling with his electric powers. "I hope everything you did was worth your after-life, Dazzler. Because I'm about to end it. And if by some miraculous chance you happen to come back from oblivion, maybe you will at least think twice about angering a being much more powerful than yourself."

"S-Sir, please!" Dazzler begged, now clearly terrified as he stared up at his former employer. He didn't need to see that the man's two duplicates had charged their hands with red electricity as well. The shadow ghost could hear its deadly cackle!

Vlad smirked coldly, clearly enjoying seeing the ghost suffering. "Good-bye, Dazzler. You are hereby terminated---in all the meaning of the word."

Dazzler could only stare up in horror; but just when he thought, he was finished, he caught sight of something in the sky and he quickly turned his focus to it. He was only briefly surprised; but when he was sure at what exactly he was looking, the ghost suddenly burst into laughter, though he was unsure of which emotion was stronger: his amusement at the irony of it all or his immense relief.

"Oh, sir!" Dazzler exclaimed, before his head tilted back and he laughed harder.

Vlad cut short his attack, honestly surprised by the ghost's abrupt change of demeanor. Had he gone further off the deep end?

"What the blazes is so funny?" the man hissed, ready to just blast the foolish ghost.

Unable to stop laughing, the ghost just pointed up towards the sky. But Vlad didn't need to look in its direction. At that instant, he felt what the ghost found so comical.

Dazzler smirked evilly as he watched the man's red eyes grow wide in alarm. "Tsk. That runt really is going to be your down fall…," he said smugly, before one of his hands began to glow with his power…

Vlad would have been confused by the comment, especially when he briefly recalled Skulker had said something similar to him when they had fought. But his thoughts and logic vanished as a familiar scream resonated above them.

Plasmius instantly whirled around and his eyes widened even more at the sight of Danny…

The teen, who had been flying steadily in the direction of the horse stables, clutching a ghost thermos tightly in his hand, knew that the older hybrid and Dazzler should be there, somewhere. But just when he had been about to descend, he felt an abrupt hold over his being. And he was only briefly aware of a purple hue around him, before the pain around his very heart exploded inside him, tearing a scream out of his mouth. Instantly, the boy lost all thought and concentration, and he dropped straight out of the sky.

"Daniel!" Vlad yelled out in fear.

But before he could do anything, Dazzler used Plasmius' own distraction to throw three consecutive energy blasts at the older half-ghost and his two copies. The quick attacks were true. And in an instant, the duplicates were taken out while their owner was dropped to his knees in pain.

As Danny continued to plummet, Dazzler smirked down at the fallen Vlad and evilly said, "Now this is how things were supposed to go. So, then… let's take this from the top, shall we...?"


*Vlad muse glares* You are not blaming me for this one, Pearl! *muse vanishes*

*Pearl grumbles, but quickly smiles at readers*Oh… heh. Finished already? Um, well, that ending was not my fault! I was overshadowed! I promise!

Well, okay, before anyone chases my muse and me down with ecto-guns, I got a few comments to make.

First: If you were not able to review last chapter, well, heh, that was sort of my fault. See, I deleted one of the chapters; or rather, I combined 'chapter one part one' and 'chapter one part two' into one. I figured since it is the same chapter, it is kinda pointless to have it as two. But, then, that messed up the review system. Opps. But you guys should not have any trouble reviewing this time around. But, if you are wondering why I was even messing with it in the first place, well, you see, I like to read my own work from time to time to make sure I don't have plot holes or haven't forgotten anything. And although I have noticed this for a while now, this time, it really got to me... Oh, my gosh. The beginning chapters are so horribly written! The grammar and writing… *cringes* Gosh, I honestly wonder how I got all of you hooked to this story in the first place… *stares around suspiciously* My muse overshadowed you all, didn't he? But, seriously, it's bad. So, I decided to attempt to edit—not change, mind you--the beginning chapters… But in the past week, I have only accomplished to do four pages of the prologue. Yeah, it's not going to be done any time soon; since editing posted chapters is the last thing on my agenda. Still, I will do it eventually. I just can't stand looking at all that bad grammar… For those who do not know, I did not have a beta to help and educate me from the beginning of this story… Anyways, I just wanted to tell you all you should not have trouble reviewing now… *hint-hint*

Okay, second comment: Just FYI, I did not just make up that Danny can duplicate in season two. In the episode 'Beauty Marked', he dodges being sliced in half by the ghost with the axe by splitting in two. But he only holds it for that second and joins into one again. We also have seen him in an earlier episode that he has been trying to learn how to duplicate every since he meet Vlad in BR---and we see it's not the easiest thing for the kid to replicate---no pun intended. But, then, suddenly, in season three, Danny can make four duplicates. It might have been just me, but I thought that was a pretty big jump from his having problems with duplication from seasons one and two. So, what have I done? Yeah, you got it. I'm filling in the gap. You might have already noticed that I am setting some things up here and there that occurred in season three. It makes me feel better because I thought they did a poor job at tying things in season three with the first two seasons. So, you will see a lot of more my 'filling in the gaps'. *winks*

And, third, though just as important: I know some of you are concerned about the OCs in this story. I decided to address it here, just in case others who wanted to comment on it and could not thanks to my 'opps' up there, can read my reply to that. Now, first. Keep in mind that the show is always bringing in new ghosts. So, my following comment does not really apply to my ghost OCs. I think the show itself justifies my having them. Now, with the human ones. Well, I gotta say that I am very picky when it comes to human OCs myself. I only have a little over a handful of stories that have human OCs and I have liked them---which is why I dislike Danielle so much. She is so 'mary-sue' to me. Heh. But let me not get started on her…

What I want to get across is that you guys have to keep in mind one very important thing about this story: we are not dealing with 'Danny's world'. We are in 'Vlad's world'. Ergo, almost everyone in it is going to be OC. I had to add OCs to make the story believable. After all, I personally would find it weirder and less believable that Vlad would not have any sort of human interaction in his life aside from the Fentons. The guy might be evil, but I highly doubt he's anti-social when he is supposedly a billionaire and is obsessed with obtaining love.

Now, please, don't get me wrong. I absolutely love your honest responses and don't let my saying this keep any of you from critiquing my work. I welcome it. But I do like to explain why I do what I do when it's necessary. This is my only intention of my talking about this. To explain my logic.

Furthermore, I have been doing my best to bring in and develop the OCs gradually, instead of just thrusting them at you all and expecting you all to accept them---Well, Stephanie's daughter was not as slowly to come in. But in all fairness, I did mention her existence several times before introducing her. And she did have to show up sooner or later, hmm?

But, anyways, I have tried to bring them in slowly. And that is why there is so much mystery around a lot of them. But, I can assure you of one thing, for those who are worried about them: they will always be background characters. At least, for this story… The only things I am trying to get across with them and show with them is just how they are related to Vlad. In the end, it all returns to him. I think, I hope, I have been keeping the OCs appearance to a minimum. I think I have… I mean, I am certain I can count each of their appearances on my hands… The point is, that they were necessary. I am trying to dive into Vlad's life---if that isn't obvious already. So, I had to have them. Just like I had to have Danielle in this story since she is now on the show… *grumbles*

But, anyways, yes. They are background characters; especially when this story is cannon. So, if you haven't seen it in the third season, it's not gonna happen… But, then, that does not stop me from building and manipulating a lot of the holes they left in that season…eh?

Well, my lovely readers, thanks so much for your support and thoughts! I love them all! Truly I do! So, I leave you here. I will try my best to update in a week's time. But no guarantees, this time. I have a very important test this coming week and I need to hunker down and study!!!

Now where were we? Oh, yes, you all were about to chase me with ecto-guns! *flees after muse*