Disclaimer: I own nothing from Danny Phantom

Chapter 3: Confession

Vlad's POV

To be perfectly honest, I was taken aback by how easy her parents were making this for me. Danielle was clearly under a lot of duress and her frustrations towards them were boiling over to the point where she could no longer contain them. That's good. Manipulating her while she's so emotional would make it all the more satisfying once I take her from them and prove to be the superior parental figure in Danielle's life.

Given how Danielle's only a teenager, it was all too easy to guess what mundane sort of problems she's been dealing with to anyone with two eyes and half a brain. I was surprised when I realized that even Maddie seemed totally oblivious to her daughter's struggles. In fact, I've never seen her act so strict to anyone before, well, apart from Jack but let's face it, he's nothing but a child in a man's body anyway who can't even tie his own shoes. Danielle on the other hand is more than capable of taking care of herself and yet...when she's constantly being held up to her older brother's standards, in comparison she is treated with blatant disregard which is unacceptable.

That's when it occurred to me, it's not just her powers I could help Danielle deal with and there was more to why I wanted her to join me. I could help ease those heavy burdens since maintaining a social image and surviving high-school is difficult enough, but to have to quite literally fight ghosts day in and day out on top of that just to survive was no laughing matter, especially for someone so young. Jack and Maddie are ghost hunters for heaven's sake! So why is their daughter the one being forced to play the role of protector of their town?

Are they both THAT incompetent...?

Luckily for Danielle, once I found a way to secure a place for her here with me where she belongs, that would be a thing of the past. I would treat her with all the love and devotion a parent should and not insult her intelligence by comparing it to others. Danielle's success or failures would depend entirely on her own merits, although obviously I would do my utmost to help her succeed. That's what she needs. Someone who is actually attentive enough to notice when Danielle's at her limit and needs a nudge in the right direction.

I will give her a world worthy of us and make sure everyone who has ever wronged us learns to regret it. But first things first I had to gain Danielle's trust. It was a risky move, revealing my secret to her so soon, but I could see no other way to stop her from hiding the truth about herself from me the same way she does from her parents.

As I turned invisible and watched her cry alone, it did not escape my attention that no one in her family bothered to check on her or offer Danielle any sort of comfort except for me. I had excused myself from the dining room for that very purpose. And after seeing Danielle reduced to such a sorry state, I actually felt genuinely worried for her. After all, I know exactly what it feels like to be all alone; to feel rejected, scorned, and left by the wayside by those I thought I could rely on. Yes. I knew the feeling all too well.

But it didn't have to be this way. Soon, she would have me, and we would have each other. That way, we'd both get what we want. Someone who understands.

A few hours later after anonymously checking in on Danielle again, once I was certain she still planned on attending the reunion, I set the plan in motion while my underlings were busy making preparations for tonight's...entertainment behind the scenes. Ah yes, while the core of my plans haven't changed, now that Danielle's in the picture, the stakes had been raised and she's the ultimate prize. But that didn't mean I couldn't still humiliate Jack AND make myself more appealing to her as a father in comparison. Shouldn't be too hard given his hands off attitude in his own daughter's upbringing and bad habit of leaving all the thinking to Maddie, as usual.

Once everything was in place I approached the girl and smiled, complimenting how lovely she looked in her midnight blue gown. It complimented her sparkling blue eyes and beautiful black hair perfectly, which had been left loosely hanging around her shoulders instead of being tied up. A shame really.

Either way, I needed to get her alone with me one way or another to enact the next phase of my plan. And sure enough, not too long after that, the slow song I requested began to play and those who actually had a dance partner gathered in the middle of the ballroom to sway to the music or slow waltz, which is exactly what I was doing with Danielle. Normally I would have requested something a bit more refined for us to dance to, such as Tchaikovsky or Mozart, but since everyone else here was more old fashioned in a classical sense I selected something a little more their speed. Regardless, I hoped Danielle would enjoy it at least since I still did what I could to select a song she was likely familiar with.

I frowned internally when I noticed Danielle's posture was incredibly tense, like a coiled spring ready to snap at any moment. Did what happened last night really unsettle her that much? For a brief moment, I reconsidered telling her my secret just yet since it 's anyone's guess how she would respond to learning I'm the ghost who injured her last night. I could always create the opportunity to later, away from prying eyes and any chance of human or ghostly meddlers interfering. But then again, if I did that, it would take more time and careful planning to get her entire family here again any time soon, meaning if I didn't act now, this rare window of opportunity would slip through my fingers while Danielle is in such a vulnerable and impressionable state.

While pondering all of this, in stark contrast to how abnormally my body temperature was naturally thanks to my ghost core, I noticed that Danielle's hands felt cool to the touch, like gentle spring rain. And regardless of how long we danced, they didn't seem to change temperature at all. If I didn't know any better, I would have been deeply concerned for her health but this was normal for hybrids like us.

As we danced, Danielle soon began to unwind and eventually she even found the courage to look up and meet my gaze instead of continuing to shyly stare at her feet. Her lucid blue eyes were filled with innocence and naive admiration once she finally relaxed, I doubt she would have enjoyed it as much if Jack were in my place since he's a large brute of a man that doesn't know the meaning of the world 'gentle' and likely would have crushed her hands in his monstrous grip. I on the other hand, had more class than that and treated Danielle like the precious treasure she is to be handled with great care and love.

A shame she can't stay this pure and innocent forever, I thought with a nod, pausing to savor the moment for just a little longer before finally getting down to business and speaking to Danielle about the 'real' reason I wanted to dance with her.

Needless to say, I was not expecting her eyes to widen so much as a look of absolute horror flit across Danielle's face when I told her half the truth of what actually transpired last night. Could it be she's that afraid of her parents finding out what she really is? This is more serious than I thought, I realized while listening to her feeble attempts to dismiss my claims about seeing ghosts here in the castle.

I should have realized sooner that underneath the utterly bored facade from earlier, Danielle was still upset about the situation with her parents and terrified that they'd find out she was attacked last night which in her mind would ruin everything, exposing her secret to them before she was ready. That's when I realized the only reason Danielle came to the ballroom this evening is because she forced herself to to avoid further punishment or backlash from her parents, not to enjoy herself in spite of it which made my blood boil.

She clearly did not actually want to be here and was looking for an excuse to leave as soon as I mentioned ghosts, so I did what any gentleman would do and led her out of the crowded dance hall so Danielle could calm down and recollect her thoughts. I rubbed small circles on her back as she dry-heaved, trying to catch her breath, and secretly I marveled at how unblemished her skin was despite the countless battle wound she has no doubt endured long before our confrontation.

Interesting. Obviously I didn't know how long she's been half-ghost like me, but it was astonishing to see that her regenerative powers were so advanced that she healed from near-fatal wounds practically overnight. That would explain why Danielle looked no worse for wear when she joined us for breakfast this morning apart from some slight discomfort and stiffness judging from her posture. As I continued to comforted the poor girl, I observed quietly to myself, It doesn't appear as though she's covering any remaining scratches or bruises with makeup which means...Danielle really is perfect in every conceivable way. Those fools don't know their good fortune. Especially you, Maddie. How could you and your husband live with yourselves after reducing your daughter to such a pitiful state...?

Since I had a bit more tact than that after realizing my mistake, I didn't press her for further details about the night before and simply waited until Danielle's heavy breathing evened out. Although she still seemed rather lightheaded at first from not being able to get enough air into her lungs. Daniel's long eyelashes were dusted with unshed tears she tried to blink out of her eyes, so I expertly removed my red handkerchief and kindly offered it to her. Danielle accepted it wordlessly and lightly dabbed her eyes, trying not to smear her make up on it before handing it back to me.

Her thoughtfulness touched me deeply so without thinking, I securely wrapped my arms around the poor girl and lamented sincerely, "I'm terribly sorry Danielle, I didn't mean to upset you. Whatever did happened to you last night must have been frightening and I should have chosen my words more carefully. Forgive me for forcing you to re-experience those awful memories."

To my surprise, Danielle shook her head and pulled away from me, putting some distance between us before replying unsurely, "It's...it's not that. I just-"

Just then the two of us reflexively became perfectly still when we heard a pair of muffled voices just outside the door as one of them laughed, "...oh come on, it's a big castle, no one will miss us. Come on, live a little already!"

"But what if he catches us?" The other voice replied as the couple gradually moved further away from us. "I don't want Masters to do something crazy to get back at me for messing up his stuff. Or did you forget how I used to bully him relentlessly back in college and even pinned the blame on him and that bozo Jack for stealing the school mascot? Back then, he was just a skinny little nobody who believed in ghosts. But now he's the richest man in the world! If he finds us wandering around his castle without permission like this and messing with the place, he'll ruin me. Do you hear me? Ruin!"

"Not if I ruin you first..." she promised seductively, making Danielle and I both blush at her implied meaning.

Once we were met with only silence again, save for the distant din of voices and music from the ballroom, Danielle heaved a sigh of relief and without looking at me she shrugged, "You know what, forget it. If it's all the same to you, can we just pretend like nothing happened? I'm in enough trouble as it is without my parents getting paranoid that I'm being targeted by ghosts just to get to them or something. Besides, I'm sure you have stuff to get rid of them with, right? Or like...I dunno, bodyguards since you're a billionaire?

"Either way I'm just...I'm fine so don't worry about me. And I really don't want to talk about ghosts anymore. I came here hoping to escape them for at least a little while. I-I mean since my parents talk about them nonstop," she added hastily, trying to cover the slip-up.

"Besides, I'm sure we'd both rather avoid dad causing a scene by blowing a hole in the wall while trying to hit a green balloon that he thinks is a ghost. And before you ask, yeah, he actually did that at my birthday party when I was six. I appreciate you looking out for me, but I don't want my parents freaking out and scolding me for not using the little ecto-gun they made me carry in my grab bag to defend myself with if a ghost or a boy ever assaulted me. I mean, I didn't exactly have it on me last night since I was dressed in my PJ's."

I was almost impressed by her quick thinking and had I not already known the truth it would have been a very convincing lie, clever girl. Still, this was getting us nowhere and I still had to lure Danielle to my lab before I could begin phase two of my plan. I wanted to make sure she would be well out of harm's way before I sent my vultures after Jack again. At least long enough to convince Danielle have no intention of harming her again since I didn't know her secret until last night. Although...her comment about the concealed weapon she was carrying gave me an idea so with a seemingly defeated sigh I stood up, dusted myself off before nodding in agreement.

"Alright, you make a fair point Danielle," I began, but in a more serious tone I added, "However, since those ghosts DID attack you last night it would put my mind at ease if you'd agree to let me give you something else for some added protection against them should they come after you again. Although I'm sure your parents can handle it if they do should the need arise. All I ask if that you humor me since you really gave me quite the scare last night."

Smiling, I gently brushed some of her hair back behind her ear and added fondly, "Please understand this Danielle, I know we've only just met, but I've grown rather fond of you and would hate to see anything bad to happen to you. Especially when you seem to already be having a difficult time. That's the only reason I came to you and not your parents with this. From where I stand, if they're not up to the task of keeping you safe then if falls to me and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Danielle seemed confused at first since it sounded like my words had a double meaning, which they did, but she didn't need to know that. Either way, I resisted the urge to smile triumphantly when Danielle's shoulders slumped and she sighed, smiling, "Sounds fair. Thanks, Vlad. It means a lot to me that you would even go to the trouble to make sure I'm ok. My parents could learn a thing or two from you."

More than you know, my dear, I mused wickedly to myself, guiding her to the lab since I for one am a man of my word and had every intention of keeping her safe...

But, that did not mean Jack was safe from ME.

Danielle's POV

I felt much better after Vlad took the time to explain what he actually meant when he brought up the ghost vultures he saw last night. It was still kind of weird that he already believed in ghosts, no questions asked. Then again, it makes sense given how he's old friends with my parents. I'm just glad Vlad seems more...level-headed about it.

I followed him in silence as we made our way to his lab, which if you didn't know any better seemed like a perfectly normal laboratory at first glance. It was a circular room with four curved tables and various devices lining the walls but as I said, it was very tidy and sterile and didn't smell as funny as the lab at home does. But despite how normal it looked, the moment we stepped inside, the doors automatically closed behind us and I flinched as an unnatural chill ran up my spine...

As you can probably guess, it wasn't just any old chill, it was my ghost sense going off as a puff of mist escaped my lips. Well, that's just great. Here we go again...

Needing an excuse to leave as soon as possible to go deal with whoever had set it off, I shifted uncomfortably and asked, "Um, Vlad? Is this going to take very long? We should probably get back before we're missed..."

Watching Vlad as he scanned the tables idly looking for whatever he wanted to give me, I noticed a photograph on one of the tables and while he was still distracted I walked over to it and picked it up. Wait a second, isn't that mom? Wow, she looks amazing. The guy next to her on the right must be Vlad, but why is this other part ripped?

Looking at it more closely though, something about it seemed familiar and I frowned, Hold on. That orange suit, isn't that...dad's?

Sure enough, when I reached into my clutch purse for it I found the torn piece of an old photo I had that those vultures dropped the first time I fought them and held it up to the picture in the frame and it was a perfect match! But why would they have this? Something didn't add up! What could Vlad possibly have to do with-

"Danielle..." Vlad called over to me, unaware that I was onto him for being part of all this somehow and frowned as he continued with a sigh. "There's something I have to tell you. The truth is I haven't been completely honest with you. There's actually another reason why I brought you here. What I'm about to tell you may come as a shock, but I ask you to please keep an open mind and remain calm, alright?"

Shaking my head, suddenly furious with him the moment I realized he lied to me, I snapped, "Oh yeah? How about we start with this then?!"

I held up the picture frame and the torn off part with my dad in it and glared at him as soon as Vlad turned to face me. He seemed mildly irritated at first but quickly replaced that expression with a calm calculating one before he spoke again. "Ah, I was hoping you wouldn't notice that. I suppose I should have put that somewhere out of sight beforehand, that was careless of me. Well no matter."

His dark blue eyes bore into mine as he stepped closer, but unlike before when his serious tone intimidated me a little, this was different. Vlad was up to something and wasn't who he said he is. And I felt like an idiot for falling for his trick so easily. Clearly, this guy has some beef with my dad but I never expected Vlad to somehow hire ghosts to attack him which they did not once, but twice!

How the hell did he pull that off anyway? Blackmail? The threat of total annihilation? And more importantly, did the vampire-ghost have something to do with all this too...?

"Ok, enough with the mind games you fruitloop!" I growled, standing my ground even when Vlad was towering over me, hands behind his back while mine was pressed against the back of the table behind me. "What's really going on here? Why did those ghost vultures have a picture of my dad? Did you really...send them after him? Look, I know what my dad did to you was wrong and he should have apologized years ago, but messing with ghosts on purpose is just as dangerous! Are you really that stupid!?"

Smirking at me knowingly, I was shocked when instead of Vlad answering me, he countered with a few questions of his own, "I think the better question is...how did you happen upon that picture, hmm? Did it fall out of the sky perchance and you just so happened to find it laying around...?"

"Don't dodge the question!" I snarled, slamming the picture frame back on the table behind me and jabbing a finger at his chest. "What I want to know is why you're working with those ghost vultures! How'd you get them to listen to you anyway? Are you working with that other ghost that attacked me too? Why am I really here? Let me guess, you're going to try to silence me before I expose your evil plans to my parents, right? Those ghosts might have caught me off guard last night, but I'm not as helpless as you think and I'm more than capable of kicking your ass."

"Silencing you? Of course not," Vlad replied indignantly as if I just insulted him by even suggesting it which confused me. Realizing how bad it probably looked to have him hover over me like that, he carefully took a few steps back to give me some space and confessed, "I have no intention of hurting you. I won't make that mistake again."

I blinked, "Wait...again?"

Before I could react, my ghost sense went off again and I suddenly felt a pair of tentacles wrap around my arms from behind which lifted me up into the air. Instinct took over when that happened so without thinking, I transformed into my ghost half and snapped into battle mode. Now free of the dress, I delivered a swift back kick to the first ghost to make it let go of me and grabbed the second one by the tentacles and slammed it into the ground with a nasty splat. Dazed, the two ghost octopuses quickly retreated and phased out of the nearest wall. Both ghosts were super easy to beat, but the thing that unnerved me most was how those were the two ghosts I ever fought after I gained ghost powers! How could Vlad possibly know that!? I only fought them a few months ago!

Whirling around, I stared down at Vlad from where I was floating and realized too late that...he had tricked me into transforming! Now he knew my secret for sure or maybe Vlad knew all along, and I fell for his act! But then..why did he still look so calm and self-assured? Isn't he worried I might attack him? Not that I would unless I had a reason to but-

After that, I felt my ghost sense go off a third time but instead of being attacked directly, I felt something prick the side of my neck and winced, reaching up to pull out some kind of dart. Almost instantly, the dart fell from my trembling fingers as my vision started to blur, my whole body shivering, and I slumped to the floor, too weak to move. What the hell? What's...happening to me? I don't understand, Vlad was in front of me the whole time so was there...another ghost in here the whole time waiting for his signal? But who-

Hugging myself, I scanned the room and I saw none other than Skulker step out of the shadows, smugly retracting the dart gun in his arm as he confidently walked over to me and pulled me up by the hair. "Skulker? How did you get back in your ectoskeleton? And what are you doing here?"

God, just how many ghosts does Vlad have working for him anyway?! I gasped, weakly reaching up and grabbing onto Skulker's arm. "All excellent questions..." he smirked, activating a glowing blade in his other arm and holding it against my throat after pulling me closer to him.

Staring at it, I laughed nervously, "Uh...the glowing blade is new..."

"You like it? I've had some upgrades!" Skulker declared excitedly before growing serious again and leaning in closer with it, "Now-"

"Enough!" Vlad boomed, drawing our attention back to him. "I didn't hire you to kill her Skulker, your work here is done."

Skulker and I exchanged looks before he sheepishly started to apologize just as his suit began to beep and an automated voice told him he was scheduled to go check out a book on purple-back gorilla's.

Wow, so his suit is still doing that? Noted. I thought blearily, but I wasn't out of the woods yet since I still felt...weird and it was getting harder and harder by the second to focus my thoughts at all.

The second Skulker let go of me I transformed back into my human form just as his jets activated and he phased through the roof, leaving me all alone with Vlad again. I could hardly move and at that point, I actually felt more than a little scared by how powerless I felt. I didn't let it show though as I mustered what little energy I had left to glare up at Vlad as I asked him bitterly, "Skulker? The ectopuses? I don't understand. Why would...you do all this?"

Scoffing, Vlad answered coyly, "Of course not, you're what? Sixteen? Barely old enough to drive and still years away from going to college yourself?"

Kneeling down and lifting my chin, he smirked and continued smugly, "I sent those ghosts and others to test your father's skills. Imagine my surprise when I find YOU, the second ghost hybrid his foolishness created!"

"Second?" I asked, too dazed at that point to really grasp what he meant.

That's when he -without letting go of my chin- transformed before my eyes when a familiar ring of light formed at his waist and split into two just like mine. Only his were black somehow. Rapidly, they started changing his appearance as they passed over him to reveal the vampire ghost who knocked me unconscious last night! Plasmius!

"You?!" I gasped, struggling to find the strength to transform back to my ghost form too to kick his ass so hard that he'd be feeling it for weeks since I was beyond pissed now!

"I'm going ghost!" I cried out furiously, but nothing happened so I tried again and again but it was useless. What the hell was wrong with me!?

"Why can't I go ghost...?" I muttered aloud, legitimately worried now.

"You have a battle cry, hilarious!" He laughed, letting go of my chin. "I, on the other hand prepared something extra special just for you, courtesy of Skulker to make absolutely sure you couldn't escape once I revealed myself to you. Purely a precautionary measure I assure you since I couldn't very well have you running off to warn your parents and spoiling everything now could I, my dear?

"As for what the drug did to you, thanks to it's...unique properties I'm afraid you're as human as your idiot father for at least the next hour or so. That gives me plenty of time for me to put the next phase of my plan in motion a bit ahead of schedule since you sadly figured out I'm indeed the one who sent those vultures after him."

"Shut up you creep! You better leave my family alone if you know what's good for you!" I threatened feebly despite knowing I was probably completely at his mercy right now and couldn't stop him even if I wanted to. "Now let me out of here!"

Standing up, Vlad turned his back to me, his solid red eyes peering back down at me as he challenged, "Why? So you can go back to stumbling through your adolescence desperately trying to get control of your powers? Powers, by the way, I've had for 20 years!"

Turning back around and showing me several examples of what he could do Vlad explained, "I have experience, my child. And the money and power gained from using those powers for personal gain. I could train you, teach you everything I know. And all you'd have to do...is renounce your family and join me. Really they don't seem to appreciate you nearly as much as I do, my dear.

"I knew the moment I met you there was something special about you. I never could have imagined you'd be another hybrid like me though! A hybrid...that their reckless behavior created that they've allowed to suffer in silence for who knows how long, too afraid to come to them for help or tell them the truth about what you are."

I bit my lip and couldn't bring myself to respond because for one thing, I was in shock, and for another...the truth is Vlad was right. They didn't appreciate me or seemed too worried after I got out of the hospital after the accident. And even when I'm at home it's like I don't even exist unless they need me to do chores or something. But they're still my family and I don't want them getting hurt! Especially my dad since Vlad seemed to have a reason to want him to suffer.

I-I didn't know what to do since Vlad had backed me into a corner and up until that point I had never felt this helpless and alone so before I could regain control of my emotions, tears started to fall down my cheeks and I stared blankly at the floor, feeling utterly defeated and scared. I flinched when Vlad knelt down in front of me again and cupped my face in his hands, his thumbs brushing away my tears as my eyes suddenly started to droop and my vision began fading in and out of focus.

"Don't be afraid Danielle," Vlad whispered as he looked at me almost lovingly which creeped me out even more. "I meant it when I said I don't want to hurt you. You're too important to me now. I didn't know you were like me when I first saw you. I had heard of Dani Phantom but never could have imagined seeing her all the way out here in Wisconsin, so I assumed you were either here to interfere with my plans for Jack, or you were just a suicidal ghost that just happened to unknowingly trespass into my territory while chasing those three buzzards and I had a reputation to uphold. That's the only reason why I attacked you."

As if reading my mind when I tried to speak again but couldn't form the words to ask what he planned to do to my family, Vlad replied confidently, "As for your father, well, some payback for what he put me through is still long overdue, but if it will put your mind at ease I promise not to kill him. I'm not a monster, and I certainly don't want you to hate me. Even if it takes some time...you'll learn to trust me.

"It shouldn't take much to convince your parents it would be in your best interest to stay here with me for a while. Especially when all of this stress is taking it's toll on you mentally and physically. Speaking of which, do try to get some sleep now my dear. You'll thank me for this later..."

It's scary how fast my strength faded after that. I tried to fight it, but I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore so they fluttered shut and I collapsed limply against his chest. I could feel his arms wrap around me possessively, enveloping me in their incredible warmth. I hated thinking that I still felt...weirdly drawn to Vlad, longing for that sort of comfort as my world fell apart around me. But it's not like I had the strength or will to pull away from him either way, I couldn't...think straight.

I barely even heard what Vlad said to me at the very end since his voice sounded so far away. So, so far away. Then, I slipped unwillingly into the darkness forced on me by that effing drug and I had no way of knowing if anything Vlad told me was true or if I'd wake up to find everyone I loved injured or worse because I wasn't strong enough. I was powerless to stop it, so all I could do, was hope I'd live long enough to find out one way or another.