Disclaimer: I own nothing from Danny Phantom

Note: Warning, there are some mild dark themes in this chapter, but it's all here for a reason. You have a problem with that and can't separate fact from fiction, then go read something else. I know I'm still coming off as defensive, but can you blame me? Things are getting better, but I don't want to deal with someone getting it into their head it's my fault they're getting offended by sensitive topics. Well, it's not.

As you can see, I always warn my readers about potentially triggering subject matter beforehand, so if you go ahead and read this story anyway then that's your own decision to make, I'm not forcing you, so you can't get angry at me or this story for simply existing when it has nothing to do with you or any real world issues. This is a safe place where we should be able to write about something purely for the sake of telling a narrative, nothing else.

And again, if that's still not ok with you, well, too bad, that's not my problem.

Chapter 15: Hush

Vlad's POV

I could tell Danielle wasn't lucid anymore because her eyes became completely glazed over shortly after I found her. And before long she stopped responding to my words at all and simply curled up against my crest as she mentally withdrew from the rest of the world. There was no way I could take her to her friend Samson in this condition, he'd accuse me of doing something to her or he would naively insist Danielle's parents might know how to fix this. But that was entirely out of the question since Danielle couldn't even remember how to turn human again let alone remember who her parents were so I needed more time to figure this out without any unnecessary distractions.

Of course, I couldn't just leave that boy in the woods by himself wondering where I was when he clearly needed assistance as well. Thankfully, the most obvious solution presented itself when I created three duplicates and telepathically gave them instructions while I personally lifted Danielle into my arms. The first duplicate was to go inform Samson that I had found her and would contact him later once the situation calmed down while the second flew off back towards the river with my tracking device to search for that accursed staff. And finally, I sent the third duplicate to keep an eye on the police car containing Freakshow in it. Re-absorbing my duplicates memories was doubtlessly going to cause a massive headache later on, especially while extending my reach to remain connected to them, but it would be worth it once all of the pieces of my plan fell neatly into place.

Either way, I needed to take Danielle to safety first and foremost while also making sure her friend was taken care of as well. So to make things go more quickly, I instructed the duplicate I sent to speak to him a head to overshadow one of the people leading the search party and discreetly directed them towards the smoke from the campfire we had built so Samson wouldn't catch a chill. As luck would have it, despite how worried he was about Danielle, almost drowning had taken its toll on him too and Samson was fast asleep next to the smoldering embers the fire by the time anyone reached him.

As for the other duplicate I sent after that staff, I was hoping that destroying it would remove any lingering traces of its power on Danielle's subconscious, but I also had something else in mind to use it for. After all, I'm half-human as well so surely I could utilize it's power, correct? True, I still felt some of the same pull from it that Danielle did when exposed to its eerie red glow, but compared to my strong desire to protect Danielle, this relic's power over me was laughably weak since nothing was more important to me that she was. Not to mention I was far more powerful and experienced than her so it was much easier for me to resist its hypnotic call...

And the thing about mind control is that no matter how effective it is, part of you has to WANT to lose control otherwise it doesn't work. Your mind had to be open to suggestion and impressionable or easily swayed, which I am not. I serve no one, with the exception of willingly wanting to do all I could for Danielle's sake to make her happy. So for Danielle to fall so easily under his spell had to mean she has been yearning for an escape, yearning for freedom from her troubles, and it left her mind wide open to the staff's dark influence.

Part of Danielle was probably tired of playing the hero all the time, so the version of her I saw in that news clip, the one who embraced the rebellious impulses inside of herself, that was still another part of who she was. It was the part of Danielle who wanted to break free from her chains and stop following the rules. However, since the very idea of hurting or killing others was against everything she stood for, I know for a fact that Danielle would never willingly harm someone. Not even if they deserved it, and Freakshow certainly does.

That's why so long as she wasn't harming anyone, especially those closest to her, I'm guessing it wasn't all that difficult for Freakshow to keep her under the staff's control, and that made him far too bold and complacent in his victory. It wasn't until Freakshow foolishly ordered her to kill one of her friends that Danielle resisted. He wasn't used to that happening either, so he punished her and used the staff's power to snuff out her freewill which came from the memory of her loved ones. Because Danielle is more than a ghost...

Unlike his other minions, she's half-human and therefore not ruled by the same compulsive nature most ghosts have to single-mindedly pursue their obsession, which in this case was being redirected into following Freakshow's orders. And given how unusually human Danielle appears, Freakshow most likely treated her like some sort of exotic pet which utterly disgusted me. The thought of that sick oily-skinned freak TOUCHING her at all made my skin crawl and my ghostly aura began to flare up with raw ectoplasmic energy that made sparks fly around every inch of my body.

I will NEVER let such a vile creature such as Freakshow, or anyone for that matter, take my little badger away from me. I would destroy anyone who tries, especially someone who has caused her so much suffering that I should have prevented! This was all my fault! I should have been watching her more closely and if I had, none of this would have-

Realizing letting my emotions get away from me wouldn't help Danielle recover her lost memories any faster, I paused for a moment to take a deep breath and do my best to calm down enough to focus primarily on the matter at hand. She needed me after all so I couldn't allow myself to get swept away by thoughts of revenge. Not yet at any rate. Tending to her injuries and assessing the situation had to take priority.

Sadly, Danielle was still catatonic in my arms, but I suppose it was better than her being frightened and distressed by her amnesia. We could only hope this was temporary and I could still save her. At least by some small miracle she remembered me enough not to be afraid when I appeared before her, which gave me hope that Danielle would recover everything in time. I simply had to remain by her side and make sure the man who did this to Danielle would suffer such retribution that all of the ghosts of Amity Park would tremble in fear once they bear witness to what happens when I make good on my threats.

While only temporary since I had nowhere else in Amity Park to take her, thankfully since the new home I was building there had all the basic furnishings and essentials, like for instance a functioning anti-ghost shield, I brought her there for safekeeping so I could attend to other business. She still wasn't responding aside from the occasional whimper as Danielle clung to me.

After gently laying her down on a bed in the closest guest room to mine, I set to work carefully washing away dried ectoplasmic blood off of her injured leg with a damp towel and then wrapped it in a fresh bandage. My hand froze when I noticed traces of physical abuse adorning her pale skin that had been hidden underneath the filth in the dark before. And the sight of it made the hairs on the back of my neck bristle...

I found no traces of sexual abuse while examining her, thank god, however either Freakshow himself or another ghost had taken advantage of her docile demeanor to give Danielle just enough of a beating that it showed. At least, it showed enough for a practiced eye to see. There were light red marks and bruises on her neck, both wrists, and even a few on her back, but thankfully that was it.

The marks on Danielle's back looked like they were the result of a high-heeled boot being pressing down hard enough to bruise her skin through the layers of fabric as they pinned her down, the ones on her neck were from a tight choke-hold where sharp nails had dug into her skin and drew blood most likely, and lastly, the marks on her wrists and forearms looked like they were from something being violently ripped off like, say, some stolen jewelry perhaps...?

Taking all that into account it looked as though this was the handiwork of a jealous ghost in Freakshow's little cast of ghost slaves who tried to assert their dominance over their new 'comrade,' but I use the term loosely since they clearly had enough self-awareness to do this much harm to Danielle without their master catching wind of it. After all, while entranced who would she tell? Why would she want to? In fact, it was a terrifying thought to think that Danielle might not have even defended herself while this was happening or Freakshow LET it happen and told her not to so he could enjoy the show.

Whatever the case may be, regardless of the situation I continued tending to them as best I could. I was troubled though when Danielle didn't even shiver involuntarily when I touched the ugly red mark between her shoulder blades. Normally that would have sparked some sort of reaction from her, like a cry of pain, but there was nothing, nothing at all that seemed to matter to Danielle at all...

That all changed however once my duplicate brought the staff that started this whole mess. As suspected, even in this catatonic state Danielle's eyes turned from green to red and she stared intensely at the swirling ball of energy before her with rapt attention. Actually seeing the sudden change in her for myself was incredibly unsettling, but soon its power over her mind would vanish along with the man who drew Danielle into his clutches through the power of its hypnotic influence. Strange how I could still feel its power tugging at me at first up until that sensation abruptly disappeared the moment my fingers closed around the cool blood red metal, like it was acknowledging me as its new master and by extension any ghost I wished, including Danielle.

But this isn't what I want!

Danielle isn't some pawn in a chess game, she is the most precious person in the entire world to me! She is my pride and joy, the closest thing I have ever known to having a daughter of my own, and seeing her like this awoke feelings of pure unadulterated rage the likes of which I haven't allowed myself to feel since I promised Danielle I would leave her father alone. Much like Jack's screw up that ruined my life, Freakshow had made this personal by hurting someone I love, someone I wish more than anything was my daughter but I...know she never will be.

So all I can do is protect her since I'm the only one who can.

But while I have given up my revenge against Jack Fenton, Freakshow was not going to escape my wrath so easily. No, his grave mistake of targeting my little badger was going to cost him his life. For his sake, Freakshow should pray he ends up straight in hell once the deed is done and doesn't remain in this world as a ghost. Because if I so much as hear a whisper of his name, I will make it my personal mission to find him, tear him apart molecule by molecule to make sure that absolutely not a single trace of his soul remains intact in this or any other world.

As much as I hated to do this, I knew the staff's power was the only thing that would ensure that Danielle would stay put and not interfere with my plans once she discovered what I was about to do. Because even without her memories, Danielle's heart is pure and she would never let even a villain such as Freakshow suffer such a cruel fate as the one I had in store. And I couldn't risk anyone finding her either while she was this vulnerable without her memories and therefore wouldn't remember how to properly defend herself. That's the only reason I planned to trap her within the confines of an anti-ghost shield, just like before, for her own protection.

Holding the staff closer to her, which made her sway and follow every movement I made, I asked her quietly. "Danielle, can you hear me?"

As a brief look of confusion flitted across her face when she clearly couldn't even recognize her own name, with those extremely glazed glowing red eyes, she nodded and replied eagerly, "Yes Master, I hear and obey."

My eyes widened in shock at her response, but I ignored my discomfort at Danielle calling me her master instead of by my name, and carefully instructed her. "Then listen carefully. Until I return, you are not to leave this room. If you see anyone else enter besides me you are to turn invisible, stay out of sight, and remain completely silent so no one can find you but me once it's safe again. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she answered, her eyelids fluttering slightly as Danielle swayed dizzily again.

Danielle must still be exhausted, I thought, pitying her. Then while glancing at the staff in my hand again, I wondered, I should be careful about how much of its power I use on her seeing as it's what caused her memory loss, but maybe just this once it might be safer for both of us if I-

Straightening up again, I held the staff out before me and ordered calmly, "On second thought, I command you to change back to your human form and fall into a deep and peaceful slumber...now."

And just like that, her eyes rolled back into her head and Danielle collapsed onto the bed like a rag doll, her trademark blue transformation ring splitting into two and passing smoothly over her body, her white hair fading to black and her closed eyes returning to their usual blue luster. I was appalled by just how easy her broken mind was to control with the staff's power, but for her sake it's probably best that Danielle stays asleep until I return. After that we would have to wait and see if her memory loss could be reversed by removing both Freakshow and the staff itself from existence...permanently.

It was heartbreaking to see Danielle so weak and helpless again when I know for a fact she has come such a long way since the last time I saw her only for Freakshow to reduce her to this. Steeling myself for the task ahead, I tucked her into bed and like so many times before I brushed back her hair to kiss her brow and silently hoped that somewhere in deep in the recesses of her heart, Danielle still remembers just how much I treasure her.

"I'll avenge you, Danielle. I swear, Freakshow will rue the day he ever dared to set his sights on you." I promised darkly as I slowly rose, gripping the accursed staff tightly in my hands just as the final duplicate returned and I absorbed their memories, much like I had with the other two to prevent myself from getting too bad of a headache from the sudden influx of new information. But now I knew where my target was located, and very soon Freakshow would be reunited with it in a way he'll wish he hadn't.