Disclaimer: I own nothing from Danny Phantom

Chapter 18: Echoes

(Chapter inspired by In The Dark Of The Night cover version by Johnathon Young)

Danielle's POV

I don't know how long I sat there in that corner staring blankly at the floor, but I wasn't sure whether to feel relieved that I remembered a bit more about myself or worried because there was so much I still couldn't. After awhile I decided I was better off focusing on the positive instead and stood up so I could take a look around. It was way too depressing to think about everything I've forgotten and honestly there was no point in trying to remember everything right away when I still didn't know the basics like where I was or who that ghost was who saved me. So I just had to believe I was safe now and my memories would all come back to me eventually, I just needed to give myself a bit more time.

Wandering over the the closet after changing back to my human form, I sighed when I realized there wasn't anything else for me to wear besides the nightgown I was in which seemed a little too big for me and wasn't anything like what I'd normally wear. Did my rescuer borrow this from someone? Well whatever the case may be, it was way too feminine for my tastes with the frilly sleeves and such. So, ok, that seemed more like how I usually think. I didn't like to wear dresses or skirts unless it was for a special occasion and preferred to wear casual clothes, aka more something more comfortable that was easy to move around in. Got it.

That said, I really wished there was something else in the closet for me to wear , but at the same time I knew I probably shouldn't be complaining since whatever I'd been wearing before was most likely being washed or something right about now. I mean, I was thrown downriver and then went traipsing around the woods in a daze; so at least this nightgown was clean and dry. After that, my next concern was finding something to eat since it felt like I hadn't eaten in days so I made my way to the bedroom door and reached for the handle.

I was relieved that it had been left unlocked -which confused me because why would I assume I was locked in after being rescued- and I slowly stepped out barefoot into the hallway, looking down both sides and calling out. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

No one answered me, but in the background I could hear the gentle patter of rain outside which was oddly reassuring. Or maybe I only felt comforted by it because it was something to fill the silence that otherwise filled this place. It was dark too and there weren't many lights on, but that didn't bother me too much since I could still see just fine.

Treading lightly I made my way down the hall, not noticing the bandage on my leg coming loose but since it didn't hurt I probably didn't really need it anymore. My ghost powers took care of most of my injuries while I was sleeping, and honestly, it was a nice feeling that I didn't have to rush off somewhere. I had a feeling I hadn't slept in like that in a very long time, but like I said I was a bit hungry though so that's mainly why I left the room. The other reason was because I was looking for...Vlad. Yeah, I remembered calling him for help before blacking out and he was the man with the silver hair who is half-ghost just like me, the same ghost that saved me in fact, so I had to be inside one of his vacation houses or a mansion somewhere.

It was so empty in here though so was he renovating it? That would explain why it only had the basics like beds and other furniture in it. But where...was this place anyway? Stopping dead in my tracks, I gasped when the hallway darkened unnaturally and I heard an insane peel of laughter, but it definitely wasn't Vlad's. I remembered the sound of his evil laugh and he wasn't like that anymore, he cared about me and genuinely wanted to help so then...who-

Shuttering when I felt a hand brush back my hair, I heard someone whisper. "Going somewhere, my rose?"

Jerking away from the voice, I whirled around, hands glowing green with ectoplasmic energy as the laughter continued, sounding like it was echoing randomly from every direction. My heart was racing because I didn't know if this was an actual enemy, or a memory tormenting me like some kind of twisted waking-nightmare. Then again, their voice was too clear to be something I was only imagining, it was more like it was ringing directly in my mind and no one else could hear it. Either way it seriously put me on edge and I walked forward slowly, eyes surveying my surroundings waiting for this ghost to strike.

My ghost sense hadn't gone off, but there was definitely SOMEONE in there with me, I could feel them. Their presence felt...oppressive if that makes sense, heavy, and thick like fog making it difficult to breathe. So needless to say, I was seriously getting creeped out by this strange feeling because it was almost like whoever this was, they were new, as in just barely became a ghost which I've never come across before. To make matters even worse, I couldn't get away from his cruel laughter since it was in my head and every once in a while I felt his fingers playfully ghosting across my shoulders just to see me flinch away, resisting the urge to blindly begin shooting ecto-energy rays all over the place hoping one or more of them would hit them somehow.

"Who are you!? What do you want?" I demanded, getting sick of them messing with me.

In response, the disembodied voice replied thoughtfully. "You don't remember me? How disappointing. And here I thought I had left a much bigger impression on you than THAT. At any rate, hmm, let me think. Well for starters, while I'm still getting use to it, it turns out it's not nearly as hard as I thought to become a ghost. You just have to get someone to violently murder you and then allow that anger and resentment, passion, or desire, give you a powerful reason to stick around.

Really I should be thanking Vlad the Impaler for giving me this generous gift since I feel more 'alive' than ever so to speak and free to do as I please with my new found power. Or at least I will be soon enough once I've taken a little something from you, my rose. Don't worry, it won't hurt much. I just need a few drops of your blood since it's more powerful than a normal human's since you exist between two worlds instead of one or the other. Then I can use it to create a new crystal staff and you'll be bound to me, forever. Now doesn't that sound delightful?"

Then he cackled excitedly. "Oh he'll HATE that for sure! I'd use my own blood to do it, but sadly...I really am quite dead. My family's blood magic won't work with a dead man's blood I'm afraid. Yours is different though, you're not dead...and yet you have ghost powers which is something unlike anything I've ever seen before! So I want you to be mine now more than ever."

I froze when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders as a gloved hand covered my eyes and he breathed directly into my ear. "I was always taught to take good care of my possessions, my treasures, and you certainly count as that and much more. To think, you were more valuable than I could have imagined because you're more than just a ghost, you're also human and therefore don't follow all the same rules as either of them which is a very thrilling prospect. So there's no way I'm going to let you escape my dark embrace so easily, my beautiful rose."

I tried to phase out of his grip but I-I couldn't move! Somehow he kept me rooted to the spot, helpless as he pulled me closer to him, his cheek nuzzling mine. I grit my teeth, trying not to let him freak me out, but I inwardly shuttered when he whispered quietly into my ear. "I look forward to our next meeting...Dani. We're going to have so much fun together, I promise. But for now, you might want to wake up and let your murderous protector know that the game is still on and I aim to take back what I rightfully stole first."

Startled when he abruptly uncovered my eyes and the world went red for a second, I screamed as a loud clap of thunder shook the air and my eyes snapped open. I blinked when I realized was actually already laying on the ground, but then, impossibly, I noticed there was something in my hand so I slowly uncurled my fingers to see what it was and saw a small sliver of crystal from a certain magical orb dimly pulsing red in my hand before the light faded from it, leaving it as clear as ordinary glass...

Up until that moment, I wasn't aware that ghosts could mess with someone's dreams like that. In fact, I realized that I might have actually been sleepwalking this whole time, or at least from the moment I left the room. I had no idea who he was yet or what was going on, but one thing I did know...was that I was being haunted by a very dangerous ghost.

Feeling more shaken up by what happened than I cared to admit, I searched around the house until I found what looked like the master bedroom, aka Vlad's room, and I walked inside of the room, hugging myself. What did that...ghost mean by 'getting used to being a ghost?' Did Vlad...really go so far as to kill that man to protect me and now he's come back for revenge?

I still felt incredibly grossed out after that...that freak touched me even though I know what I experienced just now wasn't real. I blinked. Wait a minute...freak? That reminds me of-!

"Freakshow!" I suddenly exclaimed, remembering seeing him on TV and on a billboard somewhere when this all started! "That's right! He was the ringleader of Circus Gothica and he...hypnotized me with some sort of swirling red crystal ball! But that means that this fragment in my hand and my dream from earlier of Freakshow's murder. All of that was real!?"

"Oh my god..." I gasped in horror, realizing exactly what that meant. "This means that Vlad, he actually killed someone to protect me. But I never- Damn it, if I hadn't called him for help he never would have gone crossed the line like that! Shit!"

Pacing the room I tried to think about this more carefully. I knew I couldn't exactly run away from him, that didn't exactly work out for me the last two times I tried, and if Freakshow's ghost was targeting me again then I needed some serious help. After all, he's already managed to control me once and if Freakshow was also the one responsible for my memory loss too then I was probably in way over my head. And if I screwed up again now, I might lose myself forever. Especially if Freakshow's planning on making an even more powerful version of that stupid staff.

I probably had other people or ghostly allies I could turn to for help, but I couldn't remember enough about my life and the people in it to really know who they were. Besides, even if I did, none of them would be able to go up against a ghost with mind-controlling powers, or at least enough knowledge to know how to remake a relic he could use to hypnotize me all over again! And if he was really planning to use MY blood to make it, who knows what else that might do to me!

It was all just too much to process so I fell to my knees, slamming my fists onto the ground as I screamed at the top of my lungs in frustration! Why did this ALWAYS have to happen to me!? Everywhere I turned there was another problem and I was constantly surrounded by danger on all sides, more often than not dangerous ghosts just like Freakshow that wanted to tear me apart limb from limb. I've been fighting ghosts all this time to protect people, but who did I have protecting me? A crazy obsessed billionaire that has no reservations about KILLING someone like Freakshow just for pushing me over the edge.

That's why, in the end I was forced to compare the two of them so I could decide who was the least dangerous to deal with. Vlad or Freakshow? My gut told me they were both being manipulative assholes, but my heart told me at least Vlad's was in the right place, twisted as it was. And frankly Freakshow WAS the more dangerous of the two because he was willing to kill people who had nothing to do with him and were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and otherwise hadn't done anything to him, meanwhile Vlad promised me once he wouldn't hurt anyone unless they hurt me...which Freakshow did.

But Vlad couldn't protect me, not from this monster he had created. Even now, I could still feel a small tug at the back of my mind tempting me to fly out of this building right now to go to Freakshow's side. There wasn't enough power behind that compulsion to control me obviously, but there was enough to feel it nagging at me as a reminder that Freakshow's power over me wasn't completely gone. He still had his claws in me, and Vlad...had only made them sharper.

Vlad's POV

It took much longer to tie up the other loose ends than I thought, but now all the pieces were in place I felt it was safe to return to Danielle's side now to tend to her memory loss and such. I would have to be careful though since it wasn't clear yet just how much she would remember once I returned or already had now that Freakshow's staff was broken since I didn't want to overwhelm her with too much information. So instead I would calmly ask her how much she remembered first and then go from there, answering any questions she might have in regards to what happened leading up to this point. I would have to dodge certain delicate subjects of course, but otherwise it was in both our best interests for me to be as honest with her as possible...

Danielle hates it when I lie to her after all.

Much like the first time she had been left in my care, I thought Danielle must probably be hungry so I brought her something to eat from the kitchen. However, when I reached her room, the door was ajar which set off alarm bells in my head so I immediately dropped the bag and rushed inside. "Danielle!" I shouted, seeing no sign of her, but there were no hints of a struggle aside from a blanket hanging off the edge of the bed in casual disarray so I quickly backed out of the room again and tried to deduce where she might have wandered off to.

That's when I noticed a long strand of white fabric on the floor which turned out to be the bandage from her leg so I made my way down the hall calling her name. When she didn't respond I berated myself for not considering this before, but the reason Danielle might not be answering me could be because she still doesn't recognize her own name. What's more, she may not remember much about me either which meant Danielle might be weary of me to the point that she was currently concealing herself now that my own 'hypnotic suggestion' using Freakshow's staff had worn off.

That's when I resorted to extending my ghost sense to locate her, provided she was using her powers, but that was hardly necessary when I suddenly heard her scream. Alarmed, I teleported straight to her only to notice she was curled up on the ground, gripping her right hand which was bleeding freely all over the carpet. Danielle barely even noticed my presence until I knelt down beside her, carefully propped her up, and lifted her hand to examine the wound.

Coming to her senses, Danielle stared at me wide-eyed and tried to jerk her hand away, but my grip was too strong and I snapped in a harsher tone then I meant to. "Hold still! I'm trying to help."

"No, you don't understand!" Danielle exclaimed, struggling even harder. "I didn't realize I was still holding it! It accidentally cut me and we have to get rid of it! He's after my blood, he wants to use it to make a new staff and-and-!"

With an unexpected determined glint burning in her eyes, I was completely taken aback when Danielle lunged forward and actually BIT my hand, ripped the broken shard out of the cut, then phased through the ground. I had no idea what had come over her, but I immediately pursued her to prevent Danielle from inflicting any more unnecessary harm to herself. I was also confused by the fact that Danielle seemed much more like her usual old heroic self so whatever was going on, I was at least somewhat relieved to see a normal response from her.

But did that mean Danielle finally remembered who she is?

Who...I am?

When I reached her, I panicked when I saw Danielle veer in the direction of my underground lab which was the first thing I had built here and it already had a working ghost portal so was she trying to run away in her condition?! I had to stop her before she did something stupid, so against my better judgment, I shot a warning blast past her head and angrily told Danielle to stop. But instead of stopping she flew faster and once she was fully inside the lab Danielle scanned the room for the controls and slammed her fist on the nearest button that looked like an on switch. Then Danielle turned to face the portal once it opened, which only happened because I wasn't finished locking down the controls yet aside from the ghost shield so it would only work for me.

Before I could stop her, I saw Danielle grip the shard and then throw it as hard as she could at top speed directly into the Ghost Zone, promptly closing the portal immediately afterwards and collapsing to her knees, breathless, but clearly relieved. Taken aback by her rash behavior, I approached Danielle and demanded. "What the hell were you thinking Danielle!? Why did you rush off like that? And what were you trying to accomplish by coming here?! "

Mustering a weak glare, Danielle replied tearfully. "I wasn't TRYING to do anything! I-I just had to get rid of that shard before it did something weird to me like absorb my blood or something just like Freakshow wanted it to. You're the one who left me here all alone so he could say all this creepy stalker shit to me! I thought you were really going to protect me, but all you've done is made everything worse! Now I have the ghost of an effing psychopath haunting me who's trying to make a new staff to control me with so he can get back at you for MURDERING HIM!"

I stared at her in disbelief, knowing for a fact that there's no way Danielle should have known that. But regardless I had to ask. "How did you-?"

Rushing to her feet, for a second I thought Danielle was going to slap or punch me, but instead she wrapped her arms around me, her shoulders shaking as she choked out. "I'm sorry, Vlad. I'm so so sorry I dragged you into all this! If only I had been strong enough to handle this on my own, then you never would have come here and killed anyone. This is all my fault! I never should have called you. Please, I don't want you to become the same jerk you used to be because of me! Not now that we've finally gotten past all of that!"

"You...remember who I am then?" I asked tentatively, unsure whether I should hug her back or not given the situation.

She nodded mutely, stepping away from me and letting her arms drop, finally changing back to human form again and cradling her injured hand to her chest. Then Danielle admitted shakily. "I...don't remember everything yet, but I know who you are and...that you were trying to help me. I just don't want to be helped like this! I don't know what to do, and I can't stay here knowing that you-"

Taking a deep breath, I looked at her carefully and sighed heavily. "I'm not sure how you found out that I killed Freakshow, but trust me my dear, he deserved it. The things he's done are truly monstrous, Danielle. And had the situation not been so serious I might have allowed him live and die in that rat-hole of a prison. But he hurt you both physically and psychologically and that's not something I could forgive. In fact, I was deeply afraid you might never recover your memories and was prepared to take you home with me to explore other options to help you recover them. I had hoped that removing him would solve the problem since the staff was tied to his bloodline, but I never imagined he'd return as a ghost..."

Lowering my gaze and covering my eyes with one hand I thought to myself. That would explain why Freakshow was laughing mere moments before his death. I can't believe he actually WANTED to become a ghost; but he couldn't figure out how to accomplish that without committing suicide to obtain ghost powers of his own. Freakshow didn't expect to die so suddenly of course, but he clearly envies ghosts so it makes sense that he deep down he had the hidden desire to actually become one. I should have realized this sooner. Danielle's right, what have I done...?