Now the right chapter! Sorry guys, must've misclicked while uploading and didn't notice because I was in a rush. :'D

Danny laid back on his bed, staring at the blank ceiling above him. Not that he was really taking it in. He was too occupied with his thoughts. Thinking about his life, about his parents and their relationship with Phantom… All of the recent events, really.

Because the relationship between his parents and Phantom was mending. And that was good, right? He had come by a couple times so far, tried to visit every weekend to encourage this. To have them look at him with pride and love and… well, like a son.

But between the way they looked at Phantom and the way they looked at him… The way they talked about their own son instead of the ghost they hated so much…

It was starting to feel like maybe he was getting ignored. Falling away. And it wasn't his parents' fault, of course – it was him who kept choosing to spend time with them only as Phantom. Who hid himself away, afraid of…

Of what, really?

Not of getting revealed as a ghost, not really. If they could be so nice to Phantom, they would be the same to him – whether they discovered he was Phantom or not.

And that wasn't it either. Sure, he was still trying to avoid being outed as Phantom, but not because he was afraid of them. He was afraid for them. That they would limit him, distract him, try to help and endanger themselves…

But neither of those were good reason to explain why Danny Fenton kept avoiding his parents. Was it because of the way they looked at him, wistfully? Knowing what could be, if he wasn't in his room so much? If his grades would pick up further, his attendance not as bad?

Of the way they treated Phantom like their son because their real son refused to spend time with them?

He groaned before rolling over onto his stomach. Buried his head into his pillow and groaned again, muffled. Why was his life such a mess?

Already he was regretting his decision not to visit as Phantom today. He'd had planned to spend time with them as Fenton instead, but… but what if something came up? If a ghost attacked?

Phantom could leave easily – it was what he was expected to do. Danny, however, would have to come up with an excuse. And a good one, more than likely. And boy was he a bad liar, despite his years of practice.

That, and he couldn't think of a good way to breach the subject. It felt awkward, to just walk to his parents and tell them he wanted to spend his Saturday with them.

What if they asked him why now? What if they asked him what changed? Why he wanted to be with them now and not before?

He didn't know the answer to that. Well, he did, but he didn't know what to tell them. It wasn't like he could tell them that he was spending so much time with them as a ghost that he was starting to feel like his normal life was getting neglected. That wouldn't go over well, truce with Phantom or not.

Burying his face even deeper into the pillow, Danny groaned a third time. What he wouldn't give for an excuse to get out of this stupid loop in his thoughts.

The doorbell rang, and he jolted up. Who on Earth rang the Fenton's doorbell? The only person who has, recently, was Phantom. But he was Phantom, so that couldn't be it.

He was already out of his room and in the hallway upstairs when he heard his dad open the door.

"Vlad?" the man asked, voice tinged with confusion and a hint of fading exuberance. He'd been expecting Phantom, of course. Danny would enjoy the fact that his dad was happier about seeing him than Vlad more if he hadn't been feeling so conflicted about it earlier.

"Vlad, how nice to see you!" Maddie said, now also appearing from the kitchen. "What's the occasion?"

"Must I have a reason to visit my friends?" Vlad stepped inside, leering at Maddie. "Can I not come visit just because I want to?"

The frown on Maddie's face suggested that she certainly didn't feel so, but she didn't protest. Instead she led them further inside, where the three of them sat down. Maddie, tactfully, sat down in the armchair so Vlad couldn't take a seat next to her.

Seeing that no one had noticed him, Danny ducked back inside his room. He wanted to keep an eye on them, but he had no desire to interact with Vlad if he didn't have to. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that Vlad was here for a reason. And knowing the man like he did, that reason either involved him, his mom, or both.

Danny let the cold power of his ghost form wash over him, glad that there were no ghost sensors in the house anymore. There had been, for a while, until his parents (and him, and Jazz) got tired of them all responding to Danny.

Sometimes he really wondered how no one had figured out he was Phantom. Besides Vlad, that is.

He turned himself invisible and intangible, then sunk through the floor. In the living room, the three adults were still talking about nothing in particular – still small talk, it seemed. Not that Danny had been out of earshot for long, but you never knew with Vlad.

Taking position behind and above the couch, he let go of his intangibility. No one would notice him as long as he was invisible, and he only needed his intangibility to prevent the breeze he caused while flying. Both his parents and Vlad were around invisible ghosts enough to tell when one was present, otherwise.

The small talk lasted for a bit longer, although Danny tuned out most of it. He had to, really – if he heard another word of Vlad attempting to woo his mom he would puke and blow his cover.

And then finally, finally, Vlad brought up the topic he had wanted to talk about – or so Danny assumed.

"Say, I've heard the most ridiculous rumor about you two lately…" Vlad shifted, folding his hands together in his lap. "People are saying that you two are working with Phantom – that you three have a truce. Unbelievable, the kind of things people come up with."

Jack and Maddie shared an uncertain glance, then Jack cleared his throat. "Well, actually. We kind of do have a truce with Phantom." He scratched his cheek, an uncomfortable and shaky smile on his face. "We've been working with him for a couple weeks. He helps us with our research, we help him with ghost hunting, you know?"

Vlad's face fell. "You're… what? You are working together with– with–"

"With Phantom, yes." Maddie's eyes narrowed. "That is not a problem for you, surely? As the mayor, you must realize how much Phantom helps this town. If it wasn't for him, human hunters would have to be hired – and paid. Meanwhile Phantom does it for free, at any time of day."

"Yes, well." Vlad shifted, clearly uncomfortable. Danny wasn't sure where Vlad had heard of his new alliance with his parents, but he clearly hadn't believed the stories. Whether one of the ghosts had told him, or Valerie had, or maybe he really had heard rumors about it in the city… Vlad obviously hadn't thought that the Fentons would ever willingly join forces with Phantom. Ha! Joke's on him.

"I am simply… surprised," he finally managed. "The two of you were so… strongly against him. What made you change your mind?" A glance over to Jack, then a quick correction. "Minds, I mean."

Oh. Oh. He probably thought that Danny's parents had discovered his secret, and that that was why they were working together now. That… made a lot of sense.

"I suppose we just saw a different side of him," Maddie said, slowly. Picking her words with care. "And we came to realize that he was… not who we thought he was."

"Yes, exactly." Jack nodded energetically. "The kid's got power, but he needs guidance. Help. And we're perfect for the role, right Mads?"

Vlad's face twisted in a complicated mess of emotions. Quite honestly, it was beyond Danny's ability to decipher. "I see."

Then he suddenly stood up, wiping imaginary dirt off of his clothes. "Well, I'm sorry to say that that was all the time I had today. I simply must be going."

Danny watched the man storm out, a little surprised. He figured that Vlad would've been annoyed to discover that his parents no longer disliked Phantom, but this seemed a little… extreme.

Should he… Should he follow Vlad? Sure, the man caused trouble a lot, but if he hadn't been expecting this twist he wouldn't have a plan yet. Right?

Yeah. Yeah, that seemed about right. For now, Danny knew enough about Vlad and what he was working on. There was nothing to be gained from further reconnaissance except a potential fight.

Having thus made up his mind, Danny moved back to his room. He sat down on his bed, legs hanging off of the side, and switched back to human form. Holding invisibility for longer stretches of time was, unfortunately, still tiring. Maybe his parents had been right about regularly training his powers… Building more stamina and endurance certainly couldn't hurt.

Before he could put too much thought into the matter, however, his core stirred to life. Energy flooded through his system and cold air forced itself out via his mouth – his ghost sense.

Danny cursed, pressing his hands on his eyes. "Jinxed it," he muttered under his breath. Of course Vlad wouldn't leave it at this. More than likely he had left for the nearest hiding spot to swap to Plasmius.

Briefly, he considered the option of simply… not going. Vlad's ecto-signature wasn't one he could recognize, but the strength and timing checked out perfectly. And Vlad was here just for him, probably.

But if Danny didn't come, Vlad would cause trouble and force him to come, more than likely. The man didn't like to be ignored. So it was safer – and better for the town and his reputation – if he went.

That didn't mean that he had to like it, though.

Light washed over him as he shifted back into Phantom, and Danny flew out of his window. Invisibly, of course.

Tracking down Vlad was easy – his ghost sense allowed him to hone in on other ghosts as long as they were within reach.

Plasmius hovered over a mostly empty street, glaring up a storm. Pink ectoplasm sparked around his hands, but it seemed more like an extension of his angrily flickering aura than an actual attempt at an attack. At least he was high enough that no one would be able to overhear them.

Having released his invisibly on the way there, Danny flew into Vlad's view, fists clenched.

"Vlad! Haven't you caused enough trouble yet?" he taunted, knowing how much Vlad hated his quips.

"Daniel, how nice of you to finally show up." Despite the smooth purr in his voice, Vlad's flaring aura showed that he was still more than a little angry. "Perhaps you could do me a pleasure, my dear boy, and tell me what on Earth you were thinking. Giving away your secret to your parents?"

He snarled, baring his fangs. "Risking my secret as well?! What about our deal, you buffoon!"

Danny's aura flickered brighter in response, his fingers digging deeper into his palms. "Our deal?! Oh, because you've done such a great job of following that as well, huh?" He blew out a breath, loudly, then continued with a calmer – but still forced – tone. "But you don't have to worry about our secret, jeez. My parents don't know – they don't even know that Phantom is only half ghost, only that he's weird."

"Oh, don't try to trick me, Daniel." Vlad balled his fists as well, the pink sparks swirling into lit balls of ectoplasm. His voice had dropped into more of a hiss than the purr he normally spoke with. "Like your parents would go against decades of hatred for any reason beside their oh-so precious family."

"I'm serious!" Danny protested, or tried to. He barely got the words out before a blast of pink hit him in the chest, blowing him several feet away – and toppling him head over heels.

One hand still smoking, Vlad raised his other and aimed it at Danny. "You won't fool me, boy."

He underlined the statement by firing his other shot. Legs melting into a tail, Danny barely managed to dodge it.

"Come on!" he shouted back, forming a heated ball of ectoplasm himself. "I'm telling you, it's the–"

A blast of heat against his back, pushing him downwards. He hit the street with a crash and a groan. Man, he hoped he hadn't broken any bones. It was rare, these days, but such a frigging pain.

Danny pushed himself out of the crater, hovering just above street level. Vlad was lowering himself slowly, his cape spread wide in the wind. Dramatic bastard.

"Have you learned your lesson yet, little badger?" he sneered, his aura still spiking around him like flames. "That you are nothing without me?!"

Vlad opened his mouth to say more, but a white-hot blast of ectoplasm hit him right in the cheek. His mouth snapped shut, head whirling around to glare at the point of origin. Danny, too, turned to look – he hadn't been the one to fire.

And there stood his mom, hands wrapped around an ecto-gun with its end still smoking. Her hood was down, her red goggles glinting in the light. Behind her was the massive bulk of his dad, holding an equally enormous ecto-bazooka.

"Sorry to interrupt," his mom said, not sounding sorry in the slightest, "But I'm afraid I don't quite agree."

Vlad's eyes narrowed, flicking between Danny and his parents. His aura flared, almost impossibly, even brighter. "Is that so?" he asked, voice a low hiss. "What makes you think you can intervene? It's not like you're his parents, are you?"

"No," Jack said, so simply that Danny could almost see the pain it caused Vlad. "But we are his allies. And if you want to get to him, you'll have to go through us." For extra emphasis, he pressed down on the trigger at the last word, making the gun hum as it prepared a shot.

Danny took the distraction for what it was and moved closer to his parents. Whether Vlad would go for him or them, he didn't know – but he couldn't risk it either way.

He couldn't help but notice the onlookers, however. The few people that had been in the street were now watching the spectacle, wide-eyed. The cat was out of the hat, he supposed. After today, all of Amity Park would know about the fact that he was working with the Fentons.

The smoke around Vlad's hands thickened into ecto-fire again as the man eyed up his targets. Danny took position in front of his parents – but kept enough space for both of them to fire around him if necessary.

Apparently they posed enough of a threat, because Vlad extinguished his hands again.

"Fine," he huffed, his aura dimming only slightly. "Fine, have it your way. But know this, little badger. You might've won the battle, but you won't win the war."

And with that only slightly dramatic speech, he grabbed the edge of his cape. Swept it over himself in a grand display and faded into pink smoke as he teleported away. To his mansion, probably. Didn't matter much to Danny, anyhow.

He lowered his hands, knowing that Vlad had left entirely – no traces of energy which indicated duplicates. Then he turned to his parents, raising a hand to rub the back of his neck.

"Thanks for, um, protecting me." He grinned, a little awkward. "I really appreciate it."

"Of course kiddo!" Jack let go of his weapon with one hand, clapping it on Danny's shoulder instead. "We said we would help you, didn't we?"

"And I've been waiting for a chance to tell him what's what since you told us about him," his mom confessed, also lowering her weapon. "Not to mention for the times he has threatened me or Jack."

Danny glanced over at the crowd, but they remained distant. Still, he lowered his voice a little so they couldn't overhear. "Sorry that I didn't drop by today. I've been… busy."

The massive hand on his shoulder lifted again, and Jack shot him a friendly smile. When he spoke, he also dropped his volume – as much as Jack Fenton can, that is. "Don't worry about it, Phantom. We enjoy your visits, but they are in no way a mandatory event."

"I know, I know." He shrugged, loosely. "But it became a bit of a habit, to visit on Saturdays. And I didn't want you to worry if I didn't show up, but I also didn't want to just zip by because I would've wanted to stay when I couldn't and…" he trailed off into silence, shooting them a faltering and lopsided grin. "Y'know?"

"It's fine, honey." His mom holstered her gun, then uncertainly balled her fist like she had to force herself not to touch him – comfort him. "You're allowed to have your own life, even if you're not longer among the living. Just… Come by when you're not as busy anymore, please? We really do enjoy your company."

"I will." Danny nodded. "I, uh. I should really get going again – busy, you know? – but um. I'll try to come by again this week, if that's okay? Next weekend, for sure."

"We'll look forward to it." His mom smiled as well as she pulled down the hood. "See you soon, Phantom."

"Yes, indeed. Stay safe, Phantom." Jack raised a hand to wave him goodbye, and with a grin Danny returned the gesture.

As he zipped away and towards his home again, he ran over the events in his head. After today, everyone would know about the truce – the alliance – between Phantom and the Fentons. What kind of consequences would that have?

Knowing how things tended to turn out for him… nothing good, probably.

When his mom called for dinner, Danny was still feeling kind of guilty about lying to his parents. He hadn't been busy at all, unless you count moping about life and how difficult relationships were. Not romantic relationships, but the strange familial ones he had with his parents.

It was just… It was just weird. And hard. He didn't want them to know about him being Phantom, about what he did and how much danger he regularly put himself in. Didn't want them to risk themselves trying to protect him.

But wouldn't they anyway? Weren't they getting so close to Phantom that they would throw themselves in front of an angry ghost just to keep him safe, even if he wasn't their actual son?

Would it be better if he stopped doing this? If he stopped getting so close to them as a ghost, stopped pretending to be their son when he was Phantom and started being their son again as Fenton?

That. That would probably be a good idea regardless. If he could get closer again without them questioning him too much, without them trying to dig into his secrets again.

He sighed and rolled off his bed, trudging downstairs. Jazz had already gone – he had heard her skitter by while he was still, for the lack of a better word, brooding.

"Hey kiddo," his dad greeted him cheerfully when he entered the kitchen. "You wouldn't believe who came by to visit today!"

Danny sat down in his usual chair, quirking a brow at his dad. Pretended not to know the answer already. "Was it Vlad or Phantom?"

Jazz looked up from her book, intrigued. Right. She had been in the library all day, she wouldn't have known that either had come by.

"Vlad came by to visit, but we talked with Phantom as well." Maddie placed the steaming pan of mac and cheese on the table in front of them. "Apparently he was too busy to visit this weekend, but he said he would drop by later."

"He was busy?" Jazz repeated, half incredulous and half intrigued. "I wonder with what? Do you think that he finally told his parents – or his friends – about who he used to be?"

No, it was just a dumb lie. And how dearly he regretted ever telling it – count on Jazz to start psycho-analyzing a ghost she barely knew based on a single shoddy lie.

To distract himself Danny started spooning some food onto his plate. It was steaming hot still, but whatever. He would just have to wait a little longer before he could start eating it as a form of distraction.

"I don't think so sweetie," his mom said, enthusiastically continuing the conversation. "He didn't seem emotionally affected. But a while back a few ghosts were talking about figuring out a way to get mobile phones working in the Ghost Zone, and Phantom expressed an interest in helping with that. Maybe he was busy doing that, instead."

"But if he was in the Zone, how did he show up so quickly?" His dad leaned forward, leaning his massive weight on a single arm on the table. "Supposedly Plasmius hadn't been around for too long before Phantom showed up. And he can detect ghosts, sure, but not while in another dimension."

"Unless another ghost saw Plasmius and warned Phantom," Maddie suggested, now scooping some dinner onto her own plate. "We don't know how Plasmius arrived here, but if he came from the Ghost Zone a ghost might've spotted him."

Danny blew on a bite of macaroni before sticking it into his mouth. Why were they still talking about this? Surely he wasn't that interesting?

"I suppose that that's possible," Jazz agreed with a nod. She moved to scoop some food on her plate as well. "Still, I hope he tells his loved ones sooner rather than later. It would be good for both sides, I think, to have that resolution."

"Hopefully we helped mend their opinion today." Jack took the pot and emptied the rest of it onto his plate. "Now that people know that we're working with Phantom, maybe his parents will take that as a sign that he's not that bad. And then he won't be afraid to tell them!"

Oh yeah, that was why he still hadn't told them. Uh huh. It definitely didn't have anything to do with him worrying about them stopping him from helping or anything.

"What do you think, Danny-boy?"

Danny snapped out of his thoughts, fork lifted halfway to his mouth. "Huh?" he asked, eloquently.

"What do you think, Danny? About Phantom telling his parents about who he used to be when he was alive?" his dad helpfully repeated.

"Oh, um." Danny put the fork down again. Jeez, what a loaded topic. Wasn't dinner conversation supposed to be lighthearted? "I guess… it would be good? If he told them, I mean. A secret like that, you can't hide forever. Better to tell it on his own than wait for them to discover it in some horrible way, right?" Not that would stop him from hiding it for the next eternity, but still.

Jazz nodded energetically, swallowing a bite of her mac and cheese. "Yes, exactly! His parents – and his friends – deserve to know what has become of him. And Phantom himself could really use the support of his loved ones. I can't imagine the strain it puts on him, knowing that his parents hate him."

Danny could imagine it very easily, actually. But, thankfully, it was no longer a thing he had to worry about. No, nowadays his only worries about revealing his identity was that his parents would get even more smothering.

To distract himself from those thoughts he scooped another bite of food into his mouth. Then he hissed, spluttering – he forgot to blow on it to cool it down.

"Danny!" his mom scolded, her tone worried. "Be careful!"

"Srry," he said, sticking out his tongue to cool it. Oh, how he wished that he could use his ice powers without making his eyes glow. "F'got to blow."

She rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Then don't eat so quickly. Why are you always in such a hurry, Danny? It's like you never want to spend time with us."

Uh oh. Now that was a dangerous topic. He pulled his tongue back into his mouth so he could talk properly. "That's not it, I swear! It's just– I'm just–" He shrugged, at a loss for words. "Just being a teenager, you know?"

Maddie's eyes trailed over to Jazz, who sat primly as she forked away her own dinner. Jack, too, was spooning away his dinner at a remarkable speed – clearly trying to stay out of the conversation.

Once her eyes returned to him, they had softened. But Danny could still see the fire lingering in them. "I'm just worried about you, Danny. Your grades and attendance have been so poor for the last two years, and you hardly spend any time with us anymore."

He shrugged again, eyeing his dinner. But there was no way he could get out of this conversation by just stubbornly turning back to his dinner – not without risking what remained of his relationship with his parents. "I know. But it's just…"

A heavy sigh as he put down the fork again. He looked up, looked her right in the eye – and then turned to do the same with his dad. "There's nothing wrong, okay? Don't worry about me. I love you guys, and I know you love me too. I'm just… you know."

"Some teenagers just need space," Jazz supplied, finally coming to his rescue. Imagine the good she could do if she knew about him being Phantom. And imagine how much she would chew him out if she found out – yikes. "Being anti-social is just part of the deal sometimes. The best we can do is be supportive."

Danny nodded his agreement. "Yes, exactly. It's not that I don't love you, because I do. But I just want to spend time alone or with my friends."

"And that's fine." Maddie glanced over to Jack, clearly hoping for some support, but the man just shoved another forkful of food into his mouth and smiled apologetically. She rolled her eyes and turned back to Danny. "But parents worry, and a mother especially. And I suppose… Seeing Phantom as we do now, it reminds me of how things could be."

Stiffening slightly – and hopefully unnoticeably – Danny swallowed the bite of food in his mouth. "How so?"

She sighed, weary and sad. "It's just hard to see him without imaging you in his shoes. You're the same age, I think, and… It could've been you. A dead teen with family and friends living in Amity Park, hated by his own parents for becoming a ghost?"

Well, um, oof. "But it's not me," he tried, despite it being a bare-faced lie. It fitted so perfectly because it was him. "So you don't have to worry, Mom. And I know… I know that you would always love me, ghost or not. So I would– I would tell you, if that ever happened to me." Wow, another dirty lie. Good going, Fenton.

"But it won't." His dad gently gripped his mom's shoulder. "He's a Fenton, Mads! Nothing will happen to him."

"I know." The corner of her mouth quirked up a little, the barest hint of a smile. "But a mother worries."

Jazz put down her fork with a clink, her plate cleared. "And that's perfectly normal, mom. But Danny'll be okay. No ghostliness for him, right Danny?"

He swallowed, grinned hesitantly. "Yeah, right. I'm perfectly fine. Nothing to worry about."

Not a whole lot of cute stuff OR Phantom in this chapter, I know, but people (rightfully so!) pointed out that I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to Danny's human form and how his relationship with his parents worked out. Also action scenes are suffering.