A/N: And here we go. Damn Daniel, back at it again with being tortured in my story. Haha, sorry about that, kid, but sometimes we all have to go through horrible events.
Also, any grammar mistakes that you might find…I'm only human. And I bleed when I fall down, okay?
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, my dude.
Undisclosed Summer
And by well rested, that did not mean that he was ready to go out into the town to do a weird heritage event. Jazz sat at the kitchen table with her elbow propped up to hold her head. She hadn't had a wink of sleep, and maybe at the most she had was a half hour. She wanted to stay home – but the excited look on her mother and father's face definitely meant that was not what she was going to do.
Not if they had anything to say about it.
Vlad was sipping on a cup of tea, and Danny was glaring at the older halfa. After that chess game last night, the teen knew that the older man had something up his sleeve. Or, he was angry about losing and would retaliate.
But the man was nonchalantly sipping his tea and was putting on the façade that he wasn't a villain waiting to make his move. And now that he was upset, that meant the angry Vlad was dangerous. Danny knew that from experience.
Jazz, Maddie, and Jack excused themselves from the table to get ready for the days event. Vlad took another sip of his tea before sitting it down on the wooden table. He then looked at the teenager, who didn't break his gaze away even under the scrutinizing glance of the older halfa.
"You've been glaring at me all morning, little badger…" Vlad trailed, leaning closer in his seat as he placed his arms on the table. "Is something on your mind?"
"That depends, you feel like telling me what your evil plan is?" Danny asked, and Vlad simply stared at him for a few seconds at his outward bluntness. The man then let out a chuckle before leaning back in his chair. "I'll take that as a no," Danny muttered before leaning back in his chair as well with his arms crossed. "Not very surprising."
Vlad slowly stood up and grabbed his coffee cup that contained his herbal tea inside of it. "You shouldn't pout, Daniel, it's not very becoming of you," he responded, walking over to the kitchen sink to dump the contents of his morning tea down the drain. "Instead of trying to figure out my plan, shouldn't you be more concerned about your father?"
Danny stood up with a suspicious glare placed on his face. "What?" He demanded angrily, "Another day, another chance to take out my dad?" He asked scathingly, his hands clenching into fists by his sides. Vlad turned around and leaned on the counter while crossing his arms snugly across his chest.
"It keeps you occupied," Vlad answered, and he watched how Danny's eyes lit up a venomous neon green for a few seconds before going back to their normal blue hue.
"It's fine," Danny chided, unclenching his hands slowly, controlling his emotions with a little effort. Vlad always found a way under his skin, and didn't matter how many times he tried to control his anger. Vlad would always evoke it and then the young halfa would stop thinking with his head and instead would use his fists.
And that was when he would lose.
"I already know a little of what you're up to," Danny mumbled, turning around when he heard the doors to the upper floor close due to his enhanced hearing. His family members were coming down and were ready to leave. And Danny had no qualms about getting away from Vlad from a few hours - even if it meant wasting his day learning about history in a town that he could care less about.
"Oh?" Vlad asked, curious to see what the young halfa knew about his plans, "Do tell," he implored the teenager to divulge all that he understood.
The teen never intended for it to be that easy.
Danny gave him a smirk and a shrug, "Why? It'll keep you occupied," he copied the older halfa's words from earlier. He expected the man to become angry – to blow up like he had only a few minutes previously. Instead, Vlad smirked and gave a knowing nod.
"See, you are learning something this summer," Vlad muttered, walking pass the younger hybrid who was frozen in place. When the teen heard Vlad's door close to the man's bedroom, his eyes went wide when he finally came to terms with what Vlad had said.
Instead of doing the opposite of what Vlad had wanted him to say, he had done and said exactly what he wanted to hear. And he hadn't meant to do that. He was learning some bad habits by being this close to Vlad and spending this much time with him – albeit being coerced into this situation unwillingly.
His hand brushed through his hair – which was starting to become sweaty at this realization. He was nothing like Vlad – there was no way that he was turning into him. His sister yawned into her hand loudly before walking over to her younger brother as she descended the stairs.
"What's wrong?" She asked, her sleepy stupor disappearing when she found that her brother was scared beyond belief. "You're as pale as a ghost…" She trailed, not trying to be witty or make a pun from her response.
"Nothing," Danny answered curtly before looking over to where Vlad disappeared to. "It's nothing," he reaffirmed, making his sister nod unsurely in a slow manner. "Are we uh, are we ready to go?" He asked, walking over to the front door.
Jazz looked at her brother and sighed.
He still wasn't telling her what was going on between him and Vlad.
Danny walked over to the Museum of History with his sister, who was barely walking in a straight line beside him. He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow in concern, "Are you going to be okay?" He asked, and she gave a sleepy thumbs up in response.
He let out a small smile before leading her up the steps of the museum, "Don't worry, we're going to the best place to get a nap."
"Not funny…" Jazz mumbled, and the young teen rolled his eyes before receiving the two guest passes from the woman dressed in a bonnet and dress. He guided his sister to a nearby table where her head slowly hit the table with her arm cushioning it.
Danny took a seat and looked at all the books that adorned the shelves of the museum. It was almost as if he were in a library more so than a museum. But with a town like Gravity Falls, he doubted that there was a lot of artifacts that were collected. This was probably the best that they could manage and most likely combined the library and museum together.
He lowered his head onto the table for only a moment. Closing his eyes, he tried to figure out what he could possibly do in the museum. Briefly thinking about looking for a book related to any kind of 'blind eye' that Bill told him about before.
Opening up his eyes, the teenager stood up and walked over to a book before opening it up slowly. Dust and a musty smell escaped from some of the pages, and the teen couldn't help but cough a little as the foreign substance filled his lungs. He grabbed a handful of the pages before turning through them, not even looking at what they said.
He felt as if something was watching him, and he quickly turned around and saw that the entire museum had faded into a black space. He narrowed his eyes and turned to the bookcase where he was currently at and found that it had disappeared into nothing.
Curious, he still felt a weight in his hands where the book was and looked down. Instead of a book, he found a familiar glowing yellow triangle in his hands instead. Startled, he dropped the triangle and took a step back with a yelp.
He didn't fall asleep – but he did close his eyes back at the table. That was enough for Bill to get into his dreams?
Instead of the dream demon falling down into the darkness, it instead stayed afloat in front of him and crossed its legs almost seductively. "Heya kid! Miss me?!" Bill asked, his lone eye seemed to glint with glee.
"No," Danny answered dryly before turning on his heels and walking away.
"No need to give me the cold shoulder!" Bill complained, and before he knew what was happening, Danny turned to look at the triangle with his blue eyes glowing a lighter color of azure. "Metaphorically! You don't need to give me any favors!" Bill added in a hurried rush.
The teen rolled his eyes, letting his ice powers. After all, if the demon wanted a taste of ice, then the young halfa knew how to do exactly that. "Why are you here, Bill?" Danny asked in annoyance, and Bill crossed his arms.
"I told you before: I like you!"
"Can't say the feelings are mutual…" Danny muttered, turning away from the demon again.
Bill teleported in front of him, "Okay, alright, so I might have caused you a few mentally scarring nightmares, but what's a little screaming between besties, right?!"
Danny looked at him and crossed his arms impatiently. "Are you going to get to the point, or are you just going to float there?"
"Why haven't you looked for the BLIND EYE that I told you about?!" Bill asked, with a disappointed tone, "It's not often that I help anyone, you know!"
"I don't know where to look, or even what you're talking about," Danny confessed honestly, and Bill let out a growl of annoyance. Danny gave him a steady glare, and Bill then placed his hands in front of him. "I see we both need to work on our anger management skills."
Bill brought out a cane out of the air and began twirling it, "Forget about it! But just know that this is the second time that I've helped you! Remember that!"
Danny opened his mouth to ask what he was going on about, but found that the darkness was receding back to where it had come from, and that the bookshelves had begun to appear once again. The museum was back to normal, and the young halfa looked around. He wasn't standing by the table that his sister was currently resting at, and instead was on the third level of the museum.
He looked around and found that he had various bruises and scrapes along his body that were just starting to heal. Looking over at the bookcase that he was standing at, he found a book covered in cloth. He wondered how he had gotten up there, but he didn't need to dwell long on how so much as who.
Taking the book wrapped in cloth in his hands, he began to unwrap it a small amount before a symbol appeared on the cover of the book. It looked eerily like an eye, and just as he was about to unwrap the rest of it, he heard a familiar voice.
"Mabel!" Yelled Dipper, and Danny immediately froze at that voice. The last time that Danny had seen Dipper, they hadn't left on good terms. In fact, the boy had unintentionally broken his obsession, and that hurt worse than the younger halfa would have liked to admit.
He leaned over and caught a glimpse of the young twins running around the first floor of the museum. He let out a long sigh and covered up the book before heading over to where the ladder was. He turned intangible and floated down to the first level of the museum.
Just as he turned tangible, Mabel ran over to him with excitement in her eyes. "See? Is my guy sensor ever off?" She boasted, looking over her shoulder towards her brother before embracing the lower half to Danny's legs with her arms. "I missed you, stranger!"
"You're only saying that because you saw Jazz sleeping here," Dipper complained before looking over at the younger halfa. Danny looked down at Dipper before looking away with an awkwardly raised eyebrow. "Danny…" Dipper trailed, rubbing the back of neck nervously.
"I forgive you," Danny stated before patting Mabel's back as she let go of him. Dipper's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something else. "Besides, I can tell that you're sorry."
Dipper nodded his head, "I really am," he added shyly. Danny walked over to the male twin before patting his head, "Hey!" Dipper argued, flinging his arms in the air.
Danny let out a chuckle at the kid's response, "I would love to stay and chat, but I'm on a 'my arch enemy has a horrible plan to ruin my life' clock, and I need to stop him before he does anything else," he muttered, walking over to where his table was.
"Tell me what I can do and I-!" Dipper started to say but stopped when Danny stood dangerously still. At first, the child thought that it was him, that one of his best friends was still overly furious at him. But, when he looked in front of him, he found Vlad Masters talking to the woman at the front of the door.
As soon as Vlad looked over at them, Danny placed his body so it was protecting the children behind him. The older halfa waved and smiled gently at the woman before walking over to the teen. "Doing some light reading, Daniel?" He asked, looking over at the book with a tilted head.
"What, is reading a crime now?" Danny questioned, his hand with the book lowering towards Dipper. The kid looked in front of him and Danny was wagging the book ever so slightly. Dipper's eyes widened and he quickly took the book and placed it in his backpack that he was carrying without Vlad noticing.
"It is when it could possibly mess up what I have planned," Vlad stated, walking closer to the teen to see what he had. "Ah, smart boy," Vlad complimented when he looked behind Danny and found that his hand was empty.
Vlad looked accusingly over at Dipper and found that his sister was beside him. Danny shifted his weight so Vlad was looking at him instead. "If you hurt them…" He trailed, and Vlad placed a hand up to silence the teen's heroic rant.
"I am above hurting children at the moment," Vlad answered honestly, placing both his hands behind his back. "Enjoy your time at the event," he added before walking away but stopped a few feet away. "Although, I'm surprised you left your father unprotected…"
"It's a crowded place – you won't do anything," Danny said, making the older halfa look back at him.
Vlad smirked, "Is that a challenge?" He asked, and the teen stiffened.
Danny had risked taking a chance to look for any clues as to what Vlad was planning instead of looking after his father. He was starting to run out of time, and he needed to play offensive instead of defensive. "You're right, Daniel, I will not do anything in a crowded place," Vlad agreed before walking over to the front desk of the museum. But before he left, he turned to the teen and the children behind him. "Too many witnesses."
And then he was gone as he stepped outside of the doors.
Danny let out a long sigh of relief, and could finally relax. His guard was down now, and his hands had started to tremble. He wasn't sure if he would be quick enough to protect Dipper and Mabel should Vlad have attacked them.
Clenching his hands, he turned around to see the children and he placed his hand back out. Dipper nodded and took back out the book that was wrapped in a strange cloth material. Placing it in the teen's hand, Danny took it and headed back towards his table where he had left Jazz.
His stomach dropped when he found that she was gone.
Dipper and Mabel both looked around the museum and found that she had disappeared. "Jazz was just here! We just saw her when we came in!" Mabel yelled, and she looked up at Danny with concerned eyes. "You don't think…?"
"Plasmius…" Danny hissed out, and the final words of what Vlad had said echoed within his mind.
Too many witnesses
"Always one step in front of me…" Danny muttered, and shook his head. Vlad would never just come to a place for nothing. The older halfa wanted the book; that much was obvious, and Danny wanted his sister back.
It wasn't a fair trade.
But it was the morally correct one.
And just when the teen thought he was evening out the playing field. Anything that Vlad could use he would, and since the children were under his protection at that moment, his sister was left wide open and vulnerable.
"Danny?" Dipper asked, and the teen turned to look at him with a small smile.
"Don't worry about me. I'll see you later, okay?" He asked, not looking back at them before turning intangible in front of them. He flew as fast as he could to the most secluded place that he could think of. Mabel placed a hand out, but didn't feel anything. She looked at her twin and Dipper nodded.
"He said not to worry, and I'm going to trust him," Dipper muttered, walking out of the museum.
Mabel stood in the library with wide eyes, "Wait, what?!" She yelled, running after her twin, "Since when was Danny an invisible wizard!"
"Mabel -!" Dipper yelled and then shook his head. He forgot that Mabel had never known Danny's secret. "We have a scavenger hunt to finish, right?" He switched topics, hurrying his pace away from his twin.
"We're not done here!" Mabel argued, running to catch up to her brother.
Danny landed in the forest that was a little ways away from the cabin. Based from his small training from Sam and Tucker before he left, he was able to track a ghost's ecto-signature. It was new and he couldn't control it at times, but in this instance he was particularly glad that he had tried to train his ghost sense to find Vlad.
"I thought you said you were above hurting children?" Danny asked, stepping into the forest all the while pushing some low tree branches to the side impatiently.
"Ah, but I did say at the moment, did I not?" Vlad asked when the young halfa stepped out into the forest. "Glad you could join us, Daniel."
Danny stood in front of the older halfa while trying to remain his composure. His unbridled emotions were threatening viciously to show themselves. Anger and rage were the most proficient of them at the moment.
It was the fact that Vlad had still been spying on him even after everything that had went down. That Vlad had known that he would be able to follow his ecto-signature no problem had he truly concentrated. It unnerved the young halfa and made him angrier than it should have.
Maybe it was because Vlad had seen his struggles over the past weeks before heading out to Gravity Falls. How much that he was getting flustered and annoyed that he couldn't track any ghosts. That Vlad could have been able to help him – but the older halfa was contempt to watch the younger halfa fail over and over and over again.
"A little late to the party, however. Then again, I suppose I should have made it easier for you to track," Vlad commented, stepping away from his unyielding position. Danny opened his mouth and was about to say something, but immediately slammed it shut. Jazz was laying on a rock, unconscious and defenseless to any attack that Vlad sent her way.
Danny looked over at the man with a glare, "You slimy-!"
Vlad raised his index finger in the air and waved it side to side in a lecturing manner. Danny let out a growl but tried to simmer down in compliance to what Vlad was telling him to do. He didn't have a choice, one wrong thing could set Vlad off, and the older halfa could and would hurt his sister.
Once again, he was at the man's mercy.
"That get together at the shack really tired the poor girl out," Vlad explained, placing his hands behind his back. Danny watched his every movement with close precision. If the older halfa tried to do anything to his sister, then he would be there to stop him.
"You should really take better care of the things that I can use as leverage against you. Their location, their physical condition…" He listed, making a valid threat that made the teenager start to visibly pale. Everyone in this town was leverage against him. His family and the Pines were the most obvious choices. And Vlad knew that Danny would sacrifice himself to save anyone due to his hero mentality.
But Danny couldn't help this obsession to protect – it was who he was. It's who he always will be, and Vlad would utilize every chance to use his weakness against him.
"Let me guess, you want the book for my sister's safety?" Danny asked, almost sarcastically. Vlad was predictable, but Danny was even more so predictable. The teen knew exactly how this exchange would go down, and he could do nothing to stop it.
"That's the second time you've impressed me today, Daniel," Vlad boasted, "Perhaps you're learning – or perhaps it could be that you know that I'll get what I want at the end of the day…" He trailed, looking over at the teenager with a knowing smirk, "And there's nothing that you can do to stop me."
Danny let out a growl and raised his hand up before making a claw and lowering it slightly. A green ecto-blast appeared in his hand, and he couldn't stop the overflowing energy that escaped from the condensed ball of ecto-plasm.
Vlad shook his head, "Temper, temper…" He lectured, waving his hand in the air before five Plasmius duplicates appeared around his sister in a circle. Danny couldn't help but lower his arm as the prepped blast faded into nothing. "The book, if you will," he ushered, outstretching his hand toward the teen.
"Fine," the young halfa spat back, reaching behind his back to pull out the book. The cloth was still around it and the teen couldn't help but feel as if he had been used. Vlad would know exactly where he was at all times, and the only thing that Danny had succeeded in today was being Vlad's pawn once again.
Even if it was unknowingly.
With a steady advance towards the older halfa, Danny couldn't help but feel as if he were submitting to him. In a way, he was, he was giving Vlad what he wanted. With each and every step he took, he could practically feel time slow down.
And when he took another step, he found that it took him some effort to place his foot on the ground. He looked around that he was the only one moving around. Quickly darting his head over to where Vlad was, he found that the older halfa was still frozen in the same position.
"Clockwork?" He asked, looking around the area.
He waited for a few seconds before growing fearful. Why hadn't the ancient ghost made himself known that he was there? The only ghost that he had known that could manipulate time was Clockwork himself.
"Clockwork…?" He asked again, but just as he was about to walk around, a hand latched onto his. Fearfully turning his head, he found that Vlad was looking at him with narrowed eyes. Time had begun moving once again.
"What are you doing, Daniel?" He asked, tightening his grip against the young halfa's arm.
"Ouch!" Danny complained, trying to move his arm away from him, but found that it wasn't any use. "Vlad, stop!" He yelled, and just before he was about to use his other hand to pry Vlad's away, the man snatched the book away from the teenager.
Vlad started to walk away from Jazz and toward the cabin. Danny was dragging his feet behind him in an effort to slow the mad man down. It was eerily silent, and the teen couldn't help but think that he had done something wrong.
"Vlad!" Danny yelled out, the fear clearly evident in his tone. Vlad hadn't let up his pursuit, and now they had made it to the clearing where the cabin was at. "Vlad, seriously, what's your problem!"
"Clockwork…" Vlad muttered, shaking his head, "There can't be any way you have knowledge about him," he said, eyeing the teenager before pushing the door open. "I believe you are acquainted with a common friend, Bill Cipher?"
The teen let out a roll of his eyes out of annoyance towards the dream demon. "So he's working both sides…" He muttered, and before he knew what was happening, Vlad threw him in a room that was pitch black.
When Danny hit against one of the walls, the room began to light up green. The teen immediately closed his eyes and ducked his head with his arms over him. He expected the room to attack him, but was surprised when nothing happened. Curious, he looked up and found that that Vlad was leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.
The green light was just that – it was a simple light above them that lit up the room. There was nothing more to it than that.
"Wondering what this room is?" He asked, and Danny gave a defiant glare as a response. He wouldn't dignify that man with a response. "I had it built especially for you. A precaution in case you were to cause any problems during this summer vacation of yours."
"I didn't even do anything!" Danny yelled out, unsatisfied with being punished for something he didn't do. I mean, sure, he was trying to stop Vlad in any way that he could, but not once had he physically stopped him. He still didn't know exactly what the older halfa was planning, and it was hard to tell exactly because he hadn't let out any hints.
Vlad shook his head, ignoring the teenager, "It also serves as an interrogation room when needed," he stated, and Danny's eyes widened.
The teen shook his head, "You can't keep me here, my family will ask where I am," he said, pointing out the obvious flaw with Vlad's plan.
"Will they?" Vlad asked rhetorically. The response was borderline devious, as if he knew something that Danny didn't. Usually that was most of the time, but unlike the other times that Vlad had said something like that – this one gave him shivers down his spine.
"Vlad," Danny spoke out, before taking a step forward. "Vlad!" He yelled, but received no response before the door closed as the man stepped out. "Vlad!" Danny screeched, pounding at the door with his hands.
It was two hours before Vlad had opened up the door again. The teen was by the corner with his knees pushed against his chest. He hadn't fallen asleep, he didn't want to see that golden triangle traitor that was working as a double agent for the two of them.
"What?" Danny asked tiredly, sure that it was around dinner time at this point. He was getting hungry, but he would never let Vlad know that. "You already know everything I do."
Vlad let out a chuckle before he leaned against the room's black walls, the eerie green light lighting up the room ever so dimly. "You know that's not the truth, Daniel," he lectured, making the teen look up to see the older halfa looking down at him. "Let's start with something easy – tell me about Clockwork."
Danny glared at the older halfa before looking down at the ground, "Concentrate and ask again," the teenager responded blandly.
"Clockwork, Daniel," Vlad ordered in a no nonsense tone.
"Ask again later…" Danny responded, making Vlad let out an amused chuckle. The teenager, confused by his reaction looked up in time for the man to give him a smirk.
Vlad nodded, "Magic eight ball answers aren't real answers," he stated, already knowing what game that teenager was playing. Although it was amusing for him for albeit a few seconds, he was over it. "Answer truthfully or I'll start enacting my threat from before…" He trailed before looking up at the ceiling with a thoughtful look. "Perhaps I'll start with one of the Pine children?"
"Okay!" Danny yelled, sitting up straight, "What do you want to know about Clockwork?"
"For a start: How do you know him?" Vlad asked, looking back down at the teen with a steady gaze. The intensity of the stare was enough to make the teen's skin start to crawl. It was as if the only thing that Danny could do was tell the truth, but he knew that was mistake that he couldn't make.
Vlad couldn't find out about the alternate timeline where he had become evil. Besides, even if he did tell the truth, there was no way that Vlad would ever believe something that seemed so far-fetched. He would think he was lying and would demand the truth.
There wasn't any winning with this one.
Maybe he should start with the half-truth and try and create some lies in-between.
"He tried to kill me," Danny answered with a shrug.
Vlad looked at him and furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief. The teen could tell that he wasn't buying it, and he prayed that he would take it. It was the truth, don't hurt someone he cares about because he told the truth.
Not knowing he had held his breath, he let out a long exhale when Vlad nodded, taking in the information that was given to him. The older halfa stood up straight before kneeling down by the teenager, who had grown tense and alert by this action.
"And why would the master of time try and kill somebody as harmless and heroic as Danny Fenton?" He asked, drawing out his words. Danny tried to not visibly pale at the fact that Vlad wasn't taking it. He wasn't taking the truth.
But on the other hand, he was now asking for another question that Danny couldn't dodge by simply telling a half-truth.
Or maybe he could tell Vlad exactly what he wanted to hear without giving too much away.
"Because if you could see my potential to become evil and succumb to darkness, then what makes you think that a ghost that can see the past, present, and future couldn't?" Danny asked, hating himself every second. It was true, he did have the potential for evil. One wrong turn and he's Vlad's puppet for the rest of his unnatural life.
"That's one of the things I'm counting on, little badger," Vlad stated before he stood up. Danny looked up at him with raised eyebrows in confusion at what he was talking about. "And once you go down that dark road – albeit you might be fighting and refusing me at every twist and turn – there will be no chance of redemption for you."
Danny stood up and narrowed his eyes at Vlad, "I firmly believe that everyone has a second chance," he responded, and Vlad let out a chuckle before opening up the door. The light from inside of the room turned off, and Vlad walked out only for the door to remain open.
Curious, the teen quickly walked out and peeked around the door down a small corridor within the cabin. It was recognizable, but he was sure that the door hadn't been there before. He took a step out, and the door behind him closed slowly before blending into the wall.
It was as if there never was a door there at all.
The teen couldn't help but stare at what was his prison before turning around. He almost collided with Vlad, who hadn't moved from that spot since they had exited.
"Based on the look in your eyes when you said that, Daniel, I believe that you've already had your second chance," he spoke out, and with every word, the teenager could feel his heart sink lower and lower into the pit of his stomach. "Your super hero philosophy, that doesn't entail you to have a third chance, does it?" He asked rhetorically before turning around.
"Stop trying to get in my head, Vlad!" Danny yelled out, making Vlad stop walking away. "You're whole 'corrupting me' speech was real great and all, but I'll never join your side. I have family and friends that will stand by me and prevent me from taking any 'dark' paths."
Vlad let out an ominous chuckle before turning around with a smirk. "You are so naïve, boy, as to think that you've ever had a choice of where your life was heading," he stated, making Danny take a step back in fear. Vlad took another step forward, and then another, "The Manson's did not simply go to Europe without a benefactor of mine waiting there for them to make a business deal," he stated, making Danny take a few more steps back in response.
"Tucker Foley's PDA has had a nasty little virus that my R and D department of my company had produced – making him unable to communicate with you should you ever need it," Vlad added, making Danny take a few more steps back only to hit a wall. "And without the aid of your little friends helping you – you fell into my clutches beginning at day one."
"Tell me again how they have prevented you from making the wrong decisions. Your sister hasn't been much help to you lately, or frankly, over the course of this entire summer. What she thinks is helping you is in actuality harming you. For you see, she doesn't understand our unique mental imperfections – otherwise known as obsessions. And those two children that you 'hang' with, which I don't exactly know why you bother – they will be the greatest leverage I could have ever imagined to use against you."
Danny didn't know what to say, Vlad always rants when he points out that he has won. That, or he's just plain angry about something like a forty-year old man. The teen didn't dare move, mostly because of close proximity between the two of them.
"And you, Daniel, you did that all on your own. I hadn't planned on that happening, but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?" He asked, turning on his heels and walking away.
As soon as he did, Danny couldn't help but slide against the wall. Vlad really had covered all of his tracks this time. But what he didn't understand is that he had told Dipper the one thing that could take him out. It would absolutely destroy his obsession and probably break him.
But he would rather be unable to do anything that be a pawn to Vlad to control.
"It's been two days since you've been in there, and true to my word, your family and friends hadn't even noticed you were gone…" He trailed, looking back to see the shaken up teenager in the eyes. "Although, in your absence, those children that you've grown attached to have been through some rather…" He trailed purposefully, "Traumatic things…" He muttered before looking back to the front and placing his hands behind his back as he walked away down the hall.
Danny scrambled himself up from the wall and immediately shifted into Danny Phantom with a blink of white light. Quickly turning himself intangible, he wobbled on his feet before flying out towards the Mystery Shack.
He hoped that Dipper and Mabel were alright.
To be continued…
A/N: Little Dipper is going to be the next chapter, and I would have included in this one, but I figured that I would try and update this story. That, and no one really gives two pizza rolls on how long my chapters are. Just meeting my own status quo, I guess. So, shortest chapter yet as a result.
Also, didn't want to write with time traveler Rick guy, or street fighter knockoff, so that's why I skipped two days.
As for how Danny's family and friends didn't notice him missing for two days? Well, I'll leave that up to you to decide. Honestly, my two options that I would choose would be either Bill the Cipher, or Vlad used duplicates.
Behind the magic:
(This is where I talk about any unique elements that I put into my stories)
In the first scene, Vlad and Danny use each other's words to try and outwit each other verbally. I think it was cute to add it in, and decided to kind of portray them as father/son? I don't know, I guess I'm weird like that.
Mabel thinks that Danny is an invisible wizard because he only turned intangible in front of her. It wasn't as if he morphed into Danny Phantom in front of her. I think it relates back to Gravity Falls with the whole 'invisible wizard in the closet' think that they had in one episode.
And the last part is when Vlad is basically revealing all of the plays that he did earlier in the story. When he's saying how he sent Sam away to Europe on purpose, Tucker with no way of communication, and already planned on the isolation between Jazz and Danny at the beginning. No stone was left unturned sort of thing is what I tried to get across. I think it worked out well.
A bonus: In the forest when time started to slow down, who do you think that was? Could have been Clockwork, but then if it was, how did Vlad know that Danny said his name? Weird, could have been time traveler Rick guy because that episode was the next one after the treasure one. On the other side, it also could have been Bill – he's been known to exist outside of the dreamscape for a few occasions.