Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom.

Note: Just a heads up, I'm going to be borrowing an idea from an unfinished fanfiction I adore called "Running To The Enemy's Arms" by "deadlydaisy8o8" where they used this concept where dead languages become ghost languages when no one speaks it in the real world anymore which lets ghosts understand each other better. So in this context it'd make sense for the same to apply to Necromancer's too. Ah and also, to "ElnaKernor" I forgot to mention the Eris thing, but yeah it's an idea I scrapped in the original version of this story of Owen having a friend who had ulterior motives for being friends with him.

Chapter 14: Making Preparations

Owen's POV

Vlad's sure taking his sweet time. I thought to myself, putting yet another book back on the shelf. At first I considered going to look for him but then shrugged and decided not to since it wouldn't make much of a difference anyway.

To be honest, I didn't mean to snap at him like that. The truth is, what that ghost said before...it made my blood run cold. I swear I've heard about Wraiths before, but from where? Or from who I guess is the better question. It just felt like I was forgetting something really important.

Walking across the room, I picked up the year book Vlad showed me earlier which had one of those blue butterflies flitting around it, almost like it was trying to tell me there was more to the story then Vlad was letting on. At this point though, even though the butterflies have been helpful as far as finding things, I'm still not sure why they're there or why I'm the only one that can see them. I guess one good thing about them is how I felt a lot calmer and it was a lot easier for me think things through.

One thing I have learned about Vlad is that he wasn't lying when he told me people treated him differently after that portal accident. Originally his hair was a dark steel gray, not silvery like it is now when he's human or black when he's a ghost. What surprised me even more is how he described what he originally looked like after it happened, how his hair was pure white like that Daniel guy and his eyes glowed a soft teal blue.

Over time though, Vlad's feelings changed and so did his ghost form reflecting that resentment boiling beneath the surface so I wasn't completely wrong about the dark emotions I sensed in him before. I've noticed though that Vlad's mellowed out a lot since I came here. And as much as I hate to admit it, I was starting to get used to living here too which I know is a dangerous thing for me. He could still change his mind at any time and decide I'm not worth all this trouble since...my life's just gotten a lot more complicated recently.

"I still can't believe someone's been watching me this whole time." I frowned, putting the year book back and laying down on the nearest sofa to wait for Vlad to come back. "So on the one hand, there's a monster that wants me dead, and on the other there's some kind of weird cult or something trying to find out if I'm a chosen one or whatever. Chosen for what though?"

Sitting up, I scanned the room to make sure I was alone and wandered over to the fireplace. Staring down at the pile of wood there, I looked at my hand thoughtfully before basically repeating what we worked on earlier but on the logs instead. There was a satisfying crackle sound and like magic, the fireplace burst to life, bathing the room in a soft blue glow. Kneeling down, I reached my hand into the fire and just like before, the flames harmlessly licked my fingers which is still a weird feeling, but not a scary one.

I withdrew my hand though when suddenly, a memory came rushing back to me and I jumped back up to my feet, startled. Whirling around, I found myself back in the forest during the fire and the cloaked figure I described to Vlad was right next to me. In a hushed voice, they whispered. "Owen…you must let it out; the flames will consume you otherwise."

The memory was a bit fuzzy since I still had a fever at the time this happened, I just assumed I had been left there unconscious the whole time. But apparently he stayed with me for a little while at least, assuming this was a real memory and not just the memory of a literal fever dream. I wanted to ask them who they were, but it looks like the other me in this vision beat me to it, asking while swaying on his feet. "Who are you...? How do you know...my name? I've seen you before, haven't I?"

There was a moment of thoughtful silence before the figure replied with a knowing smile. "That's right. I'm the one who helped you first discover a small fraction of your power, Owen, but you were still so young back then I thought it would be best to let you to think that I wasn't real since the truth would have been too confusing, perhaps even frightening to a child. That's why I've been waiting such a long time for this moment…"

Struggling to keep his eyes open, my past self asked. "Waiting? Waiting for what...?"

"For you. I have been waiting for the day you would begin your awakening and we would finally be able to meet again. It's almost time for you to remember everything, the truth about your rightful birthright." His smile widening in a creepy almost feral way, he put his hands on my shoulders, putting me into some kind of trance and continued ominously. "Go on, set your power free. There's no need to hold back because I've prepared everything for you, my liege. You are now exactly where you need to be and I won't let those pathetic humans from the council take advantage of you anymore. They will never...have the honor of seeing you come of age and together we'll show them all that you, and only you, are worthy of the glory that awaits you."

Taking a few unsteady steps forward, the past version of me instinctively lit his hands with the same blue fire I used just now and let it spread to the rest of his body. The dry grass beneath his feet was the first thing to catch fire after that, then the bushes, then the trees, and before long roaring flames surrounded him. But regardless of the danger he continued to listlessly walk deeper into the forest, urged forward by the spell over his mind, stumbling every so often and setting another tree on fire when he touched it.

Just when I thought the vision couldn't get any crazier, the cloaked figure turned to me, as in the me in the present, and reached out his hand expectantly. But what shocked me the most was his face, I knew that face. It was a pale white-gray color, like the color of cold ashes falling like snow from the sky and his hair was a slightly darker shade of gray tied up in a weird way in front of his face that was longer than the rest, leaving a gap there for his left eye to see through. And speaking of eyes, his were similar to Vlad's because they were a fiery red, but unlike his these were a darker shade on the outside as if bloodstained while the iris's glowed bright red like molten metal.

My body seemed to move on its own and I found myself walking towards him, my hand reaching out. I tried to stop myself but it was no use. At least not until I felt a sudden jerk on my arm and everything snapped back to reality. Confused, I turned and saw Vlad holding a leather-bound book in one hand while the other was gripping my arm.

"Oh good, you've come back to your senses. You had me worried there for a moment." Vlad sighed, letting go of my arm before nodding at the lit fireplace and reminding me. "Do you remember what I said about using your powers without my supervision though?"

"You're right, I'm sorry." I apologized, putting out the fire. "I guess I wasn't thinking and I'm just...really tired. I'm not even sure if what I just saw was a vision or a memory either, it was so strange."

Unconvinced, Vlad raised an eyebrow and scolded mildly. "Owen, I believe I made it clear what would happen if you disobeyed me. However, since you do seem rather absent-minded after Skulker's unexpected visit I think I'll let it slide just this once. There's also something important I need to tell you."

"What is it?" I asked, but instead of answering right away Vlad just handed the book to me and calmly asked me if I recognized the symbol on the front.

My eyes widened when I did and I blurted out. "Where did you get this?"

"I bought it along with several other rare texts several years ago, but I can imagine you're thinking the same thing I am." Vlad explained, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "The fact that I already had this book in my possession but it turns out to somehow be related to you can't be a coincidence. It did help me finally figure out what you are however. Maybe it will help you too."

Opening the book, I was surprised to see that all the pages were black except for the last one which read 'save the dead, preserve the living' written in Latin. Shocked, my head snapped up to Vlad and I exclaimed. "Hang on, how come I can read this?! I've never studied Latin a day in my life but it just came naturally to me!"

Vlad smirked, looking very pleased about something and replied smugly. "And that's all the proof I needed. Honestly I'm surprised we didn't realize this sooner. So tell me, what have we learned about your powers thus far?"

Thinking about it I counted off thoughtfully. "Well I can't be overshadowed thanks to my blood which can hurt ghosts, I can see things others like ghost aura's and those blue butterflies, sometimes I have visions about ghosts and their pasts, I can sense the emotions and intentions of others, and now I can summon those blue flames which I'm somehow immune to, or any fire really so I can't be burned. Why? What does it all mean?"

Tapping my forehead, Vlad laughed. "Come now my boy, surely you can tell what these all have in common. They're all tied to ghosts whether it's helping them or protecting yourself against them. Therefore...why is that phrase in this book so significant?"

"Save the dead, preserve the living." I repeated, looking down at the passage again. "Are you saying I'm some kind of spirit medium?"

His smile widening Vlad shook his head and finally just came out with it and told me. "No, you're something far more interesting, not to mention rare. You, Owen, are in fact a Necromancer."

"Ha ha very funny." I snickered, trying to hand him back the book but he shook his head and refused.

"I'm serious Owen. That's what you are." Vlad insisted, locking eyes with me and even though I tried to brush it off I somehow knew he was right.

Resting his hands on my shoulders Vlad continued. "According to my research, many magically gifted families like yours either went into hiding or died out a long time ago after the Salem Witch Trials. That's why as far as I know, very few of them have survived to the modern day and even if there are, their powers have dwindled to the point of being practically non-existent. Yours however, seem to only be growing stronger and I aim to find out why that is."

Vlad's POV

Understandably overwhelmed by the revelation I had given him, I graciously decided to give Owen some space to mull over the truth behind his powers. And shortly after sharing that information with him I decided to make a phone call to the Fenton's to arrange for Daniel to meet me so we could discuss the possibility of agreeing to a 'truce' after finally coming to an important life-changing decision. I was officially going to adopt Owen...

It has become painfully obvious to me that there's no way Owen will be able to handle all of this by himself once our time together is over. He needs someone powerful by his side to keep the wolves at bay. And not to brag, but now I truly believe I may very well be the only man on earth capable of keeping Owen safe from his enemies; enemies he made simply by existing which is no fault of his own.

"Vladdy my man! Good to hear from you, it's been ages!" Jack exclaimed happily when he recognized my phone number.

Oh please, it hasn't been THAT long, I thought bitterly, but instead simply smiled and said cordially. "Indeed. I do hope you still plan to make time to come the charity event. You and Maddie are coming, aren't you?"

"You know it V-man! It's so great what you're doing for those poor kids. You've really got a heart of gold; literally too I bet since you're so rich! Ha ha ha!" Jack laughed heartily and I rolled my eyes at this.

Getting back to business I talked my way into asking if Daniel was home at the moment. And Jack of course was all too happy to tear his son away from whatever he was doing to let him bond with his favorite college buddy, in other words, yours truly. But for the first few minutes it might as well have been a group call since Jack kept interrupting our conversation.

"Dad, do you mind?" Daniel finally asked when it became too much of a hassle to keep up appearances and see what it is I really wanted. "I'm sure he just wants some advice on what kids my age are into these days. After we're done though I'll let you have the phone back and then you guys can chat aaaalll you want."

I scowled from my end of the phone upon hearing this, but since I was counting on the fact that Jack is easily distracted and would likely forget to ask for the phone back, I let Daniel's little ploy slide this time. Besides, even if he did give the phone back to his father, I could always make up an excuse to get out of it. Thankfully Jack took the bait and went off somewhere to work on some new ghost gadget or another and the two of us remaining let out a relieved sigh.

As soon as it was clear we were finally alone again and Daniel let out another sigh, I seized the opportunity to speak first and explained. "Now before you start accusing me of anything again, I'd like to thank you once again for saving Owen. You have my gratitude."

"Well I couldn't exactly let someone die right in front of me just because you decided to get cold feet." Daniel huffed, sitting down on a nearby sofa from the sounds of it. "Besides, when it comes to saving lives you've gotta admit I've got way more experience than you on that front. So what happened back there anyway? It's not like you to hesitate like that. Actually, nevermind, let's just cut to the chase here and get this over with."

"If you insist Daniel." I began in my most casual business-like tone. "First of all, I'd like for you to come to my mansion so we can talk in person. Alone this time preferably so that we can discuss the matter of the temporary truce I'm willing to offer in exchange for your help dealing Owen's...unique situation. I'd rather not tell you anything more just yet until I know where we stand and if I can count on you to be more discreet this time around. There's…also one more request I'd like to make, one that's not part of our deal but rather a personal request for his sake."

"Wait, you're serious about this? Hmm, well you were acting bizarrely understanding last time so I guess I can humor you a bit by stopping by. But you'd better not try anything funny once I get there, got it? And what's this third thing anyway? Now you've got my curious." Daniel asked, sounding genuinely curious, although there was still that underlying hint of suspicion that I was accustomed to by now.

Dismissing such thoughts for now since I didn't want to waste any more time, I explained. "I'm about to tell you that my boy. Now, I'm sure your father has probably been blathering about it all week but I've invited your family to the charity event I'm hosting in two weeks as my personal guests. And before you even ask, no, I am not plotting anything against you or Jack. Not anymore at any rate since my priorities have since shifted to something far more important than my vendetta with you two. That said, even with my duplicates keeping watch I'm going to have my hands full making sure the event goes smoothly which is why, as much as it pains me to say this, I need your help."

As much as it pained me to admit it, I realized I had no choice if I wanted to gain any sympathy from Daniel so I admitted. "Listen to me carefully, it turns out that the creature that killed his parents isn't a ghost, it's something far worse; a Wraith. If you agree to help me then I'll go over what that is in more detail. All you have to do is keep him safe during the charity event and in exchange I'll be sure to reward you handsomely. Sad to say but you're the only one I can trust to do this since my allies have little sympathy for humans and will most likely prioritize their own safety above his."

"You're asking me to babysit your son-to-be? Talk about desperate." Daniel accidentally said aloud but he quickly corrected himself the instant heard me growl through the receiver. "Geez Vlad, I was only joking! If it makes you feel any better I don't have a problem with Owen personally and I do feel bad for being such a jerk to him last time. Just because I have a problem with YOU doesn't mean it was ok for me to take it out on him. Besides, thanks to Tucker's mad hacking skills we actually found out a lot more than you think fruitloop so...to make up for what happened last time I'm willing to at least compare notes with you since you might not know about this either, but I'm not telling you anything either until I know this isn't some kind of trap."

Leaning back in my chair with my hand on the leather-bound book from earlier, I nodded. "I suppose that's better than nothing. How soon can you get here?"

"Weeell, if you let me come through your portal I can be there right after school gets out, assuming I don't end up late because of a ghost or two." Daniel replied mischievously.

Smiling despite myself at his usual antics, I agreed. "Alright, in that case I'll be sure to let you through as a show of good faith. We'll talk again soon, little badger."

Hanging up the phone before Daniel could make good on his threat to subject me to Jack's idiotic banter I transformed and teleported downstairs to the laboratory one more time to temporarily give Daniel access to my portal so it would open for him. It took several minutes to do so but once I was satisfied with the results I crossed my arms, still thinking about what happened earlier. Maybe I should have broken the news to Owen a little more gently, especially after we just barely learned what manner of dark creature killed his parents.

Still, at least that's one less thing I had to lie to him about.

If Owen ever finds out his friend Eris is a part of all this too, I doubt he'll be able to recover from that kind of betrayal. That's why I need to find out who's been pulling the strings here, or rather, pushing the two of us together. Somehow I doubt the group she's working for wanted to let him out of their sight so there must be a third party involved. Either way, I think I'll be keeping this particular piece of information to myself until he's ready which I don't think he is...