Taking Over Me

Summary: With Sam gone, Danny has enough to deal with. At the same time he runs into the first ghost he can't beat, and that's Danny Phantom.

Rating: PG-13 for mature themes and language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Butch Hartman does. I do not own Taking Over Me, Evanescence does.

Chapter Eight

You saw me mourning my love for you.

Danny slumped back against a tall oak that stood in the left yard of the castle. He slid to the ground as he changed back, hardly noticing the t-shirt pull up and the bark dig at his lower back. This was it. He was here. Now, if he had any idea what to do. He sighed as he stared at the imposing stone structure. Suddenly the idea that had seemed accomplishable all week now looked idiotic. He brushed his bangs back from his eyes and took a deep breath.

He pulled himself through the window. It probably would have been simpler just to phase but his brain wasn't functioning at the moment. He wandered into the main hall and pulled himself up the stairs to the wing that Vlad's office and lab were in. He had thought about it on the way up. After all, the guy was a millionaire. He had to do some work at sometime. Maybe.

He wandered down the hall staring at his feet on the carpet. The sight of his worn dirty red shoes against the plush crimson carpet reminded him of just how out of his league he currently was. He swallowed, slowing to a stop, and debated if he had the energy to just fly home right now. "Any particular reason you're wandering aimlessly around my castle."

Danny spun on his heals to see the aged millionaire staring at him with an eyebrow raised. "Me? Oh, well. I was just—"

"I know what you were just doing," Masters snapped, turning briskly and taking off down the hall, towards the stairs. Danny stood there for a moment. "Walk, boy. I'm assuming you can handle that much." Danny started and took off after the other half-ghost.

"I'm warning you now, if you think I'm going to hand answers to you on a silver platter you might as well turn around and fly yourself back to that one-horse little town of yours." Danny shook himself enough out of a daze to compute this.

"Your saying it as if I am going to get answers."

The older man laughed cryptically. "There are answers everywhere, son. You just have to be smart enough to put them together."

Danny couldn't tell if it was a jab or not. "So you do know what my problem is?"

"I do, yes." The older man turned to a corridor at the right of the stairs and continued deeper into the castle. The fifteen-year-old briefly registered that if he had to find his way out, it was going to be tricky. Or as Tucker always joked, just keep phasing in one direction and you'll hit outdoors eventually.

"So you can help me. Great."

"Help, I never said I would do that. I just said I know what's going on. Fun experience. One of my favorite parts of being a hybrid, but that's just personal preference." He responded in a falsely cheerful voice.

The older man opened a door and gestured for Danny to walk in. The fifteen-year-old stared into the dark doorway. His brain screamed to him that walking into a dark room first with one of his worst enemies watching his back wasn't a good idea. He ruthlessly squashed the thought. If he'd gotten this far, he couldn't back out now. Sam and Tucker were counting on him if nothing else. Worst case scenario, they both knew he was here and would no something was wrong if he never came home. Taking a deep breath, he shouldered past Vlad and slipped into the room.

It was a few moments before the lights flicked on. Danny glanced around a very expensive looking office as the older man glided past him, dropping into his chair. Danny mentally shook himself, remembering why he came. "So you know what's happening to me and why."

The other half-ghost didn't look up from where he was busying himself with files on his desk. "I have a vague idea certainly. So how is that little friend of yours that's pregnant? Samantha, was it?"

Danny felt like he'd been slapped. "How do you know about Sam," he demanded.

"Touchy," the older man commented lightly, barely glancing up. "If I were you, Daniel, I wouldn't snap on people you're asking for help from."

"Thank God you're not me," Danny glowered at him for a moment. "You know what? Forget it. I don't need your help. I've done just fine on my own." He turned and started towards the door.

"It's Sam's fault," came the soft reply from Masters.

Danny spun on his heal. "What did you say?"

The older man looked up and for the first time in the whole visit held the teens gaze. "She left. She's always been your reason to go through this and now she's not there."

"Sam didn't leave me. And I wasn't fighting for Sam." Danny couldn't help but feel a little guilty as he spit it out. He felt like he was betraying Sam. He'd always wanted to keep her safe and he would die if anything happened to her. But Vlad was making it sound like some superhero comic book, the kind where the hero's madly in love with a girl he can't ever have. It wasn't like that with him and Sam.

The older man had a strange knowing look in his eyes that made Danny nervous. "You think I have no idea how it feels, Danny. I lost control of my powers when your mom fell for that idiot you call your father. It's the same thing."

Danny shook his head vehemently, his bang falling against his eyes. He brushed them back with the back of his hand as he responded. "No. It's totally different. She's my best friend. Nothing more, nothing less. She's never has been and never will be."

The older man arched an eyebrow and scrutinized the dark-haired boy. The look scared Danny but he refused to look away. He would at least stand up for himself that much. "I'll offer you a deal, Fenton," he said, spitting out the last name as if it was an insult. "I'll tell you how you can stop it. But in return you owe me a favor. I'll tell you what it is, when I need it. That's it. Nothing complicated."

The fifteen-year-old blinked. It didn't sound simple at all. It sounded like he was sealing his own doom. He tried to see what Vlad was getting out of this. "You can't hurt my family or my friends."

"Fair enough," the older man stated with a shrug. Danny stared at him guardedly. "I don't have all day, Son."

"Don't call me that!" He stared at the carpet for a few more seconds. He finally brought his gaze up, determination shining in his eyes. "I'll do it. But you have to promise you won't hurt them. Especially Sam, she's going through enough without you messing up her life."

Masters smiled cryptically. "Deal. Go ahead and go back. You have a long flight ahead of you. Come back next week and I'll help you." Danny spun and headed for the door, feeling like he had just made a deal with Satin himself. "Oh, Danny?" He glanced over his shoulder to see the older man staring at him with a strange hooded look. "Remember, if you break your promise, I'm free to break mine."

Hey. Another chapter complete. Now we're getting somewhere in the plot. I'm back to being computerless. I'll update when I can. Huge thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far: Hwoarangsguardie, Yay!!!!!!, Fox of Light, Moody Maud, KittenGoMoo, Angels624, Silverflare07, autumngold, Sakura Scout, q.t a.k.a spice, Mr. Delmont, Spice of Life, gothmiko, Ryo's destiny, RavenForever, Storm Sword, CoLdPLaYeR813, Medisti, Samster The Hamster, Kagome51, MayB, Mrs. Granger-Weasley, cheerin4danny, RainbowSerenity, WormmonABC, Wind Cat, audi katia, and The Good Girl. Thanks to you all.