Author's Note: Hey everybody! I'm back, and with some action (for Sapphire, she keeps bugging me) so here's Chapter 3. And I have Microsoft Word now! Wahoo!

Chapter 3

The first thing that Danny noticed when he finally woke up was the wooden floor he was on. Wait, it wasn't a floor, it was a wall… what? Danny looked around and his vision finally cleared, revealing that he was chained to a wall. Danny sighed and turned intangible, slipping free of the shackles that had previously bound him to the wall.

"Well, Daniel, I see you've finally woken up," Plasmius's voice filled the empty and silent room. "Quite the touching reunion, I see. Tell me, boy, did you really ever think about what would happen when I was separated from that pitiful human? Did you ever think of the consequences? I didn't think so."

"Vlad, you can't beat me," Danny said, and Plasmius grabbed his throat again. Danny gasped for air, and Plasmius threw Danny into the wall.

"No, I let you win because my human half held me back," Plasmius corrected. "You would have never won against me if I hadn't let you go easy. I was naïve then. I had a heart." Danny grunted and stood up again.

"You can't," Danny spat. "I have something more powerful than anything you could ever gain." Plasmius growled and shot a blast at Danny, who jumped to the side to dodge it.

"I suppose, out of respect for our past, I should let you live," Plasmius began. Danny's eyes widened. "But that's not how I work." Another blast from the ghost sent Danny flying into the wall, cracking it at the contact. Danny struggled to his feet and charged at Plasmius, transforming mid-run. But he simply phased through the ghost. This caught Danny off balance, and he fell onto his face.

It was then that he recognized where he was. He was in the attic! "Danny?" a voice called out. Danny changed back into his human form from lack of energy just before two figures appeared. "Danny!" his mother's voice exclaimed and Maddie ran up to him. She looked up at Plasmius with anger. "You stay away from my son, you ghost." Vlad appeared behind her and his eyes narrowed. He knelt down beside Maddie and started tending to Danny's more serious wounds, such as the cut on his arm.

"You know, if I had an ounce of humanity left in me, this would be a very touching little reunion. But of course, I'm not held back by my human half anymore," Plasmius sneered. Danny gasped.

"Don't hurt them, Plasmius," Danny said, standing up slowly and painfully. The older ghost stared Danny down.

"And why shouldn't I? They're just pathetic humans, I can get rid of them easily," Plasmius said.

"Vlad!" Maddie cried out, and Danny turned to see Vlad unconscious in Maddie's arms. He'd fainted, but why?

"What did you do to him, bastard?" Danny screamed. Plasmius flicked an imaginary piece of lint from his shirt.

"I didn't do anything, Daniel, you did," he said. "When the Ghost Catcher passed over us, it split our personalities, remember? And, fortunately for me, it split the life energy. However, I obtained most of the life energy, and soon it's all going to be mine. His life in slowly draining and transferring to me. Isn't that dandy?"

Danny couldn't take it anymore. He shot a powerful green orb at Plasmius, but it was easily blocked by a small shield. Danny was out of energy. He fell to his knees and started crying. Plasmius was right. He couldn't win.

He heard a gasp from behind him and he turned to see his mother staring at him. Oh crud, he'd forgotten she was there. "Danny, what was that?" she asked shakily. Danny sighed.

"I guess I have a lot of explaining to do," Danny said. "But first…" He stood up and spun quickly, shooting a blast towards Plasmius, but the blast dissipated when it hit the wall behind him. "Darn it, he disappeared!"

"Danny, what's wrong with Vlad?" Maddie asked.

"A lot, actually, and it's all my fault," Danny answered slowly. Maddie opened her mouth to reply but Danny interrupted her. "Mom, listen to me. The Fenton Ghost Catcher fell on accident. It fell over Vlad and… split him in half. I knew it could happen, but I didn't want it to, and I certainly didn't expect it to end up like this. Mom, I need your help, and so does Vlad. He's losing energy, fast, and Danny Phantom is the only one who can stop Plasmius from draining Vlad."

Danny sighed heavily, then two blue rings formed around his waist, changing him from Danny Fenton to Danny Phantom.

"Mom, meet the second ghost hybrid in existence," Danny stated. "The first hybrid is unconscious in your arms at the moment."

"What?" Maddie squeaked. "I don't understand."

"I don't expect you to, yet…" Danny said.

Author's End Note: Do you like the references to the Ultimate Enemy? They just seemed to fit. And you'll notice something later about Vlad and Plasmius. I don't count this as a cliffhanger, really. Review, please!