It wouldn't let me post on Sunday, I swear! Ah, but anyway, I still posted before the end of this weekend, just like I promised.

Characters, not mine!

So, here's Chapter 17!

Danny snapped his cell phone shut, having just made a very important call. He continued speeding through the Ghost Zone, headed towards Vlad's portal while he tucked his phone away into a very small, hidden pocket. Who knew he would get service in the Ghost Zone?

Sam and his dad were trying to track down Einzel and Tucker, his dad protected from Einzel by a picture of Maddie tucked away in his jumpsuit. Danny reminded himself that he had nothing to be afraid of, they could both take care of themselves. But he still couldn't help but worry.

His mind was brought abruptly back to his own upcoming fight, the giant football covering Vlad's portal appearing in the distance. He couldn't help but smirk at the football again; for someone who usually pulled the strings from the background, Vlad sure could be obvious sometimes.

Pushing the giant football aside, Danny stepped through the portal, his eyes glowing fiercely.

He looked around the sinister lab, his every muscle tense. It was dark and eerily silent, the only light the faint glow from the portal. There were experiments scattered everywhere, the dim light only showing a soft green glow reflecting off of glass beakers and the occasional ecto-weapon. There was even the faint glow over a doorway; a passage into the very stomach of his arch-enemy's domain. He couldn't spot the Crown of Fire, Vlad probably had it hidden somewhere safe. The lab was filled with loads of things, but no living (or dead) being came across Danny's gaze. Vlad was no where in sight.

Danny moved on.

Slowly climbing up the dark stairs to the trap door, his hands cold and clammy and his heart pounding in his ears, he tried to prepare himself for the hardest fight of his life, because this time, he knew he only had himself to rely upon.

He pushed the trap door aside, shielding his eyes from the sudden bright light.

"Ah, young Daniel. What brings you to my humble abode?" a voice asked, feigning innocence. Danny looked around the giant study, his eyes finally landing on Vlad smirking at him over a newspaper. (The headline read, "Strange Rumors from Amity Park.") He sat relaxed in a leather chair in the right corner of the room, unafraid of Danny's hateful glare.

"This time, Vlad, you've gone too far." Danny growled, clenching his hands at his side. The trap door thudded closed behind him.

Vlad sneered. "You're still alive, aren't you?"

Danny's eyes narrowed and, without thinking, he shot a green blast straight at Vlad. The millionaire just sat calmly, apparently too interested in reading the paper to bother with matters like green balls of energy hurtling towards him. Danny's eyes widened when the blast hit, rattling the floor and sending up a cloud of dust and debris.

…that was easy.

But then the dust cleared, showing Vlad standing over what used to be his leather chair. He turned tangible again, dust raining down on his clean suit.

"Ah, so you came here for a fight." Vlad calmly brushed off the remnants of his chair while Danny fumed in the background, trying to reign in his temper. An evil grin suddenly spread across the older halfa's face, and the room flashed black as he turned into his ghost half. "Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint you, son."

"Just what I was hoping for." Danny muttered before shooting straight at Vlad, green energy racing across his hands. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something flash but he ignored it, his eyes narrowed on his enemy right in front of him.

Right when his hand was inches from Vlad's frustratingly calm face, another hand caught him from behind.

Danny choked, his hand struggling against the mysterious grip that held him away from his enemy. A grin spread across Vlad's face.

"You're forgetting what I can do, Daniel." Vlad chided before Danny was thrown backwards, connecting painfully with the giant bookshelf that lined the walls. He looked up, seeing two Vlads smirking at him from the other side of the room.

"Oh, right." Danny mummered, shielding his eyes as another flash emanated from Vlad, another grinning duplicate appearing.

Danny thought about trying that trick again, but then an image of him with five heads and the Vlads choking with laughter in the background entered his mind. Yeah, maybe that wasn't such a great idea.

Danny stood up nervously, the two clones moving around him, trapping him in the middle. Two more clones appeared, flanking the real Vlad like a shield. Danny growled, his eyes darting around.

His tense body suddenly relaxed, a grin spreading across his face. He might not be able to pull off that little stunt, but he did, however, have one trick up his sleeve that Vlad knew nothing of.

Danny leapt into the air and soared around the multiple Vlads, making sure they were all in front of him.

"Come and get me, cat-lover!" He taunted, sticking out his tongue while he flew.

The center Vlad grinned, his clones rushing towards Danny with a yell.

Perfect.

Danny opened his mouth, mentally calming himself like his mom had taught, and drew in a deep breath.

Here's for everything, Vlad.

Danny let loose, his ghostly wail shaking the ground and tossing the multiple Vlads back against the wall. Pieces of the ceiling rained down, pelting the many duplicates, surprise etched on each of their faces as, one by one, they disappeared. The room began to fall apart, the foundation shaken to bits.

Danny held on a little bit longer, feeling his hands start to shake as he poured all of his energy into his voice. He faltered, almost falling to his knees as the ground continued to shake violently beneath him.

His vision starting to swim, Danny saw the last clone disappear, leaving only the original.

Danny let his voice die, breathing heavily as he focused his bleary eyes on his remaining opponent.

Vlad stood surrounded by the remains of his once orderly room, debris and torn books littering the ground where he stood, shocked. He stared at Danny with his eyes wide, his hair swept back from the sheer force, his clothes tattered and his cape ripped right off of his shoulders.

Collecting himself, Vlad regarded Danny with a new look of respect in his eyes.

"So… learned a new trick have you?"

Danny glared at Vlad, his whole body shaking from the effort of standing. Thanks to some miracle, or his mom's training, he had managed to stay in his ghost form.

"I want you… to stay out… of my life… Vlad." Danny growled, his voice shaking.

"I'm afraid I won't do that, Daniel." Vlad said, dusting himself off. Danny noticed that, however calm Vlad seemed, he still kept wary eyes on Danny.

"I won't take no for an answer, Vlad." He took a deep breath. "And this time, there will be no truce. I want you to surrender."

Vlad laughed.

"And what makes you think that I would surrender to you?" He cackled, shooting Danny an amused look. "You learn one new trick and then expect me to lay down and surrender to you?" He asked, incredulous. He flicked the last piece of his broken room off his shoulder. "I'm not beaten yet, Daniel."

"Yet." Danny muttered. Vlad's face darkened, his red eyes glowing eerily.

Danny hoped desperately that Vlad was too weak to try duplicating himself again, because he knew he wouldn't be able to pull off his wail in the state he was in.

He stiffened, narrowing his eyes angrily as Vlad smirked at him.

"Ready, my young counterpart?" Without waiting for an answer, Vlad shot forward, his fists glowing an angry red.

Danny stepped back, desperately trying to calm his racing heart as his instincts took control. He reached within himself, grabbing a portion of the small amount of energy he had left and throwing it around him to create a vibrant green shield.

Red light exploded, washing over his shield. Danny's body shook with the impact, his energy fading as Vlad threw another powerful blast. Red cracks forked through the green shield protecting Danny. He desperately held on, his eyes wide. Before he could even catch his breath, he saw a dark green blur swing it's arm back once more, lighting up with red energy. Danny closed his eyes, bracing himself.

Pain rocked through his tired body and his shield shattered, torn apart by red energy.

He stepped back fearfully as Vlad appeared in front of him, grinning. In the blink of an eye, Danny was flying backwards through the air, his mind screaming.

Getting control of himself, Danny used his momentum and retreated through the floor into Vlad's medieval style dungeons, desperately trying to organize his chaotic mind. Dark stone hallways turned into a dark blur as he raced through the very bottom of Vlad's castle, his glowing green eyes acting as a flashlight.

"Running away already, Daniel?" Vlad's haughty voice chased him, "I must say, I'm somewhat disappointed." Danny looked behind him fearfully as he flew through the dark dungeons of Vlad's castle, seeing red eyes gaining on him. Running away already?

Danny's expression hardened and he stopped suddenly, his fist swinging around, green fire erupting on his hand.

Vlad threw out his hand, easily catching Danny's arm with his fist inches from Vlad's face. Vlad smirked, not realizing he had left himself wide open.

Danny grunted as his foot sliced forward, his heel connecting with Vlad's stomach. Vlad gasped, letting go of Danny's hand and doubling over in pain.

That was for exposing me. Danny thought as he clasped his hands together, swinging them up over his head. And this is for turning my dad against me! Danny brought his hands down towards Vlad's bent over form.

Vlad wasn't out yet, however, as he looked up and quickly created a shield around himself. Danny's hands collided painfully with red energy, which disappeared as two red blasts shot out towards Danny.

Duck! Danny's mind screamed at him. But his sore muscles reacted too slow.

Searing pain raced through his body and Danny was flung backwards from the blasts. His body rammed into a wall, a gasp escaping as he slid to the bottom. He looked up to see a black gloved fist flying towards him.

Danny phased backwards through the wall, looking down in amazement as an indent of Vlad's fist appeared in the stone.

His enemy phased through the wall, rubbing his hand as Danny backed up cautiously.

"Very good, Daniel. Have you been training?" Vlad asked casually, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, my mom's been teaching me." Danny said, his voice dark.

"…ah." Vlad said, his face unreadable. Before Danny could react, he was thrown off of his feet by a blast of crackling red energy.

Standing up shakily, Danny glared hatefully up at Vlad standing over him.

"Angry that my mom still refuses you?" He growled. Vlad's eyes narrowed as he kicked Danny in the stomach.

Danny doubled over, gasping. Ok, maybe saying that last part wasn't such a good idea. He thought, his teeth clenched as fire raced through his stomach.

"Give up yet, Daniel?"

"Never." Danny spat. He phased through the floor, moving over till he was underneath Vlad. Danny shot out, his fist glowing green as he knocked Vlad into the air. He charged up a green fireball, throwing it at his enemy.

Vlad turned around in midair, his hand arching around and knocking the blast back towards Danny.

Danny's eyes widened, his mind throwing up a shield on pure instinct. Green connected with green, and to Danny's amazement, he felt his shield absorb his energy back into himself. Well, that's nice to know.

His fierce green eyes focused on Vlad as his arch-enemy angled his body towards Danny's shield, his eyes leaving red streaks through the air while he dove. Danny poured more energy into the shield, preparing himself.

At the last second, Vlad switched directions, diving into the floor. Danny looked down at his feet.

He only got out "Oh, cra-" before his vision was obscured by Vlad's fist.

Danny flew through the air, screaming, his shield disappearing with his broken concentration.

Catching himself, he shook his head, trying to clear the ringing in his ears. Danny glanced around nervously, trying to find Vlad. He jerked around, feeling eyes on his back. The only thing behind him was thin air. Where is he! He wondered, his heart racing, his narrowed eyes continuing to search through the thick darkness.

"Looking for me, Daniel?" Danny spun around, his fists raised.

No one was there.

"Why don't you come out and fight, Vlad. Or are you too afraid?" Vlad's chuckle echoed around Danny, bouncing off the walls and seeming to come from every direction. Every muscle in Danny's body was tensed, waiting for an attack.

But none came. Instead, Vlad's voice continued.

"Tell me, Daniel, how did you figure out that I was behind Einzel's attacks?" Danny growled, he didn't want to talk. He wanted to fight!

He continued to look around, trying to trace Vlad's voice when he started talking again.

"I do have to give you some credit, son. I was surprised you survived at all. Sam's betrayal affected you more then I had guessed it would." Danny's eyes shone fiercely, giving the dark, dank walls an eerie green highlight.

"She didn't betray me, she was the one who saved me." Danny's hatred filled voice continued. "You're the one who kidnapped her."

"Why, I would never do such a horrid thing! Einzel, however…" Vlad let his sentence hang, his voice amused.

"COME OUT AND FIGHT, VLAD!" Danny screamed. Losing control, he started blasting the walls around him, hoping to hit Vlad's disembodied voice. Dust rained down on Danny, his blasts shaking the very foundations of the castle. Danny growled, powering up another blast and flinging it at the wall.

The dust finally cleared, leaving Danny panting for breath.

But still no Vlad.

Danny calmed himself down. Looking around the empty hallway, a sudden look of disgust crossed his features. He's just taunting me. It's all part of his sick game. Danny looked around at the holes in the wall, green smoke still trailing from all of them.

No, that's not it…

"You really must watch that temper of yours." Vlad snickered. Danny ignored him, his eyes fixed on the gaping holes he had created.

He's trying to get me to waste my energy…

Danny looked around at the destruction surrounding him, his eyes wide in astonishment.

Which means…

"…You're afraid of me, aren't you." It was a statement, not a question.

Only silence answered him.

Heh, sorry for the (sort of) cliffy there, but I had this last part written since like the very beginning, and I knew I was going to end the chapter there. So, yeah.

Aahhh! I loved writing that!

Anyway...

(Conan) Thanks! I hope you enjoy it all the way to the end. (SleepW) It is! Heh heh, that's a good thing, right? And I'm guessing the end of this chapter did the same... Thank you, as always! (Crazy) Oh, heh, he doesn't really explain it, yet... if ya have questions, just ask. (MissM) Dude, sweet! Nice job on the win! Anyway, thanks! And Vlad's gonna be harder to take down than Danny originally thought, heh heh. (EnigP) Ha! Y'know, I was listening to "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)" while I was typing up this chappy. Yeah, Vlad does have a lot of stuff. I've always hoped that he's concocting some evil plan that would turn into an hour long episode of, well, amazingness. Pshh, to bad the series is coming to an end. Anyway, yay yayness! And thankies! (CentaurG) Thank you! I'm glad ya like it so far! (ObiQ) Yeah, I've been wondering about that, too. I mean, when Valerie first went in she had absolutely no idea what was going on till DP explained everything… My only guess is that "scientists" like Jack and Maddie give their findings to the press, or something like that. Ahh, what really bothers me is how humans phase through everything except for the floor in the ghost zone. Blegh, anyway... (StrLtR0se) Oh, crap. I sorta didn't realize that... Hmm, I mean, I live pretty close to Columbine, but I always assumed that they kept the press away because they were afraid of the bombs that were still inside. I never really thought about the press afterwards... the rest traveled by mouth. I'm glad you mentioned that, I'll definitely keep that in mind.

Ok, I am really trying to get these updates up as fast as I can. But to tell you the truth, I have no idea when I'll be able to get the next chapter up. Maybe during Spring Break? (That's next week for me!) I'll definitely try to get it up then or even before that, but I can't promise this time.

Oh yeah! I had, uh, well... completely forgotten about that one picture I had started working on for the chapter when Danny and Sam run away from Jack. But then I remembered it and finished it! You should look at it, I'm quite proud of how it turned out. (Yay shameless promotion!) Anyway, here's the address: http/ www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 30145987 / Or, if you're lazy like me, I have an actual link posted in my profile.

Review!