A/N: It's been so long, my friends. Well, that's my fault, there hasn't been too much time for me to write. However, it's time to get the plot moving again.

Thank you all for the favorites and follows!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Defeated

Danny stood in front of Vlad's study with apprehension. Today was the day – he had finally earned enough of those horrible family points. It had taken many grueling, torturous hours with the older halfa. However, just because he had earned enough points to see Jack, that didn't mean that his father would let him see…

The young halfa's eyes widened at that thought that had just risen out instinctively. He had been referring to Vlad as his father for months now. Was he starting to believe it himself? Despite how much he had fought against the man, how much he convinced himself that he was still Danny Fenton…It was all starting to fall apart.

The teen took a couple steps back and collided harshly against the wall. It was only a couple of months living with the froot loop, and already he was…?

His hands gripped his hair harshly as he tugged at his raven strands, trying his best to focus on his memories of the past. Try as he might, the teen couldn't even remember the usual familiar layout of his old bedroom. The room that he had been living in now was the only thing that came to mind. He shook his head and concentrated on what Jack looked like – yet that too had been befuddled. The description that he had sworn he never would have forgotten about was now completely erased inside of his own memories.

Even trying to write his old last name was starting to become a challenge. On everything he would write 'Daniel Masters' as easily as counting numbers or reciting the alphabet.

His friends?

He had forgotten their names. The teen was sure that one had black hair, but even that was uncertain. Most of his old life he was grasping at straws. Letting out a heavy sigh, he pulled his hands away from his head and looked up at the familiar ceiling of the mansion.

His thoughts weren't his own anymore – what was Vlad doing to him?

"Daniel…" Vlad stated, opening up the heavy oak door to his office. "What a pleasant surprise!" He continued in a happy tone, prying open the door wide for the teenager to walk in. Danny only stared at the door, and then at Vlad before giving him a heated glare.

"What are you doing to me?" Danny mumbled, but of course the older halfa had heard it and merely answered him with a thin, warm smile. The man continued to only stare at the teen, which caused Danny' blood to start boiling in irritation. "Why can't I remember anything?"

Vlad paused for a brief moment. "Whatever do you mean?" He asked innocently. The younger halfa narrowed his eyes at this. Vlad had spoken that too quickly, and that caused the teenager to become incredibly suspicious. "What brought this on?"

Danny eyed the man, unsure of whether to go anywhere near him. No matter how much the teen wanted to say that he had hated the man as intently as he had when he first arrived at the mansion…The overbearing hate and anger at the man had diminished over time. Now, he couldn't deny that he had become closer with the older halfa.

"I want to use my points…" Danny said in a low tone, crossing his arms. "I want to see Jack."

Vlad's eyes widened, before they narrowed in hatred, and then he blinked all of his emotions away. He answered the teen with the same warm grin as the first time when he had seen him. "I see. Well, I haven't checked up on the bumbling oaf in a few weeks…" He trailed, keeping an intent stare on the teen to gauge his reaction to the news. Danny wanted to feel something at the insult towards Jack – he had wanted so desperately to defend his old father. However, the young halfa kept silent. "He could very well be dead!"

Danny shrugged. "It's what I promised someone I'd do."

"And who is that?"

Danny perked up at this. He raised an eyebrow at what Vlad had asked him. The teen wasn't expecting such a quick, inquisitive reply. "W-What?"

Vlad smirked. "Who did you promise?" He prompted, causing the teen to glance down at the ground. He had tried his best to recollect his fragile memories that seemed almost unreachable at this point. "Don't tell me that you don't know?" He taunted, making Danny grimace from the pressure he was getting to remember something he mentally could not.

"You're doing something to me, Vlad!" Danny snapped back. At his unfiltered, raw words, Vlad dropped his amusement and instead narrowed his eyes at the teen. Danny breathed in deeply and then exhaled slowly. "I know you're doing something to me – you're erasing me. I don't know how you're doing it, but you are!"

"I made sure that you wouldn't become too aware."

The teen stilled, darting his head up at the older halfa with wide eyes. "What-?"

"The names. Your clothes. The threats to become obedient…That would be a lot of mental strain on a teenager, wouldn't you agree?" Vlad asked rhetorically, letting out a humorless laugh. "After that came the uncertain death of your friends and sister. The complete room change. Your reliability on me…Oh, yes, Daniel, I planned everything in detail. You didn't know what was happening at all, did you?"

"I can't remember them!" The teenager yelled, his clenched hands lighting up with green energy from his uncontrolled rage. "My friends! My family! Why would you do that to me, Vlad?" Danny said with a wavering tone. Vlad looked down at the teen in disinterest. "Because you could." Danny answered his own question with a shake of his head and a scoff. "And you did."

Vlad let out a chuckle. "You certainly made it too easy. Now, you did want to spend those points, don't you, little badger?" He walked over to his long desk that was in the middle of the office room. "If Jack really is alive – color me impressed."

Danny walked into the office in a daze, he spoke in a soft tone. "When did I forget about them?"

"A month ago. I believe it was after that last rebellious act…" Vlad supplied, while sitting in his rolling, luxurious office chair. "The one where you burned the paper and thought I wouldn't know about it…" He chuckled and then shook his head. "Foolish idea. Amusing…but foolish none the less."

"What about Jack?" Danny changed the topic back to the main reason why he came to see Vlad to begin with. "Is he still alive, or did I waste my time for nothing?"

Danny walked up to the beach that Jack was supposedly on. He glanced around, although he couldn't see any proof of existence on the island. It was relatively small, and he would have thought he'd see some type of shelter that the man would have made from the air. However, he did not, and as much as this would have alarmed and terrified the old Danny…

The teen placed a hand up to his now pulsating forehead.

"I doubt he's still alive," Vlad muttered, kicking a small piece of rock by the shoreline. He looked over at Danny, was about to fall over with pure anguish written on his face. "Daniel," the man stated, drawing the teenager back to reality. The younger halfa took in a large breath and looked over at Vlad with widened eyes. "Why don't we go back to the mansion?" letting out a humorless chuckle, he continued. "There's really nothing here that you need to see…"

"I…I made a promise…" Danny stuttered slowly, trying to envision the person who he made the promise to. The color orange – he had remembered that much, but the rest is blurry and out of his mental reach. Letting out a sigh, he continued to walk on the beach and deeper into the small forest. "I don't care what I'll find. I just need to find him."

Vlad raised an amused eyebrow at that, but continued the younger halfa as he vanished into the woods. The man looked around the forest that was completely off the map. Skulker had truly abided his wishes when he told the hunter ghost to get creative. It was the first time that he was seeing it in person rather than at his mansion on monitor screens.

"I want to be mad."

The boy's voice brought him out of this thoughts as Vlad looked to the front. The man remained silent, he knew that tone coming out of his son's mouth – he was about to vent. Bringing his hands behind his back in a relaxed position, he tilted his head in mild interest at what the teen would say.

"I want to be mad," Danny repeated with a sigh. "But I can't," he spoke, trying his best to gather his thoughts. "I can't be mad because I know that there's no point." He lifted his leg over a large log and maneuvered his way over it. "All of your villainous plots in the past – they don't even compare to this."

"That's the thing with evil plots, Daniel, you don't really see them coming." There was a brief pause, and then Danny seemed to slump his form over in defeat. "Give yourself a break, it wasn't as if you could have stopped me. I made sure of it."

Danny looked back to examine Vlad with his lifeless, dead eyes. "So you did…" He trailed hopelessly, tearing some of the palm-fronds aside gently. His eyes widened when he reached a clearing that displayed some sort of shelter. It was composed of branches and wood from the palm trees that were abundant on the island.

As if in a trance, the teen took eager steps forward, examining what he could only assume was Jack's work. Some places in the wood said the word 'Fenton' and he placed his hands along the wooden carving slowly. The name that was meant to mean something to the teen only left a hole, and he couldn't connect any heartfelt emotions to it. Turning his eyes away, he peered into the small makeshift doorway and took a few steps in.

It was decorated in a structured chaos – things thrown about here and there in the small room. Danny looked at the small cot towards the end of the wooden room, and there was a book that had been through considerable roughness. Frowning, he picked up the book that could easily fit into a man's pants pockets.

"I have to get back to them…" Danny read, following Jack's clumsily written words. He swallowed, his throat becoming dry and scratchy. "Vlad. I thought he was my friend. I thought that he was my best friend. I was wrong."

Danny turned the page, seeing the small water stains on the page. Jack must have been caught up in his emotions while he wrote it that he began to cry. "How could I not have noticed? Danny – my son – was a half ghost. Still, he was out saving people, and I tried to hunt him down. Maybe this is the fate I deserved?"

The teen cleared his throat now, turning the page. "Please. Forgive me. I've tried to get back to you – to all of you. However…"

He turned the page.

Danny furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and began to surf through the pages in hopes of finding anything else, in case of finding a clue that told him about Jack's condition. He reached the end of the small notebook soon enough, and didn't find any more writings.

He tossed it to the side with a huff and then walked outside where Vlad stood against a nearby tree in boredom. The teen looked from side to side, trying to find any source of footprints. The older halfa rose an eyebrow. "Are you satisfied?"

"I won't be until we find a body…" Danny muttered, morphing into Phantom and hovering slightly above the tree lines. He narrowed his eyes, looking up and down the relatively small island. Catching a small clearing that didn't appear to be natural, he flew over and landed on the dirt ground quickly. Seeing a footprint that matched Jack's, and then another that matched…

Danny walked over and immediately scuffed out the enormous footprint that he had recognized. Vlad landed on the ground a few seconds later. "Hmm, perhaps he got eaten by a bear?" He asked, not noticing the fact that the young halfa had covered up the actual evidence on Jack's disappearance. When Danny didn't turn around, Vlad let out an exasperated sigh. "Come, Daniel, are we really going to stay here and look for remains?"

"No," he answered back, surprising the older halfa. "Whatever happened to Jack doesn't matter. He's gone now."

The teen turned to look at Vlad with unremorseful eyes. "We should get back. We need to talk about that rebellion that's been causing us problems."

Vlad slowly smirked at seeing the teen's dark attitude. "Then, we should be off."

The older halfa took to the skies, and Danny took off after him. Danny wanted to look back to make sure that he had covered the footprint well enough, but any second thought would give Vlad the suspicion that he still cared for Jack. The footprint was caused by Frostbite or one of his clan members. Jack was safe in the Far Frozen, a place that Vlad wasn't interested in conquering at the present moment.

For as long as he could, he would keep working for Vlad and remain at his side.

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

To be continued…