A/N: Hey guys.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

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Daniel leaned against the wall in the back of the corner, his arms crossed on his chest. He looked at the ground, impatiently tapping his foot in a rhythm that was unknown to everyone else in the room. Vlad was at the front, along with Walker, Desiree, Fright Knight, and Ghost Writer. Skulker seemed to be missing from the meeting, or he had yet to arrive.

"Amity Park has always been a pain in my backside," Vlad muttered out, rubbing his chin in thought with his hand. He eyed the map that was in front of the table, taking in the different cities that had been called out on it.

Daniel didn't raise his head at the mention of his old home. He stopped tapping his foot, and instead began to stare at the ground harshly. Walker walked over to where he was, standing directly next to the teen as he still had not raised his head to actively participate in the meeting. "That's your territory, punk…" He muttered lowly.

The young halfa remained silent. He did not show any sign that he had heard any of the ghost warden's words. It wasn't as though he was thinking about anything in that overworked mind of his – he was purposefully keeping it blank.

If the teen thought about anything related to the rebellion or the incoming inevitable war that Plasmius would rain down, he would start to lose it. Vlad hadn't fully broken him yet, but that didn't meant that he wasn't on the edge.

"You don't care whether they live or die?" Walker groveled out. Daniel could tell that he was growing irritated with being ignored. After all, Walker wasn't used to it, especially by the temperamental half ghost teenager in front of him. "Perhaps Plasmius has reigned you in…" He muttered, walking away from Daniel, no longer amused by the aspect of instigating him.

Daniel still did not raise his head.

"Daniel?" Vlad called out, and at hearing his father's voice, he lifted his head, quickly darting his eyes to the man that might very well be the bane of his existence at this point. "Come," he waved his hand, ushering the teenager towards him.

Daniel let out a small sigh – he didn't want to be bossed around and follow his father's orders…but at this point in the game, he needed to be the loyal son. He needed to protect his mother, which was still being held captive in this mansion.

He walked over to where Vlad was, standing about a foot away from him. "Daniel," he repeated the teen's name, irking the young halfa beyond belief. He had gotten used to his full legal name being utilized by the older halfa as a power play move. Vlad wanted to express that he had all the power, and once again Daniel had none of it – or if he did, then it was only by Vlad's whims. "I want you to lead the army when we invade Amity Park."

Skulker walked in at hearing that. Daniel didn't turn his head to look at the newcomer, his eyes never straying from his father's. The teen blinked and then nodded. He was sure to keep his face expressionless – it was a good opportunity to check in on his old friends back in Amity Park…though, that would be difficult considering he doesn't remember what they looked or sounded like. "Are you sure that you want me to do that, father?"

"Are you sure the kid won't betray you?" Desiree questioned, raising an eyebrow. The rest of the room took notice of her snappy tone that she was using – most of the ghosts in the room had a disdain and personal disagreement with the young halfa, but unlike Desiree, they were smart to watch their tongue around Plasmius.

Vlad turned to glare at the genie ghost. "Are you questioning my decision, Desiree?" His tone was cold and his stare had turned ruthless. Desiree let out a flinch at the older halfa's tone. She crossed her arms to comfort her as she looked away, lightly shaking her head in submission.

At seeing how quickly she had relented and grown quiet, Vlad scanned the rest of the room. "Anyone else that wants to question me?" Vlad taunted, looking down at each and every ghost in the room. The ghosts couldn't open up their mouth to argue or state their opinion – there was an obvious power dynamic difference that they wouldn't want to test out.

Vlad turned his attention back to his son. He placed a hand on his shoulder, but Daniel didn't flinch at the unwanted touch. Instead, he met his father's blue, merciless eyes. "Yes, I am sure I want you to do that, Daniel," he repeated, digging his fingers into his son's shirt. Daniel once again did not show a reaction. "Are you sure that you want to personally annihilate the resistance that is being built?" He pressed, narrowing his eyes.

He studied Daniel's face, looking for any signs of rebellion there. To the older halfa's surprise, there was nothing that he could detect that seemed to be lingering there. "You will see your friends and I'll bet your sister will have joined them."

Daniel rose an eyebrow, a burst of surprise erupted inside of him from seemingly nowhere. That statement was the very first thing that piqued his interest in the entire hour and a half that he had been in that meeting room.

"I have a sister-?"

For the first time he showed emotion, looking at Vlad for an answer to his question. Vlad gave him a tight lipped smile that beyond forced. "Focus on the mission at hand, my boy," he lightly admonished. Daniel nodded his head once, choosing to now stare at the ground. "You will annihilate them for me, will you not, my son?"

"I will be of service to you, father," Daniel responded without missing a beat.

"See?" Vlad looked around the room. He could see the uneasy looks on his allies' faces. Ghost Writer was looking hesitantly at the teen that pledged his undying allegiance to the man that had torn his family apart. Desiree did not raise her head from the ground after being called out by Plasmius. Fright Knight had his attention focused on Plasmius, wanting to be of service to his master at his first command.

Walker and Skulker shared a glance before looking at Vlad.

"There is nothing to worry about," he reaffirmed to everyone in the room. "I have conditioned Daniel to be the perfect son."

A barely noticeable twitch could be seen on Daniel's right hand that had been hidden from Vlad's line of sight. Skulker had noticed it, though. The hunter ghost kept his attention on Vlad to not give anything away.

Skulker knew that the ghost brat would be hard to break – it would take more than months of conditioning to bend his will. Danny was strong and was just waiting for the chance to stab Vlad in the back, much like Skulker himself was waiting to do. That little twitch to some would seem like an involuntarily muscle spasm…to Skulker, who had studied his prey for years…that was just the teenager reigning in his emotions.

There would be an opportunity to take down Vlad once and for all and end this horrible nightmare. Skulker was convincing Aragon and Dora. He already had Ember on his side. Truly, Vlad would be blindsided by the two people closest to him – his forced son, and himself.

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"Danny," Maddie called out her son's name, walking into a large room. Daniel had shifted into his ghost counterpart – Phantom, and was busy making sure his pack was ready for the battle on Amity Park. He lifted his head at hearing his mother's voice, looking up at her frail and weak looking body. "Danny, where are you going-?" She looked down to see a map of Amity Park that had been sprawled out on the table.

Daniel moved to the side to prevent his mother from seeing anything more. He slid a hand behind himself and rolled up the exposed map into a small scroll. He didn't enjoy the look that his mother was currently sending him – it was a look of betrayal, horror, and disbelief.

The young halfa promised to himself to turn off his emotions and play the part of Vlad's perfect pawn after knowing his father was safe, but it pulled at his heart strings when his mother was looking at him like that.

"You aren't-!"

"Mom," Daniel cut her off, taking a step towards her. She shook her head, holding her hands up to her chest in shock. "No, mom, please…" He took another step, causing her to shake her head faster. She took a couple of steps back, which caused the teen to stop and let out a small sigh from under his breath. "It's not what it looks like."

Maddie took in a shaky breath. Her eyes were watering, and Daniel had to applaud her for not breaking down and crying right there on the spot. He knew what Amity Park had meant to her – he had spent his entire life there.

Or…he assumed he had.

His past life was hazy before Vlad took over the Earth.

"What…" She muttered. "What does it look like?" She questioned, looking at her son for a straight and precise answer. Daniel stared at her, clenching the rolled up map tightly in his hand. He took in a deep breath and released it. She grew tired of waiting for her son to come up with an excuse. "It look like you're planning an attack…" Her eyes narrowed.

Daniel also didn't like that look being directed towards him, either.

"On your home!" She yelled, gripping her shoulders tightly, crossing her arms as she did so. Daniel could see just how much weight his mother had lost. She wasn't keeping any pounds on her. He didn't know just what she was dealing with, but if Vlad was forcing himself on her, then he might have an idea.

Daniel didn't like the man, but he needed to put up with him for now. He couldn't act out against him until he had an opportunity. His mother must have come to the same conclusion, but he couldn't verbally express that he wasn't in league with the older halfa – he didn't know who exactly could be listening.

Vlad could have the entire place bugged, and Daniel was absolutely sure that he did.

He needed to play the part of the villain.

"It isn't my home," Daniel spoke in a leveled tone. Maddie let out a shuddering gasp. "It isn't your home, either. Your home is here," he turned around, not wanting to look at his mother anymore. He didn't want to disappoint her, and yet here he was…doing exactly that.

She wouldn't understand, although he hoped that she would. His mother was one of the smartest people that he knew. He was sure that Jack was smart as well. Vlad was too smart for his own good, but his pride would ultimately be his downfall.

He was surrounded by smart people and that's why this was so difficult.

There was a part of him that hoped that his mother could see what he was doing. He heard her quiet footsteps with his enhanced hearing. Daniel placed his hands on the table and leaned forward, doing his best to not let out a scream of frustration.

Maddie viewed him as a monster, too.

So be it.

"Are you finished packing, Daniel?" Vlad asked, walking into the room. Daniel stood up straight and turned around to look at his father. "Your mother had a talk with you, did she?" He walked over to where the teen was, noticing that he had placed the map in his pack.

"She had a few choice words…" Daniel muttered, gathering the pack in his hands before slipping it over one of his shoulders. "Do you have any words of wisdom for me, or should I get going?" He examined his father's face.

Vlad had his face remain expressionless. He placed his hands behind his back comfortably. "Not at this time," he spoke. He looked at Daniel and the teen blinked. "I'll be assigning Fright Knight to be watching over you."

"I see that your trust only extends so far," Daniel commented, causing Vlad to let out a dry chuckle.

"This is the first time I'm letting you out of my sights. I will know if you deviate from your objective, little badger…" He took a few steps towards his son. "I suppose I do have some advice to give you…" He was now directly in front of him, looking down at the young halfa.

"Don't deviate from your mission."

Daniel gave him a hallow smile. "I would never dream of it," he then walked past the older halfa, venturing towards the foyer where his assigned babysitter was waiting. He could feel Vlad's lingering gaze on his back but didn't look back.

He had a mission to do, after all.

To be continued…!

A/N: Surprise mother fucker! I'm back, if only to complete my stories. I would never leave open projects. I had a little time to spare so I went ahead and did this. I'm going to do it for all of my stories!

After I'm done with them all, though, I'm retiring from fanfiction.

All stories should be completed by the end of 2022!

Thank you all for your continued support over the years!