Disclaimer: I own nothing from Danny Phantom.

Note: Phew, this chapter took a while since it's actually two different ones combined but it turned out amazing! So welcome to the final act! I hope you're ready for the epicness ahead!

Chapter 28: Threnody

Danielle's POV

"Ugh, not again. Now where am I?" I groaned, my head throbbing as I forced my eyes and could see the sky from where I was, unfortunately, now chained to the ground itself. Just like before my arms and legs were shackled by those painful magical chains, but this time they were glowing a sinister shade of purple so something told me I wouldn't be able to transform my legs into a spectral tail again to slip out of them this time.

"Did you sleep well, my rose?" Freakshow cooed as he leaned forward to look down at me, his head lazily resting against a long metal rod that I assume he planned to use as the base of his new staff.

Suddenly remembering him biting his lip then kissing me, I looked at him in disgust and gagged. "Oh my god, ew! You kissed me, with blood -or ectoplasm I guess- on your lips. God that's just sick and wrong!"

"Oh come now, it couldn't have been that bad. I was gentle wasn't I?" Freakshow sneered.

"Shut it asshole, we both know the only reason I didn't spit that disgusting shit back in your face is because you cast another stupid spell on me! What the hell did you make me do this time?" I demanded, struggling against the cuffs which didn't seem to be attached to anything but I still couldn't move at all.

Kneeling town with one hand on the metal rod and the other reaching down to grab my chin, Freakshow's smile only widened and he told me exactly what he did while I was blissfully unaware of my surroundings. At first I wondered why he even bothered to reveal that to me until I remembered that Freakshow planned to wipe my memories for good so to him, it didn't matter how much he told me. The thought of losing myself like that because of his dark magic and not because I was having a personal identity crisis sent a chill up my spine, but not as much as when Freakshow told me he took it a step further when he disguised himself as Vlad to lull me into a false sense of security as he gathered my blood for this insane ritual of his just to prolong my suffering.

Sighing mournfully as he let go of my chin, Freakshow admitted. "Unfortunately it would seem I have used up almost all of the remaining shards from my old crystal staff to create the barrier around us. But don't fret my rose because with the few I have left it should be enough to make this a memorable night for Vlad the Impaler as a parting gift. After all, I went through all the trouble to make this ritual look a bit more impressive than it actually is especially for him before he must bid you farewell. Essentially, I am going to use the last of my human blood and yours to create a very special blood crystal for my new staff. And with it, I will become your one and only master."

Smiling gleefully he continued. "Now then! I believe the stage is set so now all we have to do is wait for the guest of honor to arrive. Until then, enjoy your last moments as Dani Phantom because once we're done here, you'll be whoever I want you to be. And most importantly, my beautiful angel of death, you'll be mine once and for all."

Laughing despite how anxious I actually was, I defiantly looked him in the eye and scoffed. "You really are the most pathetic excuse of a ghost I've ever seen. If you honestly think you have even the slightest chance of beating Vlad at his own game then you're more deranged than I originally thought. It's true that I might not remember absolutely everything about him, but I know enough to understand exactly what he's capable of. Plus he always has this strange knack for finding me when I'm in really deep trouble so when Vlad does find us, he's going to make you regret coming back from the dead at all."

My eyes softening, I continued confidently. "Its taken a long time for him to gain my trust, but I believe in Vlad. And I believe that he'll do whatever it takes to stop you since he already killed you once. In the end, even in death, you're nothing but a pathetic fraud grabbing at power. Unlike you, Vlad doesn't have to rely on cheap parlor tricks like that since he gained all of his the old fashioned way while all you did was wave a magical metal stick around to make others do all your dirty work..."

"Believe what you will while you still can think for yourself my rose." Freakshow frowned, standing up straight again. "Soon none of that will matter because with this new staff I should be able to control HIM too. Or, at the very least it will allow me incapacitate him long enough to have you kill that bastard with your own hands in the most humiliating way possible. Didn't think of that, did you? If all goes according to plan, I don't have to lay a finger on him. Not when I can have you do it for me while I sit back and enjoy the show."

Whatever confidence I had left suddenly evaporated because no, I didn't think of that. I just assumed Vlad was too strong-willed to be controlled like I was. There had to be something I could do to stop him, or so I told myself, but sadly...Freakshow was right. All this time I thought I was getting better at fighting ghosts, strong enough to hold my own, but I always fell short. Compared to Vlad, I just couldn't measure up as the only other half-ghost at all since he's so much better than me at everything...

He didn't need anyone's help.

He doesn't need...me being nothing but trouble for him.

Staring up at the stars since I couldn't look anywhere else I tried my best not to lose hope as Freakshow walked away from me to prepare the final touches for the ritual. Meanwhile, I thought about Vlad, about my friends and kept telling myself they'd get here in time. They had to. Because if they didn't, everything that makes me who I am, everything I ever stood for, would disappear in a puff of smoke...

And not even Vlad would be able to bring me back.

Vlad's POV

"Alright, are you both clear on what the plan is?" I asked Samson and Trish evenly before I carefully set the two of them down once we finally found which clearing Freakshow was using for his ritual site.

As soon as I locked onto Danielle's ghost signature I had to stop myself from blindly rushing in to rescue her. Especially when I spotted her unconscious form being carried to a circle of stones where she was bound in place by dark magic chains. Freakshow had not detected our presence yet which makes sense because ghosts can't sense each other, only half-ghosts like myself can without much experience since its a special skill. Think of it as...a survival instinct or a sixth sense. Either way I planned to use that to our advantage so we could strike when he least expected it.

And while I did the hard part of keeping him distracted, Freakshow would never expect Danielle's friends to willingly get themselves involved in yet another potentially life threatening situation when they know they were powerless against him on their own without Danielle's protection. Frankly I couldn't believe I was letting them assist me during this rescue mission. It was still risky, but they were willing to help Danielle and that's all I cared about.

If we were lucky I would be able to bring Samson close enough to that circle of stones to bypass whatever protective spells Freakshow had in place to stop me from freeing Danielle since he only created it to keep out other ghosts, not humans. And once inside the barrier they could free her themselves. That is, provided that the counter-spell Samson found in that tome I lent him was of any use or just a bunch of useless tripe. If Samson's attempt to rescue Danielle failed, I couldn't afford to...

As for Trish, her task was to capture Lydia in one of those ridiculously named thermos-shaped devices they used to hunt ghosts because that would help eliminate at least one threat. Freakshow on the other hand was another matter entirely. He may be a skilled illusionist and magical practitioner, but he hasn't been a ghost for very long and I had over twenty years of experience with my powers. I've already learned all about his family's history of using blood magic and other spells, enchantments, curses and so on so unlike the last time we crossed paths I was well prepared to counter anything he threw at us.

And as an added precaution, Danielle's friends were both heavily armed with weapons from Fenton Works to defend themselves with while I on the other hand had my own little bag of tricks so to speak as well as a little something extra I brought from home. I just hoped I wouldn't have to use it on Danielle to bring her back to her senses. I've caused her enough trouble as it is, enough pain, but I AM going to fix this because she's the most important person in my life. We may not be related by blood, but we're family. And I will never let anyone steal her away from me the way the former love of my life, Maddie, was...

Never again.

Once Danielle's friends were in position with the invisible duplicate standing vigil over them just like last time, I made finally my entrance as convincing as possible by teleporting into plain view and then flying towards Freakshow's ritual circle confidently. Thankfully I didn't have to fake being absolutely furious at the sight of it because seeing Danielle bound like some kind of animal in the middle of it made my blood boil. But don't mistake my anger for recklessness though. I had a plan, and Danielle's friends would just have to trust me whether they liked it or not. Regardless of their opinion of me, ultimately I would be the one to save her from this darkness, this nightmare I had unknowingly created...

When I slowly glanced down towards where Freakshow and Lydia stood on either side of Danielle I saw her struggling fruitlessly against the shackles, her sapphire eyes sending me a silent message since Danielle's voice caught in her throat and she couldn't speak. Another spell no doubt or maybe an actual gag, I couldn't tell. She also tried to toss her head wildly to the side as if warning me, no begging me to run and save myself from whatever trap lay in store, but there was no chance of that.

If anyone should have been running, its Freakshow.

"Ah, so enters Vlad the Impaler! Welcome to the show my good man!" Freakshow announced dramatically, flourishing a long metal rod in his hand while Lydia drew back her hood and pulled out an ornate dagger which she toyed with while watching me carefully, attempting to look menacing but I could see a trace of fear in her eyes from the memory of our last two encounters.

Resting at their feet I saw a pair of silver bowls filled with a mixture of human and ectoplasmic blood so clearly the dagger was just there for show but fine, I would play along with their little game for now. That is, so long as they didn't actually attempt to use that wretched thing on Danielle.

"Is this supposed to impress me, Freakshow?" I asked mockingly, gesturing at the stone circle and the pentagram beneath Danielle. "I expected more from you so frankly this is quite underwhelming. No human skulls, no bleached bones, and no ghostly minions singing ominously in Gregorian? Tsk tsk, so much for the grand performance I was expecting. I only hope you'll be more entertaining to fight because I assure you that your end is near, freak."

"That's 'Freakshow' if you please," he corrected with a coy smile, unaffected by my condescending comments. "And if its music you want, perhaps Dani's screams of agony will suffice. Yours are definitely going to be music to my ears since there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"We'll see about that now won't we?" I sneered, shooting several energy blasts in his direction to test the barrier and sure enough, there was a rippling effect when the blasts hit but they never struck their intended targets.

Laughing, Freakshow rapped the the barrier with his knuckles and explained. "Did you really think I'd leave myself wide open for another murder attempt? Honestly, I thought you were smarter than that. At any rate, time grows short so lets get this party started!"

Turning his back to me and snatching the dagger from Lydia he ordered coldly. "Keep him busy. And don't you dare disappoint me again, Lydia."

Lydia nodded before shooting Danielle one last hateful glare then flying out of the safety of the protective circle to face me directly. One look at her told me something was different about Lydia, wrong somehow. I couldn't quite put my finger on it until I saw Lydia spread out her arms and legs so her tattoos could peel off her skin and transform into her ghostly minions to attack me. That's when I noticed that they were much larger than before and seemed almost feral.

Truth be told I really didn't want to waste time fighting her, but I needed to make this battle look convincing so Freakshow would lose focus on his ritual by torturing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend before his eyes. That is, assuming he still cares for her at all. If Freakshow had any feelings for her he'd either attempt to stop me or use Danielle as leverage. And if not, well, it would prove to Lydia that Freakshow didn't deserve her loyalty which may or may not turn the tide in my favor...

As for the tide of our battle, I expertly wove between her summoned tattoo creatures, taking them out one by one or all at once in large numbers. Once they were dealt with I then turned my attention to Lydia herself who began resorting to using her own ghost powers to keep me away from Freakshow. He had just begun chanting the spell for his ritual and placed the metal rod from earlier into one bowls which stood up on its own and the blood beneath it was quickly absorbed, turning the metal black and molding it like a living shadow into the shape he desired.

The floating flames dancing around the circle changed from purple to blood-red and began to tower high into the air before swirling around the staff to help 'forge it' into its new form. But it wasn't until Freakshow pulled out a small crystal from his vest that I started to genuinely worry for Danielle's safety. As for the staff itself, once its transformation finished I could see that just like the previous one I broke it had a bat-like appearance but this time it was upside down with the wing tips curled upwards.

Danielle tried desperately to warn me of the danger when at long last, it was finally time to enact the next phase of the plan so once Lydia was close enough to me, I snatched her by the throat and dove towards the barrier, pinning her against it. Her mouth opened in a silent scream and she turned her head to look at her beloved Freakshow, her eyes begging for his help, but instead he turned around and shouted angrily. "Lydia, I need more time damn it! Don't let that pathetic worm beat you again you useless wrench!"

I resisted the urge to smile victoriously when my distraction worked flawlessly and Samson was able to sneak close enough to the stone circle to move one of the large runed cornerstones out of place while I kept him invisible with the help of a duplicate. But as expected I was forced to recall it when I felt the remaining wards repel my presence.

I was however able to whisper in his ear. "Make this count."

Nodding silently he rushed over to Danielle's side and the relief on her face was immediately evident, although she seemed deeply concerned for Samson's safety as well. Ignoring her weak protests, Samson set to work whispering the counter spell to remove the bindings which glowed bright red for a moment before turning green and disintegrating. Then he moved to do the same with the ones at her ankles while I distracted Freakshow again by electrocuting Lydia before his eyes to the point that we could smell burnt cloth as her trademark red cloak caught fire.

"You see? Now that he has her he doesn't need you," I jeered, pressing her harder against the weakened barrier to make it seem like it was the sheer force of my grip breaking breaking it and not sabotage while Samson continued freeing Danielle. "Since I genuinely pity you I'll give you a choice. Leave Freakshow to his fate or perish for the sake of a man who clearly no longer loves you. I only want Danielle safely returned to me. Nod if you agree to my terms, otherwise I'm not stopping."

Glaring at me defiantly, Lydia shook her head even as the flames began licking the back of her neck so with that I decided to end it. So I reached back with my other hand, intending to phase my hand inside to crush her ghost core when Freakshow shouted.

"ENOUGH! Must I do everything myself?!" Snapping his head to the side, Freakshow snatched the unfinished staff and with the crystal in his other hand he angrily tossed it into the remaining bowl of blood and in a warped almost demonic voice he chanted the last words of the ritual spell.

In order to shield my eyes from the light I unceremoniously let go of Lydia who crumpled to the ground. Meanwhile, by some miracle or perhaps the sudden magical disruption, Danielle finally found her voice again and yelled. "VLAD! YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE! IT'S A TRAP! HE'S GOING USE THAT TO-!?"

I didn't see it happen, but thankfully Samson managed to shield Danielle's eyes from the light as well by hugging her head close to his chest. Unfortunately for him though, the binding spell Freakshow cast quickly took effect on her, directly linking Danielle's mind to the staff's as her blood became a part of it and its power took hold once more. By the time the light faded and the crystal core grew to form a large thin prism, Danielle had also changed into her ghost form and violently tossed Samson aside until he rolled to a stop outside of the circle which I'm sure was her last act of defiance in order to protect him from her.

Gripping her head as she struggled to stay in control of herself, Danielle stood up and staggered a bit until she threw her head back to stare blankly at the cold unfeeling stars and her white hair turned into flames and her eyes were enveloped in a solid red glow, the pupils slightly brighter than the rest like hellfire. Freakshow didn't even need to audibly give her commands like he did before since the staff connected them directly so all he had to do was point at me and with a savage cry Danielle charged a ball of red energy at me. And while I was still stunned from the blinding light that I'll admit made me feel a bit dizzy afterwards, the blast hit me squarely in the stomach and I was abruptly knocked out of the air.

Meanwhile, as this was all happening Trish suddenly made a surprising bold move and suddenly sprinted into the clearing, pointing the thermos we meant to catch Lydia in first at her AND Freakshow which began pulling them inside as soon as she activated it. Unfortunately, Freakshow was able to evade capture by stabbing his staff into the ground to use as an anchor and only Lydia was trapped inside. After the thermos stopped pulling at him, Freakshow straightened himself up to glare at Trish venomously and was about to attack her when Samson also did something reckless. While I was busy fighting Danielle, who was ruthlessly after me like a wild animal, Samson tackled Freakshow causing him to lose his grip on the staff. Clearly the fool forgot he could have easily phases out of the boy's grip.

"Trish, the staff! Get the staff! Hurry!" Samson shouted but Freakshow was quicker and shoved him aside to snatch it again just before she could grasp it and he swung it in a large arc, slashing her across the shoulder with the sharp tip of the crystal.

She fell to her knees, cradling the wound but I couldn't afford any more distractions. They were on their own for the time being until I either knocked Danielle unconscious or helped her regain her senses. While I had always wanted to see her prowess in battle now that she is stronger than the last time we fought when I first met her, I couldn't bear to see her like this. Danielle's attacks were erratic, unrelenting, and savage as if she was thirsty for my blood and it unnerved me greatly but I kept dodging each blow instead of launching a counter attack. I couldn't attack her like this even if it was to defend myself, it was too risky because even in her current frenzied state my power far surpassed hers and I didn't want to hurt Danielle more than I had already by putting us in this absurd predicament in the first place...

Waving his staff to tie Danielle's friends together with the same magical chains he had used on Danielle, Freakshow slapped Trish hard with the back of his hand, knocking her unconscious and then turned his narrowed gaze to Samson, snarling as he uttered this dark promise. "I'll deal with you later."

After that Freakshow flew up to where Danielle and I were engaged in battle and raising his staff higher, he bellowed. "It's over now Vlad the Impaler! I've won! She's mine to control forever and we are bound together in both mind and spirit! Here, I'll prove it to you! If you dare to attack me and she'll feel my pain tenfold! All I have to do is utter a few more words and-" muttering the spell to himself, Freakshow twirled the dagger he took from Lydia earlier in his hand and despite knowing it would cause him pain too he slashed it across his stomach in a quick motion just enough to break the skin. A few seconds later, to my horror Danielle yelped as the fabric of her hazmat suit was literally torn as if by invisible hands exactly where Freakshow cut himself, now oozing a steady stream of glowing ectoplasmic blood.

"Danielle!" I shouted, hoping that somehow the pain would snap her out of her trance, but instead, after gliding a hand across the wound, Danielle's solid red eyes bore into mine and she flew at me again with both her hands charged with ecto-energy.

Realizing I had no choice but to act even if it resulted in more injuries, I was just about to strike Danielle when Freakshow shot a beam of light at the moon above us by ironically using Trish's 'small blood donation' when he cut her shoulder before to cast another spell which turned the world around us a deep shade of crimson. And all of a sudden it became much harder for me to focus. The red light was all around us now, bearing down on me, but for Danielle's sake I couldn't allow myself to falter here no matter the cost. Because if I did it then would be the end of both of us. So, after biting my lip hard to snap myself out of the momentary daze, I threw my cape around me and teleported a short distance away.

Danielle looked around for me wildly, teeth clenched in a snarl, but when I finally reappeared, as a last ditch effort to break the spell on her I put my faith in something I hadn't truthfully felt in a long time. Love. That's why instead of attacking her or knocking Danielle out with a punch to the gut like the first time we met, I hugged her from behind and asked her with all the affection and desperation I could muster for her to forgive me and to come back out of the darkness Freakshow had trapped her mind in. Danielle's eyes widened in shock and she began thrashing, but I refused to let go and instead held on tighter, truly regretting everything that had led us to this point. I don't know how long I held her before, to both of our surprise, tears spilled from my eyes and landed on her shoulders as I tearfully begged her in a small voice not to leave me alone again. Moments later, I felt Danielle's arms go limp at her and then she slowly turned her head to me, her brow furrowed as a look of confusion flitted across her face...

And most importantly, the faintest hint of recognition.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! KILL HIM! KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH!" Freakshow ordered angrily, pouring more of his energy into the staff to regain control of Danielle. But then, something truly miraculous happened.

When I pulled my arms away at last, blinking away the unexpected tears blurring them after I openly admitted how terrified I was of losing her, I saw Danielle's red eyes change to a soft sky blue and then I felt a power unlike anything I've felt before wash over us like a cool spring rain, washing the corruption away. And it was coming from her. I could hear Danielle's heartbeat racing, feel distant echoes of thought reaching for me to pull her out of the darkness once and for all, so I did. I reached for her hand and the moment ours touched we were enveloped in a comforting pale blue light.

Then, with her fingers intertwined with mine as Danielle's eyes slowly changed back to their ghostly green luster and her flaming white hair also floated down gently around her shoulders, she smiled warmly at me and said. "Vlad...thanks for keeping your promise."

Down below us, Freakshow's staff also responded to the miraculous change in her and the crystal began to glow bright blue and then cracks started to form. Desperate to keep it from breaking, he glared up at us and shouted defiantly. "NO! THIS ISN'T OVER! SHE'S MINE! THE STAFF IS MINE! I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE, MARK MY WORDS!"

Leaning down, Freakshow angrily snatched the thermos from where it lay discarded in the grass at Miss Foley's feet, intending to free Lydia from it, but then he hesitated for a moment. Reconsidering wasting any more time with her, he then lazily dropped it, kicking it to the side like a piece of trash and muttered in disgust. "Whatever. Who cares about that pathetic bitch? She's completely useless to me so...let her rot in there for eternity for all I care! I'll just have to go find a new minion to help me reclaim my rose. Someone who won't make a complete mockery of me."

Whistling sharply, we heard the sound of wings as Freakshow's train flew over the treeline and dove down into the clearing and he phased inside, or at least that's what he intended to do anyway. I however, wasn't letting him get away so easily so after setting Danielle down beside her friends where she could rest for a moment, I briefly glanced at them as she leaned heavily against her bound friends and tiredly asked if he and Trish were alright. Once I knew she was out of harm's way, I teleported directly in front of Freakshow, snatched the now worthless staff right out of his hand and kicked him in the gut.

Freakshow doubled over in midair and after double-checking to make sure kicking him hadn't hurt Danielle, my red eyes bore into his wide fearful ones and I whispered in his ear. "If anyone is going to have revenge today, it's me. I told you that you would pay dearly for hurting my little badger and I meant it. I'll admit that I did not foresee you becoming a ghost, so I do take some responsibility for that. But now that you've made the mistake of becoming a genuine threat to her, I cannot allow you to continue to exist as a ghost either. Goodbye, Freakshow."

Before he could utter a single word to beg for mercy, I plunged my hand right into his chest, my power reaching for his ghost core and once my hand clasped around it Freakshow started thrashing uselessly, trying everything he could to escape from me. But if he turned intangible so did I and I poured all of my hate and malice into one final attack to destroy his core. His death cry was almost inhuman as he howled and the staff in my hand shattered while Freakshow himself dissipated into a fine red mist and drifted away as everything returned to normal.

In fact, even the train behind us suddenly shuttered as the wings dissolved and it crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud. I'm just glad it was far enough from Danielle and her friends so I didn't have to swoop in and save them again. Either way, unless Freakshow knew how to come back from the dead a second time it was finally over. For the first time in my life...I was the one playing the role of hero but where Danielle is concerned, I doubt it will be the last. And I wouldn't have it any other way because at least she's someone that even someone like me, doesn't mind fighting for...