Disclaimer: Must I really keep doing these? DP and its affiliated characters belong to Butch Hartmann, Winston Wolfe belongs to Hornswaggler, and the original concept of this story belongs to Crystal Dreams. I have just combined the three to create a monster, and I am very proud of this fact.

Note: Like previous chapters, this one has yet to be beta'ed

Eidolon
19. Opposition

"So… where exactly are we…?" Sam asked as she carefully took a look around the room she and Tucker had discovered. "I thought you said we were entering the basement…"

Tucker adjusted his glasses as he reexamined the screen on his PDA. "According to the blueprints, it should be. The door we're trying to find should be along that wall," he said as he gestured to the one wall.

A sigh escaped Sam as moved to examine the wall. She should have known something was up when they needed to find a hidden switch to get into the basement. Apparently, the mad billionaire had turned what should have been a normal basement or storage area into some type of lab.

It was difficult to tell if he used the room regularly or not. It was incredibly clean. Nothing appeared to be out of place, and the entire room had the faint smell of disinfectant. What appeared to be surgical tools were placed neatly near the sink on the one counter. Unknown and somewhat sinister looking machinery and weapons were scattered throughout the room. To make matters worse, an eerie green light which originated from what may have been a strange doorway on the far wall washed over the room. It caused unusual shadows which seemed to pulse and move. It was unnerving.

Pushing her discomfort aside, Sam tried to focus her attention on figuring out where the supposed door was. If the blueprints Tucker had discovered were correct, the door in question would lead to the room where people were being held captive. Although she had no idea who those people were, she knew they were important to Danny which was all she needed to know. When the time came, she would ask why they held such a place in her friend's heart, but for now, she would focus on her mission. Danny had entrusted her with rescuing them, and even though she didn't think it was much, she wasn't going to let him down, especially when there was so much at stake.

After checking over the wall a couple of times, it was clear they were going to need more than a good eye to determine its location. After a quick discussion, they hesitantly began tapping the wall in an attempt to find some indication of the door. Although the lab was probably designed to muffle sounds, they decided to play it safe. The knocks where short and spaced in an attempt to make them sound more natural.

"I think we found it…" Tucker hesitantly stated as if he didn't believe it was possible. "And, according to my PDA, this spot does match up with the blueprints."

"Well, that's all fine and dandy, but how are we going to get to that door? While I've always wanted to destroy a wall, I don't know how we're going to be able to get away with it without making a lot of noise." Sam stated as she felt the wall again. Thankfully, it appeared to just be made of drywall. Though it seemed a little odd, seeing as it would make more sense to enforce the walls of a lab, she wasn't going to complain. It was going to be a lot easier to go through drywall than steel or concrete. Now that she thought about it, maybe the drywall was just covering the enforcements to make the room look nicer.

"We'll just have to find something. Let's try looking for something in here."

….

Several minutes later, Sam and Tucker had begun work on the wall. They had thankfully discovered a stocked toolbox on one of the shelves and were using a couple of hammers to make progress. Drywall by nature has a tendency to be rather soft, so it only took a couple blows to make a large enough hole for them to be able to start pulling away parts of the wall using the claws of the hammers. While they weren't making the best time, it was a relatively quiet procedure, which was what they wanted. There was no point in alerting Vlad to what they were doing.

A silent cheer ran through the room when Tucker's hammer uncovered a small amount of wood. And, after a few more scrapes, they were convinced they had actually found the hidden door.

"I think we should alert the police now."

Sam looked up from her work to stare at her friend. "Are you sure? I mean, we haven't even found the people Danny wants to rescue, and then there's Danny himself…" She shook her head slightly as she tried to force any thoughts of the boy from her mind. He was perhaps the biggest complication to their plan, but getting him to safety was unfortunately going to have to wait. "I just don't think that we've accomplished anything spectacular enough to call them."

Tucker shook his head as he started to push some buttons on his PDA. "I think we've uncovered plenty. Yes, we came here to save Danny, but now that there are others involved, it's become far bigger. Besides, what if something happens to us? No one will know what we've found, so it's better to do it now!"

"And, what, pray tell, are you two humans going to be doing?" a metallic sounding voice asked from behind them.

Startled, Sam turned to find the source of the voice. A large, metallic humanoid was staring at them with a piercing gaze. Her hands clutched her hammer more tightly as a jolt of recognition ran through her. It was the ghost who had chased them from the park all those months ago: Skulker.

When neither she nor Tucker gave an answer, Skulker huffed and moved closer. "I see you've done some remodeling to my employer's lab. I doubt he'll be very pleased about this… but should I let him take care of you, or should I do it myself and try out one of my new toys?"

"How about you try this?" Sam shouted as she ran at the creature and attacked him using a sudden wave of courage and her hammer.

The ghost just turned intangible and let her pass harmlessly through him. As Sam tried to attack him again, he grabbed the back of her shirt and hoisted her up so he could get a better look at her. "Ah, you're one of the whelp's friends…" He looked over at Tucker, who was plastered against the wall in fear. "Hmm… Plasmius did mention he's been having trouble getting the child to obey… I wonder…"

An evil grin crossed his face as he glanced at the two humans again. "On second thought, I am going to hand you over to Plasmius. You'll be the perfect leverage against the ghost boy."

Xxxxxx

An uneasy sensation wormed its way into Danny's core. He knew he was taking a big risk by checking in on Maddie and Jazz, but he had to do it. With the power being out, it was very unlikely anyone made sure the girls were okay. While it was likely nothing was wrong, there was always the chance Vlad had done something to them during the time he was locked in the room. If that happened, Danny was never going to forgive himself or Vlad.

Carefully, Danny phased into the cavernous room where the girls were held. It was unnerving to see the room so dark as the lights were not supposed to be extinguished. During night time hours, the lights were to be dimmed, but Vlad did not trust the girls enough to allow for complete darkness. It was part of his desperate need for complete control.

The hybrid scanned the dark room carefully for any sign of moment. After a quick moment, his eyes were drawn to a strange green glow and the two figures huddled nearby. He approached slowly in hopes he wouldn't startle them too badly. He really didn't need Maddie accidently shooting at him again for scaring her. After that particular incident, he somewhat understood why Vlad constantly searched through the room for hidden anti-ghost weapons.

"Hey," he called out softly once he got close enough. While it caused the two of them to jump, Danny was glad to find no weapons had been pulled on him yet. "Are you two okay?" He moved closer to the light, which was now identified as a small lantern, so the girls could clearly see him.

"Danny!" Jazz cried as she rushed towards him and gave him a hug. Even now, it still surprised him how easily Jazz was able to touch him. While he didn't have a lot of human examples to use, he knew Maddie did her best to avoid touching him while he was in his ghost form. If he ever got out of this mess, he would have to see if his friends were the same way. "We were so worried about you! Are you okay? What's going on upstairs? Has something happened?"

He smiled in spite of himself as he gently removed himself from her grasp. "Jeez, Jazz, one question at a time!" he teased as he caught sight of Maddie. Her expression was calculating as she watched his movements. During the time when he was first gaining her trust, she often gave him the same look. It usually meant she was trying to deduce his motives, but he had thought they had moved past this phase.

"What do you want to know?" he asked the woman while looking directly into her goggles. He hated when she wore them; she tended to look far more intimidating than usual and less human.

"It's funny how you are the only one to come visit," she told him, all the while carefully watching his expressions. "What exactly is happening up there?"

"Someone hacked the mansion's system and knocked out the power. As of right now, neither Vlad nor Technus can start it back up, but I don't know how long that will last." He paused and gave them a serious look. "I can't stay for long because I'm worried what Vlad's going to do when he finds out I'm gone. He already broke my jaw earlier today…. But I found out my friends are here…"

A snort from Maddie interrupted his train of thought. Danny stared at her as he tried to understand the action. "Friends? What are they more ghosts?" the scientist snapped when she noticed his confusion.

"What? No!" he exclaimed after being taken back for a moment. He had almost forgotten about her distaste for other 'ectoplasmic beings.' "They're humans, and their names are Sam and Tucker. I think I've mentioned them at least a couple times… Anyways, they are in the mansion as we speak. They're trying to find a way to get you out of this place."

"No offense, Danny," Jazz told him apologetically, "I'm sure your friends are great, but I don't think anyone could find a way to rescue us unless they can walk through walls."

"But they think…!" he trailed off when the lights suddenly turned on. It took a moment for him to adjust his eyes to the brightness. When he realized what happened, he grew pale and started backing away from the girls. "I need to leave…" His voice came out as a harsh whisper as realization set in. "Vlad can't find out that I've been down here!"

"Danny, I don't understand. What's going on?"

He shook his head as he started to float away. "Vlad's starting to get frustrated with my lack of cooperation… From the way he's talking, I'm worried he's going to start taking his anger out on you soon. And I don't want soon to be today."

"Jazz, we'll talk soon. Okay?" he told her when he noticed she was going to try to argue. While it was clear she wasn't happy, Jazz managed to swallow her argument for the time being. Satisfied, Danny gave a small wave and floated up towards the ceiling.

"Leaving so soon, boy?" a cold voice called out, causing Danny to stop in his tracks. He slowly turned to his right to find Vlad floating nearby. He wore a pleasant smile, but his eyes seemed to burn with anger.

After Danny refused to move or make a sound, Vlad approached him. "I was wondering where you had gone, but I should have known better. You can't bear not knowing if Maddie and Jasmine are safe. I understand, my boy, both of them are remarkable women, but I can't help but wonder if there is another reason for your visit."

"W-what do you mean?" the younger hybrid asked as he tried to keep his fear in check.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid, Daniel? The power goes out on the very day your little human friends arrive at my mansion under the pretense they're just here to visit while the one's father goes over part of the custody lawsuit with me, and when I go in to check on you, lo and behold, you're nowhere to be found."

Danny shook his head violently. "I just wanted to make sure they were okay… and I didn't even know that my friends were here until you said something!" He was in dangerous territory. While none of this had been planned, at least on his part, he was still lying. If Vlad found out, it was likely his punishment would make the beating from earlier look like a few small bruises.

"Is that so?"

A breath that he didn't realize he was holding escaped when Vlad finally turned his gaze away from him. The man had allowed himself to surrender to gravity and was currently pacing on the floor. He was conveniently in between him and the girls, and there was no way he didn't realize it. The situation was looking worse by the moment.

"What should I do with you?" Vlad asked no one in particular as he continued to pace. "I would like to believe you, but your recent behavior does need to be called into question. Oh, and let's not forget that you have yet to return my very important book!"

"You can't blame him!" The two males turned to see an angry Jazz. Upon catching their gaze, her checks flushed slightly, but her glare remained. "You kidnapped the poor boy in an attempt to make him your own personal slave, and you really think he's going to listen to you after that? He's a teenager to boot! Teenagers are naturally inclined to rebel against authority! Not to mention you're keeping him here, and…!"

"Jazz…. Jazz!" Danny shouted in order to stop her. While it was nice to hear her stick up for him, it was just not the right time. "It's okay."

"No, Danny, it's not okay! He can't keep doing this to you! He… mmph!" Her words were cut off by a strange pink goo which had covered her mouth.

"Sorry, my dear, I know you care for Daniel, but this is not the time for your arguments." Vlad told her as he lowered his still glowing hand. "Don't worry; it will vanish in a few minutes." He then turned back to the younger hybrid and gave him a slight grin. "It's touching to see how close you've gotten. I fully believe you would do anything within your power to keep them from harm. At first I thought this would be valuable to use them as leverage over you, but it may have backfired on me. You refuse to do anything which would make them disappointed in you, and this becomes clearer every time you resist me."

"What are you…" Danny's eyes widened as Vlad's words started to sink in. He didn't mean what he was implying, was he?

The older man turned towards the girls and raised his hand. A pinkish glow surrounded the raised hand and steadily increased in intensity. "There are so many things in this world that I want… However, it appears I have to put at least one of those things behind me," he said wistfully. "Maddie, my dear, I do love you, and maybe if you had returned my affections instead of pine for the long dead oaf then this would have turned out differently, but our time together has drawn to a close."

"Come now, Vlad, honey," Maddie told him softly as she slowly moved away from her daughter. Vlad's line of sight never moved from her. "I know I've been cold towards you, but can you really blame me? When you first brought me here, I was still mourning the loss of Jack and my son, and then you have just kept us here, away from the world and even the sky. How else do you think I'd react?"

Son? What did she mean by that? Danny quickly tried to recall if she had ever mentioned having a son to him before, but he was drawing a blank. Now that he thought about it, Maddie really hadn't mentioned anything about her life prior to being trapped. But, this really wasn't the time to consider the potential implications; he needed to draw Vlad's attention away from her before he did something unforgivable.

"Your speech suggests there is still a chance between us, and it gladdens my heart," Vlad told her as he used his free hand to cover his heart. A faint smile appeared on his face before his gaze suddenly turned dark and crazed. "However, I know you're just trying to manipulate my feelings. I was told by my minions I should have gotten rid of you years ago, but I couldn't bring myself to do away with you. Yet you have never returned my affections. Now, as my other plans are slowly nearing fruition, I see that you have become nothing more than a liability which I must remove."

"Vlad, please be reasonable!"

"I'm sorry, my dear. I really will miss you when you're gone. I'll make sure to take good care of Daniel in your stead."

The hybrid raised his glowing hand higher causing Maddie to shrink back from him. Before he could make a move to attack her, Danny threw an ectoblast at the middle of his back. Vlad turned around and snarled. "Always be aware of your surroundings. I think that was one of the few things you tired to teach me that I actually paid attention to," he told the man as he powered up another blast. When Vlad continued to give him an ugly look, he just snorted as he forced himself to hide his fear. "Dude, do you really think I'm just going to let you attack her?"

A sigh escaped Vlad as he stood up and brushed himself off. His irritation seemed to radiate from his being. "And just what do you think you're doing? Didn't your beating from earlier teach you that you have no hopes of opposing me?" His eyes narrowed when Danny refused to drop his fighting stance. "Fine. This time, I'll beat you within an inch of your life so you're in no position to fight back while I kill both of them while you helplessly watch…. AHHHH!"

If he was going to say anything else, it was cut off by his screams. Maddie had managed to retrieve her ecto-staff while Vlad was distracted. It appeared she was going to continue until he was unconscious, but the mad man had other plans. With unprecedented endurance, he managed to send a weak ectoblast at her. It wasn't enough to do much damage, but it did cause her to stumble away from him. It was enough time for him to get up and go after her.

A green shield formed between Maddie and Vlad as Danny floated over to her. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly as he offered her his hand. Although she didn't take his offer, she did give him a small smile.

"Your little games are no longer amusing," Vlad hissed at them. "I'm going to enjoy teaching both of you a lesson you won't soon forget." He powered up another blast only to be interrupted by a book hitting the back of his head.

"You leave them alone!" Jazz yelled as she hurled another book at him. This time, Vlad let it harmless pass through him, causing Jazz to gulp and back away.

"I had been thinking of sparing your life, but I now believe that was a premature notion."

Danny was about to throw up another shield when a cold feeling over came him. A gasp escaped him as his breath became visible causing everyone in the room to stare at him as they knew what it meant.

"Plasmius!" a husky voice called out.

"You better have a good reason to interrupt me, Skulker," Vlad snarled as he turned to face the robotic ghost.

"Well…" he started cautiously. He had worked for Vlad long enough to know he had come in at a very bad time. "I happened to find two little rats making a mess of your lab, and I thought I'd leave their punishment up to you." As he spoke, he moved slightly to show he was holding two struggling teenagers in his grasp.

"Sam! Tucker!" Danny shouted before he could stop himself.

And once again, I leave off at a cliffhanger. I swear, I'm not evil, nor do I intend to end my chapters with them. It just happens. I'm really excited for the next chapter! I do need to summon some inspiration for parts of it, but most of the outline has been created. ^w^ Be prepared for twists!

I have good and bad news. The good news is that I managed to fix my laptop (ish)! And, I'm going to New York Comicon in October (I'm so exicted! I'll be cosplaying as Superboy aka Connor Kent). The bad news: the real world still sucks. My sixth year pharmacy rotations are still going strong, and they take up a good amount of my time. Seriously, they are 40 hour a week training secessions without pay, lots of homework, and the signing of loans. You have to pay the school (it's about $43,000 a year for me) to allow you to be at the rotation.

I'm also a bit out of it right now. As you may have read from the author note I had up for a bit, I was approached after I finished my shift recently. No one got hurt, but I was shaken by the encounter. I hope none of you ever have to deal with something like that.

On a lighter note, Halloween is approaching. It's my absolute favorite time of year! Ghost stories! \^o^/

ayamari no Goshi,
Signing off