Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom.

Note (8/19/2020): To "Dp-Marvel94" I just wanted to say thanks for the reviews! And yeah, I wasn't planning on ripping into Sam so much in the last few chapters but for her sake she needs a reality check. Danny's a strong kid but he's been through something neither Sam or Tucker have come even remotely close to experiencing since he has always protected them or began taking care of most ghosts on his own so they could have a 'break' from it when he couldn't afford to.

Also, what I had Danny describe about his feelings and how he reacted are all classic symptoms of PTSD so as much as he's going to hate it he's gonna need serious therapy after this. But at least Vlad will make sure to hire only the best and will make sure its a person and not a ghost this time around. Still, for him these feelings are also dangerous because like we saw in the previous chapter his emotions affect his ghost powers too, making them unstable. And as a result Sam and Tucker probably won't be allowed to talk to him or say goodbye since Danny really did a number on himself opening that portal...

Chapter 14: Repercussions

(Chapter inspired by Thank You by Simple Plan)

Vlad's POV

To say that I was seething with anger is a vast understatement. And if it wasn't for the fact that Daniel needed me more I would have stormed off and struck the fear of Vlad Masters into those brats who dared call themselves his friends. As soon as I managed to calm down enough to focus on the task at hand I called Damon, obviously having long since retrieved the phone I haphazardly handed to his daughter Valerie in a blind panic to reach Daniel in time and made him tell me EXACTLY what he overheard during Daniel's conversation with them.

I suppose I could have checked Axion Labs security footage since I have a separate processor that stores all recordings that do contain any relevant ghost activity in the vicinity but no, I wanted to hear it straight from my head of security since he was a witness to these unfortunate events and therefore could help me build my case. Yes, that's right, in light of Samantha's carelessness which put Daniel's health at serious risk I was going to file for a civil harassment restraining order. I can't help but think this is poetic irony given how her parents once put a similar one on Daniel according to Samantha's records.

As far as I could tell though while Tucker Foley was also involved in this somehow Damon told me nothing that suggested that he wasn't being at least somewhat reasonable and understanding to Daniel's situation. But nevertheless, I would be investigating his side of the story in case I needed to file for a restraining order against him as well. For now, however, since Samantha is the biggest offender here and has already proven to be a detrimental influence on Daniel's mental health in the past given the last incident like this where Daniel lost control of his emotions and his powers that took place in my laboratory at the mansion when I was still the mayor of this deplorable town...

I remember what happened very clearly which is part of why I was so quick to react the moment I sensed Daniel's ghost power spike all of a sudden and pass through me in some sort of pulse, almost as if it was quite literally a distress signal. And while he's gone now Dan also proved to me that Daniel's Ghostly Wail powers can be applied in creative ways either subconsciously or not depending on the situation. That being said, I wouldn't be able to tell any of that to a judge for obvious reasons so I would need to get creative myself.

I would also need to contact his parents to see if they knew anything even remotely useful not to mention tell them I needed to remove Daniel from Amity Park within the next 24 hours since he is in dire need of medical care that no normal hospital can give him since it is an affliction of a ghostly nature. What Daniel did in that room...if I had not seen it with my own eyes I never would have dreamed it was possible. True, as we already know I can teleport in bursts to reach my destination since the range of which my power works is sadly limited and I've seen Daniel create a portal once before when Skulker assaulted him against my wishes but what Daniel just achieved goes beyond that-

To put it in simple terms Daniel just achieved what is known as the Wormhole Theory he used our world's existing connection to the Ghost Zone which is the flip side of our world to fold time and space to bring two points closer together, thus making a portal leading to my castle and not the Ghost Zone. That realm in many ways is already like the inside of a black hole in theory, it bends time around it and creates natural portals to our world all the time when it creates openings akin to black holes as well that only stay open so long. I saw this phenomenon in person when I stole the Infimap from Daniel and I'll admit rather foolishly attempted to make myself a ruler in various time periods. Out of curiosity, I checked for any historical traces of our presence in those places and to my surprise, there was nothing, as if someone repaired any damage we might have caused and erased it from history though I still have vivid memories of it myself.

Getting back on topic, this means that what Daniel did tonight put much more strain on his body than overusing his Ghostly Wail and creating a natural ghost portal combined so while I hope I am mistaken, it's entirely possible he may lapse into a temporary coma to recover from the physical and mental strain. And if that happens...I promised myself that I would utterly destroy Samantha's family and her life to make her rue the day she DARED to call his request to keep an eye on Valerie even remotely selfish. To be fair I suppose I do understand some of the nuances concerning the unease that comes with knowing the truth about Daniel and I being half-ghost, but at least for the most part Valerie is taking responsibility for the sins of the past just as I have and we only want what's best for Daniel.

I respect Valerie's willingness to compromise, the same applies to her father and Daniel's parents, but clearly his friends are all talk and no action with the exception of saying such cruel things. Daniel attempted to placate them and mend their broken bonds but no more. I refused to allow this toxic behavior to continue so for once in that selfish brats life Samantha will suffer the consequences of her actions when I severe her ties to Daniel myself. She will learn what it means to lose someone precious to her, that is...if Daniel ever meant anything to her at all and Samantha was only in love with the idea of him.

Either way, we would soon find out.

As I feared, Maddie and Jack's reaction when they heard Daniel was in the hospital after I did everything I could with the limited supplies I had on hand to give him a full diagnosis was nothing short of horrified. I omitted some details however for Daniel's safety since I didn't wish to give them too much information about Daniel's powers they might blather about by mistake to someone in the heat of the moment. I also explained how it was his conversation with Samantha and Tucker Foley that caused this but as expected they tried to downplay their responsibility for it in which I angrily explained how distraught Daniel was to the point where he lost control of his powers and collapsed which is unacceptable!

"Due to the delicate nature of his current condition-" I sighed heavily, hating the very idea of this as I explained, "-I'm afraid I may have to ask you two to personally watch over Daniel in my stead while I take care of this first thing tomorrow morning. I have already hired a specialist who is sworn to secrecy if he notices anything abnormal about Daniel's biology. If need be we'll attempt to write it off as lingering traces of Daniel's so-called 'prolonged possession' when we reported him kidnapped by Dan, although unless something else happens further testing shouldn't be necessary since Daniel is only unconscious."

"Vlad, are you sure this is really necessary?" Maddie asked me surprisingly reasonably as she argued, "After all, kids make mistakes all the time and I'm sure she didn't mean it. Sam has always been a bit...short-tempered and quick to get snappy whenever she's upset. She used to throw tantrums a lot when they were young, especially when Danny was paying too much attention to someone else, a game, or spending too much time with Tucker since they met each other before she joined their little friendship circle, that sort of thing."

"And? Your point is?" I spat venomously, not interesting in hearing Maddie plead the case for someone who hurt my little badger yet again by speaking out of turn.

Using a calm motherly tone Maddie answered, "What I'm saying is she's only lashing out because Sam doesn't want Danny to leave. She's lonely and doesn't want to be left behind. But we all know he has to go for his own good. I know that too..."

Her voice began to quiver slightly and I felt genuine pity for Maddie when she told me, "I know you've said it before, but Danny just isn't safe here anymore. And I'm afraid many of us are still in denial of the cruel reality of that since we didn't appreciate how much he's done for us until now. And as his mother, I promised to do what's best for my baby boy even if I don't like it.

"Still I'd like to help you try and understand why Sam probably said those things. She wasn't trying to be cruel or heartless, Sam is just being defensive to cope with her feelings and she probably already regrets what happened between them which should be punishment enough. Doing anything more than that may upset Danny when he wakes up although I do agree that they shouldn't speak for awhile since his condition is so serious. And not being allowed to say goodbye to him is only going to remind her she's losing a close friend. In the end, it's up to you though and we'll help Danny however we can."

"Jack, have you anything to add to this?" I asked more out of mild curiosity than to actually include him in the conversation.

To my surprise, Jack sounded rather confident with his reply and added, "Well, after what happened between us back in college, I really wish I would've had the courage to apologize to you sooner Vladdy. But unlike the three of us, Sam and Tucker are still just kids, Vlad, so like Mads was saying earlier they have a lot of learning ahead of them about how to deal with this kinda heavy stuff. So if you take away the option to even let them hash it out on their own Danny'll never know how sorry she is. And if she can't then maybe they weren't meant to stay friends. I just want my son to be safe and happy even if his place isn't here in Fenton Works-"

Sniffling and loudly blowing his nose, Jack finished by going back to his childish blubbering, "Wah, even though I understand why you gotta go I'm gonna miss you too V-man!"

"I-ehem, thank you Jack," I reluctantly replied since for once I knew he actually meant it and wasn't as blindly friendly like before.

Then, after clearing my throat I sighed and returned my attention to Maddie and confessed, "And thank you for being honest with me as well Maddie. As for the rest while I understand what you're trying to say, however, this sort of behavior needs to be punished or Samantha will never learn her lesson. I am willing to only make it only a temporary restraining order in light of what you've told me about how it may affect Daniel when he wakes up. Speaking of which I should go make sure everything is in order for his transfer to a private room and I will contact you once I've made my final decision on what to do about his friends. Goodnight."

After parting ways with Jack and Maddie over the phone, I set to work making sure Daniel would be taken care of first and foremost before continuing my research concerning his friends to build a case against one or both of them as I said before. A normal parent likely would have heeded Maddie's advice about simply depriving Samantha of the closure she desired with Daniel's impending departure even though she has now hastened it by triggering a terrible relapse to his previous fight or flight mentality...

But I am Vlad Masters, which by reputation is known to be far less forgiving to my enemies. So while I know it's crass and juvenile of me to resort to filing for a restraining order against a teenager, as I said, Samantha's misconduct would not go unpunished this time. Although to give credit where it is due if young Tucker pleads his case and has a good enough argument I MAY be a bit more lenient with him at least. Near as I can tell he seems more sensible than his female companion for the most part and hasn't outright done anything to upset Daniel aside from standing on the sidelines while Samantha kept acting out against someone he claims is his best friend.

Besides, by allowing only one of them to see Daniel off would be truly heartbreaking but if you ask me, its high time Samantha finally reaped what she has sown. She clearly doesn't deserve any more of Daniel's valuable time or his friendship. Regardless, whatever he decides to do I'm just happy we'll be leaving and when the time is right he'll be among a new set of peers who will undoubtedly be more worthy of his presence in their insignificant lives. And then Samantha will know exactly what sort of friendship she is throwing away by pushing him over the edge just because she refuses to admit that it's over and that as far my 'evil plans' for Daniel go...

...I've finally won.