A/N: Everyone having fun so far? I hope so It's only getting worse. XD And by worse, I mean better. And by better I mean… well… read on!

Outside City Hall, Oleander sat patiently on the edge of the fountain, waiting for Walker to show up.

"It's a little late to be out and about on your own, now, isn't it?" A deep voice caught Oleander's attention, and the reaper turned around to see Vlad Masters descend the steps of the building.

"Oh, no, I'm fine… I'm just waiting for someone." Oleander smiled and waved off the elder halfa.

"It wouldn't be Danny Phantom, would it?" Vlad sat down next to the reaper. "I don't think a nice girl like yourself would want to be in the company of such a dangerous spirit like him."

"Danny's about as dangerous as a dandelion." Oleander raised an eyebrow. "How do you even know him?"

"…Let's just say he and I go way back." Vlad smiled.

"Then maybe I have some use for you after all." Andy smiled. "… Though I do have one question for you."

"Anything my dear, shoot." Vlad leaned in towards the reaper slightly.

"Are you not getting a strange vibe from me?" Andy asked, making Vlad raise an eyebrow. "I mean… if you know Danny, then you should be able to recognize when someone's not… normal, right?"

"I'm afraid I don't follow…" Vlad tilted his head slightly, as Oleander stood and removed the staff from her bag, raising Vlad's chin with one end of it.

"Let me clear things up for you then, Vlad." Oleander smiled, as Vlad's face dropped into fearful recognition of what the woman in front of him really was. "I have been sent here to collect an errant soul. I will not be sidetracked from my task, especially not by the likes of you."

"Oh yes, Danny has told me all about your little indiscretions, and as much as I'd like to have you dragged into Hell for judgement right here and now… I have better things to do." The reaper's blade started emerging from her staff to encircle Vlad's neck, forcing Masters to squirm backwards to avoid the jagged edge. "If you presume to know what's best for your well-being, I strongly recommend that you go home. Right now."

Vlad blinked at the reaper a few times as Andy withdrew her staff and returned it to it's home in her bag.

"The sooner you leave, the easier it is for me to say you were never here." Andy took a step back from the halfa and motioned for him to go.

As Vlad rose and started to leave, he didn't notice the white strip of cloth snaking it's way towards the reaper, until he turned around to have one last word with her.

The long strip of cloth had wound itself tightly around Oleander's head and torso, immobilizing her and starting to suffocate the reaper. As Vlad tried to make sense of what just happened, the demon raised it's head, showing a lamprey-like mouth, which bared it's teeth and hissed at the halfa.

"…Help the woman that just threatened my life… or go home like she told me to and leave her with… whatever this thing is." Vlad held up his hands as he 'weighed' his options. "…Ah… well, I don't see the ghost boy… so I might as well do his job."

Vlad transformed into his Plasmius form and grabbed the first free piece of the demon he could, trying to wrench it free from Oleander's form.

"This is not your fight, Ojisan" The demon's head popped back up again and spoke, it's voice reminiscent of cloth flapping in the breeze. "Let me kill her."

"Unfortunately, if I let you do that, then I'm getting the short end of the scythe as well… and I'd rather …delay …my descent …for as long …as possible!" Vlad started tugging at the demon more and more fervently with each moment.

"Vlad!" Sam's voice cut through the night air. "Get her staff!"

"Oh sure, now you show up!" Vlad rolled his eyes. "Pardon me, miss…"

Vlad turned his hand intangible and reached through the demon to get into Oleander's bag, extracting her staff.

"Now what?" Vlad called to the pair of teenagers heading quickly towards him, Danny flying ahead of Sam. "I'm not a reaper! I can't make it change!"

"Give it to me." Danny landed near the elder halfa and held his hand out.

"You can't use it either." Vlad scrunched up his face in confusion. "So what are you…"

Vlad cut himself short as the staff transformed in Danny's hands into a short-handled scythe, which the ghost boy used to slash at the demon, making it scream and release the reaper, disappearing into the night.

"…Thanks." Oleander rasped, coughing as Danny handed her back the staff. Turning to Vlad as she rubbed her neck, she continued. "I deputized Danny when I got here. So yes, hecan use my weapons."

"Are you all right?" Skulker asked as he and Tucker jogged up to the group.

"Yeah… I'm tough." Andy smiled weakly as she nodded. "At least now I know for sure that Hibiki's not coming quietly… and I doubt he's playing anymore."

"Playing?" Vlad started. "What are you talking about?"

"The Ittan-momen that just attacked me is actually an eleven-year old boy who's obsessed with the occult side of his heritage. He used to be a pretty good kid… and then he got bored." Andy shrugged. "I suppose he could have picked something worse to throw at me."

"… I don't think I'm going home if that…child is going to be out and about." Vlad returned to his mortal form. "Would you be willing to have me along?"

"You're just doing this for brownie points, aren't you." Oleander shot a deadpan look at the elder halfa.

"… So?" Vlad shrugged. "Nothing wrong with another set of eyes and ears, now, is there?"

"Fine." Andy crossed her arms. "But you have to do exactly as I tell you."

"I'm good with that." Vlad answered.

"… Did we miss something?" Walker's voice caught the group's attention as he approached with Johnny and the Box Ghost.

A/N: Yes, Oleander IS dead… but so is Hibiki. As the Ittan-momen, he can cause her 'physical' damage.

Mythology/Language/Weaponry:

Ittan-momen "Ghost Cotton" – This innocent looking spectre appears at first to be nothing more than a strip of white cloth about ten meters long fluttering through the night sky, until it drops onto it's unsuspecting victim and wraps itself tightly around the head and neck, attempting to suffocate it's prey.

Ojisan – can mean 'grandfather' or 'uncle'. Is normally used as an informal term towards an elder… so Hibiki just called Vlad 'old man'. Oh, snap!

Kama – Japanese sickle with a short scythe-shaped blade.