Pocketwatch
My Worst Enemy is my Ally

You and I

Hunger pulled Danny mercilessly out of the blissful nothingness of sleep, causing him to struggle restlessly before finally prying his eyes open.

He found himself wrapped warmly in bed by a semi-thick light blue blanket as he slowly rose up from his deep sleep, observing his surroundings afterwards. A generally big room fit for a prince. A large indigo carpet graced the hard floor. Next to Danny's bed stood a stumpy drawer containing a clock and a lamp. A tea table sat across from Danny with its chair neatly placed, as well as two tea cups and a long kettle. One of the chairs held his main bag while the rest casually lay next to it like a group of lapdogs. His jacket wrapped the chair. There was a large open window to the right of Danny where the wind calmly blew the silk laden curtains, one door leading to the bathroom in the left, and a bookshelf next to it, containing old, leather bound books. Even the walls contained complicated decoration, one of which held a painting of the Dairy King. He seemed to be everywhere when it came to this place. He recognized this room as the same room he slept in two years prior or an exact replica, seeing as this manor has blown up at least once in it's lifetime.

With a wary groan, Danny pushed the blanket off of him, and immediately regretted it as a tremendous pain shot through his head. He clutched at his forehead, and sighed. It felt too warm. Did he have a fever? Or was he just warm from sleeping? He didn't know, and at the moment he didn't really care. All he wanted to do was stop the pain in his stomach.

He gently placed his feet down, shivering the moment his flesh made contact with the cold floor. He constantly clutched his forehead every now and then just incase since before he's first faint, these sort of things were rare occurrences, usually only happening from fatigue over a long battle. Walking down the hallway and having not stayed in Vlad's manor for so long caused Danny to wander around for a while before ultimately finding the main dining hall where Vlad was, sitting in the center hair, sipping orange with one hand, the other gripping the local newspaper, a plate of half eaten food inches from him resting on the white clothes table. Danny stayed near the entrance of the dining room, keeping a good distant between him and Vlad (who, by the way, had his back facing the boy).

"Good morning, Daniel." Vlad casually start, still in the same position he was before. Danny didn't move, insecure and suspicious of Vlad's motives, despite the irony behind the boy's willingness to even step a foot in Vlad's presence.
"Are you hungry?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you hungry?"
"Y-Yeah."

Vlad placed the newspaper on the table, picked up his plate and cup and walked to the kitchen where he took off his black overcoat. He grabbed a white apron nearby and started to rummage through the fridge. Danny slowly walked over and merely eyed him. What a strange sight to see; a billionaire wearing the fanciest of black coats and shiny matching shoes donning an apron and cooking breakfast. If Danny had little idea on Vlad's personality, he'd have been surprised, but he knew very well who Vlad was, a lonely old man.

"Bacon and eggs fine for you?" Vlad asked, "…Daniel?"
"Hmm? Yeah, sure." Danny quickly said, stuttering a bit. Vlad managed what looked like a smile and cracked the eggs. Danny took a seat next to the Vlad's chair. He waited, merely by lowering his head down and eyeing the dark brown polished oak that made this table. Of course, he wasn't paying attention to that; he was paying attention to his own reflection which composed of a frown to reflect his current hatred of the world, or maybe he just hated himself. He raised his eyebrows a bit and ended up making himself look more upset then angry. Letting out a scoff, he continued to work on his facial expression until Vlad gently laid down his breakfast, eggs and bacon like he said, as well as a glass of orange juice and a pair of utensils. Danny eyed the food, half pondering if the old man dipped it in arsenic before Vlad urged him to eat. Taking the knife and fork, he gorged the bacon down his throat.

"You could have just phased in." Vlad started after a few minutes of silence. Danny finished chewing his food before speaking.
"I didn't wanted to be rude." He spoke through muffled mouth, his cheeks as big as a chipmunk from shoving several bacons all at one time.
"Didn't…wanted to be rude? Mr. Always-attacks-me-whenever-you-even-see-the-reds-of-my-eyes?"

Danny remained silent, answering by drinking the last remaining contents of his orange juice. Vlad eyed him patiently, waiting for something to come out of his mouth. When that proved fatal, Vlad spoke again.

"How did you get here?"
"I stole a car." Vlad threw his head back a bit.
"I flew, Vlad. Relax…then again; stealing is right up your forte, so maybe I'm saying it all wrong."
Vlad made a frown and another set of silence took place.
"I'll just cut to the chase, what on earth are you doing here?"
"Why? You don't want me to live with you?"
"It's almost too good to be true, there has to be a catch."
"No catch, I just want to live with you."
"Daniel."

Vlad stared directly into Danny's eyes. There's something about the baggy, eyeliner-like eyes of Vlad that could make a rogue elephant cower.

"…I ran away from home." The boy answered in a defeated manner, lowering his head down in shame.
"I see." The older male crossed his arms and got himself comfortable, "Why?"

Again Danny remained silent. Was he too ashamed to speak of his current crappy life or afraid that those reasons alone would cause Vlad to get angry towards him? After all, he came to Vlad more of a sense to runaway from his current life.

"I just…needed to get away."
"Get away from what?" Vlad asked, his voice slightly irritated.
"From life and stuff." Danny finished the last of his eggs and placed his utensils down.
"Be more specific." Vlad said, coming closer to Danny with poison in his already hypnotizing eyes.
"Can't you just be happy that I'm here?" Danny asked, his voice also rising. He stood up and started to walk away, but Vlad quickly grabbed him by his arm.
"Daniel! If you want to live here, then I have to know what's wrong with you!"
"Let me go!"
"NO."
"I CAN go intangible and fly out of here!"
"So can I. Now tell me what's wrong." He tightened his grip, having started to lose patience for the boy who was on the verge of tears.
"NO!"
"Daniel!"
"NO!"
"DANIEL!"
"I JUST WANTED TO GET AWAY FROM IT ALL!" Danny shouted, the tears he was trying to hold back finally letting loose. Shocked at this sudden burst combined with Danny's whimpers, Vlad loosened his grip on the boy's arm, but still held it firmly, "My friends hate me, my grades are failing, my parents are idiots, especially dad, my sister doesn't care about me, I can't do my job as Danny Phantom, I have a crappy "second" job at the Nasty Burger, and I keep fainting!"
"Wait, what was that thing you said?" Vlad gasped.
"My friends hate me?"
"No, after."
"I can't do my job as Danny Phantom?"
"NO, before!"
"My parents are idiots, especially dad?"
"THAT'S the one." Vlad smirked, then he let go of Danny's arms and extended his own, "Welcome to your new home."
"Very funny." Danny said, his attitude less then favorable, "I just wanted to get away from it all, and so I decided to come here."
"Why here?"
"What do you think? No one cared about me. No one wanted to pay attention. I figured you would." Danny's last words gave a hint of a scared child wanting his security blanket back, though this did little to fully convince Vlad.
"…I know I'm being selfish." Danny muttered, "But right now, I don't care."
"Well…we're all selfish." Vlad said in a relaxed tone, "Are you sure you want to stay here?"
"Ugh…if you want me to leave, then fine. I'll find some other place." Danny spoke through gritted teeth.
"No, no, stay. I meant…how do you know I won't take advantage of you?"
"I came here willingly, didn't I? I'm giving you the chance to bask your love to me, isn't that what you wanted?"
Vlad remained silent, cocking an eyebrow, staring at his equal opponent.
"…Alright then, you can stay here for as long as you need. Your room will be the one you just slept in."
"Thanks." Danny started to head back upstairs, but not before giving a small warning, "Vlad, I'm gonna leave if you make me do something I'll regret."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know, like try to convince me to kill dad or something."

As he slowly climbed the stairs, wishing he'd have had the sense to ask for some Advil with breakfast for the headache, he reflected on the recent conversation. He'd come here alright, but as far as trusting Vlad? Not the first thing on his agenda. It would take quite the miracle and a lot of time for that to happen.

Meanwhile, Vlad watched the door Danny had walked through for a little while before he shrugged back into his overcoat while pondering over one of the things Danny said, and not knowing quite what to make of it. "I keep fainting."

………………………

A Child needs his Education

For three days, all Danny did was stay in Vlad's castle manor, as if he was in permanent lockdown. He didn't feel the need to go outside out of embarrassment, having ridiculous fears that his family and friends might ambush him from the bushes out on the front yard and drag him home.

Not to mention he flew from Amity Park to Wisconsin which was a three day trip by car alone, so that sucked a lot of his energy away. Baring those reasons in mind, the teenager took the time to scan the castle and give himself an unguided tour ("This man needs a conveyer belt built into this house."), although as each day passed, Danny was increasingly growing restless as the manor started to get tedious and he had a powerful urge to fly grew.

Whenever he felt stressed or felt the need to get away from all the responsibilities the world has put on his shoulders, Danny would often fly, letting the wind blow past his ears as he enjoyed the calmness he brought forth to him with only occasional bugs flying into his mouth. But after the recent faints and Technus' ominous words to him, Danny grew extremely fearful to even turn into his ghost half which again contributed to his restless feelings.

Tediously staring at Packers collection and violet wall paints finally broke when Vlad entered Danny's room on the third night.
"Daniel?"
"Yes?"
"How long do you plan to stay here?"
"Why, do you really want me to leave? Are you that annoyed with me already?" He crossed his arms.
"Daniel, would you stop assuming so much?"
"…Sorry…" Danny softly said, dropping his arms, "I don't know how long I'm staying. I haven't decided. Why?"
"Well, I figured depending on how long you stay, I'd send you to school." Danny raised one of his eyebrows.
"And since you don't know how long you're staying, I best ask you regardless until we both agree to something."
"Where do you plan to send me?"

Vlad walked over and placed a pamphlet on Danny's lap. Danny eyed the front cover which held a picture of a clean, high and mighty looking high school. Graced on the top were large black prints that read, "Madison Private High, the growing environment for young adults everywhere."
"You want to send me to a private school?" Danny asked in a slight offended tone.
"I know you still have some month and a half left until your sophomore year is over, but school is still school and as long as you live under my roof, you're going." Vlad placed his hands on his waist like a typical parent would when lecturing their child. Danny opened the booklet and read it's contents.
"I know it's unorthodox for you to suddenly transfer into a private school, but I figure with your current personality, I think you could stand to tolerate it." Vlad said.
"…I can't go in as Danny Fenton." Danny said waving his arms around in an exhausted manner, "That'll draw attention to my friends and family. I don't want them to know I'm here…not yet anyways."
"Daniel, you'll have to tell them eventually."
"Eventually, but eventually is not now." Danny eyed Vlad sternly, "If you want me to go to school, I am NOT going as Danny Fenton."
"So you want me to lie and create a fake name for you, is that it?" Vlad said, half shocked, half amused. Such a decision that Vlad himself would probably do if he were in the teen's shoes.
"No, I don't want YOU to create a fake name for me. I can do it myself." Danny said with a vote of confidence and control. It certainly threw Vlad back a bit.
"And when do you propose to do that, young man?" He said, arms on waist again.
"I…I don't know." Danny said.
"Fine then, you got till the end of April to decide." Vlad said, taking the pamphlet and placing it on the drawer next to the bed, "That's about a week and half, choose well."

Flight

Unless he could miraculously gain special permission from Vlad, three rooms were off-limits to Danny. Obviously, one of them was the secret lab followed by Vlad's room and his private study. He warned Danny to not even think of 'going ghost' to enter any of the rooms, even as far as adding security cameras as an added safety precaution.

"Okay, I can understand the lab and in some cases, your room, but why can't I go in your private studies?" Danny asked.
"Well, the word "private" is a pretty good reason enough." Vlad answered.
"What can you possibly have in there that you don't want me to see?" Danny pointed to the windowed double door leading to the private sanction, "…Are there blueprint plans to kill my father…or some new inventions you have to use on me?"
"Just don't go inside." Vlad said sternly.

Another couple of days passed and after observing his manor until he got about eighty percent of the area memorized in his head, Danny finally snapped, got up from his bed, and opened his window to the outside balcony. He titter-totter over to the edge of the banister that separated him and the 30 foot drop below, climbing on top of it. Closing his eyes and spreading his arms, Danny purposely fell. During mid fall, he started to transform, his loose clothing replaced with a modified black jumpsuit, his hair turned from black to white, and upon opening his eyes, it turned from his natural color of blue to green. Danny was some 10 feet away from being splattered, but with added concentration, Danny defined gravity and flew upwards towards the sky. He flew past the highest of trees until he could literally touch the clouds. He was flying.

Forget the stress; forget his family and friends, forget Vlad, right now, all he cared about was the wind in his hair, how tiny everyone looked from below, and how magnificent it was to fly. Men have always wanted to conquer flight. Danny was one of the rare lucky few who given such a gift. Traveling at some 100 plus miles an hour, able to twist, turn, and do 360 degrees spin, Danny's adrenaline rushed up. Forget roller coasters or driving at the 80 miles per hour, once you flew, those things were tame in comparison. He didn't care about anything; he just wanted a sense of peace and paradise, if not for a few minutes.

Adding to the not caring portion of Danny's brain, he obviously didn't tell Vlad he went out, so when Vlad walked upstairs to his room with a tray of lunch, and saw nothing but an empty room, he immediately dropped the tray and scanned the room until he saw the blowing curtains from the open window.
Vlad let out a giant gasp and immediately ran over to the balcony. He managed to find a tiny speck flying about in impossible angles, doing back flips and do 360 turns. Vlad let out a huge sign of relieved gasp, clutching his chest as his beating heart slowed down. After he calmed down, Vlad settled his elbows down on the banister and merely watched, compelled at this young teen, using his powers not to abuse or to fight, but to entertain himself. How very like him, how very soothing. At the current moment, both of them felt a sense of peace.

However, said peace left when Danny started to stagger. Vlad didn't notice at first seeing it as some form of horseplay on the kid's part, but when he started to see his sloppy flying, that's when he leaped off the banister and turned into his alter ego, Vlad Plasimus. Like Danny, his outfit had gone through a number of changes over the years, but it still remained the opposite of Danny's black. As he got closer, Danny's movement got more drunk and disoriented until ultimately, he fainted in mid flight and started to fall, immediately turning back into his human counterpart.

"DANIEL!" Vlad screamed, speeding in warp drive as he raced to catch Danny before he'd end up as a half ghost pancake. Extending his arms, Vlad barely managed to catch Danny in time, almost accidentally dropping him from gravity's force.
Vlad eyed Danny as he shook him up a bit. His body was limp, like that of a rag doll. Tightly holding onto the boy, he flew back to the manor…

To Be Continued…

………………

Author's Note: Chapter Three. Sorry for the long wait. Long story short, I massively reworked this and my head asploded because of it. That said, the only real thing to say is that I'll also get around to providing a link for Vlad's new wear like I did with Danny on the first chapter. I just have yet to draw it, ahahaha.

Disclaimer: Someone mentioned I should write a disclaimer. I shrugged and said, "Yea, ok. Better safe then sorry", so without further ado, the characters and settings are the rightful owners of Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon, and NOT me…obviously.