A/N:...I'm so far behind with everything it isn't funny anymore... this vacation thing is ruining my schedule and my concentration and I'm basically sitting in the sun all day instead of at my computer. To make things worse I'm leaving for Italy next week so I'll try to finish this story before that. Don't expect any updates on 'Still here'. I might drop a one shot on you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Control

Father placed something in his hands, something cold and surprisingly heavy. He knew what it was and what he was supposed to do with it. He glanced at the brown haired woman on the ground for a moment...mother. His mother. Then he shifted his gaze to the man in the orange jump suit, immobilized by his ecto ropes. He looked right back at him, silent. Danny could feel his fear but the man didn't show it.

"He should be afraid," Danny thought, "I'm going to kill him."

The thought surprised him. He didn't want to do it, he didn't want to kill anyone, yet he raised the gun and pointed it at...his father. That couldn't be. Vlad was his father and he should always obey his father. Yet to kill someone... but he had done it before, right? Hadn't he killed Valerie? He vividly remembered how she had hit the ground with a terminal velocity while he had floated there, only mildly interested.

Or had he? He also remembered killing his parents, but they were right here... no they weren't, because they weren't really his parents, he only thought they were. Father had been right to punish him, for thinking things like that, for running away. He couldn't disobey his father.

The pressure in his head increased and he tried to stay focussed for the task at hand, ignoring the constant whispering echoing through his mind, making suggestions in a voice that sounded suspiciously like his own. He started to tremble and gripped the gun tightly, putting his index finger on the trigger, fear washing over him like a tidal wave. The brown haired woman, no, his mother, yelled something at him. He didn't understand what she was saying but he hesitated nonetheless.

"Daniel," father said to him, "remember what happens when you disobey me."

He remembered alright. A cold feeling went up his spine and something tugged at the back of his mind, trying to take over, telling him to end it now, end the pain. Then that familiar feeling entered him and everything seemed to slow down. He was going to shoot his father. From the corner of his eyes he saw his mother starting to move, but he knew she would be far too late for what he was going to do. A strange detatchement came over him and he whirled around and pressed the trigger. He was an exelent shot. He didn't miss.

His ears were ringing from the loud bang. Carefully he placed the gun on the ground and walked over to his father. The others had gone silent and he didn't look at them, afraid of what he would see in their eyes. He was a murderer, he murdered his own father, just shot him... dead. Silently he bend over and removed the shiny little remote control from his father's deathly grip. He was lucky the man hadn't pressed any buttons when dying.

He studied the device, ignoring the voices that he heard behind him that were interfering with the voices in his head. They were calling his name, begging him to release them. He waved his hand absentmindedly to dissolve the ecto ropes.

The red button caused pain. The blue button allowed him to go ghost. There were no other buttons. How was he going to get the wrist bands off?

He felt arms around him, pulling him close. Someone kept saying his name over and over and he finally looked up into his mothers eyes. He felt a bit uncomfortable with her display of affection. He couldn't affort to break down now. Then someone else approached.

"Danny," his father said.

Danny looked at him and smiled. He pulled away from his mother and placed the remote in his father's hands.

"Be careful with that," he said, "See if you can figure out a way to get this off me."

He pointed at the wrist bands. Then he stepped back and looked at his family and friends. Good thing they didn't know what was going on in his head. On the one side was the insanity lurking, trying to take over to send him down screaming. It was held in check by the familiar dark spot in his head, that contained his anger, his hatred, his desire to destroy. He felt detached from both, emotionless and cold.

"Danny," his father said again, "I remember now."

Shouts of joy sounded through the empty room, hands were patting his back and Danny was engulfed in a bone cracking hug by his father.

"It seems so strange that I could just forget about you," his father said to him, pushing him back to hold him at arm's length.

In an instant, Danny was on an emotional roller coaster, his happiness that his father remembered him alternating with his hate for Vlad and Vesa that they had made him forget. And then his happiness turned to the fact that they were both dead, by his hands. He felt the rush go through him and he knew he had to stop it quickly or he would become very dangerous to anybody who was around. He closed his eyes and balled his fists.

"Please let go," he said to his father with clenched teeth.

His father stepped back and looked at him worriedly, as Danny fought to keep control, breathing hard, wrapping his arms around himself. And then he was on his knees, gasping for air, the voices of his parents echoing in his mind.

"K-keep away," he hissed, keeping his eyes closed to hide the red glow coming from them.

He felt them move away a little and he started concentrating on hammering back the darkness that was almost overwhelming him. He really needed to walk, to concentrate on his footsteps, but he didn't dare to move, afraid he'd lose it, so instead he concentrated on sitting very still.

Slowly, he became aware of the silence surrounding him as he started to calm down. Hesitantly he opened his eyes and looked up, knowing they were back to their familiar blue again and he wondered how much time had passed. His mother was standing close by, her hands pressed against her face as she watched him with tears in her eyes. His father was standing next to her, his big arms around her shoulders to steady her.

Slowly, Danny rose to his feet, pushing his face back into that impassive expression he had worn before.

"Danny?" Jazz said softly, looking at him with a knowing look on her face.

He shook his head and shot her a warning look. "Not now, Jazz."

His father had let go of his mother and was examining the small remote control. Danny sighed and looked at his mother, who was now looking at him uncertainly. They were afraid of him, he realized, and rightly so.

"You'd better get going," he said.

Maddie shook her head. "You're coming with us young man," she said.

Danny shrugged and turned to his father. "Any luck with that?" he asked him, as his father was tinkering with the device.

At that moment a shock went through him and he hissed in pain. The wristbands suddenly lost their glow and clicked open.

"Sorry about that," his father said, "But they're open now."

Danny took the wristbands off, threw them in the air while switching to his ghost form and blasted them into a million pieces. He knew he used way to much power to do that, but it felt good. Destruction would always feel good to him now. He turned to his family and friends once again.

"You need to get back home," he said, trying to keep his voice as even as possible, "I have to take care of something."

He shifted his gaze to his dead father...Vlad. Not his father.

"I'm pretty messed up," he thought.

Then he wondered if Vlad was a full ghost now, but he didn't think so. He would have shown up by now. Sam finally stepped up to him and smiled hesitantly, placing her hand on his arm. He tensed, but tried not to show it.

"I'm glad you're back," she said and pecked him on his cheek.

That reminded him of something.

"Did we...ever...kiss?"

She blinked at him and started to stutter.

"Y-yes we did, in school, it was a fake kiss because we were caught in the office...Don't you remember?"

He nodded vaguely. "I wasn't sure if it was real," he said. "How is Valerie?"

"Fine, last I saw her," Tucker stepped in.

Danny felt like rubbing his eyes. He could no longer trust his memory, he didn't know what his insane mind had made up or what was real. He looked around Vesa's fading liar. She must be gone, so that memory was probably true. He felt sick.

Abruptly he turned away from them.

"Go home," he said as he walked over to Vlad's motionless form, stopping briefly to pick something up before he reached him. "I'll be there in a little while."

Carefully, gently, he picked the billionaire up and lifted himself off the ground. Not looking back at them he took off through the door, in the direction of Vlad's portal in Colorado.