Okay I apologise that it took so long to arrive, but I was rewriting Changing Fate (now known as Changing Their Fate) and updating Fenton to Phantom: The Beginning. But now I am one hundred percent dedicated to putting up the next chapter of this story. And then it will go back to me updating the beginning, and then changing their fate, and this story… wow, when school comes back I'm so not going to have time to do this. Maybe one chapter per three days. Luckily that's not for another week and a half :P And luckily I'm not working too much in the future. I just want to get these stories done as soon as possible without rushing them. But enough chitter.

Vortex of Deception

Chapter Three

DANNY

"So, how did everything go, you great big hunk of manliness?" Maddie Bot Number One asked Vlad as he left the room that Danny was currently residing in. "I'm sure that you convinced him that you were telling the truth because you are oh so clever, and the best at everything you've ever done."

Vlad smiled to himself triumphantly. His new and improved Maddie Bot accompanied him down the long hallways and into his private lab. Numerous other Maddie Bots were waiting patiently in his lab, ready to praise him and ask for his approval. They were very successful Bots, this batch.

"It went fabulously," Vlad assured them as he dressed himself in a white lab coat. He walked over to one of the walls and punched his secret password into a small computer that resided there.

"I take it that the mind-control device that was created was satisfactory?" Maddie Bot Number Two asked as she pulled open the now unlocked door for Vlad Masters.

"It was extremely satisfactory," Vlad informed them. He entered the small white room and grinned. "That, along with the machine that all of my wonderful Maddie Bots created to dig into this dimension. If the Daniel child wakes up and asks for services, do not go to him yourself. Send the Veronica Bot to attend to him – you never know, you're beautiful face might trigger a memory or two."

The two Maddie Bots beside him giggled. He looked at them adoringly before planting a kiss upon both of their lips. They stepped back as he pulled a pair of safety goggles over his eyes and readjusting his ponytail – he didn't want any hair to escape.

"Now it's time to create some more havoc in the real world," Vlad laughed manically. He pushed another button, this one bringing up a red portal. He glanced at the Maddie Bots and smiled warmly at them before stepping through the portal and disappearing from that dimension.

The Maddie Bots sighed before leaving the room. They returned to the computers that they had been assigned to. Their task was to create a torture device that would keep Daniel at the mansion forever, just in case his memory was restored somehow. If that happened, he would try to leave, and the Maddie Bots' invention would stop him.

It had taken five long years to perfect the device and hone it in on Danny's unique ecto-signature, but finally they were almost finished.

Danny woke up with a start. He had been having a strange dream about a girl who was somehow familiar to him. She had orange hair and blue eyes and dressed in strange clothes. She had been talking to someone close to her, someone like a sister. But there was something wrong with her. Danny had been trying to warn her of this but she hadn't been able to see him.

It was just a dream, Danny reminded himself as he fought to control his breathing. He rubbed his eyes with his fists and examined the room that he was in once more. Though it had seemed amazing after he had first woken up, he didn't really like it any more.

He shrugged his shoulders and stretched his legs – he would explore his father's house. After all, it might bring back some important memories – and Danny was lacking these. He still wore the same pants from earlier and no shirt, informing him that no one had interrupted his sleeping body.

He walked over to the dressing table that was located near his bed. He curiously opened the top drawer and found some neat, folded white underwear. They were all the same – the same colour, the same brand, and the same size. He moved to the next drawer. It contained shirts. Most of them were white button up shirts, but there were a few other colours. They were all styled the same.

"How boring," Danny commented to himself. He pulled out a beige shirt and tossed it onto his bed.

Next, he moved onto the pants drawer. There was one pair of dark blue jeans – the rest were formal pants. There were beige pants, black pants, grey pants, and white pants. He skipped this drawer – it was too sunny to be wearing pants. The next drawer contained shorts – he pulled a black pair out and tossed it alongside the shirt. He pulled out a pair of underwear and began to get changed.

Once he was done, he glanced over at the full length mirror that adorned his wall. His dark black hair wasn't brushed and stuck up in strange directions. He would fix it later. For the time being he was focussing on his clothes. The shirt was oddly uncreased and smooth. It had blue righting upon the right side of his chest and had a ironed collar. The sleeves came down to his elbow – these he rolled up slightly. The black shorts came down to his knees and needed no adjusting. He decided to leave his feet bare.

"Now, to explore," he told himself mischievously as he snuck out of the room. He was surprised that the door wasn't locked – he knew that he wasn't supposed to be sneaking around the house. Maybe his father had thought he would be confined to his bed for a bit longer. Or maybe he thought that Danny would be obedient.

I'll get away with it, Danny assured himself. After all, I just woke up from a five year coma. He can't punish me yet.

He looked to his left and his right. There was nothing to distinguish one side from the other – both were seemingly endless and were decorated the same. Danny decided to take the right passageway – he could always explore the left one another day. He did not doubt for a second that this was an enormous house full of secret rooms. He would enjoy discovering them all.

After a minute of walking in a straight line – he passed about ten doors on the way – Danny reached a set of winding stairs. Now he had another choice – would he go up or would he go down? He chose up – it was more likely that he'd run into someone if he went down. And then they would send him back to his bedroom and probably lock him inside.

Once he got to the top floor he gasped. It was nothing like the floor on which his bedroom was located. This floor was large and spacious – it was obviously his Father's section of the house. There was an odd wall opposite Danny which he decided that he would inspect later. For now, he would snoop around his father's stuff.

He entered a small room set off from the spacious one – it was a bathroom. No time like the present, eh? Danny asked himself as he examined his hair. He would need a brush and some water if he wanted to sort it out.

He rummaged through the top drawer and found exactly what he wanted.

Vlad surveyed his surroundings with satisfaction. There wasn't a human to be seen. Of course, as soon as he'd stepped through the portal into the real world, he had changed into his ghostly other half – Vlad Plasmius. After all, the dumber ghosts who possessed no mind whatsoever were programmed to attack any human being that they sensed, despite the fact that it might be their ruler.

"King Plasmius."

Vlad turned around and forced a smile upon his face. He didn't particularly like any of the ghosts – they weren't anywhere near as intelligent or cunning as he was – but he knew he had to put up with them. After all, they had helped him to take over the human's world. Kind of.

"What is it, Celestial?" He asked in a tone of annoyance.

The inferior ghost did not shrink underneath Vlad's impending stare. "We need more supplies for the sustainment of the Vortex," he informed his master.

"Ah, yes, yes we do." Vlad agreed. "I'll sort it out shortly. Inform the others that the prince has awoken."

"Yes, master." Celestial bowed low to Plasmius before flying off in a hurry.

"Soon," Vlad muttered to himself. "Oh, soon, he shall be my heir. He'll be under my control, and then we shall be unstoppable. I'll have to introduce him to Robo 123e5. But first, to come up with a name for it."

He sunk down to the ground. He was in the place that was once called Amity Park, but now did not exist. He observed the destruction that had been done to the town – the roads were all cracked and the earth was torn open. Everything that had once lived was now dead, and there were no humans in sight.
Not even his beloved Maddie.

He sobered up as he remembered the moment that he had had to give up his treasure. She refused to part with the oaf named Jack Fenton and had sworn to drink a poison that she had concealed in her teal jumpsuit if Vlad forced her to leave her husband. Vlad loved Maddie too much to see her kill herself, so he had let her go without a fight.

But he had a plan to get her back. One day, she would be his.

Danny looked into the mirror once again, to admire his neat hair. It was still damp but it would dry nicely. He put everything back where he had found it and exited the bathroom. For the first time since coming into this part of the house, Danny observed the area around him.

There was a sitting around with two red, cushiony sofas and a massive widescreen television. He had a few game consoles but all were unfamiliar to Danny. There was an area filled with large video game consoles which Danny was delighted to see. In the far corner was an enormous bed that was covered in red satin blankets and satiny pillows. In the opposite corner was a spa, also red.

Most of the stuff in the room was red. But before Danny could admire all of it, there was a creaking sound from the suspicious looking wall. Danny ducked behind one of the sofas and peeked out at the wall. Standing in front of it was a female who looked so familiar to Danny that he felt the urge to approach her, to talk to her.

"Mum," he whispered. Though his father had mentioned nothing of a mother, Danny knew that this was true. But wouldn't his father have told him that he had a mother? The only people who were mentioned in Vlad's story were Vlad himself and Danny.

"Maddie Bot Number Three,"

The voice was his father's. He jumped in shock but remained hidden as another thought ran through his mind. If this Maddie was his mother, and she had seemed so familiar to him, why hadn't his father been familiar? Why were his stories unbelievable?

"I'll check on Daniel," his father told the robot. "I'd like you to run him a bath in the main bathroom, though."

"Yes, master." She bowed low and left the room.

Vlad walked past Danny without a glance to the place where he was hiding and entered the bathroom. Danny used this opportunity to make his escape. He raced down to the room that he assumed was his and entered it, out of breath. Luckily, the robot hadn't made it back yet.

Danny jumped onto the sofa and turned on his television as he heard a knock on the door. He didn't answer the knock, and the person on the other side didn't wait for an answer.
"Daniel, you are up!" Vlad cried with delight.

"Dad," Danny began, not sure how to phrase this question without making Vlad suspicious. "You never mentioned it last night but… do I have a mother?"

Vlad bowed his head as though in prayer. "No, son, I'm afraid you do not. May I ask you a question of my own?"

"Of course," Danny replied.

"What were you doing in my private bathroom?"

Okay that was a pathetically terrible chapter, I admit. But don't get angry. All i need to do is plan it out properly. And I'll do that tonight, I will. I couldn't do it last night because I was planning out my other story, but tonight's the night the teddy's bears have their picnic... And also the night that I'll plan this :) And then tomorrow night I'll plan out Changing their Fate. But yeah. And guys... I'm still waiting on my reviews... I've written over umm... let's think. 20,000 words in the past 4 days. Now come on. You guys have got to give me some credit. I haven't got a single review since I started writing again. Steph's reviews don't count. Stop being lazy. I'm doing something for you, now you do something for me. It only takes seconds.

Reviews. Now.

Kirstyn...