Yeah I died and wrote about nothing a lot in this chapter. And... I don't remember what I wrote about... I wrote it so long ago... ah well.. I don't think it was a good chapter. But Sam's comes next... and oh, I don't remember what happens in that. OH but I think the next Danny chapter is where it gets... interesting. I'm not going to drag this story out. It may be a bit rushed. But I really can't be bothered dragging this story out. Anyway. I think that you should read on! And my loyal reviews, I address you and the non-loyal reviewers here,

PLEASE REVIEW!? :D

:) Okay. Well. Here it is!

Vortex of Deception

Chapter Seven

When Danny opened his eyes he was confused and slightly disoriented. The light that invaded his bedroom informed him of the time of day – it was no longer night but morning. He had remembered waking up in the middle of the night and calling out someone's name. He remembered the name clearly – Sam – and it evoked some pretty strong emotions from him. But he couldn't place a face to the name and couldn't remember anything else about this Sam person.

He couldn't ask his father about her due to his lies in the past. He had lied about Danny having a mother and he would likely lie about Danny knowing a girl named Sam. There was something about his past that Vlad didn't want Danny to remembered, which made Danny even more eager to find out what it was. The most that he knew was that he had felt pretty strongly for Sam but she had been taken away from him. He didn't know how or why, or even by who, but he knew that she had left unwillingly. It had broken his heart.

"Who are you?" he whispered into the silent morning air but didn't get an answer. He hadn't expected one.

He looked at the alarm clock that he had been given by his father yesterday. Vlad had told him that he was to meet him in the training area at ten o'clock in the morning for more training. He had also been told to make sure that he was presented neatly and had already eaten.

It was only half past eight so Danny had plenty of time to fulfil his father's wishes. Vlad planned on holding training sessions with Danny daily at exactly the same time that were all exactly the same length – two hours longs. Vlad had told Danny many things yesterday after they had practised changing their forms, including the fact that Danny would get free time in the afternoons. But once Danny improved and got used to the routine they would move up to four hour long training sessions. Danny wasn't particularly looking forward to this idea. He was already exhausted from transforming for but an hour yesterday – he couldn't imagine what four hours of actual fighting would do to his energy or his body.

Danny yawned and decided to haul his body out of bed. After all, he wouldn't accomplish anything by lying around and thinking. He might remember something but it wasn't likely. He couldn't just sit around waiting for things to happen – he had to make them happen himself. He wouldn't have time to explore Vlad's mansion this morning for any more clues of what his father was keeping from him but he had all afternoon to himself. He was sure he could sneak about. After all, what else was there to do? He could watch television but it just seemed so boring to him.

He opened his drawers and pulled out various clothes – he didn't worry about looking neat in his clothes today because he would soon be transforming into Danny Plasmius, who had his own special jumpsuit. Though Danny found it hard to believe that he was called Danny Plasmius – when Vlad had talked to him when he had first woken up the name Danny Phantom had seemed so familiar, while Danny Plasmius just seemed… wrong. But what would he know? I'm only a kid who has amnesia. I don't know anything, Danny thought bitterly.

He left his bedroom and was unsurprised to see Veronica standing guard outside his door. Maybe it won't be so easy to explore the house, after all… but I do so love a challenge, Danny thought eagerly as he nodded to the robot. Vlad didn't trust Danny after the previous day's excursion into Vlad's little bathroom. Danny was surprised that Vlad hadn't pieced things together and realised that Danny had been eavesdropping – after all, Danny had asked Vlad about having a mother only minutes after Vlad had had the conversation with the Maddie Bot.

"Where is it that you wish to go, Mr Masters?" the Veronica Bot enquired politely.

Danny didn't have to think about his answer at all. "I'm just going to have a bath," he informed her before heading in the direction of the main bathroom. Despite the fact that he'd only been there once, Danny could remember the way to the main bathroom perfectly. He seemed to have a good memory – after all, he hadmanaged to find his way back to his bedroom the day before. And it had been the first time he'd left it, so that was pretty good.

Danny entered the main bathroom without another word to Veronica. He would be polite to the robots but that was where it ended. He didn't want lifeless beings for friends and they would probably report his behaviour directly to his father. He didn't like the idea of his every thought being made public knowledge. Danny didn't know why he was behaving this way – he didn't know why he was so suspicious of his father. It was just some strange instinct – perhaps Vlad had betrayed him once or twice in the past. He wouldn't know until the memories came back to him – Vlad wouldn't tell him the truth when it came to that area.

He quickly removed his clothes and eagerly slid into the large bath. Yesterday he hadn't had much time to examine the bath but this time he had at least thirty minutes. And this time he discovered that there were little jets implanted in the wall – he could turn the bath into a spa. The only thing he had to do first, though, was find the controls. He assumed that they'd be somewhere near the bath – he couldn't imagine his father or someone that rich wanting to get out of the bath to turn to spa on. The controls had to be reached from within the bath.

He looked around himself hopefully until finally he spotted five or so different little knobs around the side of the bath. He swam over to one and turned it to "MAX" and sighed as the jets whirred and powered up. He returned to the wall, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Danny fortunately woke up with barely enough time to dress himself and eat before he was due to meet Vlad for training. Vlad hadn't asked Veronica to guide him to the training room – she had left him while he was in the kitchen eating some cereal for breakfast. Vlad's chef had offered to cook him a nice, filling meal but Danny hadn't felt up to it. He knew he should have eaten something that would sustain him throughout his physical workout but he just didn't have enough time and his stomach wasn't very happy with him.

Vlad was waiting expectantly when Danny opened the door to the training area. He still thought of it as a gymnasium but Vlad had explained that the control panel over in the far wall could create simulation ghost attacks and various obstacles could appear from the walls or the floor or even the roof. The metal was to keep all the ghost energy in and to protect the other residents in the mansion – Danny assumed that Vlad was talking about his servants when he had mentioned other residents. The metal was also ghost proof so none of the ghosts that they unleashed in this room could terrorise the household.

"Ah, Daniel, just on time," Vlad greeted him with a smile but no other fatherly gestures – he didn't even hug him or ask him how his morning had been. Apart from the first day or so with Vlad, he didn't seem to be very fatherly. He seemed to be more interested in Danny's ghost half than his human half. It made Danny feel kind of unimportant.

"Today we shall focus on creating ecto blasts from our hands. In the future I will show you how to fire them from other parts of your body, such as your feet, your eyes, and other certain areas." Vlad began slowly. "But before we do that, transform."

Danny didn't have to concentrate anymore or even speak the words that Vlad had given him yesterday. Instead he just stared at Vlad and willed himself to change. He almost broke into a smile as the bright rings appeared but he decided to keep his expression of effortlessness on his face – it would make his achievement seem even greater.

"Bravo, Daniel, bravo!" Vlad clapped his hands as he too transformed into his other half.

While Danny looked slightly human as a ghost, Vlad was exactly opposite. For some strange reason he looked like a lizard crossed with a vampire who had ghost powers. It just didn't work out for the old guy. Where Danny's skin was a nice tanned creamy colour, Vlad's was a blue-ish green. Danny had bright glowing green eyes and Vlad had ruby red eyes with no sign of whites at all – just like a strange animal. His hairstyle was like Dracula's and his teeth were even pointed. It all backed Danny's theory of Vlad being a cross between a lizard, vampire and a ghost.

"Now I want you to hold your hand out in front of you like such," Vlad held his hand out with the palm facing the wall. Danny wordlessly followed suit. "Okay, now I want you to focus a lot of energy right in the centre of your palm. I want you to imagine it growing hot with this energy until finally it is released in one single beam. Got that?"

"Yes, father." Danny nodded and squeezed his eyes shut as he did as Vlad had told him.

When his palm grew hot with the energy, Danny opened his eyes and imagined a beam being extracted from his palm. Nothing happened.

After many strenuous attempts and an hour of practising, Danny was finally able to fire a small, weak ecto-beam at the metal wall. Vlad seemed to be growing impatient but clapped his hands when he succeeded in firing the beam. After that it grew a bit easier but Danny still had trouble with it, and it was quickly zapping his energy.

"Enough!" Vlad cried as he transformed back into his human form. "You may enjoy the rest of your afternoon – you have free time."

Vlad left the room in a hurry as though he had somewhere else to be. Danny decided that now would be the best chance to follow Vlad – Veronica wouldn't have shown up just yet and Vlad had strode purposefully out of the room. Danny returned to his human form – Vlad had told him that each and every ghost had a certain sense that could detect any other unliving creature nearby and Danny didn't want to risk the chance of being caught – and left the room. He ran down the long, narrow hallway until he was a few metres behind Vlad's figure.

His father was heading down a secret passageway that Danny hadn't known had existed before now. He eagerly crept down the passageway after Vlad, grateful that there was hardly any light in there – that way, he could hide in the shadows. Vlad took a few tricky turns as if he was trying to lose Danny but the younger boy was able to keep up.

Finally Vlad arrived at a section of wall that looked oddly suspicious. Danny soon found out why – it was a secret doorway. He ducked in as it began to close and flinched – there was light in this room. But thankfully no one was looking at him and he had enough time to quickly duck behind a conveniently placed large potted plant.

Danny peered out and almost gasped – this room was full of computers and Maddie Bot's that were working at these computers. The fact that they were hidden behind a secret door was the only thing that made Danny suspicious – after all they could just be running Vlad's security system or something.

"Maddie Bot Number One," Vlad called out. One of the Maddie Bot's skipped over to him and placed a kiss upon his cheek. "How goes the device?"

"It is currently being calibrated. It shall be ready soon, my wonderful sexy master."

Danny shuddered in disgust.

"That is good news," Vlad announced loudly with humour in his voice. "Soon, Daniel will have no choice but to remain with me."

Danny narrowed his eyes – he was definitely suspicious of his father.

He widened his eyes as Vlad transformed into his ghost half and Danny's ghost sense went off, sending shivers crawling down his spine. But Vlad didn't notice his son hiding behind the potted plant. He was busy doing something with his arms. Suddenly, a big red hole appeared in the middle of the room. It was like Vlad had cut out a part of the atmosphere and this was what was beneath.

Danny was startled as his mind flashed back to a time before his amnesia came about.

He was standing in an underground lab with two shadowed figures and was staring at something. It was a swirling green hole in the wall that he knew as the portal into the Ghost Zone.

Danny's eyes snapped open as he realised what the big, red, swirling hole was. Vlad had created a portal into another world – one that Danny had never seen or heard of. It definitely wasn't the ghost zone. Vlad didn't look back as he stepped through the portal and into a different dimension.

Yeah. The ending sucked. I just couldn't make it sound juicy enough! Haha. What... is this song? Oh, never mind. Anyway. I think it would be a very good idea to review (i am nodding at the computer screen)... Oh god but this story is hard for me to write. In the past week I've developed a strong hate for Sam - NOOO! She used to be one of my favourites - and since I can't watch Danny Phantom for a few days, I can't make that hate disappear. But I'm trying to be nice... ish to her in this story. But you can't really be nice to her. OMG, I JUST REMEMBERED WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! I am glad because I am the one writing this story and it'd be a bit hard to... well, to write if I didn't know what it was about.

Anyway, I have more stuff to post so I better cut this short. Next chapter will come in 100 hours, sorry. I'm updating less frequently due to the return of school. I have much to do. I'll see you when I see you...

Review! :D

Love from a Kirstyn Person.