truephan here: Time to zig-zag y'all some more in the suspense department! We left Danny and Vlad on the high and dry a couple of chapters ago, and now we're leaving Team Phantom in the same predicament. Evil is such a delicious dessert, isn't it? Especially when served with hot tea… Care to join me? Hope you enjoy!
Pearl: Ah, yes, hot tea and badger-shaped cookies! Yum! I also hope you all enjoy this one… heh-heh. See ya at the bottom.
Disclaimer: We do not own Danny Phantom. Though, Vlad muse swears he does…. Riiight.
Chapter 5: Unforeseen Reality
A fog…. Yes, that was the best way to describe what enveloped his mind at the present moment. Everything felt cold and murky, like being at a pier on a bitterly cold and cloudy day just before the dawn.
Maybe… he was at a pier…. It would explain why the moment he opened his eyes, all he saw were churning blurs of gray. But it didn't explain the increasing pain his once numbed body was slowly registering. And it still didn't explain why his mind was in such a haze.
Vlad closed his eyes again, hoping that doing so would withdraw the shadows in his mind and vision. He couldn't really understand, let alone recall, what he had done to wake up feeling so horrible.
He drew in a shaky breath, noticing how difficult the simple action had been. But then, he became aware of the dryness in his mouth, and attempted to swallow. But that, too, felt very difficult. He briefly wondered if he was really in a desert instead of a pier. At least his mouth would agree with that.
Ignoring what felt like sand coating his mouth, he focused on opening his eyes again. But when he managed to get his eyelids to part, he was met with the same hazy surroundings. However, this time, his vision finally seemed to slowly begin to focus.
And as this happened, he became more aware of his body. Or more specifically, what touched his body. He still could feel the cold and murky air nipping exposed areas, like his cheeks and hands, but it was now seeping inside him, making him shiver slightly.
But it didn't end there. There was something firm under his back that only made his aching body protest more. He soon realized that he must be lying on something. But what exactly, he still did not know. Even so, he attempted to push down on it with his hands in order to push himself into a sitting position.
And much to his chagrin, it took him a few moments to manage it.
But the billionaire only leaned forward once he did sit before burying his face deeply into his clammy hands. Why was it taking his mind so long to focus? And what was…?
A groggy moan of pain scratched its way through his vocal cords and passed his dry lips as he suddenly became aware of the agony within his chest. He felt like his very heart was being eaten alive by some kind of flesh-eating bacteria. Hoping to ease the pain, the man reflexively clutched at his chest with one of his hands, his fingernails digging into the fabric covering it.
Ironically, this same intense agony helped his mind to clear. And he was beginning to think…and to recall…
"Ready?"
With a startled gasp, Vlad jolted backwards, reflexively and irrationally trying to escape the memory of that chilling voice and the sting of its weapon. But when he had jerked back, the back of his skull slammed into something very hard. And he cried out in more pain.
Now fully awake, he whirled his head towards what had pounded his throbbing head again, and his breath hitched at what he found.
A wall. But not just any wall. It was a solid glowing green wall.
Though his one hand had never released his chest, he reflexively cradled his head with his other hand while his wary eyes scanned his surrounding. He soon realized he was not in his home. In fact, he was nowhere he had ever seen. But the glowing green bars that made up the wall a few feet in front of him could not be mistaken for anything else.
He was in a jail cell.
"Where did he take me?" Vlad whispered with dread, his dry throat not allowing him to talk any louder. Suddenly, he remembered why his chest was in such pain. And he quickly looked down at himself.
What he found only filled him with more dread.
He was still in ghost form, and his body was transparent—but without his willing it so. And worse, it was barely formed. His entire body was wispy, almost incapable of holding itself together. Slowly, he removed his hand from his chest, and finally looked at the place he had been stabbed.
Vlad looked back down at the small trail of black liquid still slowly sliding down his ghostly skin. It was also slowly evaporating into tiny puffs of black mist. He then dared to touch the black fluid. But when he did, he pulled his hand back. That liquid. It felt like acid! And it must have been what blackened his wound. His eyes widened a bit at his next wild thought. So, Iluzisto must have injected him with this…black poison! But then, he calmed right away. Luckily, however, it seemed to be filtering out of his system. Still, he now suspected what the purpose of the black poison was. It had allowed the ghost to capture him by reducing his ghostly body into mere energy.
Just like a ghost thermos did by using an energy beam.
But Iluzisto's method was nothing short of sadistic. That blasted ghost actually ran him through! And furthermore, he had pierced his very ghost core to inject his poison! What if his ghost side never fully recovered from the injury? A ghost's core was just as delicate as a human's heart!
"I'll destroy him!" Plasmius growled out, only to wince from the pain that shot from his dry vocal cords. He really needed something to drink…
With a sigh, he calmed, knowing he needed to regain his wits if he was to get out of whatever mess he was in now. And he also needed to regain his energy. He currently felt severely weakened. And although he knew that Iluzisto had done something to him to weaken him before he… used that weapon he held, Vlad was sure that the actual black liquid that was injected into him had something to do with his weakened and groggy condition as well.
Lowering his hand from his head, he looked back at his surroundings. He already knew that behind him there was a solid wall and that in front of him there were jail bars, but it was not until now that he noticed the other two walls. To his left, although it was also a solid green wall, there were the normal things that one would find in any cell, which meant that the hard surface he was sitting on was a bed.
He looked down and confirmed that to be true.
But his eyes moved over to his right, and it was what he found that surprised him. There was another… 'room' beside his. Instead of having a wall or bars separating the other room, there was nothing. It was as if the jail cell he was in was made to house two prisoners. Or at least it would explain the extra bed—if you could call the hard thing he sat on a 'bed'.
Still, he needed to do something about his situation and started trying to move off his bed. But when he tried to get to his feet, they shook under him, and he fell to the floor.
Vlad groaned as he lifted himself to his hands and knees. What had that ghost done to him? He couldn't recall the last time he felt this weak! But he couldn't dwell on this now. He needed to think of something and fast.
Having to mostly use his arms, he somehow pulled himself back up on the bed, deciding that it was better to sit on that hard thing than to sit on the harder stone-like floor.
He closed his eyes again, trying to snuff out the whirling sensation that gripped his body with his effort.
"Awake already? I'm impressed."
Vlad's eyes snapped open, and a look of alarm flashed across them when he saw Iluzisto, partly in stealth mode, standing right outside his jail cell.
"Oh? Do I frighten you, crossbreed?" the ghost asked with an evil look, watching how the man's eyes had locked on the staff he was holding. The same staff he had used to harm and capture the older half-ghost.
But Plasmius quickly regained his wits, and glared menacingly at the ghost. "How dare you capture me? Release me at once!" he demanded, but his voice was still not strong enough to deliver the fierceness he wanted. And the fact that he was too weak to stand didn't help, either.
"I do not take orders from anyone, except from my employers, crossbreed. And I only do so because at the present moment I have no other option," Iluzisto informed him calmly as he moved further down the jail cell until he was at the opposite side.
Vlad didn't say anything, feeling wary of the ghost's action. And his fear doubled when he saw Iluzisto pull out a glowing key and begin to open the barred door at the other end of his holding area.
Seeing the ghost leisurely push the door open, Plasmius instinctively rose, ready to defend himself from the creature which was now too close in his mind even though the ghost had entered the end of the unoccupied connected cell. But his weakened condition sent him down on his knees, and his idea of bringing ecto-energy into his hands vanished with his dizzy spell.
"You should conserve your lingering strength, crossbreed," Iluzisto said with amusement when he noticed the man's pitiful attempt to protect himself. "After all, I have a good notion of removing it for myself a bit later," he added evilly.
Plasmius looked at his wispy hands, before looking up at the ghost with a weak glare. "You come near me again, and you will discover why I am feared both in the Ghost Zone and human world."
Iluzisto tilted his head in amusement. "Arrogant, aren't we?"
Vlad just hardened his glare.
"And lively," the ghost added, an evil glint of a smile in his eye.
Plasmius watched the ghost turn his attention back to his staff, and began to do something to it. And despite his weakness and wariness, the older hybrid was still thinking of how to get himself out of his predicament. And the thought of turning human and just walking out had not gone unconsidered. But he needed to see what Iluzisto was up to, and he needed to buy himself a bit of time to let his body regain some strength. Or at least he hoped it would regain its energy. For some reason, he didn't feel like he was recuperating from Iluzisto's attacks as fast as he should.
Vlad was brought out of his thoughts by Iluzisto's calm and inquisitive voice.
"Would you like some company, crossbreed?"
The question caught the man off guard, and for some reason he felt his heart speed up.
"What?" he questioned with slight hesitation in his voice.
The ghost merely shot him a wicked look, before he lowered the staff in his hand towards the empty bed at the other end of the room. Instantly, a black mist began to seep out of the crystal on the staff. It swirled around itself until it shaped into a sphere, hovering just above the bed.
Iluzisto stepped back as the last of the mist exited the crystal. The ghost watched calmly as the sphere slowly began to expand across the bed, shaping itself into something completely different. And with a hint of dark glee in his eye, the ghost slowly looked over at the older hybrid, enjoying how the man's face turned from bafflement to utter horror.
"Daniel!" the man cried in alarm, jumping to his feet. And this time, he managed to stay on them. Vlad had completely forgotten about the boy! But now, everything had come back to him at the sight of him. He stared in dismay at the misty outline of the Ghost Boy when it was more than obvious that Iluzisto had also managed to capture him.
Iluzisto's eye narrowed oddly. How curious. The man almost sounded concerned for the child. But that couldn't be true. The hybrids were enemies. They only despised each other.
Momentarily forgetting all about Iluzisto, Plasmius attempted to get to what he believed was the unconscious Danny, since the boy's wispy form wasn't moving. And he couldn't really make out his facial features to know if his eyes were closed or not anyways.
However, when Vlad attempted to move to the far side of the room, he collided with an invisible force in the middle of the room. The man cried in surprise as he stumbled back, before dropping to his knees.
"It seems I failed to mention that there is a transparent barrier separating your cell from the boy's own," Iluzisto said, amusement in his voice.
"What? Why?" Vlad demanded, slowly getting back to his feet.
Iluzisto shrugged. "Those were my orders. At least, to keep you two separated anyways… I got to choose how to do it…," he added with a mischievous chuckle.
When the ghost moved closer to Danny's slowly regenerating form, the older half-ghost unexpectedly responded.
"Get away from him, you despicable creature!" Vlad snarled, his fisted hands slamming against the unseen wall that was keeping him from the boy.
At first, the ghost was stunned at the man's outburst, but that quickly melded to anger as he darkly hissed, "Do not think I have forgotten of your trickery against me. You would do wise to watch your tongue or I might have to instill your punishment earlier than what is planned."
"What is your business with us?" Plasmius demanded to know, masking his fear with anger. He didn't know why having the ghost so close to the young hybrid was putting him on the edge. But at the moment, he didn't have time to ponder this.
"All will be answered once the other crossbreed awakens," Iluzisto answered as he knelt beside the boy.
Vlad was too worried to answer. He felt helpless as he watched the ghost raise his staff to Danny's chest, the needle part aimed at his central core. But upon seeing the ghost had the intention of driving that needle into the boy, the man found himself exclaiming, "Stop!"
But Iluzisto ignored him, and inserted the needle into the boy's chest, in the same spot where his wound was.
Danny let out a small whimper with the thrust.
Plasmius lost whatever calm he was holding onto, and impulsively forced energy into his hands. He fired at the invisible barrier. However, his attacks just bounced off the shield and then off the other walls. One ecto-ball dissipated on its own after a few recoils while the other one vanished after striking its master in the shoulder.
Vlad gasped in pain, but that was mostly due to how much firing his energy had drained him. All he could do was lean against the invisible wall, watching through blurry eyes as Iluzisto momentarily turned his attention to him.
"Calm down, crossbreed. You act as if I'm harming you. Why?" he asked curiously.
"Get away from the boy, Iluzisto. He's mine," Vlad answered through labored breathing.
Iluzisto chuckled. "Oh, I see now. You merely do not want your enemy to be harmed by anyone but yourself. Well, you need not worry at the moment. I am simply helping the child reform quicker. The venom—yes, it is indeed that," he added at seeing the alarm that flashed in the man's eyes, " — takes a couple of days to clear out of a ghost's body. And since you both are to stand before my employers later today, we can't have your reformation take that long. However, that does not mean your strength will be returning any faster… as you have noticed." The ghost almost looked like he was smiling at him with that grotesque eye before he turned it back to Danny and removed the needle from the teen's chest.
Iluzisto pulled upward from Danny's side and floated back over to the cell door. He looked over to Vlad, who was still staring at Danny, and said calmly, "You should rest, crossbreed…." But he then added evilly, "… while you still can…"
Without another word, he left Danny's cell, locked its door and flew away.
Vlad turned to look at the ghost's retreating form moving down a dark corridor illuminated only by green flaming torches on the walls. But they ended at some point along the corridor, and Iluzisto vanished into the darkness. A darkness that not even the older hybrid's ghostly eyes could penetrate.
With a weary sigh, Vlad's eyes wondered back to Danny, noticing how his body was starting to solidify a bit more rapidly than when he was first removed from the crystal. But the teen's features were still indistinguishable. The man didn't even bother trying to call to the boy, knowing he would not awaken anytime soon.
Vlad looked down at himself, already having realized that Iluzisto must have done the same thing to him as he had the boy just now. And although his form was solid enough to distinguish all his features, the wispy and transparent appearance of his own form had not gotten any better.
Plasmius sat back down on the bed, feeling his body begging him to pass out. But he could not do that. He needed to think about what he was going to do. And even before that, he needed to regain his strength. Still, it was now obvious to him that Iluzisto was under the impression that he would not strengthen any time soon; and that only meant that the ghost was not as sure of what his half-ghost status was capable of doing as he thought. And that fact could work to his favor when it came to escaping from the ghost.
But first things first.
And Vlad began to repair his weak and injured ghost self.
About a good hour later, Danny finally began to stir. Like Vlad, he, too, woke severely dazed, pained, and weakened.
"Ugh," he groaned, lifting his hands against his forehead. "What happened to me this time?" the boy whispered.
Vlad hitched an eyebrow in wonder when he noticed the boy stirring and then heard him. How odd. It seemed that Daniel was more used to waking up in these conditions than he.
It took the teenager a good ten minutes to recall what had happened, and when he did, his reaction was very similar to Vlad's own…
"Ahh!" the boy cried out as he fell out of the bed face first. But Danny didn't linger on the ground for long and pushed himself to his feet. He staggered backwards in a panic, triggering his instinct to go into a defense mode. But in the end, the teenager was too weak and he fell back onto his bottom.
Danny pressed a hand against his face as he waited for his spinning mind and vision to clear. The boy didn't realize he had his other hand clutched against the injury on his chest.
"Hurts, doesn't it?"
The Ghost Boy startled a bit before looking up with difficulty from where he sat on the ground. It took him several blinks to make out the form of his arch-enemy across from him.
"Vlad?" the boy questioned with a scratchy voice.
"Unfortunately," the man answered calmly.
Danny slowly looked around, trying to figure out where he was and what was going on. But not coming to any conclusion of his own, he turned back to Vlad. This time, he noticed the billionaire was sitting on a small bed with his back against a green wall facing his direction. He had a single knee raised, and his right arm draped lazily on top of it, while his other leg was stretched across the bed….
And Vlad was in human form.
"Where am I?" Danny asked, cringing at the pain that came with using his voice. And the horrible pain in his chest was making it hard from him to breath.
Vlad inspected his left solid human hand as he answered. "Good question, my boy. But if you would think a bit more, you could answer that on your own. However, since I know that you are unable to do that at the moment, I will tell you that by the looks of our surroundings we are somewhere in the Ghost Zone and being held in some form of prison by—if you recall—the ghost that attacked us at my home."
"Iluzisto!" Danny said with alarm in his still-raspy voice when he finally remembered what had last happened. The teen instantly looked down at himself.
Despite the seriousness of their current situation, Vlad raised an amused eyebrow. If only the boy knew how similar their reactions were after waking. Though, he still wondered if it had taken him as long as the teen to stir…. But the man quickly dismissed the thought when he saw the boy trying to stand.
"I need to get out of here," Danny groggily commented to himself, trying to get back to his feet.
"You're spent, Daniel. You should sit down for a moment," Vlad said soberly.
"Right. Because I'm so going to follow your example and just sit around being some freaky ghost's prisoner," the boy said sarcastically, failing time and time again to get to his feet.
"We have no other choice for the moment," Vlad answered with no further inflation in his voice.
"Would you quit with the 'we' thing? Don't think that just because my head feels like mud, I don't recall how you let Iluzisto in to begin with. So, it's your fault we—I—am here," the teen tried to growl out, but didn't quite manage it since his throat was still sore.
Vlad momentarily glared at the boy, but decided now wasn't the time to argue with him, especially over such a petty thing.
"Look, Daniel, I'm in no mood to argue with you. Just listen to me for a moment and do as I say," Vlad said, moving off the bed and approaching the transparent wall, stopping at about a foot from it.
"Yeah, right! I'm not doing anything you say!" the boy snapped back, giving up with trying to get to his feet, and instead using what little energy he had to glare at his arch-enemy.
"You will unless you want Iluzisto to find you as pathetic as you are now!" Vlad retorted back, his anger finally showing.
"I rather take my chances with him," Danny whispered weakly. "This is all your fault, Plasmius!"
"My fault?" Vlad asked outraged, his anger making him temporarily forget about what they needed to do. "How is it my fault when you brought that blasted ghost to my doorsteps after you decided to crawl to me for help? Or do you not recall pleading to me, 'Vlad, help me?" he mocked angrily.
Danny didn't know why but the man's words had hurt more than just his pride. But he hid it within his weak glare, but could do nothing to keep it out of his voice. "If you didn't want to help me then you shouldn't have."
Vlad deflated with the boy's words, not having really expected that kind of remark, or the hurt tone of voice. The man stared at him for a moment, before sighing. "Listen to me, Daniel. We can spend our time arguing back and forth about who is to blame for this mess. But in the end, it is not going to get us anywhere. And it is most certainly not getting us out of this place. Now, your ghost half is injured from what Iluzisto did to you—you do recall, yes?"
Danny nodded solemnly, and looked down at his wispy ghost hands.
Then Vlad continued. "Do you know how to repair your ghost half?"
The boy looked up at the man quizzically.
Vlad sighed, "Alright, that's a 'no'." He rubbed his temple for a moment, murmuring to himself, "This would be easier if I could touch him."
But Danny caught his words, and threw an even more confused look at the man. "What would be easier? And why can't you touch me?" But realizing his last question, he quickly added, "Uh, not that I want you near me in either case."
Vlad rolled his eyes as he returned his gaze to the boy. "What I meant is that it would be easier to let you feel how to repair your ghost half than having to talk you through it. But I can't 'touch' you because we are separated."
"What do you…?" Danny trailed off as he saw the man place a hand against something he couldn't see. And if it wasn't for the way a shimmer of light spread across whatever invisible field was there, he would have not known Vlad had placed his hand against anything at all.
"What is that? A shield of some sort?" Danny questioned, for some reason feeling nervous about it. He thought Vlad and he were being held in the same cell. Now, he realized they were in different ones being separated by a transparent wall.
"Obviously," Vlad answered dryly. But he then frowned, and calmly said, "You know the energy rings that change you into your ghost form, correct?" And when he saw the teen nod, the man continued, "Alright, you need to call them forth and let them pass over your ghost form without becoming human. You must 'repair' your ghost half before you make it dormant, understand?"
Danny's eyebrows creased. He hadn't really tried making his rings appear without having them change him back. Or maybe he had and just didn't realize it the times he had… But the boy decided to give it a try, anyways. It wasn't that he trusted Vlad; but at the moment, he was a lesser threat than the ghost that had them trapped here. And his arch-enemy was right. He needed to regain his strength….
Not that he knew how his energy rings would do that. But if he asked, the teen was certain Vlad's response would confuse him more than he already was by this.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes and let the white rings pass over him. But they ended up changing him to his human self.
"No!" Vlad said annoyed. "I told you not to change back! You need to regenerate your ghost half first. Otherwise, it's going to take you a lot longer to regain your energy!"
"That's what I was trying to do!" Danny said angrily, feeling very self-conscious at the moment. "But how am I supposed to 'fix' myself when I don't even know what that means? And I definitely don't know how to either!"
"I just told you how to do it!" the billionaire snapped back in annoyance.
"Well, then, you didn't do a very good job of it," Danny grumbled back, crossing his hands over his chest, before he winced in pain. Even in human form, he could still feel his ghost side's injuries. Vlad was right.
Vlad looked appalled by his comment. But then he glared back at the teen. "You're right. I shouldn't have even bothered. Figure it out for yourself since I'm sure you'll do a much better job of teaching yourself something you don't know," he said sarcastically, before stomping back over to the bed, sitting on it with crossed hands, and purposely redirecting his gaze towards the cell bars.
Danny's glare fell, and he looked around his room again as a tense silence fell over them. He really didn't want to admit he needed his enemy's help, but he was so weak, he couldn't even stand. He didn't even know how he had managed it when he first woke up.
With a sigh, the boy decided to try again and changed back into his ghost form. But the pain that shot through him with his transformation was horrible, and he screamed.
Vlad's eyes darted over to the teenager, who was clutching his chest; small cries escaped his throat in between his short breaths.
"Daniel," the man called out, as he quickly jumped up and got as close to the teen as the barrier would allow him.
"What… did…he…. do?" Danny managed to get out. He felt like something was ripping his chest apart, ripping his core apart.
"His blasted weapon damaged your central core as it did mine!" Vlad answered angrily.
"B-But you're not—"
"Because I already healed my ghost half."
Danny looked up at him through pained eyes. "Okay, you got my attention," he said, pushing aside his pride for a moment.
The man's eyebrows creased, before he placed a hand on the center of his chest. "Your central core is here, just beside your heart in ghost form. Your energy comes from it. But the injury it sustained has stunned it and that is not allowing your energy to rebuild. That's why you're weak. But you can heal the injury, so that your core will start back up—so to speak." Vlad paused, clearly thinking of his next words. This would definitely be easier if he could touch the boy….
"You're energy rings are simply a sign of your energy core 'turning on', allowing you to morph into, well, a ghost," he continued, sounding thoughtful.
"I always thought they were simply what turned me from a human to a ghost," Danny interrupted with a frown.
"They do, but as I'll explain, not in the way you first thought. And, right now, that's why you aren't able to will them forward without changing," Vlad replied, raising an eyebrow. "You need to push that mindset aside. Those energy rings are the effects of your energy core becoming fully active, and that brings forth your ghost form. The same general idea applies when you turn human; the rings reappear as signals that your core is becoming dormant—or at least for the most part, since you can still access your ghost energy as a human—as you know. But all this is not important for you to understand right now," Vlad quickly dismissed. "You need to push your energy core pass its current shocked state and drive its energy inward on itself, so that it will begin working and healing itself…Alright, go ahead and try it again. But this time, do not concentrate on turning human. Instead, think about building your energy and letting it wash over you…."
The man continued to explain in detail what the teen needed to do and concentrate on in order to heal his ghost self. And a few minutes later, Danny's white rings washed through him, but this time they didn't change him human. Instead, they left in their wake a restored Ghost Boy. His clothing was no longer ripped and the injuries on his chest and other smaller ones had vanished.
Danny slowly got to his feet, feeling so much better now that the pain in his chest had dulled to a small throb. But he still felt weak.
Vlad had a small smile on his face. "Good. Now turn back so that your ghost half can become dormant. That will allow it to refuel your energy faster."
Danny did so without a word, and found himself feeling even better in human form. "Wow…. It worked," he said a bit surprised but mostly relieved. The boy suddenly rubbed his neck as he then added, "Uh…. Thanks."
Vlad just smirked slyly; but then, he became serious, and sitting back on the bed again, he looked over at the corridor that could be seen through the glowing bars.
Danny, however, was still looking himself over. Although he felt strong enough to move now, he still felt sore and tired. But he needed to find a way out. Then it hit him. "Hey! We're human! That means we can phase right through this place!"
Vlad rolled his eyes, but decided to let the boy find out for himself.
And he soon did.
"Ouch!" the teen exclaimed holding his nose that had met the very solid glowing green wall. "Wait, this can't be right! I thought humans were 'the ghosts' in the Ghost Zone!"
"Obviously, Daniel, that doesn't apply here. And, really, did you not think that I would have already tried that?" Vlad said in a condescending voice.
Danny just shot him a dirty look.
But the billionaire ignored it, and continued. "It seems this place, or at least, these cells were made just with us in mind. Ghost powers have no affect on the walls, and as you just discovered, it can also hold our human selves within them. The only way we are getting out of here is through the cell doors. And we need the keys for that…. Guess who has those keys," the man finished raising an eyebrow.
Danny frowned, before crossing his arms. "Great," he mumbled.
A silence fell over them; and while Danny occupied himself with trying to peer through the bars and even attempt to push through them, Vlad was more interested in his watch.
The teen soon noticed. "What are you doing?" he asked curiously, walking over to the man, only to collide into the transparent wall. The boy glared at it.
"My watch is not exactly a watch. Or, rather, it is more than a watch. It has a communication device. I had attempted to contact Skulker…" he informed him, a thoughtful expression on his face as he fiddled with the watch.
"And what's he going to do?" Danny asked with slight bite in his tone.
Vlad shot the boy an amused smirk, before returning his gaze to his watch. "Unlike with you, Daniel, Skulker is my close ally—if you recall. But I have given up on getting a hold of him a while ago. The communication system does not work here. In fact, no form of technology seems to work being that nothing on my watch is working, not even the watch itself." The man sounded annoyed by that last fact.
Danny looked at him in surprise, before a bewildered look replaced it. "Then why are you, um, messing with it?"
Vlad shrugged, and off-handedly answered, "I'm bored."
The young half-ghost just blinked at him. How the heck could the guy be bored when they were in serious trouble? But then he began to wonder how long the man had been awake. Obviously, for some time now since Vlad had already figured out several things—like how their cores had been damaged by Iluzisto's attack.
Danny finally just rolled his eyes, and murmured, "Fruit loop," before walking back to the jail cell's locked door. How was he going to get out of here? His mind suddenly drifted to his friends and sister. Would they be able to find him? It was going to be hard in the vastness of the Ghost Zone. But he was certain that the boomerang would lead them right to him.
The teenager quickly felt his spirits lift. Yes, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker would be sure to find him!
"I hope it's soon, though," Danny thought, looking warily down the dark corridor.
Some time later, the young half-ghost was slumped on his own hard bed, feeling…bored. But at least he was feeling physically better. Vlad had been silent for the longest time now, and Danny couldn't help but wonder why…. Well, aside from he and Vlad not having anything to talk about. And as dull as it was silently sitting in a cell, the teen really couldn't find anything to converse about with his arch-enemy. If the teen wasn't so apprehensive about his latest predicament, he was sure he would be squirming uncomfortably at the silence.
But just because he wasn't talking to Vlad didn't mean Danny didn't glance at him every now and then. And it was why he was currently wondering about Vlad's silence. The man was just staring into space; but every now and then he would slowly look around, clearly studying his surroundings. What could the man be thinking? …Or, planning?
Danny stood back up and walked over to the door once again, not realizing the older hybrid had glanced at him briefly as he did so. The teen tried to peer past the darkness after the corridor, but like his other previous attempts, he could see nothing.
But then, suddenly, an idea hit the boy. And he quickly called ecto-energy into his hand, internally feeling relieved it didn't trigger any kind of weak spell. Slowly, he wedged his hand through two of the green bars until his arm was sticking out of the cell up to his elbow. Without any hesitation, he fired an energy blast down the corridor.
But the second it had left his hand, an eerie gust of air suddenly appeared from nowhere, instantly snuffing his ecto-ball from existence.
"Hmm… good to know that our powers do not work out there, either," Vlad commented dryly.
Danny frowned, but he wasn't looking at Vlad, but down the corridor.
"Daniel," Vlad suddenly called, still sitting on the bed with his back against the wall. And when the teen turned to face him, he asked, "You said you had never seen Iluzisto before yesterday, correct?"
"Yeah," Danny answered, creasing his eyebrows, while still not doing anything to retract his hand back into the cell.
"Do you know of anyone who would be after you?"
Danny threw a dry look at the man.
Vlad then quickly added, "I meant, anyone outside the ordinary. Someone who would hire another ghost to capture you?"
Danny tapped his lips thoughtfully with his other hand, before suddenly looking enlightened. "Oh yeah, I do!"
Vlad's interest sparked. "Who?"
"You," Danny said with a smug grin.
The billionaire quickly glared at the boy. 'This is serious, you little rat!"
"Then stop asking me stupid questions! You know I don't know the ghost, and I don't know why he's after me!" Danny snapped back, his annoyance with the man quickly returning.
"And I don't know what he could possibly want with me, either!" Vlad said to himself with a scowl.
But Danny heard it, and he realized that the man wasn't as calm as he let on.
The teen turned his attention back to what he was doing, having thought of something else. The teen made another ecto-ball, but this time, he encased it in a layer of ice.
Vlad raised an interested eyebrow as he watched Danny squat down and roll the ball down the corridor.
And it actually worked!
"Ha!" Danny said with a wide grin as he watched the corridor light up as his energy-made 'flashlight' rolled down it, soon revealing that the corridor was much longer than what it seemed.
But as it reached the end, and the ball crashed into a wall, shattering the ice. Instantly, a ghostly wind dispelled the lingering energy. However, Vlad and Danny had been able to see enough to discover that there were more cells at the end of the corridor and that the hallway led to another pathway as well.
"We really are in a prison," Danny murmured, his eyebrows drawing in again.
Deciding to try once more, Danny lit his hand with more energy and encased it in a sphere of ice, this time making the ice just a bit thicker so that it was more durable.
But Vlad's voice momentarily distracted the teen. "Iluzisto is working for someone," he told the boy. "—Or by his words, 'someones'."
Surprised by his remark this time, Danny turned his blues eyes back to the older hybrid.
"But I do not know who they could be, or what they could want," Vlad continued. "Whatever it is, it has to be something we both have in common. And the only thing I can think of that you and I share that would make us both targets, is our 'human-ghost hybrid' status."
"So, whoever he's working for are hunters, like Skulker?" Danny asked, looking thoughtful, while absently toying with the ice-sphere in his extended hand.
"I haven't said that," Vlad said with a frown, his focus completely on the teen.
"But you can't completely toss it out," Danny retorted with a raised eyebrow. "And I'm having a hard time believing this guy works for others. He doesn't seem like the type to take orders from anyone."
"Well, I agree with your latter comment," the billionaire answered. "But he indeed is. However, I do not think that these beings for whom he is working are ghosts merely looking for 'unique prey'. Iluzisto was ordered to bring us here for some other reason…"
"Yes, and you both will discover that reason quite soon," Iluzisto's evil voice suddenly said, startling both half-ghosts.
Danny gasped upon finding the evil ghost's still partially distinguishable form right in front of his cell. But he had not pulled his hand back in yet! And with another gasp, he quickly did-or tried to…
"Ah!" the boy cried in fear as the ghost grasped his wrist, the ice-sphere dropping from his hand and shattering on the ground.
Vlad gasped in alarm, jumping to his feet. And seeing the boy about to turn into Phantom, exclaimed, "No, don't morph!"
The older hybrid knew that if Iluzisto saw their ghost forms and saw how they were completely healed, then their possible advantage against this ghost would be no more. Daniel could not morph!
Danny had to fight with all his might to keep himself from 'going ghost', even after hearing the gravity in his arch-enemy's voice. He didn't understand why the man was telling him not to change, but he knew there had to be an important reason for it…
"Let go of me!" the boy demanded, both angry and frightened as he struggled to get his wrist out of Iluzisto's hold. But the ghost was not letting go.
However, Iluzisto wasn't looking at Danny, but at Vlad, somewhat impressed with his quick ability to catch on to things. Or, at least, the spirit suspected that the older crossbreed might be onto something when he told the younger one not to 'morph'.
"You are clever, crossbreed. But I do have ways of persuading you both to return to your other form," he said evilly.
Vlad glared menacingly at the ghost, but said nothing. Still, he was privately confused by the ghost's words. Yes, he had figured out a few things about this creature. After all, he hadn't spent his time in here without thinking about everything that had happened. And it had not taken a lot of pondering for him to realize a few things about this ghost. For one, his main form of attack was making illusions—distorting his victim's mind to make them unable to defend themselves. And two, Vlad had learned before his capture that the ghost's illusions only could harm the victim when he believed them to be true.
But he still didn't understand why Iluzisto had called him 'clever'. Was it possible that the ghost thought he knew something he didn't? But then, what could that 'something' be?
"And you…." Iluzisto wickedly looked back at the boy he had captured by a hand. "You should know better than to stick your hand in the cookie jar….Or should I say out?"
Danny's eyes widened as he watched the ghost produce a blade out of thin air. "W-What are you doing?" he gasped, watching Iluzisto move the blade towards his arm.
"Punishing you," Iluzisto answered simply, his eye curving into the shape of a smile.
"No!" Danny screamed, his struggles returning ten-fold.
"Daniel!" Vlad shouted, not understanding why the boy was freaking out—and why Iluzisto wasn't doing anything yet.
In fact, to the man, Iluzisto was merely looking at the teen while keeping a firm grip on the teen's hand. So why did the boy look like he was about to get hurt…? And more importantly, what was that creature waiting for?
It immediately hit the billionaire why the boy was freaking out. He was making Daniel see some kind of illusion!
But Vlad's eyes widened when he suddenly realized something else. Of course! Iluzisto had just said that he had other means to persuade them to change! And the reason he needed them in ghost form was because his powers, or, at least, his illusion powers only worked on them as ghosts!
However, the man mentally jolted when he recalled the fight at his castle with Iluzisto before his capture. Or, perhaps, this ghost's illusions could only hurt them when ghost. Obviously, he could make both ghost and human see them, since the boy was human at the moment and he was seeing something that wasn't there. But…what if the reason Iluzisto wanted them to turn ghost was because it was the only way his illusions could physically harm them? It would explain why the ghost never really tried to use his illusions on him when he changed human at least that one time yesterday…
Vlad wasn't sure, but he was certain this ghost wanted Daniel in ghost form for a reason.
And when he saw the panicked boy on the very of forgetting his warning and changing into Phantom, the man gasped and this time exclaimed with even more urgency, "Daniel! It's not real! Whatever you are seeing is not real!"
But seeing that the teen was freaked out by whatever Iluzisto was showing him, Vlad suddenly looked on the verge of panicking himself. If his suspicions were right and Daniel morphed, then whatever illusion the boy was seeing would become real. And then he would really be harmed.
"Daniel, you must listen to me! Don't change! It's not real!" Vlad continued to shout at him.
"It looks real!" Danny cried out as he watched Iluzisto positioning the blade right above his wrist. "Stop! You can't!" he pleaded as the ghost finally raised and position the sharp tool so to bring it down swiftly.
"Don't worry, little freak, most ghost can reform their limbs," Iluzisto said with dark mirth.
"Well, I can't! I'm not just a ghost! Please, let me go!" Danny cried out, his now widened blue eyes filled with nothing but terror.
"Oh, then, that's too bad for you…"
"NOO!" Danny screamed as he watched the blade come down on his hand; and in his panic, he switched into ghost form.
"DANIEL!" Vlad screamed, abruptly switching into Plasmius.
But then, unexpectedly, Iluzisto gasped in surprise. And the illusion vanished right in front of the teen's eyes before he could be harmed.
Iluzisto's shocked look darted between the ghost forms of Vlad and Danny. "You two are at full strength?…. B-But that's impossible! No ghost recovers that quickly!" he exclaimed, astonished.
Danny, who had stumbled back and was now pressed against the far wall, said nothing as he trembled and breathed heavily from fear.
But Plasmius looked severely ticked off. "And that proves you have no idea who you are dealing with…. Allow me to give you a sample…"
Before Iluzisto could react, Vlad slid his fingers through the bars and fired a bolt of pink electricity at him. The attack slammed into the ghost, too condensed to be snuffed out by the blow of the cold wind that had attempted to counter it.
Iluzisto was pushed backwards from the hit, but quickly recovered, and glared furiously at the older half-ghost. "How dare you!" he hissed, his silvery-purple eye flashing darkly as he extended a hand towards Plasmius.
Vlad gasped when he suddenly found himself incased in a dome of fire. And the man screamed in a pain as the fire licked his body.
Danny looked wide-eyed at Vlad, not seeing anything that would have caused the man's violent reaction.
But Iluzisto was eager to throw a similarly intense experience at the younger crossbreed as he aimed his other hand at him.
Suddenly, the boy cried in alarm as he was covered in searing flames. However, he reflexively formed a shield of ice. But it was quickly melting against the inferno around him.
Vlad steeled himself against the pain and forced his mind to ignore his instincts as he concentrated. He really hoped his hunch was right….
The instant the black rings washed over him and returned his body to its human form, he felt the effects of the illusion vanish, although he continued to see the flames. But at least, they were no longer burning him. Now, there was no doubt. Iluzisto's illusions could only harm them as ghosts…
Iluzisto saw the older hybrid turn human, and with a growl of anger, dispelled the illusions, leaving both Danny and Vlad panting in a heap on the floor. The ghost stared darkly at the two as they got back to their feet, the younger one quickly taking the older one's cue and turning human.
But then, Iluzisto's anger melted, and the tension in his eye left. With a more relaxed tone ringing in his voice, he said, "I suppose it is my mistake for underestimating you…. But I will see to it that this is the last time…"
With those foreboding words, the ghost turned from them and floated down the corridor.
Vlad grasped one of his burned arms. And although he knew it was not serious and would heal soon since he had sustained them in his ghost form, it still stung badly. He gritted his teeth against the pain, but then suddenly glared at Danny. "You little fool!" he shouted, "I told you not to change!"
Danny, who had not sustained any injuries thanks to his ice powers, looked over at Vlad. The boy was still shaking from the first illusion. He really thought the ghost was going to slice his arm off!
"He had a sharp blade against my hand! What was I suppose to do?" Danny shouted back, more from apprehension than anger.
"What I told you to do!" Vlad yelled back, "If you would bother to use that head of yours, you would have realized that his illusions can only harm us as ghosts! You're lucky his shock stopped him, or you wouldn't have an arm right now! And you would have deserved it, too! Thanks to your stupidity, he now knows his powers don't affect us for as long as it would a normal ghost!"
"I'm not stupid, you jerk!" Danny snapped back. "How was I supposed to know how his freaky illusions work, anyways? But if I'm stupid, then so are you! You went ghost, too!"
Vlad pointed an accusing finger at the teen. "You were screaming at the top of your lungs! You left me with no choice! But you know what? What you did was stupid! In fact, you are a blasted dolt! And, furthermore, it's morph, not 'go ghost'!" he ended with disgust.
"Ugh! Whatever! I'll call it what the heck I feel like calling it! And don't forget we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you!"
Vlad eyes narrowed further and he stomped as close as he could to Danny. "You are extremely lucky we are separated, because if I could reach you, I would break that scrawny neck of yours, you little rat!"
Danny quickly stomped over to the shield. "Not before I'd kick your butt, you bitter, cat-loving jerk!"
In their anger, both hybrids attempted to punch each other, but all their fists did was hit the invisible shield. They both just glared at one another, while ignoring the new pain shooting through their hands.
Vlad was the first to speak. "Do not say a word to me unless you are dying," he whispered angrily.
"How about I not say a word to you at all," Danny growled back.
"Fine," Vlad spat back.
"Fine," Danny answered in the same tone.
They gave each other one last hateful look, before turning from one another and going to their respective beds. They both sat down, and crossed their arms, silently cursing the other.
It didn't take long for Danny's glare to fade, and he looked down at his arms, noticing the red scrape on his wrist that was already starting to bruise from how hard he had struggled in Iluzisto's grip. He gently wrapped his other hand around his sore wrist, and sighed softly.
Now the teen desperately wanted to escape. Iluzisto had to be one of the most barbaric ghosts he had met. There was no doubt the spirit got a kick out of scaring… and torturing his victims. And he had succeeded since Danny was now very scared of him.
If the boy only knew that his arch-enemy felt no differently.
truephan here: Hey, hope y'all liked being pushed around like we did! If not, we have lots of zagging—or zigging if you like that better—in the future! Now, do your own little dance and don't forget to push that little blue button. A surprise might pop up….or might not, but you'll never know unless you do! Until next time!
Pearl: Hmm. Danny almost got his arm cut off. Geez, who comes up with these terrible ways to torture the poor boy? *giggles* Well, thank you all for reading! Let us know what you think! Ta for now!