Pearl: Merry Christmas. Heh! Look, you all get a twisted Christmas gift! Lol! Ah, well, what else can you expect from two writers with evil muses? Anyways, I hope you guys like it. I'll admit, I had fun with this one. But I would… and you'll see why. Heh! Well, enough said over to your other author!
A/N: truephan here: I agree with pearl, well, at least my muse does! Merry Christmas to all you wonderful readers! And thank you for your patience with our being late with updating this story. I had some unexpected serious issues for the past few weeks which ate up most of my spare time. But things are in the healing process enough for us to get to back to the story. And, of course, I hope you find it worth the wait. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: We do not own Danny Phantom.
Chapter 11: Worse than Reality
Vlad quickly turned into his ghost form just before Iluzisto's strong beam hit him in the abdomen. The man went flying back down the hallway and skidded to a halt about a yard from his jail cell.
Danny, on the other hand, did not turn ghost, but had managed to roll away from the attack. However, because the corridor was so small, the energy blast still had managed to graze his leg and the boy screamed in pain.
But seeing Iluzisto aim his staff at him again, the boy quickly got to his feet and finally morphed into Phantom.
However, when he saw the Prison Head's eye gleam with wickedness, Danny knew he had just made a big mistake.
The boy yelped as the spirit closed the distance between them faster than he could blink. Even so, Danny quickly moved when Iluzisto then attempted to jab the needle part of his weapon into his chest.
Now a bit panicked since he knew he was still defenseless and in the line of fire, Danny took off running as fast as his injured leg would let him in the only direction open to him: the opposite one. Too bad it would do him little good, for he was headed toward his prison cell—and, coincidentally, where the older hybrid had also ended up.
Iluzisto just chuckled at the sight. He knew he could easily subdue both crossbreeds with the press of a button; but letting them think they had a chance of escaping his wrath just made things more interesting for him.
The illusionist spirit scanned over to where the older of his two victims was and saw that the man was still on the ground, a hand pressed firmly against his stomach. By the small drops of green blood falling in between the man's hands and his dulled ghostly aura, Iluzisto knew he had gotten a solid hit on him. The older crossbreed was smart, though. He had almost instantly turned into a ghost. He must have known that in his more vulnerable human form, the hit would have at the very least taken him completely out. Then again, to Iluzisto, what was the more vulnerable part, the real prize, was their ghost forms…
Meanwhile, Danny halted right in his tracks and gasped as soon as he saw Vlad's bleeding form. But he then quickly noticed that something else wasn't right about the older hybrid. Plasmius' ghostly aura was much dimmer than it usually was. Now more worried after seeing that, Danny reflexively hurried to the man's side.
The teen helped Vlad to his feet as he fearfully asked, "Are you okay?"
The man glared weakly at him, and the teen cringed and added, "Uh, standard question?"
Vlad was about to respond when he suddenly noticed Iluzisto was just a few yards from them.
Danny also gasped at the sight. How had the spirit moved so quickly from the other end of the hall to them? So not good!
"Drop your ghost form, Daniel! Now!" Vlad quickly exclaimed as he forced his injured and weak body to support his weight.
Danny turned human without hesitation; but seeing the man had not done the same, he quickly asked, "What about you?"
"I'm severely injured. It would be unwise to do so just yet…," Vlad nervously replied as he stumbled back a bit, before supporting his weight on the wall beside him.
The teen swallowed hard and choked a bit when he could see that Iluzisto was getting even closer. But then, why didn't the jerk just turn on their collars? Oh, yeah. He liked all that other torture! Still, he wasn't just going to wait for it! He hurriedly glanced back at their cells. Vlad's cell was left open! And that just gave him an idea.
He frantically, yet quietly, told the man, "Keep him busy. I'll be right back!"
"Sure, I'll talk to him about the weather," Vlad retorted with a roll of his eyes, even though the teen did not hear it.
Iluzisto just briefly glanced after the boy when he ran off towards the older crossbreed's open cell. Hmmm. The boy wasn't that impressive after all, since he just had run away like a pitiful scared animal. No matter. The younger crossbreed had nowhere to run and was defenseless. He had plenty of time to deal with him. But for now, it was time to make the older crossbreed regret everything he had done in the courtroom moments ago.
And seeing Iluzisto close in on the remaining distance between them, Plasmius grinned nervously at him as he asked, "So, how's the weather outside these walls, hmm?"
"It should not matter to you when you will never see anything past these walls ever again," Iluzisto answered as he raised his staff.
But much to the surprise of the illusionist ghost, Vlad quickly darted forward and seized both of the spirit's wrists, stopping him from using that evil weapon to harm him even more. However, the man now knew that he was caught in a battle of strength; and with his powers impaired and with his injury, he was quickly losing. Still, he had no other choice at this point.
Iluzisto stared darkly at the grunting half-ghost as he slowly inched the needle closer to the man's chest in spite of his hold on him.
"Silly creature," he said with a chuckle. "I do not need my staff to take what I want from you…"
Vlad's eyes widened just as he saw his body begin to glow. His energy rapidly began to leave his body and then be absorbed into his attacker. But with a gasp, the man quickly let go of Iluzisto, only to have the illusionist spirit swing his staff right at his face.
"Ahh!" the older hybrid screamed as he spun from the hit before falling to the ground face first.
But before Vlad could even roll over to face his attacker—much less pull himself back up into a stand—Iluzisto jumped on top of him. He then quickly shoved his staff under the man's neck, grasped his staff firmly on either side of Vlad's neck, and yanked it upward.
Iluzisto didn't hesitate to push up against the man's windpipe…
Even as Vlad began to choke, his instincts took over. And knowing that his unfortunate position didn't allow him to push the spirit off of him, he grabbed the thick rod instead and tried to pull it away.
"How long can you crossbreeds go without air in your ghost forms?" Iluzisto whispered darkly in his ear.
"You're insane!" Plasmius shouted, only to hoarsely cough when the staff was pressed firmly against his wind pipe, effectively cutting of his oxygen supply completely.
But before Vlad could panic, he heard quiet footsteps coming towards them. And yet, Iluzisto was so entertained by what he was doing that he did not...
"Hey! Have some leftovers!" Danny, now back in his ghost form, suddenly yelled as he slammed the metal food tray he had grabbed from inside Vlad's cell against Iluzisto's head.
The spirit shouted in pain as he fell right on top of Vlad.
That was enough of a jolt to have energy surge through the man. He quickly jabbed his elbow back, slamming it right into the illusionist spirit's gut. Right then, he got out from under the spirit and got to his feet; but not before grabbing a hold of the staff that the spirit had accidently let slip from his hand.
"What are you doing?" Danny exclaimed when he saw Vlad raise the staff at Iluzisto, the pointed end aimed at his fallen form.
"Let's see how he likes it," the man replied darkly.
"Look, you're wasting time! But if you want to go all revenge-happy, then fine. I'm using this small bit of luck to try to escape. See ya!" Danny quickly said, before sprinting down the cell hall as fast as his injured leg could carry him.
Vlad frowned as he looked up after the boy. And it was when he realized that the door at the end of the hallway was wide open. But hadn't the guards secured it?
No, something was wrong here.
"Daniel!" the man shouted as he realized the truth.
But it was too late.
Iluzisto, who in actuality had never moved from the doorway and had simply been in stealth mode the whole time, suddenly materialized in front of the teen just as he reached the open doorway. The Master Prison Head quickly seized the boy by the throat, and the teen yelped in alarm as he was lifted off his feet.
"You two are too easy," he said with a loud laugh before he used his hold on the boy to quickly absorb his energy.
Vlad gasped as Daniel was completely drained of energy. In fact, the teen unwillingly turned human; and with a fist to his face, compliments of the evil spirit, the boy was knocked right out.
The man instantly glanced down at the 'Iluzisto' on the ground that he and Daniel had supposedly beaten. And he now knew that it was all an illusion even before 'Iluzisto' dissolved before his very eyes, as did the staff from his hands and the appearance of the open door.
The spirit had been playing them from the beginning.
"Did you honestly think I would be that easy to defeat?" Iluzisto asked as he neared him with an unconscious Danny still being held by the throat.
Vlad reflexively became human and took several steps back. Still charged with adrenaline, he ignored the wet warmness still staining his abdomen from his previous injury. He could tell that he had now healed enough for it to not be deadly—but it was still pretty bad. Still, whatever happened, the man was determined to not allow this creature to take his ghost energy.
Not having any other choice, Vlad stood firm and waited for the inevitable. But just as Iluzisto stopped in front of him, the older hybrid briefly glanced at Danny, who still hadn't stirred.
However, it was at that moment that the billionaire finally noticed something about—or more precisely—on Iluzisto. And now that he thought about it, up to now, he had only seen the spirit's hands during their dealings. But now, he could clearly see both of Iluzisto's wrists. And on the wrist holding Daniel—no, not one, but on both of his wrists—he was wearing strange-looking black bands. And why were they pulsing and glowing?
Vlad quickly pushed aside the question, when he turned his gaze back to Iluzisto. But the spirit was just staring at him, as if sizing him up.
This greatly unnerved the billionaire, but he hid it and instead pursed his lips together, and coldly asked, "What is it that you want?"
Vlad was now sure that this spirit's plans had nothing to do with the Observants. He was after something; and whatever it was, Iluzisto believed he could use him and Daniel to obtain it.
"What I want?" Iluzisto repeated calmly. "It is the same thing that you both want…"
Before Vlad could even conclude what he meant, Iluzisto suddenly raised his staff and thrust it right into the man's abdomen. The older hybrid gasped as his healing wound was suddenly reopened by the attack; and as he staggered back and pressed a hand against his freely bleeding stomach again, he began to feel extremely light-headed.
His only chance of not passing out and not risking never waking again was to switch to his ghost form. But that was exactly what the evil spirit wanted.
And by the smug look on Iluzisto's face, he knew he was right.
"Come on, cross-breed. Are you going to chance dying?" he asked amused.
The color was quickly draining from Vlad's face and he shut his eyes, willing himself to not instinctively switch to his ghost form. He was done being manipulated and used by this spirit. And if it meant he was going to die in order to defy this creature, then so be it!
Iluzisto suddenly became angry when he realized just what the man was thinking. "Fool! Change your form, now!"
"I-I will no longer be your power supply, you wretched creature!" Vlad spat out with as much bravado as he could muster under the circumstances. "L-Let's see w-what you t-tell your masters, the Observants, w-when you are one h-hybrid short t-tomorrow."
The Prison Head suddenly yelled angrily and threw Danny's unconscious form at the billionaire. Vlad, too weak to even keep his own weight up, quickly was thrown back with the addition of the boy's weight. As he fell to a heap on the ground, with Danny on top of him, he began to gasp for air. Everything was quickly getting dark. But when he heard the sound of charging ghost energy, he looked up and his blurry eyes widened as he stared at the energy aimed right at him and the boy.
"I am my OWN Master, do you hear me? I answer to NO ONE; especially not the Observants!" Iluzisto shouted in fury.
Vlad managed a weak smirk. "Looks like the illusionist does not want to face his reality…"
"Why you conniving freak!" the spirit growled darkly as he stepped closer to the older hybrid. He quickly grabbed Vlad by the throat; then having no trouble shoving the unconscious boy off, wrenched Vlad up. "You think you can play with me? You dare anger me when I know your every weakness? I am going to make you break, crossbreed! And I'm going to start by pressing a sore spot you think you don't have."
Vlad gasped as Iluzisto raised his weapon again, but to his relief and horror, he did not fire it at him, he fired it at the unconscious younger hybrid on the ground.
"No!" the man screamed as he saw the boy's human body tumble a few feet away from the attack.
But Iluzisto just fired another beam of hot energy at the teen, sending him back even further.
The man suddenly forgot about the fact that he was still bleeding freely as he saw red liquid begin to spill from the teenager's fallen form. And when the evil Prison Head fired yet another shot, Vlad cried out, "Stop it! You're going to kill him!"
"Just your enemy, huh?" Iluzisto taunted evilly, before firing again.
Vlad squeezed his eyes close as he heard the boy's body thump once more. But then suddenly, he morphed to his ghost form and quietly said, "Enough. Please."
Iluzisto's large eye curved into a victorious grin. "You are too fun," he said, before the spirit quickly drained him of his ghost energy.
Vlad gasped softly; but to his surprise, he knew that Iluzisto had not drained him completely, or else he would not have been able to hold his ghost form. And that was in its own sick way, good. Had his energy been totally depleted, he would have unwittingly changed back into his human form, and because of the wound, that would only have meant disaster for his human form.
"We can't have you changing back until that large gash heals. But, since you are more tolerant to injury in this form, let's add a bit more…"
The older hybrid screamed as an energy blast at his chest sent him flying back; so much that he came to a stop only when his back slammed against Danny's closed cell door.
Iluzisto chuckled as he commented, "I wonder if the younger crossbreed knows of your care for him… Or, is it that he knows, and still rejects you? Such irony indeed."
Vlad ignored the comment and looked weakly up at Danny. But to his horror, the boy's motionless and very white body was in a large puddle of blood.
"You…You…" the man choked on his words, certain that the boy was dead.
But then before he could properly react, he saw the sight of Danny's dead lifeless body vanish before his eyes… It had all been an illusion. An illusion simply meant to trick him into changing forms.
Vlad's eyes slowly traveled down the hall and he found Daniel's real form, still motionless on the ground; but there was no blood or signs of any damage aside from his being drained of his ghost energy and his injured leg.
"Oh? Did I just trick you?" Iluzisto teased as he walked up to the man.
Still ghost, Vlad's teeth clenched just before he snapped. With a sudden cry of anger, he sprung to his feet and lunged at the spirit. But before he could even close in the distance between them, a wall of fire appeared in front of the man, quickly acting as a burning barrier.
But knowing it was an illusion, Vlad shut his eyes and willed his mind to mentally dissipate what his eyes perceived as true. It took him only a second; and when he opened his eyes again, the illusion was gone. He locked on his target, just a few feet away; and faster than Iluzisto could react, Vlad drew his right fist back and then swung at the spirit's one-eyed face as hard as he could.
There was a loud 'bam' before Iluzisto cried out in pain, and staggered back in surprise. But Vlad did not let him recover, and rapidly stalked forward, a deadly look in his eyes.
"I told you I did not need my ghost powers to make you pay," he whispered darkly as he brought his hand back, ready to land another punch.
But before he could, Iluzisto focused his now bloodshot eye on the man; and faster than he could react, the spirit pulled out the remote controlling Vlad's collar from his suit and pressed the button that activated it.
A charge traveled through Vlad's entire body, ripping out a scream of agony from his throat. But he somehow focused enough even as he was in pain to glare at Iluzisto and attempt to lunge at him again.
But now, the Prison Head was ready; and just as the older crossbreed came at him, Iluzisto fired another beam of energy at the man's chest, this time knocking him back into his own cell.
Suddenly clouded by his own fury, Iluzisto intensified the strength of the collar and the screaming man fell against the invisible shield in between his and Danny's cell, which strangely enough, intensified the shock going through Plasmius' body...
One of Vlad's hands grabbed against the assaulting collar, while his other hand was against the shield as he unsuccessfully tried to grasp onto something that would help him withstand the agony.
Iluzisto growled and turned from the writhing man to pick up the younger hybrid. As he did, Vlad's cry slowly fell away, and he suddenly passed out, his rings quickly changing him to his human form.
It was only until then that Iluzisto turned off the collar's attack. "Let's see you recover quickly from that one, freak," he spat at the man.
Angry from the pain throbbing through his injured eyeball, he threw Danny on his bed as soon as he had entered the boy's cell. But then he spied something nearby. And remembering he could not let the child keep his loved ones' possessions if he was to keep his personal doings a secret from the Observants, Iluzisto quickly grabbed the blood-stained bracelet and other items and slipped them in his pocket.
And just because he was feeling spiteful, he took Danny's remaining food away and would have done the same with the man's own if it had not been littering the ground in the hallway. They would not be eating anything else until he felt like it!
He quickly locked up the two half-ghost's cells, before storming down the hall. He then placed the pair of keys on their holder; and just before he left, he groaned in pain as he held his eye and thought, "That older crossbreed can sure throw a punch..."
As silence returned back to the cell rooms, the sound of a soft sizzling sound coming from the now flickering shield between the half-ghosts could be heard. And as the transparent barrier continued to turn on and off, the collar around Vlad's neck released a soft fume of white smoke…
Iluzisto was angrily cursing to himself as he stood in front of a mirror and nursed his swollen eye. "Wretched, crossbreeds! They both deserved the power of my wrath and more! In fact, I should have killed the older one instead of just leaving him with a festering wound! He should have known better than to trifle with me!"
He growled a bit more when he then thought of the other. He knew he had overdone it, but, ultimately, they had brought all of it on themselves! They had defied his patience and brought out his ire! However, even then, he had kept in mind that he couldn't kill them, which only had infuriated him more at the moment. They were extremely lucky he needed them alive for his plans—at least, for now. But he knew they would recover enough for the next day of their trial. Still, he couldn't deny he had let his fury get the better of him when it came to the older crossbreed….
But Iluzisto suddenly paused as he muttered, "No matter, I needed to push them to their limits—and make sure that they fear me, anyways…And I am not being disappointed. I am also learning more about the two. I have to admit, the older hybrid's strength is impressive… Any lesser creature would have died with such a serious wound, even when he had been willing to do so…"
As he leaned closer to the mirror to examine his swollen eye, his thoughts turned to the younger crossbreed. The child had surprised him as well. Not only had he dared defy him, but the boy had come to the older one's defense even when he himself was vulnerable. Interesting.
"But not as interesting as his and the other crossbreed's very unique energy," Iluzisto said out loud with a hungry tone of voice. "Still, they indeed are as dangerous as the infernal Council believes…But as soon as I am sure of knowing the intensity of their strength and power, I will finally be able to acquire the needed energy from them to escape my own bonds. And then, I will do them both in with my own two hands!"
As he continued to grumble as he thought about all the ways he could still not only test their strength but bring more suffering on the half-ghosts for their defiance, a clock hand appeared to the left of the spirit and began to spin.
Iluzisto failed to notice it, though; so he also did not know he now had company until the being spoke.
"Having troubles?"
Iluzisto jolted, before whirling to face the new voice. "Clockwork!" he exclaimed in his surprise. But he quickly got over it, and suddenly reached for his staff nearby, and pointed it menacingly at the time spirit. "You are trying my patience, Time Master! You might be the Observants' favorite but I will only take so much of your egotism! And I will only take so much of your barging into my prison without my consent!"
"Favorite?" Clockwork repeated as if it was the only thing he heard, while raising an eyebrow with the word. "I honestly doubt that. In any case, I did not come to measure my status with yours. Although, if it concerns you so much, you could always bow before their feet. I'm sure they will make you their favorite, then."
"Why you…" Iluzisto began, charging his weapon and suddenly firing it.
"Time out," Clockwork said calmly, pressing a button on his staff. He then took a step away from the beam coming at him, before looking back at the frozen Iluzisto.
"Time in."
The Prison Head gasped as his beam collided with the wall instead of the entity at which it had been aimed. But quickly realizing what had happened, he growled and raised his staff again.
But this time, Clockwork raised his own staff, the tip glowing blue as he warned, "Be careful, Iluzisto. I, too, will only take so much of your egotism."
"You come to provoke me, Clockwork, and you expect that I receive you with anything but hostility? Indeed that you have been surrounded by your little clocks for too long! I swear that if these bands on my wrists did not keep my powers suppressed and further allow your time powers to affect me, I would have long since destroyed you!"
"Yes, well, you would not be a prisoner inside your own prison if it were not for your greed, now would you?" But not giving the other spirit time to answer, Clockwork continued in the same serious voice, "I know what you plan to do, Iluzisto. As you said, those bands that the Observants have placed around your wrists for your crimes indeed keep you within the grasp of time. That means, I can see your every move and even those you have yet to make."
Iluzisto quickly closed in the distance between them, his blood-shot eye narrowing at Clockwork. "What? Are you going to tell the Observants of my plans? Do they think they would believe you?"
"You used to be an Observant. Would you believe me?" Clockwork retorted calmly, not making any move to step away from the other spirit.
Iluzisto's glare slightly relaxed, "Perhaps they would believe you. But then, their arrogance could just as easily blind them. After all, they believe their power is unquestionable. Such fools!"
"Indeed," Clockwork agreed, a hint of a smirk tugging on his lips.
Iluzisto studied the time spirit for a moment, before smirking himself. "You are not going to tell them. If you were, you already would have. Being that I am in the time stream thanks to these bands, that means that my actions can directly affect your precious time flow. And that means, you cannot directly interfere. So, then, what? Are you here to give me a choice, Time Master?" he mocked.
Clockwork did not react, and calmly replied, "You already know your choices. And allow me to remind you again that I did not come here to measure statuses, nor am I here to stop you. I simply came because the Observants asked me to help you change the collars on one of your other prisoners for new, stronger ones.
Iluzisto looked confused. "Which prisoner?"
"I believe he is one of your more powerful prisoners. Kvargvid. If you recall, he has been in here for close to a century in Real World time."
"Not that I need help with my prisoners, but why send you?" Iluzisto asked, suddenly suspicious. "Isn't that why they have Okulo as their liaison? Why didn't they send him as usual? Furthermore, why would Kvargvid need his collars changed at all?"
Clockwork replied with no inflation in his voice, "They didn't send Okulo because he does not have my powers. I suppose they believe there is less risk if I simply freeze Kvargvid in time to exchange his collars. And as for their reason, they said it was in order to prevent future problems…"
"And what 'future problems' could that possibly be? That creature's bindings have served their purpose thus far; and as you admitted yourself, he has been here without escaping for close to a human century," Iluzisto asked, still sounding skeptical.
"I never suppose what the Council defines as 'future problems'," Clockwork wearily replied. After all, he was used to the rigidity of the Observants. "So, I am sure that they have their reasons, such as they are."
Iluzisto's eye studied the Time Master before adding with a growl, "I do not like outside interference in my prison. The Council must know that I can easily restrain the creature and exchange his restraining collars myself."
"True, but you know how they are when they make a decision. No matter how petty, they have a proper way to carry it out, Iluzisto," Clockwork replied emotionlessly.
"I see… But since when do they ask you to do petty work?"
Clockwork shrugged. "Since they decided to involve me in one of their pointless trials. Besides, why should I object to carrying out any of their pettiness since I am forced to be here for a time?"
Iluzisto's eye curved into a smile. "Sometimes I wonder if you are as much a prisoner to them as I am."
"Well, every time you wonder that, Iluzisto, I suggest you look at your hands and remember it is you—and not I—who wear their restraints."
Iluzisto glared; but before he could say any more, the Time Master turned from him and headed to the door.
"I believe our time is precious," the time spirit intoned.
"Indeed," the Prison Head muttered as he followed after the time spirit, but he mentally added, "However, I will see to it that you have less of it."
They traveled in silence to the intended cell. Since the jail was split into different cell halls, each one holding about twelve cells, it took their passing of several halls and doors, to finally get to their destination.
As Iluzisto opened the door, Clockwork pulled out four sets of collars, looking like larger versions of the ones that Danny and Vlad wore.
They both stepped in and looked up at a gruesome four-headed creature. And although they could see that all its eyes were a greenish-yellow hue, its heads were all different in color and appearance. One of the heads—and its neck—was flaming red in color and covered in warts. Another was as green as bile, and its neck was dressed in thick scales of the same bile color, which was much tougher than the orange-green scales covering its body. The third was the color of oxygen-deprived human skin, its hideous blue hue playing tag with its many deep wrinkles on its head and along its neck. And lastly, the final head was a solid black with pockets of even blacker craters littering it and its neck, all of which dripped with a yellowish-gray substance, as if it were still recovering from a ravaging pox infection. All four heads shared a single body. And their massive, and tailless, orange-green scaly body took up half of the small cell, while its four legs, equipped with razor sharp claws dug into the slimy concrete it stood on.
But although the ghost known as Kvargvid looked fearsome, it only took another glance to realize the creature had a collar on each of its head and they all had chains that connected to the wall behind the creature.
"P-Prison Head…," the ebony head whispered, while its three other heads recoiled back, as if trying to hide behind the one speaking. But then they noticed the other spirit present and their eyes widened as the black head said in a louder but surprised voice, "You…"
"Silence!" Iluzisto demanded as he raised his staff menacingly at the large creature.
This time, even the ebony head recoiled, the sound of rattling chains revealing just how frightened the ghost was of the Prison Head.
Clockwork stared impassively at the interaction, before looking at Iluzisto with the same expression. "I will have to freeze time in order to do as the Observants have ordered. I think you know what that means…"
Iluzisto glanced down at the bands on his hands, before glaring back at the Time Master. "I do. But that also means you will have to do this on your own. That is, unless you have one of your time medallions."
"Why would I have one of them with me?" Clockwork retorted.
"Then, I'll wait outside," he all but growled before turning away. But then suddenly he turned back and fired a blast at the large creature, who cried out in pain and recoiled away some more as Iluzisto darkly said, "And you better not cause any trouble."
Clockwork watched the Prison Head leave at last before turning back to the shivering ghost. The time spirit stared around the cell for a moment, and then finally spoke, "You have nothing to fear right now."
But the four heads just squeezed their eyes closed while the ebony one whispered to itself and its other heads. "It's not real. It's not real."
"If you refer to my being here, I can assure you, this is real," Clockwork said patiently.
"How can we know? How do we know you are not some illusion meant to torment us?" the black head hissed, suddenly angry. "If you are the Time Master, then why are you here?"
"First thing first. Time out," Clockwork said and time froze. With a bit of levitation and the use of his staff, the time spirit quickly switched out the collars on the creature's four heads for the ones he had in his hands. They looked exactly the same, except they now had a blue glow instead of red; and yet, the collars still had the chains which connected to the wall behind it.
Clockwork tucked away the old collars in his coat and then pulled out a time medallion. He placed it on the ebony head, making the large creature instantly come back to life.
Kvargvid stared wide eyed at the time spirit, before looking down at the time medallion on his neck, while the other heads curved around to also look at the time object.
"I cannot prove to you that I am real, Kvargvid. But I think deep within, you know that I am no trick," Clockwork said seriously.
"Why are you here, Time Master?" the black ghost asked softly, his tired eyes almost glowing with defeat. "Have you finally come to show us mercy? Have the Observants asked you to end our suffering?"
"Your suffering will soon come to an end. That I can assure you," the time spirit spoke soberly. Clockwork looked around the cell walls again, and noticing what was on them, he asked, "Why have you written those things on the walls?"
"So we will not forget," Kvargvid said sadly, glancing at the words on the wall, written in green blood or engraved on the concrete walls by the usage of his claws.
The Time Master smiled calmly. "That is a wise choice."
"It has done us very little good," he replied bitterly, a brief glare on the ebony head's face, while the others gathered around it, as if trying to comfort it.
It was then that Kvargvid finally noticed that the collars on his four heads were new. "Why have you changed our bindings? Are they meant to bring us more agony?" he asked fearfully.
"You will know when the time comes, Kvargvid," Clockwork replied. "Until then, keep to your choices. Do not forget."
The creature looked unsure as the Time Master reached out to him to remove the time medallion. But then with a small sigh, he nodded, before lowering his head to allow the time object to be removed.
In an instant, the creature was frozen back in time. But instead of leaving, the time spirit looked over at a small unused bed at the corner of the jail. He smirked to himself as he floated over to it. And after a quick glance at the object in his hand, Clockwork unexpectedly phased it right into the mattress. However, he then reached into his cloak and pulled out another smaller object. But, this one, he simply hid it right under the mattress….
The spirit glanced back at the symbols on the wall one last time before he finally turned and quietly stepped out of the cell. It was only when he was outside with a frozen Iluzisto that he clicked the button on his staff and said, "Time in."
The illusionist spirit looked over at the time spirit and seriously asked, "Are you done?"
"I am," Clockwork said calmly.
Iluzisto suddenly glared and sneered back, "Then get out of my prison."
The Time Master stared indifferently at the other spirit; but he then he smirked. "Of course. I have no right to interfere in your duties. You are obviously already having enough troubles fulfilling them as it is. I should not distract you any longer…"
The Prison Head's eye narrowed even more, but before he could say anything, the other spirit vanished with another spin of a clock.
"Arrogant fool!" Iluzisto growled, his hands fisting. He glared back at Kvargvid's cell and made a note to punish the ghost later. But remembering he was not finished addressing his injured eye, he turned and stalked down the hallway, in his anger forgetting to lock the large creature's cell room…
By the time Vlad came around, it was nearly night time—not that he knew that. He was actually surprised to even be alive. He had still been bleeding pretty badly when he had turned human and passed out. But as he slowly came around, he realized that there was something uncomfortable pressing against his abdomen.
It took him a moment, but he slowly managed to open his eyes. A soft groan escaped from his lips as all his aches quickly returned. Maybe he should have just stayed unconscious.
Vlad just stared up for a few more seconds as the only thing he saw was blurs of grey. But as his vision cleared, he began to see the colors meld into a light one, a brighter one. And the blurs suddenly turned blue, before he realized they were not blurs at all. But spheres. No, they were eyes…
"Daniel?" the man whispered, still confused.
Danny gave him a small, awkward smile. "Welcome back, Cheesehead." His smile faltered slightly as he muttered, "For a moment I thought you were…"
"Dead?" Vlad asked bitterly, before looking away from the teen as he said mostly to himself, "For a moment, I thought you were, too."
"Huh?" Danny asked. He knew he had passed out after being weakened and punched by Iluzisto—Heck, his head was still pounding him from the strength of the hit. But aside from his severe headache and wounded leg, nothing serious had happened to him. In fact, he had woken up shortly after Vlad passed out and Iluzisto left—not that either of them really knew that.
"Never mind," Vlad muttered as he tried to regain movement in his arms to sit up. But it was then that he remembered the pressure against his abdomen; and although it had let up some, it was still there. But when he realized that the pressure was actually Danny's hands resting on top of a thick bundle pressed against him, he looked up at the boy with a bewildered look.
Danny, having caught his gaze, quickly realized why Vlad was staring at him like that. And with a jolt, he quickly moved his hands away. "Oh, uh, sorry about that. I, uh, well, when I woke up, you were bleeding pretty badly. And I did not know what do to stop it, except for… Well, the bed sheet kinda worked. Or it did work, since you are finally awake and not bleeding."
Vlad just stared at him some more. He was honestly at a loss of what to say. So, Daniel had used his own bed sheet as a pressure gauze on his wound to keep him from bleeding to death? Didn't that mean that he had just saved his life? But why would the child care to do that?
"Why?" was all the man could think to ask.
Danny looked confused, not following the man's question. "Why, what?"
Vlad suddenly pushed himself to sit up; and with a bit of effort, he managed it. "Why did you save me? I'm your enemy, remember?" he said with a grunt of pain. His body was killing him!
Danny rolled his eyes. "Don't read too much into it, Plasmius. I just don't think twice about not letting someone just die. Besides, I'm supposed to be the hero, remember? It's my job to save people," he ended with a shrug.
But although he did try to toss it off as nothing big, the truth was that he had gotten very scared when he saw Vlad like that. He felt like his heart had stopped when he had thought the man was dead.
As much as he disliked the evil half-ghost, he could never imagine seeing the guy die. For some strange reason, it would be like losing an important part of his life. Not necessarily a good part. But, after all, after him, Vlad was the only other true half-ghost. Well, there was Danielle, but… if Plasmius died, things wouldn't be the same. Somehow, though Danny didn't understand why, that thought didn't sit well with him.
Still, a new thought surfaced. And this time, he couldn't deny that. Vlad had always been a sort of motivation for Danny. When he felt like giving up on the 'hero' thing, he remembered Vlad. He remembered how he never wanted to end up like him. And Vlad also made him remember that he had to keep practicing to become stronger, to become better than his arch-enemy. As much as Danny very often tried to deny it, Vlad really was an important figure in his life.
"Then, for once, I am honestly glad that you are that hero," Vlad said with a forced smile. He really did not want to think too much of this. After all, wasn't it bad enough that Daniel was more of a source of weakness for him than he wanted, let alone toy with the silly idea that the boy actually cared?
There was a moment of silence as Vlad removed his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt along his injury to inspect it. He almost cringed at the nasty gash on his abdomen as he pulled the soiled bed sheet from it. Blasted spirit! But Danny was right. It had stopped bleeding. Thank goodness for his ghostly healing powers—and… Daniel.
"Geez, Vlad! That still looks serious! What did you do this time to make Iluzisto so mad at you?" Danny all but exclaimed at the sight of the man's wound again.
Plasmius clenched his teeth at the thought of the illusionist spirit. "Since when has that blasted spirit needed reason to take us an inch from death?"
"Good point; but still. Are you going to be okay? That looks pretty bad. And I guess I should not be surprised, since you were bleeding pretty badly," Danny said seriously, before noticing a sudden dull ache that hadn't been there as badly when he was trying to get away from Iluzisto. Still, he ignored it and added, "But, now that I think about it, it took a little too long for you to stop bleeding… Is that normal for you? I mean, my ghost half helps me heal faster; isn't it the same for you?"
"Yes, It's the same for me, Daniel," Vlad replied, but then fell quiet as he was more focused on trying to tend to his wound. He saw that his clothing was stained with red and green, but mostly red liquid. And it was still wet, and even slightly warm. The man looked over at Danny and realized that because he had been trying to help him his white shirt was also stained red; but so were his hands. And it wasn't even dry yet, either.
"Time really has no influence here, does it?" Vlad said with a small sigh, before grabbing one of his sleeves by the shoulder and ripping it off.
"What do you mean? Is that why you're healing so slowly, then?" Danny pressed as the man began to rip the sleeve some more to make it longer and narrower, before knotting the two newly rented pieces together.
Yes, Daniel," the man calmly replied. "The fact that we are in a realm where time is irrelevant seems to slow down our healing abilities, and therefore, our physical wounds take a bit longer to heal in this realm. Not to mention that I'm sure that having these collars on is also a factor. In any case, since the bed sheet is already saturated, I need something to keep this gash covered until then," Vlad explained as he wrapped the cloth around his abdomen. And with a sharp hiss, he quickly tightened it and secured it.
Danny cringed. "Man, this is getting too much for me. Not only do we have a spirit torturing us for no apparent reason other than to make us suffer, now we also aren't healing as fast as we need to right now."
However, at that moment he felt a throb from his left leg and he remembered his own injury. He cringed again as he gripped it and muttered, "And speaking of slow-healing wounds, my leg is still hurting me…"
At that moment, Vlad glanced up at what the boy was doing and then could plainly see a red stain on the teen's blue jeans.
"Daniel!" Vlad scolded. "You are still bleeding, you foolish boy!"
Danny looked down at his leg and frowned. Even if he had yet to pull up his pant leg to look at it, he could feel that the wound on his leg was pretty bad, especially when he was limping because of it. But when he had woken up and seen how badly Vlad had looked, he had really paid it little mind. After all, compared to the man, his own injury was nothing.
But Plasmius did not share his opinion.
Cursing something under his breath, Vlad ripped off his other sleeve, and Danny had to smirk at that. "Hey, Vlad, think you can afford another shirt after all this?"
Plasmius rolled his eyes. "How can you be even a bit amused while we have such serious threats over our heads?"
The boy's smile vanished with the man's words. He was right. How could he be here cracking jokes when they were being tortured and driven close to insanity or, worse, death? How could he be remotely happy when his friends and sister were… gone?
Seeing the teen lower his head in sadness, Plasmius sighed, suddenly realizing he should not have said that. But he decided not to comment on the matter, and addressed the one before. "Think you can lift up your pant leg without having to rip it? I doubt you can afford another pair."
"How original," Danny muttered, now slightly annoyed how the man's jab was so hypocritical.
Vlad just shrugged humorlessly.
But Danny did not say anymore and did as he was asked. But when he saw his wound, the boy swallowed hard. Man, it was as bad as it had felt. And like Vlad's stomach wound, his leg wound also wasn't healing very fast.
The teen then noticed at that moment that the man was about to wrap the cloth around his now visible, bleeding wound. Danny tensed before he quickly muttered, "Wait. I can do it."
Vlad paused just slightly, before giving the cloth to the teen. But as he did, he advised the teen, "Try not to make too much noise. The last thing we need is to attract Iluzisto's attention again."
Danny frowned in confusion. Noise? How was wrapping his wound going to cause any noise? Still, Danny just nodded, before wrapping the cloth around his leg. He quickly tugged hard on it and, suddenly, wished he hadn't. Still, he closed his eyes and hitched his breath as he leaned slightly forward to withstand the pain and keep himself from crying out. Now, he understood about not making any noise!
Vlad said nothing as he grabbed what remained of the cloth and gave it to the boy. "Clean your hands, my boy. This is the third time I see blood on you; and I must say, it does not suit you."
Danny blinked at him. Third time? The man had seen him with red-stained hands only twice. With his friends' things and now that he had been applying pressure to the man's wound… So, what was the third time?
Of course, Danny did not know about Iluzisto's gruesome trick he had played on the man…
But the boy then remembered how he had felt at seeing the older hybrid in a puddle of his own blood, and a serious look fell back on his face as he answered back, "It doesn't suit you, either, Vlad."
The billionaire's eyebrow hitched before he shook his head in bewilderment. "That's a funny statement coming from the boy who never forgets I want to kill his father."
Danny's face slightly hardened as he watched Vlad slowly slip his suit jacket back on, "It's hard to forget it when you are always saying you will."
"So I am," Vlad muttered more to himself. Now that he thought about it, he really was always saying that. But it was not so much saying it that bothered him, but that he was now realizing that in all this time, he had yet to make that a reality. In fact, he had stopped trying to kill Jack all together. And when he thought about why that was, only one reason came to mind: that boy named Danny Fenton.
Iluzisto was right. The young hybrid was more of a 'sore spot' than he himself really thought. And to his misfortune, that evil spirit had noticed it. But he refused to let it be a trump card against him any longer. He had to start thinking more of himself than the boy again. It was the only way he was going to make it out of here in one piece… and with his sanity.
The billionaire sighed as he turned his gaze back to the teen, who was currently looking down the hallway with a sad—or more like fretful—look on his face.
"What's wrong?" Vlad asked, more from curiosity than concern—or so he told himself.
"Nothing. It's just that… Well, he took them," he answered quietly, not looking at the man. "He took my friends and sister's things. I… wanted to keep them…"
Vlad's eyebrows creased as he looked over at Danny's cell; but the moment he did, he realized something.
"Daniel?" he said, turning his gaze slowly to the boy. "How did you get into my cell?"
The teen quickly looked up at the man in slight confusion, "I thought that Iluzisto lowered the barrier for some reason. When I woke up and I saw you passed out, I kinda panicked because I thought I wouldn't be able to get close enough to you to do something about the bleeding. But it was then that I realized that the barrier was gone. I guess I was too relieved to really question it."
Vlad just stared at the teen for a moment, before suddenly looking back where the supposed barrier was. He then slowly stood and slightly staggered towards the area. He was certain that the barrier had been there before he had passed out. After all, he had slammed and fell against it.
The man lifted a hand towards the barrier. And to his and Danny's shock, Vlad's hand met a solid wall.
"What? But it was not there before!" Danny exclaimed, standing up and limping towards the barrier to touch it. And like the billionaire, he touched an invisible solid wall.
"Strange," Vlad muttered as his mind whirled with what this could mean. Was it some other trick from Iluzisto? Or had the boy done something that he was not aware of?
But before he could question the boy, a gasp fell from both his and Daniel's lips as the barrier suddenly vanished and they stumbled forward, just barely avoiding falling face first on the floor.
"It's gone," Danny said in shock, as he and Vlad were now standing within Danny's cell.
Vlad's eyebrows creased as he silently stared ahead. Could it be that…? The man's eyes widened when the barrier suddenly reappeared under his still raised hand.
"It's damaged," he whispered, but Danny heard him.
"But how?" the teen asked, completely clueless.
Vlad searched his mind trying to recall in more detail at what had happened when he had slammed into the shield. He knew he had been shocked by the collar. But…there was more. The pain. It had intensified from not just Iluzisto increasing the strength of the attack, but also from the moment he had placed his hand against the invisible shield. He had not thought anything of it then. But, now, he realized what had happened.
"The device on my neck short-circuited the barrier, Daniel," Vlad said, a smile curving his mouth.
"Wait, what? How did that happen?" Danny asked, his eyes wide.
But Vlad did not answer him, and his smile slightly widened as he touched the collar on his neck. He thought it had been his imagination, but in spite of the fact that Iluzisto had taken much of his ghost energy, he felt… energized. In fact, for how large the gash on his stomach was, it really should have still been bleeding in spite of Daniel's efforts. Could it be…?
Vlad looked down at his hands; and holding his breath, he concentrated on his powers, which he could now slightly feel under his fingertips.
Danny's mouth gaped open when he saw blue energy appear in the man's hands. "No way…"
The man could no longer contain his grin. "Yes way," he replied as he tried to focus on his powers to intensify them. But when he suddenly hit a barrier that left him unable to push anymore energy out, he grunted in frustration.
"It seems that like the barrier, my collar was only partially damaged. Even so, I think our chances of escaping have just gone up, little badger," Vlad said with a smirk.
Now filled with hope, Vlad all but forgot about his aching body and quickly walked over to the locked cell door. Changing into Plasmius, the man suddenly let his ghost energy increase. Being in ghost form indeed allowed him to make his ghost energy stronger, but it was still limited.
However, Plasmius suddenly frowned with mixed emotions as he suddenly remembered how Iluzisto had directly drained him and Daniel of their energy instead of using that horrible weapon. It most definitely was not a pleasant experience in and of itself, but, in a perverted way, he preferred that method as oppose to Iluzisto's infernal weapon.
Otherwise, there was no way he could be in ghost form right now without first having to take the time to repair his core like right after Iluzisto had impaled it that one time.
But since that was not the case…
Vlad quickly placed his hand around the lock and focused on creating his ghost energy in his hands. All he could manage was blue energy, but it would be enough for what he wanted to do. But just when he was about to melt off the lock, he paused. No, this was not the best move. If he was going to attempt to escape, he had to make sure that if they failed, he could try again. And if he destroyed the lock, Iluzisto would know he had somehow accessed his powers. No, he needed a better strategy.
Vlad turned to look at Danny, who had been staring intently at him the whole time. He was obviously as ready to get out of here as he was.
"Daniel, I'm going to need your help," he told him, though his eyes were more on the boy's collar.
"What do you mean? My collar isn't damaged like yours, remember?" he said, noticing the man's gaze.
"Not yet," he told him with a clever smirk.
Before Danny could question him, Vlad walked over to the barrier and to his delight, it was back on. He then glanced down the hallway, searching within himself. At least it looked—and felt—like the coast was clear. Now would be their chance.
"If the shock from the collar combined with the barrier's energy managed to damage the device around my neck, then we simply need to do the same to yours," he told the teen, but then frowned when the barrier vanished again. "And it will have to be quick, since the barrier is already weak."
"But where are you going to get the electricity to do that? I mean, only Iluzisto can turn on the collars," Danny said, a small flutter of fear in his stomach. He was looking forward to escaping, but he was definitely not liking the idea of having to get shocked in order to get that opportunity.
Vlad grinned at him. "Dear boy, have you forgotten that one of my abilities is the willing of electricity?" he asked, as his hands began to spark with blue electrical energy. "It is considerably weak compared to what I can really do, but it should be enough to tamper with that device on your neck."
"This is going to hurt, isn't it?" Danny said with a deep, but surrendering sigh. This was so not something he would have planned, but if it meant getting his powers back and escaping…
"Possibly," the man replied, his grin growing into an evil one as he approached the boy, who was standing with his back a few feet from the currently non-functional barrier.
"Yeah, and looks like you're getting a kick out of that fact," Danny muttered, glaring slightly as the man grabbed his collar with both his hands.
"Dear boy," Vlad said in a mocking sweet voice. "I would never take pleasure in causing pain to my future son…"
Before the teen could reply, Vlad's hands lit up with electrical blue energy, and the boy tensed in preparation for the pain. But to his surprise, it did not come. The man was somehow keeping the electricity focused solely on the collar. Danny could feel a hot tingle against his neck, but other than that there was no pain.
However, Danny soon realized he had hoped too soon.
The billionaire was trying to surge as much of his energy into the collar; but it was not so easy. With the device around his own neck pushing against his actions, it was actually weakening him to use his powers for too long. But he kept it going as he waited for the barrier behind the boy to come back on; and just when the man thought it never would, he saw a barely visible flicker of energy that had to be the barrier.
"This is where it might hurt, but maybe less if you tuck your head in," Vlad said, instantly tightening both of his hands on Danny's collar before pushing him into the barrier. And anticipating the teen's reaction, Vlad moved one of his hands away from the collar; and dispelling his electrical energy, pressed the hand against the boy's mouth, just as he screamed in pain.
Danny was barely able to pull his chin to his chest like Vlad suggested before his energized collar hit the barrier. The surge of electricity around his collar had suddenly shot down his spine until it reached the other energy his back was pressed against. It felt like he was on fire, but then the pain only intensified as Vlad's electrical energy was suddenly enhanced by the barrier's own energy. It reminded him of the time when he had fought Vortex and his energy barrier had reacted with Vortex's electrical powers, creating an even more powerful surge of pain.
But as Danny continued to feel the onslaught surging through his body, Vlad grunted with the effort. He was quickly weakening from his efforts and Danny's collar had yet to give any indication of being affected enough to be damaged. It was then Vlad realized Danny was in human form and an idea quickly came to his mind.
"Daniel, you need to morph!" he told him with another grunt.
Danny gasped as he felt his vision blurring, but hearing the man's almost desperate command, he forced himself to focus. And he quickly let his energy rings wash over him. Another muffled cry came from the boy's throat as the pain intensified. But suddenly fed up, Danny gripped his own collar himself and he used all his will power to make his powers work.
Vlad's breath hitched in his throat as he soon saw puffs of smoke begin to rise off Danny's collar. "It's working, Daniel!" he exclaimed, no longer able to contain his joy.
But just as Danny's mind began to shut down, the barrier behind the teen finally gave out and the boy fell back; and since Vlad had been pushing against him, the man tripped himself and fell to the ground, only barely managing to not fall right on top of the teen.
Vlad, quickly turning onto his back, just laid there as he waited for his heavy breathing to slow down. He could hear Danny's own hard intake of air right beside him.
"Did it… work?" Vlad asked through his breathing, draping a hand over his eyes as he suddenly felt really tired. Yet, he also felt like his abdomen was healing thanks to having regained some control of his powers again!
Danny, who was also lying on his back with his eyes squeezed close, said nothing for a moment. He was trying really hard not to pass out. That had really been painful and weakening. And it did not help matters that he had been feeling weak from Iluzisto's energy drain. But as he began to feel a little better, in fact, he was recovering a bit quicker than he had lately, Danny began to realize something had changed within him.
And when he slowly opened his eyes and raised a hand, watching how he was able to make sparks of green energy come out of it, he grinned. It took him some more effort, but he soon had his entire hand encased in his energy.
"I gotta admit, Cheese Head. You sure have your moments," he said to the man as he turned his eyes to him.
Vlad looked over at him as well, and smirked. "And I have to admit, your stubbornness sometimes pays off, you little rat," he answered, though his smirk betrayed him, and only confirmed that there was never any real insult behind his remark.
Danny knew the man was referring to the effort he had put to make his powers work again; but he just rolled his eyes.
The two didn't even bother to get off the ground; and for Vlad to do that, Danny was sure the man had to be exhausted, maybe more than he was.
But after a few moments of silence, Plasmius suddenly spoke again.
"Daniel, if you could have anything you want at this precise moment, what would it be?"
Danny looked over at the man, confused. "Why?"
"Just answer me," he replied seriously, looking at the boy as well.
Danny looked back up at the ceiling, as sadness shrouded his eyes. "I want to get out of here so that I can at least save my parents…"
"Freedom," Vlad said soberly, his mind suddenly drifting to another thought. And now, he was sure that what he thought was true. The man quickly sat up, and looked down at the teen, "Daniel, I asked Iluzisto something along those lines. And you know what he told me? He said he wanted the same thing we did. Daniel, Iluzisto is not just another of the Observants' workers. He's a prisoner. He is a prisoner like us. And he wants freedom."
Danny sat up, looking at Vlad in disbelief. "But why would the Observants let someone as powerful as that guy be in charge of this place? Why would they risk letting him do whatever he wants?"
"The Observants are arrogant at best," Vlad said bitterly. "It seems that even when one of their own kind has committed a crime for which they had to condemn him, they still believe him to be worthy of special treatments."
"It's hard to believe Iluzisto's actually an Observant. Then again, he's a big a jerk as all of them. It seems all spirits are evil jerks," Danny muttered angrily, thinking of Clockwork as well.
"That is not what concerns me, Daniel. You see, after you fell unconscious, you know I had another tussle with Iluzisto. And one of the things I noticed was that he wears these glowing bands around his wrists. And every time he uses his powers, they glow brighter. I do not think he can do as wants as he lets on. I… painfully confirmed that when I told him that the Observants were his masters."
"Oh, now I see why he beat you to a pulp," Danny muttered, almost shivering as he imagined how ticked off Iluzisto would have been from that comment.
Vlad looked away for a moment, as the image of the dead young hybrid came to his mind. But he quickly forced his mind to focus again, and continued, "He wants his freedom, Daniel. And he believes he can use us to obtain it. And I understand why now. Iluzisto is much more powerful than I originally believed. Those bands must be keeping him from using his powers to their fullest. So, you see, I think he needs to be at full power to escape those bindings. And with his ability to extract others' ghost energy, he has the chance of doing so."
"So, then why did he not escape before?" Danny asked. "From what I heard, we are not the only two in here."
"That's because the others in here are not half-ghosts. Isn't it obvious, my boy? It only takes so much to defeat a ghost. You fight them all the time. Have you not notice how once you have defeated them, they do not return for a few days or so?"
"Yeah…," Danny mumbled, as he thought of all the ghosts he fought. Vlad was right. They did not show their faces for a while after they were defeated—well, except for the Box Ghost. But Danny did not exactly 'defeat him'. He would just suck him into the thermos…
"It's because ghosts cannot regenerate their lost energy," Plasmius continued. "They have to wait for their bodies to absorb it from the ambient energy in the Ghost Zone. And the process takes some time. That is also why ghosts cannot just stay in our world indefinitely. They need the energy in their natural home to stay strong and keep themselves from fading out of existence."
"Wow…," Danny muttered as he thought about how much Vlad knew that he did not.
"But do you see now? Because we are half-ghosts, because we have the ability to keep our ghost half's dormant while our cores have the capability of regenerating our own energy, we do not have such a flaw. If Iluzisto attempted to extract the energy from other ghosts, he would only be able to do it once, and most likely that ghost would be so drained that it would fade from existence. But when it comes to us…"
"He has an unlimited supply of power," Danny finished, glaring slightly. "But then, why hurt us if he wants our energy? Why doesn't he, uhm, just take what he wants when we are at nearly full strength? If we are too weak, it'll be like, uhm, him getting a salad instead of a steak."
Vlad squinted one eye and half-frowned with the allusion.
Danny cringed at the older hybrid's response and added, "Uh, sorry about that. I'm just still so friggin' hungry!"
Vlad rolled his eyes, but still replied, "Well, besides the fact that I think he's a very sadistic spirit, that's a good question." He paused a bit in thought before adding, "Maybe he's testing us. You know, seeing how much bang he's going to get for his buck."
This time, Danny rolled his eyes, "Hey, at least my food comment was about something we could use here!"
"Very funny, you little rat," Vlad dryly said. "But I could say at least that he's hurting you because of that infernal stubbornness of yours!"
"Yeah, as if you were the model of cooperation!" Danny quipped back. "Still, if you're right about the testing thing and the fact that he wants unlimited energy, that just gives me even more reason to high-tail it out of here."
Danny got to his own feet as Vlad did the same. He could feel his now slightly reawakened powers helping him recover a bit quicker, and by the look of Vlad's quick movements, he felt the same.
"I'm surprised you told me all of that," Danny said as they stopped in front of Vlad's cell door.
"I did not plan to do so," the man admitted. "But I decided it was best to tell you, so that you will have all the more motivation to keep Iluzisto from draining your powers. You give in too easily."
"Hey!" Danny protested. "You just said that I was the stubborn-type! Besides, the guy is nuts! I can't help that I get too close to him by accident!"
"Yes, well, try harder not to have any 'accidents'," Vlad said dryly.
The teen scowled slightly, but decided to drop the topic and asked, "So, what's the plan?"
"We get out of this cell, and then we get out of this prison without being caught," Vlad said simply.
Danny blinked in surprise, before sarcastically replying, "Oh, really? That's all? Why didn't I think of that?"
Vlad shot him a dry look. "We only have limited access to our powers. We barely know where we are. And we have a deranged spirit trying to use us for his own gain. Do you have a better idea?"
Danny shrugged. "Well, I never said I didn't agree with whatever the plan really is, you know."
"Good," Vlad said as he went over to the still nonfunctional barrier and crossed over to Danny's cell. He glanced down the hallway again and still saw it was empty. Still, he squatted down in front of the small door that Iluzisto had used to slide in the food. And finding the small latch that held it closed, he quickly zapped it with a bit of his ghostly power. It did not damage the lock or small door, but it had loosened it enough for Vlad to open the food door.
"Daniel, do you think you can access your ice powers?" the man suddenly asked, before standing up and heading back over to his cell again.
Danny looked down at his hand and concentrated. It took him a moment, but he suddenly felt his cold power travel towards his hand and leak out. "Yeah, but not enough to use it in a fight," he told him.
"How about enough to mold it into something small, say a key?" Vlad asked.
Danny frowned. He had never tried to mold his ice powers into something so detailed. "I can try," he replied with a small shrug. "But how am I going to do that exactly?"
Vlad gestured the boy to come closer to the man's cell door. They pressed their heads against the bars, allowing them to just barely see the keyhole on the other side of the door. "If you can get your ice energy to mold into the shape of the lock, I should be able to hold a barrier around your ice energy long enough to turn it without it breaking."
Danny nodded in understanding. "Okay, let's give it a try, then." He took a deep breath before pressing his body against the bars and sticking his right arm out. Using his pointer finger, he forced his ice energy out, quickly freezing the lock.
"No, Daniel, try to keep your energy from hardening until it is molded inside the keyhole, otherwise, you will just freeze the lock," Vlad said, as he looked at the boy's actions, before occasionally glancing towards the dark hallway.
Danny didn't reply as he used his ghost energy to melt the ice covering the lock and then tried again. He tried several times, each one making him more frustrated when he failed.
Vlad was beginning to doubt this would work. The boy obviously did not have such subtle control over his powers. But just when he was about to try something else, he saw Danny suddenly manage it.
His ice powers traveled slowly into the keyhole, looking more like plain energy than ice. And it was only when his energy had filled the hole completely that he allowed it to freeze inside. He let the ice form a little further out so that Vlad could grip it as he would a key.
"Not too shabby, Daniel," Vlad said with a smirk. "But you could have gotten it on your first try if you would simply join me."
Danny rolled his eyes. "Geez, Vlad. Even when we are trapped in a cell, you still can't resist, can you?"
"I believe in grasping each opportunity, my boy," Vlad quipped back.
"Whatever, Plasmius. Just hurry up and do your part."
"So, that's a 'no' then?" Vlad asked with dramatic sigh.
"Unless you want to train me out of the kindness of your heart instead of wanting to do it in exchange for me renouncing my father?" Danny replied, a slightly hopeful smile on his lips.
Vlad let out a small, mocking laugh, before he turned his attention to what they were doing.
"I guess that's a 'no'," Danny muttered, slightly annoyed.
Vlad used just a bit of his power, for once looking like he was deeply concentrating to accomplish his feat. But as the blue energy encased the ice-made key, it began to melt. The man cursed, realizing that the ice was just not thick enough to withstand even his weaker energy.
"Quick, Danny, use your ice powers to oppose my energy," Vlad said, and Danny quickly obeyed.
They heard a slightly hissing sound as Danny's ice energy met Vlad's hot energy, a small amount of steam forming from it. But as they heard the cracking of the ice as Vlad turned the key, both half-ghosts cringed, fearing that it would give before the latch was unlocked.
But just before it gave way, a 'click' echoed in their ears and the door slightly creaked open.
"Yes!" Danny and Vlad exclaimed at the same time, only to quickly stare at each other at how alike they sounded.
"Okay, that was creepy. Don't do that again," Danny said seriously.
"Agreed," Vlad replied, thankful that his ghost form hid the blush on his face from having sounded so childish.
The two sobered up as Vlad pushed the cell door opened and they stared down at the eerie hallway.
But then the billionaire spoke, "Wait here for a moment." And before Danny could protest, the man quickly walked down the hall, soon vanishing where the light of candles on the walls ended and darkness began.
Danny shifted nervously as the seconds began to mount up and Vlad did not return. But just when the teen was about to go after him, the man returned, with a set of keys —the ones belonging to their cells that Iluzisto hung beside the door.
"Before we do this, there are two things I need you to remember, Daniel," Vlad said, before Danny could question him. The teen did not understand why the man needed those keys when they were already out of the cells.
"Okay, but can't it wait until we get out of here? And why do you have those keys?" Danny asked, confused and eager to just get this over with.
"You have to understand that even now the odds are against us," Vlad said seriously, before turning and heading over to Danny's locked cell door and opening it with the key. Now, both their cells were wide open with the small door for the food trays on Danny's side opened as well.
"That is why I am taking precautions," the older hybrid continued, as he left the key in Danny's door and looked back at the boy. "If we fail to escape, we have to make sure we will have the chance to try again. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"
Danny looked down at the open door for the food tray, and then at the open cell doors. It clicked almost instantly. That door for the food tray was large enough. Well, then, that was more like Vlad. Even when there was nothing for which to plan, the man still found something to plan. But he had to admit Plasmius had a good point and he could now see what he was trying to do. If they did fail, Iluzisto would just believe that he had left the food door open on Danny's end and that the teen had somehow slipped through it. Or something like that. The point was that it would at the very least deter the Prison Head from finding out that the way they had gotten out of the cells was because they now had some control of their ghost powers again.
"Okay, I get it. And what you're trying to say is that no matter what happens, we cannot let anyone know we can use some of our powers again," Danny concluded, looking back at the man.
"Yes," the man replied, a small smile on his face from how quick the boy had picked up on everything. But he sobered again as he then said, "Our limited use of our powers is the only thing we have to our advantage right now. And we have to make sure it stays that way. So, if by misfortune we do get caught trying to escape, no matter what happens, Daniel, do not use your ghost powers."
Danny nodded, his lips firm with determination as one part of Vlad's words engraved in his mind:
No matter what happens.
Pearl: Wow… Vlad and Danny working together. That is always shocking, isn't it? But, heh, knowing the hybrids… well, let's see how long it lasts. In any case, I hope you all liked this one! Thank you for your support! And… ehm… my muse would like his x-mas gift now… *glances down at review button and giggles* Merry Christmas and God bless on this joyous day!
A/N: truephan here: Well, dear readers, did you enjoy having us knock you out of whack after all that waiting? Isn't that called getting a lump of coal rather than a toy today? Well, of course, we would rather you think that you were happy that we messed with you as much as Iluzisto messed with the two hybrids—even it that means that you're, well, a bit creepy! So then, join the club, because we enjoyed messing with you and giving you this unusual Christmas present! Until next time, and don't forget to give us our present and push that blue button down there!