Phantom: Hey everybody!
Trainer: yeah, been a while.
Phantom: sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I got tired and didn't feel like doing it. If I write like that, then the chapter won't be written well.
Trainer: that… is true. But you left your story at an important part. So I want to hear what happens next.
Phantom: you will, you will. First, there is something I would like to say; a dedication if you will.
Trainer: well get on with it.
Phantom: While I was away for my school's String Retreat, we got word about my strings teacher. A few chapters back, I made a dedication to her about finding out she was having a baby. Now, I would like to dedicate this to some more good news about her; she had her baby while I was away! I'm so happy for her. Perhaps I should name a character after her and her child?
Trainer: well, it's your story. As long as you don't make it too hard/difficult. Then we'll have a problem.
Phantom: ok, ok. But there's something I've been meaning to find out.
Trainer: um, there are a lot of things you want to know. What is it?
Phantom: It's Ghostwriter's name before he died.
Trainer: what about it?
Phantom: Everyone calls him 'Andrew Riter' as his name before he died and not that I don't love the name, but where did it come from? Hey! To all you readers out there, can somebody tell me where this name came from?
Trainer: actually, I would like to know that too.
Phantom: so we agree on this. Ok. We'll see you all at the bottom. K?
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom and some ideas are owned by Pearl84 and Truephan, but the plot is mine!
Chapter 10: Plans for Little Badger
Vlad awoke early the next morning. Although his dreams were uneventful, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he was getting. In fact, it was because of this feeling that he really, really wanted to check up on Daniel and make sure he was alright.
He took a quick shower, got dresses in a handsome (and utterly predictable) black suit, and tied his hair back into a ponytail before he headed down the hall to Daniel's room.
When he got to the room, he flung the door open with such speed that he nearly fell forward and onto the ground. As he caught himself on the door-frame and looked up, he let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding in a long drawled out sigh.
Danny was still in the bed where Vlad had left him last night. He still looked calm, even though he was battered and bruised and covered in bandages and ointments.
Vlad composed himself as he straightened his suit jacket and walked over to the large bed. He looked down on the slumbering and oblivious boy. "How is it that this boy, this one boy who has shown that he can be powerful yet merciful, wary yet trustful, and dangerous yet kind, be so sad, hopeless and at anyone's mercy?" Vlad thought to himself.
"Is this even the same boy? Is this really Daniel before me? The same Daniel that has defeated Pariah Dark, the Ghost King. Who mocks Skulker when a blade is put to his throat. Who showed that he was willing to forgive the things that I had done. That had beaten his and other ghosts' schemes. It really does seem impossible at time as to how fragile Daniel is at times. Still such a child," Vlad mused as he brushed some of the boy's ebony hair out of his face.
How it managed to continuously fall in Daniel's face, with or without a wind blowing, was beyond Vlad's comprehension or care for that matter. All that mattered at this point was seeing to Daniel's wounds, bandages and overall health.
The older hybrid brought a chair over to the bed and headed to the bathroom to retrieve the first-aid kit. As he returned, he held the first-aid kit under his arm while he had a syringe in one hand and a tube of glowing white ointment in the other.
He sat down in the chair and dropped the first-aid kit on his lap. He then took the tube of glowing white ointment and began to fill the syringe.
Vlad knew exactly what the substance was; even if it was diluted. Daniel knew all too well what it was as well. It was that white substance that Vlad had shown him on their trip to Vlad's personal greenhouse. It was the same substance that the older hybrid had used to help Danny recover from his first near-death experience and repair his abused/ hurt vocal chords a few months ago.
Even though the substance was never directly touching the billionaire, he could still feel the intense cold that radiated off of it. But then again, even the slightest thought of the ointment sent a chill up his spine; and he never found it fun.
Vlad placed the now empty tube down and lifted the filled syringe. Vlad visibly paled. He was never one to be fond of… needles. Taking a deep breath, Vlad leaned over the younger hybrid; the syringe poised to strike its' target.
The boy's icy, yet dormant, core.
Vlad wished he could administer the glowing white liquid in some other manner; like as the cream he could make it or a simple pill! Or at the very least, he wished he didn't have to put the needle into the other hybrid's already fragile core. His arm or shoulder would have been preferred.
But, alas, it had to be the core. This version of the ointment was made especially for core repair. True, the substance itself was dangerous and could cause problems if exposed to the skin for too long, but Daniel's core was damaged and needed to be repaired quickly. Otherwise, who knew if the boy would ever heal?
Vlad steadied himself and searched for that familiar feeling that was Daniel's dormant core. When he found it, he placed the tip of the needle on the boy's skin.
"Now, this may feel uncomfortable, Daniel, but I'm doing this for your own good," Vlad said and then he plunged it into Danny's chest.
Vlad had remained paled the entire time. He emptied the contents of the syringe into the icy core and removed the needle. He didn't move, he didn't breathe, and he didn't do anything. Vlad was as still as a statue, waiting for a reaction, but nothing happened.
He had half expected the act of another needle entering the boy's core to shock him awake, but… it didn't. Danny simply lied there while the side effect of a glow encompassing his form came and went within a few seconds. I had looked like the needle and medicine hadn't affected the younger hybrid at all.
Vlad sighed. "Perhaps a few more doses will help. I'll give him one per day until he awakens and we can properly test his health," Vlad thought to himself.
Vlad continued with his work until he had removed, cleaned and re-bandaged all of the boy's wounds. As he was re-packing the first-aid kit, he noticed the other glowing objects in the room; the three books. The top one, Daniel's book, was glowing a little bit brighter.
Vlad smiled at this. It wasn't a big smile, but it was large enough for someone to know he was at least slightly pleased about something. And he was. He might not be able to fully understand these books or their purpose, but he did know that the books were connected to and reacted to the hybrids. Vlad hypothesised that if Daniel's book returned to its full strength (or at least looked like it had) then Daniel would have as well.
With that in mind, the billionaire grabbed the book as well as the first-aid kit and left the room. He wouldn't be staying around the other halfa all day. Yes, he would check up on him every few hours but it is best to have a warning system. And what better than an item that reacts to him?
Vlad wanted to learn more about these books and as long as he had them, he would make use of them. As Vlad headed to his dining room, he thought of all the things he could try and do today; all the while oblivious to the pair of red glowing eyes watching him, until they disappeared.
Back at the Fenton house, Jazz was awake bright and early. Like Vlad, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen. It wasn't a school day (thank god) and that meant that she had today to find her brother. If she did, she would bring him home. If she didn't however, then she needed a good cover for Danny.
Thanks to Tucker yesterday, they at least knew that Vlad was still a possibility. Which left the questions; who was going to confront Vlad and what kind of excuse could they use to cover for Danny if he needed to recover more?
Jazz sighed. She knew the answer to the first question. It would be her. If Sam did it then she would just rush over there and shoot first ask questions never. If Tucker did it… ok, there was no 'if Tucker did it'. He would be too afraid to even pick up the phone let alone accuse Vlad of having her brother.
Jazz sighed as she thought back to yesterday and what they had found on the little metallic bug.
Sam and Tucker nodded. "Just in case, let's see what we can get out of this little guy," Tucker said as he grabbed the metal bug from Jazz and got to work.
"Ok," Tucker said, "here. We. GO!" suddenly his PDA's screen was filled with millions of ones and zeros as the encrypted code of the spy bug was broken down.
"Well, what's it say?" Sam asked, peering over the Techno-geek's shoulder.
"Give me a minute to actually decrypt it, Sam. This isn't as easy as it looks. This thing is state of the art, with like twenty different types of firewalls, fail safes and more! One wrong move and the bug could literally explode like that bracelet Danny had had," Tucker said. Looking through the codes again and again, Tucker was starting to get annoyed.
Jazz picked up on it and asked, "What's wrong, Tucker? Did something go wrong?"
Tucker sighed and looked at the two girls, "well, both yes and no. first of all, I got through all the things I mentioned earlier."
"Well that's great," Jazz said happily.
"Yeah, but then I got stuck," Tucker said, looking back at his PDA. "I can't get past this last section. If I can't, then we'll have to give up on this little guy. And just for the record, this thing was harder to crack then that bracelet from before."
"That's… not so great," Jazz admitted as everything her friend had said began to sink in. "Wait! What was this last section that you could get by?"
Tucker looked at the red-head and said, "A password. But I doubt that you could figure it out."
"Oh, give me that," Jazz said as she ignored the annoyed 'hey!' and snickering in the background.
Sam then asked, "What are you doing Jazz? Do you know what the password is?"
Jazz just gave the Goth girl and Techno-geek a smile that could have easily been Danny's and said, "I know that cheese head pretty well. There are several guesses that I have for his password, but only three could work. We might want to keep them in mind if there is more than one password."
"Um," Sam said, "I don't know what's creepier. The fact that everyone in your family seems to have the same intense smile when you're 'in the zone' or the fact that you know what Vlad is thinking."
"Yeah, that is kind of… of… what's the word?" Tucker asked his friend.
"Fruitloopy?" Sam supplied with a grin.
"Yeah, that's it," Tucker laughed.
Jazz frowned and said, "ha, ha. Very funny, but I'm serious guys. Tucker, just how many passwords are we talking here?"
Tucker looked at his PDA over Jazz's shoulder and said, "Hmmm, about… two, maybe three. Each one is different. And… it looks like they were updated recently. You really think you know what the passwords are?"
"Definitely," Jazz said. "What does Vlad do and want more than everything else?
Sam smirked, catching on. "He wants to kill your dad, marry your mom, and make Danny his son/ evil apprentice… oh and he wants to buy the Packers." Sam scoffed, "Not happening, any of it."
Jazz nodded. As she typed in her ideas of the passwords, Tucker and Sam watched with trepidation. As she typed, they saw what the passwords were: Bumbling-oaf, Maddie Masters, Danny Masters.
The system processed the entries in seconds, but to team Phantom, it felt like hours. As the passwords began to be accepted, the group began to feel their hope rise, until the last password was denied.
Sam hit the table and yelled, "DAMN! I thought we had it!"
Jazz sighed, but then got an idea. She began typing again but instead of typing in Danny Masters, she typed Daniel Masters. Tucker's eye lit up as he exclaimed, "Jazz you're a genius! Vlad never calls Danny 'Danny'. He always refers to him as Daniel!"
With the press of a button, they had complete access to the small devices' systems. Everything of course was still in Vlad's little codes, but some of it was recognizable. Small videos, audio, and examinations from the past few weeks. Other than that, it was pretty useless.
The trio fell back into their seats in disappointment. All three thought, 'well that was a waste in time'. Jazz placed the PDA of the table while Tucker rubbed his temples. Sam was so annoyed that she punched the table again; right where the PDA was.
"Dude! I still had three payments on that one!" Tucker screeched as he saw the Goth girl punch his device.
"Sorry, Tucker. I'm just so mad about everything that I –" Sam started but was interrupted by a small beeping. When they looked back at the PDA (which actually survived Sam's fist), they saw that a new message came onto the screen. It was a homing signal.
"Tucker?" Jazz asked, "What is it doing?"
Tucker picked up his hand-held and smiled. "This is great! It's sending out a homing signal. Not just one, but two!"
"Two? Why would it send out two? That doesn't make sense," Sam said nonchalantly.
Tucker scratched his head. "That's… a good question," he admitted. "But I think I know the reason. One of them is for Vlad's home in Wisconsin, you know, so that it can return if it needs to be repaired. The other is for some target called… 'LB'. What on earth could 'LB' stand for?"
Jazz face-palmed and said, "It's what Vlad sometimes calls my little brother. I overheard one of their fights and he had called him 'Little Badger'. 'LB' stands for 'Little Badger', meaning that the target for this spy bug was Danny!"
Sam's eye lit up with an old spark as she said, "can we track Danny with this thing?!"
Tucker's eyes did the same as he said, "yes, yes we can! If I just trace the signal to its origins, and… done. Hey we were right! Danny's at Vlad place in Wisconsin. Vlad was the one who helped Danny!"
Jazz smiled but thought to herself, 'Vlad better not hurt Danny if he knows what's good for him. Also, how did that fruitloop get his little spy to continuously follow Danny's signal?' That didn't matter right now. What did was the fact that they now knew where Danny was, and nothing was going to stop them.
Jazz rubbed her temples as the memory faded. God she was getting a headache from all this. Yes, they knew Vlad had Danny, and she could only hope that Danny was ok. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was just after 8:00 am. Hopefully, Vlad was awake by now and wouldn't just ignore the phone.
She picked up her cellphone up and dialled an all too familiar number. Then she waited.
*ring* *ring* *ring* *click*
"Hello? Masters Residence," said a voice that Jazz recognized as the butler from the reunion. How she could remember someone after only one encounter was beyond her.
"Hello?" the red-head said. "Is Vlad Masters there?"
Jazz heard the other man shuffle a little before he said, "Who is this? Do you have an appointment with Mr. Masters?"
Jazz frowned but replied, "No, I don't have an appointment and I don't think I require one. If he isn't home at the moment, I can leave a message. Just tell him that Jasmine Fenton called and that I want to talk to him."
There was a long pause and Jazz swore that she heard someone else on the other end speaking with the butler. Then, she heard a shuffling sound that signalled that the phone had been passed to another person.
"Hello, Jasmine," came the suave voice of the billionaire, and Jazz smiled in slight victory.
Vlad had just finished his breakfast and was about to go and check on Daniel when he heard the phone ring. Finally, Derek picked up the phone. Unfortunately, Vlad was too far away to hear the person on the other end of the phone. But he could hear Derek loud and clear.
"Hello? Masters Residence," said the butler from the kitchen.
Vlad decided to move closer, just in case he was needed to take the phone. As the older half ghost entered the room, he saw Derek frown slightly. Either the person on the line with him was someone who was an enemy to Vlad himself or they were a stranger to Derek.
The he heard the butler say, "Who is this? Do you have an appointment with Mr. Masters?" Yep, definitely someone Derek didn't know or remember.
Vlad was finally close enough to hear the person on the other end as they said, "No, I don't have an appointment and I don't think I require one. If he isn't home at the moment, I can leave a message. Just tell him that Jasmine Fenton called and that I want to talk to him."
Vlad moved in while Derek put a hand over the speaker to the phone. Vlad then whispered to the butler, "Derek, hand me the phone. I'll take care of it from here."
Derek nodded and returned to his duties. Vlad didn't see it, but Derek was immensely relieved to not have to face the person on the other end. Surprisingly, Derek felt he knew this girl named Jazz from somewhere, he just couldn't remember where. Oh well.
Vlad watched as Derek left and gave a small sigh. He then returned his attention to the phone and spoke into the device, "Hello Jasmine."
"Hello, Vlad. I'm just going to get straight to the point, I know you were the one who saved Danny from the Guys in White," Jazz said. Then she paused before she exploded, "You better not have hurt him Vlad. If you have done anything to harm him I swear I will-"
"JASMINE!" Vlad yelled, instantly silencing the girl. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Jasmine, listen to me. I haven't done anything to him but help him. Those infernal government agents did quite a number on him."
"Is… is he… ok?" Jazz asked. All other thoughts gone.
Vlad sighed and replied, "As far as I know, he will recover. However, he has to remain here to be treated. I believe you already know the reasons why." And he heard a small 'yes' on the other end. "now, I'm sure you have thought about this, but Daniel will need a reason for his absence in Amity Park. Do you have any plans thus far?"
"Actually, I did," the red-head replied, surprising Vlad. He hadn't been expecting her to say that, but he might as well hear her idea before he revealed his own. "Since I was right that it was you who saved Danny, I thought that maybe I could say something like he was staying with you for the time being. It wouldn't be weird since you are a 'close family friend' and all," Jazz finished.
Vlad rubbed his chin. He had to admit, that was pretty good. Not completely well thought out, but still pretty good. "Not bad, Jasmine, but have you thought of a reason as to why Daniel might be at my place, here in Wisconsin?"
He heard Jazz on the other end mutter under her breath and he just smiled. He had her beat. "Alright, Vlad. I know you've got something up your sleeve, so let's hear it," Jazz said.
Vlad chuckled. It was just too easy to manipulate Jasmine and her brother sometimes. "Now listen carefully. If you're going to tell people that Daniel's here, tell them it's because he got injured while his parents were away. I had stepped in and offered to care for him while you went about your business and school. Oh, and you should tell them that you'll be visiting often. That way you can come and go without any worry of suspicion."
"That could work. That way, no one will ask why Danny and I aren't in school. I can even get his homework and such to him or get his teachers to send it to him via e-mail. But that means I'll have to come over soon," Jazz said.
Vlad rolled his eyes. Of course it would work, he planned it. "Yes, well, I'll await your arrival," he said.
"Oh, you'll have to wait until I can pack some of his things as well as tell his teachers that he'll be recovering at your place," Jazz said smugly. "Bye, Vlad" and then he heard the phone hang up.
Clever girl. But she had to agree to his plan. It was the best thing for Daniel at the moment, plus, it didn't hurt that Vlad got something out of this too.
Daniel's secret was safe and now the boy had more people watching over him while he was here; with limited access of course. Now it was time to check up on said boy. Vlad hadn't gotten any warnings from the book yet, but he always felt troubled when it involved the younger half ghost.
Vlad climbed the stairs and walked down the hall to the young halfa's room. He opened the door and watched as the book he held glowed brighter. A smile appeared on the older halfa's face. He could never see himself getting used to the feeling of a pulsing book.
He walked over to Danny's bed and peered down at the still unconscious boy. Vlad wished he would just wake up. It wasn't just so Vlad would know that the boy was alright; he wanted to know all that happened to his young rival and possibly solve all these mysteries.
The cave wall, these books, the ghost who stole the books in the first place and of course… Him. Daniel obviously knew who He was and so did his friends and sister. But he wanted to know who this… ghost was that scared Daniel so much. Maybe then he could get some answers.
With a sigh, Vlad turned and left the boy to sleep. He didn't look back at the door as he walked down to his private lab.
Jazz smiled in slight triumph. She now had a reason for why Danny wasn't around as well as for her and possibly Danny's friends to be absent at times too. She didn't have a lot of time. The most she would wait is three days before heading over.
She put away her cellphone and moved to her brother's room. She pulled out a duffle bag from under his bed and started to pack it full of things; his laptop computer, several outfits (his usual ensemble as well as some things she hadn't seen him wear inn a while), a sketchbook with pencils (both coloured and not) and some other things she thought he might want. Oh, and his cellphone. He hadn't grabbed it when he had disappeared. Good thing too; who knows what those idiot government agents would have done had they found this on him.
Jazz finished packing and sat on her brother's bed. She thought of what she needed to do in the next few days. "Tell Mr. Lancer and Danny's other teachers about Danny and where he is. Hmm, that will have to wait till tomorrow. Sam and Tucker? I could call them today, but I don't want them doing anything rash, so that will have to wait too. Am I missing anything?" She asked herself.
Just then, she heard a whimpering coming from the doorway. She whipped her head up so quickly, she had an afterthought about whether or not she gave herself whiplash. Pushing the door open more, TJ moved his body into the room.
Jazz smiled and welcomed the puppy onto the bed. TJ perked up and joined the red-head. "What's wrong TJ? Do you miss Danny to?" Jazz asked.
TJ lowered his ears and whimpered. Well that was a yes. "Don't worry, TJ. We'll get him back, just you wait. He just needs to heal," Jazz tried to comfort the unhappy pooch.
Jazz then had an idea. Vlad wouldn't like it, but if Danny was able to convince him, then this might work! She scratched the dog's head and said, "Hey, TJ. What if you come with us? Vlad has a cat, but you're pretty good with cats. You don't chase or hurt them like when we first got you. Danny and I might be able to convince Vlad to let you stay with Danny until he returns. Well? How does that sound?"
TJ barked happily and spun in a tight circle. Jazz smiled and stated, "Then it's settled. We'll give it a try."
With that said she got up and left the room to do some chores around the house for the rest of the day.
It had been several hours by now since Jazz and Vlad had spoken. It was now around 1:00 pm and a certain Goth girl and Techno-geek were not in the best of moods.
Jazz had told them that she would confront Vlad about Danny's whereabouts, but they had yet to hear from the red-headed teen. And it worried them. What was taking so long?
Sam and Tucker had both tried to call her that morning, but both either got voicemail or a busy line. What could she have been doing that meant she couldn't talk to them?
Whatever it was, they just hoped that it was worth all this worry. Not only was Danny missing, but all of his enemies seemed to have disappeared with him. The town hadn't been attacked since Danny was noticed missing, and that wasn't normal.
People, mostly teens, were beginning to notice the absence of Danny Phantom too, and that meant Danny's secret was in jeopardy again. And it was up to those two to handle damage control, they were sure of it.
Just within that morning, they had told groups of people and put up fake websites that said that all ghosts stop fighting every once in a while before resuming it. That maybe Danny Phantom's absence was because he was taking a break and his enemies (since they were also ghosts) were letting him have it.
Either way, it seemed that their quick cover for Danny's alter-ego was good enough to satisfy the people of their town. Thank god none of the town's folk were too observant.
They walked around town on a mid-day patrol, seeing if any ghosts had decided to show up. Other than the few animal ghosts here and there, it was pretty quiet.
*Bam*
"Tucker!" Sam yelled as she dodged another green furred wolf from her left while the other circled on her right. "I could use some help over here," She continued. She used her wrist-ray to shoot the second wolf as the first recovered tumbling over a trashcan.
Tucker grunted, "Kind of busy, Sam. If you hadn't noticed, this freaky snake thinks I'm his lunch!" Tucker blasted the ghost's tail as he avoided the two sets of fangs racing to his legs. "What kind of snake has two heads?! This is ridiculous!" he complained as he dodged the heads again.
Sam snicked and said, "Ghosts, Tucker. Ghost snakes have two heads." She then stomped on one of the wolf's head and said, "No! Down boy, heel!"
She turned her head and yelled to the Techno-geek, "hey, Tucker!"
"What?" he gasped back. Clearly, his time in P.E. wasn't helping him at all.
"Let's switch targets on the count of three. You suck up these two and I'll get your Siamese snake," She said as she shot the first wolf again.
Tucker thought about it and replied, "Ok. On three. One."
"Two," Sam continued.
"THREE!" they both yelled as Sam went high and Tucker went low. Sam Jumped over Tucker and landed a kick in both of the snake's heads before she did a backflip and landed on her feet. She then pulled out a Fenton Thermos and sucked the ghost snake in.
"Hmm, I think that was a king cobra, or… I guess in this case it was a double king cobra," Sam said while turning to face Tucker.
Tucker in the meantime was struggling with the two ghost wolves. He had slid under the Goth girl's form and came to a stop in front of the ghosts.
He smile meekly and said, "Um… goo doggy?"
The wolves growled and lunged for his legs. He pulled them away and started to run for his life. "Bad doogies, BAD DOGGIES!" Tucker yelled.
The wolves chased him until he dived for his own Fenton Thermos (which he dropped earlier) and spun around to see two sets of glowing blood red eyes. In the next instant, the pair of ghosts was also sucked into the thermos.
Tucker wiped his brow and said, "Nobody turns Tucker Foley into lunch meat." He then shivered at the prospect of being something so revolting and commented, "Ok. Not the best analogy. That definitely qualifies as an 'ew' moment."
Sam walked over to Tucker and the two continued their patrol into the later afternoon. By the time they had to return home, they were exhausted.
Sam was still pissed that they couldn't reach Jazz and Tucker was trying to calm her down.
"Come on, Tucker. There has to be a reason why Jazz isn't responding. I think we should check it out," Sam argued.
Tucker just shook his head. "I don't think so. Jazz might actually be busy. For all we know, she's been bargaining with Vlad all day about our accusation and our reasons to find and/or see Danny. We all know that Vlad is as stubborn as any of the Fentons," Tucker tried to reason.
Sam sighed and said, "Let's call her one more time. If she answers and answers our main questions, then I'll drop it for now. If she doesn't, then we go over to her house and demand an explanation."
Tucker nodded and Sam nodded back. She pulled out her cellphone and speed dialled the red-headed girl.
*ring* *ring* ring* *click!*
"Hello?" Jazz answered, "Fenton household, Jazz speaking. Who is this?"
"It's Sam. Where have you been, Jazz? We've been trying to reach you all day," Sam said in a very annoyed tone.
Jazz sighed and replied, "Sorry. I was cleaning the house and running errands today. I also spoke with Vlad. He confirmed our suspicions. Danny's with him, and by the sounds of it, Danny's in pretty rough shape."
Tucker grabbed the phone and said, "How bad. Is he ok?"
"I don't know the details, but Danny needs to recover in Vlad's care. And before you two get any ideas, Vlad promised me that he wouldn't harm him. We also get to see him while he recovers. I packed some of Danny's things for him when I do go and visit, but we need to do some stuff first," Jazz explained.
Tucker and Sam shared a look. They didn't trust Vlad. The only people who didn't trust him more than them were Danny and Jazz, so for one of them to suddenly trust the conniving man was big. If Jazz said that she was going to trust him, then they would have to too.
They turned their attention back to the phone and said simultaneously, "What do we need to do?"
They heard a huge sigh that they assumed was out of relief. Jazz must have doubted their trust in this matter to do that. Said girl then began to explain, "Vlad and I have come up with an almost flawless plan and excuse for why Danny will be gone and why we'll be missing at times too. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Just know that in about two days I plan to go see Danny, so everything needs to be set up before then. Got it?"
"Got it," Sam said. "We'll see you tomorrow." And she ended the call.
Sam looked at Tucker and said, "Now I can go home. With that piece of information, I'll be able to sleep better at night."
Tucker laughed but agreed with his friend. Knowing that they had a plan was better than being left in the dark. As the two walked home, talked about school, the newest version of 'DOOM' and other such things. When they came to a certain street, they said their goodbyes and continued to their separate homes.
It was now nearly 8:00 pm and Vlad knew that Jasmine wasn't going to be coming today. He didn't know when she would arrive, but he would send her a message warning her to tell him in advance when she was coming. He didn't want her coming out of nowhere and causing a panic with his ghostly staff. It was bad enough the last time.
Vlad made his usual trip up to Daniel's room for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day when in reality it was only about the fifteenth. Which, by normal standards, was kind of obsessive.
But, gosh darn it; Vlad was worried about the younger halfa. He was like a father or guardian who could only watch helplessly as their child suffered; even when said child didn't actually look like he/she was.
Vlad had only needed to change the bandages and medical plants once that whole day just a little after 4:00 pm, but he would end up checking on the ghost boy every few hours. When he wasn't doing that, he was balancing the workload from his companies and mayoral duties along with his own personal endeavours.
One of these endeavours being the mystery of the books and the being who had wanted them. Vlad knew bit and pieces, but it wasn't enough to put the puzzle together.
After making sure that everything was fine with Daniel, he moved back to his study to do some research. There had to be some lead as to who the being was.
As the billionaire walked through the halls, he remembered a video he had taken of Daniel and his friends being attacked by the ghost. He then thought, "Didn't they find out his name during the battle?"
As Vlad pondered this, he remembered the name; Koŝmaro Magiisto, or as they also knew it as, Nightmare Magician. Now he had a starting point to work off of.
Vlad moved about the lab, pulling of books and files as well as using his computer, to find anything on this Koŝmaro Magiisto fellow.
Finally, he found it. Most of the information came from a book called "Myths and Magic through the Ages", but some also came from stories people had heard over the years.
He saw the same picture of the magician from before he died and compared it to the being's ghostly self. Same person alright. Vlad read the same information that Jazz had read to Danny, Sam and Tucker. As he read, he discovered more and more about this ghost. From the reading, he made a guess that the flames that destroyed the child's home and family was either done by the child or the man who had accompanied him to the castle in the first place. The question now was; why?
Other than the fact that Koŝmaro was a gifted magician, why would someone go through all that trouble? Was it for power? Money? Lust? Or was it just something as simple as wanting the boy as his own? Vlad didn't know, but he was going to find out.
After about two hours of searching and a tea break, Vlad found what he was looking for. Not much was known about the man that had been with the princely magician, but a hand maiden had written about the days that the prince had been missing to the day the castle burned. She even talked to the prince before he disappeared.
Apparently, Koŝmaro had gone into the nearby woods to do some hunting for sport. The only being he took with him was his familiar; a silver fox with a white bushed tail and forest green eyes.
Vlad paused. He had heard about familiars. They were like mini spirits that came from a magical being, and they helped them when they needed it. Some ghosts were even powerful enough to have one, though the older halfa had yet to meet one. Perhaps Koŝmaro still had his somewhere.
Continuing; Koŝmaro always went to the woods either alone or with one of the nearby kingdoms royal children. That day he went alone. The hand maiden followed out of fear for his wellbeing. Secretly, she and the prince had become good friends and later on lovers.
While Koŝmaro was in the woods, he happened upon the strange man, who at the time was carving runes into a circle formed in the dirt. The young magician got curious and began talking to the man. The hand maiden wasn't close enough to hear, but she saw that her lover seemed excited by what the man had said. The two then left and didn't return for the year. Within that year, the prince had sent letters to the maiden asking her not to tell anyone about their communication.
The maiden had agreed and waited for him to return. When he did a year later, the two caught up on what had happened. The man was apparently a wizard, but Koŝmaro felt that there was something the man wasn't telling him. The man had taken him travelling for the year and taught him more about his powers. Finally, the maiden and prince had parted for the evening, but the maiden couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
She followed her lover until he had gone to meet with the strange man; then she stayed hidden. The man had cast a spell on the prince that made him do whatever the man said. And what he commanded brought tears to the maiden's eyes.
She ran back to the castle and warned the boy's parents, but they only had enough time for the three of them to escape. The man and Koŝmaro returned to the castle that night and lit the place in Koŝmaro's purple flames. During the whole event, Koŝmaro had been crying. He had believed that he had not only killed his parents, but also his lover and the rest of the castle residents.
What he didn't know was that his parents and the maiden had escaped and that the kingdom was hiding them for the time being. When he and the man had left, the three returned and everything returned to how it was before. The only exception being that a dark cloud hung over the three as well as the rest of the kingdom. They never heard from Koŝmaro or the man again.
Vlad leaned back into his chair when he finished reading. This was all excellent information about who Koŝmaro was exactly, but Vlad didn't see how this would help solve the puzzle he had mentally created. Was nothing easy in this world anymore?
Vlad sighed and stood to leave. This was all he could take for one day. As he exited the private lab and entered his private study, he felt the familiar pulsing of Daniel's book; but this time it was… different. It felt like it was trying to tell him something.
Vlad looked at the book he held and lift it to eye level. He then filled his hand with some of his pink energy and placed it on the centre gem. The book opened without restraint.
Vlad flipped the cover open and blinked several times to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him since it was evening by now. Nope, he was seeing right. The book now had writing in it… or at least, it was writing in itself.
The writing said: Don't worry about Danny, Vlad Plasmius. He'll recover. Just continue doing what you're doing.
Then the writing disappeared. Vlad shook his head and mumbled, "If this is a trick, it's not very funny. And how can a book know who somebody is? Ridiculous."
Not ridiculous, you stupid halfa. Just unlikely. And yes, I do know who you are. However, I can't speak to you for very long. Plus, you aren't my owner. Put me back near Danny! Unless he agrees, I don't just speak to anyone.
Vlad scowled. This book acted like Daniel as well. That was just wonderful. "Fine, I'll return you to Daniel's side for the moment. But don't think that this is the last we'll be talking…"
Frostigi. My name is Frostigi.
"Well that explains part of the writing on the binding," Vlad thought. "Alright then, Frostigi. I'll figure out what you and those other books are for," the older half ghost said.
Whatever. I could tell you how you could avoid the long wait, but I happen to like messing with you. It's kinda fun.
"You really do act like Daniel, don't you," Vlad sneered, but he couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face.
Hmph. You would know why if you could just figure out the puzzle.
Vlad sighed, knowing this was getting him nowhere. Vlad watched as the writing receded and then closed the book. He went up to his rival's room and placed the book down with the others. He saw the same reaction that he had seen the other night, but he didn't take the book back this time.
As he left, he gave one more concerned glance over his shoulder and left the room. As he thought about what might happen when Jasmine finally came, he thought about what had just happened with Frostigi and the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover". Talk about being cliché.
Meanwhile, Frostigi and Danny were glowing softly as the hybrid slept; each healing their lost strength with some unknown power that seemed to connect the two.
Phantom: Ha, ha. It seems Vlad got quite a surprise when Frostigi finally spoke. Not to mention the little back story about Koŝmaro.
Trainer: Yeah… I didn't even know Frostigi could speak to others. And what's with it and Danny healing like that.
Phantom: Not telling.
Trainer: party pooper.
Phantom: just wait. You'll find out what it all means soon enough. But some other things… wait till the sequel.
Trainer: grr. Good thing I can just ask you about it later.
Phantom: whatever. Just one more thing to do.
Trainer: get readers to review?
Phantom: besides that. *whistles loudly* Bring it in everyone!
*the whole cast of Danny Phantom comes into the room*
Trainer: One. Two. Three.
Everyone: HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM EVERYONE AT DANNY PHANTOM HQ!
Phantom: cyber cookies to anyone who has ever dressed or thought of dressing like a DP character. I know I have so one cookie for me… and one for Jack for who knows why.
Trainer: yeah! Trick or Treat! I get a treat!