Author's notes:

Okay, so, first off—Sorry it's been so long! I've been trying to get used to my new routine and find times to write between school and work. Plus this chapter just did not lend itself to being written quickly.

But hey, let me tell you a little secret; if you leave reviews, no matter what you actually say, you can guilt trip me into writing faster. This is 100% fact; Tourmaline82's amazingly kind review yesterday finally made me kick my butt into gear and finish this thing.

Anyway! Thanks to everyone who's favorited, followed, and reviewed! Onto the chapter!

Surprisingly, it was the knocking that woke Danny up, and not the accompanying freezing mist floating from his mouth, the delirious boy's eyes darting around the room, noticing the thick comforter, the large TV, the bathroom door which was cracked open just slightly.

"Master Daniel, it is time to wake up." Danny cleared his throat and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah okay." He called. "But please, my name is Danny." He added.

"Very well, Master Danny. Please make your way down to the dining room for breakfast." Danny rolled his eyes, wanting the butler to stop calling him "Master," but he quickly gave up the ghost, so to speak.

"I'll be down in a little bit." He felt the ghost's presence retreat down the hall, and he quickly peeled back the thick blanket and made his way into the bathroom.

Danny opted not to take a shower to save time, though the luxurious tub was calling out to him. Instead, he quickly used the toilet, brushed his teeth, and ran his fingers through his hair, finally returning to the main area of the oversized bedroom. He grabbed his bag from the closet and picked a random pair of jeans and a t-shirt, changing into them and tossing his pajamas haphazardly on the bed.

Taking a last look around, he yanked open the door and took a right towards the stairs, finding his way down to the dining room somehow without getting lost. Vlad greeted him from the head of the table as he pushed through the swinging door.

"Good morning, Daniel! I trust you slept well." Danny rubbed his eyes again.

"Yeah, just fine, thanks." He pulled out the chair on Vlad's left and plopped down into it, scooting noisily forward. "What's for breakfast?"

"Pancakes." Danny looked at him quizzically.

"Normal pancakes or fruit loop pancakes?" He asked suspiciously. Vlad smirked.

"The pancakes are perfectly normal, nothing 'fruit loopy' about them."

"But how would you know?" Danny asked seriously, narrowing his eyes at the man.

"I guess I wouldn't, would I?" Vlad said, playing along. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see." He took a sip of his tea, eyes full of mirth as they gazed at the boy. Danny smiled to himself and looked back at his placemat, absentmindedly spinning the fork resting there.

"Hey Vlad?"

"Yes?"

"How did you get your powers?" The man stared at him, cup held aloft. "I mean, you told me it was the prototype of the ghost portal that did it to you, but how did it happen? What went wrong?" The man finally set his cup down, folding his fingers.

"Well, it was back in my college days." He began carefully. "Your parents and I operated a small spectral studies club, that is, we were the entire spectral studies club. Jack had a strong interest in the subject, and I was mildly interested, so we decided to send out flyers announcing the formation of the group. Your mother was the only one who answered the flyer, so the three of us started up and ran the club." He paused. "We conducted experiments, mostly hypothetical types of things, and examined the data to try and learn more about ghosts. Eventually, your mother stumbled on some profound evidence to suggest that there was a parallel universe to our own; one that was populated by ghosts. Naturally, when she told me this, our first desire was to try and find a way into this 'ghost zone.'"

"So you came up with the idea to build a ghost portal." Vlad nodded.

"Precisely. Your mother and I drafted the plans for it, and Jack helped us build it. After many month of toil, the prototype was completed. It was a miniature, about the same size as the one I gave you. We picked a ceremonious date for the first test, and on that day we three gathered in the lab. To be honest, I didn't think it would actually work. I had helped your mother draft the plans, but I never really believed that we could actually break open a hole into the ghost zone. It just did not seem possible. But nevertheless, we gathered on that day and set everything up, and Jack flipped the switch to start it…" Vlad trailed off, the pain in his voice clear to Danny. After a moment of respectful silence, the boy pressed.

"Did it work?" He asked quietly. Vlad seemed to snap back to reality, looking at the boy again.

"Yes and no. The portal activated, however it was nowhere near stable enough to open a proper portal into the ghost zone. Something went wrong, and Jack hadn't waited for me to move away from the device before he started it, and the results were, well…" He trailed off for a moment again. "The portal erupted into my face, turning my hair white and giving me a horrible case of ecto-acne. In the pain and the following panic, I ran from the room, until eventually the ambulance caught up with me." The man's eyes seemed to stare at nothing, obviously reliving a time long-since passed. "I was in the hospital for years while they tried to figure out what was wrong with me, but eventually my core became stable and the ecto-acne cleared, and I was allowed to leave." The man's hands dropped to the table, him looking back at the boy finally. "I learned how to control my powers, gained an immense amount of wealth, and well, here we are."

Danny fidgeted awkwardly, not sure what to say. He had just opened his mouth to speak when Christophe appeared from the kitchen, carrying their breakfast. As the plate was set down, Danny examined the rather extravagant pancakes, which were smothered in what appeared to be fresh berries and some kind of light custard. They seemed fairly normal, despite being quite a bit fancier than what the boy was used to.

"What would you like to drink, Master Vladimir?"

"I'm quite fine with my tea."

"And you, Master Danny?"

"Please, it's just 'Danny.'" Vlad smirked at the comment. "And just some milk please."

"Very well, Master Danny." The boy frowned as the butler walked away, seeming to have ignored his comment. He looked at Vlad.

"What does it take to make him listen anyway?" Vlad chuckled.

"It's just his job, my boy. He was trained as a royal butler in his life; it wouldn't do for him to call someone he served by anything less."

"Well it's still annoying." The boy said, crossing his arms. "I'm nobody's 'master.'" Vlad chuckled again as Christophe returned with Danny's drink.

"Will that be all?"

"Yes, that will be all, Christophe." Vlad said, unfolding his napkin and laying it on his lap. The ghost bowed before turning and leaving the room once more. Danny picked up his fork, cutting a large swath out of the pancakes in front of him. He was just about to take a bite when he paused.

"I'm… sorry about what happened to you." He said solemnly, staring at the large slice of pancake on his fork.

"Don't be, my boy. I'm sure what you went through was just as painful for you."

"Yeah, but still, it doesn't hurt you less because we went through something similar. So, I'm sorry it happened to you, and I'm sorry you had to go through this all these years by yourself." The boy added, still avoiding the man's gaze. Danny could feel the awkward silence in the air. He felt the man's hand come to rest on his shoulder suddenly, and his head snapped up.

"It's okay, little badger. You might have had your friends, but I know how lonely it is to be the only half-ghost in existence. It was hard for you too." It's not a question; it's a fact. Vlad knows it, and it shows itself to Danny in the small smile, the light squeeze on his shoulder. "But you're not alone anymore, and neither am I."

Danny could feel tears threatening to well up in his eyes, a truly happy smile splitting his face as he looked at the man. He hadn't really realized just how lonely he had been, but sitting here now, across from the only other person who shared his secret, he realized he needed this. And he had been needing it for a long time.

Vlad released his shoulder, and the two of them went about eating their breakfasts in comfortable, thoughtful silence.

"Daniel? Are you in there?" Vlad called, softly knocking on the door. After waiting for several moments and not receiving a response, he called again. "I'm coming in, Daniel." He warned, slowly opening the door. He quickly covered his mouth to stifle the laugh that threatened to burst out.

Danny was sprawled out on his stomach on the bed, his bare feet resting on his pillow and the top of his head just brushing against the footboard. Vlad smiled fondly, still trying not to laugh, and gently shook the boy.

"Daniel, it's the middle of the day, and we have things to do. It's time to stop napping." The boy groaned groggily.

"Five more minutes, Mom, just… five more…" He slurred, inching away from the man that was trying to wake him. A mischievous smile twisted Vlad's face, and he reached down, one finger gently touching Danny's face, quickly emitting a small electric shock. The boy yelped, eyes shooting open, him scrambling unconsciously backwards before falling dramatically off the other side of the bed. Vlad's howling laughter as Danny picked himself up off the floor made the boy's face burn bright red, rubbing his cheek where the man had zapped him. Danny frowned angrily, quickly shooting a small ecto-blast at Vlad, which he easily absorbed.
"You'll have to try harder than that, Daniel!" He teased through his laughter.

"What do you want, anyway?" Danny asked, crossing his arms angrily. Vlad quickly composed himself.

"I simply wished to inform you that I would like you to come out to the arena now."

"Oh, right. Did you fix the thing?"

"I hope so. I looked at it today and I think I found the issue. We can rerun the tests and see." Danny nodded, scrambling over the bed to put on his shoes.

"I simply don't understand it." Vlad said, shaking his head slowly. "Why isn't it working correctly?" The large '500' displayed on the board seemed to be taunting him, daring him to try and understand why it was there. "Unless…" Danny finally tore his eyes away from the board and looked down at Vlad.

"Unless what?" He asked slowly.

"Unless it's correct already."

"It's not."

"We can't know that for sure. I'd like to believe it's not true, however, the evidence suggests it could be."

"What evidence? It's obviously just malfunctioning!" The sudden hostility in the boy's voice surprised Vlad.

"Look, Daniel; there's nothing physically wrong with the board, system, or anything else. The only 'problem' here is that the score seems unlikely. It could be correct."

"No it can't! I'm not that powerful! I couldn't be that powerful!" Vlad stared at the floating boy for a moment.

"What are you so afraid of, Daniel? Being strong is—"

"I'm not afraid! I'm telling you the score is wrong!"

"Listen here, Daniel!" Vlad said, pointing an angry finger at the boy. "Don't try and hide it. I know when you're lying. There is nothing to be afraid of here, and you're just—" The man abruptly stopped, a flickering light catching his eye. He turned towards the board, his eyes widening.

"See? I told you it wasn't right!" Danny said, hands outstretched towards the large '0' now occupying the board.

"Yes, Daniel, I can see that." Vlad touched his chin, deep in thought. "You've practiced enough for today, I think." He finally said. Danny raised one eyebrow in confusion, but decided not to question the man. They had really only done the test again today, and so he certainly hadn't done much, but the boy was happy to take the chance to get away for awhile.

He turned and flew through the wall and back towards the mansion, leaving the man to his thoughts.

"This is freaking impossible!" Danny groaned to himself. He hadn't seen Vlad since he had left him in the training arena, during which time Danny had been trying to figure out why the thought of possibly being so powerful was scaring him so much. It wasn't something concrete—it was more like a feeling. It was something foreboding and evil; a feeling like dark tendrils constricting his heart.

Calm down, Fenton. The scoreboard is just malfunctioning. None of this matters anyway. He tried to reassure himself, but still he felt something dark lingering in his mind, like a tiny sliver that had worked its way into the epicenter of his soul. It refused to be dislodged no matter how hard he tried, and he was oddly pining for Vlad's company but the man was nowhere in sight.

There was a knock at the door. Danny jumped up probably faster than was necessary, flinging open the door with gusto. A surprised Vlad, hand still held aloft, was standing on the other side.

"Are you alright, Daniel?" Vlad asked, obviously having changed his question upon seeing the boy opening the door so quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Vlad stared at him for a moment.

"Right, well, I thought we might have a quick lunch, and then I can show you around the castle."

"You already showed me the castle when I was here during the reunion."
"Yes, but I thought you might like a refresher. After all, nearly everything in the castle is yours to use, and I would hate for it to go to waste."

"'Nearly?'" Vlad chuckled.

"Well, of course there are a few places that are private, such as my bedroom. But everything else is open to you." Danny nodded, stepping out into the hall.

"Let's go eat first then; I'm starving." He said, patting his stomach.

"Of course. A growing half-ghost certainly needs to keep his strength up." Vlad agreed, leading them down the hall to the dining room.

Vlad had taken him on an even more painstakingly long tour this time, however Danny was kept from being bored as the man took the time to point out some actually interesting things, like the enormous swimming pool outside and the telescopes set up on one of the large balconies. Danny had wanted to spend some time with the telescopes, but Vlad insisted on continuing the tour, telling him that he could use the telescopes tomorrow.

Shortly after Vlad had finally finished his tour, they had sat down for a quick dinner, after which Vlad had excused himself. He had said something about having to go and work tomorrow, and that he needed a good night's rest. Danny thought it was a bit weird for him to be going to bed so early—it was only seven—but he quickly shrugged it off and returned to his own room.

There he sat, staring at nothing in particular, wondering just what he was going to do tomorrow while Vlad was at work. He had mentioned he would be back around three, so Danny figured at the very least, he would get to sleep in. That alone was enough to put a smile on his face despite the dark feeling still lingering around in his mind.

The boy was tempted to sneak out to the telescopes tonight, but figured that probably wasn't such a great idea. He would wait until tomorrow night. It'll be new moon; perfect time to observe. But what am I going to do during the day? I've got video games, but I'm stuck on the only one I want to play. Danny sighed to himself and flipped on the TV, resting his back against the sturdy headboard and resigning himself to watching cartoons. He could figure the rest out tomorrow.

I must start with the preparations soon; I can't afford to wait too long and risk running out of time before the boy must return to his parents. Vlad sat at his desk, flipping through papers in his briefcase while he mulled over his plans. There is also still the matter of getting the boy acclimated to his surroundings; he still obviously does not feel at home here, though I am doing everything in my power to help him. The man sighed heavily to himself, running his hands down his face. And then of course, there's the score board. I can't seem to find what is wrong with it, but if that score is correct... it does not bode well for the boy.

Finally deciding that his papers were adequately prepared for the next day, he locked them inside his briefcase and exited his study, starting the short jaunt down the hall to his bedroom. He paused when he saw the light under Danny's bedroom door, and glanced at his watch. Daniel's still awake? It's nearly midnight...

Seeming to consider something for a moment, the man finally knocked softly on the door, opening it quietly after a moment of silence. Danny was lying on the bed, seemingly asleep though he was still wearing his jeans and tee shirt, while the TV blared some raucous cartoon. He certainly falls asleep easily enough. Vlad thought to himself, thinking it better to just leave the boy to take care of himself. He did take a moment to flip off the TV, however.

The man finally made it to his own bedroom and changed into his pajamas before brushing his teeth and climbing into bed. He knew it would be a long day tomorrow, and he had already stayed up far too late finishing paperwork.

"I can't... no I didn't mean to... I didn't mean for this to happen... I was just trying to save myself..." The boy tossed and turned in his bed, the mumbled words falling from his lips and disappearing into the darkness that surrounded him. "Who are you!?" Danny screamed the words, his garbled speech finally causing his eyes to snap open, his mind reeling to comprehend where he was. He was met with the hot sensation of a cold sweat covering him, the weight of the blanket tangled around his body suddenly feeling like it was suffocating him.

In a frenzy, he kicked the thick comforter off and sat up, wiping the sweat from his forehead and breathing deeply. The cold air of the room hit his skin like a tidal wave, but much to his dismay it offered little comfort—it only cooled the edges but left the burning core behind.

What was I dreaming about? He rubbed his upper arms anxiously, trying to grasp onto a tiny shred of a memory that was quickly fading. There was... a man? But who was he? He looked so familiar, but I can't remember what he looked like... The boy squinted about in the darkness, finally realizing that something was off. He reached over and clicked on the bedside lamp, shielding his eyes from the light. Sure enough, he was still wearing his jeans and tee shirt from the day before. I don't even remember falling asleep. Last thing I remember I was watching TV, and now here I am. I guess I must have dozed off and gotten tangled in the blanket...
Danny finally glanced over at the clock. Great, it's two in the morning. He reluctantly got up and peeled his sweaty shirt and jeans off, tossing them arbitrarily on the floor as he walked into the closet. He found his pajamas and dragged himself over to the bathroom, starting the faucet on the large tub and splashing his face with water from the sink. Catching sight of his reflection in the mirror, he couldn't help but notice the large bags under his eyes, and he sighed tiredly.

When the tub finally filled, the boy shrugged off his boxers and stepped carefully into it, the burning water feeling surprisingly good on his already warm skin. Once he had sat down on one of the seats inside, he sunk down to his nose in the calm water and shut his eyes, trying to banish the feeling of dread that hung over him from his forgotten dream.

Several minutes passed in eerie silence, not even a single creak disturbing the heavy quiet. Finally, Danny decided he was too tired to stay in the bath any longer, so he quickly drained the tub and dried himself off, pulling on a fresh pair of boxers and his pajamas before finally exiting the bathroom.

The boy righted his twisted blanket and crawled into the bed. What's going on…? Danny wondered, the particular thought and meaning lost as his tired mind lost the battle to weariness once more.