Chapter 19

Vlad ground his teeth hard as he watched the young man race off in his digital form. He could easily have ignored all of this, let Daniel flounder, but recalling the mention of Clockwork, Vlad assumed that it might be in his best interest to do as Clockwork wanted. He didn't have many reasons to encounter that particular program, but whenever Clockwork saw fit to grace him with his presence, it was usually because he needed something to happen in a certain manner to protect the NetZone. Clockwork obviously wanted Daniel to improve his skills for some reason, otherwise he would have left the young man to his fate in the under level of the NetZone.

But that blasted hero complex of his was bound to get Daniel in serious trouble one of these days. Vlad worried that today would be that day. Daniel ran blindly into battle with a virus, ignoring the fact that his parents were present with weapons not far out of reach. He watched the progress of his old college friends in their research on viruses and their weapons to combat the threat and their attempts to secure one to study the strange phenomenon of viruses possessing humanoid forms, as they hypothesized back in college. Jack and Maddie failed so far to acquire a virus to experiment on, but that didn't mean they wouldn't succeed at some point. If he wasn't careful, Daniel might wind up as his parents very first test subject.

Vlad's hands curled at his sides as he decided he certainly couldn't allow that to happen. Perhaps he had little reason to care for the young man, but he wouldn't wish that fate upon him, being poked and prodded, cut open and dissected by his very own parents in their thirst for knowledge and understanding. It was too cruel, and he wouldn't allow it. Even if Daniel was acting like a thorn in his side. Vlad saw no reason to be gentle about the truth of what they were when Daniel first came to him. The cold hard truth would make itself known in a matter of years when Daniel's existence outside the NetZone began to deteriorate. At least now, Daniel had some forewarning, even if he refused to believe it.

Switching to his digital form, Vlad kept to the shadows as he headed around the football field, keeping out of sight of the fleeing fans. Luckily, in the shadows, none of them noticed the silver haired man or even glanced his way when he transformed. If they spotted him, they likely would assume that he was simply another virus popping out of the NetZone to join the fight taking place on the field. Vlad had no intention of participating in a pointless battle unless his hand was forced. Daniel could play the foolish role of hero all he liked, but Vlad saw it as a meaningless venture, despite any noble ideas behind fighting off the viruses. Humans continued to create new viruses all the time, greedy to steal the information from other people, using that knowledge to steal identities and empty bank accounts. Even blackmail could be considered an excuse for hacking into another person's computer.

Sounds of actions reached his ears as he neared the field, a hard musical chord making him wince. Vlad pondered that as he moved to better view the fight. If nothing else, this battle would give him the chance to see Daniel in action and determine where the young man was at in terms of teaching him. He stood by the stands, arms folding as he observed what was taking place on the field before him.

Jack and Maddie were tangled up fighting against a duo of viruses. Male and female. Vlad assumed the male to be the one that Daniel referred to as Skulker, also recalling the male's shout that prompted the growl from the young man. Skulker was quite adept at using his energy to create shields that blocked the humans' attacks on them, allowing him to then fire off missiles from his robotic form. The female virus used her guitar to fire blasts of sound at Jack and Maddie. Her attacks came in spirals and fists of energy that slammed into the ground, gouging out chunks in the field.

But his attention strayed away from them to across the field where Daniel crashed into the stands, tearing apart the lower section of the bleachers. Vlad frowned as he watched the young man facing off against one of the Guys in White agents. Daniel clearly didn't want to endanger or harm other humans in his fight against viruses, despite that his recklessness as "hero" often caused destruction from what Vlad saw when he investigated Daniel's actions as Phantom. Vlad consider the young man lucky to have not seriously injured anyone during his battles.

What concerned Vlad about what he witnessed in the fight was Daniel's shields. The young man could construct them readily enough, but they were weak, feeble, easily shattered with a single blow. Daniel would never survive if he couldn't protect himself. Red eyes narrowed as he watched a stronger blast throw Daniel back, crashing through the stands. Watching this fight made it quite clear to him that Clockwork was indeed right about Daniel needing someone to train him. Vlad could teach him many more things that the young man probably hadn't even discovered he was capable of doing. His mouth thinned as he remembered the main problem with the whole arrangement: Daniel refused to accept the truth about his condition. Unless he started to spend the majority of his time within the NetZone, Daniel would continue to grow weaker and the viruses would quickly overwhelm him.

Vlad started across the field, cape flowing behind him as he watched the agent approaching Daniel, who was distracted by a woman - Valerie Gray, he noted when he neared them - that appeared to be injured after Daniel slammed into her. Stray attacks that came his way were easily blocked by pink hexagonal shields that he erected with little thought as he stormed toward the young man. Everyone else was too involved in their own fights to give him any notice. Whatever happened to the two viruses was of little concern to him, though Vlad almost hoped Jack and Maddie would catch them to keep his old college friends distracted for some time. Then they might not notice their son's absence right away.

He almost halted when he watched Valerie bend down to pick up a splintered board from the wreckage of the bleachers. Did Daniel know nothing about being aware of his surroundings? Vlad ground his teeth when Valerie swung the board, smashing it against Daniel's head with enough force the break the wooden piece. Daniel was dropping with the agent ready to catch hold of him, to carry the Phantom program back to the GIW headquarters where they could lock Daniel up and examine him at their leisure.

That Vlad couldn't allow any more than letting Daniel be caught by his parents. He doubted the GIW would care, and less likely to believe, that Phantom was born of a human. They were digital beings now, but that didn't erase the humanity that they both held onto even after the accidents that turned them into something beyond human. And if the GIW learned the truth? Vlad dreaded to think what they would do with that knowledge. Thoughts of recreating the accidents that gave Vlad and Daniel their powers danced in his mind. They could create an army of digital beings to combat the viruses.

Or they could massacre a slew of people in their attempts to make someone else like Phantom. Vlad refused to let any more people suffer the same fate as him and Daniel.

Red energy burst from his hand, slamming into the agent and forcing him crashing back into the bleachers, or what remained of them. Valerie stumbled back, falling to the ground when the attack streaked past. Her green eyes turned up to stare at Vlad as he reached them, towering over her. She gulped, but to his surprise, she refused to look afraid of him. Eyes narrowed, watching his movements as he bent down to pick up the limp form of Phantom. The young woman was apparently much stronger than she appeared if she could knock Daniel out in one blow. She reminded him of Maddie in some ways. That fierce glare despite any fear curling inside her. Vlad still remembered the time that Maddie decked one of the football jocks in college when they were teasing him and Jack. That jock sported a black eye for a week after that encounter and kept his distance.

"I'll give you some advice, child," Vlad said as he stared down at her. The agent was already climbing out of the ruin of the bleachers, so Vlad decided to make it quick. "Don't get yourself tangled up fighting viruses." He didn't miss her eyes narrowing a fraction more and felt certain she would ignore his warning. His jaw clenched as he wondered what was wrong with teenagers these days, ignoring every bit of advice those that were older, wiser, and more experienced told them.

His red eyes turned onto the agent with his shades dangling from one ear. His time was up, and not simply because the agent was reaching for his weapon. Daniel was injured, his right side bleeding where a bullet grazed him. They needed to return to the NetZone so that Vlad could tend to the injury. He scanned the area quickly through his visor and found an access point to the NetZone not too far from where he stood. That was the convenient thing about the world: there was usually always an access point within a few feet.

Vlad darted toward it, his foot leaving the ground seconds before a white burst from the GIW agent's gun pierced through the soil. He didn't slow down for even a second as the agent followed, shooting at him in repeated fire. His shields came up quickly to protect his rear, the bullets ricocheting off the pink translucent energy. When he reached the access point, he heard a frustrated growl behind him before he passed through into the NetZone.

It wasn't safe here. If those two viruses returned to the NetZone, they would arrive close to this area and likely take advantage of Daniel's injured and unconscious state. Vlad knelt on the ground as he looked over the wound on Daniel's right side. It didn't look too bad. The bullet grazing him damaged some of the coding of his digital makeup, but it wasn't something that Vlad couldn't fix. Adjusting his hold on the young man, he touched his hand to the bleeding side. A holograph appeared over Daniel, showing a scramble of data.

Vlad frowned as he glanced around, making certain that no viruses were in the area. It seemed quiet in this section of the NetZone, but he didn't feel very safe about that fact. His concentration would be on Daniel, leaving him wide open for attack should a virus appear. Placing two fingers into his mouth, Vlad whistled and almost instantly Cujo appeared, materializing from the watch that Daniel kept on his person in his human form.

"Keep watch," Vlad instructed, and Cujo barked in response. The small green dog shifted into a much larger form as he turned around, growling at the emptiness of the area as he searched for any signs of a virus coming to attack them. Vlad was quite proud of Cujo, who never failed him when it came to keeping viruses out of his domain, part of the reason it was difficult for him to send the dog to watch over Daniel.

Thinking of the young man brought Vlad's attention back to the situation at hand. He poked at the holograph in front of him, reorganizing the scattered data into something that made sense again. As he worked, Daniel's injury slowly knitted back together, sealing off his flesh like he was never shot. The black siding of his costume reformed where it was torn. Cujo growled, a deep rumbling sound, right as Vlad put the finishing touches on Daniel's coding. Snapping his head up, he frowned when he spied the two viruses that were fighting on the football field. He tensed, red eyes glaring at them.

After he rested Daniel gently down on the ground, Vlad stood, calling up energy that spread out from his clenched hand, lengthening and shaping into a sword. Cujo remained at Daniel's side to keep guard over his unconscious body.

"So now Phantom's got himself a bodyguard," the male virus said with a haughty smirk.

"He's a brat, but I'm afraid if you try to touch him, I'll be forced to stop you," Vlad said in a steely cold voice as he held his sword up in preparation to fight. He grew quite skilled with a blade over his years of training to utilize his abilities.

The male virus snorted in amusement. "Well, most young looking programs and viruses like him tend to be brats."

The woman at his side, who looked around the same age in appearance to Daniel, frowned darkly at the comment. Swinging around her guitar, she smashed the body of it right into his face. The male virus flew back slamming into the ground several feet away from them. The body of the guitar smashed into the ground with enough force to almost crack it. She leaned on the instrument, folding her arms on the head of it as she glared at the male virus.

"You're lucky this wasn't a date," she announced in annoyance. "Because if it was, I can assure you being called a brat is a real turn off. And trust me, I would have done a lot more than that." She picked up her guitar, slinging the strap over her shoulder. Her vibrant green eyes flicked toward Vlad then Daniel and she smirked. "Enjoy your time with the dipstick while you can." She gave a two finger salute before she walked off, leaving Vlad feeling more than a little confused at the whole exchange.

The male virus grumbled as he sat up, rubbing at his metal face where he was struck with the guitar. "I'll never understand that woman," he groused.

Vlad stared dully, uncertain if what took place really happened. If these fools were Daniel's average opponents that he struggled with, then Vlad had his work cut out for him in training the young man. Dispelling the sword, he walked back over to where he left Daniel and lifted the unconscious form into his arms. Until he awoke, Daniel would be much safer kept within Vlad's domain. He glanced over his shoulder frequently to check if the male virus trailed after them, but with Cujo at his back, it seemed unlikely that the virus would want to tangle with the security program.

Thankfully, Vlad wasn't harassed by any program or virus along the way to his domain. At the familiar wall, he typed in the password to allow him entry. As soon as the door opened, Cujo shrank down to his puppy size and bounded happily into what was his home since the beginning of his creation. Vlad sighed as he thought of how this next part - he glanced at Daniel - next two parts would go. He followed the security program into his domain, the firewall sealing behind him.

Vlad ignored the hiss as he walked over to the reconstructed desk set up in his domain to lay Daniel's body upon it. Cujo barked as he gave chase to the cat that guarded Vlad's home while he went to visit the Fentons. The cat was white, female, and just as capable a security program as Cujo. In her current form, she was small and sleek, though at the moment her tail puffed out in her fright of being chased by the green dog.

"Stop!" Vlad shouted, not taking his focus away from the screen he brought up from the desk. At the loud, commanding voice, both cat and dog screeched to a halt and stared at their creator. "You are to get along, or I'll make you regret it." From the silence, he assumed his threat to have worked quite well. Tapping at the screen, he reconfigured the desk into a bed, making it soft and malleable instead of hard and unforgiving. All that was left then was to await the young man awakening.

swagdanny: *innocent look* I guess this chapter could have gone before that last one. XD;;

Sammi: Well, they would both like to help him. XD;; I could see them banding together if it meant helping Phantom.

midnight: Thanks~ =D I'm glad you liked it. =)

Just Will: Wouldn't they be the greatest duo? Vlad's the strategic thinker, then Danny's the one that goes, "This isn't working!" Then does some crazy reckless stuff that ends up working in the end. XD;; Oh. O: I hadn't heard about that movie.

maltese: Wedding Cakes and Winners is the sequel. =)

XD: I might have a Haunted Past idea~ O: Also, I hope you're doing well~