Alex had been released and given a cup of tea.
"Where is Danny?" he demanded after shaking the dizziness from his head. Vlad gestured to a chair, telling the boy to sit. The older halfa took a seat himself across the small table. A cup of black coffee had already been placed before him, along with the morning paper from Amity Park. Alex made no effort to even take the offered seat.
"Alex, sit down."
"I'd rather not. Where is Danny?"
"Sit down and I'll tell you. You'll be better off that way; this news may shock you a bit."
Alex made a face, turning and walking to the nearest door. It was locked, and the keyhole had been fused shut. He turned to glare at the ghost, but Vlad had transformed back to Master's. Alex leaned against the door, arms crossed. Vlad smirked.
"You even act a little like him."
"Be quiet."
Vlad shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee and peering down at the paper. The headline told of the mysterious fire that had occurred the night before.
"Alex, have you heard the news lately?"
"I can't say that I have, sorry. It's difficult to keep up with the rest of the world when you're being possessed by an obsessive ghost."
Vlad looked displeased. He decided to kill the boy's spark of defiance then and there.
"I'll have you know that a certain piece of property, one that I purchased years ago, burnt to the ground last night."
"Wow that is really… Why are you telling me this? Are you going to bore me to death, or just quit halfway?"
"You went there with someone last night, under the story that two of your friends were there and in need of help. Daniel was the one who took you there."
The smirk fell from Alex's face. He asked again where Danny was. Vlad smiled evilly.
"If all went according to plan, he's still there. After I had you neutralize his powers and electrocute him until he was unconscious, he was left there. The hole blown through the wall was sealed, and the place set ablaze."
Alex felt his blood run cold. His legs gave out and he sank to the ground. Weakly, he denied the fact that Danny had been left to die by his own hand.
"He could have gotten out. He would have smelled the smoke, and found a way out,"
"His powers were cut, he was unconscious, and the building was sealed. Do not get your hopes up too much. Besides, to him, it was you who killed him. If you do find him in the Ghost Zone, I doubt he'll want to see you."
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"If Vlad sees me… He'll kill me..." Danny whimpered. He released his hand from Sam's grip, and backed away. His friends could see his footprints in the carpet, so they knew that he was still there.
"I don't think I can keep this up." He whispered. "I know that we have to save Alex, but I can't face Vlad again."
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"You killed Danny." Alex said flatly. "What about Sam and Tucker?"
"They were never even there. Everyone else was left alone, even your guardian."
"Why are you bringing her up?"
"You looked concerned. I suppose she is out with her brother now though, looking for you. She must be so worried."
"Right. You really are a fool."
Alex sighed, walking over to another chair away from Vlad and sitting down. He rubbed his eyes, and then looked out the nearest window. The view gave nothing away, and he had no idea where he was. The room he was in was rather familiar, as far as decoration went, so he assumed that he was back in Wisconsin in Vlad's mansion. The room was heated by a blazing fire in the fireplace, all of which was unnecessary given the current time of year. Vlad watched him with a curious expression. Sighing, he took another sip of coffee. He then set the drink down, taking instead the morning newspaper and rising to his feet. The spy didn't look up as the man made his way towards him, lightly tossing the paper onto his lap.
"I don't want to see it." Alex said flatly, keeping his eyes on the window. "You'll just start gloating again, and your voice is making me sick."
"Alright then, I'll have someone bring food up soon."
"As long as it's not you, I don't care."
Vlad smirked, turning and walking away.
"You'll have to do something about that smell, so sooty. I'll let you have a real guest room later, with a proper restroom. Your hair will have to be fixed them too; the dye is only temporary after all."
With a final glance over his shoulder, noting Alex's shocked expression, the man phased through the door, leaving the boy alone. Alex was silent, unmoving, until he was positive that he was alone. He looked down at his hands, one of which was still wrapped up in a cast.
"Damn it all!" he cried, seizing the nearest thing he could find and throwing it against the opposite wall. The small statue of a famous quarterback shattered on impact. Alex tore the paper in his lap, his eyes stinging, wadding the remains up into a ball and throwing them in the fireplace where it was hungrily devoured by the flames. At this, he faltered, sinking to his knees as he watched the fire slowly eat the paper.
"He would have smelled the smoke, he would have done something!"
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"You don't have to let him see you. You could stay invisible." Tucker offered, though he didn't agree with himself on it.
"Danny, if you hide from all of this, it will be like Vlad won. He won't see you, but that's all. Do you really want to be thought of as a dead person by anyone? You need to stand up to him. We'll be with you all the way."
Danny was silent, slowly allowing his visibility to return.
"I… I'm already half dead, and it's not so bad." He finally said.
"Danny, you're not going to die, so don't say things like that!" Sam said, tears rising in her eyes. Her voice had become slightly thick. Danny looked up at her, shocked. He saw the tears in her eyes, and it brought some to his own eyes. He went back to her, wrapping his arms around her.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I… I'm not…"
He was interrupted by the entrance of Ember's guitar. It fell from a black vortex, landing softly on Tucker's bed. Tucker went over, taking the instrument and hanging it across his back. Danny and Sam never noticed this, because it wasn't enough to trigger Danny's ghost sense.
Danny gently pulled away from Sam, transforming into Phantom again. His suit still bore the scars of the horrible night. The haunted look returned to the boys green eyes.
"I was really scared then. What if he tricks me again? What if my powers are cut?"
Tucker threw him another pair of black jeans, and a simple hoodie. As an added bonus, he tossed a pair of never- before-worn sandals. Danny caught all of this, trying to keep the clothes away from his dirty suit. They didn't escape his gloves, and some soot was passed on to the new fabric. The blood on his gloves had long since dried.
"You can keep those, man. The clothes, I mean. I may need the shoes back, but don't count on it." Tucker explained. He pointed to the door, and Danny nodded gratefully, leaving to change again in the bathroom. Tucker sighed as his friend left. Sam gave him a look.
"What is this? Why are you giving him all of your clothes?"
"Hmm? Oh, I never wore those, besides the hero shirt once or twice. My parents got those for some reason ages ago. Besides, he can't go around in that; you saw how much it freaked him out."
"I guess. Any reason you suddenly have Ember's guitar?"
"I think Yassen brought it here. It just fell onto my bed just now through a cloud of black stuff."
"Is that his way of helping?"
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Danny returned to the room in under a minute. He had pulled the hood up, and it hid most of his hair. Blinking, he looked between his friends. He saw the guitar, and almost smiled.
"Does anyone have any ideas as to where we should look for Alex first?" he asked softly. He jumped when a different voice replied. Wildly, he looked around the room to find the source. A shiver passed through him, and his ghost sense went off.
"Wisconsin," Yassen said. With that, he created a mass of black energy, transporting all of them away to Alex and Vlad. Just before they left completely, Danny turned his body invisible.
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The invading party landed in a large dining room. Immediately, as a paranoid precaution, Sam and Tucker went to the table to arm themselves.
"All the knives are gone!" someone fumed. Yassen looked to his left as something caught his eye. Barely sticking out of a vase of flowers was a slender knife. The light from the window had fallen on it, giving its location away. The ghost raised an eyebrow.
"It seems," he said, going over and claiming the knife to show it to the kids, "that someone has gone and hidden them. Here," he tossed the knife to Sam. She jumped away, not wanting to be stabbed, and then bent down to pick it up. Tucker had found a knife for himself already. Yassen had no need for a small weapon like that, and Danny had absolutely no desire to even look at the knife he had been offered. He was still invisible, but Yassen seemed to always know exactly where he was.
"Should we split up?" Tucker offered. Sam immediately said that she would be going with Danny, making her and the invisible halfa blush. Yassen shrugged.
"It does not matter to me." He said evenly, looking up at the ceiling. "He's up there,"
Everyone assumed that the ghost was talking about Alex when he said that.
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