The Soul Sepulchre Chapter 14: In the Shadow of the Sun, a danny phantom fanfic

Hiya!

Er… not much to say here :3 Long chapter, have fun! (And YAY! This fic is-almost-officially one year old! That's so cool!! :D)

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom and all related characters are the property of Butch Hartman.

Enjoy!

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The Soul Sepulcher

-By Sholay

Summary—Sepulcher: a reliquary or shrine where ancient relics are preserved. It all started with an attack on the museum. Now, between school, friends, family and Vlad, Danny's problems are only beginning when Clockwork arrives bearing a mysterious glowing stone.

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Chapter 14—In the Shadow of the Sun

The front door slammed shut behind Maddie and Jack Fenton as they returned home.

"My goodness, Jack," Maddie said while shrugging her coat from her shoulders. "That poor family, can you believe it?"

"She got out safe, her and her kid, so it's all OK." Jack answered with an optimistic smile as he took off his own coat and kicked his boots from his feet. "And besides, we didn't find any ghostly residue in the area so it was probably just a freak accident. Don't worry about it." He laid a large hand on his wife's shoulder, squeezing gently. Jack's cheerfulness was catchy and Maddie found the tension within her slipping away, she smiled.

Someone cleared their throat noisily.

"Oh, V-man!" Jack exclaimed happily at the vaguely disgruntled looking man. "You're still here!" He moved away from Maddie and gave Vlad a mighty thump on the back.

Vlad staggered embarrassingly under the weight of Jack's massive hand before catching himself. He quickly straightened his back and fixed his suit jacket. He wondered at the odd, amused smile curling Maddie's lips, but she was probably just happy to see him. "Indeed, Jack. I was invited for dinner and I'd never pass up a chance to catch up with my old friend." Vlad gave Jack a tight smile. "But tell me, Maddie." Vlad sobered and looked at the red-headed woman. "You were gone for a very long time; were there problems?"

Maddie frowned and looked at Vlad speculatively. "Yes, I'm surprised you don't know about it already, Vlad, since you are the Mayor after all." There was a subtle insinuation in her voice which Vlad ignored. Maddie would never deliberately say anything bad about him. "There was a fire on Old Elm Street last night. It nearly burned down an entire house. There was a woman trapped inside with her baby." Maddie spoke quietly before her voice faded and she was left staring morosely at nothing, as though she herself were imagining being in such a position.

"…" Vlad didn't say anything. He had heard about the event, but didn't feel the need to tell Maddie this, should she feel it remiss of him to have kept it from her.

"They were saved, thank God, and rushed to the hospital. The baby had to be put on oxygen but I think they're both going to make a full recovery." Maddie sighed. Vlad regarded her face for a moment; she looked pained. Maddie, he thought, was such a compassionate soul that she would feel worry and empathy for a mother and child she didn't even know.

Jack though, was completely oblivious to her pain; and Vlad wished that, just for once, he could put his arm around her and comfort her—to be the support she would turn to, not that ignorant, idiotic buffoon Jack… But no, Vlad gave himself a mental shake. This was not the time for such thoughts. He would not let himself be clouded by his emotions. Anger would not benefit him now.

"… It is truly a most unfortunate grievance, and I am sure the city will do everything it can to compensate this poor woman and her child." Vlad said diplomatically, clasping his hands behind his back in a formal fashion.

"That's right, Vladdy! I knew you'd help any way you could!" Jack grinned widely.

"But Maddie," Vlad ignored Jack. "Why were you called down there—I imagine that's where you went, right? To the burned house?" At Maddie's nod, Vlad continued. "Why did the police call you there? Surely they don't want any unqualified ghost hunters snooping around their crime scene?" Here Vlad sent a sidelong glance at Jack. "I mean no offence." When he said this he looked at Maddie.

"That's fine, I know what you mean." Maddie shook her head. Vlad noticed how her fiery hair caught the light and swayed with the motion. "The police certainly have been giving us the cold shoulder recently. But we were asked to go there and do a basic scan for residual ecto-energies."

"They wanted to know if it was a ghost that set the fire." Vlad concluded.

"Yes." Maddie nodded.

"And was it—a ghost?" Vlad's eyes narrowed as he asked this question.

Maddie's face relaxed and she sighed. "No, thank goodness. There was no sign that a ghost had been anywhere in the area for, at the very least, a week. It appears as though it was just an accident, though the police are still investigating. It would've been much more complicated if it had been a vengeful spirit. At least that poor Mother won't have to worry about any evil manifestations coming after her or her child."

For some reason these last words seemed to rub Vlad the wrong way; but he let it slide off him. "Yes, that's right." He folded his arms loosely on his chest, laying his hands over his forearms.

"So Vladdy! How've you been hanging out here, just you and Danny? Hope you didn't have too much fun, Danny IS grounded after all." Jack winked at Vlad.

"Grounded?" Vlad echoed, real surprise showing on his face. He looked at Jack seriously for the first time. "What for?"

"Aaa… Umm…" Jack's grin faltered and he looked at Maddie. She looked away and then turned toward the kitchen. Maddie didn't want to talk about Danny, Jack realized. But her reasoning eluded him, Vlad was their friend, why should they hide things from him? "Well, he got into a little trouble at school…" Jack said, fidgeting nervously.

"What… kind of trouble?" Vlad raised an eyebrow, though he had a suspicion of what Jack was going to say.

"He started a fight with a boy and got into trouble." Jack said quickly, not looking Vlad in the eye, staring off somewhere to the side instead.

"Is that so?" Vlad said thoughtfully.

"But my boy is no trouble-maker!" Jack suddenly drew himself up and spoke with a passionate ferocity that took Vlad aback. "He's a good kid, I tell ya, and though he might get a little side-tracked sometimes he's always known right from wrong. I taught my son good values that he respects and lives by!" Jack's voice was thick with pride.

Vlad's face was completely blank. It was all he could do not to loose his temper and do something violent to the self-righteous fool. What did Jack know about Daniel? What? He didn't even have the presence of mind to realize that the child was half-ghost. Jack knew nothing. "I'm sure you did the best you could." Vlad said blandly, and he moved to walk by the other man, he didn't think he could stand to be in the same room as the self-righteous buffon for a second longer. "But I will do a much better job with him as my son." He murmured to himself.

"Didja say something Vlad?" Jack's voice, back to its normal oblivious happy-go-luckiness, floated up to Vlad.

"No, no!" Vlad made a dismissive gesture over his shoulder, not feeling up to turning and stretching his face into a false smile. "I didn't say a thing, old friend."

As Vlad and Jack entered the kitchen they saw Maddie pulling some salad and carrots out of the fridge looking displeased.

"Vlad, do you know where Danny is?" Maddie asked, pushing a stray piece of hair out of her eyes with the back of her hand. "He was supposed to make dinner tonight…"

Vlad stopped and Maddie sent him a questioning glance. For a long moment nothing was said and as they locked gazes; Vlad let himself be lost Maddie's intense eyes of sapphire and amethyst.

She wasn't worried, not yet, but Vlad hated that he was going to be the one to make this woman's beautiful face twist with dismay and guilt. Because she would certainly blame herself for what happened to Danny; he knew her to well to think that she would do otherwise. And then, blinded by her emotional state, she may even blame him for everything that had happened.

And so, for a moment, he tried to think of any way he could possibly soften the blow for her: something that would make her pain less.

"Well, Maddie," Vlad looked her straight in the eyes as he spoke. "There were some problems in the lab—"

"What?! The lab?! What happened? Danny didn't mess the place up again, did he?" Jack interrupted loudly before racing out of the kitchen. Vlad and Maddie turned to watch his retreating form; and even when he was out of sight they could clearly hear his heavy, flat-footed steps as he thundered down the stairs into the lab. Vlad cursed Jack's tactlessness; couldn't he see that he and Maddie were having a serious conversation? Didn't that bumbling idiot have even the littlest notion of courtesy, of common sense, to stay out of their private chat?

"AH! NO! MY BEAUTIFUL LAB! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Jack's dismayed moan carried all the way up the stairs and into the kitchen.

Now Maddie looked worried. She put the vegetables in her hands down on the counter and smoothly navigated herself around the counter. She whisked right by Vlad and then she too descended to the lower floor.

Vlad sighed and slowly turned, this was not how he'd planned dinner would go at all.

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Maddie stared with growing alarm at the absolute chaos before of her.

Tables and shelves were upturned with their contents strewn in shambles across the floor: papers were scattered out of order with vials of unknown chemicals broken and leaking over them causing irreparable damage. The once pristine metal plated walls and floor were now charred and burned with streaks of ugly black splattered across them, as though a young child had picked up a tub of black paint and thrown it on the walls in reckless abandon.

Dents and cracks twisted and contorted every surface in the room, giving the impression that someone had beaten them in with a wreaking ball.

Even the ceiling showed signed of damage, where a series of small, precise, triangular dents formed a straight line above their heads.

Vlad eyed the line of dents. That was where Danny's icicles had hit the ceiling and bounced off. It was impressive; Vlad knew the ceiling probably wasn't built as strongly as the titanium walls, but even so, to be able to dent metal with just ice… Impressive.

And of course, no one could miss the giant gaping hole in the wall—exposing live wires still hissing and sparking showers of red and gold—that took out an entire section of the lab and possibly did significant damage to the nearby Ghost Portal as well.

"My lab, my Ghost Portal…my Ghost Gabber…" Jack, cradling a chunk of warped metal, bemoaned the loss of one of his favourite gadgets. Vlad, remembering the thing as one of the man's most annoying creations, felt it was a fitting end to the blasted contraption.

"Vlad, what happened here? What's going on, and where's Danny? Is he alright?" Maddie's voice was shrill with worry as her eyes scanned the lab anxiously. When she didn't get an immediate answer she pinned Vlad with her eyes. "Vlad." She said slowly. "Where is Danny?"

Vlad, unable to even think straight while caught in that gaze, opened his mouth mindlessly—wanting to answer but not knowing if he should—when he was unexpectedly saved.

A deafening slam vibrated through the walls of the house as they all heard the front door of the house open explosively above them, ricochet off the wall behind it and close with a resounding bang.

"MOM! DAD! ARE YOU HOME?! DANNY? WHERE ARE YOU!? I NEED TO TALK WITH YOU NOW!"

Vlad gave a mental groan, cursing the timing of the intrusion.

"Jazz?" Maddie called toward the stairs loudly. "Jazz honey, we're in the lab, can you come down here for a second?"

In a few moments, Jazz's form became visible on the stairs as she quickly descended towards them.

"Mom, Dad!" She cried. "What are you doing down—" She broke off quite suddenly as she finally looked up and saw the lab. "Oh my—what happened here? Was there a fight? Mom? What—" And then she saw Vlad. "You!" She yelled, her eyes widening.

Vlad raised a condescending eyebrow at this shorter, petite copy of young Maddie. Jasmine Fenton had never really impressed Vlad in the way Danny had. Spiting her physical resemblance to her mother, she was more arrogant, more cocksure and absurdly judgmental: a poor, faded, shadow of Maddie. Jasmine was also nothing short of devious; Vlad would not soon forget how she had even gone so far as to deceive him personally, just so she could steal from him. How crude. She'd inherited her lack of manners from Jack, certainly.

"Jasmine…" He intoned. "You haven't changed a bit, I see."

"And you've only gotten slimier." She snapped without so much as a pause. "Mom, what is he doing here? And what happened to the lab, and where's Danny?" Her voice grew higher in volume and hysteria as she spoke; and Vlad couldn't help but raise an eyebrow—wondering, quietly, what was causing this normally unflappable girl to act so out of control.

"Vlad was just about to tell us." Maddie said, her voice dangerously calm. Her eyes slid back to Vlad, giving him the unnerving feeling of someone looking into the eye of a violent storm.

"Jazzy-pants," Jack interrupted. "What's the matter? You seem upset."

Jack's thoughtless shift of concern sparked a sudden, inexplicable fire of anger in Vlad. Here they were talking about Daniel. Daniel, who for all Jack knew could be seriously hurt, and Jack was doting over his spoiled, attention-seeking daughter? Even though he was the one hesitating in telling Maddie what had happened to her son, even though he knew Jack was an idiot, this little display enraged Vlad.

What sort of a father disregarded the health and safety of one child for another—when the other was obviously safe? A poor father, a biased father—Vlad answered his own thoughts. Jack was obviously favouring Jasmine, had always favoured Jasmine, and Vlad wondered why he'd never noticed this before.

"No, no I'm fine." Jasmine waved her father's concern off. "What does he have to say?" She was too petty to even refer to Vlad by name, sending him angry little glances as though he was not worthy of her complete attention. Or maybe she was scared of him. Out of bland curiosity, Vlad caught Jasmine's eyes with his own and stared at her for a few seconds, the edge of his lip curling into a cold smirk. She fidgeted, suddenly insecure under his slighting eyes and after only a few moments broke off the eye-contact. Vlad gave an inward grin of smugness: he'd been right, she was sacred. She didn't have the courage to meet his gaze and stare at him in full defiance. Not like Daniel, who defied him openly at every step, every moment, unrelentingly, tenaciously, with the stubborn doggedness of a stalking jaguar.

Daniel was fiery, passionate and wilful; his thoughts were conveyed in his words with no filter in between. He lacked the ability to manipulate, to lie and be treacherous. The ability to think in such straight moral lines, to be able to see, clearly—even while everyone else was caught in a tangled mess of half-truths, lies and insecurity—was an admirable quality.

And perhaps, in some way, it was because Vlad knew that he himself did not posses this ability that made him want it all that more.

Maddie and Jack didn't notice the silent exchange between Vlad and Jazz, though Maddie had noticed Vlad's delayed response and was slowly forming an impatient crease between her eyebrows.

"There was a ghost attack." Vlad said at length, with the wary air of someone delivering news of a coming apocalypse. He eyed Maddie, who had gasped involuntarily. "And I did my best—"

"Danny, where's Danny? Is he alright?" Maddie asked frantically, raising her arms and clenching her hands around the air, as though grasping something invisible to her.

"He is fine." Vlad assured. "He's in his room—"

And Maddie was gone, blurring past him and passing up the stairs in the space of a few heartbeats. Jack looked back and forth between Maddie and Vlad, but eventually settled on Maddie and followed her up the stairs.

And then it was only Jazz and Vlad left in the room.

Silence fell, so thick it was nearly tangible in the air. Jazz glared and Vlad stared back with a mildly disdainful gaze.

"If my brother is hurt—" Jazz began.

"I assure you he will be fine; save perhaps for a nasty headache when he awakens." Vlad effused a tiny chuckle.

"Why don't you just get out of our lives and leave us in peace? Or are you really so pathetic that you don't even have a life outside of chasing women who don't want you and picking fights with little boys." Jazz said acerbically.

Vlad frowned, slowly growing irritated. "You would do well to mind your tongue—"

"And you would do well to mind your manners, Mr. Masters. Or you will find that Danny and my mom are not the only ones in the family who can fight." Jazz drew herself up proudly.

"If you are talking about your father then you are delusional, Jasmine. And I would have grossly overestimated your intelligence." Vlad mocked.

There was a metallic click, something whirred to life, and the next thing Vlad knew he was staring down the barrel of an ectogun.

"You were saying?" Jazz asked, levelling the gun between his eyes; and Vlad could hear the smugness dripping off her voice.

Barely even sparing her a glance, Vlad calmly turned intangible—phasing through both the machine and her before shimmering back into existence behind the girl. Jazz shuddered as Vlad's spirit entered and exited her, leaving her with the unnerving feeling of having lost momentary control of her own body. She turned, suddenly very unsure of herself, and was greeted by the sight of Vlad straightening his already immaculate black suit. Jazz shivered, though not because she'd nearly been overshadowed: Vlad, with his long pale feature and formal suit, had much the same chilling air of an undertaker.

And to him, she was such a miniscule threat that he didn't even worry about turning his back to her.

"So, will you stand there shouting redundant threats at me or will you accompany me up to Daniel's room? Surely you are concerned over his state." Vlad was not facing her, so Jazz couldn't see the self-satisfied smirk that twisted his mouth. But it came through clearly in his tone.

Vlad left, striding from the room in long powerful steps, and Jazz had no choice but to follow.

"So you saved him..." Maddie said slowly, for the third or fourth time, as though she still couldn't believe Vlad's words. They stood—Maddie, Jack, Jazz and Vlad—all crammed into Danny's small room in a tight semicircle around the bed, talking in quiet tones so as to not awaken the boy sleeping deeply under the covers.

"Of course he did! V-man was looking out for my son: blasting that ghost right back into the afterlife!" Jack gave Vlad a tight one-armed hug and, though he stiffened, Vlad forced himself not to shove Jack off him.

"Yes, I did my best to protect Daniel from the ghost. Unfortunately, he misfired his ectogun and hit the ghost portal before I could stop him." Vlad said smoothly, easing himself out of Jack's hold and taking a few steps away from the larger man.

"Well… Danny has never really taken to ghost hunting…" Maddie said quietly, still staring down at Danny's still form.

Vlad noticed the look and moved to stand to her, clasping his arms behind his back. "Yes, but the poor boy did his best—collapsed in exhaustion right after the ghost pulled out of his body. And it was a good thing I was able to get to him in time or that ghost might have…" Vlad allowed his words to trail off suggestively and then watched as Maddie's face paled. He wanted her to realize what he had supposedly done for Danny. If she knew and understood she would be thankful. And with gratitude came a gesture of appreciation…

"Vlad… I—thank—" Maddie's words were prematurely cut off.

"—But Vlad, I had no idea that a man like you even knew how to operate a ghost weapon. How on Earth did you manage to drive off that 'ghost' all on your own?" Jazz spoke up strategically to interrupt her mother's words and to also let Vlad know exactly what she thought of his little story. She stretched the word 'ghost' with obvious sarcasm and sent a narrow glare at Vlad's back.

"My dear girl, I have many talents. Some of which you could only guess." Vlad's voice dropped at the end, heavy with implication; and it seemed that they were having a completely different conversation beneath the one their words conveyed.

"If you are so talented then why did this ghost manage to destroy half the lab before you could stop it?" Jazz raised an eyebrow.

But Maddie was only giving Vlad and Jazz's conversation part of her attention; the majority was reserved for Danny lying in front of her. Maddie watched quietly the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and noted how pale he looked. His hair seemed even darker than normal as it splayed out on the pillow beneath his head. There were dark circles under his eyes and Maddie thought that he really did look exhausted.

But he had good reason to be, Vlad had said that a ghost had attacked and tried to possess Danny. Danny had fought the ghost enough for it to pull out, but had fallen unconscious. Vlad had then held off the ghost long enough for it to get disinterested and fly away. Maddie clenched one hand into a fist. She wished she'd been here. She wished she'd at least remembered to turn on the Ghost Shield… but no, it would do no good to blame herself. All she could do now was be thankful for Vlad protecting her son. And then she'd make sure this never happened again.

Danny shivered and a frown formed between his eyebrows. He twitched fitfully in the bed and one of his arms tried to jerk upward through the comforter. Instinctively Maddie brought one of her hands to his head and ran her fingers through his hair—just as she used to do when he was a small child.

And it seemed to help. At first Danny stiffened, face freezing in an unconscious look of disquiet. But then, gradually, he relaxed under her touch. The lines in his face smoothed and he gave a sigh, curling his head ever so slightly into her hand.

Maddie smiled a tiny, sad smile. When Danny had been younger, he'd loved it when she ran her fingers through his hair, brushing lightly against his scalp with her nails. But as he had grown into a teenager, he'd begun to withdraw more and more from her, and now they barely even spoke to each other.

She missed the closeness they used to have.

Covered from neck to toes in both a blanket and a comforter, Danny seemed very small and young at that moment and Maddie felt a heavy pull at her heart. Letting her gaze fall to the comforter around Danny's shoulders, Maddie traced the midnight blue curves with her eyes and her eyes stilled on the sparkling white stars scattered randomly across the material. The nostalgic feeling still foremost in her mind, she let her thoughts wander.

Danny wanted to become an astronaut. Maddie remembered vividly how every second thought of Danny's had seemed to revolve around the moon and the stars. He hadn't just had his head in the clouds, he'd gone beyond them: living in a world of abstracts and wild dreams that Maddie had never taken seriously, but had still harboured a quiet pride over. He'd had such determination to reach those fantastic dreams of his.

She remembered how he had come up to her—at a mere eight years of age—holding this very comforter up to her and exclaiming in outrage that 'they'd got it all wrong' and 'the stars were not in the right places'. And when she'd told him that all the little dots looked exactly the same he'd returned with a very convincing argument about the brightest star on the comforter and all the other stars' relative positions.

But recently… she hadn't heard him mention his dream even once. And he'd seemed quieter, more withdrawn, and now he was fighting in school.

What was happening to her Danny?

It was with some guilt that Maddie admitted that she was glad Danny hadn't been able to fight the ghost. He had never liked ghost hunting—had always despised how she and Jack fought against ghosts for a living. And it was because, in some ways, Maddie approved of this ideal that she never pushed Danny into ghost fighting. It was admirable to take a stand of pacifism; and Maddie didn't want to see this trait of her son's disappear as so many others seemed to be doing recently.

A hand reached out to encircle her shoulders and Maddie, recognizing Jack's familiar touch, leaned into him gratefully. Though her hand did not stray from Danny's hair.

"We'll get the ghost that did this, don't worry Madds." Jack said quietly, with the same undertone of passion in which he made all such comments.

Maddie smiled. "Yes." It was then, with Jack's comforting presence so near, that the negative thoughts seemed to dissipate from her mind. And Maddie remembered the conversation she and Danny had had just that morning. The maturity and patience Danny had shown then soothed her like a cool cloth washing away her worries.

Everything would be alright, she realized.

"Your touch must be truly magic, Maddie. You managed to quieten Daniel immediately." Maddie turned as Vlad's low voice interrupted her conversation with Jack. She did not fail to see how Vlad eyed Jack's arm around her. The thought of moving closer to Jack just to spite that look occurred to her, but Maddie did not want to further ignite the hostility between Vlad and her husband.

Though Jack would've probably remained oblivious.

Sighing, Maddie moved away from Jack, resolutely ignoring how Vlad's eyes curled upwards in satisfaction.

"You're sure Danny's fine, then?" She intoned quietly, not having the energy for all the drama.

"I am sure. He sustained no injuries from the fight. Though he may be a little shook up, understandably." Vlad answered, sparing a small glance down at Danny.

"I suppose then that you'll be staying for dinner." She didn't know why she was asking, since Vlad had already been invited to stay. Perhaps she was still hoping he would go back on the offer.

"Oh yes, speaking of which, my house is undergoing…renovations…and I am currently without residence…" Vlad trailed off suggestively with a look at Maddie.

"Well no friend of mine will be staying in some crummy hotel while I, Jack Fenton, have place in my home! You're welcome to stay as long as you like, Vladdie!" Jack grinned widely.

"But—" Jazz protested.

"I wouldn't want to impose," Vlad gave a tiny bow of his head. "What say you, Maddie?"

"That is fine." Maddie, waving a hand in the air listlessly. It really wasn't fine, but it would be rude to turn the man away now. "There is still some leftover stew in the fridge; I will get it ready."

"….Hey mom…" Jazz asked hesitantly. And something in her tone made Maddie turn.

"Yes, Jazz?"

"Can I stay up here with Danny…" Jazz looked at her imploringly. "Please? I just… I need…"

"That's fine, dear." Maddie gave her a gentle smile. "I'll bring your share up here." Walking closer to her daughter she reached up and put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "Don't worry too much. He'll be fine."

Jazz's gaze dropped and then moved to the side. "Yeah, I know… I just want to stay up here for a little while."

And Maddie understood. So she let her daughter be and moved to leave the room; but not before sending one last long look at Danny lying on the bed.

Jack followed her and—after sharing a long, tense look with Jazz—Vlad did too.

Jazz sighed and looked back down at her little brother. She opened her mouth to speak, but words lodged in her throat and stuck there. So instead, she grabbed a chair and spun it to rest near Danny's bed. She sat and intertwined her fingers tersely; her widened eyes speaking volumes in their helpless urgency while she herself could not.

Hours had passed since Jazz had first taken up her vigil by Danny's side and she was slowly growing more and more panicked.

She knew something had happened between him and Vlad, but could not ask what since Vlad hadn't come back into the room and she was too scared to leave.

But she knew one thing; Danny was not asleep. Danny never slept this deeply—not since he became a ghost. It wasn't like that in the beginning, her brother had been a sleepwalker as a child and before his fourteenth birthday he could've slept through their parents blowing up the house and been none the wiser. Now, the slightest noises could rouse him into full awareness. It had become almost impossible to sneak up on him.

He was unconscious; which could only mean that he and Vlad had had a fight.

And he'd lost.

As much as this bothered Jazz, she could not dwell on it. Danny needed to wake up—needed to wake up now because Sam and Tucker were in trouble and he was the only one who could help.

Turquoise eyes slid closed. And in the darkness behind her eyelids Jazz could see again that horrible moment in the museum when the doors had slammed shut, separating her from Tucker and Sam, trapping them in that room with God only knew what sort of monster.

She had ran. Helpless and knowing it, she had turned like a coward and ran. But though it shamed her, she could not fool herself into thinking she could save Sam and Tucker alone. And when Danny hadn't answered his phone she did the only thing she could think of—run.

As she had passed through long corridors and hallways, it had only occurred to her in a fleeting way that there was no one around her: no tourists, no guides, no one… but it hadn't meant much to her in her mad flight from the museum. Walls blurred and exhibits darkened and distorted into sinister shapes that had pursued her at the heels of her feet. And when she had reached the threshold of the museum a thunderous roar of wind had echoed from behind her: rushed up and hit her—grabbed her, screaming, right up into the air before throwing her from the museum.

And as she had placed her hands underneath herself, shoving against the grassy ground and tossing her hair out of her eyes, she'd looked back at the museum and was awed and horrified at what she saw.

A swirling miasma of sickly greens had congealed and condensed into a glowing dome around the museum. Rotating in a slow, mesmerizing pattern, the dome turned continuously, even as the drifting green haze within it seemed to eddy and churn in completely independent motions.

Jazz gaped as she slowly pulled herself to her feet. In spite of her better judgement, one of her hands rose, trembling, and brushed the dome gently.

A spark had raced between the dome and her fingers before they could contact and she'd jerked back with a startled gasp. The spark was reabsorbed into the dome, which gave a responding jiggle that reminded Jazz disturbingly of jello.

"You who posses neither the will nor mercy of Legion, do you come to offer your soul to the Abyss?" A deep voice seemed to rise from the very earth around her and resonated deep within Jazz's heart. It had left her momentarily breathless. But, not letting her wits scatter, she quickly forced herself to respond.

"I come to ask about two of my friends. They are within the museum. Please, they meant you no harm, let them go!" She had called desperately to the air, hoping the voice would hear her.

"The ones you seek are sacrifices offered to the Legion. They are under our contract and will not leave." The voice had intoned.

Jazz had felt the powerlessness rise within herself. How could she fight something she couldn't even see? "No! You have to let them go! They never offered themselves to you; they would have never willingly accepted that. You have no right to take them!"

"Who are you, petty human, to command Legion?" The voice had a tone of amusement to it, as though it mocked her conviction.

Jazz drew herself up. "My name is Jazz Fenton!" She'd exclaimed loudly.

There was silence for a few moments and Jazz had deflated slightly. She wondered if she'd said something wrong.

"I have a proposition for you, human." The voice suddenly spoke.

"Tell me!" Jazz had said eagerly.

"You, Jazz Fenton, will bring me the hybrid known as Danny Phantom. Only then will I consider releasing your companions." The voice spoke in a voice so coy it was almost a purr.

Jazz froze. How did this… voice, know her little brother? In a second she remembered Danny's trip to the museum, and that was when everything started to piece together. His weird behaviour, his reclusiveness, the wariness, even his fight with Dash… It had all happened after his trip to the museum! He must have met this thing… whatever it was, and it…fought Danny? Did something to Danny? Jazz didn't have enough information to answer that yet.

"What business do you have with him?" She had called out bravely.

A harsh breath of cold air had swept through her, rocking her back on her feet. Jazz had shivered, but refused to raise her arms and hug herself.

"If you want to see again your companions you will bring me Danny Phantom. That is all."

"What? No! Wait!" But though Jazz had yelled and called out, the voice had not returned and after awhile she had had no choice but to turn around and head home.

And now, as she stared down at her brother's still form lying on the bed she couldn't help but wonder what that voice—a ghost, it must have been a ghost—wanted with her little brother. What they all wanted with him, all the ghosts, they were all after Danny in one way or another. It made her feel…like there was a permanent vice around her heart, one that would clench up tight, then relax, only to clench up again right after without relief.

"Oh, Danny…" Jazz interlaced her fingers under her nose, stared at—through—Danny. At nothing in particular. The image of Sam and Tucker—caught, trapped who knows where, unable to escape—was stuck in her mind.

"What are we going to do?"

It was very late when Jack, with some persuading from Vlad, finally coaxed a sleepy and protesting Jazz from her chair and lead her to her room.

Vlad had no idea why Jazz was being so stubborn. Perhaps it was in her character, but Vlad had a feeling that something more was bothering the girl. Putting it to the back of his mind—perhaps he would ponder on it later, when he didn't have any more pressing matters—Vlad focused his attention on the boy lying before him.

Danny still hadn't awoken. And though he assured Maddie it was normal, Vlad was beginning to feel a twinge of unease. It shouldn't be taking this long for a halfa of his endurance to wake up.

In the darkened room Vlad managed to locate Jazz's abandoned seat and took up the vigil where she'd left off. The dinner with Maddie had been nice, but there had remained a stale bitter taste in his mouth even after she had finally thanked him earnestly for 'saving' Daniel.

Vlad told himself though that it was only the overcooked stew that was causing him heartburn.

As wonderful as she was, cooking just wasn't on of Maddie's strengths.

Crossing his arms and crossing his legs, Vlad settled himself into Danny's rotating chair. With power enhanced eyes he looked around the boy's room.

It was a typical bedroom of a fourteen-year old: messy and disorganized with various personal affects strewn about in general disarray. The object of these affects though was unusual: posters of comets, stars, the sun and the moon were plastered across the room. A model of a plane was on the table—broken, but someone had taken great pains to glue it carefully back together—and a magazine sporting a picture of the Cape Canaveral space station on its cover was stuffed haphazardly into a shelf.

Vlad had been surprised when he'd found out that Danny's dream lay in the moon and stars. To become an astronaut was a relatively common dream—but for children, not teenagers. Danny was serious about his passion and reached for it even when it was a near impossible dream. Especially with his less than stellar grades.

But then the elder man supposed that this was common of Daniel. He seemed to have a talent for reaching for the impossible and grasping it by both hands. Really, this example was only one of many.

Vlad didn't know for how long he sat in Danny's chair, mulling over nothing in particular, but eventually he found his eyelids growing heavier. And it was with a long exhalation that his head finally drooped against his chest and he fell asleep.

Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il Il

Vlad awoke with a jerk and immediately scanned the room around him with narrow, suspicious eyes.

When his gaze fell on a model plane sitting on a table he realized he was in Daniel's room and relaxed somewhat.

After a few seconds though he tensed again and frowned.

Something was wrong.

He looked again at the plane and noticed that it was broken. But unlike before it wasn't repaired and the two halves lay, separate, next to each other. Vlad stared at the model for a moment.

There was the sound of rustling fabric nearby and Vlad's head swivelled around.

Danny was lying unconscious on the bed, shifting in a restless fashion.

Vlad leaned in closer. At first glance, Danny appeared to be normal; but as he neared he could see there was a layer of sweat of the boy's forehead. Eyelids twitched and trembled from rapidly moving eyes and the teen's lips were parted, moving rapidly in the formation of words. But they were soundless, no air passed behind those words.

Realizing the child was probably having a nightmare, Vlad reached out to shake the Danny's shoulder—but froze when a high pitched giggle sounded from behind him.

Vlad spun around.

"Who's there?" He barked into the darkness of the room. There was no answer and no movement. The room was empty save him and Daniel.

"You're facing the wrong direction, stupid."

Vlad gasped and spun back around, one hand instinctively alighting in light ruby ectoplasm as he moved. But there was no one, no one except Daniel who was still unconscious on the bed.

His ghostly power dying away, Vlad's eyebrows creased as he looked at Danny. The shadows in the room were strongest around his bed. Looking closer, his eyes widened as he realized that the darkness fell like a veil over the unconscious boy, and it was getting blacker by the moment.

"Daniel," Vlad called. "Daniel!" His voice rose with urgency but he received no response from the teen. Rashly, Vlad stuck his hands through the hazy cloud and grabbed the boy's shoulders, shaking him hard.

But Danny's head lolled to the side listlessly. He did not stir.

"He will not wake."

Vlad growled, tightening his grip on Danny and standing over him. "Who are you?" He demanded.

"My, my, protective, aren't you? Up here."

Vlad's head snapped upward and he let out an involuntary gasp.

"Who—what are you?" Vlad gaped.

The creature grinned. But its features, a cruel mockery of Daniel's own, stretched the expression impossibly, displaying two gleaming rows of filed, pointed teeth in a cavern of black, framed by a pasty, lipless mouth.

Onyx eyes glittered with sadistic glee as it watched Vlad absorb its form.

Colourless skin. Lank, stringy hair. Ripped rags sagging off emaciated limbs. Clawed fingers and those horrid, soulless eyes—the creature hanging from the ceiling looked nothing like Danny. And yet, there was something in it expression—some madness in its eyes— that reminded Vlad sharply of the look Daniel had had when he'd attacked him.

"What are you?" Vlad repeated himself.

If anything, the creature just widened that toothy grin on its face and then with a shout of laughter, it threw out its arms and fell from the ceiling.

Vlad let out a muffled yell and back-pedalled. Catching his heel on the chair behind him, he lost his footing and fell. Not having let go off Danny, he dragged the boy down with him as he dropped—but somehow managed to get both of them out of the way as the creature plummeted from the ceiling.

Landing on all fours in a deep crouch like a cat, the creature splayed its clawed hands across the carpet, cocked its head. It bent its knees and lay so close to the ground that it still managed to look up and grin madly at Vlad's fallen form.

"I am the air you breathe. I am the fear that creeps in the shadow of the sun. I am the temptation that lurks in the heart of even the most pious man. I am the darkness in you. And I am the darkness… in him." The creature crooned and reached out to Danny's unconscious figure in a way not dissimilar from a child reaching for their pet. Vlad pulled Danny away from the creature's groping fingers.

There was a chilling laugh and Vlad looked up. The second he did, he felt his fingers clench on the air and, with a thrill of shock that ran like an ice-cube down his spin, he dropped his eyes to look at his hands.

Danny was gone.

Vlad snapped his head up to the creature and there Danny lay: flat on the ground at the thing's feet.

The doppelganger, a twisted monster with features that repulsed him even as they mirrored Danny's, bent over the unconscious boy and looked closely at his face. It was a disturbing contrast, Danny's own youthful, healthy face contrasted against the creature's sunken, pasty face of melted wax.

"Such a beautiful soul. I am sure that even you know—the potential this child has, blasphemous Halfling though you may be."

"You're one to talk about blasphemy." Vlad scowled, pulling himself to his feet. The creature didn't answer and the elder halfa grew perturbed at how intently it was looking at Danny. "Get away from him, you monster."

"Monster? I am no monster." The thing laughed. "I am fact. And an inevitability. But think what you will. I have no interest in the likes of you; you served merely as temperance for my amusement. I grow bored with you now."

Vlad called upon the power of his ghost half, igniting both his hands and pointed one flame-wreathed finger at the creature. "I will not warn you again. Step away from the boy."

The doppelganger looked at Vlad, studying him for a few long moments before grinning that awful grin. It raised its hands and stepping back. "As you will. I will leave, for now." It took a few steps back then lowered its hands. Tilting its head down, it looked up at Vlad with a sinister expression. Suddenly the tension in the room increased tenfold and Vlad had to fight a shiver as the aura around the creature grew remarkably more ominous. "But remember, with brighter light comes an even darker shadow. You cannot protect him from himself."

There was a pause. Then the creature added one last comment.

"Oh, and you may call me… Ahriman the Deceitful."

And Vlad gasped as the world seemed to collapse onto itself.

Vlad awoke with a sharp, backward jerk and stared around himself wildly. He was still sitting in Danny's rotating chair—though he'd nearly overbalanced it with his rude awakening—and it was dark. He tensed and nearly turned ghost right then and there. But as a subconscious gesture he ran his tongue over his top teeth and felt the sensation. He relaxed. This was no dream.

A groan sounded from his right and Vlad looked over.

Danny, lying under all the blankets and covers in his bed, let out a breath of air and opened his eyes. Blinking, bright blue eyes were revealed and then quickly flickered over to him before widening–blinking once more in their incredulousness.

"Vlad?"

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End Chapter 14

To Be Continued…

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Alrighty! Hmm… was that a cliffhanger? Uh, ah, I guess it was…. I'm not sure though so maybe I'll stick around and see what you guys throw at me (plucks out umbrella and holds it in front of self). Oh this? This is just for insurance… 'cause y'know, fanfiction authors are cheap and can't afford those strong Plexiglas walls to hide behind (Ok, just realized I'm no longer making sense… that's a bad sign… usually means freaky plot twists are approaching… or that I need sleep XDD).

SH Aerrow's Girl: YAY! You're so awesome, I loved your review! I'm glad you like how I portray Danny and Vlad! Funny enough, Vlad's pretty hard to write 'cause I don't want him to be 'evil' per se… just a little obsessed XD. I don't really like it when Vlad's made into some evil sociopath because it just isn't really his character, you know? And I was a little worried that this story would be a little too…serious or creepy (;p) for the Danny Phantom universe, but I'm trying to keep everyone in character as much as possible. Hey you know, I've also always thought that Danny and Harry are awfully alike (though Voldemort's got a bit more evil on him than Vlad XD) it would be so cool if they met each other huh? (I'm a total crossover fan, though this story probably won't go that way lol). So I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Vlad's reaction and his conversation with Danny will be in the next chapter!

xXAnimeKittenXx (or is it RenesmeeScarlet?): Hee hee, yeah it was a little long wasn't it (sheepish grin). That seems to be a bad habit of mine. I take awhile to update, but when I do it's with long chapters. This was another long chapter, but I just couldn't help myself! XD I hope you liked it though!

Agent Alto: Thanks so much for three of your reviews! You're way too nice (grin). I have to say that I wasn't sure if I managed to pull off the 'scariness' in this story (I wanted to do it without going overboard into horror) so it's really great to hear that you thought I achieved it! And you know, really I don't think of it as 'torturing' my favourite character… I'm just making them go through intense character building experiences that will make them grow and mature as people… XD OK fine, so maybe it is torture, but I can't help it! It's just so much fun to make Danny go through stuff! XDD I know this chapter is a little late, but I hope you liked it nonetheless!

MutantLover09: (Munches on EvilCliffhanger Wheeties©) Huh? Oh! Where'd I get these? (rustles wheeties) well, you mentioned them and they sounded kinda interesting so I got myself some. And I hafta say they're quite yummy! XDD Anyways, yes, do tell me all the ideas you have about what you think will happen in the story, the plot and stuff! I love reading them; and who knows, you might actually give me ideas! :D And ah yes, Vlad. Hehe, like you, I like stories that make him a bit more complicated than just 'evil' or 'good'; and in this story I'll be exploring the relationship he has with Danny, which I personally enjoy (And, oh my goodness, VladxDanny stories are just wrong (…). So no worries, that'll never happen in this fic!). To answer your question, Vlad will play a role in this fic. I'm not sure how large, but he won't fall into the background. I'm glad you liked him (Yay! (Claps hands and jumps up and down) it took forever to decide how to portray him) hehe) and I fleshed him out in this chapter a little more so please tell me what you thought! Oh and no worries, my jokes are lamer (Danny's witty banter, oh goodness…(facepalm).) .

Thunderstorm101: Hehe (evil chuckle) looks like you'll have to wait just a little bit longer to find out what happened to Sam and Tucker! I promise though that there'll be more plot advancement in the next chapter! Hope you liked this update! Looks like Vlad's getting a little insight on what's been going on with Danny :D

sciencefreak330: Oh there's still quite a bit of that obsessive compulsive Vlad we all love to hate underneath that protective exterior XD I have to say, Vlad's just way too much fun to write! As for Sam and Tucker… well… I can't really say how they are, but there'll be more answers in the next chapter! :3

Anonymous Shadow: YAY! That's great that you liked the fight scene, that thing was a major pain to write XD I actually had to lie back and visualize the entire thing before even attempting to write it; then all these other details tried to worm their way in (like Vlad's cape, ha! Vlad needs a new cloak XD) and I was worried it was getting a bit confusing, heh. Anyways, this chapter was a little less plot-based, more character-analysing… hope you enjoyed!

candidus-lupus-full Moon: Oh wow, thank you so much for giving such high compliments! I think it's one of the best things to be told that my story creates visual images as you read it, and it really encourages me to keep working on this story (and put more effort into it!). So really? You read this entire thing at night? That's so awesome XD Scary is a genre that I haven't really explored so it's cool to hear that it made you jump :3 Hope you liked the chapter!

Velvet Star: Yeah, Vlad's a softy underneath it all, isn't he? XD Too bad he's got too many issues for it to show properly XP Funny, when I started this chapter I didn't plan on having Danny sleep the entire time and look what happened! XP Ah well, there was Vlad development, so I guess it was alright… More plot advancement in the next chapter!

Yugisrose: Ah! Sorry this chapter was late! I had some trouble writing the Vlad, Maddie, Jack and Jazz scenes (I dunno if they, all four of them, were ever in the same room at the same time in the show so I had nothing to draw on, hopefully I didn't throw them too far out of character XD). I hope you haven't forgotten the plot though, and that you liked the chapter!

inukagome15: Certainly leaving Danny alone with Vlad is a bad idea… but then again no one really seems to be able to get along with Vlad—except Jack. Ha!—in spite of his softer side (poor Vlad! XD). Well, Vlad didn't get to see the spot… but he did meet our resident creature-ghost thingy! I wonder what he'll say to Danny? (No really, I have no idea what they're gonna say to each other! XD)

Souless Ace: Hee hee, no problem, I'm just glad that you did review, and that you're enjoying the story! I find Vlad's character fascinating—though a little hard to write—he has the potential to be caring, but his issues always get in the way. I showed a little more of his character in this chapter, hope you liked!

zizzy333: Yes hehe (rubs hands together evilly). After this chapter the plot's going to start to pick up and then we'll really start to see what this story's all about! I can't wait! Honestly, I have all these ideas of what I want to happen and no time to write them! I wish they'd write themselves so I could just read 'em and edit 'em XD (too bad my brain can't be connected to the computer o.O'').

Plain English: Hiya! Yeah, I sometimes get bored of the two-dimensional Vlad that's always depicted in fics. I'm doing my best to keep him in-character while still giving him multiple facets. I added a little more of his character in this chapter (showing more of his obsessiveness) tell me what you thought! Also, I like Vlad-Danny interaction, so there'll probably be more of that to come ;p Hope you enjoyed!

TexasDreamer01: Awesome! Glad you liked it… now I hope you liked this one too! XD Danny's got some major problems, and so does Vlad and Jazz and Sam and Tucker and even Maddie! Gah! So much to keep track of! And I told myself I wouldn't make this story too complicated (snort). Ah well, tell me what you thought!

Adio!

Sholay