Hiya!

Yeah… Sorry for the long delay in getting this out. My exams are coming up and I've… kinda… kinda, just a little bit… been neglecting my writing—terrible, I know.

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom and all related characters are the property of Butch Hartman. I suppose I don't own Star Wars either XD

Enjoy!

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The Soul Sepulcher

-By Sholay

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Chapter 15—Measure of Worth

When Danny realized it was Vlad watching him so closely while he was lying flat on his bed, he immediately jerked upright and scuttled away as far back on the mattress as he could without falling off the other side. Stubbornly ignoring the blood rushing to his head and the odd lethargy in his limbs, Danny tensed his body and clenched his fists, glaring hard at the elder halfa. But when he looked at Vlad all he saw was a blur of white and black that made up the man's suit and hair. Disturbed by his blurry vision, but trying to not show it, the teen narrowed his eyes threateningly.

"Really, my boy." Vlad's voice came light and amicable, without a trace of the smarminess Danny had expected. "I'm not going to hurt you; you don't have to be afraid."

The world was still fuzzy, and in Danny's sleep muddled state he couldn't quite find the energy to be indignant at Vlad's words. Nonetheless, his body had tied itself up into a tense knot and the wariness remained. "Yeah," the teen grunted. "I remember you saying something like that when I woke up in that tube in your lab. Right before you electrocuted me."

"Nonsense, Daniel. I said no such thing." The use of his full name annoyed Danny, though not as much as the fact that he still couldn't make out the expression on Vlad's face. It was irritating to have not idea what the elder halfa was thinking.

Danny blinked then rubbed his eyes, trying to force them into clearer focus. "Oh, right, excuse me," he mumbled. "You said 'This won't hurt much'. Face it Vlad, you're not a very reassuring guy."

"And you are not a very reassuring actor." Vlad's voice suddenly dropped and Danny stiffened, not being able to decipher what that tone meant.

"What are you talking about?" He said slowly, still rubbing the bridge of his nose. Honestly, he was not in the mood for one of these double-edged conversations right now. He was tired, he couldn't clearly remember what had happened to put him in this state—unconscious in his bed under Vlad's nose, of all people—and he could already feel a headache forming under his fingers. Danny stopped rubbing. With a few more strong blinks the world finally began to come into sharper focus.

"I mean this." And Vlad's hand snaked out to curl around Danny's right shoulder. Danny let out a startled yelp and recoiled from the touch. Instinctively, his own left hand came up to cover his shoulder—to cover the thing that was on his shoulder. His fingers wound themselves into the material of his T-shirt. The mark was still hidden.

"I knew it." The elder man said pensively. Danny didn't look up at him, instead focusing on the patterns stitched into his comforter. The haze in his eyes was almost gone: he could see the beginnings of Delphinus wrapped around his knee, a sight that reminded him of how he'd meticulously mapped out the constellations on this blanket as a child.

It was kind of silly, he thought, idly tracing the pattern with the hand that was not clasped around his shoulder. It was silly that he spent so much time chasing a dream he could never hope to achieve.

Why did he do that?

"I knew there was something wrong with your shoulder." Vlad's words brought Danny back to the present and his eyes moved away from the bedspread. Now that he could see the billionaire more clearly, he was able to note the serious lines drawn on the elder's face.

They locked gazes for a moment. But Danny—unused to being the object of such intense focus—quickly became unsettled by the older halfa scrutiny and he frowned, dropping his eyes to the buttons of Vlad's suit.

"What are you talking about?" Danny said, knowing he was repeating himself but unable to help it.

"There's something going on with you Daniel; something that's causing you to lose control of your rage and powers." Vlad leaned back in the rotating chair—his rotating chair, Danny noticed—and crossed his arms, smug satisfaction tugging at his lips. The elder man looked distinctly pleased at having figured out Danny's secret, an attitude that set the teen's teeth on edge.

"There's nothing wrong with me." Danny said forcefully. "And even if there was, it's not like I would tell you, you fruitloop."

Danny expected Vlad to get mad, get upset and loose his patience like he always did.

What he did not expect was for Vlad to suddenly lean forward, fold his arms on his knees and smirk. "Touché, little badger." The man conceded. "Nevertheless, there is something wrong with you. And in the interest of your health, I advise you to confide your distress in someone. Perhaps those little friends of yours, or your busybody sister." A hand waved in the air dismissively. "Obviously it is too much to ask that you trust me right now." Was it just him or did Vlad sound regretful?

Vlad suddenly placed his palms flat on his knees and pushed himself to his feet. "I suggest though, that whatever you choose to do, you do it soon." He paused and looked at Danny in a pointed fashion. Danny just stared. "Because what happened today could very easily happen again. And next time I might not be there to stop you."

What happened…? Danny tried to remember: Vlad had said something—accused him of vandalizing his house?—and… and Danny had gotten angry. They'd fought and then… and then… Danny squinted his eyes, pressuring the darkness in his memory to recede.

His right hand gave a phantom twinge and Danny remembered. His arm, it had started to hurt. Then… he'd felt a great surge of power and…

Danny's eyes widened.

"The lab! The Ghost Portal!" He gasped, snapping his gaze to Vlad.

A smirk curled the edges of the man's lips. "Yes, you did quite a number on them, not to mention my cape." Vlad hesitated, but if he was expecting Danny to apologize for torching his cape he was sorely disappointed. Stroked a hand over his hair, Vlad hummed thoughtfully, patting down a spot where an invisible strand had come loose of his pristine ponytail.

"It is obvious that you've been stressed, Daniel. Whatever this problem is, it's causing you to act rashly, to make decisions without using your sense—"

"Gee, Vlad," Danny shot the man a twisted smirk. "When did you become such a psychologist?" He said sarcastically.

Vlad drew himself up. "I'll have you know, I have a number of talents about which you know absolutely nothing. I am a master fencer, for one; and I happen to be an excellent cook."

Danny thought his eyebrows would reach his hairline. "You? Cook?" He couldn't imagine Vlad even stepping foot into a kitchen, let alone touching a skillet. He seemed like the kind of man who loved having everything served to him on a silver platter.

Either that or he'd steal it.

"Yes, as a matter of fact." Vlad flattened the front of his suit, his spindly fingers pausing to shine one of the buttons. "In my youth I did not have all the financial assets of today and it was something of a necessity."

There passed a long silence and Danny revelled in it. He couldn't believe that he was actually having a normal conversation with his arch-enemy. Where were the insane plots? The ridiculous demands? The Vlad that was standing in front of him right now seemed almost… normal.

Almost as though he were reading Danny's mind, Vlad looked up at the younger boy with a sly smirk. "Oh, don't get the wrong idea, little badger." He raised a fine eyebrow. "I am only calling a truce for the moment; since picking a fight with a weak, defenseless child hardly seems worth my while. Besides, I had a nice dinner with Maddie so I am quite satisfied for tonight."

It was simply amazing how Vlad could make Danny go from mildly curious to raging mad in a matter of seconds. He glowered darkly but Vlad only looked amused.

"Oh and before I forget, you may want to exchange words with your sister." The elder halfa said blandly.

"Jazz?" Danny forsook anger for intrigue, just for a moment.

"Yes, she seemed quite anxious to talk with you." Vlad had a hand on the door and was already halfway out of the room. "Well, ta for now, Daniel. Don't worry, I might be leaving tomorrow, but you've proved that you can't handle yourself alone. I'll be sure to keep a closer eye on you from now on." And before the shocked teen could get another word in, Vlad had disappeared around the corner and passed out of view. Somewhere down the hall there came the sound of a door opening then closing with a quiet click as the older man entered the guest room. And then all was quiet.

After a few moments, Danny realized his mouth was open and closed it with a snap. Thinking about how he was going to have to sweep the whole house for bugs—again—made a low growl rise in his throat.

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Danny crept down the stairs.

Once he had fully awakened, he'd found, quite annoyingly, that he couldn't get back to sleep. After ten pointless minutes of tossing and turning—during which he'd rucked up the sheets and pulled them right off the mattress—Danny had had enough. Throwing the covers to the side, he shoved himself to his feet and made his way to the door.

It was dark, but Danny could see easily enough and he sidestepped his backpack that was lying haphazardly on the floor: books, paper and pencils spilling outward. A quick glance at his clock showed the time to be a few minutes past five in the morning. Danny wondered why he couldn't just lie back down on the bed and wait for sleep to come to him. He supposed that he was just so used to collapsing on the bed and falling asleep immediately after an exhaustive day of ghost hunting that he no longer had the patience to just lie around and wait for sleep. It was a strange thought that, coupled with the remembrance of how lazy most of his teachers thought he was, made him chuckle a little.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Danny could see that it wasn't quite as dark as he'd initially thought. Faint hues of pink and blue flittered in past the curtains of the family room… and diverged around a dark figure on the couch.

Danny did a double take. Yes, there was definitely someone sitting on the couch, but who? And at this hour? Danny's eyebrows rose.

'Wait a minute,' His brow furrowed. The figure's head was bent, resting in a pair of hands; long hair spilled over, hiding the face from view. In the dawn light, the hair glowed a soft pink, but in reality, Danny knew it was actually a fiery red. 'I know that hair.'

"Jazz?" He called, softly.

His sister's head snapped up at the sound of his voice. Hair flying over her shoulder, she blinked and looked over at the stairs with wide eyes.

"Danny?" She said. Her voice was a loud whisper; but it lifted at the end in uncertainty.

Realizing she probably couldn't see him in the shadow of the stairs, Danny descended to the ground and walked into the family room.

"Hey, Jazz," He said, in the same, soft tone. One edge of his mouth crooked upward.

The next thing he knew, he was catching his sister in his arms as she threw herself at him in a flying tackle.

"Whoa! Hey, Jazz, what's wrong?" Danny cried in surprise and concern. The hug was not entirely unwelcome, but it was unexpected. As Jazz clutched at him, her chin rested on his shoulder and he couldn't see her face. Hands frozen midway between gripping his sister to hold her upright and embracing her back, he eventually decided on the later. Placing his hands lightly on her shoulders, Danny was alarmed to find out that she was trembling. "Jazz?" He asked again, with real worry now. "Jazz, what's wrong?"

"Oh Danny, you're alright, right?" Jazz leaned back out of the embrace and took Danny's face in her hands. "You're not hurt? You're fine?"

Danny stared. "…Yes. I'm fine…" He said, eyeing her tentatively. He knew she couldn't be this upset over him being hurt. It happened too often for this kind of extreme reaction.

"That's good, that's good," She looked away, drawing her hands together and interlacing her fingers. By the way she worried the inside of her lower lip and drew in a stilted breath, Danny knew she was trying to decide how to break some bad news to him.

"Jazz…" He drew out her name, and looked at his sister pointedly with hooded eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Danny!" Jazz suddenly blurted. "I knew it was a bad idea, I knew it! But I didn't say anything; I thought maybe it was no big deal and they—we—could handle it! But then it got out of control and I couldn't help and now they're gone and you were hurt and I didn't know what to do!" Jazz was rambling and Danny, though shocked by this unexpected confession, quickly moved to intervene once she took a breath. He knew that if he didn't interrupt her she would continue babbling endlessly.

"Jazz, Jazz!" He raised his hands and gestured at her to stop talking. When this didn't work, he grasped her by the upper arms. "Hey! Shh! Stop. Breathe." He watched her critically as she did what he asked. The breaths she drew in were a little shaky, but when she finally looked relatively calm, Danny continued. "Ok, now, tell me what's wrong."

"…" Jazz wrung her hands. "I'm sorry, Danny." She said again. Danny thought for a second to tell her to stop apologizing, but bit back the snappish comment before it could pass his teeth. "Sam, Tucker and I went to the museum today."

Blank silence was all that filled Danny's head for a long moment.

"You what?!" he cried a little too loudly and Jazz was the one who had to shush him this time.

"Sam had this theory that whatever was causing all the weird stuff to happen around town—Dash's cat, the burglaries—had come from the museum." Concentrating on giving a detailed explanation, Jazz seemed to calm down. When she paused, her next breath was steady. "She thought it would be fine if we checked it out on our own."

'Yeah, because she's probably still upset with me.' Danny thought with a pang of guilt; this guilt however, was not enough to stem his rising aggravation. "And you went along with this?" He couldn't help it when his strained voice came out somewhat accusing.

"I never knew it would be dangerous!" was her immediate riposte. Jazz's defensiveness quickly passed though and she ran her fingers over the lower half of her face in a self-calming gesture. Danny was rapidly loosing his temper and Jazz knew she had to remain level-headed for his sake and hers. "We thought it was just some minor ghost… You were grounded, and we thought that it would be safer to get it over with in the morning, instead of waiting for you to sneak out at night."

There were many, many things wrong with that statement and Danny had to clench his teeth to avoid saying something caustic. "What happened?" was what he said instead. His voice was low and controlled with the effort he was putting into not exploding.

"Sam and Tucker got… caught by whatever was in the museum." Jazz said quietly. Not willing to see the disappointment and distress that would be on her brother's face, she lowered her eyes.

And it was probably for the best, because it was not disappointment that crossed Danny's face in that moment.

It was fear.

A vision of sickly yellow eyes flashed across Danny's vision: shifting darkness, the helplessness of not being able to move; paralysis. Despair, pain and loss. Eyes; eyes that saw straight into his heart and pulled his life straight out of his mouth.

Danny swallowed, choked and had to gasp in a breath of air.

Jazz, still looking away from Danny and caught up in her own thoughts, didn't notice his suddenly arrested expression. "I managed to get out of the museum, but then this huge dome-shield came up around the museum. It—whatever it was—spoke to me. It said… it said it wanted me to bring you." Now Jazz looked up at her brother, silently asking for an explanation.

By this time, Danny had collected himself and, though his eyes were still a little too wide, he managed to push the vision of yellow eyes out of his thoughts. He licked his lips. "Well, then… Let's give it what it wants then, huh?"

Jazz looked like she was going to argue.

The fear had faded and—with the familiar need to stay strong for someone else—confidence returned to Danny. He shot his sister a cheeky grin. "C'mon, you think some dusty old museum ghost is gonna get the best of me?" He jabbed a thumb at himself in a show of arrogance.

And Jazz did seem to relax a little. A small smile shadowed her lips. "Don't get too cocky now, little brother." She reached out and ruffled his hair.

Playing along, Danny swatted at her hands and tried to duck away with an indignant 'Hey!' as his dark hair flopped into his eyes.

"Your hair's getting long again." Jazz said lightly, brushing back the bangs with her fingers.

Danny just smiled. "C'mon, let's go kick this ghost's butt back into history!" He said, striking a heroic pose.

Jazz rolled her eyes. "Your puns need work, little brother." She said.

"Oh, my puns need work?" He shot her a sly look, to which she just huffed. "Then how about this," he added. "Let's go make history!"

Jazz's eyelids fell half way. "That was worse."

"Then what if I just yell 'You're history!' when I fly at the guy?" Now Danny was just playing with Jazz. She laughed.

"Speaking of history," she said. "I heard you had an essay due in history class yesterday. How'd that go?"

The grin on Danny's face was replaced by a shifty expression. "Uhh… Yeah… It was… good?" Ideally, since he'd been suspended, he would have finished the paper and given it to Tucker to hand in. Unfortunately, that essay was the one piece of homework Danny had completely forgotten to do; not that he was going to let Jazz know that.

She was looking at him suspiciously though, so he thought it a good time to change the subject.

"Anyway! I'm goin' ghost!" And he thrust his hands into the air. With a flash of icy blue light and a swirl of energy, he was glowing with green eyes and floating two inches off the ground. "Here, hop on." He landed on the ground and showed his back to Jazz.

Jazz hesitated for a moment; usually when Danny took her flying he would hold her hand, letting her glide along the air beside him.

He looked back over his shoulder at her and seemed to understand what she was thinking. "It's faster this way," he said. "And it takes less energy if I carry you rather than making you fly next to me."

"Ah," Jazz still looked uncertain, but with a bit more prodding, she eventually put her arms around Danny's neck and clasped her hands together tightly. She was taller then him, but with his ghost enhanced strength he hefted her weight onto his back with ease. Shifting his arms and hooking his silver-gloved hands under her legs to hold them comfortably, Danny paused long enough to give Jazz a brief warning to hold on before shooting upward into the air.

Jazz gave an undignified squeak as Danny turned intangible mere inches from the ceiling and they flew upwards through the roof. Danny grinned, but held back in teasing his sister as he turned his eyes toward the horizon. The museum was far, and he couldn't fly at his top speed with his sister on his back, but he figured they could probably make it in twenty, thirty minutes tops.

As they skimmed through the air, flying high over houses and treetops, silence fell between the two siblings. Partially, it was due to the seriousness of the situation, but there was as an undertone of awe as they both stared at the scenery around them.

Jazz had never flown with Danny around dawn before; and whenever Danny was up at this hour he was usually too preoccupied with whatever ghost was trying to blast his head off to notice the scenery.

The sun peeked out between a layer of grey clouds, throwing long rays into the sky. Like the hand of Midas, everything the it touched turned to gold: clouds, trees and even rooftops were all basked in gleaming outlines.

Danny gazed at the sight appreciatively. Morning or night, the sky always held some magic for him. Above him, he knew his sister was feeling it as well.

Looking down, the halfa spotted the gleaming flagpole of Casper High. The towering metal rod was empty of its usual flag; a quiet reminder of the cruelty that had taken place there just a few days ago.

Pulling himself upright, Danny stagnated in the air. He glanced around, trying to visualize the road his class had taken to the museum that day of the fieldtrip. It was exasperating because he could remember exactly how long the ride had taken, what the bus driver had looked like, how the chair in front of him had had a huge rip down one side and even the colour of the gum Dash had tried to spit into his hair midway through the trip—but he could not, for the life of him, remember the road the bus had taken to the museum.

Honestly, he could fly; was it that much to ask for a sense of direction?

As though on cue, Jazz leaned forward over Danny's shoulder and pointed somewhere to the left. "That way." He could practically hear the smirk in her voice.

Danny gave a noncommittal grunt, leaned forward and started flying in the direction she had indicated.

His sister's giggles floated over to him, "How is it possible that you can fly and still have such an abysmal sense of direction?"

Pointedly ignoring the fact that her words echoed his own thoughts, Danny fell into a swift barrel-roll, eliciting a short outcry from Jazz as she clung to him fearfully. As soon as he pulled out of the roll, she detached one of her hands long enough to smack her brother over the head indignantly, an act that did nothing to stop the younger boy's sniggering.

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When they arrived at the museum, Danny let Jazz jump off his back before flying upward.

"Stay here." He said, gesturing to the large trees that surrounded them.

"But—" Jazz protested.

"No Jazz," Danny said firmly as he frowned at her. "This thing is seriously dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt."

Jazz mirrored her brother's frown. "What about you? And it's partly my fault Sam and Tucker are in this mess so—"

"Jazz," Danny sighed. Seeing that this argument wasn't going to work, he opted for a more logical approach. "Look, I can handle this; and I need to find Sam and Tucker. I can't do that if I'm worrying about you too—and you know I will be." Danny added the last part when Jazz opened her mouth to protest.

She pursed her lips and crossed her arms in displeasure. Then, unexpectedly, Jazz's eyes lit up and a grin grew on her face.

Danny eyed his sister warily as he floated in mid-air. He didn't like that look.

"Okay…" She said. "I'll stay down here." That crafty look on her face did nothing to alleviate his concern.

"…And?" Danny prompted.

"Well," Jazz reached behind her back into a bag strapped to her waist. Danny blinked; he hadn't realized she was carrying anything. Jazz's hand withdrew and in her palm was a small, metallic, tubular device. With her index finger, she depressed a red button on the metal stick and two long beams light, encased in glowing green energy, grew from both ends of the device, extending almost a meter in either direction.

With the vaguely overeager air of someone who had practiced a lot for this moment, Jazz spun the rod nimbly in a few, quick rotations before pulling it behind her back and striking a cocky pose. She threw her head back, tossing her hair over one shoulder, and looked up at Danny with a grin that was almost smug. "I think I can handle myself."

Danny once again had to restrain himself from saying something cutting—something about how looking pretty and windmilling a flimsy Star Wars prop around like an overexcited cheerleader would be completely useless against a ghost—and he wondered where all his unusually snide mental commentary was coming from.

Instead he drew back in the air and shook his head. "Fine," he raked a hand through his hair, pushing back long white bangs. "But you're not coming up with me. Stay here and stay hidden. If I need help I'll signal for you."

Jazz shook her head. "I don't think so. You'll never ask for help. I'll stay here, but if I think you need help, I'm coming after you."

"Fine, fine." Danny didn't have time for this; he'd just have to make sure he didn't need help.

Rising above the treetops, Danny hovered. For a moment he simply watched the glowing, swirling energies that made up the ghost-cum-human shield around the museum. There was no one gawking at the scene, no policemen barring the area off—everyone was too familiar with these kinds of occurrences in Amity Park. However… Danny looked at the sky, the sun had nearly risen. If he waited too long his parents would probably show up and, though Danny Phantom currently had a fragile truce with the Fentons, he wasn't willing to strain that relationship.

Danny flew over to the museum.

Hesitantly, the teen reached a hand down to the glowing dome—brushing it lightly with his gloved fingertips. The instant his hand touched the mass of energy there was a buzz and crackle: a spark of white lightning raced across the top of the shield and Danny recoiled.

But the lightning leapt outward, following him as he backed away. Surprised, he couldn't move away fast enough. As a last resort, he threw up his arms, the beginnings of an ectoplasmic shield forming in his hands. The lightning struck fast and hard, shattering the weak barrier like glass and exploding in a splinter of blinding light on Danny's arms. With a short outcry, he was thrown backward in the air, tumbling head over heels.

When he finally caught himself, Danny righted his body and tried to shake out the scrambled feeling in his head. He gave a few, short, pants of air then quickly pulled himself back together. The unusual hostility of the ghost shield had surprised him, but other than a light tingling in his arms and the fizzing static in his hair, he was fine.

Danny looked up through his bangs at the museum.

His fists clenched—alighted with spectral energy.

Sam and Tucker were in there, past that dome. He had to get to them. One way or another he was taking that shield down.

Danny had his hand raised, a battle cry ready on his lips and was split seconds away from rushing toward the museum when a deep booming voice halted him mid-step, catching him off-guard and scattering his thoughts.

"So you have come, misbegotten son of Sin."

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End Chapter 15

To Be Continued…

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Er… shorter chapter than the last one; but still, tell me what you thought! ;p

SoullessAce: Yay! That's awesome that you like all my mad psychoanalysing :D Sometimes I wonder if it's just me who's always over-dissecting a character's… er… character (XD). But yeah, it's good to know that I'm not the only one who likes to peek into Danny and Vlad's minds and figure out what makes them tick (It's way too much fun ;p). So at any rate, more Danny-Vlad interaction and then some Danny-Jazz (I guess it's not really hard to figure out who my favourite characters in Danny Phantom are, eh? XD Although… I like Valerie too and she hasn't shown up much yet… ). At any rate, yeah, I do my best to add lots of details and such… I want to make it seem like the reader is 'in' the fic (does that make sense? o.O')

zizzy333: Ehehe, seriously, you'd think I was attached to my laptop, I never go anywhere without it XD… problem is it keeps FREEZING! AH! (Glares at virus-wrought PC) I guess it's my own fault for not getting a proper virus scan but Still! I thought my computer liked me more than this (sighs). Oh and when choosing between cleaning your room and updating… always update!! XD (Actually, it's a little creepy that you made that comment because at this moment my room is an absolute mess… and I'm updating o.O)

Velvet Star: Hey! Glad you liked it! I hope you enjoyed the Danny-Vlad interaction in this chapter. And of course, Danny's being heroic again and rushing after Sam and Tucker (rolls eyes). He's just asking for trouble, isn't he? But I guess that's what we love about him! ;p

Nylah: Heya! Yeah, Vlad has issues… and it's so much fun to poke and prod those issues XD I wanted to 'establish' his character in the last chapter so that I'd be free to play with him later ;p It's weird though, isn't it? Vlad's such a complex guy… yet he has such simple goals ^.^

RenesmeeScarlet: Okies! Glad you liked it!

Thunderstorm101: Hehe, I'm not sure if Vlad could ever be a 'complete' good guy (what with his incredible talents of wrapping concern and condescension all into one XD). But he certainly seems to care for Danny… And, truth be told, I'm not sure if Danny could handle another bad guy at this time xp Will Danny save Sam and Tucker? We'll have to see, but I will tell you that I'm a sucker for happy endings… yeah XD Not that this fic is ending anytime soon (shifty eyes).

Yugisrose: Yay! I'm glad you remembered the plotline! (I know, when you're reading lots of different fanfics they tend to jumble into one massive story in your head XD). Hope you liked the update!

MutantLover09: Hee hee, I'm glad I made your day. Your review certainly made mine, so the sentiment is definitely returned =D And YES! I love your Evil Cliffhanger Wheeties! Can't you tell?? ;p Ok… um… am I going to have to start running away now? xp Hehe, at any rate, yup, I enjoy your musings, they help avoid possible plot holes AND have an added bonus of making me break out into evil, maniacal laughter (Yeah… you know you write too much fanfiction when… XD). Also it's awesome that you like my analyses of Vlad and Jazz (cheers). I do love picking apart characters; but sometimes I wonder if I get a little long winded (looks at word count of story). Yeahhh… not long winded at ALL… XP. Oh and! For the suggestion you made, right, right, I didn't realize I said Vlad's name so many times in that chapter (sheepish grin). In general, I don't usually like to refer to the characters as descriptions like 'the blue-eyed boy' or 'the smarmy billionaire' just because… well, it's a personal tick I guess :3 However, I tried to make some variations in the pronouns in this chapter, is the repetitiveness a little less?

jhl: Heya! Thanks for reviewing! Here's the update, hope you enjoyed!

TexasDreamer01: Yeesss… Torturing Danny is FUN… a bit TOO much fun, methinks ;p It's an issue, I think, I have 'Bash-Your-Favourite-Character' syndrome or something xp… Ok YES I probably could have come up with a wittier name than that but I have exams next week and I'm tired (coughcopoutcough) XD

If-I-Could-Write-500-Miles: Hiya!! Hehe, how awesome is it that you reviewed right on the day that I'm updating? ^.^ I was just about to post when I checked my mail and found your review. I'm glad you liked the first chapter!! I hope you enjoy the rest of this massive manuscript thingy XD Tell me what you think once you finish! =D

Adio!