Chapter Twenty-Six: Dan

Vlad handed the young ghost a cup of cocoa and then sat across from him in an armchair. He took it gratefully, but just stared at the mug blankly. "So…are you feeling up to telling me what happened?"

Phantom closed his eyes, thinking of how to tell the truth without telling him about Jack. "The Guys in White…saw me change back into Danny. So, they captured him when he was out with his father and threatened him to not interfere or Danny would die right then. He was captured with him, and then they ripped me out of Danny with some tool I've never seen before."

Vlad nodded, sipping his tea. "Drink, it'll calm your nerves."

Phantom nodded, taking a sip of his cocoa. "A-Anyway, they proceeded to do different experiments on us, always taking care to stitch us back up and bandage our wounds. Danny went along with it, for the sake of his father, and I didn't fight for the sake of Danny."

"You didn't try to escape?" Vlad asked.

"W-We tried. They caught us and said that if any of us tried it again, the other would be hurt. So, we obeyed." Phantom said, tears slipping down his cheeks. "We endured the pain…" He set his mug down. "After a while of nothing, we wondered if maybe we would be let go. But, they took us to this place, like an arena, and forced me to watch while Danny battled lab specimen after lab specimen. He did well at first, but the last one…I was allowed to interfere before they killed him, but he was in pretty bad shape."

Vlad narrowed his eyes, sipping his tea again.

"The doctor there told them to take Danny to a hospital, but they didn't. Four days later, he started to show really bad symptoms, so I alerted them and they…they took him away. They took him to the hospital, but it was already so bad…" He sniffled. "He survived ER…thought it was okay. But, he died a while later. I didn't know how long…Danny just told me that he only had two hours to live, and…we talked until…" He started to sob, curling up on the armchair. "And it hurt…all over…when he d-died…"

Vlad got up and walked over, wrapping his arms around the sobbing ghost. "It's always horrible to lose someone you love…" He looked at him. "I'm curious, though, how did you talk to him, Phantom?"

"A-An ability we came up with in that place. We can—c-could—link minds and share our thoughts to c-communicate." Phantom wiped away his tears, looking at him. "P-Plasmius…Vlad…"

"Hm?" Vlad smiled a bit.

"C-Can you…train me?" Phantom asked. "I-I need…to be stronger. Please."

Vlad sighed, pulling him closer. "Oh, little badger, you should know that all you had to do was ask and I would train you all you wanted. You can stay here with me, you'll be safe here."

Phantom nodded. "Can you…show me to my room? I need…rest."

Vlad nodded and took his hand, leading him away from the abandoned cocoa and up the stairs to his bedroom. They reached a door and Vlad opened it, gesturing for him to go in. "I had hoped…you would've stayed with me sooner."

Phantom stepped in, feeling a rush a pain go through his body. Everything about the room was just so Danny. The clothes in the dresser, the decorations, even the bedspread. He walked over to the bed and sat down, his eyes wide and shaking.

"Are you alright?" Vlad asked.

"I-I'm…alright." Phantom nodded. "Thanks…Vlad."

"Call me if you need anything." Vlad closed the door, leaving him to his devices.

Phantom waited until he was gone and then he walked over to the dresser, pulling off his remaining glove and then kneeling to remove his boots. Then he pulled off the stained hazmat suit, tossing it to the side as he dug into the dresser for clothes that Danny would wear.

The white and red shirt didn't suit him. The jeans didn't suit him. And the sneakers surely not. But, it gave him a bit of comfort to be wrapped in the clothes of his other self. He looked in the full-length mirror and smiled grimly at the sight before him.

Vlad came in a bit later to ask what he wanted to eat and stopped short. "…Phantom?"

"…Yeah?" Phantom asked. He was standing against the mirror, his hands on the glass as he imagined Danny on the other side.

"Were you hungry for anything in particular?" Vlad asked, walking over to him.

Phantom pulled away from the glass, shrugging. "Dunno."

"Well, anything you won't eat?" Vlad asked.

"…Mashed potatoes?" Phantom shrugged again. "That's all he—they—fed us."

"Very well, I will avoid adding mashed potatoes to the menu." Vlad went to the door, then turned to him. "…It looks good on you, Phantom."

"…Dan." Phantom whispered.

"What?" Vlad blinked.

"Call me 'Dan'." Phantom said, looking at him.

"But, my dear boy, 'Dan' is the name of—"

"I don't CARE!" Phantom yelled, his eyes flashing red. "My name is 'Dan Phantom'!"

"…Alright, then. Dan." Vlad nodded, opening the door. "I'll call you when it's time to eat."

Phantom waited until the door was closed and then turned to the mirror. "Don't worry, Danny. I'll make sure he pays for it. But, I won't kill him like he did to you. I promised, after all." He whispered.

Vlad headed down the halls, that haunting image of Phantom's eyes flashing red for just an instant making him uncomfortable. What had become of the sweet Phantom?

That night at dinner, Vlad waited for Phantom to come down. He'd called him twice, but he still hadn't arrived. Sighing, he started to get up when he saw Phantom come through the ceiling. "You know, I do have stairs."

"This was faster." Phantom—Dan, Vlad had to remind himself—said calmly, taking his seat at the table.

"And yet I still had to call you twice." Vlad raised an eyebrow.

"I was sleeping." Dan replied, grabbing his fork and starting to eat.

"Well, Pha—Dan, I hope you're more punctual when it comes to your lessons." Vlad said, sitting down and starting to eat. "I may be patient, but Plasmius has no patience for teenage drama."

Dan chuckled, cutting into his meat and taking a bite. "'Teenage drama'? The only 'drama' will be his dramatic fall when I kick his ass."

"Dan, please be more polite to him. He is your mentor, now, and not just one of your foes." Vlad sighed heavily, shaking his head. He'd brought this on himself, he supposed. He knew how snarky the teen ghost was. Still, it was good to see he was feeling a little better.

Now, how to tell him the news he'd gotten earlier. "…Your lessons will have to start next week. I've been invited to Amity Park to attend Daniel's funeral." He said calmly, glancing up when he heard the silverware clatter. "I'm afraid I can't take you along."

"Please? I'll wear a cloak or something!" Dan cried. "Just let me be there! They'll never know who I am!"

His pleading was painful to endure, and tore at Vlad's heart-strings.

"…I'll try something. Maybe I have something that will dampen your power and make you not show up on any ecto-scanners." Vlad said, nodding. "I'll try."

Dan nodded and took up his silverware again, eating his food.

Vlad sighed, eating his food. Now he could have to go to his lab and make a cloak for him that would dampen his ecto-energy, or else he'd have one very distressed ghost on his hands.

After dinner, Dan returned to his room and Vlad went straight to the lab to get that started. He had one day to get it done, since the funeral was in three days and it would take a day to get there. As he worked, he groaned softly. 'How am I going to explain who he is?' He thought. 'I should dye his hair something other than black.'