Chapter Sixty-Three: Spar

Valerie would be visiting soon. Danny sat on the highest roof silently, knowing that Dan was getting ready to meet with her. It was likely that he would have to spend the night with Vlad like at Christmas. The wind whipped through his white hair as he took in the view, miles above the ground. He saw Valerie approach the building and then Dan was running out to greet her.

He wanted to fly. He missed that part the most about being Danny Phantom, when he was flying high above the ground among the stars, safe from view and free of responsibilities.

He wanted to fly so badly, but he knew he couldn't fly in this form, and if he strayed too far with the cloak off…

"Seven months." He murmured. "If Johnny 13's estimate was right." He glanced at the watch next to his blue bracelet and stood up, climbing back into the window of the highest tower. He had homework, and he couldn't do it while his powers were sealed. As he left the high tower room, he glanced at a mirror. He'd been looking a lot better – the bruise on his face was gone – but he still couldn't wear any clothes without it turning black. Oddly enough, the blue bracelet didn't change. Maybe because Vlad gave it to him, or maybe because of the material. Oh well, he didn't question it.

He walked through the hall and gave a polite nod to Valerie as she and Dan walked past, laughing about something Dash did in Amity Park. Amity Park…was it protected enough? Were his parents and Valerie enough to protect it to the extent that he did, so much that he slipped in his grades and exhausted himself to the point of collapse?

He entered the lab and shut the door behind him, taking off his cloak, watch and bracelet and letting them fall to the ground behind him. His white hair changed to black, and his black shirt changed to white, and his black jeans and boots changed to blue jeans and white sneakers. The bandages reduced to just being on his arms and he walked over to stand in front of the portal, holding out his hands to form ecto-blasts.

He heard the door open and didn't even have to look to know it was Plasmius. The door closed and he glanced over to see the older ghost lean against the wall, watching him. "You know," Plasmius commented. "We do have a sound-proof training room, if you want to spar against me. Phantom always holds back against you, and you can't properly gauge your strength until you're in class with Dark."

"Phantom wants to grow stronger, not me. I just want to be more than a shadow." Danny replied.

"But you want to be a help to him." Plasmius moved towards him. "I can help you, just as I have been helping Phantom."

"No!" Danny turned to him, blasting him with an attack that moved him back a few feet. "You and Dark are both leading Phantom down the path of ruin, why would I trust you?! The only reason he wants to grow stronger is so he can have his revenge! I don't want him to have his revenge! I don't want him to destroy himself! Look at him, compared to when we were Danny Phantom! He's different! He would never let anyone touch him, but now he's constantly going to you and—don't touch me!" He jerked back when the older ghost grabbed his hands, looking at him sternly.

"Daniel." Plasmius paused, trying to calm his anger. "Phantom was broken by the Guys in White, not us. He's the one who begged for the power to take his revenge; we never told him to take it. I am offering to train with you not because I want to see you kill people or because I want you to join me in taking over the world, but because I care about you and don't want to see Phantom in tears like he was the day you died!" He leaned his face in closer, gripping Danny's hands tighter. "If you want to hate anyone for what he's becoming, hate the one who betrayed your trust and hurt you." He hissed, releasing his hands.

"Y-You know?" Danny breathed.

"Yes, I know. I know who really killed you, and, no, Vladimir does not know." Plasmius said quietly. "I have not gone to rip out his spleen because Phantom promised you that he would not tell Vlad or myself and also that the murderer wouldn't be killed. He wants to take his revenge himself, but right now he's too weak. He could be easily overpowered and forced into a lab, and what if he was tortured and forced to give up your location? Or information about Vladimir and I? That is why he's still training and hasn't gone to fight him now. That's why he's been trying to avoid him at all costs, because just his voice makes him feel sick. And that's why Jack Fenton can still sleep easy." He stepped back. "Now, would you like to spar with me?" He asked, his voice a normal volume.

"Let me…collect energy first." Danny turned to the portal and summoned the ecto-blasts, putting them together to form a ball of energy.

Plasmius had found out, somehow, but hadn't told Vlad. He was sure that Plasmius would've killed his father as soon as he knew, so why was he waiting to let Phantom have his revenge? He waited until the ball was bigger than his head and then absorbed it, looking at Plasmius. "…What do you see?"

Plasmius smiled a bit, picking up the items Danny put to the side. "An outline. You can kind of tell it's a person now." He extended a hand. "Come, Daniel."

Danny nodded and took his hand after turning off the portal, letting him lead him to the training hall. They arrived at a door and Plasmius inputted a code, opening it before leading him in. "For the record, the code is 6-6-7-9. You and Phantom can come in here any time you wish." He set the items to the side and closed the door behind them, gesturing to a console in a protected clear room near the door. "You can change the settings as you like on that console and different dummies will come out for you to fight. Go high enough in the settings and you will start encountering artificially-made ghosts."

Danny nodded, then turned to him. "Alright. You wanted to spar?"

He smiled and released his cape, letting it fall off to the side. "It's not fair if I'm the only one with something to pull on." He remarked, taking an offensive position.

"Capes are silly, anyway!" Danny grinned, forming an ecto-blast and firing it at him.

Vlad blocked with a shield with one hand and fired back with the other, Danny darting out of the way. He was fast, faster than Danny Phantom was, and he used that agility to his advantage by blasting at him from a side not blocked by the shield. Vlad fired back, then formed three clones to join the fight. He knew that he was using a lot of abilities that Danny didn't know, but he was confident the boy would do alright anyway.

Danny hovered in the air, ecto-blasts in his open palms as he assessed the situation. He saw blasts coming from the four Plasmius' hands and waited for them to be about to hit him before he flew up, letting the beams hit each other. "Nice." He murmured, smiling as he darted around and powered up a blast, hitting one and then another when the first was knocked to the side.

He was getting better; that was for sure. When he first started in his lessons he couldn't do a thing. Now he was blasting and dodging, watching his opponent's moves before moving. Actually, Plasmius had to wonder if that was something he learned in the arena. He decided to change tactic and called all the clones back, watching what the teen would do.

Danny watched him carefully, drifting from this side to that to see if he had anything hidden. When he was content that he didn't, he powered up an attack and fired it. Plasmius darted around it when it got close enough and then the one following it, getting close to Danny and blasting him with a sudden attack that sent him slamming into the wall behind him. He cried out and started to fall but recovered, shaking his head as he formed ecto-blasts in his hands and flew around the room. Plasmius expected him to attack him again, but Danny flew around the room as he placed the blasts together, forming the ball as he flew.

"He's healing." Plasmius murmured, summoning his clones and having them blast at the teen with him. Danny weaved around the blasts, zipping back and forth around the room as his ecto-ball grew bigger. Then he suddenly shot towards Plasmius, holding the ecto-blast. "What is he…?" Plasmius started to fire at him.

'I hope this works!' Danny thought, holding out the ball and blasting it at the older ghost. It connected, sending the ghost flying clear across the room and slamming against the wall. "It worked!" Danny cheered, then gasped as he dodged the attacks from the other clones.

Plasmius slowly got up from the ground, wiping blood from his lip. "That was new." He commented, looking up at the boy. "He made me think he was going to heal, but was actually making a stronger attack. Smart boy, caught me completely off-guard."

He watched as Danny struggled against the clones and then smirked, turning invisible and sneaking up on him. Then he turned visible right behind him, wrapping his arms around him to pin his arms to his sides. "You're mine, boy!"

"Hey, let go!" Danny squirmed in his arms. "Let me go, Plasmius!"

"I don't think so." Plasmius smirked. "You want to be let go, you'll have to make me let you go."

"Fine!" Danny formed ecto-blasts in his hands, crying out as his wrists were roughly grabbed and he was held up by his wrists. "Ow, it hurts! Let go!"

"Make me." Plasmius smirked, one of the clones coming up and wrapping his arms around the boy.

"Hey!" Danny squirmed, not liking this at all. "Stop it! I said stop!" He growled, feeling the clone start to feel him up. "I….said…." His eyes flashed green. "STOP!" He yelled, and then a green light-blast came from his body, throwing the clones and Plasmius off.

Plasmius flew back and stopped himself before he got to the wall. Chuckling, he de-summoned the clones. "I concede, Daniel. You've obviously been coming up with some new tricks that you never used as Danny Phantom before."

Danny slumped to the ground, panting heavily. "Yeah…but that last attack took me out like a Ghostly Wail…"

Plasmius flew over to him and gently lifted him up, cradling him in his arms. "Let's put on your cloak and go do something less tiring, hm?"

"Mm." Danny nodded, curling up in his arms. "Yeah, that was exhausting. Fun, but exhausting."

"You should demonstrate those moves in class tomorrow." Plasmius suggested as he carried him to his cloak and fastened it on before going to retrieve his cape.

"Maybe." Danny put on his watch and bracelet, then turned to him. "Thanks for the spar, Plasmius."

"Anytime, little badger." Plasmius rubbed Danny's head affectionately. "Anytime."

Danny smiled and left the room, pulling his hood over his head as he headed up to the main house.

'Phantom's mind is locked away from me.' He thought. 'I guess he's in the throes of pleasure again.' He sighed, shaking his head. He didn't like how he kept being cut off from Phantom when he was having sex, but what could he do? Tell him to STOP having sex? Yeah, right. Like he'd do that.

He went to the den and found himself alone, but not for long. Plasmius appeared behind him, apparently having been invisible. "Shall we play a game?" He suggested. "Or would you like to read together?"

"What if Valerie sees you?" Danny frowned.

"I'll hear her coming. Besides, I'm sure you'll know as soon as they're done with their love-making." Danny blushed and Plasmius chuckled, closing the door behind them and locking it to ensure privacy. "The reason I know about your father is because I can read your mind, Daniel. I don't share a link with Vladimir like you and Phantom do, so the secret is safe with me. Especially since he hasn't de-summoned me since he found out I'm more than just a convenient form." He smirked and walked over to look at the books. "Now, what shall we read?"

Danny walked over to join him, looking over the books thoughtfully. "Well…what's this one?" He picked a book he didn't recognize the name of.

Plasmius looked amused. "You don't want to read that."

"What do you mean?" Danny asked.

"It's a very graphic adult novel Dan has been reading." Plasmius informed him. Danny quickly jerked his hand away from it and backed away from the bookshelf. "What's the matter?"

"Why is that out here where anyone can grab it?" Danny asked, frowning.

"Because Dan reads it in the den." Plasmius chuckled. "It really gets him in the mood. Why don't you give it a read?"

"No thank you." Danny turned and headed for the door, but Plasmius flew over and placed his palm against the door, standing behind Danny. "Plasmius…"

"Really, Daniel, you're acting like such a child." Plasmius placed his free hand on Danny's shoulder. "You know that you cannot do the marriage thing anymore, so there's no point in waiting for it."

Danny looked down, clenching his fists. "I-I'm not…"

"There's no shame in enjoying a basic desire, Daniel." Plasmius said calmly. "Why don't we try it now? I'll go slowly, and if it really upsets you then we'll stop." He moved his hand from Danny's shoulder, sliding it down to his hip. "Will you give it a chance?"

"But…Sam…" Danny pursed his lips.

Plasmius sighed. "Daniel, how do you know that she hasn't slept with someone already?"

"Sam would never do that!" Danny snapped. "Don't try to poison my mind, Plasmius, you can't trick me like you tricked Phantom!"

"You stupid boy…" Plasmius closed his eyes, gritting his teeth, and then suddenly shoved Danny roughly, slamming him on his front against the door and pinning him there. "There was no 'tricking' involved! He willingly slept with Vladimir, practically BEGGED for it, the night of your funeral! Then all it took was a bit of coaxing for him to come to MY bed! I admit, I took it by force the first time, but you see how easily he got over that! He chose to start destroying himself long before we asked for him to come to our beds, Daniel! So enough with your asinine claims, or I'll take what I want from you by force!" He hissed in his ear, then pulled away and let the teen fall to his knees. "We were getting along so well, too." He scowled and shoved Danny out of the way, unlocking the door and going invisible as he opened it and left the room.

Danny sat on the floor, his back still sore from earlier. Swallowing back tears, he slowly pushed himself to his feet and looked towards the open door. "I won't cry. Not in front of you, Plasmius." He said firmly.

That night at dinner, Dan, Valerie and Vlad all noticed Danny was being even quieter and surlier than usual.

"Uhm…James?" Dan spoke up first. "You okay?"

"Gee, I dunno. Am I?" Danny said, glancing at him.

Dan cringed a bit. Judging from his reaction, something must've happened while he was busy with Valerie and their connection was cut off. "Is it…uhm…Mr. P?" He asked.

Danny looked away. "…Yeah."

Vlad sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll have a talk with him, James. I'm sorry if he upset you."

"Who's 'Mr. P'?" Valerie asked.

"He's James' private tutor. You missed him today, I suppose." Vlad explained.

Valerie nodded. "Well, if he's picking on poor James than you should see about finding another tutor."

"He's the best I could find." Vlad sighed. "I'll just talk to him about not being so harsh on him next time."

"Well, alright." Valerie nodded. "As long as James is alright." She gave a comforting smile.

Danny returned the smile and went back to his food. The topic changed to school, with Valerie talking about her classes and being asked to join clubs, but how could she join any clubs with ghosts running amuck all the time?

"But I heard the Fenton Ghost Portal was sealed." Dan frowned. "Where are the ghosts coming from?"

"If I knew, it would make things so much easier. I'm personally waiting for Danny Phantom to show up again so I can whack him for vanishing all of a sudden! He may've ruined my life and I wanna whack him for it, but it's not right to be so dependable to the people and then vanish for months!" She huffed.

"Well, maybe he has his reasons for being away." Dan said softly. "Maybe something in that Ghost Zone place you mentioned before is keeping him busy."

"Well, the ghosts have stopped asking about him, so they must know where he is." She frowned. "Maybe he's been captured by them. That would make sense."

"What do you think is happening to him, in that case?" Dan asked.

"I dunno. He had a lot of enemies and grudge-matches that nearly levelled the city." She sighed. "Nothing good, that's for sure."

Danny set down his fork onto his empty plate and got up, leaving the room. It was true; they had made a lot of enemies. That was the reason they were guarded so closely by Plasmius, but after their fight…he had to apologize to Plasmius. He checked the rooms that Plasmius usually hid in when they had visitors, then went to the training room and lastly the lab.

The Ghost Portal was open. "Oh, darn." He sighed. He would have to go looking for him in THERE. Looking over his shoulder, he thought, 'Plasmius went to the Ghost Zone, I'm going to join him. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You stay with Valerie.' before he took off the watch, bracelet and cloak and flew into the portal.