Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom, I'm a big fan and was feeling nostalgic.

Note (12/6/2017): Just a quick note, I don't know what powers Nocturne's Sleepwalkers actually have so I gave them a weak version of his flame powers so they would be a little more formidable. Other then that, brace yourselves for the tearful reunion coming up! But we'll see if it's full of tears of joy, or of an enemy begging for mercy from the most terrifying ghost in the world who wasn't even a full ghost! Vlad Plasmius!

~Chapter 6~

Come, Let Us Away

(Chapter inspired by the song In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix

& Bebe Rexha)

At long last, Nocturne's masterpiece was complete! It had taken him longer then usual to weave this dream from the threads of Owen's memories but he could not afford to make any mistakes without the risk of waking his prince too soon. Speaking of which, Nocturne noticed an ebbing flow of dream energy coming from him so perhaps it was time to draw forth more memories to distract the boy before he bestowed this perfect dream upon him...

Easily teleporting to Owen's bedchamber, Nocturne smiled wickedly upon seeing the serene look on his face. When he'd first succumbed to Nocturne's power his expression had been pained and troubled even in his sleep, but now it was calm and peaceful. And unlike before there was absolutely no movement to betray any feelings of distress. Aside from the steady rhythmic raise and fall of his chest as he breathed, Owen lay completely still.

"It won't be long now. I only need a little more energy from you then I'll be ready to begin forming more of my Sleepwalkers to build up my army as we invade that other world. Their dreams won't be nearly as...handcrafted as the one I've made for you though. Creating them will keep me busy for awhile but that is a welcome change to the stillness of the past few millennia," Nocturne then approached Owen, holding the dream in question in his palm where it pulsed softly and lazily drifted down to Owen's body. "Like you I longed for change. For something to break the cycle I was trapped in and now it finally has. All thanks to you child. As a reward, I hope this humble dream will satisfy all of your desires until the time comes for you to-"

When the dream spell was about make contact with Owen, the boy convulsed as if something had struck in his dream yet his facial expression never changed and he settled back into place. Troubled by this, Nocturne reached for his consciousness only to find absolutely nothing. That couldn't be right. While Nocturne had indeed put him into a deep dreamless sleep as soon as they entered his domain Nocturne altered his dream so that while still blissful and vacant Owen would be aware enough to dream so that Nocturne could draw both energy and memories from him.

Deciding to take a more direct approach, Nocturne attempted to overshadow Owen himself only to be blasted back as his anti-ghost powers flared out. Berating himself, Nocturne scowled, "Ah, that's right. Necromancers are typically immune to overshadowing unless they're in a weakened state. The child was before tired yes and emotionally compromised but it would seem that I gave him perhaps a little too much rest. That doesn't explain why I can't feel ANYTHING from him anymore though. No thoughts. No dreams. Nothing. Its as though...he were empty."

Approaching Owen a bit more warily, Nocturne lifted his head from the pillow with one hand and placed a clawed hand over his brow with the other he attempted to directly absorb dream energy from him and again there was nothing. Not even a weak echo of energy like the last drops of water from a glass. That's when Nocturne realized that somehow Owen, while leaving his body behind, managed to escape in a pure spirit form!

Lowering Owen ceremoniously back into bed, Nocturne shouted, "Sleepwalkers! Form!"

At his bidding, a little over a dozen formed before him and after scanning the room to be sure that he had their full attention Nocturne ordered, "Go now and find the boy! Do not let him escape! Use whatever means necessary to put him back to sleep even if you must attack him. And should anyone get in your way, give them an eternal slumber!"

Moaning in response the Sleepwalker's took off after the telepathic traces Owen had left behind that were just enough to point them in the right direction. After that, the race was on to find Owen who was heading Vlad's way at this very moment. As fate would have it, Owen had made it about halfway to where Vlad was taking a short cut to Nocturne's keep thanks to Skulker's map when he met Venom and the blow he had taken made his body react through the connection they still shared that was instinctively trying to reunite their two halves. If it hadn't been for that, maybe Owen would have gotten a little further...

He might have imagined it, but Vlad could have sworn he heard Owen call out his name and the moment he did Vlad immediately took off in that direction, abandoning the path on Skulker's map. Usually Vlad would have never been so thoughtless but his heart was screaming louder then his vengeance-fueled mind that was currently thinking about just how many painfully slow ways he was going to make Nocturne suffer. That, and something about the way Owen said his name caused some sort of...compulsive reaction that Vlad could only attribute to Owen being a necromancer. It was like he was being drawn to Owen like a moth to the flame, only this flame wouldn't harm him anymore unless Owen willed it or his intentions were anything but benevolent towards him. There was no fear of that though since all Vlad felt was an overwhelming fatherly concern.

Well it was true that Vlad was angry with Owen at the moment but that hardly counted as wishing any ill will on him. No, Vlad was only concerned about his safety and was troubled that Owen had regressed so suddenly back to his old ways of silently enduring the burden alone until it became too much for him. And Vlad would have none of that. Owen was going to be his son so he'd better start acting like it and realize that Vlad was never EVER going to send him back to Mistveil for ANY reason.

Vlad had already been sorely tempted to speed the adoption process along several times now so that Owen wouldn't feel so much pressure about keeping up the 'everything is completely normal' act whenever they had another surprise interview. To someone like Vlad, twelve months did not seem to be such a long time especially since a little over a month has already passed already and it still counted towards that end even though it'd only been a two week visit at the time. But to Owen, after suffering for two whole years alone already, he couldn't bear the thought of living a lie for one more day now that he could finally be himself around someone.

He was afraid of losing it all at the peak of his happiness when something finally was going right in his life for once. And most of all, Owen was deathly afraid to openly admit his love for Vlad without someone taking advantage of that love to try and destroy his heart again. More importantly, they'd try to kill Vlad and Owen couldn't let anyone else get hurt or killed because of him.

When would Owen get it through his thick skull that Vlad was more then capable of defending himself? Perhaps he needed a demonstration? At any rate, it was true that those last two demon attacks did indeed catch Vlad off guard but now he was well prepared for most of the threats to their lives and future happiness. What Vlad hadn't been prepared for was the reemergence of Danielle who seemed to have reopened a well of bitterness that Vlad was having a difficult time keeping out of his heart. That, and Vlad kept forgetting that Owen didn't just have powers similar to a ghost's, but he also knew about or was learning how to use magical spells and incantations too...

All Vlad wanted to do was to start a new life with Owen in Amity Park, growing closer to him as well as his little badger whom Vlad saw in a son-like capacity. Although with Danny, Vlad supposed he saw himself as more of a mentor to the boy since he was the only other halfa in the world. That and Vlad hoped that Daniel's ghostly experience over the past year or so would in turn help Owen since they were both only in the beginning stages of learning how to use their respective powers more actively.

Besides, Owen needed friends his own age too, and having someone who could also hold his own against demons and hostile ghosts would help put Owen's mind at ease when he started a normal daily routine of going to school and coming home to Vlad for more training. Until Owen was strong enough to combat them on his own in order to protect any future friends that would become a part of his unusual life, Vlad had to make sure he was protected at all times. Whether it was by Daniel, or Miss Gray. That was the only way Vlad was going to let the boy out of his sights short of hiring a professional bodyguard that was an ex-member of the Guys in White or something.

Vlad felt like he was getting close now and could practically feel the waves of panic curling off of Owen as the boy suddenly appeared in his line of sight trying to outrun what Vlad could only assume were Nocturne's Sleepwalkers. At first Vlad was surprised at how well Owen was flying despite this being his first time before realizing it might just be instinctual because he was in danger and his Ancestral Memories were probably kicking in to help him. They didn't even know yet if flight was included in his basic necromancy powers anyway. Either way, now that Vlad had found him, it was finally time to show this Nocturne exactly who he had chosen to cross when he stole his son from him. Whether it was official or not, Owen was HIS! And he'd be damned if anyone was going to harm a hair on his head or force Owen to do anything against his will ever again!

These guys were relentless and it didn't help that Owen was on the verge of giving into the pull and returning to his body again. Owen tried everything he could think of to lose them after Venom distracted most of them but there was nowhere to hide here! They were too focused on the task at hand too to fall for any tricks Owen might have come up with.

It was hopeless.

But even so Owen wasn't going to give up that easily. Not anymore. He was going to keep fighting for as long as he could, and that included when he was forced back into his body because Owen thought that surely their abrupt reunion would be enough to jolt him awake. Honestly Owen berated himself for not thinking of that sooner but he was worried that while he was technically a ghost himself that his powers wouldn't work on his own body, at least, nothing harmful if he tried to shock himself or something. He still didn't know enough about this ability to be sure either way of how this worked. His plan had been get out, ask for help by sending an SOS to Vlad, then try to hold his own until Vlad reached him. What Owen didn't account for was how cunning, ruthless, and resourceful Vlad was both inside and outside of the Ghost Zone...but boy he was about to find out!

After trying and failing to out-fly the Sleepwalkers, Owen whirled around and tried to give his other powers a try as a last resort, shouting, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Summoning flames to his hands, Owen shot fireballs at them at random over his shoulder -which still felt sore- not worrying so much about the accuracy of his aim because all he was tying to do was get away. By sheer luck he managed to strike two down but the other four quickly regrouped and encircled him on either side, waiting for an opening to knock him out of the sky.

Charging a basic attack of their own, they aimed emerald flames at him and Owen instinctively tried pulling up a shield but it kept fading in and out just like his form and the frequency was getting even more sporadic now that he was nearing his limit. That, and Owen had a bad feeling that Venom's attack was...well, quite literally venomous. Because ever since Venom's attack struck him he couldn't stop shivering violently which only made that much more difficult to fly straight...

Most likely, it was actually a side effect of staying outside of his body for too long. His soul as it were was completely exposed in this form and as a result Owen's ghost sense was giving him a sensory overload similar to when Danny's ghost core started acting up. Only this was strictly Owen's ghost sense expanding and sensing EVERY ghost in his immediate vicinity, making it hard to focus or refrain from automatically using it in this place where there were ghosts galore. That and he didn't have a body that he needed to keep warm right now so this feeling, it literally could be felt right down to his core. A core that was now throbbing painfully in his chest, alerting him to the danger all around him. Before long this death-like chill was going to make it impossible to move at all.

Moments later, Owen practically fell out of the sky when the shivering became particularly violent. It was over. Owen could already feel the air shift as several attacks were aimed at his falling form to ensure that he was rendered helpless. There was nothing Owen could do to stop it so he simply closed his eyes and let himself fall, hoping beyond hope that Vlad would save him, and braced himself for the pain that was sure to come.

However, it never did.

Several things happened at once. First, Owen heard the 'dying' moans of the Sleepwalkers as something struck them from an unknown attacker. Great, it's probably a stronger ghost looking to take advantage of me too or who knows what. Either that, or Nocturne's here and he's strong enough to reclaim me without them. Even as Owen thought this, not daring to open his eyes, there was a swish of cloth and strong but strangely gentle hands grabbed his shoulders, pulling him against their chest as they charged another attack to finish the job.

This scent, it couldn't be...

He hadn't been able to tell earlier because of his ghost sense detecting even the faintest trace of ectoenergy which made it difficult to define any one ghost in the area but now that it was right there enveloping him there was no mistaking it. It was Vlad. Vlad had found him.

"What am I going to do with you?" Vlad sighed with anger still laced in his voice that was not aimed at Owen.

It was a strange feeling, not being able to cry because Owen didn't have any tear glands at the moment, so a choked sob escaped his lips as he folded his hands over Vlad's steely grip around his torso. Clearly he half expected Owen to bolt the moment the danger had passed and wasn't taking any chances. Even so, it was like everything else faded away and Vlad's comforting warmth was all that mattered. Owen couldn't stop shivering, but at least now there was one ghost here that had no intention of hurting him. Vlad was surely going to give him a verbal lashing for letting it come to this, but none of that mattered. He was here, and everything was going to be alright now. All that was left to do, was tell Vlad the truth before he vanished before the man's eyes, although there was so much more he wanted to say and apologize for...

Turning his head to look up at him, Owen opened his mouth to reply when Vlad all but gave him a full body hug from behind with both arms now the moment the Sleepwalkers were gone. Unfortunately, that jostled the wound on his back and Owen cried out in pain, seeing stars dance before his eyes that had nothing to do with Nocturne.

Startled, Vlad let go of him just enough to turn him around and asked worriedly, "What's wrong?! Did those pitiful flour sacks hurt you? Don't worry, they're gone now. Just tell me where-"

Owen shook his head though and grabbed Vlad's shirt, balling his hands into fists as he told him, "I'm s-sorry Vlad. I'm sorry for e-everything. But-but I don't have much time. I h-have t-to go back."

Vlad's expression hardened and despite seeing him wince again, Vlad snarled, "Go back where? Owen, you are NOT going anywhere but back home with me is that clear? This isn't open for discussion!"

Letting out a hallow laugh as his form faded in and out again, Owen smiled at him sadly and knowingly, "You're right, i-it isn't. I...I know I messed up b-big time, but, I also know you're g-going to save me no matter what it takes. I can rest easy knowing that until you bring me home."

"What are you talking about? And what's wrong with your form? Why does it keep flickering like this?" Vlad asked, his panic overshadowing his anger again at the moment. "Tell me this instant!"

"I Astral Projected o-out of my-my body, Vlad," Owen explained, curling against the warmth of Vlad's core despite himself to fend off the cold shivers wracking his entire form. "It was-it was the only way I c-could think of to get a-away when I couldn't wake myself up. N-Nocturne still has it with him in his keep. I managed t-to get away w-when I was attacked by a-a ghost whose t-territory I wandered-d into by m-mistake. But-t I knew. I k-knew you'd fine me either w-way. I just h-had to d-do my part to m-make sure that happened instead-d of just-t waiting around to be s-saved. I'm sorry I-I can't hold on much l-longer, even though-h you're right here w-with me now..."

"No!" Vlad snarled, grabbing him again and practically shaking the boy. "You are not doing this to me again do you hear me! You have no right to-!"

Looking up at Vlad again, Owen sobbed dryly though his eyes were literally burning with renewed hope, "I know-w. I'm sorry V-Vlad. I tried to-o do e-everything I could to make it home to w-where you were w-waiting f-for me to realize-e I'd made a h-huge mistake t-trying to run away from my problems-s. If nothing-g else, I wanted-wanted to get w-word to you somehow-w that I'd been-been taken again. What I d-did when I was a-alone in my r-room, trying to s-summon Azrael, it was-s stupid of me. But still, I did it all for you. Because I l-love you, dad..."

Before Vlad could protest again Vlad's arms suddenly became empty when Owen burst into a cascade of ethereal sparkling blue flames that marked the end of his Astral Projecting limit. And at that moment Vlad wasn't sure what shocked him more. The fact that Owen had vanished before his eyes. Or that he'd finally said the one word Vlad had been longing to hear ever since he made it his dream to become a father above all else and for someone to call him by that name.

To call him their father and mean it, with all of their heart.