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

Note (01/02/2018: Hey there, and welcome to the first story update of the year! Sweet! Took awhile to get an idea of where I left off without re-reading the whole story but I managed. And while I'm hoping to get my own copy of the show for my upcoming birthday, I've been re-watching a few episodes to exploit a few Ghost Zone advantages I completely forgot about. I'm sure you know which one I mean but in case you don't...have a look at this new chapter and find out. XD

~Chapter 8~

Shattered Illusion

(Chapter inspired by Gone by Red)

When Vlad reached Nocturne's Keep, he was quite literally seeing red and blasted a hole through anything that moved in his line of sight. Those words before Owen vanished, they made him the happiest man alive. And to have someone he loved stolen from him again was too much to bear! Obviously this wasn't the same kind of love but Owen was incredibly precious to him, important, and loved...

To think that Owen's foolishness was a result of trying to do something that would help them move on from the painful experiences of the past deeply touched Vlad. He couldn't remember the last time someone did him a genuine kindness without an ulterior motive or only as a form of deceit to win his favor. Owen wanted to move on, to accept his new life with Vlad, but at the same time he was scared that because Vlad was so important to him his enemies would hurt him or worse, make him a full ghost by killing him in cold blood.

It was clear to Vlad now that Owen wasn't afraid of him, he was afraid FOR him which is why he ran. At least Owen owned up to his mistake and admitted it to himself and Vlad, which put his mind at ease about that at least. As for the rest, well, Vlad was no saint and had absolutely no qualms with reducing this place, everyone, and everything in it to ashes. Rescuing Owen was important yes, however, Nocturne was going to answer for stealing from Vlad Plasmius first!

If Vlad hadn't been completely enraged he probably would have been impressed with how many Sleepwalkers Nocturne managed to accumulate just from absorbing Owen's dream energy. Too bad they were less then worthless when it came to fighting a foe such as this. One blow was all it took to incinerate most of them. Especially since Vlad wasn't holding anything back. Even his ectoenergy had turned from it's usual pink to solid red as it bombarded Vlad's foes and the front gates again and again with increasing ferocity.

Charging one final assault on the front gates as soon as the Sleepwalkers thinned out, Vlad let out a war cry and blasted them right off their hinges into the opposite wall. Much like his other attacks it broke the silence of this place but once the dust settled and he landed deftly on the ground, Vlad was greeted again by the silence...

And darkness.

His footsteps echoes through the keep since Vlad had no desire to take Nocturne out through a surprise attack, oh no, he WANTED Nocturne to know he was coming so he could taste the fear of daring to anger Vlad Plasmius. This would serve as a message to everyone in the Ghost Zone too. Owen Ravenwood was his son, his family, his own. He was under his protection and anyone who dared lay a finger on him would suffer what could only be described as a second death, a slow agonizing one.

Once Vlad reached the middle of the room, a shape materialized before him and Vlad glared as Nocturne mused, "My my what a rude guest. Proper etiquette usually demands that one knocks ON the door, not knock it down..."

"So you're Nocturne," Vlad smiled cruelly. "Excellent. Now I don't have to waste time searching for you in this sad excuse of a realm. Honestly Nocturne, a ghost as old as you should have something more impressive. Or is it that you are too weak to demand the respect of any underlings you don't create yourself?"

"Silence!" Nocturne snapped. "How dare you insult me in my own home? I am Nocturne, the King of Dreams, the Ghost of Sleep! And before long all shall bow before me, even you if I choose to spare you an eternity of darkness."

"Yes yes we all know who you are. But the question is, with those infernal mind reading powers of yours do you have the slightest inkling who I AM?" Charging an energy blast in each hand, Vlad proclaimed, "I am Vlad Plasmius, the first half ghost hybrid ever created and unlike you I relied on no one else to obtain my power and status. What I wanted, I took. What I despised, I destroy. And what is mine...I will TAKE BACK! Now I'll only ask you this once. Where. Is. My. SON!"

Smiling wickedly, Nocturne replied, "I know exactly who you are Vladimir Masters. Owen's dreams and memories have shown me all. But a question if I may-" summoning an illusion of Owen in his dream-shadowed form that Vlad caught a glimpse of in the surveillance video, he challenged, "-I'm sure you have asked yourself this many times since you first encountered this child, but tell me, if he wasn't anyone remarkable would you have welcomed him into your life? If all Owen had to offer you was his love, could you accept that and cease all of your ambitions of taking over the world? In fact, have you even really let go of any of it or is this boy nothing but a means to an end for you as well? I can see into your thoughts Plasmius and even now you are still unsure of what you want. You were never one that could accept the bare minimum. If you want something, you want ALL of it. How fortunate for you Owen has NOTHING and is all too willing to accept you and every flaw as long as it means he'll never have to be alone again. Yet day after day he grows more fearful that you will tire of him, throw him away, or worse, die in his arms..."

"Nice try Nocturne," Vlad chuckled, blasting a hole through the illusionary Owen without so much as batting an eye because he knew it wasn't real. And it had the desired effect of making Nocturne stagger back, taken aback by his ruthless display. "I've done this dance before and know every single step. Nothing you say will dissuade me from my goal to take Owen back home with me. You've already lost. He told me what happened and called me 'dad' for the first time with no reservations. I know his heart. I know my heart. And it's telling me that I would love Owen no matter what because he sees me for the imperfect man I am yet was willing to sacrifice his chance for a new life with me so that I would continue to live even without him. Do you understand what that means? I already have everything a man of the world could ever desire. Wealth. Power. Influence. But NO ONE has ever given me so much of themselves as honestly and lovingly as he has. Well, perhaps one did but her feelings were, for the most part, just imprinted into her DNA because I knew that no one could ever love someone as selfish and hateful as me. Owen gave me that chance. A chance for real love. And now that I have it, I refuse to let anyone take that from me. Never again will others dictate what I want or need. Not you. Nor anyone else!"

Rushing forward, Vlad charged at Nocturne who hastily warped out of the way and tried to regain control of the situation. "I'm not taking him away from you, I am giving him the peace he so longs for! I spent hours weaving the perfect dream for the boy, and you know what I discovered? Owen does want a life with you. He no longer wishes for the life he once had because you're the only one who can relate to all of the supernatural things in his life. Surely you are wary as well of the constant worry of losing him either to a deadly blow, another abduction, or of him rejecting you like everyone else. I am offering to let you two share a beautiful dream free of doubt and fear where you both can be truly happy and at peace. If we are to protect ourselves against Lilith then inner peace is crucial. I swear that I will protect you both from harm. I know how to shield your dreams from her darkness. That was my intention all along!"

Vlad ignored his words and whirled around, creating several duplicates to surround Nocturne, each poised to attack from every angle. Seeing that his plan wasn't working since Vlad was no longer a reasonable man but a vengeful ghost, Nocturne expanded his power to create more Sleepwalker's to hold him off but only two appeared. Taken back yet again, Nocturne stared at his clawed hands and wondered, "Impossible. The necromancer child should have fallen back asleep by now. I made sure that the amount of sleeping gas pumped into the chamber was maxed out. Did he escape again already? No...this energy feels different. It's not enough. But who's dream is this?"

Just as Vlad unleashed all of his attacks, Nocturne phased through the floor which was now home to a giant crater and fled towards the pod chamber in search of the owner of this weaker energy. It felt familiar yet something was filtering the flow so that the dream energy that made it back to him was a mere trickle and Nocturne couldn't decipher their thoughts or dreams. He could no longer tell if this was Owen's dream or not...

"Please...please wake up," Owen pleaded in a hushed tone, doing everything he could from memory alone about how to shield Danny's dreams from Nocturne's influence. "I really don't want to have to burn you or something."

Owen was still pretty woozy from the sleeping gas but he managed to heal the wound on Danny's head and had no choice but to wait til he woke up. Thankfully the bedchamber Nocturne had Owen in before was nearby so he brought Danny there to hide, oddly enough, underneath the bed as if this was a normal game of hide and seek. Good thing his bed was freaking huge and the blankets cascaded over the sides of the bed which covered them both quite nicely.

Owen seriously hoped the absence of one of the pillows would go unnoticed because he was trying to keep Danny's head elevated despite already healing his wound. After that Owen was considering whether or not to risk leaving Danny there while he went to regroup with Vlad who was most likely in combat with Nocturne at this very moment.

He stiffened and held his breath when a familiar presence became stronger as Nocturne himself phased through the floor and looked around, "There's no use hiding Owen. I know you've escaped the pod. Now come out quietly before I am forced to do you harm. This is as much for your sake as everyone else's boy. We cannot let Lilith corrupt you with all the fear and sadness that still pervades your heart. Surely your new father will agree with me."

Keeping very still, Owen placed a hand over Danny's chest and cast a rune to conceal him as if he'd turned invisible on his own just in case Nocturne looked underneath the bed. He wasn't sure if Nocturne would look there or not but Owen could hear him gliding across the floor with distinct swish, or perhaps a soft slithering sound since he didn't have feet. With any luck Nocturne wouldn't expect him to hide anywhere so obvious. And yes if it wasn't for the fact that Danny was out cold Owen would have made a run for the entrance where Vlad probably was.

Knowing that Vlad was still in pursuit, Nocturne made to leave when Danny groaned loudly and slowly opened his eyes. Panicking, Owen clapped a hand over his mouth and made an urgent but quiet 'shh' sound, but sadly, the damage was already done. Like a whip Nocturne's tentacles curled underneath the bed-frame and flipped it over, revealing a frightened boy who quickly scrambled to his feet and ran towards the door.

Danny was still disoriented and could hardly see a thing but his ghost sense had gone off when Nocturne entered the room so he sat up, clutching his head and shaking it, wondering what had happened. Thankfully Owen's spell prevented Nocturne from noticing him when he flew after Owen, who was clearly at a disadvantage because he couldn't fly. However, now that Owen was awake and no longer encased in that special sleep pod, there was one advantage that Owen was about to learn about which made being a human a lot more interesting here in the Ghost Zone...