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

Note (01/07/2018): Whoops, after skimming a few previous chapters I realized that Vlad replies with something like "It's none of your concern" a bit too much so I better catch myself next time and rephrase it. Old habits of repeating myself die hard I guess. Anyways, I'm freaking FINALLY starting to feel better if only very stuffy now so that's good news. Gonna celebrate my birthday two days late since I was super sick on the actual day of. Also, looks like Venom is getting another appearance because Vlad isn't in the best mood right now and has a reputation to uphold. I still kinda like Venom but not enough to make him a full character though. On a side note, not that it matters now but remember when Vlad saved Owen from the Sleepwalkers after Venom bought them some time by fighting them and Owen said he recognized Vlad's scent? I forgot to elaborate but what I meant by that was the scent of Vlad's expensive cologne that's noticeable even in his ghost form. I was going to use Vlad's presence instead but I wanted Owen to recognize him in another way to show how familiar and close they were becoming as father and son, like how you know certain mannerisms after awhile and their likes and dislikes. That and since Owen's ghost sense was going nuts and sensing everything in the immediate area I needed to have him recognize Vlad differently anyway!

~Chapter 10~

Unfinished Business

After claiming a few spoils of war from Nocturne's Keep and having them sent home via some of his usual ghostly minions, Vlad began escorting Owen out of the Ghost Zone like Daniel suggested. Most of his wounds had already healed, such as Owen's bruised ribs from when the pod fell and a few cuts, but the bruise-like blotch on Owen's back was quickly becoming a growing cause for concern...

From what Owen told him he'd sustained the wound while in a pure ghost-like form when Venom struck him from behind and for some reason the damage had carried over when he returned to his human body. And since it wasn't healing properly Vlad was going to have to extract the ghostly poison from his other form somehow, though thankfully it wasn't anything life threatening and was just making Owen extremely uncomfortable. For now that felt like punishment enough and Vlad left it at that for now to focus on helping him fly out of here.

Vlad did however lend Owen his cloak since he was shivering again now that the adrenaline rush had worn off and Owen could feel the effects of the poison again. If not for that little detail Vlad would have already seriously reprimanded the boy for making him worry and nearly getting himself in far more serious trouble. On a side note, now Vlad could see what Owen meant about not wanting to wear a cloak since this one was too big on him and he kept getting his legs tangled in it. It was almost amusing to watch him struggle with the unruly fabric, almost...

At this point Vlad already knew about Venom which was why they were taking a small side trip back there to either get a formal apology or a cure for the poison under threat of destroying his turf as well. There wasn't much Owen could do to convince Vlad to leave well enough alone since he was done playing the part of goodie-two-shoes for Owen's sake. If the ghosts here thought Plasmius was going soft because he was adopting Owen then Vlad fully intended to prove otherwise to dissuade any further kidnapping attempts. That, and he just REALLY needed someone to take his anger out on!

"Vlad, can't we just go home? This place is creepy and-" Owen began complaining but Vlad sent him a harsh glare.

"So eager to see what punishment I have in store for you back home Owen? And here I thought you'd welcome the distraction," Vlad said, allowing himself an evil smirk.

Owen groaned in response. "Geez, you don't have to rub it in. All I'm saying is that this is a big waste of time. Venom's just some ghost I crossed paths with and once he found out who I was he went all creepy nice on me and apologetic and went out of his way to help keep the Sleepwalkers off of me while I escaped. If you're here to thank him fine, but don't go picking fights just because you didn't get to finish Nocturne off! We're probably going to see him again someday when he comes back for revenge."

"I make no promises," Vlad shrugged, reaching the stone he coaxed Owen into leading him to before calling out towards the fort-like island in the distance that Owen failed to notice before, "Greetings, Vlad Plasmius here. I have urgent business with the one you call Venom. Now if you'd so kindly send him out to speak with me perhaps I won't reduce this place to rubble, as I'm SURE you've heard I've already done to Nocturne's little base. I'll give you one minute!"

Scowling, Owen reprimanded him, "Vlad! Knock it off. I'm sure they got the message..."

Almost immediately after, two ghost thugs appeared and flew over to where they were, both of them looking rightly nervous and one of them responded, "The boss is on his way now and wanted us to ask how the necromancer kid was doing. But he seems to be alive so, that's good I guess?"

Hitting his companion on the back of the head with his fist, the older of the two, a lanky red-head who looked like he'd died in a tavern brawl or something with a thick Scottish accent said, "You guess? Are ye daft boyo? This here is the same necromancer lad from the old days, me granddad told me stories about their kind and how they could enhance ghost powers and create relics to control us. And that there is the elder halfa Plasmius himself who seems to have won the lad's favor! So show 'em some respect or the boss'll have our hides!"

"Oi, that hurt you jerk!" the younger one snapped. "I still don't see what the big deal is, he's just some fleshy who got mixed up in the wrong line of work. What'do I care? I'm only here on the boss's orders and he ain't said nothing about being nice."

"Of course not you ninny, that ought to be common sense!" with a sigh, the Scottish ghost spared Owen a glance before turning to Vlad who looked about ready to use these two idiot ghosts as target practice and laughed nervously, "Sorry 'bout 'im, he's a newly-dead. You know how it is."

Staring them down and crackling with energy, Vlad snarled, "I could honestly care less right now. Now enough distractions! Where is Venom? His minute is up. And if I'm kept waiting any longer...you two will be the first to taste the wrath of-"

"Relax, I'm right here," Venom called, putting himself between his boys and Vlad.

"Boss!" both ghost called simultaneously, relieved to see him finally.

Floating over to them, Venom gripped them both by the back of the head and forced them to bow their heads to Vlad and Owen, snapping, "What have I told you lug-heads about not acting stupid around more powerful ghosts? You know the rules! If you can't say anything intelligent you keep your big mouths shut and let me do the talking! You especially new-blood!"

"We're sorry!" both of them hastily apologized when Venom released them and turned to the Scottish ghost.

Shoving the younger ghost roughly into his chest Venom ordered the elder ghost, "Take this new-blood with you and finish repairing the west gate, it's still sticking when we close it and activate the shield which could be bad news if any more of those shadow creeps show up. And if you see anyone slacking tell them I'll send them packing if they can't earn their keep! Now get moving!"

"Y-yes sir!" they replied and flew off, though they hesitated for a moment until Vlad looked like he'd calmed down enough not to look too threatening and then finally left.

"Danny!" Dani called, hugging him as soon as he flew through the doors. "I didn't know we could do that here, become the ghosts when we're human so they can't touch us. That was really smart! Oh man and the look on that guy's face! Ha! You really showed him who's boss!"

"Yeah, I guess..." Danny sighed. "Look Dani, I'm really tired and I need to head home. But before that I wanted to ask you something..." kneeling down and deftly holding her tiny shoulders he asked, "Would you mind staying here with Clockwork until we figure something out so you can stay somewhere closer to my place? Vlad has family stuff to sort out with Owen and I can't exactly hide you in the op-center like I did the first time, my dad has a bad habit of hiding food in there when the fridge downstairs is too full and he doesn't want mom to throw it out. If anything happens Clockwork can send you straight to me and vice versa. I just don't feel safe leaving you with anyone else right now."

Dani's face fell a little but she nodded, "It's ok, I understand. This place is kinda spooky but it's better then trying to sleep while staying invisible in a hotel room somewhere. You'll come visit though, right? And Vlad's going to help me get better once he's taken care of his...family stuff?"

Before Danny could answer, Clockwork intervened with a playful smirk, "I did say she was welcome to stay as long as she likes, although, despite knowing the outcome I do appreciate the illusion of choice."

"Fine fine," Danny laughed, seeing his point which only confused Dani. "Hey Clockwork, would you mind letting Dani stay with you for awhile?"

"So long as there isn't anywhere else she'd rather be I don't see why not," Clockwork replied, winking at Dani who nodded and then turned to Danny.

Hesitating for a second after glancing at the paused screen of Vlad and Owen talking to that Venom ghost, she smiled, "Thanks for everything Danny, and if you get the chance, please tell Owen I'm sorry for making things harder for him. I was only trying to help because I thought he was in trouble. I hope he feels better soon and Vlad doesn't get too mad at him..." she shuttered involuntarily, remembering the last time she saw him angry in person.

"Sometimes Danielle, anger is merely a mask to cover one's own fear of or bitterness after losing something precious," Clockwork stated in all seriousness, peering into the distance as if talking to himself. "When you lost Vlad's approval, were you angry because you hated him then, or because you were hurt? Only those who still care feel hurt. Remember that. And perhaps I can remind a certain someone how to care again and not be consumed by that hatred. But lets leave it at that for now. Sleep well Daniel."

In the span of time it took him to blink, Danny found himself back in his room just a little before five in the morning. He had hoped Clockwork would give him more time to sleep but hey, two hours was more then what he'd usually get after having to travel all the way to Wisconsin and back in one night. That being said, Danny begrudgingly sent Tucker and Sam a quick message on his computer telling them what happened before flopping into bed, only realizing now how tiring his trip into the Ghost Zone had really been even though he hardly did any fighting.

It was mostly mental exhaustion he supposed. Danny had experienced his fare share of it too. And it was something Owen was dealing with right now, or more specifically had since day one. Well, whatever happened from here, Danny felt surprisingly good about how it all went down. Vlad didn't go completely psycho bonkers crazy and outright dissected Nocturne molecule by molecule, Dani was safe and staying with a trusted friend, Vlad was going to willingly help cure her unstable ghost half, and Owen finally realized that they really were friends now, not just two teens who happened to have powers and knew Vlad. For a second there it seriously looked like Owen was wondering if Danny only liked him because he was a good influence on Vlad and had powers, not for WHO he was. Sure, that was part of it but Owen was a likable guy once Danny really got to know him after the whole near-death experience that awakened his full necromancer form.

Owen was about as passionate about architecture as Danny was about astronomy and becoming an astronaut. And now that Owen actually had someone besides Vlad that he felt comfortable with and was ok with letting his guard down, he was all too happy to play some mindless videogames or other co-op stuff with Danny and his friends...

Sam was pretty brutal when it came to gaming to his surprise and Owen had to admire her for that the first time he joined a party with them in some online game. And Tucker, he was obviously the brains when it came to tech stuff and he was armed with some really helpful hints and tricks about winning the game they were in. They made a great trio, but sometimes it seemed like Owen still felt like an outsider and hung back a bit when they really got into their strategy meetings.

Danny figured it was an old habit but sometimes he couldn't help but worry about Owen and he was seriously hoping that despite the dangers of living in Amity Park, maybe Owen could make some other friends here that he could hang out with and not feel like a third wheel. Danny kept telling him Valerie was pretty cool despite her being a ghost huntress but then again he realized that this distance Owen put between himself and others wasn't just a recent thing. It was something that came naturally because...he wasn't born entirely human. Owen could see ghosts that were unlike the ones in the Ghost Zone, they were bound to their earthly attachments and couldn't be seen by normal humans, nor could they interact with said humans which is why they sought Owen out to find their loved ones or some way for them to pass on to the true afterlife, whatever that was. Most Ghost Zone ghosts wanted that too and from what Danny could tell, they knew only Owen could lead them to this paradise either to take it over or just because they were sick of lingering around as ghosts.

Yawning, Danny crawled into bed and wondered suddenly, "I wonder why...Nocturne called Owen a prince. What would he even be a prince of? A prince of Death? Or a prince of...!"

Shooting straight up in finally hit him and after flashing back to several key memories from their encounters with Azrael it all made sense! Owen wasn't just the owner of the soul of Lilith's unborn son and the proxy of Death himself. He was going to have to research a few things to find out for sure but, could Owen actually be the legitimate heir to the Ghost King's throne?!