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Vlad threw another kick, this time at Bertrand's ribs, and the ghost managed an awkward block with his right arm at the last moment. There was a loud crack as the arm broke, and Vlad suppressed a grimace, backing off momentarily.

Fool.

Bertrand's arm would heal much more slowly than a few ribs, after all. But then, that wasn't Vlad's problem; it would even serve to take out the cretin faster. With that thought, Vlad advanced again, set to knock him cold no matter what this time.

"STOP! Or he GETS IT!" Vlad reared back, shock jolting through him at Spectra's shrill voice- and at what he knew she meant. He turned quickly, and the fear was confirmed.

Fudge buckets.

Chapter 26: Cliffhanger Conclusion?

Spectra had Nathaniel hugged to her chest with one arm, an ecto blast glowing in her free hand. She looked desperate enough to use it, with her hair loose and wild, and her left eye already swollen from the kick to the face she had taken earlier.

"Just don't move, don't go invisible. Nothing! You move and he feels it, you understand?" Her voice was hoarse, strained. Vlad angled himself slightly, so that Bertrand stayed in his peripheral vision.

She squeezed Nathaniel, and Vlad stopped dead. "You don't move at all! No twisting, you snake. Nothing!"

The boy looked horrible, his pale blue face purple in the cheeks, tears running slowly down to drip off his chin. And he was staring at Vlad with a look: of fear, of need? Horror? Change back, Nathaniel, please, she can't hold you if you're human, boy...

Vlad should have kept with the boy, should have paid closer attention...

And now that he had stopped moving, he could feel the fatigue, the pain, starting to return.

A blow from Bertrand landed on his right temple, knocking his head sideways, and Vlad rolled with it as best he could. He watched, through a slight haze, as Spectra's desperate grimace twisted into a partial grin.

"I said don't move." Her eyes narrowed maliciously. "Don't make another mistake..." Her nostrils flared in excitement as Bertrand came at him again, recovered enough, obviously, for a little revenge.

This time it was a kick to his injured shoulder. Vlad couldn't stop himself, and doubled over from the pain, hovering in place as blood started flowing from the wound again. He heard Bertrand snickering softly nearby, through a ringing in his ears.

I can't take another hit like that. He didn't want to risk Nathaniel...but...

The boy was crying audibly now, but softly like before; a painful, keening sound that was piercing Vlad's head.

"Finish him, Bertrand."

Vlad turned to see Bertrand's knife hands extend, saw them driving toward his heart as if in slow motion.

He transformed.

There was only an instant to spare, as the black rings moved outward, once again showing everyone his more vulnerable, yet ironically untouchable human self.

As he changed, Vlad's eyes were drawn to Nathaniel. Did he understand, would he realize how to save himself...would he, Vlad, be able to get over to him in time...

It felt like an eternity, as Spectra's face began to twist in anger, as her arm began to tighten again...

and then Nathaniel changed.

As he fell through Spectra's grip, slowly tumbling forward, his wide eyes never left Vlad's, and his arms opened wide, reaching out for him.

The boy was reaching for him. Emotions Vlad hadn't felt in years crowded up, threatening to overwhelm him: the need to comfort and protect, to reach back, damn the consequences, and hug the child close and never let go...

Then Spectra lunged forward, falling through Nathaniel, her arms grasping at nothing; a brainless move fueled by desperation and fury.

And Vlad acted on it.

There was no holding back, no calculation, and no warning signal for Spectra to catch. He transformed as he attacked. The protectiveness, the love that Vlad felt was suddenly funneled into a single adrenaline fueled punch.

He caught Spectra on her right temple. The impact knocked her cold instantly, the rage in her face switching off like a light. Her head twisted around as far as it would go, the rest of her body following as if in slow motion.

Vlad turned as Spectra was still spiraling away from him, suddenly aware that Bertrand was about to attack. For the first time in his life, he somehow felt just where the ghost was coming from, and let out an ecto blast a good twenty times stronger than anything he had done in years. Bertrand was blown away.

Not permanently, Vlad knew. But it was good enough for now, for both of them. And when they woke up quite some time later, Vlad, with some satisfaction, knew it would hurt. He turned around, and floated slowly over to Nathaniel.

Vlad felt like hell. His body was completely drained, and his entire right side was throbbing, going from white hot to a dull ache with every excruciatingly slow heart beat. Where Bertrand had hit him a minute ago his face was numb, and Vlad doubted he could muster up another ecto blast. He probably couldn't manage to warm up a cup of tea. He didn't even want to think about the current state of his right shoulder and arm.

Yet Vlad couldn't stop the grin, as he gazed at the child in front of him. He saw admiration in the tiny smile lighting up Nathaniel's face, and two tiny arms, still reaching for him. Vlad transformed again, as foolhardy as it likely was, to carefully pull the boy close.

Nathaniel's left arm accidentally skimmed the injury in his shoulder, and Vlad let out a hiss of pain. He heard Nathaniel gasp quietly, and the boy put his hand carefully on Vlad's head, softly patting his hair.

"Oh no ehbow..." Nathaniel spoke quietly, his tiny voice clear and surprisingly understandable. Oh no...elbow?

Vlad grinned again. Close enough. "Smart boy." The grin softened. "It'll be alright Nathaniel, I'll be alright. You made...U-uncle Vlad very proud." He had grown to hate the term, as it had been used by Daniel in the ugliest way, but couldn't think of anything else.

That didn't matter right now though, as the tiny boy he held continued to pat his head carefully, even protectively. Nathaniel could see he was hurting, even if he was supposedly "alright." In truth, Vlad was slowly bleeding to death in this form, and he couldn't afford to stay human any longer.

Vlad pulled Nathaniel back slightly in order to look him in the eyes.

It took an incredible effort to speak calmly, and a tremor still laced his voice. "Do you want to go home, my boy? You have to change back again. Can you do that? Change back to a ghost, Nathaniel..." Vlad shifted forms. His stomach twisted at the look of fear in Nathaniel's eyes when his grip melted away. Vlad tensed as the moment stretched. This needed to work.

Then Nathaniel transformed as well, and Vlad felt ridiculously triumphant. He pulled the boy to him again, and Nathaniel broke into a wide smile. Pride soared through Vlad, and the goofy grin he couldn't control returned.

"Good boy!" He nearly chuckled, but caught himself in time.

Chuckling would not feel good right now.

Vlad turned slightly, and flew at a slow but steady pace toward the Fenton portal.

"Damn it! There was something there just a second ago..." Tucker stared hard at the Specter Speeder's virtual map of the Ghost Zone. It was conspicuously absent of real world items.

"Where!" Sam was driving, with Jazz sandwiched in between them. They had just left the Fenton Portal.

"I didn't really see where, it disappeared almost as soon as the map came up..."

They were all silent for a moment. There was no point in going further into the Ghost Zone without a clear destination in mind, but to just sit there was unthinkable.

Sam hit the accelerator. Jazz and Tucker exchanged a surreptitious glance. Sam had gone into commando mode, which in many ways was only a small step away from pure panic mode.

Jazz spoke up tentatively. "Sam...?"

Sam answered through tight lips. "The Box Ghost. Up ahead." Jazz and Tucker looked up, and a little hope injected itself back into the previously darkening mood.

"Maybe he can tell us something..." Jazz spoke as she twisted around to rummage through the pile of equipment behind her, then drew out the Fenton Fisher. She handed it to Tucker. "Here."

He opened the window as they drew near. "Hey Box Ghost!" The Box Ghost floated up hesitantly, and Tucker sent the Fisher whizzing out to wrap snugly around his waist. The Box Ghost looked surprisingly resigned to his fate, and only gave them a slightly grumpy look as he was reeled to the window.

Tucker ignored it. "So what's going on? Where's Danny?"

The Box Ghost was coherent for once. "He...is searching for Spectra, with the other ghost known as Dan." He added, at the shocked look on their faces, "Phantom and the other ghost do not...get along..."

No one had forgotten the fight in Idaho last winter, when, for days, their only clue about the outcome had been a note from Danny saying he'd taken care of Dan...

"It's...it'll be okay..." Jazz sounded more worried than convinced.

Sam's posture hardened into a sitting crouch, her face a mask of anger and fear. She growled, interrupting Jazz. "Nothing is okay until I have Nathaniel back in my arms!" She sat quivering for a moment. Even the Box Ghost knew to keep quiet.

Sam bit her lip, staring hard at the steering wheel as she struggled to stave off tears once again. After a long moment she sighed, and forced herself to take a deep breath. "Jazz...you're right." And if it's not okay I'll have to kill them both, starting with Danny!

She turned to glare at the Box Ghost. "Do you know where they are right now?" There was a pause, during which the Box Ghost grew more frightened as Sam grew more angry. "The general direction?!"

He pointed, and Sam hit the accelerator again. If Spectra really did have Nathaniel, they would need Danny to punch her freaking lights out for them.

A few minutes later a real world item started flashing on and off on the Specter Speeder's view screen, giving them a definite lead, and they shifted direction to follow it.

Spectra's place was deserted. And now they were even further away from the Fenton Portal. Danny floated silently, staring at his left hand as he clenched it into a fist, over and over. Every time he did, he turned his hand briefly human, then back again.

It was a beacon, for Sam and the others. He should have thought of it sooner.

"Are you listening? I said I'm going to Clockwork." His future self floated nearby, waiting for an answer.

Danny turned further away. There was a silent, deeply awkward moment, as the past rose between them again. Images flashed behind Danny's eyes, unbidden, of their fight, of his future self's proclamations, which resulted in Danny very nearly killing him, then the hellish flight to Clockwork's lair to find the truth...

And there Clockwork had been, waiting for him, after Danny had searched fruitlessly months before...

Danny almost wished the rage he'd felt toward his older self before would surface again, but there was only dread. That, and the growing desperation as time stretched on after Nathaniel's kidnapping, with still no results, no leads, nothing...

"He'll help us. He'll know what to do." His future self's voice had a gentle, pleading quality to it that made Danny's throat clench. He heard him sigh. "I'm not waiting around. Do what you want."

Danny started in surprise as his future self took off. An instant passed, then Danny whipped around to stare after his retreating form, panic coursing through him. He couldn't just let him leave!

But he wouldn't go to Clockwork, he couldn't...

"Wait!" It came out as a strangled squawk. His older self paused in the distance, and turned around questioningly. Danny found himself moving, picking up speed as he went, his face a mask of tension.

They were face to face a moment later, Danny grasping for words, for a way out. "He...you can't trust him, he's only there when you don't need him..." Had he lost his mind? It was like his brain was disconnected from his mouth, and he was saying things to this monster, as if he cared, as if he would understand...

"He's manipulative like Vlad except, what Vlad does is like...like child's play compared to him! He is not our..." Our friend. Danny stopped, throat working.

This person wasn't his friend either. As Danny stared at his older self, loathing swept through him as he was struck, once again, by their physical similarity. He hated that. If you just changed his coloring, and the flaming hair...

His older self stared back, eyes slightly wide. "I know he's not...our friend. He's our guardian. He's charged with watching ov..."

"Shut up." Danny whispered it. He looked down, fists clenched hard, emotions twisting his mouth into angry, harsh shapes.

Nathaniel was somewhere out there, probably scared to death, maybe hurt! There was no time for this! But going to Clockwork of all people, with him...

His older self broke into his thoughts, speaking quietly, but intensely. "Nathaniel is somewhere out there, probably scared, and maybe hurt! We don't have time..."

"Just SHUT UP!" Danny screamed it. His older self's words burned in his mind.

A moment passed as they stared at each other, his older self frowning, intensely worried for Nathaniel, and unwilling to wait on him any longer...

Danny turned around, and swiped an arm surreptitiously across his eyes. "Let's go." His voice came out raw and low. His older self didn't comment.

They headed off again.

"The signal..."

Danny started transforming his hand back and forth again, too panicked to argue.

Sam hit the steering wheel with both fists. The signal had been in a different direction than the Box Ghost had taken them, so she had hoped...

"It was Danny after all..." Tucker looked up from the map of the Ghost Zone to see Danny and...yes, his future self, in the distance.

The three of them had never been so disappointed to see Danny before.

"Then we have nothing again..." Sam's voice broke, and she stopped trying to speak. Jazz put a hand on her back, rubbing softly up and down, while Sam sniffled quietly for a moment, head bent over. Then she sat up straight, and rubbed her fingers carefully over her eyes, trying to keep the makeup she wore from running too noticeably. Danny did not need to see how upset she was.

Danny was getting closer. He looked more stressed than they had ever seen him, eyes wide, shoulders hunched with tension, and his mouth drawn down in a jagged frown. Dan seemed contained, though stress emanated from him as well.

Jazz tried not to stare, but seeing them together was undeniably surreal. She hadn't seen Dan for several years, back when he had been trying to kill them all...

Sam rolled down her window as Danny came over to it. He leaned over and transformed, surprising them a little. He held himself up by draping his arms inside the window, head bent down so that his chin nearly touched the frame.

"We haven't found him yet." His voice was quiet and lost sounding.

Sam ruffled his hair softly. "It's...not your fault. We'll keep looking." Danny looked up slowly, blue eyes flashing in the strange light.

He looked so guilty. "I'm s..."

"Don't you dare say you're sorry." Sam stared down at him, for once at a height advantage, her eyes glaring daggers for an instant. Then she forced a smile. "We will find him, okay?"

Danny smiled softly, and swallowed, a little confidence, and color, returning to his face. "Of course." He straightened up, and pushed away, going ghost. Then he floated back to stick his head slightly in the window again. "What does the map say? Any real world items?"

Sam shook her head. "None besides you, Danny." There was a pause.

A voice, Danny's voice, spoke from the other window. "We should...go see Clockwork."

Dan was floating near a panicky Box Ghost just outside. Tucker, who still sat by the window, jumped slightly. Dan glanced at everyone, but avoided their eyes.

Sam could feel the tension suddenly radiating off Danny, and looked back to see his face. He looked terrified.

Jazz responded first. "That's a great idea! Why didn't we think of that sooner? Sam? Let's go!" Sam pulled herself away from Danny's stark face, and turned to look at Jazz.

Instead she caught his eye. They both looked away instantly. Sam quickly caught Jazz's eye, as a blush threatened to make its way up to her cheeks. He had noticed her...how she was dressed.

"R-right. If no one has any objections..." She turned the Specter Speeder around, the ghosts tailing it, and started off toward the destination marked 'Clockwork.'

Surely Clockwork could help. Danny...Danny's older self was right.

Vlad had just caught sight of the portal when it happened: a ghost caught him by surprise, some random, shapeless bit of ectoplasm. It wouldn't even be capable of holding a corporeal form in the real world. But it zipped by fast, making a pathetic wooohing noise as it went.

It was enough to scare Nathaniel, and the boy had learned only one method for protecting himself. He transformed, and fell through Vlad's intangible grip.

It was hard to face, but Vlad simply couldn't afford to transform into a human. Even in his ghost form, shock was threatening to set in. As it was it would take all his will power just to get back home.

That left talk.

"Come on Nathaniel, Uncle Vlad can't take you home like this..." He passed his good arm slowly through the child to demonstrate.

Nathaniel looked surprisingly calm now that the ghost was gone. His eyes widened at the strange feeling as Vlad's arm passed through his midriff, and then he smiled.

But he made no effort to change back. He seemed content to just float there and watch Vlad watching him. Vlad forced a smile, and took a slow, careful breath. The very fact that breathing helped to calm him substantially while in ghost form was disturbing in and of itself. For a ghost, breathing was a true last resort, only necessary under extreme physical duress.

"Little badger, surely you don't want to stay out here all night..." He passed a hand through Nathaniel again. He giggled.

Right.

This was a desperate situation. It called for desperate measures. He cupped his left hand, and brought it to his face as though looking at something fascinating. Nathaniel watched, seemingly enjoying his every movement. Vlad brought the hand out, still closed, and held it in front of Nathaniel.

"I've got something in my hand, Nathaniel! What is it? It's a surprise! But you have to change back, or Uncle Vlad can't show it to you!"

Nathaniel looked down at Vlad's hand, and as Vlad had hoped, tried to reach out and touch it. His tiny hand passed right through.

Nathaniel looked up, eyes wide. "No?" The boy frowned slightly, and passed his hand through again, as though to confirm. Then he seemed to lose interest, and focused back up at Vlad again instead.

Vlad was at a loss. He could hardly stay like this forever. What now? He stared down at the tiny face, with those bright blue eyes. Nathaniel still smiled up at him, seemingly content.

Vlad gave up the act. His shoulders drooped slightly, and his left hand went to his right shoulder, carefully feeling where the blood was still seeping through very slowly. He stared at the child, willing him to understand.

"Nathaniel. Please." The child's eyes widened slightly, his head tilting a little, and the smile faltered. "Uncle Vlad is hurt. Please change over. Go..." Vlad swallowed. Would he recognize the term? "Go ghost."

The boy immediately transformed, and floated close.

Vlad was amazed. Nathaniel had just flown to him. He'd never seen the boy do that before. And it had been natural, like walking!

Except the boy couldn't do that very well yet at all. There was a thought.

Nathaniel's little hands reached forward to lightly touch Vlad's left hand where it pressed against his wound.

"Boo-boo..." His tiny voice sounded worried, and his tiny face was scrunched up slightly.

Vlad pulled Nathaniel to him and continued on, trying to ignore the much stronger pull on his not so impervious heart strings as the boy's hand found his pony tail again.

"Real world item!" Tucker noted it instantly this time. "Turn right about twenty degrees Sam, and we should be there in just a couple of minutes!"

No one said anything about changing course. If there was a lead, it automatically superseded going to Clockwork for help.

Sam revved the engine, pushing the Specter Speeder just a little bit harder. Her heart was already racing again with hope and fear, another extreme in a series of extremes.

No one said anything when the real world item winked out a minute later. If it really was Nathaniel, he could be transforming back and forth, after all.

"It's weird, this is heading right back to the Fenton Portal..." Tucker spoke quietly as they sped on. In fact, it would probably be coming into view any moment now...

Everyone stared as Danny's older self took off like a shot, out pacing them easily. Danny followed an instant later. They all squinted ahead trying to see what he had seen...

Jazz and Tucker spoke at the same time.

"Is that...Vlad?"

"That's Vlad!"

They all exchanged glances. Anxiety enveloped Sam like a blanket, her heart skipping a beat.

What was Vlad doing here?

Danny closed in on Vlad, eyes widening in fear and anger as he noticed the open wound in his back, and the careful way he held his right arm. What the hell...?

Vlad pivoted to face him, having noticed his arrival, and Danny realized with a shock that Nathaniel was nestled in the crook of his good arm, a smile on his face.

Vlad had found Nathaniel. Part of Danny wanted to hug Vlad, as relief and fear poured off him in waves. But the other part wanted to punch him, or more precisely whoever had done this to him...

He settled for stopping to hover near by. "You...fudge buckets!" He'd been living with Vlad too long.

Vlad grimaced. "Aptly put."

"You're covered..." Vlad looked like a particularly gruesome Halloween costume.

"Indeed. Here. Take...the boy..." Danny quickly came closer to take Nathaniel in his arms. He moved carefully, not wanting to jostle him or Vlad.

The questions crowding in his head dropped away, as the child stared up at him, wide eyed.

Danny had never held his son before. He ran a hand carefully through the boy's hair. It was white like his, and just as wiry, too, back when he had still been a halfa...

Nathaniel made a worried noise.

"It's all right Little Badger..." Vlad's voice was weak. Danny glanced over to him sharply, as he was brought back down to earth. Vlad looked about ready to faint.

"Nathaniel." They both turned to see Danny's younger self come to a stop nearby. His eyes, wide with shock, went back and forth between them. "Vlad. What happened?" It sounded like an accusation.

Vlad stared back at him, looking tired and strained. "I'd love to explain, truly, but at the moment..."

"NATHANIEL!" Everyone twisted to look as the Specter Speeder came to a mad halt nearby. Sam's head was sticking out of the driver's seat window, tears streaming down her face.

Danny moved toward her without thinking, the child in his arms already tearing up over his distraught mother.

His younger self was suddenly in his face, arms on Nathaniel. Danny swallowed, ignoring the urge to resist, and handed his son over instead.

Nathaniel's face lit up immediately in recognition, and he grabbed onto his younger self tightly, sniffling.

"Dan Dan." A subtle dismay rose in Danny, as he watched his younger self move his hands over the boy, cooing and stroking, looking for injuries.

Danny's arms suddenly felt very empty.

His younger self called out to Vlad again. "Is he hurt?"

Vlad frowned slightly. "I don't believe so."

Then his younger self turned and flew Nathaniel over to the Specter Speeder. Danny wanted to follow, but turned to Vlad instead, his ears straining to listen as Sam cried and cooed over their son.

"Vlad. You look like hell."

"You would know, Daniel." Danny flew closer, and looked over the older ghost carefully. His chest and back were soaked in ectoplasm, and judging from that gash in his chest, it all belonged to him.

"Who did this?"

Vlad grimaced. "Bertrand."

"And here I thought you knew how to fight."

"Ahaha. Funny." Danny stared at him.

"Come here. You look like you're about to pass out." He got his right shoulder under Vlad's left, pulling Vlad's left arm around his shoulders. He could do the flying for both of them until they were back home.

"You should see my human form." Danny's eyes widened, and the fear he'd felt upon first seeing Vlad returned in full force. Something in Vlad's eyes worried him.

"You..."

A grimace crossed Vlad's features. "Later, Daniel."

Danny frowned darkly. There might not be time for a later, depending on how bad Vlad's injuries really were. They needed to leave. He stubbornly tuned out the sounds coming from the Specter Speeder, face grim, and turned to go.

Goodbye Nathaniel. "It's time to get back..."

"Not...quite yet. It's terribly rude to leave unannounced." Danny paused. He really wanted to go over there, and Vlad was asking...

He responded quietly, a smile tugging at his lips. "You'd better not die on me, old man." Vlad huffed, and Danny turned toward the Specter Speeder. They stopped to hover several feet away, watching silently as Sam cuddled Nathaniel close.

Danny realized with a start that his son was human again. And his younger self, who he had somehow overlooked completely a moment ago, had changed back as well, and had his arms drooped into window to hold himself up.

Now that Danny was looking, he couldn't miss the full suit and dress shoes his younger self wore, or the cologne, for that matter. And earlier...earlier he had noticed that Sam, even emotionally distraught as she was, was looking beautiful in a dark evening dress.

They had been on a date.

Danny was about to turn away, goodbye forgotten, when Sam looked up and their eyes met again. He managed to hold her gaze for a brief moment this time, before dropping his eyes, throat tight.

Vlad broke the silence, adopting a surprisingly energetic and completely insincere tone. Danny, who could feel Vlad trembling slightly, knew what an effort it was.

"Well, well, well...the child has been rescued and peace has been returned. Oh happy day! I wouldn't bother looking for Nathaniel's things, however; they've been destroyed. Rest assured that I will send replacements soon." Vlad smiled, showing too many teeth. "Now, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got the worst backache at the moment. Ta everyo..."

Sam interrupted, piercing Vlad with a searching stare. "Nathaniel's covered in blood, Vlad. Red blood." Not ectoplasm.

"Yes, well." Vlad eyed her right back, eyes hooded. "Please forgive the mess, so sorry..."

Sam didn't respond. She seemed to be struggling with words, and Vlad didn't seem interested in helping her. The others watched, as though it wasn't their place to speak. Even Danny's younger self was quiet.

"As I was saying, then. Goodbye, Samantha, everyone." Vlad nodded to them, then caught Danny's eye. He started to turn to leave.

"Wait." Sam's voice was clear, and insistent. They waited.

She caught Vlad's eyes again, and held them.

"Vlad...thank you." Sam's eyes flicked toward Danny for an instant. "Both of you." She smiled. It was tiny, and full of the pain of her near loss, but it was sweet and sincere as well.

Danny finally turned away to carry Vlad back home.

Jazz stared after them, questions buzzing in her mind. Perhaps, though, there was someone who could answer them...

Author's Note: It's very late at night. Yeess. Ahaha! That last sentence is so cliche, but I couldn't resist! And when I said I was done editing this chapter, that was a lie. I went back and edited more! Bad me! (My beta-reader person is partly to thank...I gave her a copy to read...) In other news I attended a wedding this weekend of a fellow Danny Phantom writer. It's a small world, huh? :D Good night everybody! Hugs and kisses. ^___^