8/12/2024: Meant to update over the weekend, but it was a rough weekend. I wasn't even able to write. I did finally start getting notifications from this website about favorite's and stuff!

9/1/2022…same date as I ended the last chapter. Let's see if I can keep this going. I work full time, taking 5 classes, am writing a novel, and have a toddler…hoping it doesn't take more than a few weeks to get this done.

Disclaimer: I do not own DP or any characters affiliated with the show.

Chapter 12: Turn Away

Vlad made a few adjustments to the machine, making sure it was working correctly without harming Danny in any way. He didn't have full control over what memories were shown, but he was glad that this one was first, as it was right after Danny had been taken, and was likely to answer a lot of questions.

Danny was sleeping still, occasionally wincing or pulling at the restraints faintly. This memory wasn't horrific, at least, not so far, so Vlad didn't expect much reaction from the younger man. He hoped Danny would allow his sister and friends to see the recording as it would take quite some time to fill them in.

The view on the monitor was as if from Danny's own eyes. The first person view was frustrating to Vlad, as he couldn't get a wider view to really tell where Danny had been taken, or to discern details that maybe were important.

He sighed heavily, knowing that he would need to pull Danny from it soon. But for now, he felt he needed to see who this Headmaster was.

Danny was pulled to his feet, only a little more gently this time, and pushed forward. His feet moved of their own volition, not stopping until he was just a few yards from the woman on the catwalk. Here, he was made to kneel once again. He grunted, his leg and shoulder still throbbing from the wounds he received.

Danny felt out of place and the feeling only grew the longer she ignored him. She took her time, watching the men below, facial expression never changing from its stoic look.

She wore women's business attire: beige, knee length skirt, tight fitting. White blouse, with beige overcoat, buttoned in the middle. Black flats adorned her feet, while her dirty dishwater blonde hair was up in a very tight bun. She had few wrinkles, but carried herself in a way that told Danny she was older than she looked.

Finally, she turned, raising a single brow at the pathetic teen in front of her. "This is the ghost boy?"

Slender Man nodded. "He puts up more of a fight than you would think."

"He must," she said, looking down her nose at the black-haired boy. "I pictured more of a jock type, what with all the ghost fighting. I can hardly believe this scrawny scrap of a thing could prove to be of any use."

"Hey," Danny said, his protest weak from nerves.

"He also has a mouth," Slender Man stated, glaring at the boy.

The woman remained quiet and simply observed Danny. The view shifted, Danny once again looking over the jets and choppers in the hanger.

"Why would you need all this?" he asked before he could stop himself.

To his surprise, she answered without pause. "Why wouldn't I?" she countered. "You'll understand the answers to many of your questions as you progress in your training."

"What training?"

She ignored him for now, instead choosing to walk around him, hand on her chin as if deep in thought. "He's going to need a lot more training than I realized. Even if he is strong while this small, we'll need to beef him up. The stronger he is physically, the stronger his powers should get."

Slender Man nodded. "Of course, Headmaster."

"Why are you ignoring me?" Danny nearly shouted, his aggravation getting the better of him.

He realized his mistake the moment her blue eyes changed. They went from slightly disinterested to pure fire, her entire demeanor changing in less than the span of a second. She kneeled, roughly grabbing his chin in her perfectly manicured fingers. The pressure she was exerting actually hurt, causing Danny to try and pull away, but her grip was iron. "I let you get away speaking out of turn once, I even ignored the second time, there will not be a third, do you understand?" her voice dripped venom.

Danny glared weakly, but for once, clenched his jaw against the sarcastic remark he wanted to make. He nodded.

"Good," she started. He winced as she squeezed harder. "I have been following you for longer than you know. I have studied your physiology, taken blood samples from your fights. I know exactly what is needed to bring you to the absolute brink of death without actually killing you. I can make you wish for death. Do I make myself clear?"

He nodded again, swallowing hard. Her eyes bore into his, switching between each of his until whatever she saw satisfied her. She finally let go and stood, straightening her dress jacket, before turning to Slender Man.

"Banner, I trust you'll get him to Dr. Tanning so he can be fit for a collar? He's too defiant. I want him broken. He should also have his wounds looked at."

As Slender Man nodded, Danny started to feel light headed. On some level he knew he was hyperventilating but unable to stop it. The panic attack set in and he couldn't breathe, limbs feeling like ice. The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was Slender Man grabbing his arm.

Danny awoke with a jolt, arms pulling against the restraints. For a moment, he forgot where he was and automatically went into fight mode. His eyes flared before a voice broke through.

"It's alright, Daniel. It's just me."

Danny stalled, the glow of his eyes fading. He finally registered Vlad sitting in the stool next to him. He shook his head to rid himself of the feeling of deja vu.

"That was weird," he finally said when the feeling faded. "It was almost like being there again. Will it be like that every time?"

"Very likely," Vlad answered, standing and removing Danny's restraints.

The young hybrid sat stoically. "I don't want to relive all these memories. Once was enough," he said softly.

Vlad put a hand on his arm. "I understand, my boy. But we don't have much of a choice. Unless you can give me a theory on why you can't change back, this must be done."

Danny sighed, hand rubbing down his face. He looked up again when Vlad continued.

"All things considered, this one was fairly mild. I suggest you allow your sister and friends to view this one. Of course, you can reject any memory you do not want them to see, but I think it's best if they have at least some clue of what went on while you were gone."

He wanted to say no, he wanted to yell and scream and say he didn't want them knowing that part of him…but Vlad was right. Part of his connection with them was missing. Part of that was due to time, but the other part was because they couldn't understand. He missed that connection, and maybe letting them see some things would help reestablish it.

He sighed heavily. "When do we need to do this again?" he asked nervously.

"I don't want to overstrain your mind, but we do need answers sooner rather than later," Vlad answered. "We may need to do this twice daily, with at least eight hours in-between. We got a bit of a late start today, so the next session will be tomorrow morning."

"Of course, it can't be like a once a week kind of thing," Danny grumbled.

"We–"

"Yeah yeah," Danny started, interrupting the older man. "We don't have the luxury of time. Go ahead and show that to Sam, Jazz and Tucker." With that, the young hybrid stalked out of the lab.

Danny was sitting in a chair by the pool, leaned forward, elbows on knees, hands clasped, deep in thought. While he was deep in thought, his mind couldn't focus on any one thing. It meandered through topic after topic, never lingering for long. It's why he never heard them come in.

He jumped when Jazz plopped into the chair next to him, the white haired halfa looking up to see Sam and Tucker take seats as well, DJ happily trailing behind and coming to sit next to Danny, head up, tongue rolling out in a happy sort of dog grin. His friends and sister all had indiscernible looks on their faces.

"I take it Vlad showed you the video?" Danny asked, hand going to DJ and scratching behind his ear.

They all nodded. "Danny, I am so sorry," Sam said, pain evident in her voice.

Said halfa furrowed his brow. "For what?"

This time, Tucker answered: "We never even thought to look at any form of military installation."

Danny shrugged him off. "It wasn't really a military installation, just a large warehouse converted into a hangar. Besides, you couldn't have known."

He looked between his friends and sister, noting the tears Sam was holding back. She smacked her leg in frustration. "We concentrated too much on that stupid van!" she growled.

Danny's features softened, realizing just how much Sam was blaming herself. He reached out, gently putting his hand over hers. "You did nothing wrong, Sam," he started, deep voice soft. "Even if you had looked where I was, you wouldn't have found me. We left for Beijing the next day."

Sam looked away, refusing to accept the reassurance. Danny sighed, pulling his hand away and going back to absently petting DJ.

"So, the day after what we saw in the video, you left for China?" Jazz asked, tone in full interview mode.

Danny nodded. "By the time you would've had enough clues to look there, I would've been long gone. You can't blame yourselves."

"I can and I will," Sam said, voice full of indignation. "I shouldn't have run. Maybe if they had taken me with you–"

"Stop," Danny interrupted her, voice bold and commanding. Sam looked at him with wide eyes, unaccustomed to this side of him. "They wouldn't have taken you with me; they would've killed you. The fact that they never pursued you is a miracle; the Headmaster didn't want witnesses, but she felt it was a waste of time to go after you. She wanted to leave for Beijing as quickly as possible."

The three friends glanced at each other, digesting the information. Jazz sighed, choosing to try and change the subject. "What kind of 'training' were they talking about?" she asked.

Danny smacked his lips. "You'll likely see some of that in future videos, but you've already seen the product of it," he said. "She wanted a weapon she could control, a powerful one that could stay hidden."

Tucker needlessly raised his hand to interject. "So, you're going to let us see more?"

Danny sighed, looking down at the ground for a moment before answering. "Yes, but not all of them. Some will be far too private."

"But Vlad gets to see them," Tucker blurted.

The halfa's eyes flicked up to Tucker, a darker look behind them. "I don't get a choice in that. In this, I do." His tone meant the decision was final and left no room for argument. With that final statement, he stood and walked out of the pool area. He had no intention of answering more questions right now.

That didn't mean his sister wouldn't follow him anyway. He glowered in annoyance when she caught up to him. They walked in silence for a moment before finally, "You are much more confident than you used to be," she started. "I don't mean the pun-throwing fake confidence you used to have. It's real."

"Part of that is the training," he said. "Part of that is being forced to stand strong or be crushed under the weight of what was thrown at me."

Jazz pulled ahead of him before turning and stopping in front, hand on his chest, jolting him to a stop as well. "I get it, but you don't need to go all commando on us. We're your family, not your enemy," she said, voice clipped from irritation.

If it was anyone else, Danny would have sneered, but this was his sister, and she was right. His hand came up to take hers. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's not an easy habit to break."

Teal eyes bore into green ones. Once satisfied he was genuine, she pulled her hand away and went back to the pool area. Danny sighed and ran his hand down his face. These next few weeks were going to tear him apart.

The next morning, Danny was in the chair preparing to go back under. Vlad was pushing buttons on the machine, lights coming on, the sound of fans whirring in the background. Danny was still nervous about the whole thing. He had no idea what memory would come up this time, and he knew there were several he wanted to keep private.

His hand fidgeted as he became impatient. "Can we just start this already?"

Vlad raised a brow at the annoyed young man. "The machine is online now. We can proceed."

"Good," Danny answered, adjusting himself further back into the reclined chair.

Vlad didn't comment and instead secured the restraints before grabbing the mask. "I'll see you when you wake up, my boy," he said, placing the mask over Danny's face.

Danny wasn't exactly sure where he was. All he knew was that he had been loaded on a jet in the middle of the night, flown for hours, landed, and was now in another room. At least this room was more than just concrete.

This room had an actual bed for him to sleep in, a small bathroom off to the side, and a dresser to keep clothes in. Well, if he had any clothes. A clock hung over the door and there was no window, but it was at least better than the last place.

His main concern was the collar now around his neck. He had learned its use already, and while he regretted it, he knew his mouth would earn the use many more times.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows braced on his knees. His hand reached up and absently scratched at his neck near the collar where it rubbed. He winced as he touched the tender skin.

He glanced at the clock on the wall. His 'training'-whatever that entailed–was due to start soon.

He hadn't seen the Headmaster again, but had met several new people he was told he would get familiar with.

One was Dr. Tanning. He was a middle aged balding man, with large, round glasses, short stature, and always wore a worried look. So far Danny had only seen the doctor in a long white lab coat.

Despite his situation, Danny found he kind of liked the doctor. Though the short man was responsible for putting the collar on him, Dr. Tanning hadn't wanted to do it, and was thoroughly shocked and sad that a young teen was being subjected to all this.

While putting the collar on him, the doctor had let slip that he had a son about Danny's age, and it broke his heart to know what Danny was about to be put through. It made the young teen much more nervous about the future, but also gave him some comfort in knowing he had an ally, even if it was one who couldn't help him.

He sighed. He missed his family and friends, but was silently thankful they weren't here with him. The Headmaster would likely either use them as leverage against him, or just outright kill them in front of him. She did say she wanted him broken, and that would certainly do it.

Footsteps in the hall made him alert. He reached for that cold feeling within his ghost core and held onto it in case he needed it, but didn't activate it yet.

A large boom resonated within the room before the heavy reinforced door opened, revealing Banner.

"Slender Man!" Danny exclaimed with fake excitement, internally grinning at the scowl this nickname brought to the man's face. Despite Banner's obvious displeasure, he refused to ever comment on it, at least for now.

Banner stopped just a foot in the door with his arms crossed. "Time for your first round of training."

Danny felt nervousness rise in his gut. "May I ask what kind of training?"

Banner set his jaw and refused to answer, waiting patiently.

The young boy sighed and decided to try and appeal to Banner's soft side, if he even had one. "You know I'm just a kid, right?" he asked.

Banner's eyes met Danny's, absolutely nothing portraying his thoughts. "I know. But you're also the most powerful being on this planet. Power trumps age."

Danny sighed again before nodding. "Alright. Let's go."

After a winding set of hallways that Danny knew would take a long time to remember how to navigate, he and Banner went through a door and entered a vast white room. This room was at least football field sized, with a ceiling three stories tall. It was lined with white walls and white linoleum. On the far side was a very large window that covered most of the wall, showing stadium seating on the other side. He could just make out the Headmaster and several men he hadn't met yet in seats.

In the center of the room were two more men, also unknown to the halfa. Banner walked towards them so Danny followed. The man on the right was massive, nearly seven feet tall and built like a bull. He had close shaved dark hair and a thick beard. Brown eyes hid under bushy brows and his muscles bulged as he shifted his weight. The man on the left was slim and short, with long lanky limbs and a jutting nose. He had shoulder length blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Both men wore khaki colored shorts, a white tank top and sneakers.

He and Banner stopped in front of them, before Banner turned his attention to Danny. "These are your training partners for today," He started. "You will remain in human form for this session and learn proper hand to hand combat."

Before Danny could ask any questions, Banner walked away, back towards the door they had come in. The young teen then turned and looked at the men in front of them. He gave them a sheepish smile, but they didn't respond.

Without warning, the larger man lunged and Danny ducked out of instinct. "I thought this was training!" He shouted as he took off, the two men barreling behind him. "Aren't you supposed to teach when training?!"

"Is teaching," The larger man said in a heavy Russian accent. They had nearly caught up with Danny, so Danny made a sharp turn. The Russian fell behind, but the smaller man was agile. He continued to catch up to Danny, forcing the young halfa to try and twist away as the blonde man reached for him.

Danny was running out of room to run. They were forcing him towards a wall and he would soon be forced to face them. He attempted one last turn to try and get away from the wall, but the blonde man cut off his escape, forcing Danny to square up.

The Russian was slow, so for now Danny only faced the smaller one. The blonde man didn't pause, and instead sent a right hook straight at Danny's face. Danny ducked and spun, using his legs to trip the man. Though he was successful, the Russian man finally caught up and he didn't stop. He ran at Danny with his arms out, determined to grab the young boy and squeeze him into submission. The young halfa's eyes went wide and he twisted to the right, the Russian man just missing him. He silently thanked whomever was listening that he was quite agile himself.

However, this maneuver meant he didn't see the blonde one get to his feet until he felt a sudden surge of pain in his side. The blonde one had landed a punch into his right ribs, and Danny gasped as his breath left him. Holding his side, he attempted to sidestep away from the blonde man's swinging fists, but still managed to get hit in the side of his head. Now his vision was spinning and he shook his head to try and see straight.

"You need to fight back, kid, or the Headmaster won't end the training," the blonde man said. His tone held no sympathy, but he did seem to be pushing Danny to fight in order to end this.

After taking a moment to clear his spinning head, he brought his hands up. "There you go," the blonde man said, with a hint of a smile on his face.

As the smiling man swung, Danny dodged to the left, bringing his own arm up and landing a hit on the man's side. The halfa heard a grunt, but the man recovered quickly, hitting Danny with own punch in the shoulder.

It stung, and Danny wasn't sure how well he'd be able to move his right arm now. These men were certainly not holding back.

He startled as the Russian man came barreling in, both arms swinging. Danny ducked, but one of the man's large fists still managed to clip his head. Danny scrunched his eyes against the pain, but it was the wrong move.

The Russian grabbed Danny by the neck and shoved him hard against the wall. Danny's feet kicked out in desperation, but the man only squeezed harder. In sheer panic, the young teen reached for that cold spot within his core and called his ghost half. But as the rings appeared around his middle, the collar sprung to life, sending tremendous shockwaves through his body. He couldn't help himself as he cried out, letting go of his ghost half.

As the rings disappeared, so too did the shock dissipate. He was stunned and unable to move. "You must recover more quickly than that," he heard the Russian say, before the large man literally threw him across the floor.

Danny landed hard and sucked in a breath, coughing from the way it stung his throat. The Russian came stomping over and planted a heavy foot on his back, pushing the air back out of Danny's lungs. He struggled for breath.

Just when he felt he would pass out, he heard the blonde man admonish the Russian. "We are here to train him, not kill him. The Headmaster will not tolerate you killing her new weapon."

The Russian grunted, but pulled his foot off Danny, allowing the half-ghost to breathe. The large man nearly snarled. "He is weak. He does not deserve to live."

"Even so, she wants him alive."

If they said anything more, Danny did not hear it. He was hyperventilating now, realizing the man really meant to kill him. This wasn't ghost fighting in the skies over Amity Park anymore. He was in real danger here. The thought tore through him, filling his veins with ice. Before he knew it, everything went black.

Danny awoke with a start. His vision was fogged, mind fuzzy. After a few moments his mind cleared, and he realized his arm was up and there was a scorch mark on the wall of the lab. Vlad came around the chair. "It is alright, my boy. You are awake."

As the young man looked around, he realized he had gotten his right arm out of the restraint and had sent an ecto-blast at the wall. "I'm…I'm so sorry," he said.

Vlad shook his head. "Do not worry about it. In your memory you were in danger, your body, out here, responded."

"I could've hurt you," Danny said softly, now removing his other arm from the restraint.

"But you didn't. I'm alright, and so are you."

Danny took a breath, calming himself. "I suggest we either add more restraints, or strengthen these. It may only get worse."

Vlad nodded. "I agree."

The young man sat there for a minute, going over the memory in his head. "I was so bad at fighting at first."

Vlad went back to his stool and sat down, leaning his cane against the machine. "It is to be expected. Ghost fighting isn't the same as hand to hand. We tend to do a lot of our fighting at a distance. We rarely get close enough to need fists."

Danny looked up at the screen. "I was so weak back then. I didn't even realize it."

Vlad thought for a moment, head tilted slightly. Then, "Do you believe that the training helped you?"

The younger halfa nodded. "I hate to admit it, but yes. I could've easily come up against something I couldn't beat. The training, harsh as it was, made me stronger."

The older man smiled lightly. "To be honest, my boy, a lot of the ghosts you fought back then were stronger than you. But you have always been quick-witted, clever, and smart. You often out-thought your enemies. I would know."

Danny knew he should've been touched by the compliment, but he wasn't. Clever or not, his friends could've been killed because of his weakness. But as young teens, that wasn't something any of them thought about.

Vlad grabbed his cane and stood, Danny following suit. "Will you allow your friends and sister to see this one?" Vlad said, both walking towards the door to leave the lab.

Danny paused, Vlad stopping with him. After a moment, "Yes, they can." Without another word, they left the lab, Danny retreating to his room.

Alright ya'll…it did not take a few weeks to write this. It actually took a few months. School has been killing me! It's now May 11, 2023. I had SIX classes this spring, along with working full time, and NO FREE TIME. But I am starting the next chapter now. Man…I really want to get this finished before the fandom ages out of reading these!