Danny had made good on his promise to take her out to get pancakes – though eating them at the crack of dawn as soon as the diner had opened surprised her. It was what, seven am? And judging by the dark bags under Danny's eyes, he hadn't gone to sleep despite the drama last night.

"Come on Dani, come to movie night! Tucker and Sam will be thrilled to see you, honest."

And yet Danny was still thinking about hanging out with his friends later that night, despite his sleep deprivation.

"I said I'd think about it."

Danny's enthusiasm would've been amusing, if Dani also didn't find it so frustrating. She appreciated the free and prompt breakfast as promised, but she expected to spend the money Danny gave her at her leisure, some other day of her choosing, not right away – but here she was, having breakfast with Danny the very next day.

It was nice.

Danny looked a lot less scary in the daylight, clutching a cup of coffee like a rattled old granny.

"You know, you used to scare me."

He still did.

But no need to say it.

Danny had bitten into a jammed biscuit, half choking as it crumbled down.

"What? How?"

Dani laughed, "That's what I was thinking. You're so goofy lookin' cus."

"Yeah sure, and you're not." Danny rolled his eyes as he gorged on another biscuit, not bothering to slice the bun as he lazily slathered the top crust with cold butter.

A crispy sliver of bacon disappeared from Dani's plate and the ceramic became as clean as could be. She was still ravenously hungry and considered licking her plate free of greasy residue like an animal – before a potent memory flashed in her mind and she quickly banished the blasphemous idea.

Once she'd licked her plate – once.

Only ever once, in front of Vlad – and then never dared again. Good manners were one of the first and last things Vlad had ever taught her. She remembered being held in a glass container, which she now knew was for containing experimental subjects like her – a laboratory cage. In that cage she recalled being given a plate of food, her first ever – some kind of granola bar. It had been sticky, maybe with ectoplasm? Vlad had zapped her with a laser when she went to lick it off.

It was a memory enough to sour the rest of her appetite.

Clutching her hands together, she politely watched Danny eat.

It was nice having company.

Dani typically ate by herself, out of sight atop a rooftop or in a tree.

To her, eating at a table was a novelty, so she wasn't the slightest bit bored as she waited, observing diner patrons with weary experienced eyes.

Her thoughts drifted towards Vlad, specifically the wish-doppelganger she'd let loose onto an unsuspecting Amity Park. A horrible shudder of guilt, which boiled from her stomach, threatened to spill her breakfast – especially when thinking back to the "Nasty Burger" disaster.

Best not think of that.

But she had to find Wish-Vlad fast.

She couldn't just sit still and chat with Danny.

Even though he really seemed to like that.

He kept smiling at her every time he took a sip of coffee.

But.

Already people had died.

Because of her wish.

And Dani didn't exactly regret her wish…yet….she told herself…

It was awful.

Anything to keep that crippling feeling, at bay.

What worried Dani the most was that'd she'd be next on the chopping block.

If Danny found out.

He wouldn't smile if he knew her stupid wish had gotten people killed.

In fact Dani was certain she'd be happy if Danny had punched her right then and there through the ceiling.

If only.

She wouldn't've minded if he'd thrown her into a dining table, splashing her with scalding hot coffee.

Not that she'd tell him.

Dani wasn't stupid – nor keen to get beat-up, just to make herself feel better.

She didn't say a word as Danny ate, her hands clasped together to hide her trembling nerves.

Thankfully, Danny followed in her lead in not saying a thing.

He was done with his food eventually.

His phone chimed with an alert that he had to go to school, and wishing her goodbye, Danny got up and left so he wouldn't be late.

Dani took one last look at the table, looking at the empty plates mournfully. She threw down her money, wanting nothing more than to keep it.

But the purpose of the green wadded up paper was to be spent, and Dani always stole what she needed.

No need to carry, and to keep track of extra junk.

Taking a handful of sugar packets for the road, she ducked under the table and phased out of view.

She had a Vlad to find and it was none of Danny's business.

The woods looked more ominous during the day then they'd been at night.

Then again, yesterday she didn't have the knowledge that a feral unpredictable version of her father was prowling beyond the tree line – typically it was just Cujo and a warren of ghost bunnies most nights.

Now, there was a weird old man, and she had to go find him.

Dani had entered the woods, passing the ashy campfire from yesterday, and the correct direction to go was startlingly easily to follow.

'That's odd.'

A tangle of bandages had been stretched across the canopy of trees, impaled on branches, with no end in sight.

Apparently in the light of day, Vlad hadn't made himself inconspicuous to follow.

'Which is very unlike Vlad,' Dani thought.

'Perhaps it's like a breadcrumb trail, and he'd follow it back?'

A dubious idea at best.

Taking a look at the campfire from yesterday, it was littered with marshmallow wrappings and wasn't the slightest bit welcoming.

'Damn, I should've brought some marshmallows as a peace offering.'

Dani patted her belly, suddenly hungry again. Sadly she was going in the opposite direction of the grocery store.

"Can't believe Tuff was such a homunculus-turkey with those crisps," said Ruff.

"Yeah, can't believe it!" Mumbled Buff, as he chewed through a rich, uncooked salmon fillet.

Both Ruff and Buff had decided to return to Vlad Masters at his current place of residence: Amity Park's own garishly purple Mayor's Manor located in Polter Heights. Why Vlad chose to live in such a small property compared to all his others confused the vultures. They liked Vlad's Wisconsin mountain chalet better, but it was still under construction from an explosive incident two years back and Vlad had neglected to fix the property in all that time.

Which had made the vultures dreadfully suspicious.

What had destroyed such a large and impressive structure? Why didn't Vladimir rebuilt it? It's not like the guy was lacking for money.

But Vlad had been tight lipped about the matter, simply stating it had been a ''laboratory accident," and refused to expand upon the matter.

And Vladimir, distinctly had been more bitter than his usual flavor of bitterness, ever since.

They could only conclude Vlad wanted something buried, forgotten forever.

The Wisconsin mansion was still missing the stone walls of its north-west side, the view towards the forest and away from prying, public eyes.

Vladimir's purple manor was disgustingly small in contrast.

It was so small that sounds within the rooms traveled easier.

The vultures could not be as loud as they typically were, and the ghosts loathed to be unable to screech nor to chant freely, as they typically did in the Ghost Zone.

But with Tuff missing for the evening, it was notably easier for Ruff and Tuff to stay quiet.

The vultures only cared about one thing, concerning Vladimir.

And it was how the man kept the kitchen well-stocked during all rotations of a day. The vultures once-upon-a-time had convinced Vlad to subscribe to several monthly, weekly, and even daily food delivery subscriptions.

He did so on the condition they would never let a delivery spoil, and that they, The Trio, would always be at his beck and call for his plans, whenever he needed them.

It was the best done deal The Trio had stumbled upon for centuries…if Plasmius didn't waste their time, that is…

Then again…

All they did in the Ghost Zone was to seek out things to eat anyhow, so what was the harm in eating outside of the Zone too?

That was their logic.

It was a deal they'd always win in in the end – especially on a day they'd just had to watch Vlad shoot rabbits. They couldn't stay mad while gulping down foods they'd never seen nor tasted before, like sturgeon caviar or bat poop coffee.

But the feast of the day felt different to Ruff and Buff. The gluttonous gathering just didn't feel the same without their other, most scrawny companion. Slowly, the two ceased their chewing, looking around, half expecting to see their friend phase through the walls to join them in their usual buffet.

"Boss," said Buff to Ruff, "I've got a bad feeling, like a snake is slinking up and down my spine like a yo-yo."

Ruff raised a fluffy grey eyebrow, simultaneously chewing through a corn cob and a raw leg of lamb held by his talons.

"Yah sure it's not the caramel ice cream you're beak-neck deep in? The same kind that always makes yah lacky-dose-tolerant?"

Buff thought for a moment, cradling an ice cream container, while simultaneously biting into a orange cream popsicle with his crooked beak full of rat-teeth. "Nah, I guess I was just thinking of Tuff. I expected him to follow us like he always does."

"That's a good point, where is Tuff?

Tuff was a quiet sort and often faded into the background for everyday activities.

But Buff and Ruff felt uneasy that he was nowhere to be seen.

"Think we roughed him up too much? I know he's a scrawny, skinny little fella that just doesn't eat enough…"

"…and when he does it's all sad and slow like he's gonna keel over," interjected Buff. "Well's not all bad," he added, clamping his large bulbous beak over a frozen sandwich, coated in sugar.

"What?"

"It means more snacks for us, and Tuff can stay scrawny Tuff."

"That's a good point, what kinda friends would we be if we let Tuff not stay scrawny?"

Ruff laughed but was uneasy, his eyes darted around the kitchen.

Buff nodded his head vigorously, "A not scrawny Tuff would not be Tuff at all."

Ruff hummed agreeably, his wing darted over an elusive cut of olive wagyu steak.

The woods looked the same everywhere, and Dani would've been terrified of becoming lost, if she couldn't just simply fly back to Amity.

Wish-Vlad was somewhere nearby.

She just knew it.

There was still unmelted snow on the higher boulders and hills, and Dani hovered with her spectral tail, unconcerned with slipping on rocky ice.

"Tell me girl, why do you stalk me?"

Dani stiffened like a rabbit.

Her spectral tail dropped to the ground, coiling in a slurry of mud, the tip held firm and pointed like an ashen spear.

She'd been trying to hide, leaning intangible against a trunk of a tree, only for Vlad to careen his swan neck around the trunk's curvature of blacken bark and his yellow cat's eyes stared right through her.

He had never looked so dangerous before.

"Ahhhhhh!" Dani fell and tumbled into wet earth, screaming. Mud caked her jean shorts and a chill shot up her spine – her heart-core hissed a warning and fire flared from her fingertips – and from her teeth, hissing hot like candle wicks.

She traded her tail for legs, standing firm, prepared to kick.

Vlad looked bemused with a twitching lip, glaring down with a sour frown.

He looked past Dani, as if he expected someone else.

Scratching his teeth as if to clean them, revealed bleeding gums full of gore, as if Vladimir had just bitten into a raw kill, and Dani had rudely interrupted him.

Dani wrinkled her nose at his smell – he smelled like death, a distinct step down from rancid fryer grease and burnt marshmallows.

Whatever Vladimir killed must've been festering somewhere not far away.

"I'm impressed you've bothered to come out this far…than again…little girl, you did fly here and you didn't come here on foot." Vladimir tisked, his voice wet and heavy with impatience – and authority.

He looked very stern.

Then he moved very slowly, hunching down on his hands to meet Dani's eyes. Vlad somehow looked impossibly larger, crouched down in the earth and leaf litter – like a squished, flattened toad with a mouth too wide with appetite.

Gnarled, dirty fingernails combed his long white-stained beard.

Vladimir pulled an exaggerated expression of disappointment, wiggling his brows, hiss-whistling through his teeth.

"So perhaps I'm not so impressed. Traveling by flight is utterly pointless."

Dani was overwhelmed and she hadn't heard a word.

Vlad wasn't making sense.

And it's not like she could afford to pay attention, with him looming over her like a lobotomized psycho.

Vlad sounded like he was rambling, with not the nicest of tones.

Dani felt very unsafe with her back pressed into the snow, and her fire-core was struck with a twinge of panic. Dani's "botched-wish-father" whom she'd tried so very hard to find, was now looking mighty unrewarding at the end of her scavenger hunt, and Dani was struck with a terrible sense of déjà vu.

She felt like a fool.

She must've looked...like a disappointment.

That's all she ever was, had been, to her father Vlad Masters.

This Vlad looked like Masters now, sans his burns and bandages – a signature cascade of deep wrinkles marred his pocketed skin. Any moment now, he would spit fire in her direction expecting her to dodge, or to slap her with a firm hand, proclaiming she didn't try her hardest on purpose.

But this Vladimir did neither – hardly moving as he looked her over like a startled yet curious animal – hardly blinking, giving no hint of breathing.

He was a statue.

Watching.

He was scary – scarier than a sad man like Vlad had any right to be.

But Dani wasn't supposed to be afraid. She could beat Vlad in a fight, she was sure.

Danny himself had said so, once.

But now.

This Vlad.

She'd made a mistake.

Coming here.

Following him.

He looked like a prehistoric predator – a gigantic bear, blurry eyed from hibernation, whom wouldn't hesitate to kill her – for a much needed meal.

Vlad's eyes reminded Dani of a "serial-killer," from one of cousin Danny's horror movie collection – and the visceral image of her being cut up into tiny pieces like an unfortunate-pretty-women protagonist, common in the movies, struck her as soon-to-be reality.

Dani choked down a pathetic whimper, not daring to break the silence, nor to surrender a scrap of her cobbled bravado. She backed away, calming some when she felt her back firm against a tree.

She was still in once piece.

Not torn in two.

It was good to know what was behind her.

Dani turned invisible on instinct, in hopes of running away. She flew up to the canopy and allowed herself to passively float among the branches, like a boat on stormy waters.

But Vlad's eyes had followed her, growing more harsh and stern.

The eyes smoldered yellow, tracking her every invisible movement.

He was a cat ready to spring.

She was a bird, unable to fly fast enough.

Dani just knew it.

And then Dani didn't dare to move, goose-bumps peppered her skin. It was as if she'd been turned to stone.

But she could do little about the air disturbed around her.

Vlad said not a word – simply stared with "serial killer," eyes, livid and lethargic – like a starving yet stupefied beast – pupils strained red against a jaundiced canvas.

He was looking.

He was looking at her.

Ready to strike?

No.

He was looking through her.

Bored.

Disinterested.

Gazing at clouds.

Dani curled in her knees and closed her eyes.

Moments came, and neither moved.

Eventually she found her nerve, rolling over to see what he was looking at.

A rather impressive stag beetle was crawling along a branch just behind her.

And apparently, it had caught Vladimir's interest. His eyes shifted from her to it.

Then Vlad turned right back around the way he came, rather anticlimactically.

Dani flew to follow him, wanting to shout at him in frustration, 'That's it?!'

But then he was gone.

Dani figured he'd turned invisible, pressing against a tree trunk like she'd first done.

But then she caught sight of him trotting off into the snow, peeling away at absurd speeds.

Downhill, away from her and the trees.

On four legs.

Like a dog.

'What the fuck,' Dani thought.

Gobsmacked, Dani watched as Vlad grew further and further away – until he was but a white speck speeding down a rocky, clattering hill.

As intense and free as a bullet.

From her.

After rubbing her face free from both stress and sweaty relief, Dani realized she'd have to find him all over again.