Hello snugglemuffins! With this chapter I reach over 15k+ words in the story total! I know it's not that impressive, but I'm improving everyday, and the more words I can put into a chapter the better! So that brings me to a question for my readers: are you satisfied with the length of my chapters? Would you rather a longer chapter despite having to wait more for it? Let me know in a review!

The Life We Fight For

Chapter 3: Fugitive

Hot wiring the Specter Speeder while relaxed and focused took no time at all. Attempting to do so when your best friend was coating the floor of the vehicle in ectoplasm?

Much more difficult.

Tucker could barely get the vehicle going with how badly his hands were shaking. A quick glance at his female friend who was helping Danny into the back told him that he was not the only one tense about the situation. This was most definitely the most stressful 6 hours of the teen's lives.

And it would only get worse.

As Sam assisted her friend into a sitting position on the floor of the Speeder she heard shouting and a loud crash from upstairs. Sheer whipped around to look at Tucker and their eyes met for only a second before Sam was racing to shut the back doors and Tucker was opening the Portal.

In less time than the teen's thought possible they were surrounded by a swirling green atmosphere and tense silence. Danny's ragged breathing a grim reminder of just how serious the matter at hand was.

Less than a day ago, they were normal teenagers, living their unique lives. Now they had run away from their homes, betting on the slim chance that a man known for deception and greed would save the only true adversary to his evil plans.

It was insane, both kids knew it, but by the looks of their friend and the way his eyes were glassy and empty like a broken doll's, he didn't have much time to waste on weighting the pro's and con's, the 'what if's could wait.

Sam placed her hand on her half-ghost friend's shoulder and knelt beside him, keeping her voice low and soft.

"Danny?" She called, and dulled green eyes glanced up at her in recognition. A good sign. "We're in the ghost zone now, do you remember how to get to Plasmius' portal from here?"

Danny weakly looked up and stared out the windows for a moment, collecting his scattered thoughts and trying his best to fight the nausea and sharp pain on his chest. His body was trying desperately to recover the damaged cells inside him but the blood blossoms had dinner their job well. His insides were still throbbing with the lingering inhaled scent of them oozing from his lungs, and Danny could barely keep hold his form. Now that they were in the ghost zone there was a slim chance that he would change back into a human, but he could begin to look transparent and lose his legs in favor of a tail if he didn't concentrate on staying stable.

"It's...to the left, p-past Skulker's freaky island." Danny said, his head falling to his chest. He felt dizzy and weak, yet his heart felt like it was beating so fast it would explode from his chest. "Big football, can't miss...it."

Sam wasn't prepared for the sudden weight of her best friend falling on her shoulder. She quickly wrapped her arms around his shoulders to steady him and shook him slightly, calling his name. The ghost boy was out cold. His face was sweating and when Sam reached up to touch his cheek, he was room temperature, which was warmer than he should have been. Danny was usually making her shiver if he stood too close to her in ghost form, now he was feeling more alive than ever.

"Tucker, Danny's unconscious!" Sam said, urgently patting Danny's face for some kind of recognition. His eyes were squeezed shut and his mouth was dripping ectoplasm. Sam quickly steadied herself and leaned the boy on the wall before she was crushed.

"Calm down, panicking won't help him. There's gotta be a first aid kit around here somewhere, right?" Tucker suggested, pouring on more speed and searching their surrounding area for the landmarks Danny mentioned. He didn't even have his driver's license, yet he was completely able to control the hulking Speeder with no effort at all.

Sam had found a first aid kit and the first thing she did was take Danny's temperature, which was 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, when his normal temperature was anywhere from 95 to 97 degrees, or even lower if his ice powers were used more than usual.

As they neared the giant purple football of Vlad Plasmius' 'hidden' portal, Sam prepared her wrist ray in case the fruitloop didn't feel up to aiding them. Using a movable claw feature on the Speeder Tucker was able to remove the object blocking the door from their path and prepared to fire at it using the vehicle's weapons, when the doors began to open on their own!

Tucker didn't waste time to wonder and just sped inside the mansion's laboratory without hesitation. The first thing Tucker and Sam did was jump out and point their wrist rays at a floating, angry and confused looking Plasmius, who hovered in front of the hulking vehicle in stunned silence for several moments.

"What on earth are you brats doing here?!" The man snapped his fangs bared threateningly and his eyes glowing a deadly shade of crimson. He looked as evil as they come.

"Clearly you were expecting someone else?" Sam shot back, before she lowered her wrist ray. They hadn't come to fight. They had bigger problems than witty banter with the blue skinned halfa.

"As a matter of fact, I was. Just how did you two find-"

"We're not here to argue, we need your help," Tucker interrupted, and seeing Vlad frown he quickly continued. "Danny's hurt, bad. We're not doctors or experts on half-ghost sciencey-er- stuff, but we can't take him to a hospital, they'll rat him out before he's even admitted."

Vlad's frown turned from disgusted to curious to slightly concerned all at once during Tucker's impromptu explanation, his mind going in a thousand different directions. They had to be utterly desperate to come to him, the kids hated him with every fiber of their being, but they loved Daniel more. It also made him wonder, just how hurt was Daniel?

Plasmius knew he shouldn't even consider lending his aid to the misfits of Amity Nowhere since they would just turn on him in mere seconds, but another, larger part of him was thinking of the possibilities of having the child of his dreams in his home. Blackmail was definitely on his mind, but first...

"Where is he?" Vlad demanded evenly.

Sam turned and jogged to the back doors of the Specter Speeder, revealing her unconscious crush laying still on the ground, ectoplasm pooled around him from the numerous times he'd coughed it up during their journey. His form was slightly transparent and his legs were shifting in and out of form. His normally bright white aura was dimmed to a barely visible glow and he had stopped breathing out of habit, even though Danny usually did breathe in his ghost form although he did not need to.

Plasmius did not hesitate and quickly flew inside and carefully looked Daniel over for any external injuries that needed serious attention. He noticed several burns on the halfa's neck, and as gently as he could, unzipped the boys jumpsuit, revealing his abdomen.

Sam climbed inside the vehicle ahead of Tucker once Vlad had

settled beside her friend and witnessed him inspect Danny's neck. She had a sick feeling in her gut and when the older ghost revealed her best friend's chest, she nearly broke down in tears.

There were sharp, bolt-like scars criss crossing Danny's abdomen, arms and legs. The circuit board style lines were obviously from his parent's electric generator, and the injuries had been healed and re-healed over and over in the process of his torture until the injuries remained as scars.

Vlad's frown deepened and as he picked up the half-ghost from the ground he turned to the other teens with a serious expression.

"Who did this?"

Sam looked at Tucker, tears gathering in her eyes and her heart on the verge of a breakdown. They stepped out of the Speeder and as Vlad laid Danny down on a table and treated his outer injuries Tucker explained.

"His parents, they...found out, about Danny." Tucker said in a soft voice, Sam behind him biting her lip in a desperate attempt to stay calm. "They thought they could 'Cure him', make him human again. They were only down there for a few hours..."

"They tortured him." Sam hissed, now angry more than upset. "They're traitors. Jazz is holding them up at their place right now. They're going to jail for sure!"

Vlad couldn't resist rolling his eyes as he finished bandaging Daniel's burns that hadn't completely healed yet. He looked the girl in the eyes and then to Daniel, his tone tense as he spoke.

"They won't go to jail for hurting a ghost." He said. "If you go to the police with this, you'll most likely make matters worse."

Vlad turned away as the two kids grew solemn once again and carried Daniel to the door out of his lab, closing the portal and motioning for the teens to follow him upstairs.

"The best thing to do is remain here until Daniel is properly recovered," Vlad said as he led the two friends through a library and a dizzying set of hallways. "Once Daniel is stable props can be put in place for him to testify to a court as a human, and his father can be convicted easily."

"What makes you think it was only his dad?" Tucker asked, his tone venomous. "Oh, right, you've got a crush on his mom- totally gross by the way- but hate to tell you this dude, but she was definitely the head honcho leading the...expiraments."

Vlad grit his teeth and remained quiet, stopping at a door and phasing inside, leaving the teenagers to smack into it behind him.

Vlad had invested in a room for Daniel ever since the college reunion. It was in the same hallway as his own and the decor matched the boy's interests perfectly. The walls were a medium blue with posters of all of Daniel's favorite bands, including Dumpty Humpty, and a luxurious bed with a galaxy theme. If the lights were turned of you would have seen the thousands of stars glittering around the room in a perfect replica of some constellations and located next to the light switch was a twin switch to activate a 3d glowing solar system that pulled down from the ceiling into the middle of the room, displaying every planet in their solar system.

Also included in the room was a large area on the opposite side of the room as the bed where a large flat screen television was located with every electronic console or DVD a teenager could dream of, and to the side was a full bathroom complete with a hot tub. Even Sam was impressed, and she was an extremely spoiled girl.

"Well someone was prepared..." Sam said sarcastically as she rubbed her injured nose and let herself and Tucker into the bedroom. "Even my room isn't this big."

As Vlad settled Daniel amongst the soft pillows and cozy blankets hr couldn't help but wonder why the boy was still in his ghost form. Daniel usually changed back into a human upon losing most of his energy, or losing consciousness, yet he had remained in ghost form for the entire time he had been in Vlad's home. He wasn't dead, he still had a pulse. A weak one, since he was in ghost form, but it was still there nonetheless.

"There are rooms on either side of this one fully furnished for you. I'll ask that you stay out of my own bedroom down the hall across from here, and if you need anything, call one of my staff using the intercom on the wall beside the door." Vlad walked away from Danny and changed into Master's, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Sam questioned, suspicious.

"If you must know, I'm going to check on the cameras I have set in the Fenton's home to better understand the extent of Daniel's injuries." Vlad snapped, and the girl was silent. However he continued in a rather bored tone. "Also since you two were so noble as to leave Jasmine alone with a psychopathic father I'll be looking for her on the footage as well."

As the man left the room Sam and Tucker looked at each other with guilty expressions. They both were constantly arguing and teasing each other but they were still friends and understood each other and Danny like no one else could. Sam moved to sit beside Danny on the bed and take his hand in hers, Tucker coming beside her and putting an arm around her shoulders, a smile on his face.

"You know..." He said to her. "You never know when this might happen to him again, when he wakes up it might be a good time to tell him anything...important he should know should something happen? Just in case..."

Sam blushed and punched him lightly in the arm, muttering 'shut it' under her breath but smiling all the same. She felt a bit better having Tucker with her, knowing he wouldn't let the mood get to tense with him around.

-.-
-With Vlad-
-.-

Vlad Master's was not an extremely patient man. Yes, he waited for the love of his life for decades without fail, but his life was set on doing everything and anything humanly and ghostly possible for that dream of his to come true. His alliances helped him reach his ends using whatever means necessary, and it was done whenever and however he asked. Vlad Master's was not a man to be trifled with.

At the moment Vlad was practically seething with anger as he saw Jack and Maddie Fenton trapped in their bedroom with a very determined looking Jazz Fenton on the other side of the door. So she had kept them in mind after all. The girl was indeed more resourceful than she looked. Vlad sat down in front of his computer and set the footage of the family's basement-turned-lab into rewind, watching carefully. He began at the very moment Maddie and Jack brought Daniel to the lab and tied him to the examination table. Jack left the room and Maddie was alone watching Danny, until, to Vlad's surprise, a ghost he'd never seen before in dark clothing appeared and spoke to her. He increased the volume of the recording but could only make out a few words.

"The ghost boy will not have lasting effects from this... Serum?"

"Now it's your turn."

"Our alliance is over."

"Make sure he suffers."

Vlad watched the ghost leave in bewilderment. Maddie hated ghosts, why would she associate herself with one, let alone work with one? Vlad's mind was running in a dozen different places a minute, a dozen theories presented themselves but nothing for quite right. Maddie was smart, logical, level-headed. She did not ever ask a ghost for help, it was impossible!

Vlad's eyes snapped up as he heard Daniel's strained but clear voice through the recording and he stopped thinking to pay attention to his parents whom were setting up the electric generator to begin sending shockwaves through Danny's body. Vlad watched in horror as Maddie all but forced Jack to leave the room and began to electrocute her only son. Vlad could barely stand to watch as the footage dragged on, Daniel's voice growing more and more desperate and hopeless as time went on.

"You can't shock me!"

"S-stop it."

"Please, don't do this."

"It hurts!"

"Mom!"

Vlad paused the video, unable to continue. He'd seen enough, more than enough in his opinion. He had never seen Maddie that way before, and he was growing more suspicious of her behavior by the second, but there were more pressing matters at the moment.

His portal opened and Skulker emerged from the zone, landing with a metallic 'thunk' on the hard cold floor of the lab and looking at Plasmius with curious face.

"My apologies for my lateness, Plasmius, you said you wanted to speak to me?" Skulker said, watching Vlad stand and change to Plasmius and face him.

"Indeed I had called you because I required your services to recover some information for me, but a different matter has come up that I need your assistance with." Vlad replied, bring up an outer view of Fentonworks on his screen for Skulker to see.

"The welp's weird residence? What interest have you with that?"

"I want you to keep an eye on it." Vlad explained, showing the footage of Jazz. "You will remain unseen and stay near this house, telling me of anything and everything that happens. Who goes in, who goes out, what the girl does...and if her parents become violent, call me immediately."

Skulker frowned in confusion but nodded his head, leaving the lab as soon as possible. He could definitely tell that his employer was not to be messed with at the moment. He hated the well's guts, but he couldn't help the curiosity that nagged at him. His employer looked almost solemn, like he'd pulled on all-nighter on a hopeless project, or lost another battle to retrieve the halfa's mother. It was almost...sad.

Vlad didn't bother seeing the ghost off and instead turned his attention to the intercom on the wall. He called for the kitchen staff and his personal chef Leon answered immediately. Vlad housed a head butler, chef, two maids, and a chauffeur, and they all communicated throughout the castle through the intercom system. The castle was much too big to be yelling for every little thing.

"I need a late dinner brought up to my study, along with three more portions to the second floor." Vlad ordered.

"Yes sir, I'll get right on that."

Vlad vacated the room and flew to his personal study with a tired sigh. The sun was just beginning to set and Vlad was already completely drained. However he couldn't let himself give in to the tiredness, he still had to come up with a plan.

Daniel's parents would not simply allow the boy to be rid of them, Maddie especially. No, the annoying hunter in orange would pester him to no end demanding that Daniel bee returned to them. He couldn't hide the boy here forever, no doubt he'd run away to Amity and try to live on his own should Vlad try to keep him cooped up in the castle.

Vlad needed a solution, something that would solve the problem of Daniel being away from Amity Park. He couldn't go back to his parents, that much was certain. Vlad brought up the Amity Park newsletter on his laptop and scanned the articles, a single headline in bold standing out, and Vlad smirked evilly.

'Amity Park's mayor retiring!'

.

::::next day::::

.

The first thing Danny Fenton noticed as he regained consciousness was how light he felt. Usually it was a hassle for him to wake up in the mornings because of the long, tiring patrols he had to do every night to keep Amity safe. This morning however, he felt oddly...comfortable.

Danny cracked his eyes open and instantly tensed. He wasn't at home, this wasn't his room. Why wasn't he at home? Where was he?

He jumped as he heard the soft sounds of breathing beside him and he groaned in slight pain. He wasn't hurting badly but his body felt sore everytime he moved even the tiniest bit. He turned his head and surprisingly had no trouble seeing in the dim light obscured by thick blinds on the windows of the room.

Sam lay with her top half on the bed he lay on and a chair pulled up to the because which she rested on. Her soft breathing indicated she was fast asleep. Danny reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, when he realized he was wearing familiar white gloves. He looked down at himself as he tossed the thick starry themed blankets off his body and gasped softly. He was still in ghost form!

He instantly brought forward the bright rings at his middle and slowly, painfully he returned to his human half. Unfortunately the light had awakened Sam and she instantly began to harass him with questions.

"Danny? Oh my God you're alive, are you okay? How badly are you hurt? Can you breathe? My God Danny you weren't breathing-"

"Sam." Danny forced out. His body hurt like hell now that he wasn't in ghost form. "I'm okay. And you know it's okay for me not to have a pulse or do regular human things while I'm in ghost mode, right?"

Sam sighed in relief, gently putting a hand on his arm and her other pressed to her chest. She took a deep breath to calm herself down before she looked at him again, he lavender eyes full of emotion.

"I'm just glad your okay." She said quietly, before standing and walking to the blinds. She yawned softly as she opened them, hissing at the bright Wisconsin sunrays hitting her eyes and turned away, searching the room for her spider backpack she always had handy.

"Where are we? I remember you two freed me in the lab, but I don't remember anything after that..." Danny frowned as he tried to find answers but his brain came up blank.

"That's probably because you passed out genius." Sam told him, snatching her backpack from under the bed, not questioning how it had gotten there. "We're in Wisconsin. I think you can guess the rest."

Danny suppressed another unattractive groan and pushed himself up into a sitting position.
He barely looked at the room and he was about ready to lose what little he still had in his stomach from the day before. Speaking of food...

"Where's Tucker?" Danny asked, swinging his legs over the side of the need and kicking them a bit to see just how healed they were.

"Don't you dare get up." Sam warned, ignoring the pout she recreceived in return. "Tucker is currently stalking the chef downstairs. He'd fallen in love with the guy's cooking, and the two hit it off and have been in the kitchen all morning."

Danny slowly stood from the bed, surprised that he didn't faint instantaneously, and took another quick look around the room. It was seriously his dream bedroom, but the fact that the fruitloop himself probably designed it just for him ruined it. Did the guy do anything else but obsess over his pretend evil family?

"I thought I said not to move. You're not fully recovered ghost boy." Sam said with a hand on her hip. Danny simply rolled his eyes at her. She raised an eyebrow and decided to up the ante. "Well of course if you want to take the chance of running into Plasmius-"

"I think I'll stay here" Danny said with a shudder. "It's not so bad anyways..."

Suddenly, the door to the bedroom opened and Danny facepalmed, his forehead imprinted with his hand's mark. There in the doorway stood none other than Vlad Masters himself.

"You had to jinx it!" Danny hissed.

"Don't blame your bad luck on me!" Sam snapped, though there was a smile tugging on her lips at the irony.

"Do I want to know?" Vlad said sarcastically. "I'm here to escort you two to lunch, since you both seem to dislike the idea of the most important meal of the day."

Danny glared at the man while Sam simply rolled her eyes. She was worked about how little Danny had been eating lately, having no time to do so, and didn't want to argue with Vlad on this one. Besides, she was feeling hungry too.

"I'd rather not have to drag you downstairs, but if I have to, I will." Vlad threatened.

"Try it!" Danny challenged, only to be grabbed by the arm. Sam pulled him towards the door in annoyed silence and gestured for a stunned Vlad to lead the way.

"Not cool Sam." Danny muttered. Sam shook her head and let him go, sure that he was going to follow.

Vlad led them into a large dining room and gestured for them to take a seat. Danny blanched as he realized the only seats with silverware were one at the right and two left of the head of the table. He begrudgingly sat at Vlad's right and Sam sat across from him. A set of double doors on the far side of the room opened and a proud looking Tucker and a beaming chef emerged, both carrying plates.

"This guy's a genius!" Ticket said as he sat down with a plate full of meat, despite it being lunchtime. "He's like a living cookbook!"

Danny laughed softly at Sam's disgusted face and his best friend's poor manners. He instantly saw Vlad's eyes on him out of the corner of his own and looked down. He couldn't get comfortable in his archenemy's home, he had to get back to Amity Park. It was only a matter of time before the two tried to kill eachother!

After everyone began eating (Sam had been served a vegan dish at her request) Danny looked anywhere but Vlad, his eyes wandering through the decorated room that partially screamed 'rich' and only spoke when his friends asked him something or tried to start conversation. The tension in the room was so thick you could slice through it like butter. Finally Vlad finished and turned to the younger halfa, a serious expression on his face.

"Of you're quite done childishly avoiding me," Vlad began, smirking when he recurved a glare and a flash of green irises for his efforts. "I'm sure you understand that I cannot simply allow you to go back to your parents, now that you've let them in on your little secret."

Danny scowled and glanced at his friends who were being surprisingly quiet. Sam had a contemplative look on her face while Tucker simply looked uncomfortable.

"I'm not staying here." Danny said confidently. "My sister is still back there, I can't abandon her."

"Jasmine is constant watch just in case she is attacked by your idiotic father. The situation of the highest priority at the moment and the only one I am concerned with is yours." Vlad saw that Sam was about to butt in and continued without regards to the boy's crush. "As soon as we return to Amity Park I will deal with your friend's parents. They will return to their homes as if nothing ever happened, and you will be going to court to testify against your parents."

"I can't-"

"While your mother is still the woman I love," Vlas ignored the triple set of gags- "I have reason to believe she's being...controlled."

Danny's eyes lit up at that. He was feeling doubtful about his mother's attitude in the lab yet he wasn't sure how to put it to words. She seemed off, as if she were devoid of emotions, yet she had...enjoyed hurting him.

"What about Jazz?" Sam spoke up.

"I can arrange for her to be sent to a college and create an alibi for her, she was there for an extra credit program and did not get hurt since she was away. It will explain why only you are injured." Vlad replied.

Danny looked down on hands on his lap, his mind swirling with questions. It was obvious that Vlad wanted Danny to stay with him, but he was definitely not up for that. Buy where else could he stay? The Manson's hated his guts, and the Foley's weren't exactly in need of another mouth to feed...

Danny bit his lip, he was beginning to feel trapped. He squeezed his eyes shut. Vlad was still talking, but it sounded like he was underwater. He couldn't think, only single words were flashing at him from being his eyelids. Scared. Hopeless. Broken. Cold.

Vlad raised an eyebrow and halted in his speech as he saw Daniel curl up and shake uncontrollably, his hands pressed to his chest and his breathing shallow. The man jumped out of his chair as he felt the temperature in the room drop significantly and he pulled back Daniel's seat, kneeling in front of him and calling his name. The boy looked like he was in a full-fledged attack, the way he was whimpering in fear and barely breathing enough to stay conscious.

"What's wrong with him?!" Sam cried, standing and looking on in fear. Danny pressed his hands over his ears and leaned forwar towards the ground. All he could feel was intense cold and despair in his heart, it felt like he was being eaten alive from the inside.

"Dude!" Tucker exclaimed, actually dropping his forkful of meat to the table.

"Daniel, Daniel look at me, breathe!" Vlad commanded, grabbing the boy's wrists and pulling them away from his head. Danny kept his head down. "Daniel open your eyes, you're safe, everything is alright."

Danny could barely hear Vlad, but he felt slightly better hearing the words. He definitely would have preferred someone else saying them, but he couldn't deny they were calming him bit by bit. He opened his eyes, which were glowing an icy blue, and glanced around the room, wincing when he saw the ice creeping up the walls and his friend's worried faces.

"Don't look at them, look at me." Vlad said, sensing Danny start to panic again. He released the boy's wrist and pulled his chin towards him, forcing Danny to look him in the eye. "Focus on breathing, and calm down."

"Maybe hot chocolate will help." Tucker suggested, letting out a help as Sam nudged him roughly in the ribs.

"Actually, that might make the process a bit easier..." Vlad commented, and Sam instantly rushed through the double doors, eager to not feel useless. Tucker ran after her, and Danny was left alone with his enemy.

As the two teens entered the enormous kitchen and set about doing their task (with the chef watching them amusedly) Sam pulled out her cellphone, switching it on. Over a hundred calls from her parents were swiftly ignored and she called Jazz's number, setting the phone to her ear.

"Sam? Oh my God, you guys are okay right? Where's Danny?"

"Hey Jazz, we're okay, Danny's still not doing that great, but he's not going to die or anything." Sam replied, watching as Tucker poured a nauseatingly large amount of cocoa into the mug.

"Thank goodness. Nothing's too bad on this side either. My..former parents are in their room, I've locked up their first weapons, and I've got the police on speed dial if they try anything."

"Great, but try not to all the cops unless you absolutely have to. Vlad's actually got a plan to get them in jail and it requires you to be far away from there." Sam replied.

"I don't really get it, but I trust you. By the way...there's something a bit, I don't know, off about my mom. She's kinda been weird lately. She's been muttering to herself, all about Danny and how she couldn't wait to see him again." Jazz took a shuddered breath. "Except it's definitely more creepy than sweet. There's something wrong with her Sam, I know it."

Sam frowned, growing tense. "Vlad said something similar to that..."

"What?"

"Nothing." Sam saw Tucker begin to pour mini marshmallows into the mug and instantly frowned. "I'll look into it. In the meantime, just hang tight while we figure this out. I'll keep in touch, bye!"

-meanwhile-

"You did that on purpose." Danny muttered, pulling as far away from Vlad as possible. He was much more calm now, but he was still shaking slightly and struggling to reel in his ice powers.

"Indeed I did." Vlad replied, staying in front of Danny despite his obvious discomfort with the man's closeness now that he wasn't hyperventilating. "Now would you care to tell me what that was all about?"

Danny blushed, suddenly feeling like a child. How could he let himself give in to his emotions like that? He felt humiliated, this was his archenemy, of all people! Not to mention he'd practically turned the dining him into an ice rink!

"You're vulnerable because you're still recovering. I think it might be better to stay here for a bit longer than I thought..." Vlad said.

"No!" Danny protested. "I don't know what happened, okay? It's never happened before. I just felt...stressed and my powers kinda, um, took over."

Danny felt stupid talking to Vlad about something so childish as a panic attack. He was almost fifteen for fudge sake! Danny lowered his legs from the chair and looked away from Vlad's critical gaze. He normally would be angry and shouting at the man to back off, but he was so shaken up he just wanted to go back upstairs and stay in his creepy bedroom until Vlad was ready to put his 'genius' plan into action.

"That's way too many marshmallows!" Sam's voice rang out as the two teenagers reentered the room.

"You're nuts, marshmallows are awesome!"

Daniel let a small smile escape as his friend's bickered and completely forgot about Vlad. The man stood up and decided to silently leave the room. He had to reevaluate some things.

"You okay now Danny?" Sam said as he took the mug of hot chocolate from Tucker.

"Yeah dude you almost turned us into popsi-ow!"

Danny giggled as Sam stomped unceremoniously on her friend's foot and rolled her eyes. Danny shook his head, as if to shake off the bad emotions and replied,

"I'm fine, I'll be even better once I'm fully recovered and we get to Amity."

"Yeah, Vlad seemed like he was coming to Amity for a while, you don't think he's gonna move there...right?" Tucker said uncertainly.

"It makes sense, he's going to help us prosecute your parents, isn't he?" Sam said.

Danny felt conflicted about going to court against his parents. There was a part of him that still loved them dearly, but a larger part that was all but terrified of them. He took a sip of his hot chocolate to avoid answering and was glad when Sam suggested they explore the castle. They were going to be here a while, so might as well get to know the place.

Danny followed after his friends -who were currently arguing about a hamburger vs veggie burger- and began to relax. He wasn't alone, his friend's would never abandon him. They've known each other since forever, and Danny was dead set on keeping it that way, no mater what.

.

Next Chapter: Danny discovers the alarming truth about his injuries, and Vlad heads out to the Fenton's to witness the situation for himself.

Hello! Glad you made it! I just wanted to give you a bit of insight on what to expect in the rest of this story.

I know a lot of stories with Danny and Vlad exclude his family and friends completely, or partially, but I really didn't want to do that, at least not at first. Danny needs Sam and Tucker, especially now. So that's why they're staying for a bit. Don't worry though, you'll get your fluffy scenes between the halfas as the story progresses, I promise! Don't forget to drop me a review and let me know how well you enjoyed this chapter! See you later Snugglemuffins!

-P