Disclaimer: I own nothing from Danny Phantom

Note: This wasn't the route I originally planned, but I felt inspired by my fans so now things have taken a drastic turn! Vlad has to play hero because apparently there are ghosts like Nocturne out there who believe Danielle is going to become an even worse villain than he is! And that's saying something, so talk about a total role reversal. Can he help Danielle change her fate? Or is he the reason she's on this path to begin with? Lets find out together!

P.S. Just a heads up, I'll be replacing anything written in Esperanto (or any other foreign language honestly) with bold lettering to de-clutter Wulf's dialogue like I did for my Feral fanfic. That should make everything easier to read too!

(Updated 1/25/2025)

Chapter 25: Let The Hunt Begin

Danielle's POV

"Honestly, little badger, what's the point of going to bed early if you're just going to sleep in?" I heard Vlad chuckle as he politely swung open my bedroom door with Isla following right behind him since they were apparently bringing me breakfast in bed as a special treat. I wasn't expecting that at all, but I guess that's one way to make sure I ate something before we start with all the medical stuff and testing. Either way, I found myself staring at them both for a long time in a sleepy haze, feeling a lot more disoriented than usual for some reason.

Distracted when Leo leaned his whole body against me as soon as I sat up, I absentmindedly ran a hand through my hair. Then, after taking a quick glance at my alarm clock, I replied hesitantly, "Huh? I did? That's strange; I don't remember going to bed particularly early. Last night I had the craziest dream about a ghost randomly appearing in my room, just like the ones I used to fight all the time in Amity Park, but I've never seen one like them before. They were looming over me like a total creep, and I was powerless to do anything to stop them, so it felt more like a nightmare. Jeez, I wonder what brought that on?"

Perched on the edge of the bed, Vlad affectionately tousled my hair and reassured me, "Don't worry about it too much, my dear. I assure you, it was only a dream. Given our conversation last night, it's only natural that you'd dream about how things used to be. Not to mention you were only able to discover much of what you're truly capable of now in the heat of the moment while fighting for survival each day, rather than through structured training. So it's understandable why you're suddenly feeling a little insecure."

Smiling warmly, he continued, "Now then, we have a big day ahead of us, and I had a feeling you were going to end up sleeping in so everything is ready whenever you are. There's no need to rush since waking up so early was really more of a suggestion than anything because I knew how eager you were to get started. That said, I do expect you to have a proper breakfast from now on, as we agreed, even if it's not as lavish as the one we've brought you."

Nodding to Isla, she obeyed his silent instructions and placed the serving tray on my bed. After giving me a warm smile, she moved to the bathroom area where Leo's food bowl sat and opened a can of wet food. In response Leo eagerly rubbed against her legs, excitedly devouring the meal the second she left. Leave it to Vlad to treat Leo to gourmet cat food when I totally expected him to just stick with the usual kibble most people get their pets in bulk. As for my breakfast, he wasn't joking when he said it was fancy. They had prepared a hearty breakfast casserole filled with sausage, bacon bits, eggs, cheese, and hash browns. Alongside it were two large buttermilk biscuits smothered in rich, creamy gravy, accompanied by a tall glass of milk. Looks like Vlad wanted to make absolutely sure my human half had plenty of energy today too, which is actually kinda sweet of him. Either way, it smelled absolutely amazing so I happily thanked them for the meal and told Vlad I'd head downstairs as soon as I was done.

At least I've finally moved past the guilt of eating in my bedroom since I technically wasn't allowed to back at Fenton Works. What Vlad doesn't know, or used to not know anyway, is that I often had no choice if I wanted a decent meal. My dad has a habit of raiding the fridge downstairs and the Op-center for 'midnight' snacks, but in reality, he's sneaking in whole extra meals when mom isn't looking. When I was younger, he would sometimes share his snacks with me, but as I got older, he would just send me back to bed with a warning before continuing on with his late-night munching.

Anyway, I'm glad Vlad didn't give me too much grief about oversleeping because hey, at least I got some sleep last night. I thought I'd be too wired to sleep, especially with my excitement about finally getting started, even though I knew we were just going to be testing my power levels for now and not really learning anything new. After putting on something simple and comfortable, I didn't even bother transforming into my ghost half and phased directly downstairs again after giving Leo a bit of extra attention then putting the empty tray somewhere he couldn't knock it over from. Thankfully I've been getting used to not feeling bad about using my powers too as a shortcut from time to time. Sam and Trish used to tease me about it, especially Sam, but Vlad keeps reminding me that it gives me an edge against the sketchy people who might try to take advantage of me because of my connection to him, which makes a lot of sense...

He is, after all, the richest man in the world. Something I tend to forget because to me Vlad's family and someone I've grown to trust. Speaking of trust, I'll admit I was a bit nervous about what we might discover regarding my overall health and allowing Vlad to examine me so closely. But Vlad's treated plenty of his own injuries before, so I'm sure he knows what he's doing. And honestly there's no point in freaking out about this examination since I felt perfectly fine today—better than fine, in fact—despite a lingering uneasiness in the back of my mind that I couldn't quite shake off.

Despite my growing unease, I did my best to follow Vlad's instructions, and he remained surprisingly patient as we took my weight, height, blood pressure, and other measurements. After a while though it became increasingly unsettling how unfazed he seemed, even after noticing a few faded scars I have from when I was accidentally nicked by a new anti-ghost weapon my parents created, which took longer than usual for me to heal from. To the casual observer, the scars are hardly noticeable, so I was taken aback by Vlad's lack of the kind of explosive of a reaction I expected him to have when I shared the colorful stories behind how I got some of them.

"Vlad, seriously, I need you to be honest with me about what you're really thinking because this whole being super-understanding act is starting to freak me out a little. These might not look like much but I DID get hurt pretty bad those times and barely made it home in my earlier ghost fighting days," I frowned after Vlad did the whole breathe in and breathe out thing which meant we were ready to move onto the next thing on the agenda. According to him, the next step involved me using my powers to strike some targets so he could assess my power levels with each hit.

"The only thing on my mind right now is that you might be overreacting, my dear," Vlad said, his eyes shining with a proud warmth. "I understand you believe those stories and scars should weigh heavily on me, but it's quite the opposite. The fact that you've endured such challenges and made remarkable progress in just six months, all without guidance, is truly impressive. Rather than feeling disheartened by your past, I am excited about the opportunity to help you reach a greatness you never thought possible when you first became a hybrid like me which I'll admit is a thrilling prospect."

Giving him a pointed look, I sighed, and offered a hesitant smile. "Alright, fruitloop, whatever you say."

It wasn't until we stepped into Vlad's secret training room that I started to feel something was off. While his praise filled me with confidence, it didn't quite explain why every move I made seemed to be regarded as an extraordinary feat in his eyes. The pride in his gaze—a look I had longed to see coming from my parents—seemed almost too perfect. On top of that, Vlad couldn't find any flaws in my battle tactics, stance, or aim, which made me suspect he was going easy on me for some reason even though we were only just getting started. But that didn't make any sense! He knows as well as I do that the whole reason I've been feeling restless lately is because I've already been playing it too safe flying around the castle in circles over and over again trying to release some pent-up energy. That's why I'm so eager to confront a real challenge that will allow me to showcase my best skills to him.

No matter what kind of test Vlad threw at me though, I managed to pass each one with surprising ease. This made me feel as though he was coddling me, something he promised to avoid. Just as I was about to ask him if he was truly taking me seriously, he unexpectedly wrapped his arms around me from behind after I showed him my top flying speed and cheered, "Well done my child, that was a flawless demonstration!"

Tilting my head at an odd angle, I shot Vlad a puzzled look and pointed out, "My child? Since when did you start talking like that? That doesn't sound like you at all, Vlad... it sounds more like..."

Trailing off when a sudden ringing in my ears made me wince, I heard an oddly familiar voice say the words, "...weren't you about to go to sleep? Here. Allow me to assist you, my child."

My mind wandered back to the shadow I had seen in my dream, but...maybe it wasn't just a dream after all? Just as I was on the verge of remembering something important, the ringing in my ears intensified, making it difficult to think clearly. A surge of panic hit me moments later as a clawed hand slowly reached toward me from behind, obscured my vision as it covered my eyes. Then, the figure I believed to be Vlad let out an exasperated sigh and leaned in close to whisper ominously in my ear, "How unfortunate. It appears you are intent on complicating matters by resisting the perfect dream I've crafted for you, little phantom. It seems I'll need to put in more effort to keep you subdued long enough to uncover the answers I seek, especially since you're proving to be much stronger than I anticipated even while trapped within the confines of your own heart. Hmm, in that case, perhaps creating this dream to reflect reality too closely was a mistake on my part. So, let's try a different approach, shall we? This time, I'll create a far more captivating dream that you won't want to awaken from until I permit it..."

When the ringing in my ears reached a deafening pitch, my vision blurred as the same shadowy figure from my dream took Vlad's place and caught me as I collapsed, using his power to plunge me into a much deeper sleep. He must have done this to correct his earlier mistake of letting me realize that I had everything backward-that THIS was the dream. I couldn't tell if this was the first time I sensed something was amiss or the hundredth though because I had long since lost my grip on reality. I had no idea where I was, how I got here, or anything. That said, there's clearly something or someone that's been keeping me grounded enough to continue fighting against whatever this bastard was trying to do to me.

The only problem is I honestly don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to keep this up before I finally surrender myself and accept this place as my new reality. It would be so much easier to do that than to admit that I'm actually a pretty scared right now. I've never had to deal with anyone besides Spectra messing with my head like this before. And this mysterious new enemy of ours has me has me completely cornered with no way out—not even within my own mind.

Because how can I separate the actual truth from what I desperately wish were true when I'm not sure which one matters more to me? Is it more important for me to learn to accept myself, or to feel like I'm finally allowed to be happy? I don't know. I don't know anything anymore because just when I started to lower my guard a bit, someone like this creep just had to come along and ruin everything! Once again, my whole life revolves around dealing with some god-damn egocentric ghost! But then again, should I have expected anything different, considering I'm still a 'Fenton'?

Vlad's POV

"This had better not be a waste of time," I glowered, my brow knitted in frustration as I finally found the cave Skulker had pointed me to in the Ghost Zone, peering doubtfully the darkness.

Now, I'm sure many of you recall how Danielle was once wrongfully imprisoned by Walker, correct? And how that same misguided warden later manipulated the ghost of a powerful werewolf to track down everyone she had interacted with, aiming to overshadow them and tarnish her reputation as a hero? Well, since I trust the abilities of a sentient werewolf more than the ghost of some former security dog I've decided that the quickest way to locate Danielle is to enlist the help of the ghost known simply as Wulf. According to my research, his powers could also be quite useful for our escape back to the human world—assuming, of course, that I can persuade him to assist me.

Danielle spoke very highly of Wulf after his selfless act of dragging Walker back into the Ghost Zone after Maddie created an unstable portal using one of their blaster prototypes to banish them from our world. Unfortunately, the device requires too much energy to operate and takes too long to recharge. Additionally, its bulky design makes it impractical for such precise targeting. While I acknowledge that Maddie is much stronger than she appears, the reality remains that this method of sending ghosts back to the Ghost Zone is unreliable and should have undergone more thorough testing before being used. But I digress.

To avoid upsetting Wulf by intruding too far into his sanctuary, I only stepped into the mouth of the cave and after swallowing my pride, I called out to him. "I apologize for the intrusion, but is this the home of a ghost by the name of Wulf? If so then I urgently need to speak with you."

I felt ridiculous talking to myself, but like any wild animal I knew I had to let him come to me so he could understand that I posed no threat. Although that by no means means I'm weak I needed to demonstrate that I was just as capable a hunter in my own right. Several minutes later, my ghost sense went off and I caught sight of a pair of glowing green eyes watching me from the shadows, accompanied by the sound of heavy footsteps. He observed me cautiously, breathing deeply but steadily. I fought the impulse to ignite my hands with ecto-energy for better visibility, knowing Wulf wouldn't appreciate me revealing his position, so I calmly waited for him to approach on his own terms.

Catching sight of a large paw at the edge of the light streaming into the cavern from the natural unearthly green glow of the Ghost Zone, I heard Wulf sniff loudly before snorting and asking cautiously in Esperanto, "You smell just like my friend, the half-blood. Who are you?"

Smirking inwardly since I happened to already know Esperanto which would likely encourage him to be more chatty—after all, most people, and even ghosts, appreciate it when you make the effort to speak in their preferred dialect. I then introduced myself, saying, "My name is Vlad Plasmius, and I am Dani Phantom's adoptive father. She has spoken very highly of you, which is why I'm here seeking your assistance. Danielle has been kidnapped by a ghost named Nocturne, and I need to find her quickly before he traps her in a dream world forever."

With a low growl, he emerged completely into the light, standing on his hind legs as he spoke."I may not be familiar with this ghost, Nocturne, but if it's true my friend is danger, then I will join you in battle. Dani Phantom once rescued me and helped me reclaim my freedom, so I still owe her a great debt."

I didn't move as Wulf walked up closer to sniff me directly, although I'll admit his natural wolfish musk was rather pungent which made me want to cover my mouth but again, enlisting his help was my best and only chance to find Danielle quickly before something terrible happened. At least I was right in my assumption that Wulf held Danielle in high regard. The fact that we had been living together for so long meant I carried some of her scent, which was enough to earn his trust. Of course, I would need to provide him with a fresher scent, but I already had something of hers tucked away in my belt.

Once he was convinced I was telling the truth, Wulf stepped back, a sly grin spreading across his face as he raised one of his claws and said. "Now, tell me, who has the audacity to try and imprison her? I'll rip them to shreds!"

Shaking my head I explained, "I like your enthusiasm, but don't worry about that, I plan to take care of that personally. What I need you to do is follow Dani Phantom's scent, just like you did for Walker, since no one knows where Nocturne's lair is. Once you've tracked her down, I need you to keep watch until I can get her out of there and open a portal for us to the real world to escape through. Oh, and you'll need this. It will neutralize the sleep-inducing abilities of Nocturne and his Dreamweavers."

Then I offered him a small pill, holding it out after swallowing one myself to demonstrate it was safe. Wulf sniffed my hand warily and wrinkled his nose at first, but eventually, he licked it from my palm and swallowed it as well. Disgusted by the amount of drool he left on my glove, I phased it off and reached into my belt for the item that carried Danielle's scent. I needed something fresh, so I had taken a pillowcase from her bed, as we had just changed the bedding the day before yesterday. Fortunately, Isla hadn't washed them yet, so this one had the strongest scent without any remnants of Nocturne's dream dust or cat hair from Leo.

Pausing to gaze at the unassuming piece of fabric, I tightened my fist around it and muttered to myself, "I'm coming Danielle and I swear I'll do everything in my power get you out of there..."

Handing Wulf the pillowcase to sniff, I watched as he carefully lifted it with surprising reverence and spent a good few minutes ensuring he memorized the scent before tucking it into the pocket of his hoodie. After that, he walked past me to inhale the air outside the cavern, then howled and gestured. "Her fragrance is strongest in that direction. I can create a portal near the source, but we should proceed with caution. The forgotten realms are perilous, inhabited by ancient spirits that aren't too fond of uninvited guests."

"Well, Nocturne should have thought about that before barging into my home as rudely as I'm about to do in his. Lead the way, Wulf. And as soon as Danielle is safe, I promise to reward you. You may owe her your afterlife, but since I'm the one asking for your assistance that means I'm the one who will be making sure you receive something in return. The sooner you take me to her, the better." I replied, nodding for him to proceed. Then I watched with mild intrigue as he extended his claws and ripped open a portal, leading us into another part of the Ghost Zone instead of back to the real world.

Shortly after, Wulf jumped through the portal, briefly poking his head back to urge me to follow before sealing it behind him to prevent anyone from tracking him to his current den. I shook my head at his antics and stepped through the portal, only to be met with a rather unsettling sight. This part of the Ghost Zone felt even more like a void than the rest; it was dark and cold, with barely any wandering specters or islands in sight, and the usual swirling green energy was almost absent. It resembled an empty abyss more than anything else, but what struck me the most was the silence. Typically, you could hear distant wails or weeping, but here... all I could hear was Wulf's heavy breathing, his ears pinned back in evident discomfort.

He clearly wanted to help though so Wulf eventually dismissed his unease—quite literally, as he shook his long black fur coat. After dropping to all fours and taking a deep breath to catch the scent, he lifted his head high, his ears standing alert as a low snarl rumbled from his throat. "We should hurry; something feels wrong about this place..."

Not thrilled by the idea, I nodded and suggested that we both turn invisible to avoid drawing any unwanted attention. If we did it simultaneously, we should still be able to see each other. With that, we pressed on into the shadowy, forgotten corners of the Ghost Zone in search of my little badger. I'm not sure how long we flew, but eventually, we stumbled upon a dark purple castle with tall, slender spires, shrouded in a thick fog. It stood on an island where a cascade of stars tumbled off the edges like a waterfall into the void below. Above it, an artificial crescent moon hung in the sky, casting a soft blue light over the scene.

The moonlight did appear to have some effect on Wulf, who seemed slightly agitated, but I attributed most of that to his growing concern for Danielle. This became even more evident when he tapped my shoulder and guided me to the lower part of the island, where only small caverns and solid stone existed. Fortunately, these caverns seemed unoccupied; I assumed Nocturne and his minions were holed up in the castle spire, a suspicion Wulf confirmed after checking for hidden traps or lurking enemies. I had to give credit where it was due—Walker was clever to utilize such a skilled tracker. Wulf's abilities put even Skulker to shame; he could follow an energy trail across worlds, something Skulker couldn't manage. It was particularly impressive in the Ghost Zone, where the multitude of wandering spirits would typically obscure any scent, making detection much more challenging.

When Wulf returned, he said to me, "Some sections of the castle are integrated into the rock but if you follow my markers, you should be able to find a way in without being seen. I'll stay here and wait for you to return. If you don't come back, I'll come after you myself, but you seem like a strong opponent so Nocturne should watch his back. Good luck, Plasmius. Bring her back safely."

Nodding and igniting my hands to illuminate the network of tunnels ahead, I replied, "Thank you, Wulf. I'll return shortly, so be ready to open a portal as soon as you see that I have Danielle with me." With that, I took a deep breath and moved forward, feeling more assured with each step that I was getting that much closer to finally rescuing her.