Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Summary: Danny wakes up after being captured by his parents in the town hall, but can't remember how he got there. Can he figure out what happened and who is responsible and still keep his secret?

Chapter 1

"Ugh..." Danny groaned as he woke up. His head felt heavy and he thought his ears were buzzing until he could make out that what sounded like static was actually the murmurs of a large group of people. He tried to sit up and rub his aching head but realized with a cold pulse of fear that he could not move his arms. His eyes snapped open as he moved his head to access his situation. Three glowing bonds strapped his chest, waist, and thighs to a metal table. His wrists and ankles also seemed to be restrained with metal clamps as he could not move either of them. He was somewhat relieved to note that he was in ghost mode, so whoever had captured him had not found out his secret. He did wonder how he got there and how he had managed to hold his ghost form while unconscious, but thrust these thoughts aside as he heard a group of people approaching. Looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings, he saw his parents and the mayor walking in to his left. Seeing the mayor walk back out of the room and hearing the crowd become quiet, he realized that he must be at the town hall.

"Jack. Look, he's awake," Maddie exclaimed.

They both walked over to Danny who asked, "Jack, Maddie, what's going on? What happened?"

"You tell us," Maddie retorted.

"Yeah, tell us what you did with our son, ghost, before I tear you apart molecule by molecule," Jack threatened as he pulled an ectogun out of nowhere and thrust it in Danny's face. Danny cringed and turned his head away squeezing his eyes shut tight, waiting for a shot that never came. When he finally got the courage to open up his eyes and look back at his parents, he saw his mother's hand firmly pushing the gun down towards the floor. Looking at his mother, he saw the briefest glimmer of sympathy cross her face before she began to look at him like she normally did when she expected an answer.

"Look, I don't know what happened to your son, and I certainly don't have anything to do with his disappearance. In fact, I can't even remember you capturing me. The last thing I remember was forcing Skulker back into the ghost portal in your basement." Upon this admission, his parents looked somewhat puzzled, then turned around and began whispering to each other.

While they were conversing with one another, Danny once again wondered what had happened after his fight with Skulker. What he had told his parents was certainly not a lie because he didn't know what had happened to him. When his parents had finally turned back around to address him again they held several items. His father held what was clearly one of Skulker's darts and a folded piece of paper, a note. His mother held one of his father's inventions, the Fenton Band, designed to 'encourage' a ghost to tell the truth. He did not know how it worked, and didn't really want to find out. He hoped that his answers would appease them so they would not use it on him.

"We found you unconscious on the floor of our lab with that dart in the back of your neck and this note on your chest. Does it mean anything to you?, " Maddie asked as Jack thrust the note in his face. 'What is it with my dad thrusting things in my face today? At least this won't do much more than make me cross-eyed," Danny thought.

"Could you please hold it still and turn it over? I can't read upside down," Danny requested as his dad complied with a sheepish look. It read:

Daniel:

I trust you should have things figured out by now. If not, then this should help: the clock is ticking. This time it is permanent. You know what to do. I will be waiting.

V.P.

Danny thought for a moment before it came to him- the Plasmius Maximus. But how was he still in ghost form? Wouldn't it have knocked him out of ghost mode when he was shocked with it? He didn't even remember being shocked by it either, and how could it be permanent? He figured it must have been modified to keep him in ghost form, forcing him to go to Plasmius, and Skulker must have hit him with that dart to knock him unconscious before he used the Plasmius Maximus. He knew he was going to have to get away somehow and go fight Plasmius for the cure. Vlad had him backed into a corner, and Danny hoped he could find his way out of this. His first step would be to gain his parents' trust enough to be able to escape, however unlikely that would be. He sighed and looked up at his parents knowing they would probably not believe what he was going to say, but he had to try.

"This note is from my archenemy Vlad Plasmius." At their puzzled expression, he continued, "I think you know him as the Wisconsin Ghost. Well, he has apparently taken Danny hostage and wants me to come after him. He has been trying to get me to join his side for the longest now and he's using Danny to get to me."

"Why would he do that?," Jack asked.

"Well, he knows that I won't just sit down and let the people I care about get hurt," Danny responded.

"Hah. You are definitely lying. Ghosts don't care about humans," Maddie said condescendingly. "Jack, I think its time we use the Fenton Band and get the truth out of him."

Jack's face lit up and he responded, "Sure babe. Put it on him while I check the equipment. Even though it hasn't been tested, it should work once it's calibrated."

When Maddie approached Danny with the band to put it on him, he began to panic and struggled a bit, but his bonds held fast. Maddie must have seen the terror on his face, because hers softened a bit as she fit it on his head, saying, "There's no use in you struggling. You can't break free, and if your scared, don't worry. The band shouldn't hurt you. All we want is the truth."

Swallowing the growing lump in his throat he said, "I have told you the truth. Why won't you believe me? What have I done to make you hate me?" At her glare he responded, "Besides that. Why can't you understand that not all ghosts are evil and neither am I?" He was growing desperate. He knew that if the band worked correctly then his secret could be in real jeopardy, and he was in danger, especially if he was going to be questioned in front of the crowd he had heard as he was waking up.

"Ok hon, all you have to do is attach those electrodes to the band and we can fire this baby up," Jack called from where he was working. Danny watched as his mother plugged them into the ports at each of his temples and then looked back over her shoulder to his dad and nodded. Jack then flipped a switch and turned a couple of knobs on the console in front of him as the band began to glow and came to life.

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AN: I will try and get the next chapter up sometime tomorrow. Please review. Reviews give me a lot of inspiration. A review I got for my oneshot Hurting Those We Love has given me an idea and the inspiration to possibly turn it into a multi-chapter fic. I had originally intended for it to be one of a series of oneshots, each written from a different point of view. I might try to add to it, but it will most likely be from Sam's POV. I'll just have to wait and see if my muses (and my professors) allow me.

Happy reading and please review!