Hi guys. I debating whether to keep the child on as a key part in the story or not. Please give me your opinion.

Vlad

Vlad sat up, he'd been asleep. When had that happened? He groaned as he realized that he'd been dreaming about searching for Daniel. That wasn't very productive.

He looked around, responding blearily to the exhaustion from waking up. What had made him wake up anyway?

The doorbell rang again, Vlad's mind automatically filling in a short poem about Jack's stupidity instead of the cheerful chime.

He glanced up at the ceiling of his lab and then down at himself, he was in his Plasmius form. (How in butter biscuits and gravy did he manage to sleep as a ghost anyway?) He split in half. His clone turned back into Vlad Masters and went to get the door. Plasmius continued to sort through the print outs of the results of the search for Daniel.

The unintentional nap hadn't helped, Daniel was still impossible to find.

The other Vlad reached the entry hall and his attention switched to that clone.

See, Self-Duplication works simplistically but is also incredibly complex. To explain it would be incredibly long and boring, perhaps an example would be better.

Cloning oneself is much like having two tabs open on your computer simultaneously, you can split the screen between the two of them, but still have your primary attention on one, then switch it to the other. However, if one of your tabs plays music, the music will continue to play despite your attention not being on that tab. An action or thought put into the mind of the copy will continue.

On the other hand, that was specifically how Plasmius's cloning worked. Daniel's powers could be completely different. In fact, based off of the clear difference in their obsessions, it probably was different.

The door opened and Vlad was instantly face to face with a red-headed teenager that had an ecto-staff way too close to his neck for comfort.

"Why hello, Jasmine!" He plastered what he hoped was a pleasant smile onto his face.

Jasmine's glare intensified and Tucker and Sam split out from behind her.

"And Tucker and Samantha too." His smile faded as Jazz stuck the staff further under his jugular.

Vlad gave a nervous chuckle, "I'm guessing this isn't a social visit..."

Jazz growled, "Where is my brother?"

Suddenly exhaustion overwhelmed him and Vlad sighed in defeat.

"I don't know."

DPHTTYDPHTTYDDPHTTYD

Meanwhile in... Honestly, I have no idea.

Danny

Danny sighed and ran a gloved hand through his white bangs.

The ghost was so sweet. Her name was Anzur and she'd simply been confused at first. After a nice night's sleep and many carefully crafted questions, Danny had managed to piece some things together.

Anzur was from the ghost zone. She had wandered too far from her haunt and gotten lost. A specialty of her's. She claimed that she was always lost. She must've slipped through a portal into the human realm and gotten trapped.

Without the ectoplasm that the ghost zone provided, her body had used up all the ectoplasmic energy in itself to ensure the future of her existence. It was like starving to death, but instead of fat, her body had soaked up the very blood that coursed through her veins.

Danny assumed that as a halfa he could survive without exposure to ectoplasm, but what about the other ghosts?

What about Danielle? Did she have enough human DNA to survive?

He couldn't allow the ghost portal to close. He couldn't. If he did, he'd condem all ghosts left in the human realm to a horrific demise.

He rested his cheek against his palm as he watched Anzur sleep. While he knew that ghosts slept, it was unusual to see the child in such peaceful bliss, usually ghosts were either trying to help him, or murder him. He'd never seen one act so... normal. Especially considering the insanity that had plagued her mind since her body had devoured her supply of Ectoplasm. It seemed to cause mental effects as well as physical...

A sudden thought struck Danny as his hands dropped down to his sides.

Had Vlad been driven insane because a lack of ectoplasm?

Did the man really used to be like Dad remembered him? ...

Could Danny help him?

The teenager's ears were jolted with a set of footsteps, ones that seemed far too loud because of the silence. His head whipped towards the source.

It was Hiccup.

Hiccup said, "We need to talk."

DPHTTYDDPHTTYD

Danny sat in ghost form in front of Hiccup. His legs dangled off of the tabel in the Riders' living room. (Danny decided that name was best to describe the room that he was sitting in)

"I really appreciate what you did for us." Hiccup started, his arms folded. "But..."

Danny glanced up at Hiccup. "You want to know what I am capable of."

The man shrugged as if to say. 'You said it. Not me'

Danny continued, "Well, you don't need to worry. I don't consider myself particularly dangerous."

"Should I consider you dangerous?" Hiccup un-crossed his arms and shifted his feet slightly.

Danny recognized the body language instantly. Hiccup was freeing his hands and compacting his form.

Offensive.

Danny's friendly doppelganger was suddenly not so friendly.

"That depends on your point of view." Danny ran a hand through his hair distractedly. "I don't attack people randomly. Only if they're attacking other people, or me, and even then I don't intentionally hurt anybody."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes doubtfully. "Can you? ...Hurt people." He clarified at Danny's confused tilt of his head.

Danny looked away. "Well yeah, I'm capable of it. But I don't do it unless I have to. Besides aren't your dragons also capable of hurting people?"

Hiccup blinked at the surprisingly good argument. "Yeah I guess so. But still."

"I swear!" Danny complained. "I'm not going to hurt anybody."

The man sighed and extended his hand. "Alright then. Welcome to The Edge, Phantom."

Danny stood up and clasoed his hand. "Pleasure to be here."

It wasn't until a few minutes later when Ruffnut burts into the room proclaiming The Wierdo's absence that Danny realized the flaw in this situation.

How could he be two people at once?

Hi guys. I am super sorry. My life has been such a mess for the last six months.

I'm getting myself put back together though. So I'll probably be updating more often if you're still interested.