A/N: So, the chapter came out longer than I planned it, but I don't care. It is a good ending to an extremely fun fan fiction. I'll talk more in my ending author's note. For the last time, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: This will never get old. I don't own any Danny Phantom or CHERUB characters.

Chapter 18 Congratulations!

"Genius, you're still in ghost form," Sam whispered in my ear as the SWAT guys lead us back through the woods to the camp grounds.

"Oh jeez!" I panicked. "I didn't even realize!"

"Hey!" Seph suddenly called up to the lead guy of the team with combat gear and rifles. The man turned to see what the kid wanted with a confused look crossing his face. "We gotta take a piss," Seph said. "Mind if we go out here?"

"It's not my camp, kid," the leader said with a shrug.

"Cheers!" Seph said, guiding us off the path of police and SWAT guys running around like crazy. Some firefighters came barreling along with a long, thick hose in their hands. They were there to put out the fires, obviously.

We three drifted into the thick of the trees and bushes, out of sight of the five guys sent to take care of us. Once they found out who Seph was, they had let us put our hands down and treated us like normal teens. Seph stopped once we were under a good cover of green foliage.

"I don't have to go," I said, slightly confused. "What are we doing?"

Seph laughed at my puzzlement. "Just turn back human here," he said. "If we all pretend you looked that way since the start, they will have to believe us. I don't think the world is prepared to know about your ghost abilities. I will have to tell CHERUB of MI5, of course, but we have ways of keeping things like this secret."

"If you say so," I mumbled. All I could do was trust what he said was true. I let the white rings flash over my body, returning me to normal...and dropped straight to my butt in complete exhaustion. "Oh, wow," I said, holding my spinning head.

"You look wasted," Sam said as she lifted me to my feet with some of Seph's help. "You sure you can walk?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," I answered with a nod. They let me go and I felt fine enough to walk, but I had to concentrate on every step to keep my balance or keep from collapsing with fatigue. We walked back to the five guys waiting for us. They all shot me confused, perplexed looks as I walked up with my two friends. I had turned from a white haired, green eyed teen to a burned out, black haired and blue eyed kid who looked sleep deprived...which I was. How long had it been since some real sleep? (Passing out from a concussion doesn't count.) At least more than 24 hours.

"Where did the other one go?" the leader of the team asked Seph.

"What other one?" Seph asked with a tilt of his head.

"Who's this kid?" the leader asked.

"He's been here since the beginning," Sam butted in with one of her rebel Goth glares that seemed to always make scared adults back off. It was this poor guy's first time with it. He hesitated, looking at one of the other guys on his team for some support. All he got was a shrug.

"We'll look into it later," the leader said, still puzzled over the subject. But no one dared to go against Sam's glare. When no one was looking, I shot her a grin. She gave me a sneaky smirk back.

The SWAT team guys lead us all the way back to the camp. As we passed by the cabins, kids and teens were coming out with other SWAT guys escorting them to safety, which was where we were heading. Police were swarming the place, questioning every adult they could get their hands on about what had happened. More firefighters ran past us once with more hoses. I looked behind me to see that the fire was still going back at the mine, but the firefighters were there on time. It wouldn't take long to be put out.

"Oh my gosh! Look, Danny!" Sam gasped as she spotted something. She stopped dead in her tracks while latching onto arm to keep me there with her. I looked to where she was staring and felt an overwhelming surge of joy.

Jazz was sitting on her cabin's front door stairs with an ice pack held to her head. Some of her campers were sitting there with her and another teen counselor I didn't know. She hadn't seen me yet because she was talking pleasantly to one of her campers that was crying slightly. She must have felt my stare, because she soon looked up and saw me standing there like a dope.

"Danny!" she called my name. Her voice held relief and elation in it. She sprung up from her seat, forgetting the kid. I think I was too stunned just watching her run toward me to move. It wasn't till her arms were around my neck in a giant sibling hug that I grinned and hugged her back.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, tears in my eyes. I swallowed hard while frantically searching her body up and down for any kind of anomaly.

"I'm fine," Jazz said with a flip of her orange ponytail. She gently brushed my tears off my cheeks while saying, "Don't cry, Danny. I'm perfectly okay. I don't remember a few days, except for a dream about a gross swamp, but I'm fine now. If you exclude the slight headache." Here, she hung her head in shame and said quietly, "But I'm sorry for not believing you about that monster thing. It was really mean and stupid of me."

I was caught off guard by the apology. I'd totally forgotten that she hadn't believed me about Amanda and the beast. It all seemed so trivial now. Without thinking, I gave a laugh at the irony of it all. She didn't seem to understand or like that.

"I'm just glad to see you alive!" I said when she shot me a glare. I hugged her again, to her surprise, and asked, "Is mom and dad here?"

She rolled her eyes. "They're freaking out about ghosts like always," she huffed. She folded her arms in front of her to dispel her anger. "They're also looking for you like crazy. You should go find for them before they get out the megaphone. But before that, go get fixed up. Is that blood on your wrists? And what happened to your nose? It looks bruised."

I hid my chafed and bloody wrists behind my back quickly. She was going to go all overprotective sister on me if I didn't get away fast. I was glad to see her okay, but already I needed my space. Backing up, I said to her with a smile, "I'll go do that."

She glanced over to my friends and escorting SWAT team dudes without any interest till she spotted Seph. "Is that Seph?" she asked me skeptically after she cheerfully waved at Sam, who waved back with a roll of her eyes.

"I'll tell you about it later," I said, running off to avoid her glare. I joined back up with the group and we began our journey back to the dirt parking lot at the front of the camp. It was where the center of operations was taking place. Paramedics were there, rushing from ambulance to ambulance to diagnose the few traumatized kids who actually remembered the beast. Most kids just had memory loss and headaches, though. Police cruisers, SWAT vans, and fire trucks were all parked haphazardly. All different kinds of people flocked the place.

We came just as a Guys In White van swerved up to the end of the parking lot. The doors burst open and a flood of the white suited men ran out with ghost gear in hand. They all ran by us without even a single glance toward their teen spy, Seph. My parents were going to have a fit when they saw the competition.

Two important people found us in the chaos of the crowd. One was a woman of maybe thirty years old. She had her hair pulled up in a messy ponytail. Dark circles were under her concerned eyes. She gave off a very mom-ish air. Right behind her was a man who looked like her husband and held a cute toddler in one strong hand and had a navy blue T-shirt in the other.

"Oh, James!" the woman said when she had spotted our group. The SWAT guys left us there after a nod from the man with the toddler. The woman pushed her way through the throng of people to get to us. Her eyes were pinned on Seph.

"James?" I asked Seph with a raised eyebrow. "Is that your real name?"

Seph wasn't paying attention to me. I could see he was fighting back tears as he watched the family surge through the crowd to get to him. Finally, the woman stood in front of Seph. She swooped him up in a quick hug. Some solace formed on her face as a smile came to her lips.

"Uh, James, you scared the heck out of me when you called all frantic like that," she breathed while pulling away. "Oh, look at you," she said with a sigh. "Where is your shirt? You and your friends need to get some medical help. Danny looks horrible."

"This your mom, dude?" I asked Seph.

The man with the toddler laughed at my question and the surprised expressions both the woman and Seph wore. "Zara just thinks she's his mum," he chuckled at his wife, "But she is now the chairman of CHERUB, which James works for. He was just lucky we were in the States at the time he called, or none of this could have been arranged so quickly. James told me on the phone that he told you guys he was a spy. How did that happen?"

"It wasn't his fault," Sam defended Seph or James. The name change was hard for me at first. "Vlad figured it out himself, and Danny kind of overheard. He can still be a spy and all, right?" Both Seph/James and I were surprised by her protective behavior for the teen. She must have really grown to like him. Usually it took her years to open up and be friends with someone.

"Calm down, Sam," Zara said with a warm smile. "Ewart and I know how to deal with this kind of stuff." She frowned in thought before adding, "Of course you'll have to sign a few papers restricting you from speaking of James and what happened here for the rest of your lives, but none of this is threatening to his career as a CHERUB."

Sam and I gave each other a weary glance. Imagine having to keep our mouths shut about this whole ordeal with Tucker breathing questions down our backs. That would be a challenge in itself.

"I want James!" the toddler in Ewart's arms squealed. He leaned forward to grab James.

Ewart handed James the navy blue shirt he had been holding. "Put that on before you hold him, James," Ewart told the teen. "You're filthy!" James laughed while pulling the shirt over his head. He was then handed the toddler. I never imaged Seph being so great with kids. It was kind of odd to see.

"After this, you might want to change that shirt to a black one," Zara commented with a small smile.

James's eyes brightened when hearing this. "You mean it?" he asked with a delighted grin. "A black shirt! Yes! That means Lauren can stop rubbing hers in my face!"

"I don't get it," I said to Sam.

"Some James Bond inside joke, I'm sure," she said, smirking. "I don't get it either."

-Few Hours Later-

"You're a trooper, kid," the paramedic said to me with a smile. He was older, maybe in his fifties. His face was already beginning to wrinkle, but in a good way with laugh lines. His eyes held a kindness in them for ones my age that was rare these days. I didn't mind him patching me up all that afternoon.

I had seen my parents hours before. Seeing them had sprouted a fresh set of tears. It was very reassuring to see and hug them again. My dad was chatting about the quantities of ghost energy in the area as my mom had shooed me off to the back of an ambulance. It was exactly how I predicted. Mom being overprotective and dad being...well dad. It was nice.

As the paramedic had cleaned and stitched up my head, checked my bruised nose for any broken bones, and dressed my wrists, I was constantly met with people from the camp. Amanda had showed up and gave me a stunning kiss on my forehead. That had been a nice, but somehow awkward encounter. I was glad to know she was okay. After that, my campers came in a swarm of excited cries. I avoided the questions about where Eric was. But they were fun to see. I was truly sad to say goodbye to all of them. Lastly, the little girl from my first nightmare shyly came up to me and thanked me for helping her before dashing off with flushed cheeks of embarrassment. She was a cute one.

Later on Sam came to give me some lunch she had rustled up from the Mess Hall. We ate there at the back of the ambulance some soggy sandwiches that were the best things I'd ever eaten. I had been starving for hours till she showed up with those sandwiches. It was nice to finally kick back and relax with Sam. We actually got to talk and joke around about random things. I really enjoyed her company.

All too soon, she had to leave. Her grandma had driven all the way down from Amity Park to pick her up because her parents were off on vacation to Fiji or some place with a beach in the sun where Sam refused to go. Instead, she had come here at Jazz's request to help me handle Vlad. I wondered if she ever regretted that choice.

Now the paramedic was wrapping my wrists in gauze. They stung after the alcohol cleaning, but the ointment he had put on was helping with the throbbing. I was just glad that he didn't ask me where the scars had come from. That would have been difficult to answer, 'cause I couldn't just say I phased through the cuffs.

"Okay, Danny, I'm going to go find some more gauze for you to take home," the paramedic told me as he climbed out of the ambulance. I sat down on the metal ledge outside the doors and nodded to him. "Then you can be on your way," he said before walking away.

"Hot chocolate, mate?" James said, holding up a steamy Styrofoam cup of the warm brown liquid. He had somehow appeared beside me.

I smiled at him before taking mine from his one hand. He held his in the other. "Thanks, dude," I said. "All those pain killer pills that guy gave me is making my throat dry."

James chuckled at this. "Hey," he said while walking off, "I have one little thing to do with Zara and Ewart. Stay there. I'll be back in five minutes."

"Sure," I called back. I didn't mind waiting. I was just glad to finally relax. It seemed like forever I'd been on the run. Even before camp, I'd been ghost fighting all night and day with little sleep. Here, it was one scary disaster after another. Just sitting there thinking to myself without any stress was a vacation in itself.

The night was cool and calming. Crickets sung in the distance. Bugs were flying erratically around the flood lights keeping the camp grounds alive. It was still buzzing with straggling police and kids, some Guys In White men who were going crazy at the destroyed mine, and my ghost hunting parents of course. The fire had long been put out, but the fresh smell of burnt wood and smoke still hung in the natural pine smelling air.

I took a long sip of my drink, loving the hot sensation of it burn down my throat as I swallowed the chocolaty substance. Silently, I took in my surroundings with a content, warm feeling in me. I couldn't help but smile a little to myself.

"I see you're enjoying the sights, Daniel," a voice said from right beside me.

The gasp was stalled in my throat as my whole body froze in fear. I forced myself to move and turned to look at Vlad. He sat there, only a few inches away from me, looking as relaxed as I had just been. A small, knowing smirk adorned his lips. His eyes were settled on me, taking my reaction in with amused interest.

"Did you really believe you could get rid of me that easily?" he asked me with a slight laugh. "Please don't look so surprised to see me," he continued. "It does something to my pride."

"No," I whispered, my voice cracking. I made the action to move away and get up. His hand shot out and grabbed my arm in a vice grip. Deftly, he pulled me close to him and slung an arm around my shoulders as if we were a close uncle and nephew. I couldn't breath properly. My hands holding the hot chocolate cup shook uncontrollably.

"Here, let me take that from you," Vlad said kindly. With his other hand, he lifted the cup out of my hands and placed it on the other side of him. "Wouldn't want that burning your hands."

"What do you want with me?" I whispered. I still didn't trust my voice. I'd left this guy for dead in a crumbling mine that had been about to explode. He had all the reason in the world to cream or even kill me right now. I was confused by all this friendly behavior. It put all my senses on edge.

"Oh, I want to congratulate you," Vlad said. He turned me toward him with a light push of my shoulder. He took both my shoulders in his hands and lowered his head so he could look into my face to say, "You won, Daniel. You beat me fair and square. You exceeded all my expectations, I must say."

"You aren't making any sense," I said, my voice quiet and my tone weary.

"Would you have felt better if I'd come in blasting away?" Vlad asked with a half grin. "I can still do that, you know."

"No, I don't understand," I said in frustrating confusion. "You...you were supposed to be dead, okay? And what is with the nice act? It's freaking creepy!"

Angry now, I tried pulling away. Vlad laughed at my heated expression. His grip was strong on my arm and easily kept me seated there next to him. I couldn't keep the disgusted look off my face as I was forced to sit there next to my arch enemy.

"What's with the bitter frown, Daniel?" he asked sardonically. "We both know that if I wasn't here to keep you in line, you'd have such a boring, easy life. I keep your life interesting. Besides, who wants a sappy happily ever after ending where the villain dies and the hero is all happy?"

"I do!" I snapped back, my voice full of unbridled emotion. I fixed Vlad a glare, waiting for his response. At first he just studied my face, expressionless. Then he gave me a chilling smile.

"I know you don't mean that," Vlad said. "You love fighting too much. You love the power. Today was only a small taste of what you can do. I can teach you how to control that anger and use it to strengthen your power. You have so much hidden talent, Danny. It's remarkable, really."

"Wow, I don't know whether to be flattered or be totally creeped out," I remarked with a look of outrage. "I'm not interested in your stupid offer, Vlad," I spelled out clearly for the man. "And I never will be. Get that? Now let go!"

"What offer?" Vlad asked sneakily. He lifted a lone eyebrow as he watched my multiple reactions. First there was anger. I hated that sly, smug smirk! Then there was confusion. What was he hinting at? Lastly, there was fear. Something evil was being planned in that head of his. Whatever it was, I for sure wasn't going to like it.

"Whatever you're planning with me, forget it, Vlad!" I hissed right into his uncaring face. "I'm not your game, your pawn, or anything close to a guinea pig. Leave me alone!"

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Don't be so over dramatic," he said. He chuckled lightly while saying, "It's not like I can just force you to do anything at this point. But let's not forget that you still remembered my offer from when we first met about joining me. I didn't know you had the capacity to remember that far back, but you do. That means you've thought about it."

He had caught the uncertainty in my eyes and grasped at it. He leaned in close while bringing me near and asked evilly, "You've thought about it, haven't you? Don't try to hide it, boy. Your emotions are like an open book."

"So I've had trouble with my powers," I grumbled, "and sometimes I wish for help. That doesn't mean I think about coming to you all the time. I'm doing fine without you." To emphasize my point, I phased through his hand around my arm and stood up crossing my arms.

"So you are," Vlad said with a bored sigh. "And I do have to remind myself that you're merely a child. You aren't capable to making good decisions yet. But, so you know, the offer is still open."

He got to his feet and adjusted his clean and tidy suit, noticing with a smile as I took a step back to keep a gap between us. With those critical eyes, he looked me up and down once more. I felt uncomfortable under that gaze. It was like he was summing me up to add a file of me into the bank of information in that big head of his for future wicked reference. I got the feeling that he was currently strategizing that perpetual chess game he played called life, with me being a big part of it.

I didn't have the will power or the guts to speak up against him. I felt a surge of helplessness as I stood there staring at my enemy. It was as if he was playing chess...and the rest of the world was playing checkers.

I had beaten him this one time, but how many times could I keep on winning? I'd laid down everything to defeat him today. I didn't have the energy to do that every time I wanted to pull out a win. Even with this win, it was still demoralizing because I saw the long rough road ahead so clearly now with Vlad.

It was then and there that I decided that I as a superhero was prepared to battle whatever was thrown at me. Vlad might be scary and seemingly all powerful, but today proved to me that I could win against him despite all odds. My feud with Vlad was going to be difficult as always, but there was going to be a lot more victories under my belt in the future.

"Well, Daniel," Vlad sighed, still smiling, "I have your town to look after. I'll see you back in Amity Park soon. Tell your beautiful mother I said hi."

"Sure, V-man," I shot back slyly, "I'll tell her that her 40-year-old fruit loop stalker enjoyed giving her kids a vacation from hell. She'll love it." Vlad looked unperturbed, but I knew I had annoyed him or at least struck a chord.

"I see that your witty banter is there as always," Vlad pointed out.

"With you, Vlad, it's all too easy," I smirked. I was rewarded with a brief frown, which totally made my day.

Vlad soon replaced it with a curious expression as he looked over my shoulder into the distance. A moment later he looked back down at me, smoothly placing his hands in his trouser pockets. Whatever he had seen was ignored now as he bent down to my eye level and said, "Till next time, Daniel."

He then walked into the darkness of the night, leaving me, his miserable camp, and the destroyed beast behind. I silently watched him go. At least with Vlad, he let me lick my wounds and move on before attacking again. It was time for both of us to rest up for the next battle.

That weird feeling of someone watching me soon pulled me out of my musings. I spun around in interest of seeing who was staring at me. A lone kid was leaning against a cabin on the outskirts of the camp grounds next to the half filled parking lot. He smiled at me.

I froze in jaw dropping shock. It was Eric.

Eric's shoulders moved as he chuckled at my astonished reaction. He was too far away for me to even yell over to, so all I did was stare, slack jawed in wonder. Was my mind playing tricks on me, or was Eric really alive and well and standing there? It blowed my whole mind away.

I knew it was Eric when he gave me that soul searching stare. He stood up straight and put a finger to his lips, grinning at my confusion.

"Hey, spacey kid!" James shouted over to me with a laugh. I was jerked out of my trance and looked over to see the British teen walking briskly toward me. "What has got your attention?" he asked brightly.

"Seph, I just saw..." I began with excitement.

"It's James," James corrected with annoyance. Muttering, he said, "Is it that bloody hard?"

"Sorry," I said in a rush. "But look over there. I just saw..." The words stopped in mid sentence when I looked back to Eric and found him gone. James looked to where I was pointing with an annoyed sigh. He glanced back at me then to the empty spot where Eric used to be, debating if I was crazy or not.

"That's a cabin, mate," he said finally and took a long swig of his drink.

I decided that he'd never believe me anyways. James was just like that. Even till the end, I don't think he even believed Eric was an angel. If I told him that Eric had been there, he would have laughed in my face and walked away.

"Forget it," I sighed.

"What were we talking about?" James asked in mid slurp. I saw that his table manners hadn't been a facade this whole time. I watched as he craned his neck back to get the last drop of hot chocolate. When he was done, he used the back of his hand to wipe off any excess stuff on his face.

"What did you need to talk to me about before you left?" I asked him now that he was done devouring his drink.

James's eyes lit up with recognition. "Yeah," he said with a nod. "I know you probably have a million of things to do and you've already done so many things for me, but I want to ask you a favor."

"A favor?" I asked, skeptical. Crap. He hadn't been faking his craziness after all.

"Yeah, like between friends," James said hopefully.

"Friends?" I questioned.

"What? You thought since befriending you was my job that after all of this was done, I wouldn't still be?" he asked with a cruel smile. I didn't say anything. A second later he scoffed, "Let's just say that sometimes I take my work serious. I might have lied about a lot of things, but I don't think I could have faked our friendship. Now are you going to do me a favor or what?"

"What do you have in mind?" I asked with a sly grin.

"Nothing special," James said with pretend innocence. "It's just a little overdue payback."

"I'm in," I said. "But you have to cough up fifty bucks. And the pool is heated at night, so you don't have to worry about freezing to death after your diving board jump tonight."

"Never coming to a bloody American summer camp EVER again," James growled under his breath.

-Epilogue-

Lauren Adams was beyond worn out. The second all the CHERUB kids had come back from holiday, the teachers there on campus had piled on the work with hours worth of homework and grueling workouts to get all the kids back into shape. After three months of waking up whenever she wanted and eating whatever she liked, Lauren found herself having trouble bouncing back to the normal CHERUB strict system.

The eleven-year-old groaned as she walked down the dimmed hallway to her room. She had just remembered that she had to get up at seven the next morning for her second day of her six-week advanced combat course with Miss Takada at her dojo.

That was going to be hell. She was the youngest girl in her class. Everyone else there was at least 14. That meant she got most of the beatings because she was so small. But she really needed the training. And her idiot older brother, James, completed it. She could too.

Speaking of her brother, James had made numerous threats of getting her back for that time she put eggs inside his shorts pockets. She had been bold enough to leave a note behind, which was a mistake on her part. Now he was out for revenge. But no worries. James was stupid and had no way of getting her back if she was just extra careful.

Her room was dark as she entered it after a long, tiring day of school and training. She paused after turning on the lights and locked and bolted the door to make sure James would stay out. The hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood up. She saw nothing, but the creepy sensation of something...otherworldly still haunted her senses.

It was odd.

Shrugging, Lauren ignored it. The last thing she needed was to adopt her brother's strange new belief in ghosts and the like. After his last mission, James would sometimes bring the subject up. His sister wondered what had happened during that mission and questioned his sanity.

The girl took a long, hot shower and got ready for bed. She sighed in relief while crawling into her bed and turned all the lights out. Finally she could relax her sore and aching body. She needed the sleep for tomorrow.

Splat.

With a small gasp, Lauren sat up in bed and turned on her bedside table lamp. She could have sworn she had heard something land on her bed. Something gooey with a yellow center laid at the foot of her bed. Was that an egg? Was a chicken caught in her ceiling?

Splat.

Lauren gave a sharp scream when another egg landed right on her head. The yellow yoke soiled her recently cleaned and washed hair. The goo dripped down her dark locks, making the girl gasp in horror.

"The bloody hell is going on here?" Lauren swore in total confusion and anger.

By mistake, she looked up to see where the eggs were coming from. Before she could get a good look, another egg's insides splattered across her face. The girl shrieked.

Danny revealed himself as he laughed at the desired reaction from the girl. He had been hovering over her with a basket full of eggs. Lauren was gasping and throwing the egg off her face in anger. Then she heard the ghost and looked up in shock and fear. Danny waved, smiling inanely. Lauren had never seen a ghost...and so freaked.

She let out one long, terrified scream that reverberated out of her room and woke the whole floor. Danny cringed at the sound. When she was done, he grinned down at her and turned the whole basket upside down. The eggs rained down on her and the bed, covering the whole surface with yellow and clear goo and crunchy shells.

"Here," Danny said while reaching out with a hand. The girl sunk deeper into her egg covered bed, scared out of her mind at the sight of Danny. He opened a fist and let a blue sticky note flitter down to her chest.

He then vanished before her very eyes with a laugh.

Breathing hard and thoroughly drenched in egg whites and yokes, Lauren raised a shaking hand to the note. She read it a few times in astonishment and disbelief. Then, as the words finally sunk in, the fear was quickly replaced by pure rage.

Slipping on the eggs, Lauren crawled out of her ruined bed. She ran for the door and flung it open, her blinding anger making all her movements hard and careless. Some kids watched the girl from their doors as she sprinted to the stairs. Some dared some snickers at her gooey condition.

Lauren arrived at her brother's door and slammed it open with a roar of outrage. James was sitting on the edge of his bed, grinning down at a mystery, black haired friend sitting on the floor. They both looked up as she barged in and stared for a long second, taking her in. She was a sight to see, with egg dripping off her hair, face, and clothes. It was the ultimate payback for the teen.

Both boys exploded with uncontrollable laughter. James fell right off his perch on the bed, he was laughing so hard at his furious little sister. Danny and James had to hold onto their aching sides as they kept laughing. Lauren stood at the door, heaving in deep gasps for air in anger and humiliation.

"What the hell, James?" she screamed down at him.

James and Danny took a few more seconds to compose themselves enough to talk, although the speech was interrupted by constant giggles and smiles.

"You had that one coming, Lauren," James explained. "I told you that I'd get you back."

"That was months ago!" Lauren spat back. "And what's with the bloody 'I love you, sis' note?" she asked while throwing the curled up sticky note at her brother. She watched in dismay as it got stuck in a tangle of goo in her palm and didn't go even as far as two meters from her hand. This set off another burst of laughs from the boys.

"I thought you liked eggs," James said with feign innocence. This one pushed Danny into another laughing fit.

"I'm a freaking vegan!" Lauren screamed. "Vegans don't eat eggs!" She only got the response of more laughter. Finally she growled in anger and frustration before screaming at James, "Piss off!" Then she slammed the door behind her and stomped off.

When the two boys had calmed down, Danny grinned at his friend and said, "I wonder if Vlad likes eggs."

Soul Searching

By: Pixiegirl13

A/N: Thought I'd end it on a fun note. What's funny is that I'd forgotten that the women's name was Zara...and I have a character named Zara from another fan fic. Somehow that amuses me. Yes, ignore my weirdness.

Anyway, I'd like to thank you awesome readers! Even if you didn't review, I still love getting hits. But you reviewers really carried me through the fic. I was so skeptical that this would be a flop, especially sense it was in Danny's POV. But your support and great feedback helped me a lot.

And don't think I'm done writing creepy old Vlad. He's an awesome villain and I plan on writing another fan fiction with him all in it and screwing up poor Danny's life. I have some evil plans for the two bouncing around in my head at the moment.

Well, I'm sad to say that this is the end and goodbye. Thanks again you guys! I'll be answering all your reviews for this chapter. I'm out of here!