He...hello? *sheepish grin*

To be honest, I don't really know how to start this off; It's been so incredibly long :O Well, as you've all probably figured, I've been incredibly busy lately. It took me a really long time to sort out this chapter, and it needed to be heavily re-edited several times. I thought about just posting it the way it was, but then I decided it would probably be better to post a great chapter later than a crummy chapter sooner. Anyways, I hope this one was worth the wait ;D I made it a little longer, just so you guys would be happy *girin*

Here's a little recap in case you've forgotten what's going on:

-Vlad won the trial by overshadowing the judge

-Vlad decides to put on a nice guy act so Danny will accept him (of course, Danny doesn't).

-Vlad and Danny were on their way to Wisconsin. Vlad seems very annoyed to find out (from the pilot) that they'll be getting there after five-thirty (after Danny's exact birthday).

-Just a few moments before five-thirty, Danny starts to feel really sick, and eventually passes out.

-Then we hear a crazy monologue from Vlad, saying that some legend is finally happening...what could that nutcase be talking about? Read on to find out!

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

"You Fentons have disobeyed the law for the fifteenth time! I've personally warned you to stop your ghost-hunting ways too many times."

"Your majesty," said the tall blonde man who stood before the king, "We're only trying to protect the kingdom from the gh-,"

"Silence!" yelled the king. "Ghosts do not exist! You're both delusional! I cannot have you scaring the residents of my kingdom like this. Are you at all aware of the havoc your 'ghost protection' seminars have wreaked on the inhabitants? You've got them all believing this nonsense!"

"But your majesty," the man replied, "This isn't nonsense. People need to know there are supernatural powers in our world. People need to know how to protect themselves."

"Stop it! I won't sit here and listen to your impertinence for any longer! Only the magi of my palace have supernatural powers. No one else! You will either stop this ridiculous business of yours or you will be banished from the kingdom."

"I'm sorry your majesty," said the dark-haired woman accompanying the man, "But this is our duty and responsibility."

"Then you are both banished from the kingdom, effective immediately. Your possessions are to be cleared out from your home and you shall leave by midday. And as punishment for the havoc you've wreaked on my kingdom, a curse shall be placed on your family. Magus!" he called suddenly.

An old man wearing a long yellow cloak suddenly appeared in the room. "Yes, your majesty?"

"Since this couple has refused to obey me, curse their family. Make it so that the fifteenth generation of their family shall have a child, which, on his fifteenth year shall become a ghost," the king declared.

The couple watched in horror as the magus raised his hands in the air, causing a swirl of green light to form above him.

"No, your majesty! Please don't do this! Please!" the woman cried as the guards started to drag her and her husband away.

And suddenly it was dark, with nothing but the faint sound of distant laughter to be heard.

Danny stirred at the sound of suitcases being dragged across a hard wooden floor.

"Yes Enrique, just leave the bags there. Drag them on the carpet, would you? I don't want the noise to wake him up," Danny heard Vlad say in a low voice. Peering from under the covers, Danny saw that he was no longer in the airplane, but instead in a large bedroom.

"Will that be all sir?" Enrique asked Vlad.

"Yes, thank you."

Danny watched groggily as Enrique made to leave the room. He raised his head slightly in alarm as his eyes followed the servant out the door- he could've sworn he'd seen Enrique float out of the room instead of walk out…

"Ah, Daniel! I see you've awoken," Vlad interrupted Danny's thoughts. "We were just bringing your bags in the room; I hope we weren't making too much noise."

Danny rubbed his eyes before tiredly replying, "What happened? Did I fall asleep on the jet?" And what the hell was with that dream? he added to himself.

"I believe you…what's the word? 'Passed out?'" Vlad replied in an innocent voice.

Danny grunted indignantly at the swipe at his pride, though he couldn't help but feel angry with himself. I passed out again? Oh, come on! Why does that keep happening?! he thought impatiently, upset with himself for being so weak.

"You were still out when we landed," Vlad interrupted Danny's thoughts. "I had to bring you up to the bedroom myself."

Danny cringed inwardly at the thought of Vlad carrying him.

"Are you feeling alright?" Vlad asked, concern lining his voice.

"Yes, I'm fine," Danny answered shortly as he lay back down on the bed.

A few moments of silence passed before Vlad said, "Um, Daniel...I don't really know how to say this...but we need to talk."

Danny smirked. "What, are we breaking up already?"

"Such a tortured boy..." the guardian sighed with pity under his breath.

"What did you just say?" Danny snapped angrily.

"Nothing, nothing." Vlad said airily. "Here, why don't you just relax for a little bit. I'll come and check on you later."

Danny tried to restrain himself from showing any curiosity, but he couldn't help but feel that Vlad had wanted to discuss something important, something that might have interested him. "Wait, what did you want to tell me?"

Vlad smiled. It was a gentle smile, yet something about it was slightly triumphant. "Yes, well that can wait. You just rest for now." And with those words, he left he room.

Danny was left alone with his thoughts. Now that he no longer had Vlad as a distraction, his mind flitted back to the dream he'd been having on the plane.

That was without a doubt the weirdest thing I've ever dreamt. It actually felt real. He shuddered before deciding, I'm overreacting. It's just my mind making up stories or something…

Danny pulled the covers further over himself and snuggled into the warm bed, trying to convince himself it was just a nightmare- nothing more. He pushed the thoughts away, yet somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he wasn't quite persuaded.

This place is enormous, Danny thought as he made his giant canopy bed.

In one corner of the room stood a large, old-fashioned but expensive-looking dresser. An ebony door led to Danny's own private bathroom, which was almost five times the size of his bedroom back at John's. Huge glass windows overlooking a high mountain range were draped in deep red velour. Two large bookshelves stood near the fireplace, crammed with books ranging from non-fictions and autobiographies to novels. On a pinewood desk in the corner was a state-of-the-art computer. There was even a Nintendo Wii stashed under the desk.

Danny finally draped the white blankets over the black sheets and pillows. Great. Black and white, he scoffed bitterly. My very own prison.

He sighed as he plopped himself on the made bed. Well it doesn't matter anyways. I mean, there's no way I'm staying here until I'm legal age.

Suddenly, Danny heard Vlad knock on the door. "Can I come in?" he asked from outside.

He grunted. He didn't really want to talk to Vlad right then, but the guardian seemed to take his groan as a 'yes' and came in anyways.

"Daniel! You haven't unpacked yet?" he seemed surprised.

"I have no intentions of unpacking anything," Danny said curtly, crossing his arms and looking away from Vlad.

"Hm, I see. Don't you think that might make life a little hard?" Vlad asked rhetorically.

"Actually I was thinking it might make life a lot easier. See, I've been thinking about it, and I think you cheated at the trial. I don't know how, but I know as soon as someone figures it out, I'm going straight back to John's."

Vlad gave a tight smile. "I assure you I didn't cheat, Daniel. I was simply the better choice."

"You're lying," Danny said coolly, though he knew he was only lying to himself. "You could never be better than John and Judy."

Of course, Danny knew Vlad was the better choice. He hadn't been illegally keeping a kid in his apartment for almost fifteen years. But for Danny, lying to himself was the only way he could make himself feel better.

"Daniel, I think you need to take a moment and thi-,"

"Be quiet!" Danny yelled suddenly, his temper flaring and his ears reddening. "You cheated! I know it! You did!"

Of course he didn't cheat! Danny mentally kicked himself. He knew that legally speaking, the court made the right choice. Legally speaking, Vlad was a better guardian because he had more money and could take better care of a teenager. But he also knew that John and Judy were the ones who'd cared for him, who'd loved him. He simply didn't understand why the court didn't care about such an important factor.

"I can see your upset, Daniel," Vlad said uncomfortably, "But I really think you should-,"

Danny interrupted his guardian again, "Why do you want me anyways? You met me once. What could that one meeting have possibly done to make you want me as a son?" he said, his voice low and crackly.

"Look Daniel, I didn't want to have bring this up so soon, but I think it'll make both our lives easier. There are," Vlad paused, weighing his words, before continuing, "Several reasons I wanted to adopt you. Firstly, as I have already explained, I knew your parents. The moment I saw you, I knew you were their son- you have the same glowing eyes as your mother." Danny was about to interrupt, but Vlad put his hand up, silencing him. "I know you want proof. I'll prove it to you later, but first…I have to explain something to you."

"Well, I won't listen," Danny said obstinately. "I won't listen to anything you've got to say until you prove you knew my parents."

Vlad sighed but resigned to Danny's condition. "Alright, fine. Come with me," he said as he led Danny out of the room and out to the hallways.

A few minutes and several floors later, Danny and Vlad were in the mansion's library. It was a dark, giant, circular room with bookcases for walls. A large fireplace stood in one corner.

Vlad led Danny to a corner of the room, where there was a small black chest. He opened it with a key from the chain that was hanging around his neck, and pulled out a yearbook. Vlad motioned for Danny to take a seat on one of the sofas near the fireplace.

"Here it is," he smiled nostalgically as he took a seat next to Danny. "My Casper High yearbook." He opened the blue-green book to a book-marked page. His finger traced down the page until finally it reached a photo of a young auburn-haired woman. "There she is," he sighed. "Maddie Fenton. Your mother, and the most beautiful person on the planet."

Danny ignored the guardian's last comment as he looked at the picture. Vlad was right- he did have the same eyes as her. He read the caption underneath her photo.

Madeleine Drayson. Class Valedictorian.

"Wait, Drayson?" Danny asked. "You just said Fenton…"

"Yes, well," Vlad's expression turned hard. "She got married to some fool named Fenton."

"So, I'm Danny Fenton." Danny concluded. …

"Well, you were. Now your Daniel Masters."

Danny made a face. He looked at the picture again. There was no denying it- this was definitely his mother. They looked so alike. But something in the back of his mind started to bother him. Hadn't he seen her picture somewhere before…she looked oddly familiar. He stared at the photo for a few more moments and then pushed the thought to the back of his mind as a new thought appeared in his head.

"Well, what about my dad?" he asked suddenly.

Vlad coughed uncomfortably. "I really do need to talk to you now that you've seen your proof," he said as he grabbed the book from Danny's hands and tried to close it.

Danny stared at him, his eyes blazing. "You didn't fulfill your part of the deal. I want to see my dad," he said in a dangerously low voice.

"Oh alright," Vlad rolled his eyes as he flipped through the book. He came to a certain page and then thrust the book in Danny's hands.

Jack Fenton…So this is my dad… Danny thought as he looked at the photo. He stared at the photo and the caption underneath it for several moments before, suddenly, something in his mind clicked.

Wait, Fenton? That's the name from my dream!

"Is everything alright?" Vlad asked, probably noticing Danny's sudden change of expression.

"Um," Danny said, disconcerted, "Um…yeah. Yeah, here…" He gave Vlad the book.

"Excellent. Now can I please get on with what I need to tell you?"

Danny nodded dazedly.

"Good. Now, this is very important…I need you to listen carefully," Vlad said as he gently tossed the yearbook onto a floor cushion. "As I told you, there was more than one reason I wanted to adopt you…I knew your parents, but I also know a very dark secret about you…"

Danny's dazed expression disappeared almost instantly as his eyes narrowed. "Secret? What do you mean?"

"Well, Daniel…I don't really know how to say this. I mean, I've never had to explain such a concept to anyone before…"

"What?" Danny prompted.

"You're a halfa."

Danny looked at Vlad like he was crazy. "I'm a what, now?"

"A halfa, a hybrid," Vlad continued quickly, "A supernatural being with powers. You're a ghost."

Danny stared at Vlad incomprehensibly for a few moments, before he suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh, man. Are you serious? That's gotta be the most hilarious thing I've ever heard!" he choked on his words.

But Vlad wasn't laughing at all. He kept his eyes locked on Danny, his expression serious.

"Thanks for the laugh, Vlad. I really needed that," Danny chuckled as he started to walk away. Suddenly, he felt Vlad's hand grab his forearm.

"Hey, what's the big idea-," he started indignantly, no longer laughing. He looked into Vlad's eyes, and suddenly realized the room was much darker than before; only a sliver of Vlad's face was illuminated by the light from the fireplace and his eyes glared into Danny's. The look on the guardian's face gave Danny chills down his spine, giving him all the more reason to try to pull away from Vlad.

"Have you been experiencing strange, supernatural-like 'powers', lately?" For a moment, Danny stopped tugging his arm away from Vlad's clutch. Yes, of course he'd been experiencing supernatural-like 'powers', but what did Vlad know about that…?

The corner of Vlad's mouth seemed to twist into a small smile as Danny stopped squirming. "And have you possibly been feeling sick after these displays? Perhaps you've suffered from colds and chills? Maybe you've been 'passing out' more frequently?" Vlad's voice was suggestive.

Danny could do nothing but stare in silence and bewilderment. How does he know about this?

"Signs, Daniel," Vlad whispered as he let go of Danny's arm. "All signs. You're becoming a half ghost."

Suddenly, a thought popped into Danny's mind. "The dream!" he said to himself in realization.

Vlad's smile grew wider. "What dream?" he prompted, though his voice gave the notion that he already knew what Danny was talking about.

"I-I had this weird dream before I woke up here." Danny said uneasily, unsure if he should tell Vlad. Vlad encouraged him to go on, so he continued, explaining the nightmarish vision he'd experienced during his unconsciousness.

"Not a single part of what you've just told me was a coincidence, my boy. That king in your dream- he was speaking of you, the 15th generation of the Fenton family. You're the cursed one.

"Because of your ancestors' actions, you were cursed with the development of ghost powers on your fifteenth birthday. All those displays of power were merely preparations for the big day."

"But, my fifteenth birthday was yesterday, and I'm not a ghost right now," Danny countered.

"My dear boy, you must learn to listen. You're a hybrid. You're half ghost, half human. You can change to either form at will. Of course, you've just gotten your powers, so you won't be able to transform without a little practice. And if you're willing to accept me both as a guardian and as a father, I'll gladly act as your mentor."

"Well how do you know so much about all this?" Danny asked curiously, a light trace of doubt in is voice.

"Because, my boy," he smiled deviously, "I too, am a halfa."

And suddenly, without any warning, two pink rings of light appeared around Vlad's waist and made their way to either end of his body. As the rings disappeared, Danny saw that Vlad's body had been replaced with a flying figure, glowing with ectoplasmic energy. He wore a red cape, and a dark blue outfit. His black hair was pointed upwards on either side of his face. But what stroke Danny the most was the physical change- Vlad's skin was now a pale blue-greenish tinge, and his pupil-less eyes were a glowing red.

Danny's eyes were wide in shock and he realized he'd almost stopped breathing. Then, within a moment, Vlad had returned to his former, human half.

"That, my boy, is a hybrid," Vlad smiled, though a few moments later, his face became concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Wha-, how did-, that isn't possible…it just doesn't make any sense…" Danny's face was pale from fear, his voice shaky.

"Daniel, you-,"

"No!" Danny interrupted, his voice both scared and angry. "No! You're, you're trying to trick me! You're a magician or something. You're trying to trick me, aren't you? It's not really possible for a human-,"

"Ah! But you've stumbled on the magic words, Daniel," Vlad smiled, all trace of concern gone. "It's not possible for a human. I'm a hybrid, and so are you. Technically, we're only half-human. So really, anything is possible for us."

"Stop it! Stop it!" Danny yelled. "Stop calling me that! I'm not like you…I'm not like that! Stop!" he said manically.

"Daniel, I know this is shocking for you. But I'm here to help you. I'm the only other one like you in the world. I'm here to help you get through this. The question is, will you accept me?"

"No…No, I have to go. I can't, I can't think right. I need to be alone," He stammered, panicked, before running out of the basement and up to his room.

This is perfect, Vlad thought as he watched the teenager run up the stairs. He may be running now, but once he comes to his senses, he'll begging for me to help him! A diabolical smile spread over his face. I suppose my work here is done for now. Perhaps it's time to go check up on my darling Madeleine, he smirked as he transformed into his ghost half and flew down to the chambers.

No…it's not actually possible. It can't be possible. I'm not really turning into that…Danny thought frantically as he paced around the bedroom. Then again, he countered his own argument, I don't completely understand why this is so shocking to me…I mean, clearly there's something different about me.

The monologue continued in Danny's head for countless hours. It was starting to get dark out when he finally calmed down. I suppose it makes sense, after all. I mean, all those times my hands were glowing…and that dream from yesterday…I guess those people in my dream really were my ancestors…

But Danny's acceptance of the situation brought on the question- was he going to accept Vlad? Vlad had said he was the only other one like Danny…he was the only one who could help him. Was Danny really going to let his pride get in the way of being saved?