Disclaimer: Danny Phantom, and its characters and/or ideas are the creation of Butch Hartman. The show does not belong to me nor will it ever.

Summary: Danny Fenton disappeared a mere two weeks before. Thus, surprising billionaire Vlad Masters when the beaten looking boy arrived suddenly on his doorstep. AUish and slight OOC

Warning: Mild language (for now)

Once Forgotten

The cool breeze blowing from the north skies made the October air all the more eerie. Different colored leaves swayed with the rhythm of the many trees surrounding the woods before settling on a well built cabin adorned with all the necessities to stay warm during the more icy seasons.

The moon was full, a huge pallid circle in the sky that seemingly was hinting to a more chaotic night. The darkened sky was clear, but made the surrounding area that much more bone-chilling. An orange-like leaf that fell from upwards was crushed underneath grimy looking red sneakers.

The cherry colored shoes were attached to a skinny black-haired adolescent, who acted as though the world around them didn't matter. With the boy's current condition, however, one really couldn't blame him.

Inside of the grayish structured cabin, billionaire Vlad Masters was lounging carelessly in the front room, reading from his laptop that was hoisted on the middle aged man's lap. He was reading articles on the recent attacks that had been happening all around Amity Park. Whether the assaults were done by a ghost, the man didn't know. The older halfa was curious because the attacker had been well cloaked, and there hadn't been any leads as of yet.

Masters was about to study on the mysterious attacks some more when a distracting noise from the outside grabbed away his attention from his using more from the Google search engine. Cursing underneath his breath, the tall wannabe bachelor stood from his comfortable chair, removing his computerized technology to the wooden desktop and walked over to the front door.

At first, the gray-haired man was going to transfer into his ghostly alter ego, Vlad Plasmius, but then decided against it. He figured that whom ever was outside that wanted a fight would have presented themselves already.

With much stride, the billionaire cautiously opened the expensive door to reveal nothing but the outer greenery. Vlad frowned, checking from the left direction to the right. He saw nothing and gave a sound of irritation.

"Shit and butter biscuits," he exclaimed to himself in his aggravation. As he was about to shut the door closed, a dark figure in the near distance unexpectedly caught his attention.

Vlad Masters eyes widened comically as the figure seemed to disappear into nothingness. The man hesitantly stepped into the night, and gasped slightly as a bony hand reached out and grasped his wrist. The man's eyes stared straight into clear azure ones.

The older halfa was taken aback while he looked into the face of his arch enemy, Danny Fenton a.k.a Danny Phantom. The teen's young face was ashen pale except for the huge bruise on the side of his face. The crime fighter's appearance was appalling - Danny was underweight, his clothes were disheveled, his raven hair was messier than usual, he had black circles under his eyes, and his lips looked a sickly blue.

"Daniel? How...when...where...?" It was one of the first times Vlad Masters was speechless. He had heard that the younger halfa had disappeared, but didn't think much of it. After all, the boy was a teenager. If Vlad had to deal with an idiotic giant oaf as a father, he most likely would have wanted to disappear too. Then again, Danny was one to let his parents know he was safe, half-ghost or not.

"...hurts..." was all the teen could say before his eyes rolled in the back of his head, and he leaned forward sluggishly.

Vlad caught the lithe boy as the said boy passed out. The older man scooped Danny into his arms, and used his foot to shut the front door. He then placed the exhausted looking teen on his rich colored couch. Masters glanced down and saw the kid's shirt raised up to reveal skin that seemed discolored.

The graying man lifted the white shirt a little more, and frowned immediately when he saw various cuts and bruises on the teen's body. All of that couldn't have been from fighting ghosts, could it? The billionaire thought to himself.

Bringing the cloth back down to cover Danny's stomach, Vlad stalked over to the kitchen in search for his phone book. He used his black phone on the wall, and dialed a familiar number with unsteady fingertips. The other line rung a couple times, and then someone picked up.

"Hello?" A tired sigh came from the opposite circuit. The feminine voice sounded defeated and worn down.

"Hello, Maddie. It's Vlad. I, um, don't know how to explain this...but young Daniel is here."

The Fenton mother's voice perked up, relief vibrating in the joyous sound. "Danny's there?! Is he alright? Is my baby alright?"

Vlad removed his ear from the phone and took deep breaths. How was he supposed to explain to Maddie that he son looked like death. Uncomfortably adjusting his stance, the older man kept his voice as stable as possible.

"We're at my cabin, Maddie. I'm sorry to say, but Daniel's in real bad shape."

"Oh my God, please tell me he's okay! What happened?!"

"...Vlad?" A scratchy voice muttered quietly from the cushioned couch.

"Daniel?" Masters told the reddish brown haired woman to hold. Maddie's voice was frantic coming from the phone. He peeked his head to the other side. "What is it?"

Blue eyes became hidden behind tired looking eyelids briefly; when Danny's eyes reopened, they were so full of sadness that Vlad had to close his own eyes for a second. The next words that came from Danny's mouth made Masters want to shudder repeatedly.

"Why aren't I dead yet?"

I know it's short, but this was an opener or Prologue, whatever you want to call it...

Hope you enjoyed!

R & R please