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.

Warning: Mild Violence and Abuse

Chapter 6

There was something truly magnificent about gazing upon the star littered sky of the evening in Amity Park as the brighter colors of the day turned into a soothing midnight black. For Maddie Fenton, what was really amazing was the fact that the sky seemed never ending; as though beyond the sky was something more...something greater and grander.

As the mother of two watched a shooting star descend downward from her kitchen window, she couldn't help as a lone tear escaped from her eye. It hadn't even been a whole month, and yet she felt completely hopeless.

Vlad had been thoughtful enough to call the weekend before, and inform her and Jack that their son had woken up from a sleep induced coma. Maddie had been nearly hysterical when she had heard that Danny had been hospitalized once again. And if that didn't make matters worse, neither the social workers nor the courts would specify what exactly had happened to their son.

...got an anonymous call yesterday stating that your son has been subjected to abuse and neglect."

"...unless, he was tired of living at home because of the home arrangements, the environment, the hardship, what was expected of him-"

Why was everything so secretive? How could, what she had felt, a perfect little world come crumpling down viciously around her starting with Danny's disappearance? She knew she and Jack weren't at fault; sure, Danny had become more closed off from his family recently. But what teenager wasn't like that?

With a tired sigh, the chestnut haired woman continued her sky gazing. A little part of her, the part that was pushing all the negativity to the side, was internally giddy that she would be seeing her kids very soon. Maybe the visit would shed some insight on what was really going on. Like what was beyond the stars, beyond the sky - something much more was involved here. Something she and her husband would found out, no matter what the consequences.

And if she found out that someone really had hurt her child, she would make sure that that person paid dearly.

Pallid fingers danced swiftly across the black keyboard connected to Vlad Master's defintion home entertainment and computer device. Light blue eyes were lit up by the device's brightly flashed screen as Jazz hurriedly used the search engine to gather up more information on the happenings of Amity Park.

The previous night she had talked to Sam, whom then conversed with Tucker over the internet on instant messenger. The two younger teenagers had both been creeped out with how the city was getting worse, yet none of the residents seemed to comprehend or even care about the rising crime from both ghosts and humans.

When Sam had recounted on how she and Tuck had stumbled upon a dead body, Jazz had felt the chilling fear when a shiver ran down her spine. With the townspeoples' nonchalance, the murdered girl, and Danny's mysterious disappearance and reappearance; Jazz could honestly say that she was afraid. More afraid than she could ever recall being.

"It's as if the whole town has gone berserk except there's been no screaming," Sam had said over the phone. The black haired girl's tone had been so alert, so frightened that Jazz had lied to her younger brother's friends and told them that Danny was doing better; that he just needed some time to get himself together.

Now, as the list of attacks piled up more and more, the Fenton teen had an instinctive urge to go and see her brother. Almost expertly, she shut down the computer system she had previously been using, and with determinion, set out to find Vlad.

The marble hallways seemed to stretch on and on as she opened one bedroom door to the next. This huge mansion for one single person...? Even if Jazz was on good terms with the man (at least for now), that still didn't change the fact that Danny had been right about him all along.

Vlad Masters was a total fruitloop.

Turning down a corridor with an annoyed look on her face, Jazz stepped in front of the last room in the hall. The majestic two doors sparkled as though they were anticipating the young redhead's arrival with a hunger intent.

Swallowing down the lump in her throat, Jazz pushed down her irrational fear of the doors and pushed them open to enter into what looked like a medieval version of a library. The high ceilings that accommodated the twenty-five foot shelves held hard covers, paperbacks, magazines, and TV guides in what looked to be alphabetical order.

The cool temperature of the room brought goosebumps to the teen's skin; she rubbed her exposed arm to bring some of the natural heat of her body back. Her eyes roamed around briefly until they settled on Vlad Master's lithe form hunched over in a cushioned couch that was off to the side.

The wealthy man had a pair of silver reading glasses on as he read through the multiple papers of articles. Vlad was wearing a green turtleneck with dark tailored trousers. Jazz rose one eyebrow at his clothing. Who knew the once diabolical forty-something male could look so...normal?

"Uh...Vlad?" The teen girl questioned uncertainly. She blushed when the older man's attention focused on her. He removed his glasses then, and gave the girl an expectant look. "Would it be okay if..." her azure eyes settled to the floor. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? "...we visit Danny tomorrow?"

The older halfa looked at her a few moments too long, in Jazz opinion, before he spoke: "You're worried about him, aren't you?"

Jazz had an expression of surprise before she wiped it off her face completely. "I don't know what it is. I just have a very bad feeling."

The billionaire regarded her for another second, and then brought his attention back to his reading. Fidgeting because of the tense atmosphere, the redhead was about to walk away but Vlad's smooth voice stopped her.

"I have a few things to do tomorrow, so in the late afternoon we can go and visit him."

"Good." Jazz smiled despite herself. "Thanks."

"That boy..." Vlad began; Jazz suspected he was talking more to himself than to her, "he's too stubborn. Too self-reliant." Giving Jazz an unreadable appearance that the teen wasn't sure she liked, he whispered. "He's in trouble. Why won't he let us help him?"

"I wish I knew."

He couldn't.

He just couldn't.

He didn't want to admit defeat. He didn't want to give up. In the back of his mind, he knew that his important people were counting on him. He was Danny Phantom, after all; the teenage superhero who fought against the various ghosts that wreaked havoc amongst the city.

But, he was just so tired.

He had been captured, stolen away from his family. He had had to do certain things - terrible things - or he and others like him would be severely punished. One example was when Danny had reverted back to his human self in defiance. The man had continously beat him with a whip until he became compliant.

The faceless man had a crazed vendetta against him. Contrary to how the other spirits acted toward the man, Danny wasn't necessarily afraid of what the man would do to him per se.

He was more terrified of what he might do to others, or worse - to his family and friends.

After that day, that awful day the pale man had killed that innocent girl in cold blood, the hours seemed to have floated by as though Danny were the one that was moving forward in time and the rest of the world was just standing still.

Even now, as he sat down with his knees drawn to his chest, hidden underneath the boards of the carrier train; Danny was physically and mentally drained. He didn't have any clue where they was going. The crazed man's posse would travel from time to time; small towns mostly. The townsfolk would be none the wiser - "It's just another eccentric man running the circus," they would say.

Danny would snort upon hearing those clueless people's gossip. Yes, that's totally convenient for me, he would think sarcastically. Yet, he couldn't blame them for their ignorance. They couldn't have known that the same eccentric man was really a psychotic murderer whom had no problems using humans and ghosts - or half-ghosts, in my case - to his sinister advantage.

A small noise released the raven from his thoughts; he turned his head to the source of the sound. A blonde little girl was chained, much like he was, since she was human. The poor thing was sobbing quietly to herself. Danny knew how she felt - so alone and scared, not certain if this particular day would be the last.

Fenton wanted to comfort her. Unfortunately, he was in his own trapped predicament as his wrists and ankles were bound. Scooting as close as he could before the chain pulled, he gave the girl a warm smile when she noticed him approaching warily.

"Hey." He said.

"Hi," her interested owlish eyes stared at him in amazement. He was probably the first person she had seen in a long time.

"You know," he started, feigning a customary sigh, "I never did enjoy train rides. I mean, sure they get you from place to place. But, are they really useful?"

The girl bit her bottom lip, suppressing the urge to laugh - Danny would learn later on. "I don't like trains either," she declared in a cutesy voice; she wrinkled her nose in disgust as her tears stopped flowing, "especially this one, it stinks!" The raven smiled at her in amusement. Leaning closer to the older boy, she cupped her mouth as though she were telling a secret. "Please don't tell the bad man I said that." She whispered.

A familiar anger built up within Danny at this admittance; with inner strength, he ignored the feeling, and said just as quietly: "I won't tell."

"What's your name?" She asked in a louder voice.

"Danny. What's yours?"

With a cute blush, the girl said. "My name is Katie, but don't tell the man that either."

Danny promised he wouldn't tell anyone anything that was stated between them. After being properly introduced, the train ride didn't seem so lonely for either of the two. They talked about normal things - their family and home was their top discussion.

The raven haired teen found that he could actually get through the day if he had someone like Katie to talk with. Even her young age couldn't persuade him. The seven year old had many interesting stories to tell about her life before she was abducted by the crazed pale man.

Right before they were about to be separated, Katie asked Danny if they would ever met again. Danny had closed his eyes in obvious hurt as she asked the question. He didn't particularly know the humans' situation, but from what he could tell and with the fact that new people were brought in every other day, he figured it couldn't be good.

So, with a forced smile that did not - could not - reach his eyes, he said. "Of course we will, Katie. See you later, okay?"

Katie had beamed, and nodded her head enthusiastically. As a greenish ghost roughly escorted her away from him with a shove, she waved her tiny hand in farewell. The raven did the same, albeit more sadly.

He never did see Katie again.

The first thing Danny noticed as he was literally dragged from his uncomfortable position on the train was the sparkling waterfront miles away as the silent night surrounded the other glowing ghouls.

The raven was then blindfolded, but not before he got a glimpse of blinking skyscrapers; large buildings of black and metallic seemed to arose from an unexpected source.

When he was pulled roughly by the elbow by one of the man's ghostly lackeys, he retaliated by going intangible. The gripping fingers that were grasping his forearm slipped from the unpredicted maneuver. Danny smirked to himself when he heard the surprised grunt from the other ghost.

His was rewarded by his actions to a hard slap to the face. After the initial sting of the hurt, the halfa resumed his sly smile, wishing that he was able to do more than that. Somehow, the manipulation the pale man had had on Danny those first couple of days had short circuited his powers, making him more vunerable and tired from his efforts.

Being handled even more violently than before, Danny was hoisted up on what he assumed was a platform. He was pushed onward until the lights from behind his shielded eyes became even darker.

It wasn't until about five minutes later that the blue eyed male realized that he had been lifted on a boat, and that they were traveling on the water. Danny became confused by this; they were ghosts, after all. Couldn't they have just flown?

"We all have bracelets that harness our powers to a minimum," one of the ghostly companions commented, as though reading Danny's mind. Judging by the way the male ghost had spoken, the halfa wouldn't be surprised if the other was wearing a smug expression. "We're meant to be as inconspicuous as possible."

Instinctively, Danny slowly turned his body away from the haughty voice, and relished in the feel of the nightly breeze as it caressed his black locks. The rotating sounds of the boat calmed the raven as they got closer and closer to their destination.

With what felt like too soon for Danny, their transportaion ceased and he was momentarily hauled and then brought down on his feet; blindly being forwarded by an unknown entity. A sickening gaseous smell assaulted his nose as he scrunched it up in disgust.

A heavy door was then pushed aside as they walked and soared, and the others led the halfa teen into a brownstone warehouse. Once one of the ghosts removed the blindfold, Danny came face to face with a red globe attached to a staff. Danny's mind immediately went into a fury state; his once gentle sapphire eyes turning a horrifying red tint.

The occupants in the room teased and laughed at Danny's expense as the said boy clutched his raven hair. The voices he heard in his head, the evil whispers seemingly being uttered in his ear were enticing him, exciting him even.

"Don't fight it, pet," the sly voice he recognized as the pale man cooed mockingly.

"N-No..." he whimpered, nearly on his knees as the inner anger fueled within him to unimaginable heights. Danny distantly noticed that he was wounding himself; he had grit his teeth so hard that the senistive gums in his mouth had started bleeding. The ghosts, in his mind, began to blend together as they crept closer and continued to taunt him.

"Danny..."

The blue eyed turned red eyed teen looked up, expecting to find the sinister being that had captured him. With a gasp, Danny's eyes widened when he looked upon whom he thought he could trust during his escapades as Danny Phantom.

No...why would they...? Could this possibly be true? Could they possibly be this crazy man's ally? Danny didn't understand; and as the globe probed further and further into the superhero's confused controlled mind, he didn't seem to care.

A cruel smile graced Danny's lips as he succumbed to the staff's full power. He rose from his position on the cement ground, and gladly accepted his role in society - he was this man's personal slave ghost, a mere tool to be used for the murderer's gleeful yet malevolent whims.

"Obey me, minion." The alledged eccentric man stated.

"Yes, master," he said.

Disturbed crystalline blue eyes snapped open in the darkness of the white wall hosptial room. Tiny pants of breath with air escaped one dark haired teen's mouth as he brought his hand to rest firmly on his chest.

His heart was beating rapidly against his ribcage, almost to the point of being painful. Danny Fenton winced as he sat up in the bed provided for him; during his nightmare - memory - he had been lying in an uncomfortable position on his right side with his hand underneath his torso.

A cold sweat had broken out on the winded boy's body. Danny's hospital clothes were soaked, and it was enough to make the teen want to cry out and retch in revulsion.

Trying his hardest to ignore his damp attire, the raven turned to lay flat on his back as he stared unseeingly upward at the ceiling. The sounding beep-beep of the heart monitor that he now listened to moments later was what relaxed him as his tense body laxed to repose.

The quieted calm was interrupted, suddenly, as a blue mist emerged from the raven's mouth. Danny then lifted his body in a haste, disregarding the stiffness on his sides. Speedy blue eyes searched this way and that as the boy surveyed the room for anything suspicious.

Why do these things always happen to me? He asked himself in slight infuriation.

Before he could ponder on his internal musings, a chill shuddered his body while a transparent hand settled on his left shoulder. Danny flinced at the touch, nervous anticipation ultimately guiding him as he spun around to the being that was behind him in the shadows.

Glancing into the saddest eyes he could have possibly ever seen, the raven teen felt the temperature drop around him as he clenched his fists to his taut stomach. As silent as a dead voice could speak, the familiar being said:

"Hello, Danny."

This fanfiction story has been discontinued. See profile page for more details.