Even if it takes me a long while, a loooooonnnng while, I do try to finish my stories.

By the way, marigolds represent regret in the language of flowers. Just sayin'. ;)

I hope you enjoy this sordid conclusion to this sordid story. Rated for my usual Urchin-esque hi-jinks!

~o*oOo*o~

The official story was that Jack had been overpowered by a ghost at last. There was plenty of compelling evidence: After all, the walls in the kitchen wherein the corpse was found were spattered with gore and ectoplasmic residue. Jack's preferred assault rifle lay inches from the body, and had been fired twice before the intruding specter threw him against the wall, and tore him open from the inside out. Even the great man's heart had been ripped free from a stringy, bloody crater, left to ooze slowly across the tiled floor. Madeline and Jasmine came home from an afternoon at the outlet mall to this scene.

For as long as Vlad had dreamed of this day, the thought was not altogether pleasant, especially after Danny described his actions in full detail, still starkly white, covered with blood, and trembling. Vlad hadn't wanted to hurt Madeline—much—and having Jack simply vanish off the face of the Earth would've been so much more convenient and neat than—this.

Then again, maybe not. Much crueler, after all, to have your husband and father suddenly disappear and to never know what became of him. Madeline would scour the state and the depths of the Ghost Zone, until her obligation to children forced her home again. There she would sit in hopeless hope, until the cycle began again the following day. She would never accept Vlad's hand if there existed the smallest chance that Jack was still alive somewhere.

No, this was best, and Vlad reminded himself accordingly when the call came, when Maddie's mind was shredding itself, as Danny scrubbed his father's blood off himself.

Motivation was hardly a question: It was not a burglary. Nothing had been stolen, and the basement portal was still open. The Fentons had been (however fruitlessly) ghost-hunting for years, and any creature whom saw what machinery Jack and Madeline kept in their lab could guess what it was for.

Maddie would've staggered into the Fenton portal to destroy every last bit of ectoplasm she could find, had Vlad not arrived quickly (armed with a sympathy cheese basket he'd been saving for the occasion) and gallantly held her still. This was easier said then done; she writhed, cursed, and cried before collapsing, clutching at his suit front and weeping. His smile had faded a bit to see her so violently unhappy, or to see Danny so utterly colorless and still as Jasmine buried her face in his shoulder, and cried.

The day of the funeral came on a brisk autumn morning, but Vlad wondered if it were not colder inside the chapel then out. The air-conditioner was on full-blast, probably to preserve the vast amount of flowers in the room, which made the place smell like a florist shop. White lily wreaths hung from the walls, and white gardenias, red roses and marigolds decorated the end of pews along with streaming black ribbons of mourning.

It would've been in bad taste to Madeline for Vlad to have decorated the joint with gold and silver balloons, streamers, champagne fountains, and white satin, but that would come later, certainly later….

At the front of the church near the pulpit, Jack's enormous coffin was carpeted with white tapers and white flowers—so much so the color quickly hurt your eyes—and was accompanied by innumerable frames of the grinning idiot in any number of stupid poses.

But it was enough to look into the casket, see Jack's large and rubbery hands draped around a bouquet of marigolds, motionless. His life extinguished by his child's hands. Oh, but the sentiment ran thick and sweet enough to eat.

Days before the service, Vlad practiced saying his eulogy in the mirror with a truly somber expression. The result was that the butler or Danny walked in several times to find Vlad positively doubled over with laughter on the floor.

Instead of his usual limousine, Vlad rented a gloomy black carriage, led by a team of snorting dark stallions with black feather pieces attached to their heads. He thought that it all might've been a bit much, but he would have been willing to give his long-time enemy a solid gold coffin if it meant impressing Maddie, still red-eyed and trembling with grief underneath her lacy veil.

Jasmine was hysterical, shrunken, and had thrown her arms around her brother the moment they met at the funeral home, still sobbing bitterly. Danny remained as still as Jack as his mother and sister clutched him and shed wild tears.

But Danny had yet to shed one, even as he and Vlad and Jasmine and Maddie separated to go to their respective changing parlors.

"Vlad, I think I'm going crazy," the teen admitted soberly as Vlad straightened his black bowtie.

The two were standing in front of a large mirror in a gold frame. Danny was staring at his reflection, but didn't seem to be seeing himself at all.

"Nonsense."

Eyes sunken in his gaunt face, the teen let out a wild bark of laughter and buried his face in his hands. "V-Vlad, I don't think you understand. He's dead. My….he….Jack is dead. Forever," he breathed childishly, clapping a hand to his ashy gray brow. "I…killed him."

"For me." The billionaire added silkily. "And it was a very touching gesture on your part, little badger." Albeit the darkest one he'd ever seen, but that could be swept aside. It certainly wasn't as if the image of Jack being ruined or torn to pieces hadn't sustained him for over twenty years. The reality was just a bit, jarring, that was all.

He just….hadn't expected all that blood. At least not so much of it spattered on the walls, on Madeline as she hugged the corpse and wailed before they'd taken Jack away in a bag. Blood on Danny, shaking in his old home, his fingernails still lined with red.

Danny just stared at the ugly carpeting.

"Vlad? Have you ever felt so sad you wanted to lie down and die but the tears won't come out?"

"Hush," murmured Vlad, tenderly clasping the boy's bony shoulders and shaking them. Danny had clearly been losing weight. "Don't be ridiculous. You're fine, little badger, or you soon will be. I'll buy you something nice today if you're a good boy and eat during the reception, mm? I know you don't like to upset me."

Something drained out of Danny's eyes, which were sunken and over-bright. It might've been the anemic light, but his normally-fair skin looked waxy.

"I never wanted to hurt anyone," the teen said fretfully, wringing his hands "Ever. But I…I killed someone, Vlad. I killed my father—my old father," Danny hastily corrected when Vlad's cold eyes flickered to him, the smile in them freezing. The boy cringed as if he were in physical pain, his hands flying to his breast, digging into the dark mourning suit he wore.

"Dad….I…think there's something wrong with me," he confessed softly. "I feel like I'm being sucked into this enormous black hole…and everything that's me is being devoured….I don't want to be, and I'm scared, and yet every part of me is telling me it's right…it's just…I'm scared—"

"Shh," Vlad soothed, pulling the doubtful-looking boy into an embrace, stared at their reflection in the large mirror set before them. Vlad's smile was enormous, triumphant, his arms wrapped around the thin figure of Danny, who clung to the billionaire's arms, dark rings looping his eyes. If ever he looked like a badger, this was now.

"After we put this nastiness behind us, you and I can finally live a happy life with both your mother…and your sister," The man added, somewhat sourly. He truly didn't care for the girl at all, but while losing Jack left Madeline distraught, losing a child would destroy her.

With his Queen and King chess pieces, there came an annoying Bishop piece. A package deal. But he could accept this, because it meant that he finally had the family he always craved, the one that was always meant to be his.

And Daniel will be fine again. Everyone will be, eventually.

Danny buried his face in Vlad's shoulder and the man stroked his back soothingly, murmuring softly into the boy's ear. After a moment, the younger hybrid spoke up, voice somewhat muffled:

"I don't really wanna share you with anyone."

Vlad laughed uneasily and good-naturedly slapped Danny on the back, not quite noticing how Danny's hands were digging into his back, or how feral his flashing eyes were within that second. But when Vlad gently drew back and the boy reluctantly copied, Vlad could see the uncertainty, chose not to see the anguish still breathing in the cerulean eyes.

"You're fine," Vlad insisted, his smile becoming fixed, the grip he had on Danny's shoulders harsh. "After all, you know I love you best, so you'll just have to believe me," he said gently. "The people whom love you the most know what's best to decide for you, hmm? Now come along. We have a funeral to attend."

~o*oOo*o~

Jack was laid in the ground. It was a bit anticlimactic after all these years, watching the enormous box being lowered in. Vlad watched as if in a daze; the sound of earth hitting the enormous coffin brought him back to himself.

He kept one arm around Madeline's shoulders—too early still for her waist, but he held her and Daniel, greedy as a dragon with his hoard. His hold on Danny was partially protective, however—Danny was looking at the coffin as if he would've liked to throw himself in, and Vlad held him against his back, even as Danny clutched his arm. If their holds were too tight, neither minded—they were grounding themselves with each other. Jasmine stood apart from the trio, scrutinizing not her father's coffin, but Vlad, her teal eyes narrowed and cold. Danny at last fell out of his trance and noticed his sister, his expression becoming positively filthy in turn.

Following the burial, Madeline and Jasmine wanted to go back to FentonWorks, much to Vlad's annoyance. But he quickly masked his disappointment by lining his voice in velvet, and assured that they would be welcome at his castle at any time. Danny clung to Vlad's arm the entire time, glaring sullenly at the ground. Jazz turned to stare at her brother, looking aghast.

"What have you done to him?" She demanded incredulously, drawing her shaking fingers into fists. "What have you done to my brother, Vlad?"

Her exhausted mother turned wearily in her direction. "Jazz—"

"What have you done to him?" She cried, and Danny's expression positively froze over. "What, are you trying to do to Danny what you did to my father?" Danny tensed, and Vlad really did have to restrain him for a moment, because he looked ready to lunge.

"Jazz!" Cried Maddie.

"I said it, everyone was thinking it! Danny," Jasmine implored, reaching out to her younger sibling. Danny strained against Vlad's hold, fingers flexing as if bracing himself for a fight. "You're not you anymore, you haven't said a damn thing about our Dad dying—you, you loved him more than anyone I know, and you're not even crying, it's like you don't care, or Vlad made you not care—"

"Jasmine, stop!"

"You don't care about anything but him anymore, it's like you're his pet and it's disgusting! What did he do to you?!"

Danny's eye twitched and he bore his grit teeth like an angry dog. Alarmed, Vlad stood in front of the two siblings, as much as for Jasmine's protection as for Danny's. Danny was shaking again, but with rage, and Vlad allowed his grip to tighten painfully over his shoulders, as he threw Danny a very ugly look. The boy positively quailed under Vlad's stare, but the poisonous words spilled out nonetheless:

"I hate you," Danny spat, his voice quivering with hatred and something else. As angry as he looked, he seemed on the verge of tears. "Don't you dare speak to him like that, you evil little pig. I hate you, I hate you—"

Madeline by now had wrapped her arms around her daughter, looking utterly distraught. Fresh tears were streaming down her pale, weary face.

"I know neither of you mean it, but remember: Jack wouldn't want to see you fighting like this," she murmured, and the crack in her voice stirred at Vlad's selfish heart. "Vlad, please forgive my daughter, she's annihilated over this, and you've been amazing—" At the last word she broke into sobs again, and Vlad's irritation evaporated into extreme discomfort.

"There, there," he muttered, which was about the dumbest thing to say in the world and yet the only thing he could think to say. He patted Maddie's arm, and Jazz gave him a teary glare, which he longed to reciprocate. He could feel Daniel positively seething in his arms, and the urge to let him loose was tempting. "You're both under an extraordinary amount of stress. The best thing for you now is to rest—" And move on, preferably soon, "—and try to come to some peace. At least Jack died doing what he loved the most." Holding his child, whom was actively at work murdering him at the time. "Please know that if ever you'd like to come to my home, which is free of any violent memory—" Madeline shook a bit at that. "—and rest, you are more than free. Daniel and I would be delighted to accommodate you. Danny said nothing to that effect.

Maddie gave him a teary smile, which was more than Vlad hoped for, and gave him a brief hug goodbye. Vlad let go of Danny then, and the latter seemed was too distracted to threaten his sister. As Jasmine hugged him close, willing with all her might she could yet protect the younger boy, Danny gazed at his mother and Vlad entwined together. His expression curdled as Vlad tried to keep the hug sincere but not too intrusive, his hand twisting into Vlad's coattail.

When the men and women went their separate ways at the cemetery gate, Jazz kept an arm around her mother as they trudged to the Fenton RV, throwing a hideous look at Vlad. Vlad merely lifted a brow in turn, throwing a dubious glance at Danny as the limousine headed towards them.

"Daniel, was that really necessary?" He asked, delicately pulling his suit free. In turn, Danny reached for his hand and Vlad hurriedly put an arm around his shoulder instead. "Mind you, I don't really care what you say to your stupid sister, but your mother is absolutely brokenhearted." He felt a brief flare of guilt at that, though he brushed it aside. "She doesn't need to see her children at each other's throats, especially if I'm to convince her we should live together."

Danny's eyes narrowed to slits.

"I'll behave. I'll behave and make you happy. I'll make sure my mother treats you well." His voice was tight.

Slightly puzzled, Vlad managed a nod as they both slid in the car's backseat. Though there was plenty of room, Danny sat but a hair's breadth away from the man. The car took off, and Danny stared out the window. Suddenly Vlad felt incredibly awkward, though he wasn't sure why.

"I….would like us all to live together as a family. That was my dream, you know, when that Nocturne ghost cast all of us into our sweetest fantasies. You and Madeline both at my side."

"What about Jasmine?" Danny asked pleasantly. "Do you want her, too?"

Whenever had Danny called his sister by her full name? "I…I don't care for the little brat." He poured himself a glass of scotch from the mini bar, drained half of its contents, and went on: "When she came to spy on me on Wisconsin, I took her in simply to hurt Jack, not out of any real regard to her. But," he sighed, looking at Danny warmly. "But if I have to take her in to make Maddie happy, I will take her in. Maybe I'll send her abroad for school, get her out of my hair."

"You should." Danny let his head sag against Vlad's arm. "People like her don't deserve to live."

Vlad opened his mouth, closed it again, let it alone.

It was slightly pleasing talk after all, though it was like getting applause from a drunken audience.

~o*oOo*o~

To the billionaire's glee, Maddie accepted his invitation to stay at his a nere fortnight after Jack's demise. Vlad could scarcely hide his excitement over the fact that while Madeline couldn't be persuaded to sell the company she and Jack built together from the ground up, she could hardly sleep in the house where Jack died.

"But of course, of course, Madeline, dear," Vlad all but crowed on his phone, standing up immediately in his excitement. "I'll have the guest rooms all made up in a flash."

Danny looked up from the chessboard as Vlad crossed the study to his window, pleasure radiating off him in droves. "And whatever silly things Jasmine might've said in her grief can be completely overlooked, don't you worry…no, no, don't apologize, my dear, you have nothing to be sorry for…."

About to make a move, Danny slowly released the hold he had on his castle. Madeline (the cat) had been sleepily waddling towards him for a pet, stiffened, and streaked off in the opposite direction. He curled into a ball in his chair, crossing his arms, coolly scrutinizing Vlad.

If you had known Danny well simply months before Vlad's first wish, he would've been near-unrecognizable. By now he'd lost a considerable amount of weight, which hadn't needed losing, and no dressed formally every day in his new home. For some time he mirrored Vlad's dress with a black suit, shirt, and tie, until the billionaire snidely asked one afternoon if he weren't still mourning Jack. Danny wordlessly switched to charcoal grey the following day, with a blue ribbon at his throat. He stared at Vlad with starving eyes, his thin mouth spasming slightly.

The butler noiselessly set down the tea tray beside Danny's arm, bowed, and glided away. The boy quietly regarded the white china, and would've smashed it all against the wall if he didn't dare risk Vlad's anger. Meanwhile, Vlad went on at the gold and green drapery:

"I understand perfectly. Come up here, take some time to rest. Daniel and I will be thrilled to see you both. Yes, yes. Again, no trouble. We'll see you Thursday, but do let me know if you need anything in the meantime. You're very welcome, darling. Ta!"

And with that Vlad hung up, the very picture of smugness as he turned around and clasped his hands. "Thrilling news, Daniel! Your mother and sister are coming soon to stay with us for a week! Won't that be wonderful?"

"Yes. Thrilling."

"Jasmine will be a spot of bother, no doubt, but she'll hardly spill the beans about my identity so long as she's afraid of my revealing yours," Vlad sighed, clasping Danny's shoulder. Danny's face colored slightly and he said nothing. "But if we play our parts well, Madeline might be persuaded to move in eventually, and accept my hand."

"Maybe if you burned down FentonWorks, they'd be more willing to move in. And Mom would fall in love with you more quickly."

That was never anything Vlad expected Daniel Fenton to say. "Well, that's a thought. But much as I would like to have Madeline now, I came on much too strongly the last time I…confessed my affections." Danny's grip around his legs tightened. "And she's mourning now, and will need some time. But I might keep your idea should things be moving along too slowly." Vlad picked up his teacup and threw Danny an impressed look.

"You're such a good boy, Daniel."

Danny brightened considerably at that, even smiling a little. Vlad sat down again in the winged armchair facing Danny's.

"I suppose you're very excited to have Madeline and Jasmine back in your life." He sounded a little strained at that; even before Jack's departure there had been no love lost between the Fentons ever since Danny decided to move in with Vlad.

"I don't really care," said Danny indifferently, watching Vlad contemplate the board. "I just want you to have what you want."

Vlad quipped a brow, not quite knowing what to say.

"Mm….but you will be pleased, I think, to be with your sister again? After all, I imagine you're very lonely in this house."

"I do get very lonely. That's why I wish you'd retire. Or give me a job at your company already."

"Daniel, we've discussed this," Vlad said shortly, his tone souring considerably. "My company is no place for a teenager, and your place is at here, at home. Don't you want to be here to greet me when I return?"

"Of course! More than anything! But you told me to quit ghost-hunting, and—"

"You chose to give up ghost-hunting on my advice," Vlad corrected, and Danny fell silent at once. "And you did as you were told, because you're a good boy, and I'm pleased with you for it." The man leaned forward to ruffle Danny's midnight-black hair, and the young boy closed his eyes, wringing his hands. He looked pained. Vlad drew back sharply.

"Daniel, stop your moping. You should be happy."

"Then I am happy," Danny said pleasantly, his mouth curving into a most charming smile, though his eyes looked cold, and dangerous. Vlad helped himself to a biscuit, checked the time, and startled.

"Oh, look at me fuffing about when there are preparations to be made," Vlad fussed, quickly getting to his feet. "The guest rooms need to be aired out, and I'll have to have the kitchens stocked…well, Daniel, it's been a very enjoyable morning, but I need to get ready for your mother and sister's arrival."

"You don't like Jazz."

"True, but you have to pet the calf to get the cow."

He clasped Danny's shoulder again, and the young boy's face remained carefully blank. "Well, I'll see you tonight if not tomorrow—do try to stay out of the servants' way and have some fun while I'm away. Ta!"

And then he bustled out. Danny watched him go, looked at the unfinished chess game. Then, he phased into his ghost form.

Following Vlad—as much as it felt instinctually right to—was forbidden ever since Vlad caught him following the limousine he used to commute to work. He had acute ghost senses, and disobeying Vlad was out of the question.

He phased to Vlad's room, alighting upon a small replica of the house. Why Vlad or any grown man would want a dollhouse was beyond him, but it was the man wanted, and that was enough. It was magnificently to-scale, even set with handpainted furniture, arranged just-so, mimicking the real item's placement.

After some looking around, Danny found a small doll version of himself, sitting alone in his room. A Jasmine doll was in the library, and a Vlad doll and a Maddie doll sat together on the sofa, side-by-side. Expression cool, Danny looked at them all thoughtfully as he placed his doppelganger beside Vlad, picking up Jasmine and his mother, and promptly set them on fire with a bolt of ectoplasmic fire. He dumped the ashes in the tiny fireplace.

"MURDERER! MURDERER!"

The bread basket went flying through the air, its contents hitting an antique tapestry. Vlad scowled—a truly ugly look blazing in his cold eyes—and Jazz glared back, flushed with fury. Danny at least for his part seemed more interested in his salad then in the goings-on. Maddie looked near tears.

Their third evening together was off to an inauspicious start; after days of skulking around his castle for some damning evidence of Vlad's guilt—he would've loved to have told her whom really did it, if only to see her distraught—Jazz finally erupted after someone had asked her about the weather.

"WE ALL KNOW IT, EVEN IF NO ONE WILL SAY IT—VLAD MASTERS, YOU'RE AN EVIL, ROTTING, COLD-BLOODED, MURDERER!"

Danny surveyed her with vague interest, as if she were a mildly-intriguing news reporter. He'd been the stuff of politeness to mother and sister, though politeness was a far cry from friendliness. Sometimes Vlad caught him staring at him and Madeling together unblinkingly, and he was haunting Vlad's footsteps worse than ever.

"You killed my father!" Jazz roared, seizing a wineglass and tossing that against the wall too. "I KNOW you did! You've wanted him dead for years, so that you could have my mother! And," she raved, chest heaving, gesturing furiously at Danny, whom was taking slow sips of ice water. "As if that weren't enough, you kidnapped and brainwashed my little brother! You poisoned his mind, you're manipulating him somehow, you sick son of a—"

"Jazz," Madeline murmured, her face flushed dark red with embarrassment as she slunk in his seat. "Jazzy, we should go now."

"No, Madeline. Jasmine, perhaps you'd like to enjoy your meal before it winds up on the walls," Vlad suggested coldly, from beneath grit teeth. His nails were sinking into his palms underneath the table, and if ever he'd despised anyone more than Jack Fenton, it was his misbegotten daughter. He shook with rage, mentally cloving her skull with the good china.

Jazz rounded him on. "Enjoy this," she said snidely, reaching over the table to dump the contents of her full plate on Vlad's head.

There was a nasty silence. Vlad's expression remained unchanged, even as cream sauce dripped into his eyes. Danny said nothing. Madeline staggered to her feet, face in her hands.

"C'mon, Jazz, calm down." She took hold of Jazz's arm, and feebly tried pulling her away. "That's good. Come on, Jazz. It'll be okay."

"It'll never be okay!" Jasmine shrieked, and Vlad would've paid any amount of money to throttle her then and there. "Never!"

"Begging your pardon."

Danny broke his silence at last, delicately wiping his mouth before rising to his feet. He threw Vlad a clearly-apologetic look. "May I be excused, Vlad? I think Jazz and I need to talk, sibling-to-sibling."

Jazz and Maddie threw him stricken looks. Blistering, Vlad wiped his face, and a clearly-mortified Madeline scurried to his side to help, which was at the least gratifying. Jazz considered Danny warily, although her gaze looked more desperate than anything else.

Danny smiled demurely, cocking his head a bit. He looked positively seraphic.

"I think I can understand what you're feeling, considering everything. But I don't know for sure. We haven't really talked since the funeral—which is more my fault then yours," he added, looping his arm around Jazz's, whom now looked positively dumbfounded. The Fenton siblings had not spoken proper for weeks now, not since Danny's last stay when they'd come to blows. "If that's okay with you?" He asked again, looking over his shoulder at Vlad.

Vlad jerked his head, far too angry to speak. Get her away, get her away. Danny obliged, and the two siblings hurried from the room. Watching them go, Madeline turned to Vlad, with a small smile which was sweet and a bit sad, and Vlad's heart skipped.

They didn't, after all, talk about much, even in private. Vlad could've joyfully knelt and proposed to her then and there, but a burned hand was the best teacher; he made some little joke and they went to the kitchen to wash off the mess, though his shirt and suit were probably quite ruined.

It seemed a small price to pay to sit in the kitchen with Maddie with a glass of wine, and brush aside her numerous apologies. Maddie didn't have much to say, but they found small things at the kitchen table—little jokes from their college years. Any mention of Jack made her hands tighten around her glass stem, and Vlad steered away from the dangerous subject, flushed by alcohol and pleasure and goodness knew what else. He could count on his little badger to make things right again. They nibbled on bread and drank until the tapers were burning much lower than before.

Madeline refused the offer of a fourth cup of wine—disappointing that, as whom knew what that might lead to—and stood up instead, swaying slightly. "It's been awhile. I need to go check on the kids."

"I'll go with you."

Maddie shook her head apologetically and disentangled herself, avoiding eye contact.

"Thanks, Vlad, but Jazz…she might need to go and stay with friends. She's looking for anyone to blame right now, and she believes with all her heart you played some role in it. It really might be better for her or all of us to stay with some friends."

"But I am a friend," Vlad protested, somewhat nettled. "I have an idea: Why don't I send Jasmine far, far away on a cruise around so that she can forget her troubles?"

"That's very sweet. But you and I know she'd never accept it."

Vlad gave her a grudging nod, and Maddie gave him a brief hug before leaving, which was satisfying. He helped himself to another glass of wine, remembered the last time Maddie had withdrawn when they were about to be intimate together, and grew concerned. There was no harm in checking on the Fentons if he stayed invisible.

He phased into Plasmius, and searched the house, coming at last to the study. He hadn't heard any yelling, so with any luck Daniel had managed to calm Jasmine down.

Vlad phased through the wall, and came in to a nightmare: Jasmine lay crumpled on the ground, her face in her bloody shirt, and next to her sat Danny, whom was turning over the fire poker in the flames, something skewered on the ends of it.

Distressed, Vlad became tangible at once. "Daniel! Daniel, what in the world have you done?!"

Danny slowly turned to look at him, the stuff of glowing satisfaction. "Hey, Vlad." He withdrew the poker, to reveal a steaming tongue. "I was preparing this for Maddie—the cat, I know she likes delicacies."

Vlad immediately stooped to grab Jazz by the shoulders, blood streaming liberally out of her mouth, down her front. The girl's teal eyes flickered, obviously dazed from blood loss.

"She yelled at you," said Danny softly, tone betraying the vicious expression on his face. "She yelled at you, and she deserved to be punished. I thought you might like my sister better if you didn't have to listen to her shriek insults at you anymore. So I cut out her tongue."

Vlad just stared at him, aghast. "Daniel, she'll tell—well, she can't tell anyone ANYTHING anymore, but your mother—"

"Oh, I thought of that," said the boy brightly, his eyes darkening with terrible glee. "She's waiting for you in your bedroom. But you better hurry."

"…you didn't harm Madeline."

"No, although I would've liked to. Serves the bitch right for breaking your heart. I just knocked her out and tied her to your bed."

"…little badger, how could you?"

"But you wanted her," Danny protested, sounding bewildered. "And I got her for you. It's my birthday present to you—you can do whatever you like to her," he offered, standing up. "Just so long as you love me best."

Danny tumbled to his knees, and seized Vlad's cape, kissing it, staring up at him imploringly.

"Please, Father, don't look at her right now," he begged. "Don't look at anyone else. Please. Please. Please."

Horrified, Vlad sent Danny flying back with a small ecto-blast before he hastily exited the room, making a beeline for his lab. I have to go and make this right again. When was the last time he'd thought that, if indeed ever? No matter. He'd had to leave through his portal and have Desiree undo her spell.

Thankfully Desiree had an established territory carved out in the Ghost Zone, so he only need ask a few specters where the genie ghost resided. It was dangerous approaching another ghost's territory without first obtaining their consent, but if Desiree were truly cursed to grant an allotted number of wishes, she should only be too happy to see Vlad again.

"There you are!" cried Vlad in relief as he zipped towards her. "I have one last wish for you!"

The curvy ghost did not react. Her gaze was focused on the torrents of water falling from the rocks, and she did not turn around. Desperate, Vlad tried again:

"I realize now that you were right. I turned Daniel into a twisted version of myself, and I have lost what I held most dear. Please, return him to normal. I wish I never made the wishes I did, and that everything was restored to the way it once was. Blast, if you need to revive Jack, than do so. I cannot bear to live this abhorrent lie any longer."

"I cannot restart a heart," Desiree reminded him, still not turning around. Vlad's gloved fingers tore at his dark hair, and it was all he could do to stop himself from screaming right then and there.

"Then just return Daniel to normal! You've turned him into a monster—a killing machine!"

"I did nothing but what I was commanded to do," said the genie coolly, still not looking at him. "It is your own fault, for chaining the ghost boy's heart to a fabrication. You turned him into your slave, and now he is your willing, obedient slave….is that not what you wanted?"

Vlad wildly shook his head.

"He's not Daniel anymore! He's not the boy I wanted to come to me anymore! It was your magic that warped him!"

"And it was your greed that ruined him," replied Desiree coldly, turning her head just enough to throw the ghost a contemptuous look. "Nothing is ever enough for you, eh human? You have the boy whom you kidnapped, manipulated, and harmed come to you with tidings of apology and peace. Then, when that isn't enough, you make the boy obsessed with you, unable to live without you, because you're so pathetically needy that you don't mind breaking the true hearts of a child and his family. And still, because you have no idea of what true affection actually is, instead of releasing him, you tighten the shackles so brutally that the boy's true heart turned into a puppet, weeping tears of blood. Despite his suffering, you do nothing until your life becomes more complicated. You are a lying hypocrite, Mr. Masters."

"That may be so," said Vlad, almost sounding tearful. "But now, I-"

Desiree irritably cut him off:

"You robbed the boy of his free will, and destroyed everything in his heart that would prove unhelpful to his fanatical devotion to you. The puppet heart's fanatical devotion. Danny Phantom's true heart by now must surely have caved in on itself and died from the guilt and torment of his actions, of his imprisonment inside his own head. It in all probability is gone to the shadows, where the hearts of those who truly love Danny are waiting for it. What is left is yours to keep."

Vlad grabbed Desiree by the shoulders, and yanked her around.

"There is still time to make things—"

Vlad stopped dead; his breath sharply cut off in a soundless gasp of horror.

There no longer was a number of wishes left at her neckline. Only smooth, unblemished green skin. Vlad's mind abruptly went blank, a curtain of dread suffocating him. No.

He was completely numb, yet he still heard his own voice after about a second. A puppeteer must have moved his jaw, because he was paralyzed.

"Who?" asked Vlad, his normally bossy, silky tone reduced to a faint, frightened whisper. "Who…."

Desiree's red eyes froze over, and the ghost carelessly gestured with her tail behind Vlad. He robotically turned, puppet strings yanking insistently at him, despite his unwillingness to look.

His eyes widened. No.

Danny Phantom was hovering just a few feet away, twilit hair fluttering. His small was smile, and his eyes more insane than Vlad had ever seen before.

"Hello, Vlad," said the ghost boy cheerfully to the stricken man. "I was looking everywhere for you; you really had me worried." There was something accusing lurking beneath the honey-dulcet tone. "I realized a long time ago that you've been running off to Desiree every now and then; I read your journal. It was fascinating to read your inward thoughts-I'd love to do it again some time.

"It would be best I wish I could break into your skull and read everything, make it a part of me and eat it all."

The boy's eye twitched, and his small smile stretched out into a wide grin that looked like a grimace. His head fell to the side as he considered the stricken man, glowing serenity.

"I found Desiree first, y'know. She had one wish left to grant, and I was afraid that you would be a meanie and wish for something stupid that would make you spend less time with me. So, I made sure you'd never have to leave me again. Isn't that great?"

With that, a pair of dark rings appeared at Plasmius' waist, and the startled man looked down at them in astonishment. Despite his frantic efforts to remain in ghost form, Vlad abruptly transformed into a human and plummeted out of the sky, screaming.

Still smiling, Danny swooped down and seized the man before flying back up to Desiree's level.

"I now have the power to control your ghostly powers!" exclaimed Danny brightly as Vlad clutched at him for dear life, staring at the raging power of the waters below them. "Isn't that just smashing? This means that you won't be able to go Plasmius unless I give you permission, which I won't. Ever!"

Danny affectionately patted the horrorstruck man on the head.

"After all, you might get hurt running around as a ghost, and I couldn't bear that, Daddy. So we're going to find a nice, safe place where I can always watch you, and you'll never be hurt again."

His grip on the man tightened.

"After all, I know I love you best, so you'll just have to believe me," he said gently. "The people whom love you the most know what's best to decide for you, hmm?"

With that, Danny waved at Desiree, who waved back. The boy took off flying again into the sky, with Vlad humiliated and completely crushed in his arms, still clinging to the younger halfa like a tick.

He closed his eyes, and considered dropping out of Daniel's arms, but knew it would be fruitless-Daniel would saw off one of his arms before he consented to let go of his new puppet.

The marionette had yanked its master out from behind the curtain, and now there was another puppet on stage.

He was Daniel's.

Forever.

~*oOo*~

Moral of the story? Don't screw around with people's hearts. ^_^ Bye now!