Third Person POV

Danny slowly opened the door to Vlad's private study, the voice still screaming at him in his mind. He ignored it as he took in the magnificent room. The floor was made of polished wood and had a large gold and green carpet in the center of the room. To the left there were book shelves that reached the ceiling and lined the entire wall with a small open area in the center where a cushioned lounge chair rested, a small wooden table with a lamp on top beside it. The right side of the room held more bookshelves, though they were smaller than the ones on the right. A oak desk covered in papers, files and assorted knick-knacks rested in front of the shelves. The back of the room held a large fireplace made of grey stone. The mantle was made of polished black marble and had a golden football ornament on either side of the mantle. Vlad stood near the desk and beckoned Danny into the room.

The teen walked into the room and Vlad approached him, reaching behind the boy to close the door. The older man then walked back over to his desk and Danny followed after him. "Daniel," Vlad began, facing away from the teen, "I am honored that you chose to trust me with the story of your past."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck and pulled at the scratchy suit collar around his neck, "It's nothing really. It's not like it's a major secret or anything. It's barely even a story." The voice in his head had stopped screaming at him, choosing to be silent once more. The lack of noise in his mind made Danny feel slightly nervous. Just moments ago it had been screaming at him for some reason and now it was completely mute. That didn't feel right to him.

Vlad chuckled, "I suppose you have some other secrets that are of more importance than your origins." The older man had no need to turn around to know what Danny's reaction was. 

The teen was confused by Vlad's meaning and thoughts began to race through his head. What could he be talking about? Did Vlad know something about him that Danny himself didn't know? Actually, that last one might end up being true as Danny barely knew anything about himself. His eyes widened as the voice returned, whispering, "He knows your real secret." 

Danny gulped; that couldn't be possible! There was no way Vlad could know about his ghost half! Was there? Danny shook his head and decided to play dumb. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Vlad smiled and turned to finally face the boy, raising an eyebrow at him, "Oh don't play dumb Daniel, it really doesn't suit you."

Danny felt a blush of embarrassment rise in his cheeks and he fought to keep it down. "I really don't understand what you're talking about Mr. Masters." The dark haired teen insisted. 

Vlad nodded, "It's alright Daniel, you can trust me." The elder halfa noticed that the teen looked very uneasy. A thought came to mind. "Daniel," he started, "can I ask you to keep a secret?"

Danny grew even more confused, but nodded in agreement.

Vlad smiled, "Excellent." He walked to the center of the room and faced Danny. "What I am about to show you must stay between us. Do you understand?" The billionaire asked, though he knew he had no need. 

Once more, Danny nodded. The voice in his mind cried out and Danny chose to ignore it. 

Taking a deep breath Vlad closed his eyes and searched inside himself for his fiery core. He found that power and grabbed hold of it, allowing it to spread through his body. A black ring appeared around his waist and spread across his body turning his skin blue, his clothes white, his grey hair black and morphing his teeth into fangs. Vlad opened his now blood red eyes to look at the teen in the room with him. Danny's jaw immediately hit the floor as he took in Vlad's new appearance.

"Y-You were. . . You are. . ." Danny found it hard to form sentences at the moment. Vlad was a half ghost hybrid too!? And not only that, he was the mysterious ghost that had attacked him night!

Vlad nodded, "Yes, I am a half ghost as well." Vlad gained a pained expression as he said, "And I am the ghost that attacked you last night."

Danny quickly recovered from the initial shock of Vlad's reveal and narrowed his eyes as white rings appeared around his waist. They spread across his body, transforming him into his alter ego. His hands began to glow with green energy and he hovered a few inches off the ground. 

Vlad raised his hands slowly, showing the boy that he wasn't going to attack, "You misunderstand Daniel. I did not tell you this so we would fight." Danny ignored him and fired an ectoblast aimed for Vlad's chest. The elder man quickly threw up a pink shield that caught the blast and bounced it back at Danny. The teen quickly flew high into the air to dodge the reflected blast, causing it to hit the fireplace instead. Luckily, the blast landed on the wood in the fireplace and only caused a small explosion. "Daniel please," Vlad began, "I do not wish to fight you."

"You seemed pretty willing to fight me last night!" Danny shot back, preparing another ectoblast.

Vlad sighed and lowered his shield. "I deeply regret my actions from last night. You see, I am not very popular in the Ghost Zone and do not take kindly to 'uninvited guests' in my home." The elder man explained, looking up at Danny, "I did not know you and the ghost boy were the same. If I had, the outcome of our encounter would have ended differently."

Danny felt that Vlad really was sorry about what he had done. The man's words felt sincere to him and the voice in his head currently was silent again. The white haired teen let the energy fade from his hands and floated closer to the ground, but stayed in a battle ready form. The elder halfa took note of this and inwardly smiled. "So," Danny said, "why did you want to tell me all this?" 

Vlad openly grinned, "I can tell that you haven't had your powers for a very long time. Maybe, a few months at the most. Am I right?" Danny nodded and Vlad continued, "I, on the other hand, have had my powers for twenty years." The teen's eyes widened. Twenty years?! Vlad Masters, one of the most well known men in the world has had ghost powers for twenty years and no one noticed?! He must be extremely good at concealing his abilities. Danny felt embarrassed as he remembered that he still had little to no control over his powers, especially in human form. The amount of knowledge the man must have about being half ghost had to be immense. The more Danny thought about it, the more Vlad's comment from last night made sense.

"Ah, an ectoplasmic energy blast. So. . . year one."

Danny had only recently gained his ectoblast ability. Did that mean Vlad had gone through the exact same thing he was currently going through?

"What I'm trying to say Daniel," Vlad said, interrupting Danny's thoughts, "is that, if you would allow me, I would like to train you."

That made Danny fully snap back into reality. His feet touched the ground and he lost his defensive stance. "You would like to what now?" He asked.

"Train you." Vlad repeated. "Your powers are wild and undisciplined. With proper guidance and training you could become very powerful one day." The elder halfa walked over to the teen, his cape flowing gracefully behind him. He placed a gloved hand on the teen's shoulder and they locked eyes, "I take it you haven't told Jack or Maddie about this, hm?" Danny lowered his head and nodded, feeling ashamed for keeping his new powers hidden from them. In truth, he was afraid of what they would do to him should they find out about his ghost half. The corners of Vlad's lips threatened to twitch into a smile, but it fought the urge. "Daniel, I am just like you. I am the only person who could possibly hope to understand you." Vlad explained, "You don't have to agree to anything yet just, promise me you'll think it over. Okay?"

Danny stayed silent and nodded his head.

Vlad removed his hand from Danny's shoulder and allowed the black rings to transform him back into Vlad Masters. White rings appeared around Danny's waist and washed over him, returning him to his suited human form. The elder man lead Danny to the door of his private study. "Why don't you go and enjoy the reunion?" Vlad asked him, "I have a few things to take care of in here and I will be out shortly." Danny looked up at Vlad and gave him a small smile. The teen opened the door and walked out, heading back to the main room where the reunion was taking place.

He didn't know what he was going to do. Could he really trust Vlad? A man he had just met? Obviously, Vlad had some issues but overall he seemed like a nice guy. Vlad was the only other halfa Danny had met and he could really use a teacher in learning how to control his powers. He would think about it through the night, Danny decided, and see if he found an answer by the morning. If not, he was sure Vlad would be patient with him. "Trust your instincts." The voice whispered to him. What it meant by those words, Danny wasn't sure he knew.

Back in Vlad's study the elder man sat behind his desk, leaning back in his chair. He closed his eyes and grinned. Vlad was nearly one hundred percent positive that he had convinced Danny that he was a kind man who wished to help train him in controlling his powers in order to become a better hero. In reality, it was part of his new master plan. If all went well by the end of his plan, Danny would be his son, Maddie would be his wife.

And Jack Fenton would be six feet under.

A/N: Yes I know it is a really short chapter! I apologize but I just wanted to wrap up the events of the previous chapter. In doing so I had a 'decision fit' and I changed up the storyline of this book yet again. Hopefully this will be the last time. I now officially have a plan for this book and it should remain unchanged. I will do my best to update regularly but I can't guarantee it. As always, thanks for reading and I'll see you all in the next one!