Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't been posting for a bit, so heres a long chapter to make up for it! Drop a review or a favourite if you like it so far! It always makes me happy to hear from you guys on here as well as ao3.

There is a subtle hint in here about what is to come...:DD

(n.) lacuna – a blank space, a missing part.

"This is insane! A compulsory blood drawing from a group of minors because they believe that we are 'contaminated'?" Sam huffed angrily, "The government has lost too many braincells."

"I'll say," shivered Tucker, "I don't like needles."

"And I can't believe they said such degrading stuff about Phantom. He does a great job in protecting the town. Looks like there is another person who holds animosity for him, let alone all the other ghosts."

"But Sam, there are plenty of evil ghosts. Agent Ede just wants the best for all of us. He isn't wrong in saying that they are terrorising the town-"

"But there are good ghosts too. Just because half of them are bad doesn't mean they all are. It's just like humans…"

Danny stared off into the distance. His mind was running a mile a minute. This 'Agent Ede' guy just had to make his life a hundred times worse than before. He really needed to tell Vlad and quick. Who knows what kind of trouble a drop of blood could place them in?

"If you're just going to ignore us Danny, then we will just go home without you," said Sam angrily, "Honestly, I'm so tired of trying to be a good person to you. If you have better things to do than spend time with your only two friends, then we won't give you the time of day. C'mon, Tucker."

"Oh come on Sam," Danny snapped, "Don't be like that."

Sam turned around angrily.

"I have every right to be angry. The last two years have been horrible. We've tried to ask you what's happening. We want to be there for you Danny, we're your friends. But for some reason you haven't been able to trust us anymore. And you've changed, drastically. You are always tired, you never put any effort into school, or even just with anyone at all. Have you seen Jazz around at all? She looks like she's aged 10 years because she's worried about you. We all are!"

"Jazz is fine. We talked yesterday. She's just been overly incessant just like you."

"I can't believe you. I just want to know why you are always so angry and tired? I'm concerned, Danny. Why can't you just tell us what's going on?"

Danny gave an almost pleading noise in the back of his throat. He wanted them to understand, he really did. A small part of him inside ached with the need to confess his pain to them. He wanted to vent about the struggles of staying up all night so that they could sleep safely, completely unaware of the dangers that lurk around. He wanted to complain how unfair it was that a 16-year-old boy had to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders on a daily basis, with one wrong move sending their future into oblivion. He wanted to shout about how fidgety he felt every day because he can feel the raw power buzzing under his skin just waiting to be released, or how he could easily kill the entire city with a flick of a finger.

He just wanted them to understand.

But he knew he couldn't.

"I just can't," he whined, "It's too dangerous."

For a small fraction of a second, Sam almost looked sympathetic. It gave Danny a small snippet of hope.

But the universe sighed as the nebulae laughed at him. Fate played a deadly game and it loved to mess with Danny.

"The Danny I know would never betray his friends like this. I just want the old Danny back."

Danny snarled angrily.

"Well the old Danny just grew up. Accept it or not, I'd rather my life be exactly the way it is rather than go back."

Sam stared at Danny for a long time, making him shift a little awkwardly. Her bottom lip trembled traitorously before she stormed off, dragging Tucker with her. He seemed to just follow along without an argument, as if he too had given up on Danny. Well, he couldn't blame them. He was surprised they put up with it all for this long. But they couldn't know. Nobody could know. That's how it has been, and how it will end (famous last words).

Danny kicked a lone stone on the cement path, gripping the sides of his backpack before darting into an alleyway. He felt the rings forming without realising, shifting over his body and changing him into his ghostly persona. He needed to get out of this suffocating space and call Vlad.

Jazz glanced silently at the TV in the living room from her spot in the kitchen. She scrubbed hard at the dish in her hand despite not glancing at it, for her eyes were taking part in something more interesting than meagre chores. The TV was playing the re-run of the speech the government official made earlier in the day. She watched the man as he ran a hair through his gleaming blonde locks, his black sunglasses gleaming obnoxiously into the camera. His personality screamed bad news. From the obviously exaggerated attitude to the way his breathing was slightly uneven, tenseness in the shoulders...Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

The front door slammed open ceremoniously, revealing the presence of Danny. He looked tired and worn down, his hair a tangled mess on top of his head, and his eye bags looked even bigger than before. She did a quick check-over (are those scratches on his arms?) before placing the dish and towel down. She stood in front of Danny, trying to ground him and giver her his attention. If theory, if she were to convey to her little brother that she was here for him then that would lead to more positive engagement.

Wow, she was really good at observing him. Thank you psychology lectures at Yale.

"Hello, little brother," she said softly, "How was school?"

"Fantastic," he quipped sarcastically, side-stepping her and continuing on his way. He placed his bag down at the end of the counter, grabbing some rubbish out of his bag and placing it in the Fenton garbage chute™. Her face frowned slightly before she sat down at the counter. She placed her hands down neatly on the bench, leaning forward. 'I need him to see that I'm there for him', she thought idly. 'Maybe I should start with a small topic, something currently in debate around town so he can engage in conversation with me…'

"Have you seen the news lately? There's a guy claiming to protect Amity Park even better than Phantom."

Danny flinched at the name of the town's elusive yet courageous defender. Jazz noted that in her brain. He always seemed a little tense about the subject. It could be probable that this overwrought nature is brought about by mum and dad's incessant conversations about dissecting and destroying ghosts. Their ludicrous jobs have placed Danny in a mentally unstable state.

She stopped her mind mumbling once Danny stretched his arms behind his back lightly before slouching. 'He seems more lethargic today,' her brain inserted.

"Yeah," he huffed, "Said they'd cover the costs of ghost fights. He came to my school and placed a bunch of rules onto us."

Jazz could tell that Danny was avoiding the entire truth. He was avoiding eye contact, he was constantly fidgeting, and he was licking his lips a little too often. Jazz noted this down in her brain again to the file that is her brother's mysterious secret. For now, Jazz could deduce that the problem was ghost related. 'Ah', she thought, 'Another ghostly problem in our family. She wished her parents would've taken up medicine rather than ectology.

"Was there anything else that the man said?" she queried, "The guy seems kind of sketchy."

Danny's eyebrows scrunched together as he looked elsewhere.

"He wants our school to do a mandatory blood testing process or whatever."

Now that was a development. Jazz pondered all the reasons why the government would want to draw blood out of a bunch of high schoolers. Why was their blood of upmost importance? And how was this related to ghosts?

"That's completely insane!" she cried, "Why would some random guy that only appeared on the news this morning be claiming the blood of a bunch of teenagers?"

"The guy claims it's to detect ectoplasmic contamination in the blood, I think," Danny's hand ran along the back of his neck. His nervous tic.

The whole situation was very confusing. But there was one essential part that was missing in the story. Jazz figured she had a lead on this already.

"Does mum and dad know about this?"

Danny shrugged his shoulders idly. Jazz tried to determine everything she knew about ectoplasm in her brain. She remembered hearing that ectoplasm in the blood was highly toxic, and that small exposures could leave you bed ridden for months on end. Sort of like Uncle Vlad's ecto-acne from the accident in college. From Jazz's memory, the exposure of the raw ectoplasm plus the backlash from the machine cause the ectoplasm to come in contact with the small capillaries within his face, hence the ecto-acne. If this were the case, then what was the need for a donation of blood? Maybe she could have a talk about this whole idyll with her parents later on.

"So, are they doing this during school? After school?"

Danny wiped his face with his free hand before taking a bite of an apple.

"During school in the auditorium, probably in little sections with big buff men holding needles. Jazz", he whimpered slightly, "I don't like needles."

Well, that much was obvious. Danny has never been a fan of needles. The constant talks from his parents and their escapades didn't necessarily help his phobia either.

"I know, Danny," she sympathised, "I'm going to talk to mum and dad about this. It'll be alright, I promise."

Danny looked like he wanted to vomit for a second before his face became completely devoid of emotion.

"Yeah, well, don't make promises you can't keep. I need to go do my homework," Danny said gruffly, "I'll be in my, uh, room. Don't come in for, like, 5 hours."

Jazz turned her head as she watched her brother ascend the stairs (two at a time? Has Danny always had that stamina?). As much as she wanted to check if he was alright, she now had a new mission:

To stop the blood drawing of Casper High.

Danny flew through the Ghost Zone, basking in the euphoria he got from flying through the cold atmosphere. Purple doors looked more like purple lines as he sped through the green abyss, navigating his way to his desired location. He smiled to himself as he noticed Johnny 13 and Kitty to his left bickering on a rock about something he couldn't quite make out. Plenty of other ghosts were on their way throughout the area. Most of them stared at him, obviously recognising him either because of his status or due to his aura as a halfa. Danny smiled to himself as he saw the familiar green building coming into view.

Before entering the Ghost Zone, Danny tried a number of times to contact Vlad, but unfortunately, he was currently in a meeting to discuss the latest business ideas of Dalv Corp. He would just have to see him later. Danny sighed but decided to try the next best option: Clockwork.

Ever since saving him and his family from the destruction of the Nasty Burger, Clockwork has acted as another mentor in Danny's life, albeit a more cryptic and mysterious type. Danny occasionally checked in to see Clockwork, as well as confirm his evil future self was still confined in the dented-up thermos. Although Clockwork was often enigmatic majority of the time, he still enjoyed Danny's presence and treated him like a son (although the old ghost never showed it. He shouldn't get too attached and linger away from his jobs).

Danny entered through the front door quietly. He silently held up a tiny ball of ectoplasm made by his hand as a light source as he wandered through. The green light reflected over the large brick walls, the large clocks ticking soundly in the still building. As normal, Danny's vision wandered over to the large cabinet on the side with a small stone column that should be balancing the thermos. It took Danny three seconds to notice the difference in the picture, more namely, the missing object.

Where is it?

Oh no.

He silently prayed to Clockwork that he was just dreaming. Where is the thermos? Dan can't come back. He just can't.

Icheckedthreedaysagowherediditgo…

"It is not that time, Daniel."

Danny jerked around suddenly, arms pulsing with ectoplasm ready to fire. He took in the older ghost, in his elderly form, with his long billowing purple cloak and long white beard. Striking red eyes bore into his soul, revealing his omniscience. Danny's eyes trailed down to his frail hand, taking in the damaged thermos containing his evil future self. Clockwork's grandfather clock in his chest ticked tiredly away as the ghost's lips gave a wry smile.

"It is not wise to leave him unattended whilst I have my monthly meeting with the Observants. Rest assured, he will not be bothering you today."

Danny smiled warmly, floating over to give the ghost a gentle hug. His cheeks blushed a green hue as he felt an arm wrap around his back tenderly. He tried not to think about the thermos in his other hand.

"Hello Clockwork," his voice was muffled as he buried his head into his cloak, squeezing harder. He just needed a hug.

"A lot has happened, and I am aware that you are stressed beyond your normal threshold. Before we talk, let us dispose of this nuisance here."

He reluctantly let go and watched silently as Clockwork floated over to the glass chamber and placed the thermos on the concrete pillar. He tapped a few buttons, resulting in a loud clicking sound before the glass was sealed tight. Whilst he was there, he changed into his child form, with his face and body taking on a more youthful appearance. Clockwork floated gracefully back to Danny and rested a gloved hand on his shoulder.

"Now, Daniel," he sighed, "While I know why you are here, I am sure it would alleviate a great deal of pain for you to talk to me about your little issue. I cannot tell you how much help I can be, but I will at least act as a good listener for you."

He tapped a gloved finger to his chin in thought in a semi-joking manner, but it would be hard to tell for others who didn't know the ghost well.

"Sort of like a therapist, I suppose," Clockwork said, the corners of his lips slightly turning up.

Danny smiled lightly before landing softly on the ground, slouching slightly with his eyes downcast. The pressure of Clockwork's small child-like hand grounded him and kept him in one place. It helped him focus his thoughts and filter through his mind all of the worries and doubts he currently contained. So he told Clockwork all about the battle in the morning, the strange man, and the laws he was imposing on the school. Throughout his talk, Danny took careful note of Clockwork's unreadable face.

"I know you can't tell me everything, Clockwork," Danny said slowly, "But I just don't know what to do. I could use any sort of advice right now."

Clockwork paused before floating off suddenly, Danny catching up behind him quickly. They entered the viewing room, containing an array of screens that displayed moments in time. The three largest, each respectively containing the past, present and future, were both running for the time being. All seemed fairly normal, although Danny was certain Clockwork was meddling with them in order to not give any hints to himself.

"Daniel, I cannot tell you what will happen, but I can tell you this. There will be great hardships for you in the near future. The pain and suffering you will experience will be far greater than anything you have experienced before. This information, while it does not necessarily sound fantastic, is what you want to hear. I can tell you that this pain and suffering is true, but I cannot tell you how or why. I can only brace you for it, or at least try to minimise the surprise and prepare you for what is to come.

"Do you remember our latest lesson and what I taught you about?"

"Er, was it about the Ancients?"

"Yes, the lesson indeed involved the Ancients, the group of all-powerful ghosts that bounded together to lock the previous ghost king Pariah Dark into the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. I told you about the boundless power that each Ancient contained, and how they each hold their own unique power that keeps the Ghost Zone a stable environment. For example, one Ancient has the ability of harnessing the dead souls of humans and judging their afterlife. In Greek mythology, he is known as Thanatos. Others know him to be the Grim Reaper.

"However, this unique power is not limited to the Ancients, Daniel. Whilst they are a very omnipotent group, you must understand that having unique power is not limited to themselves. Everybody has the power to enact change within their lives. The Iroquois Indians believed in a small but significant concept that should be more widely celebrated than it is. They call it 'orenda', stating that there is a supernatural force contained within people that enables them to step outside the boundaries."

"Is this power physical?" Questioned Danny, "Or is this just a pep talk about being brave enough to do public speaking?"

"Who knows? Maybe you should invest in speaking in front of a general audience. It would certainly do wonders to your nervous energy around others."

Daniel huffed a little, his face betraying him with a smile.

"Daniel, you will continue to grow in strength overtime, however, let it be known that this strength will be brought on by feelings of despair, fear, and anger. It is important that you learn to harness your own unique power in order to create change in the world."

Danny nodded, silently floating upwards and preparing for the long journey home. He was just around the corner when he heard Clockwork speak.

"Oh and Daniel. You must find this spirit inside of you soon. Orenda, Daniel. Talk to Vlad about it."

Danny paced around the large living room quickly, his hands balled together in fists and his face in a hard frown. Vlad sat on the plush couch in front of him with his back hunched over as his hands rested gently underneath his chin. He too was deep in thought about the whole situation. Danny had just relayed all the information he knew to Vlad, who sat and listened patiently the whole time. It seemed that his brain had processed everything and was now unsure of how to release it.

"Do you know anything about or-an-da, uh, or-in-da?"

"Orenda, originating from the Iroquois Indians, it is a Huron cognate of Mohawk where they believed that there was a paranormal energy inside of all human beings that enabled us to generate change. It's most likely used in our modern times as a motivational or inspirational tool for ending poverty or making someone feel like they can do something in our meaningless world."

"So, Clockwork wants me to feel like I have a purpose? Is he implying that I'm depressed?"

Vlad's face looked absolutely baffled. If Danny wasn't so stressed right now then he would've laughed.

"Of course not, Daniel! I don't visit the old stopwatch as much as you do, but on the rare occasions that I have met him, he never spoke so literally. He was often, vague, I suppose, in how he delivered his message. While I feel as though he is trying to be more elusive and metaphorical, he could be talking more literally."

Danny hummed slowly, frowning slightly. What Vlad said did make sense in a way. Clockwork was never one to spill his secrets, but sometimes he seemed vaguely literal at times to the point where words flew through one ear and out the other. Danny hoped he didn't miss anything during that talk.

"What else did he say to you?"

"Uh, he did say I would get stronger…"

He hesitated to tell Vlad about the fact that he would only get stronger due to being pissed (honestly, when wasn't he?). Vlad could tell he was hesitating but didn't pry.

"Alright. Now about this 'government official'. Let's start with the first problem. Ghost drills don't seem like that much of a problem. Your school takes those up one or twice a year, therefore we can cross that one out. The only problem with this would be whether or not you would be there for the mandatory roll call. Can you sustain a duplicate for that long, my boy?"

Danny hummed in affirmance. Vlad nodded and glanced back down again, resting his clasped hands together in his lap.

"The spector deflectors will definitely become annoying. Those machines literally zap all the energy out of us. The only way I can see an exit out of this predicament would be to alter the device itself to not recognise your ectosignature as a threat."

"But I'd have it on the entire time. My parents have the key."

"Haven't you heard of invisibility and intangibility, Little Badger. It certainly comes in handy in times like these."

Danny blushed slightly before crossing his arms and looking away.

"Although, I could always ask Maddie or Jack if I could make some altercations to the device. I'm sure they would always appreciate some more help from a fellow scientist. However, I cannot alter them all, Daniel. I'm afraid you're going to have to get used to receiving a shock every time someone touches you."

Danny moaned dramatically.

"Ugh, that's going to be all the time then!" He wailed, hands flying around wildly, "Have you seen a high school hallway? It's always packed with students bustling around to classes. I'll be knocked around so much! Everyone will think I'm a schizophrenic!"

"Oh nonsense Daniel," scoffed Vlad, "You've literally been electrocuted to death and you're complaining about little buzzes."

Danny huffed and plopped onto the couch next to Vlad. He could feel the temperature drop slightly, frost gathering at the walls. Vlad sighed before tugging the boy gently to his side. He could feel Danny's frown pressing into his ribs. He released some energy from his core to warm the boy up, feeling a hum in response from Daniel.

"Now, I am very concerned about this blood draw," he said as he rubbed Danny's back, "Do you exactly know how they are administering the blood?"

Danny paused for a little bit. He hadn't actually thought that over.

"I'm pretty sure you show up and they take your blood. I think the guy mentioned that if you were unavailable then they'd make it up…"

"So wagging the day isn't an option. Could you possibly receive the blood drawing outside of school away from the others?"

"I think they said that there can be arrangements done, but wouldn't it be too suspicious?"

"Hmm, you are indeed correct, Little Badger. Injecting somebody's blood into your bloodstream is also out of the question, considering the blood would be immediately destroyed by the ectoplasmic cells in our bodies. Using someone else's blood during the transfer process would be risky anyway, considering we don't know the type of technology they have onsite anyway. For all we know, it is quite possible they could be checking the DNA contained within our white blood cells.

"There really is no other way that I can think you could get out of this, Daniel."

Danny's face dropped suddenly. So now he was definitely in deep strife. He would have to go through with the blood drawing, and before he knew it, bye bye secret identity! Why was his life so hard?

"What? But surely there's another way, what if you overshadowed me?"

"Even if I did overshadow another person, it is very much likely an active ghost shield would be operating, meaning I wouldn't be able to access. Of course, we can go through shields in human form, however, why would I, Vlad Masters, CEO of Dalv Corp, have any relation to the blood drawing event of a bunch of high schoolers? It's not some charity event that I can just wander in to. The press would be everywhere and it would only attract further unwarranted attention. The only thing we can do is prepare for the worst."

Danny held his head in his hands. Almost any exit point he could think of would make himself look suspicious. Surely there was some other way he could take. The only thing he could think of right now is running away.

Vlad suddenly went very still next to Danny. His face slowly paled as he looked down and making eye contact with him, grasping onto his shoulders with both hands. His long grey hair looked slightly dishevelled in the lighting.

"Daniel, what exactly is the reasoning for this blood drawing?"

Danny seemed taken aback by the sudden question, but had learned long ago to never question Vlad's panic.

"Um, because of the rise of ectoplasmic contamination at Casper High?"

Vlad suddenly stood up, pacing around the area whilst muttering under his breath. His eyes darted around the room quickly, as if solving an intense math equation at a rapid pace. Danny could see the recognition spilling through his features from a distance. His thoughts were confirmed when Vlad quickly spun around to face the younger boy.

"There is no such thing. It's all a lie."

Danny's face morphed from shock to confusion.

"But how? It seems like it could be true? With the amount of ghosts that show up to school to beat me to a pulp, wouldn't it be reasonable to have a high amount of ectoplasm on site?"

Vlad pointed a pale finger towards him in slight excitement.

"But that's where you're wrong, Daniel. Ectoplasm in its natural form is highly toxic. Coming in contact from a small sample of ectoplasm can cause a major bodily reaction such as hives or acne. No normal human can just come in contact with ectoplasm and survive. Ectoplasm is also not a known source of energy in this dimension. While it is ready for the use in the Ghost Zone, quantities in the human realm is almost second to none. And while ghosts are made up of ectoplasm, they do not excrete is into our environment, which disproves the theory of a high ectoplasmic concentration at all!"

"But wait," said Danny, holding up a hand, "If there is no way that humans can come in contact with ectoplasm and survive, then how come we did? And what do you mean 'no ectoplasm'? My parents use ectoplasm all the time!"

"I can see your thought process, my boy. We only survived due to another chemical process occurring at the same time as our natural deaths. Whilst we were exposed to ectoplasm, our bodies received high amounts of voltage that most likely acted as a massive fibrillator, causes our heart's electrical rhythm to go out of control and ultimately cause cardiac arrest. We most likely died during this process. At the same time as our bodies bonded with the ongoing ectoplasm inflicted upon us in the surrounding area, secondary strikes of voltage would have shocked us. This inevitably caused our bodies to come back to life again, whilst still maintain the properties of being half ghost.

"Now, of course, my story is different to yours. I was bedridden before the effects came into play, you were hit with higher voltages for a longer time and the effects were immediate. That is how we came to be, Little Badger."

Danny paused for a bit, letting the information soak in. Vlad was panting slightly due to all the word vomiting he had done, but he looked like he had more to say.

"Furthermore, the ectoplasm that your parents use or any other ghost hunting team uses is not ectoplasm at all. It is merely a fake substitute that your parents designed themselves. Whilst acting and having the same qualities of normal ectoplasm, they have instead removed the harmful and toxic properties it contains for humans. It is still harmful for ghosts, but safe for human use. Your portal, however, is powered by raw ectoplasm, which is why you have to change the Ecto Filtrator in order to ensure it won't explode."

"Right, got it."

"But Daniel," said Vlad solemnly, "It pains me to say this, but there is only one reason the government would make this kind of a story up. What other reason would they have in order to completely make up a random story in order for a bunch of adolescents to give up some blood?

"My boy, somebody knows your identity. And they are just here to confirm it."