Chapter 2: Conditions and Problems
Danny looked as his friends and gave a loud yawn, "Where are we going?"
He had woken up an hour ago by his friends, who had told him that they were taking him somewhere as a surprise. He pressed them on where they were heading for but neither of them had replied. He kept asking them repeatedly but each time they still had ignored him.
As usual, they didn't answer back.
After a couple of minutes a limo pulled up to them and Sam hastily pulled open the door. She smiled and looked over at the teens, "Limo's here."
They had rushed in, Sam and Tucker helping their friend inside slowly. He gave one last yawn before falling limp.
Both teens had panicked for a second before realizing that he was just asleep. No surprise since he started fighting because he was woken up early.
Seconds, minutes and turns passed until finally they had stopped at the Packerish mansion. Vlad appeared from inside and walked quickly towards the back door of the limo. Sure enough, Danny was there, fast asleep on the crimson seat.
The older man looked at the teens for permission to carry him inside and they both nodded. He put hands behind the boy's back and legs and lifted him out carefully, taking him inside.
The boy's companions followed after him, after paying the driver and watching him drive off.
Sam and Tucker walked inside, seeing Danny already on the silver couch, not moving a muscle, and Vlad beside him on a wooden seat.
The older man touch random spots on the boy, seeing if they would trigger anything. He tapped his chin then grabbed a thermometer, sticking it the boy's mouth.
After a few seconds it beeped and read '117.3'. He looked at the boy for a second before turning to his friends, "Would you do me a favor and go to my kitchen at get me some ice? Bowl's worth, please."
Sam nodded and rushed to the direction of where he had pointed.
Tucker continued to watch his sleeping friend, who started to squirm in his seat. Vlad tried to make him calm by pushing his hair back and whispering 'Calm Daniel' which didn't work.
The boy soon started to groan and whimper, clutching himself tightly. A matter of seconds, he started to cry out in pain, throwing the couch cushions away from him. He shook wildly, making Tucker come forth and holding him down.
Vlad's eyes widened and he looked at the african boy, "Go retrieve a large bag of ice. There should be one in the freezer. And hurry."
He nodded, running to the kitchen.
The small halfa started to scream, making the oldest worry. "Calm Daniel. Please calm. You're making it harder for us to help you."
Danny couldn't hear him, as he expected. He continued to scream in agony.
"Vlad!" Sam yelled and handed him the large bag of ice that she and her friend were carrying moments ago.
"Very good," He took the bag and slowly gave it to the hurt boy. The boy calmed as he felt the temperature around him decrease slightly, but he wanted it to change more. Danny whimpered, holding on to his white shirt and started to shiver.
"Vlad? I think you should take that away from him. He's getting cold," Sam cautioned the oldest halfa. He shook his head.
"He's only doing that because he's adjusting to it," Vlad replied back.
Danny soon relaxed and wrapped his arms around the source of the cold. He smiled from the release of the torture just moments ago and held it tighter to his chest.
The halfa smiled, "He's attracted to cold. That's why. Just moments ago it was to warm for him. But with the ice it made him better. He must have a cold core."
Sam nodded, "He controls ice...so he's likes ice? That kind of makes sense."
Tucker smiled, "But do you know what's wrong with him?"
Vlad shook his head and rubbed his temple, "Not yet I'm afraid. I'm not sure what the source of the problem is. Has he been melting lately?"
"Not since yesterday afternoon," She said quietly.
"I need some ectoplasm and blood from him. There I can see what's happening," He said. He looked at the time and nodded, "I'll be right back. If he starts whimpering, get him more ice. Oh and I'll probably turn up the air conditioning for him."
Vlad soon left, leaving the teens alone in the room.
Sam walked up to Danny and placed a hand on his temple. His face scruntched up in discomfort as a warm touch was felt. She realized what she was doing and moved her hand away from him. His face soon returned back to normal, showing a happy smile.
She sat beside him and looked at Tucker with a smile, "I think we made a good choice bringing him here."
He nodded, "I think so too."
Minutes passed until Danny's eyes opened. He felt a cool, refreshing feeling around him and noticed a ice bag beside him. He reajusted himself, catching the attention of Sam and Tucker. He smiled at them and looked around, "Guys? Where are we?"
Sam gave a nervous smile and sat beside the boy, "Um..Vlad's...mansion."
His eyes widened in shock, "What? What are we doing here?"
"You're hurt. We couldn't help you but Vlad could. He's not going to hurt you. He's trying to find what's wrong with you."
He stood up with anger, "That doesn't mean you can take me here! I don't want any of his help."
"Daniel. You should trust your friends. I promise not to hurt you," A new voice said behind him. He held a large machine, used by most hospitals to take blood from patients.
He turned and backed away, the ice bag still in his arms, "Get away Vlad. I don't want your help. I can solve this by myself."
The oldest halfa frowned, "You can't. This isn't something that will pass. You're becoming unstable. You're losing the shape of your form. Look," He pointed at Danny's feet and he looked down.
Sure enough, ectoplasm was puddling around him. He dropped the ice bag on the couch and continued to stare at the dark green goop. Tears formed on the corner of his eyes and he dropped to his knees. He started to cry and bit his lip.
He looked at the halfa infront of him and felt more tears pour down his cheeks, "It hurts so much. Please help..."
Vlad helped the crying boy up and made him sit on the wooden chair. He handed him the ice bag and looked around the large machine for a needle. He found one and mixed a couple of things together before turning the sniffling halfa.
"Arm, Daniel," Danny handed his arm and the hybrid injected the green liquid into him. First pain started and disappeared making him relax. The syringe did it's trick, making the green puddle around Danny disappear. He smiled in pleasure and hugged the comforting bag of ice.
"Thanks Vlad," He whispered. He nodded at him and patted his hair.
"No problem, little badger," He replied and looked back at the teens. He raised his eyebrow signalling them to come forth. They did as they were told and sat beside him. Danny looked at them for a second, clueless.
"Why are you guys staring at me?" He asked.
Sam patted him, "Vlad here wants to get some of your blood to analyze it. Okay?"
He stood frozen for a second and looked at the man, "You want blood?"
He nodded, "Yes Daniel. That would help me find out what's wrong with you."
He bit his lip and gave a small nod, "Okay."
Sam couldn't help but think how childish her friend was acting. He was acting totally frightened and scared. But she couldn't blame him, he was in unbarable pain.
Vlad hooked up the machine and held he needle for Danny. "Ready?" He gave a nod. Vlad slowly put the needle on one vain, which started to soak up blood through the pipe. After a few minutes, Vlad took it out and looked at the bag of red blood. "We need one more pint but full of ectoplasm."
He nodded and tried to turn ghost. It took him a lot of energy but he was able to do it successfully.
Vlad did the same proceses to him again and watched as green ectoplasm went into the plastic bag.
Sam decided to get Danny something to drink, since he would be tired from all the blood loss. She got up from her seat and quickly went back to the kitchen.
The white haired boy stared as the bag fillled to the black line. Vlad took out the needle from his arm and put a circular bandage on it. The goth girl soon returned with some apple juice and handed it to the light headed boy. He took it gratefully, and sipped it for a while before putting it back on the table.
He went to the couch and leaned back on the soft and comforting material. He held the bag hard and closed his eyes. But before he could sleep, he whispered one word to everyone, "Thanks."
The billionare couldn't help but feel sorry for Jack's son. He was going through so much pain. Even though he never went through the melting process he knew from many ghosts that it wasn't pleasant. It was the worse pain you could imagine. Many ghosts just wanted to die from just a sample of its enduring pain. But knowing that Daniel, the second ghost halfa in existence, was going through it, brought chills up his own body.
The screams of Daniel were worse. It was like he was being killed slowly. Having to endure all that made the halfa want to save him even more.
Another fact he knew was that...many ghosts didn't survive from melting or Melticeis as it was really called. There was always a reason for it. Either the spirit was dying or its core was being unstable. Most ghosts went through option 1 since ghosts could die or just disappear from existence.
Vlad watched as the boy fell unconsious again and felt a burn travel up him. Daniel could die any moment. He really could. If something went wrong or if an injury hurt him it could accelerate the process of Melticeis.
He paused. What if it accelerated on Daniel? It would be even worse. It could be twice as fast as it was suppose to be.
He looked at the quiet teens, who were sitting beside the unconsious Daniel. He coughed, catching the attention of both teens. "Has...Daniel...had an injury lately? This could be important on his condition."
Both teens froze and hesitantly nodded. Knowing the nod of both teens saying that he was injured, made the pit of his stomache burn. His dark blue gaze stared at them, "What happened?"
"He...was beat up in a locker room by a bully yesterday. He was coughing up blood..," Tucker trailed off. He looked back at his white skinned friend who was breathing heavily.
"Oh..dear," Vlad whispered. He froze at the boy and lifted up his white tshirt to see if there were any marks of the abuse. There was a purplish bruise there and...green uneven lines surrounding the injury from all directions.
Sam and Tucker's eyes widened at the large bruises on their friend's lower torso. They touched it to make sure it was real and looked back at the man.
"It's been advanced...way beyond I thought," He choked out. He phased the shirt off the poor boy and put a hand to the injury. He closed his eyes and opened them after a few moments. "He's in trouble."
"What is it?" Sam asked, worried. She grabbed her friend's hand hard and looked up at the billionare.
"His melting has...advanced. It wouldn't be that bad because he started it recently but after than injury...that injury isn't going to heal anytime soon. Medicine won't help him. His ecto energy is off the charts and it beyond unstable. This...is the worst case of Melticeis I've ever seen."
They looked at him, their eyes full of worry.
"I'm not sure he'll make it. That injury is making him suffer beyond what he's suppose to and...he doesn't have much time left. He probably only has a couple of days before he..," Vlad trailed off looking away.
"What can we do?" Sam whispered, "There has to be a cure!"
Vlad pushed his silver hair out of his face and looked back at the crying girl. He tightened his fist from anger, "I'm not sure what we CAN do. Most ghosts that receive Melticeis don't recover. They die or cease to exist...but Daniel..he's beyond what they have. He has maybe four times worse then usual."
"We have to try. I can't see him die. I don't want to lose him," She sobbed out.
Tucker held onto his cargo pants for support. His friend was going to die? He wasn't going to make it? It just sounded like pain words until he realized what it meant. Danny, his best friend, was actually dying. He was dying every second, minute, hour. He was on a limit.
Danny mumble softly in his sleep about flying and Sam cried even more. His voice was so inoccent. How could anything kill him?
The older halfa looked at the boy and realized something. How did Daniel get his powers anyway? Ideas popped into his mind but they didn't make any sense. How did he get his ghost powers? He looked at the boy's emotional friends before slapping himself. They should know! They know he's a ghost so they should know right?
"Samantha?" Vlad asked. Sam didn't complain to the billionare calling her, her first name but looked back at him.
"Yeah.." She said quietly.
"How did Daniel get his powers?" She paused and looked at Tucker. He gave nod to her and Sam sighed. "He was electrocuted by his parent's portal."
Vlad paused. That's how he got his powers. The portal. And it all made sense. That's why Danny was suffering from Melticeis.
"I know why Daniel's suffering from this condition," They looked at him curious, "He was exposed to too much ectoplasm. It indeed killl half of him but the ectoplasm was slowly trying to override his human self. His other half isn't allow it so his core started to become unstable. The ectoplasm is killing him quickly."
Sam looked at Danny, sucking up the last of the tears, "Can't you take ectoplasm out of him til he's okay?"
He put his hands behind his back and sigh, "I honestly don't know. It's never been performed before. Daniel could die because of it or he could be back to normal as if the Melticeis didn't happen on him. But is really risky. Ghosts are born with their ectoplasm scales naturally. Like me and Daniel. We already had our limits and energy scales. Changing it is risky."
"Try it. If it's the only way to help me. Do it," Danny whispered. Everyone jerked back at his voice joining in the converstation. They looked at him and smiled.
"You're okay," Sam said, hugging her friend's arm.
He looked down, "I'm not okay. I'm dying. We...we have to do it," He murmured.
Vlad shook his head, "Daniel. Think about it. You could die automatically. There could be-"
"Another way? I don't think so. I'm going to die anyway. What's the point? Just do it on me," He said, his voice a little louder.
He looked at his friends, "Do you want this too?"
They nodded, "If its the only way," Tucker said.
He sighed, "Very well. I suggest you stay here tonight. What's today? Friday? Oh yes, Friday. Stay here the night. I think I'll be ready by Sunday night...if Daniel's still alive by then. Call your parents later and tell they where you are. Come up with a lie if you have to. But they cannot know about this."
They nodded. Danny closed his eyes and clutched the bag, feeling pain around his stomach. He squirmed a bit before relaxing.
"And I suggest you watch over him. I can't since I'll be trying to make the machine, work correctly. So you're incharge of him," The trio nodded. He looked over at the kitchen, "If you're ever hungry, the kitchen is all yours. Oh and Daniel? There's a drink in there I made for only ghosts that gives you vitamins. You should drink it."
He waved goodbye and walked towards his secret lab below.
Danny's eyes adjusted to the teens beside him and hugged the bag closer, "I feel...hot."
Tucker saw more than two thirds of the bag watery and went to the kitchen to get another one. He soon returned with the bag and exchanged it.
The halfa clutched it hard and tears poured down his cheeks, "So much...pain. Each time I melt, the pain gets worse. I hate it."
They watched solumnly as their friend played with ecto energy in his hands. He levitated in the air for a while staring at it hopelessly. Green light flickered off the boy's blue eyes, which he ignored.
Danny let the energy go, making it dissolve in his fingers. More tears fell down his cheeks until he stood up and rushed away from them.
The sudden movement caught both teens off guard and they followed after their sobbing friend.
The hybrid rushed around the endless hallways, deciding on a random room and phased through though it. He locked it up and felt more tears fall of his face. He cried for a while, losing count of time.
He kept quiet when he heard soft footsteps from outside. Each step was softly placed until Sam cried out of nowhere.
"He's dying. This is all my fault. If only I hadn't told him to go inside that stupid portal. He would be human, alive and not dying infront of us. I don't want to lose him. I love him," Sam sobbed. She flung herself to her friend, burying her face in his shoulder.
"Sam. He's not dying. He isn't. He's fine and healthy. Believe that...for me," Tucker said softly. They continued their walk down the hallway until Danny couldn't take it anymore.
He burst into more cries, falling to his side. He didn't have the ice bag anymore, since he discarded it in the hallway. He felt heat press onto his arms and face until he started to squirm in pain.
Sam and Tucker soon burst into the room, seeing their friend sprawling on the floor. He looked at them scared and buried his face in arms.
"Tucker! Get the ice bag!" He nodded and went back to the hallway, searching for the missing sack. Sam looked back at the panicked Danny and patted him, "Calm down Danny. I know it hurts but please calm. Please."
He forced himself to calm down for the girl beside him but he kept his eyes clentched shut.
Moments later, the brown boy came back with the package and handed it the boy. He took it quickly, wrapping his hands around it.
"Thanks," He uttered to them.
"Help me carry him. He needs to go back to the couch," The boy nodded and both teens each took a side of their friend, lifting him up and carrying him carefully back to the living room.
They set him down were we once sat before and panted after the long journey back. They looked at him again, now dozed off during the trip back. They sat across from him watched his movements.
Hours passed, Tucker watching tv down the hall and Sam continuing to watch her secret admirer sleep. He looked so relaxed. Hearing the scream from him hours ago sent shivers up her spine. She never heard a worse sound in her life. It was like a blood filled scream from a horror movie but knowing it was absolutely real and from a person she deeply cared about. But the worst thing happening to her was that...he was dying. Vlad had said he made not make it, and she knew she would have to face that fact eventually. From the bottom of her heart, she didn't want to lose him. He was more than a friend. He did like her but...he could never tell her, even though Sam already knew.
She would have to confess soon, or life the rest of her life with guilt on her shoulders. She indeed loved him. She would hate anyone else to have him but her.
A loud yawn was heard beside her and she looked up to see Danny's pale form stretching quickly. He smiled at her, "Hey Sam."
"Hey Danny," She said back to him. He examined the room for a moment and looked back at her, "Tucker?"
"TV," She asnwered back. She wanted to scream out how much she liked him before...it happened but it felt wrong.
"So...anything knew happen?" She barely caught what he was asking but shook her head.
"Not really," The boy's hair fell between his eyes softly, making his blue eyes glow in delight. He smashed his lips together, trying to find something to talk about. He wanted to talk to her about..their relationship. He did like the girl infront of her, her midnight hair and soft violet eyes but he wasn't sure how she would react. He knew his time was limited and he had to confess to her eventually.
"Sam?" He hesitantly said.
She looked up at the boy as he called her name, "Yeah Danny?"
He played with his feet for a second and looked back at her, "I need to talk to you about something important."
Sam felt something jump inside her. The way he was talking, she knew it was something deep, something he never told anyone. She gave a smile, "What is it?"
"I...I love you Sam," He whispered. His gaze went to the floor for a second, ready to hear the girl disagree or scream in outrage but he didn't hear anything. He took a breath and continued, "I'm not sure you'll accept it but I've liked you for a while now...and I had to tell you since I'm..."
He looked back at her, for her shocked reaction but he was greeted with a large smile.
Her eyes had soft tears but not that noticable. Her eyes brightened and her heart sparked, "Danny? I love you too. I've always had."
Danny felt relief wrap around him for a second. He had finally told her! He managed to walked around the polished table and sat beside her on the loveseat. He gave a smile her, "I-" He started but felt lips press onto his. His eyes looked at her and then shut softly. They kissed passionately for a while before letting go. Danny could still feel her lips on his. After that experience he wanted to fly and scream.
He had kissed Sam. For the 5 years he wanted to admit he loved her he had kissed her.
"Sam. I love you," He whispered and hugged his friend tightly. She returned the hug and murmered the same to him.
"So um Sam. Would you be my girlfriend?" He asked, giving a small smile.
She nodded furiously, "Yes. I'll be your girlfriend," She hugged him more and pressed a kiss to his lips.
"I don't want to ever lose you. Never," He said, putting a hand to her cheek. She touched his soft hand and nodded.
"Neither do I. Fight. Fight for me and you," She encouraged him. He nodded and rested on her shoulder. He closed his proud eyes and feel asleep once again.
Sam played with the patch of hair on his head with her fingers and kissed his cheek gently, "Fight for us."
I want to cry for some reason cause of this story. Well thanks for the people that followed/reviewed/favorited me...really love that people like my stories.
I'm not sure when I'll update soon since I'm working on my other stories. But thanks for waiting patiently. I think I'll answer some reviews on the next chapter. If I don't I'm sorry. 3 you guys. Keep reading!