Chapter Two: Talk
Danny hadn't meant to tell Joey anything, hell, he hadn't meant to even speak! But the boy's silence coupled with the calming effect of the abandoned park made him drop his guard. Besides, the boy was harmless, compared to the world's savior anyway. And even if the kid did wind up telling someone, Danny could easily proclaim it was some sort of plot, and who would the people believe, him, the Hero, or Joey, the random kid?
…not that Danny would actually ever do such a thing, mind you, but let's pretend he would, for his own peace of mind.
In the end, Danny wound up telling Joey everything.
From how he became a ghost, to how he saved Vlad, the boy only ever listened with a soft smile, and once Danny was done talking he asked a simple question. "If Vlad's like you, part ghost, then how could he die while being in outer space, you can't kill the dead."
Danny shrugged, "I'm not sure how it works, and originally I thought the same, but Clockwork told me something rather…interesting."
Joey blinked in response, blue eyes practically shinning with curiosity, and the hero couldn't help the small smile that split across his lips, even though what he was about to say was rather…depressing.
"It's because we're only half-ghosts. Dying doesn't change much, but because we are still half alive, we can still die…the rest of the way."
Looking up into the sky Danny sighed.
"Without food or water Vlad's human body would wither, we can't stay in ghost form forever, and even if we could, our human bodies would still suffer."
The boy's eyes flashed in sorrow, "slow and painful," he whispered, and Danny nodded in agreement. "I couldn't just leave it alone after hearing something like that, so I brought him back."
"You're right," Joey suddenly declared, eyes brimming with pride and understanding, "You wouldn't have any right to call yourself a Hero if you left someone, no matter who, to such a fate."
The Halfa couldn't help but laugh, tension leaving his shoulders and stress fluttering beyond the clouds. His heart felt lighter, gentler, like it was suddenly tossed out of the washer of life and into the dryer amongst some of the softest blankets and most effective dryer sheets…hey, don' laugh, Danny never claimed to be good at describing feelings, that was a Sam thing.
The boy blinked in confusion, but smiled and laughed alongside him nonetheless.
The day had long ago vanished, the sun whisked away to the other side of the planet, and the moons ever soft glow eliminating the forest in a dancing silver. And Danny really, really, really didn't feel like going back home. But people were bound to panic at this rate. Maybe not Sam or Tuck, or his parents, but certainly his fans…gods, how he despised them.
Besides, he had to make sure Vlad hadn't snuck off again. Though why the man insisted on sneaking off to some unknown place when the whole world would rather see him dead was beyond the Halfa.
The man was cooped up all day in his ex-enemies home, where the love of his life was constantly glaring at him and no one ever said more than one word to him…alright…so maybe Danny did understand, but that didn't make it any easier!
"I've gotta go," the boy softly muttered, intruding on Danny's thoughts.
"A.-alright," Danny stammered, slightly caught of guard as the boy stood, dusting himself off before he began to walk slowly to the wood line.
"Can I talk to you again?"
The words had slipped by unnoticed, and the both of them halted in shock, uncertain which one had spoken, or even if it was said at all.
But eventually the boy turned back and smiled, "Of course."
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One review and the next chapter will be up, also, considering were this is going, I'm making a few changes, don't worry, this doesn't mean you have to re-read everything. I'm just changing the summary and cutting out the first chapter.