Author's Note: Well. This wasn't enjoyable. It's nice to know a handful of fans can't suffer some of my happiness for one day.
Thank you, nerdyRabbit, for your particularly scathing review of my holiday prank. It was a lovely thing to see first thing in the morning.
I just wanted to have a little fun, and maybe you should read the authors notes before reviewing, like I asked, you ungrateful little squib.
"ಡ ωಡ
Happy all fool's day. I'll edit in the actual chapter by tomorrow. I think there's something with the reviews that don't allow you to post more than once per chapter (?) so if you want to you can hold off for the actual chapter. If you would like the chapter today you can probably go on transl8it dot com and just run it through the other way.
Another big thank you to my lovely beta CharismaBell!"
So
A) The whole thing was able to be translated yesterday.
B) You would of gotten the chapter today anyway
C) The 2nd is still nearly 2 weeks before I normally update
D) Because I wanted to celebrate my birthday I was going to update on the 13 too
I was planning on doing two updates a month at least until June but I don't even know now.
I'll probably going to take a short hiatus, things aren't really working well in real life either and I don't need the added stress. I extend an apology to all of my lovely fans.
Sorry for the rant. Not all of you did this, and I'm super grateful for the good sports! Special thanks to Mystic Myra 8, I hope you like this chapter! :D
Also I would like to add I'm super accepting to criticism of the story, if you have something constructive to say please feel free.
This chapter is another dark one with icky hospital situations. I know some of you are put off by that but I swear I lighten up in the next one, I hope you stick around!
Did you like what you read? Have questions? Want to see some more art? Come visit my tumblr: todojustice
White
The halls of the Fenton Memorial were painted with little flowers and animals, designed to bring joy to children as they passed through in their recovery. There were no such designs near the surgical wing. The walls were stark white and bare of all comfort. Vlad sat in numb shock staring at the blank wall outside of Daniel's operating theater. His hands still stiff with dried blood. Daniel's heart had stopped beating. Code 13 - child in distress. It didn't matter how hard Vlad tried, he couldn't ignore the images of Dr. Pierce's barely contained panic as he ran into the room and began to perform CPR on Daniel's still, unmoving body. When help arrived, Vlad was escorted out of the room despite his demands to know what was wrong.
Vlad lowered his head down onto his hands and ran his bloodstained fingers through his hair. He tried to take a deep breath but his lungs stuttered with panic. Daniel's heart stopped. He died. Vlad didn't know what it would mean for Daniel if they couldn't revive him next time. He could lose his corporeal body, become a full ghost or everything that was Daniel could simply cease to be. Vlad took another deep, shuddering breath and sank further into his hands. Either way Vlad would be left alone again, the sole halfa in existence. The hall seemed to grow larger, drowning Vlad in the cold and silent emptiness. He wrapped his arms around himself but it did nothing to comfort him.
Vlad stared at the doors leading to the surgical theater. Daniel was just a few concrete walls away. It wouldn't take much to go in. He would be able to see Daniel and find out what happened to him. Before he knew what he was doing a duplicate took Vlad's place on the hard plastic chair. He transitioned seamlessly into invisibility and stepped in front of the concrete wall separating him and Daniel. He took a deep breath, gathering courage before he slipped through into the dark.
Light blinded him when he emerged from the other side. There were four great saucer-like lamps mounted over what he could only assume was the operating table. All of the blue-clad doctors and nurses crowded around the center of the room made it difficult to make out anything. They were all busy. He could hear their metal tools clicking gently and their hushed murmuring as they worked.
Vlad moved closer, hovering just above the lamps. Daniel was lying on his side, limbs splayed out awkwardly. He had a thick tube firmly secured in his mouth and another, smaller one in his nose, both were held in place with an absurd amount of white tape that covered most of his face. A metal cage secured Daniel's head so the bustle surrounding the doctors and nurses could operate on it. Vlad moved closer. He didn't notice but he was hovering inside Daniel, letting the doctor's and nurse's arms pass through his intangible form as they worked. Even this close Vlad still couldn't see much, the surgeon's arms obscured everything from view
Vlad tried to get a better look at Daniel's face through the tape and tubes. It was so tranquil, so serene, so... dead. The witty, sarcastic fourteen-year-old he had argued and fought with was long gone. He reached down to touch Daniel's face, half expecting Daniel's eyes to open, for him to grin that infuriating smirk and spout some kind of unholy pun. As his fingers brushed against a pale eyelid, Vlad felt a twitch and a flash of warmth, then it vanished. Vlad froze. The heart monitor was beeping a slow but steady beat, telling him that Daniel was alive but it wasn't enough. He moved his hand to Daniel's chest and hesitated before slowly letting his intangible fingers sink through the layers of skin and bone. The weak rhythm of Daniel's fragile beating heart and a comforting flow of warmth surrounded Vlad's hand. But a beat from the heart monitor fell out of time and Vlad drew back in fear. He hovered, drifting away slowly. He watched Daniel's chest rise and fall, drawing comfort from the constant beat and knowing Daniel was alive.
"There- carefully now..."
Vlad glanced up at the surgeon when he spoke. There was a sickening sticky noise as something white and slick with blood was removed from Daniel's head. Startled, Vlad abruptly lurched back, away from Daniel and the crowd of doctors around him. Breathing heavily to fill non-existent lungs he began to flee from the room but something glinted back the harsh surgical light, catching Vlad's eye. Warily he slowly turned to examine the flat, white bone now resting on a tray just outside of the bustle of doctors and nurses. Something metal and blunt protruded from the freshly removed section of Daniel's skull.
Rage. It was a familiar emotion to Vlad, he had grown accustomed to its presence in the years following his half-ghost transformation. Rage towards Jack. Rage towards the world and his innumerable misfortunes. Even rage towards Danny when they butted heads. Now it wracked his body with barely suppressed shudders and he was unable to contain hatred festering within. Vlad's narrowed eyes were locked onto a small metal cylinder, barely the width of a pencil and only a fraction of one in length. It was immersed in a saline solution within a plastic cup labeled clearly with Daniel's name and date of birth. At Vlad's request, Dr. Pierce had brought it out and set it on an overbed table, without questioning how Vlad knew it existed.
Daniel was quiet and still. The doctors had anesthetized him into oblivion after the surgery and Vlad was happy for it. The less he knew about this ordeal the better. The boy barely looked human with his head bound in bright white bandages and the tubes and tape still obscuring most of his face. The sight of Daniel so weak made Vlad's rage crackle with self-hatred. He did this. If he had only trusted Daniel they wouldn't be here. But that small amount of hatred barely held a candle to the roaring inferno of malice he held for those that tortured Daniel to begin with and the hospital that made it worse.
The rage had taken Vlad over so completely he barely heard Dr. Pierce's nervous murmurs as he made excuses for the Hospital and his own decisions. The bits of information that broke through the red haze only fueled Vlad's fiery anger more.
Lucky, Dr. Pierce called it, lucky that that bit of metal was embedded in Daniel's skull instead of loose inside his brain. The metal could have been torn out, taking whatever was in the way with it. Instead, it was secure enough to just cause a bleed. Lucky. Vlad knew better. Someone had deliberately and with great care implanted that bit of metal into Daniel. They had inserted it directly into the part of the brain Pierce called the "Broca's area". It was the part of the brain that controlled speech. Vlad had been so happy Daniel was alive he had forgotten that someone tortured, scarred and locked him up in something so small he couldn't stand or move his now atrophied legs. Danny wouldn't have stayed quiet, he would have heckled and insulted his captors. He wouldn't have silently endured his torment, he would have fought back using his sharp tongue and wit like a weapon. His last defense would be his voice.
And they took that from him.
Vlad clenched his violently shaking hands, digging his nails into his own skin,drawing blood. They could have used a gag or a million other simpler methods to silence him. They not only decided to drive ghost proof metal into his skull so he couldn't heal, they wanted him to scream. They only wanted to hear his voice when it was raised in agony. Something dark and twisted made bile rise in Vlad's throat. They were still out there.
Vlad stood abruptly, letting the chair he was sitting fall noisily onto the floor making Dr. Pierce jump. Mechanically Vlad turned toward the door and started to leave. Suddenly Dr. Pierce was in front of him, a weak and nervous smile made his lips twitch as he got in between Vlad and his destination. The doctor's voice was fraught with feebleness,
"Mr. Masters? We still have things to discuss Daniel's condition."
Right. The doctor had been talking. Vlad had hardly noticed. He coldly pushed Pierce out of the way with enough force to make the man stumble to catch his balance.
"I'm going home...with Daniel."
The doctor got in the way again, stepping in front of Vlad, this time with more determination. Worry and a touch of anger played across his face and with his voice.
"Right now? Mr. Masters, Daniel just got out of surgery-major surgery- moving him right now is beyond dangerous! I understand we made a mistake with the MRI but-"
Vlad shoved him aside again but Pierce persisted. He grabbed Vlad's shoulder and whirled him around, forcing Vlad to look at him,
"No! I can't let this happen. You'll hurt Daniel... maybe even kill him if you move him now."
The doctor was glaring at Vlad now. His hands were balled up into fists. Gone were his fake smiles and false kindnesses. This was the first genuine emotion that Pierce had shown Vlad. In this moment he wasn't worried about his job or pleasing his hospital's largest benefactor. He genuinely cared about Daniel's safety. Too bad he was getting in the way. Vlad brutally grabbed Dr. Pierce and pinned him to the wall by his neck. In the black of the doctor's now fear-blown pupils, he saw the reflection of his own eyes, glowing red. Such a pity. He would probably lose his job after Vlad was done with him.
Dr. Pierce had been right. Despite Vlad's best efforts the flight to Wisconsin was a tumultuous one. The doctors Vlad hired never saw a moment's rest in the long flight, each second was spent trying to keep Daniel's heart beating.
When they arrived they immediately rushed him into a sterile room Vlad had the sense enough to call ahead for. As the hired medical staff worked to stabilize Daniel, Vlad collapsed into a plush chair in a corner. He was exhausted and fought to stay awake. With heavy eyes, he glanced at his watch to find that the night had just slipped into the next day. Not only had the long and arduous flight worn him down, overshadowing people always took its toll. After "Dr. Pierce" filled out Daniel's release forms he set to work destroying any evidence that Daniel was there. Vlad couldn't have anyone getting their hands on Daniel's blood or scans. He left Dr. Pierce in a pile of shredded documents and broken vials with no remorse.
Vlad inspected the room wearily. It was one of his many guest rooms. He was pleased to find the green and gold wallpaper clean and without a speck of dust and that the plush carpet still bore the signs of a very thorough vacuuming. The room was on the first floor, nestled within the heart of his estate. There were no windows and it would be easy to guard if the time came. Everything Daniel needed was only a few steps away. The room had its own bathroom and the kitchens were just a few paces down the hallway. More importantly, it was directly below his own bedroom, if Daniel needed anything Vlad could be there in seconds.
Vlad wouldn't be going back to his room though, not tonight. He watched as Daniel was arranged like a doll in between the soft white sheets of his new bed. Hours trickled past and Vlad stayed awake until Daniel's vitals finally stabilized. The staff whittled away until he was alone with Daniel. He would have to fire these doctors soon. It wouldn't be long until Daniel's accelerated healing would mend injuries that should take months to recover from. He would have to hire ghosts in their stead. It wouldn't be too much of a challenge for Skulker to find appropriate replacements. For now, Vlad was content to sit in the corner, watching over his new ward as he slept. Pale morning sunlight slowly started to creep into the room. Everything would be fine. Vlad's eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he closed his eyes.
Everything would be fine when Danny woke up.
Author's Note: Another big thank you to my lovely beta CharismaBell! She helped me out of a rough patch on this one.
