I'm not dead, but things have been seriously hectic and busy the past couple of months. Thankfully, a majority of it has calmed down so I can focus a bit more on writing again! I have a lot of new fics planned and a lot of revising/redos of old fics too! I plan on finally finishing up Science Fiction so I can move onto its sequel. Please review.
-CWA
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Danny
My breathing is not what it's supposed to be right now. It leaves in short huffs as my body tenses, my hands twitching at my sides as I land on the island. Adrenaline pumps through my veins, only making me more jittery. More anxious. More trigger-happy. More angry. I can't seem to clear my head for even a second. All that storms through my mind is Vlad. Vlad. Vlad. He's a monster. He's a murderer. He's a bastard. He deserves to die for everything he did and everything he's still doing. Why can't he just leave me alone?
A low growl forms deep in my throat and my vision is blurred with red. I shake my head frantically and focus on the coldness deep in my chest – my core. The icy sensation floods over my skin and veins and I take a deep, chilly breath, breathing out a blue fog. I open my eyes and see clearly. The red hot anger has numbed down due to the cold shaking me back to my sanity. I glance down at my hand as I flex it and I can see the very faint, transparent sparkles of ice glistening on my fingertips. My feet, the farthest body part from my core, still are burning hot with all the angry energy I forced down.
I'm not Dan, I remind myself, I'm not Him. I take another deep, cold breath, holding it for a moment before releasing it. Meditation isn't really my forte and Jazz has, multiple times, told me how using my ice core to cool me down isn't meditation. That it's cheating. That it's just a temporary fix. Maybe she's right but if it keeps me from killing Vlad and keeping my promise to Tadashi then I'll do anything I can.
A bright blue invades my vision before fading to an ecto-green. I can feel the green glow around my eyes flickering with power. My burning feet cause each footstep to be burned into the ground as I walk. From the corner of my eyes, I can see them faintly flicker with green fire. My stance is still tense. My shoulders are back, my head is high. My eyes are sharp. Even if I'm not blindly angry and took a moment to calm myself, my body is still on edge. Ready for a fight.
"Vlad," I sign-song his name in a taunting manner and it echoes all around the island, "Vlad~"
I'd much rather face this head on and I head straight into the warehouse without fear. His name still echoes from my lips as I keep an eye out for any sign of him. A movement from the shadows on the left get my attention and I react quick enough to dodge out of the way before I get with a wave of microbots. My ghost sense has yet to go off. My eyes narrow as I continue to dodge a few other attacks. If it's not a ghost, I'd rather keep my use of my powers to a minimum. I blink and the green glow of my eyes dies down, as does the fire at my feet and the white aura around my body fades off.
"You don't have to act human," a familiar voice spits through the air and looking up, I can see the man behind the robots.
Dark trench coat. Strange mask. Giving off an almost serial-killer vibe. Definitely someone who'd work for or with Vlad – oh who am I kidding? Vlad doesn't work with anyone. He's too prideful to admit anyone could ever be on his level. Each and every person and/or ghost that follows him are always controlled like puppets by that damn, manipulative bastard. Ghosts listen to him because he's powerful, scary. Humans usually follow him because he's charming, a liar who tells them what they want to hear. When that doesn't work, then they'll see just what makes some of the other ghosts piss themselves.
But it's no mystery at who this man is. He's a traitor. He's a liar. He's a thief. If not for me saving Tadashi, he would have even been a murderer. But I'm after Vlad, not the human he manipulated into working for him – though something tells me that even if Vlad never showed up, Callaghan had the potential to do this by himself.
"Vlad told me all about you," the man taunts, "I have to admit, I was a bit surprised to find out one of my prized students was half ghost. Tsk, tsk, Daniel."
"Really," I bare my teeth as I glare at him, my eyes flashing a deadly green, "Because you turning out to be some evil villain wasn't much of a surprise to me at all, Callaghan. I always did tell Tadashi you were batshit crazy."
His head tilts and for a brief moment, the microbot attacks stop as he stares at me through his mask. I don't let my guard down – I know that Vlad has to be somewhere nearby. He isn't stupid enough to just leave his newest lackey to take care of him. But he's smart enough to know I wouldn't kill or seriously hurt a human either…. But freezing. Freezing someone isn't going to hurt them. But it will get them out of my way so I can get Vlad.
"Oh and by the way," the green in my eyes flashes to a blue, my hand lighting up as the icy chill washes over me, "Don't call me Daniel."
There's one second delay. Just one split second before the blast shoots out of my palms. But it's enough to give him a chance to react. He dodges out of the way, leaving a small portion of the microbots to take the hit instead. A growl of frustration leaves my lips. So he's not going to accept defeat easily then? Shit. I don't want to waste any time here on him. Microbots shoot at me from all side. I barely even have to dodge them, my body turning intangible with the intention that whatever bots I don't dodge would harmlessly pass through me. But a hiss escapes from my lips when the microbots graze against my side, leaving a burning, rather deep cut in their wake.
"A nice little anti-ghost addition," Callaghan comments nonchalantly, "Vladimir thought it was necessary after our encounter with that other ghost – that shape-shifting freak of nature."
I sneer. The threat of the microbots become a bit more real and all the alarms start going off in my head, becoming more alert of each of their movements. They can leave some nasty wounds if I'm not careful. The burning sensation in my side makes that painfully obvious. But they're not impossible to dodge or even destroy via ice or even a strong ectoblast. As if they're laced with something meant to burn or destroy ghosts, but not something that's immune to a ghost's own attacks. But this whole idea is just wasting time. It's a distraction. My lip curls and the anger and frustration, once cooled, yet again begins to heat up in my chest.
"Why are you working for him," I spit out, destroying another bundle of the small robots, "He won't give you whatever he promised he would! I don't fucking care if it's power or money or anything – Vlad's nothing more than a foul fucking, murderous asshole. A monster!"
The attacks slow enough for me to know that my comments are affecting Callaghan in some manner. Something that can work in my favor to cut this fight off sooner. But just when I begin to think I have the upper hand, a cool blue air leaves my mouth and a familiar voice echoes throughout the room.
"A monster, am I? For what? For trying to control this chaotic world? The filthy savages run around this plane of existence like chickens with their heads cut off. They need order. Discipline. A leader."
My vision blurs red and I blink in an attempt to clear it as I turn, baring my teeth in a snarl. The microbots. Callaghan. None of it matters. What matters is the monster that hovers in the air, arms crossed over his chest, looking as if he's already won this fight. But he hasn't. I won't let him. I will never let him win. My stance becomes more tense, more ready to attack, my entire body emitting a strong white glow as my eyes burn a light of fiery.
"Don't you mean dictator," I growl, "And in case you haven't forgotten, Plasmius, you're half human too. So don't act as if you're so above those 'filthy savages.'"
Plasmius tsk's at me, "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Little Badger. You see, we are so much more than them. We're an evolved species. Half human, maybe, but not for long. Our humans sides will eventually fade away entirely and we will turn into a whole new species of ghost. A better species. A more powerful species. We'll be less like ghosts and more like gods."
A predatory grin spreads across his face and all I can do is stare at him. There's so much disgust and anger that floods through me that I almost miss the way he nods toward Callaghan to signal him – the man leaves quickly. To do what, I'm not sure. I twitch, almost wanted to go after him to keep him from hurting people, but my feet stay glued where I am. I can't leave Vlad. Especially after that speech. My fists curl tight and my jaw clenches,
"You can't really believe yourself to be a god when all you are is pathetic."
