Pocket Watch
Treasure Hunt

In No Particular Order…

1. Plant a Tree
2. Ride a motorcycle
3. Ride on a hot air balloon.
4. Eat a galleon of ice cream (crossed out)
5. Find buried treasure.
6. Reunite the Masters' family.
7. Make peace with ghosts, family, and friends
8. Go to Mars (crossed out)9. Watch a sunrise
10. Visit all 7 continents
11. Write a Will
12. Hang out with friends and family one last time
13. Reveal ghost powers to parents.
14. Get a puppy

Everything on the list signified accomplishments Danny had yet to achieve, recently only crossing out the Mars option, knowing full well this served to be an impossibility at this stage (a thought he repeatedly noted to himself to lessen the burden). He set about working on number eleven, having written half of it down for upon his departure a week and a half after he and Vlad returned home from the Masters' farm. The rest he spent on resting or thinking up the order on which to go about his list. His other worry stemmed from the so-called giant ghost he felt, one which he didn't tell Vlad yet out of fear he's emotions would go out of control if he dropped another potential bombshell. It didn't help that for reasons untold, Vlad spend the next three days mostly in the Ghost Zone, unaware he'd play any part on his makeshift list…

…Until he awoke one fine, shiny morning feeling wet on the face and smelling bad breath. Opening his eyes to see a set of fangs and a drippy tongue, Danny let off a quick scream, leaping away quickly before calming down when he realized his guest appeared to be the familiar green furred pup he occasionally associated with.

"Cujo!" Danny took a breath before lifting the little mutt, "How did you find me? Is your nose THAT good?" Cujo merely barked happily before slobbering Danny with kisses, the boy grateful at least the pup remain in normal dog size as it's usually bigger, more furious side would have create far more craziness with a broken bed and a possibly squished Danny with it.

……………

"Good morning, Daniel…Cujo." Vlad greeted upon the arrival of the two for breakfast.

"You're not all that surprised to see a ghost dog here…did you have some part in this?" Danny cocked an eyebrow.

"I spent days searching for that mutt to help you on your list. You got a puppy, now be happy another one is done." Vlad calmly replied.

"THIS pup?" Danny chuckled, "This is why you wasted three days in the Ghost Zone? To find this little troublemaker?"

"I admit the little furball is a tad bit excitable, but it seems to be quite obedient."

"…Yeah. Used to be trained to be a guard dog before it passed away." Danny smiled, "…Thanks."

"You're welcome." Vlad, about to sip his tea just stopped then, "Oh--and since he's your dog, I expect you to claim full responsibilities for him, meaning I will not be the one picking up his waste. And so help me, that pup had better be trained VERY well enough to know NOT to pee on the carpet."

"Okay." Danny giggled, Cujo mulling nearby him, begging for food.

"I took a lot of thought and risks in bringing a live animal into my house, so don't give me any reasons to take him back."

"Yes, sir." Danny saluted, then eyed Cujo, "…You did buy dog food, right?"

Vlad gestured towards the kitchen where a giant sack of kibbles awaited to be open. Taking that in cue, he ripped the bag open, poured enough contents in one a dog dish Vlad fortunately bought alongside the kibbles (he'd be damned if the pup used his good china to spread canine saliva over it), then watched peacefully as Cujo stuffed it's face. Funny, to see ghosts eating when food wouldn't be such a necessity to them.

When he felt he could leave Cujo along for a few minutes (anything goes with that pup), Danny seated himself and stuffed his face with bacon in relative peace, neither one hesitating to start a topic of conversation nor giving any sense of facial emotions outside of stoicism; naturally, it provided awkward moments the two uneasily refused to admit. The sense of nervousness thankfully dropped when the doorbell rang.

"Now who on Earth could that be?" Vlad mumbled half to himself, half to Danny, "It couldn't be one of my business partner, now is it?" Opening the door, he faced not a business man of his height, but three tykes to which he glared down from, Clark's children, all three eyeballing him back with fear in their eyes, intimidate by this dark figure before them.

"What do you want? If you're selling cookies, I'm not interested." Vlad snapped. All three however continued to stare, "…If you're not going to say a word, I'm closing the door."

"Wait!" Roger cried out, "…I heard that someone we know lives here…Danny Masters, your son?"

"Big, tall, cute." Sasha stepped in to describe.

"Cute? Get a clue!" Dash harped, prompting the small girl to argue back.

"Hey, shut up! I'm trying to talk here!" Roger stepped in, acting as a brief referee.

"How do you know my son?" Vlad quickly step in the lie about Danny's origin like smooth butter.

"He goes to our dad's store a lot…he rescued our sister." Roger pointed to Sasha.

"Oh, so you're the little munchkin that nearly got my boy killed." Vlad spoke in a sort of amusement, yet venomous tone, "Well, what sort of hazards do you plan to pit my poor son to now?"

"We were wondering if he could come with us on a treasure hunt." Roger stated, raising his voice a little, offended by this man's bluntness.

"T-Treasure Hunt?" Vlad raised an eyebrow as he eyed the hopeful children, "I suspect my son has way too much maturity to find imaginary treasures." How he loved calling him "son".

"It's not imaginary, it's very real." Roger pointed out, "And we're not leaving until he comes."

"If you don't, we'll pelt your house with rocks." Dash threatened. Why those little rats! Vlad possessed half a mind to lock the door, go ghost, and scare the daylights out of these little rude mongrels, but fortunately, the three received a get-out-free-card when Danny walked over, wondering what on Earth took so long between Vlad and whomever.

Once Danny peeped his head from Vlad's shoulder, the three children immediately greeted him, this time more warmly then their last encounters, Sasha especially who bravely wrapped her arms around Danny's waist affectionately.

"DANNY!" All three cried in unison.

"Hey there, little munchkins, what are you all doing here?" Danny cheerfully asked.

"Well, we were wondering if you wanted to go treasure hunting with us." Roger repeated, "We used up a lot of courage to even walk the front gates to this creepy place, so I hope it's a "yes."

"Well, of course it's a "yes." Danny immediately replied, serving it as a piece of coincidence; treasure hunting on his list which he added at age eight.

"Great, if you have some shovels, flashlights, and a bag to carry other stuff, you better go get 'em now." Roger ordered, "We'll wait by the front door."

"And hurry before your mean dad tries to force us out again." Sasha commented.

…………………

With a heavy heart did Vlad watch from afar, clutching a small paper bag in his hands as Danny packed a flashlight, extra batteries, first aid kit, CD players, couple of magazines to keep from boredom, and a shovel, Cujo bouncing around his bed, excitable on the prospect of going outside.

"Sorry, Cujo, but green dogs aren't really well received in the human world." Danny apologized as he patted the pup. It let out a hopeful whine, digging it's claws on Danny's arms, "I'll be back, I promise. Just try not to pee inside the manor while I'm away, okay?"

With that said, he walked out only for Vlad to block his path.

"…Vlad." Danny gave an almost accusing tone to his voice, matched that with his face which turned softer when the bag Vlad held dropped onto his hands.

"…I…I made lunch." Vlad stated, "Incase you get hungry."

"…Thanks."

"I don't know what parents usually make for kids…sandwiches and…a soda."

"That's good." Danny sincerely nodded

"…I wish you wouldn't have to go..." Vlad softly spoke.

"Vlad." Accusation returned.

"…But I can't stop you, it's in your list. Besides, God only knows how much time you have…until I find a cure that is, so…have fun."

"Thanks." Danny sidestep away from Vlad who quickly followed to give him a tight embrace, only for the boy to interrupt without facing back at his former nemesis, "…Don't bother looking for a cure. That just makes things anticlimactic. Don't make me stop the acceptance I already took." Then he left.

…………………

"Your dad's such a mean person."

"Not mean, scary!"

"What crawled up his butt and died?"

On and on the three rambled as Danny took all the questions in, smiling patiently as the three lead the way to the so-called treasure hunt.

"Dad's not mean, just overprotective." Danny corrected, "He means well."

"He's scary." Sasha commented, "All that black and that huge mansion…he's not a vampire, is he?"

"No." Danny smiled, if not slightly nervously. Vlad certainly did not suck blood, but he's resemblance to one is uncanny. When Sasha noticed the nervous look on his face did Danny change the subject, "So, tell me about this so-called treasure."

"Well, rumors said there's this treasure located deep inside a cave inside the forest." Roger started, "We've explored the caves many times before, but until recently, we just got a hold of a map from that crazy old guy next door."

"…Crazy old guy?" Danny repeated, questioning the reliability of the map Roger casually handed him to.

"Yep, he's crazy, but he knows his stuff." Roger commented, "There's the forest!"

The four plus entered the lush settings where Danny once felt the presence of the giant ghost. Crossing that bridge where he reunited with Sasha gave him cold feet, prompting him to stop immediately upon reaching the bridge's tip.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Dash asked, "Oh, don't tell me you're scared! You're older then us!" Danny however said nothing, even as Sasha walked over to him with a small smile. There, she slowly took his hand and started to lure him in.

"It's okay, everyone's scared of something." Sasha commented, "But we're all here for you, together, so you don't have to be so afraid."

"…Y-Yeah." Danny urged a smile of his own, "Besides…you need someone older to protect you, right?"

"Right!" Sasha nodded. Danny followed, now knowing full well that nothing could deteriorate these children's goals to find their treasure, especially when he's reason could potentially expose his secret identity, so he decided instead to do what he said to comfort them: protect these children.

…………………

The cave nestled itself comfortably in the deep inners of the forest. Like a camouflaged predator slowly waiting for it's food to enter it's mouth, Danny, and the children walked inside the gap to be met with pitch black sans the flashlights they quickly turned on. For the first few minutes, everything turned out smoothly as they merely walked by the way of the map Roger held in his hands, the only sounds occasionally from the scared children's lips and silent drips of water from atop the stalactites, landing towards nearby small ponds that adored the inner cavern. Their first trip to a dead end occurred atop a broken rocky bridge that would lead them inside.

"Great, that's suppose to be the right way in." Roger mumbled.

"Maybe if we had some dynamites, we could build a bridge with these giant rock pillars!" Dash suggested.

"None of us has any dynamites, stupid." Roger hissed, "Dad doesn't even trust us with fireworks!"

"Got any other bright idea, Genius McGee?" Dash shouted back.

"Danny, what do we do?" Sasha quietly asked the older figure as Dash and Roger argued back and forth. The 16 year old pondered. If he could only go ghost and fly over.

"Hmm…maybe I can jump over it." Danny stated. The gap seemed fairly far apart and the hole below seemingly bottomless, but it certainly garnered the attention of three kids.

"You going to jump, seriously?" Roger gasped.

"Don't, you'll die!" Sasha grabbed his hand. Indeed, one fatal move and he'd probably plummet to his death unless he went ghost, but perhaps as a testimony to all the years of combating and improving his physic, all the years lacking much of any fear an average teenager would run from, and the prospect that he handled his coming death well, this seemed like any good time to risk it all and live life to his fullest, so he gave a confident smile.

"I'll be fine." Danny noted, "I'll scout ahead and see if I can find an alternate way for you guys to get in."

"No, find the treasure." Roger suggested, "I don't think there ARE any alternate routes according to this map."

"…Are you sure?"

"We're counting on you." Roger saluted, then he force the map over to him slowly like a right of passage, "Good Luck."

"…If anything bad comes, ANYTHING, I want you guys to try and get to safety. Don't wait for me." Danny urged, "Okay?"

"…Okay." All three silently responded.

Danny nodded as he took a deep breath. Imagining almost all the times he lifted himself up to fly, Danny lifted his feet from the ground and in a fit of seemingly slow motions akin to dramatic scenes on television did Danny make a bold leap. His feet barely reached the tip of the ledge and so he fell halfway down before grabbing it with his arms, all as the three children gasped and screamed.

"I-I'm okay!" Danny shouted, lifting himself up, then brushing the excessive dirt of his shirt, "I'm alright. Stay there, all of you. I'll try and be quick." And with it, he dived in further, flashlight in hand. At times, he wished he'd thought to bring walkie-talkies as cell phones held no reception in trapped rocky areas, then again, did those kids even possess a portable phone?

The loneliness and darkness didn't phase him very much though, having faced ghosts for two years, some more disfigured then others, the fact that the entire setting at the moment felt like a horror movie didn't even enter his unusually calm, but cautious mind.

That said, he spent some fifteen minutes following the map, resting only once to consume one of the sandwiches Vlad made: Tuna, not bad, perhaps he did possess the potential to be a decent parent. A quick right turn afterwards caused Danny to slip upon end, leading the boy to slide down an unusually slippery downward path until he landed inside a round, if not slightly claustrophobic room where incidentally upon being kicked in the ass by gravity, Danny lied face to face next to a musty old treasure chest.

"Holy Shit, that crazy idiot isn't crazy." Danny gasped. Lifting himself up until he got into a kneeled position, he eyeballed the lock on the chest, took a huge sigh, and slowly used his intangibility to open the lock. Opening said chest, all he spotted inside lied a single gold coin with remarkable markings of a different culture. No nothing, no other gold, no letters explaining the reason behind the single piece of treasure, just one coin. Danny however managed a small chuckle.

"All this for one coin." Danny smiled, "Those kids are going to be disappointed. Still, looks to be worth something." Pocketing the coin in hand, he observed his surroundings. No way out which lead Danny to the conclusion that the man who hid the chest possessed ghost powers himself, was a ghost, or he built a secret entrance. Pushing the walls and stomping the ground did Danny eventually trigger an opening on one of the walls which slid to the right, creating an exit.

"Man, how Goonies is this?" Danny teased to himself, exiting and finding himself in another section of the cave, "Now what?" The map held no other alternative ways to leave after the treasure, leaving him no choice but to wing it. At this point in time, it seemed fairly obvious a combination of flight and intangibility seem to be the way to go. Frustrated on the limited options that only lead to his fabled ghost powers, Danny slowly transformed into his ghost half and flew his way out.


………………

All remained quiet, tranquil to both the children and Danny, then the entire cave shook as if an earthquake took hold. The children huddled together and cried out in fear while Danny himself fell both from exhaustion and debris landing atop of him, causing him to revert to his human self, tired and dazed. As he struggled to get up, the familiar wisp of blue left his lips once more.

"…No…" Forcing himself to stand on his two legs, Danny used the walls as he hastily made his way to the kids.

"ROGER! DASH! SASHA!" Danny shouted,

"DANNY!" Sasha's voice. Struggling to maneuver in vain pass falling debris and shaky grounds, Danny witness the three children over the familiar gap. With a potential cave-in heading their way and his current fatigue state, how would he leap over the ledge now?

"I…I thought I told you guys to run!" Danny shouted.

"These two wouldn't move cuz' they got scared and I can't exactly leave them, could I?" Roger screamed, clutching a crying Dash.

"Oh, son of a…hang on, I-I'm coming over!" Like ripping out a bandage, Danny made a quick leap and miraculously made his way across, "Whoa…head rush."

"You okay?" Sasha asked.

"Y-Yeah, come on, let's get out of here." Sasha and Roger possessed no problems, but Danny practically lifted Dash up to his feet in order for him to move. All in all, his mouth constantly let out a stream of cold air, ones the three barely noticed since they suffered a much worse crisis in their hands. Finding the way back out while eyeing a map and watching over three kids proved to be a not so easy task and even worse when upon finding the entrance, it had been sealed by numerous boulders that fell from the current quake.

"We're DOOMED!" The children screamed.

"We're gonna die!"

"HELP!"

Did the so-called giant ghost cause this current shake up while intangible inside the cave? Did it not wanted to be disturbed, did it dislike trespassers to anyone who walked the forest? Danny knew shouting towards mysterious paranormal figure would do absolutely nothing but freak the children out more that he'd gone loony. Right now, these tykes came first.

"Maybe I should have paid more attention in church!" Dash screamed, "God's angry with us!"

"…Well then, you need to all pray!" Danny suggested, "Yeah, pray right now. Pray for God to help you."

"ARE YOU NUTS?" Dash screamed.

"Close your eyes and PRAY!" Danny shouted. Without any more backlash, the children did just that. Double checking to make certain of closed eyes and occasional mumbles, Danny waltz his way over to the blocked entrance, took another big sigh, and backed his hand until it formed a basketball-sized Ecto Ray ball. With it, he extended his hand and blasted the rocks away, quickly forming a ghost shield to protect himself and the children as tinier pebbles pelted it. He manage to dissipate it in time for the kids to open their eyes upon hearing the giant of a noise, all wide eye; their prayers--answered.

"GO!" Danny pointed as he got on his knees, drawing in big gulps of air.

"Danny…" Sasha gasped as her brothers pulled her away.

"It's alright…"Danny again struggled as he got up, "I-I'm okay."

This time, the children helped Danny as they exited out of the cave before another cave-in occurred. They moved as far away as possible, running all the way back to the bridge to town where they rested, relief and curious that the earthquake ended the moment they left said cave.

"Dude, what the heck was that? What just happened?" Roger gasped, "This didn't feel normal."

"Did you get the treasure at least?" Dash asked.

Danny made off a tired smile and fished out the coin to which the middle child took.

"That's it? THAT'S the treasure?" Dash gasped.

"Sorry, kid." Then Danny fainted.

…………………

They manage to drag Danny to Abraham's farm, scared to death that taking him to their father would result in more punishments then they could handle. Inside, Abe phoned Vlad whom--furious as hell made like the wind, drove his convertible (making a sharp right turn that knocked out Abe's mailbox in the process), and ran up to Danny only to see not only Abe there, but the three children. One deadly glare from the billionaire caused the children to blurt out what happen. Needless to say, despite the resting Danny, Vlad let out a series of emotional outbursts.

"HOW COULD YOU ENDANGER HIM LIKE THAT--

--DOES YOUR FATHER KNOW ABOUT THIS--

--IRRATIONAL THINKING--

--DANIEL IS UNDER A LOT OF DIFFICULT CONDITION--

--IF YOU THINK I'M EVER LETTING YOU SEE MY BOY AGAIN--"

One could almost make out the swift frame of red in his eyes as he let it all out, eventually waking Danny up, much to the horrified children who would much liked to get closer to the teenager if not for the angry barricade before them.

"Daniel?" Vlad whispered.
"…Big…ghost." Danny gasped.

"What?" Vlad cocked his head.

"…A-Are the kids alright?" Danny asked hoarsely.

"We're fine." Roger answered for all three, braving closer to him after Danny showed concern, "All of us."

"Are you going to die?" Sasha whimpered.

"…Not right now." Danny urged a smile, patting the small girl's head, "I…I just need to rest."

"What happened?" Dash asked, "Why are you so tired all of a sudden?"

"You heard him, he needs rest!" Vlad snapped, "Go home, all of you, and don't think I won't be telling your father about this!" With that said, the children left the room, Dash's whimpering heard from the hallways.

"And you call me a harsh father." Abe grinned.

"Get out, I want some alone time with Daniel." Vlad spoke. Abe didn't directly obey, instead giving off his usual snide glares towards his only child and a quick look of concern over his pseudo-grandson before ultimately closing the door on his way out.

"Daniel?" Vlad's voice started off eerily calm.

"Ya know, you didn't have to scare the kids away, they mean well." Danny started before Vlad could get in a word.

"They're irresponsible little buggers." Vlad spat, "Obviously their father failed to do a good enough job with them."

"They're kids, Vlad, they were having fun." Danny defended, "I was like that when I was their age, I'm sure you were, too."

"…Let's change the subject, now shall we?" Vlad annoying bolted out, "Like for example, that big ghost blurb. I know you're not in the best of health right now, but…what are you talking about?"

Danny panicky eyed Vlad and took another big sigh, knowing well Vlad would never drop this subject unless he confessed--how many nervous incidents would he suffer through today?

"…About like two weeks ago, when I went to rescue Sasha, I…I sensed a ghost, or I think I did." Danny began, "It must have been invisible the whole time because all I ever did was felt it…and it was huge."

"How big are we talking about?"

"I don't know--maybe skyscraper huge?" Danny shrugged, "Oh, and it was long, too, kinda like what a giant snake would be like."

"Snake-like." Vlad pondered.

"It felt like a powerful ghost…but…it also felt…different."

"How different?"

"I don't know--More…stronger on a more…spiritual level?" Danny struggled, "I…I can't explain it. It happened today during the treasure hunt. It only affected the caves…in fact, just this forest."

Vlad said nothing, lost in thought.

"Maybe the forest is it's home?" Danny shrugged, "Plenty of ghosts live here, I'm sure. I mean, the Dairy King does for example…right?"

Vlad again said nothing.

"…Vlad?"

"Get some rest, Daniel. We'll leave as soon as you have the energy to walk."

…………………

Energy to walk required about three days of constant sleep, plenty of time for Abe and Vlad to do one of two things: continuous glares from afar and Abe bombarding Vlad with questions on Danny's current state, "Is he sick?" "What happened?" "How did he get this way?" "…Is he dying?" Neither one Vlad answered, not even the last and correct one to which he gave off a stoic reaction so as not to give anything regarding Danny's condition away.

They eventually left and returned to the familiar manor only for the two to meet not-so-familiar additions to it: One concerned redheaded sister, a worried techno geek, and one angry Goth girl…

To Be Continued…

…………………

Author's Note: Ya know, "Shades of Gray" implied Cujo can go the bathroom like others do, but being a ghost, does he or she really need to? I mean, I know Hartman stated some of the ghosts are just monsters of another dimension, but still. I kinda struggled with that, but in the end, to keep with TV canon, I just went with it.

That said, sorry for the long update. I was lazy mostly, my bad. Well, I suppose this page could count as filler, but I guess it was to establish a firm relationship Danny shares with a bunch of friggin' OCs cuz' I like development, ahahaha.