Vlad leaned back in his chair, staring at the clock. (It's not like there was anything better to do.) He watched the minute hand ease its way over to twelve in roman numerals. Ding Dong! "Right on cue…" Vlad got up to answer the door.
He was greeted by Tucker and a venomous looking Sam. "Hey, come in." Vlad said; a lot more pleasant sounding than the night before. Though he only got a response from Tucker, "Hi."
It was good enough.
"Follow me, I'll show you Daniel's room." The two followed silently, Sam's foul mood was darkening the friendly atmosphere. Vlad stopped suddenly by a door in his seemingly endless hallway. "There you go." He said, opening it.
There was a pause.
"Well, where is he?" Sam demanded. "What do you mean, where is he?" Vlad took a look for himself. The room was truly empty this time. Vlad freaked out. "He was just here!" he fretted, checking the bathroom and closet. He stopped, noticing the window was open. "You let him run off?" Sam exclaimed accusingly. "Oh, so it's my fault your boyfriend jumped out the window?" he spat back. "HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"
Vlad wasn't listening; his head was out the window, checking the clearing below. "Um, you do realize he probably just used his ghost powers and flew off, right?" Tucker pointed out. "Oh…" they said, feeling a little stupid now.
Vlad changed to Plasmius. "Where are you going?" Sam questioned suspiciously. "To find Daniel of course! It's getting dark out, and let's not forget those Guys in White AND that mangy wolf are after him now." The kids didn't say anything. "Tell Jazz what's happened, then come and help me search." With that, he leapt out the window.
Danny was back in the woods again. "Where to go, Where to go." He gasped as a thin trail of cold air wisped in front of his face. Backing up against a tree and looking to the sky, Vlad could be seen flying overhead. "Great, the fruitloop is after me again." Danny stayed pressed against the trunk until the other halfa was far away; showing no indication of having spotted what he was looking for.
Jazz, Tucker, and Sam slid through the caution tape and entered the woods. "If Vlad had taken the time to explain things to Danny, none of this would have happened." Sam fussed angrily, practically strangling the thermos in her hands.
"Hey, you kids!" "Uh oh…." A government agent approached them, wearing the familiar white uniform. Tucker took a small step back, as if debating whether to run or not. That was a mistake. "Oh, no you don't." the agent grabbed him firmly by the shoulder, "you're all coming with us."
Danny's pace had slowed noticeably in the last hour. He either didn't notice or didn't care when fur and a tail seemed to magically appear out of nowhere. He must have noticed, because then, he moved into the more shadowy parts of the woods. Moonlight made his mind feel hazy. Eventually he stopped, only to rip off the shoes Vlad had given him. His wolf claws had been digging painfully into the leather.
Tossing them carelessly over his shoulder, he continued to walk at his lazy pace. The shoes landed in the bushes with a deep rustle. He stopped abruptly and swiveled his wolf ears backwards. Was it just him, or were the bushes still moving?
It wasn't just him. Danny nervously glanced over his shoulder. The bushes continued to rustle. "Oh man, something's back there." He turned slowly on his heels to face whatever it was. Branches and leaves snapped and parted to reveal a face that was only too familiar. The she-wolf.
Danny felt his fur bristle in surprise, he hadn't been expecting this. Lunai smirked in amusement. "What's wrong ghost child?" Now Danny was really blown away. "You… you talk?" She moved closer, "Oh, I can do a lot more than that." Danny got over his bewilderment enough to manage a threatening glare. Lunai returned it tauntingly. She noticed his tail twitch uncomfortably. "My eyes, they scare you, don't they?" Danny blinked and looked away. She stepped closer again, now she was inches from his face. "No." "No what?" "No! I'm not scared; I'm going to do this again! You've already ruined my life, why are you still after me?"
Lunai drew a bloodthirsty tongue over the tips of her fangs. This was going too far, all she wanted to do was kill the child, not converse with him. Danny seemed to sense the sudden change in the wolf's behavior. The glowing white ring appeared around his waist and started to separate, indicating that he was about to go ghost.
Lunai moved quickly, pressing her paw to his chest, she did what she had done to Vlad. A tampering wave of force overcame Danny, who tensed from the shock. The two rings flickered for a moment before disintegrating into a light blue steam.
"That's not going to work this time." She growled softly, looking him in the eyes again. Danny felt his mind start to go numb. Shaking his head, he backed away. The she-wolf was up to something dark and he was totally defenseless. "Face it, you can't even go ghost." He thought grimly.
Danny had backed into the light without meaning to. Realizing what he had done, he jumped back to the shadows in a skittish manner before a crazy yet somewhat sensible idea occurred to him. Danny gave the other wolf an uncertain glance; she was getting in a hunter's crouch. Closing his eyes, he turned around. "I must be really desperate." Then he stepped forward and willingly exposed himself to the moonlight.
Vlad desperately scanned the woods below, his mind more focused on worrying than on the search. "He could be dead by now for all I know…" A white mass distracted him from his distressed thoughts. Vlad dropped altitude for a closer look. "Oh no, don't tell me that's who I think it is."
The Guys in White were proudly strutting along with various weapons below, undoubtedly searching for Danny; but this time, they were herding a group of miserable teenagers with them. The 'Ghost Getters'. "Of all times to get caught…" Vlad prepared to land so he could give the kids a hand.
Invisibly hidden among the trees, he waited. One of the officers turned and looked directly through him. Vlad stared back and wondered if he had unintentionally made a sound.
Both of them jumped at the sudden sound of distant screeches and howls. "Daniel!" Vlad sped out of the tree towards the deafening noise, not caring when he flew visibly over the heads of the government agents, who followed the anxious ghost.
Vlad crashed into a dramatic scene. Danny and Lunai were withdrawn in a savage dogfight. Brutally tearing at each other, not caring when the other inflicted even the most painful looking wound. Danny seemed pretty confident despite the fact that the she-wolf seemed capable of taking his life with a strong enough blow. "What is he doing? I know Daniel is brave, but he's not stupid, heck, his teeth are thumbtacks compared to those daggers Lunai calls teeth. Why doesn't he just flee? And what's wrong with both of their eyes?"
Lunai dug her nail fangs in Danny's good shoulder; he responded with a shrill squeal and bit down on the nearest part of her he could sink his teeth into. It wasn't very effective. The she-wolf jerked her head back, ripping fur and flesh from his body. Danny squealed again, this time louder than ever as dark red spattered on the ground.
Vlad resisted the urge to cover his ears against the terrible shrieks of pain. He had to help, but how? The two werewolves would probably tear him in half if he got too close. If he tried shooting ecto-blasts, he might hit Danny. Vlad watched helplessly as Lunai moved over the younger werewolf, preparing to lunge forward again. Danny snarled and scrabbled furiously at her face with his claws before wriggling away. She wasn't about to let him get away with that, springing forward, she slammed him down in the shadow of a large boulder, sending dirt and leaves scattering in every direction. Danny gasped from the impact as he jolted back into reality under the shelter from the moon.
The world looked like a large blur before things cleared out. "What just happened…"the younger werewolf stared up at Lunai, who also seemed a bit dazed. She recovered quickly and bared her fangs in his face. Danny watched in horror as his own blood ran down the roof of the wolf's mouth and dripped off her fangs. "Oh God, she's gonna kill me." He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the moment those fangs of death would come down and slit his throat open.
By now Vlad had given up and started taking aim with a glowing red hand, but someone beat him to it. A loud bang sounded from behind. "Wha?" He turned to see the Guys in White hidden behind the nearby bushes.
Danny stayed frozen in that rigid position, the fangs never came. He slowly opened one eye, then the other, more curious than afraid now. Lunai's expression had changed to one of pure horror, focusing on something on the ground that Danny couldn't see. She backed off him one step at a time, still watching the ground. He sat up in confusion. She glanced at him before looking down at the object again. Then she turned tail and fled.
Danny stood, supporting himself heavily on the boulder. Something silver glinted in the leaves. "She's afraid of that?" He looked up for the first time and realized Vlad was there, off to the side, there was what appeared to be the Guys on White trying to avoid being taken down by his sister and friends. He didn't realize until it was too late, one had gotten away from the group. Another loud bang split the air; then everything seemed to slow down.
Danny felt the bullet break through the skin and slide between his ribcage before coming to a halt. He clamped his hands over the wound in cold shock. Red seeped through the fabric of his clothing and outlined his fingers. "Daniel!" Vlad moved forward to help. Danny growled and bared his teeth in warning for the older halfa to stay back.
The silver bullet started to work its magic. Danny screwed up his face in pain as it started to feel like it was burning. The fire got hotter and hotter; then it spread. Flames of pain licked their way around his arms and legs. Danny collapsed, screaming, still clutching his side.
Jazz broke away from the group and rushed over to her brother. "Danny!" He began to gasp repeatedly, never had breathing been so hard or painful. Jazz sat down by him and rested his head into her lap. "Jazz…" He whispered feebly, "Jazz, it hurts…." "Shh... I know; its okay." Though panic was written all over her face .Danny convulsed and groaned loudly before returning to his strained breathing. The blood started to flow faster.
Vlad gave Jazz a helpless look. She returned it understandingly and looked back to Danny, wiping tears from his cheeks, she told him, "Danny, Vlad is here, he's going to help you, alright?" he swallowed and nodded painfully, trusting his sister. Vlad gratefully walked over and knelt beside him, placing his hand on the teenager's heaving sides.
Gritting his teeth, Danny lifted his head and looked at him desperately, using those watery blue eyes to say. "Please don't hurt me." Vlad nodded back reassuringly before making his hand intangible and slipping the bullet out. Danny stared at the small hole in his side, then at Vlad. The older halfa stared back observantly.
Without warning, Danny's head fell back into his sister's lap with a soft sigh. "Daniel?" "Hmm…" he hummed distantly. Vlad exchanged a meaningful glance with Jazz, then together they gently lifted Danny. Vlad took over and let the unresponsive werewolf rest in his arms.
"I'm taking him back to the lab; I don't think any hospital is willing to take care of a werewolf. You and the other two have to travel on foot." "That's fine, Jazz said absently, not taking her eyes off Danny.
After they had reached the sky, Vlad looked down at Danny. "Oh Daniel," he sighed sadly, "mauled, fever, hypothermia, now this? How many times can you fall before you won't be able to get up again?" Danny laid there, eyes only halfway open. What could be seen of them was light blue with a foggy glaze, staring blankly forward into the unknown. He stroked raven black hair out of the boy's face. Danny whimpered lightly and let his head fall against the older halfa's shoulder. Vlad felt his shattered heart break for the second time in his life. "This is all my fault, if I hadn't obsessed myself with this revenge scheme…." He landed them lightly on the roof of his home. "Why do all the good things in my life always go so wrong? Daniel should have been mine; he should have been my son…. Now he could die and it's MY fault!" He watched Danny nod off in shock and exhaustion. "What kind of a father would I be?" Vlad turned them intangible and sank down to the lab with Danny in his arms, weighed down with a lifetime of regrets.