Not only am I not dead, but two chapters in two days is a new record. Next chapter won't be for another week or two - especially since it's going to be so much longer. But due to the last chapter being so short, I wanted to post this chapter too. Please review!


CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE


Third Person

The longer they venture into the building, the longer they breath the dust and smell the after burn of metal, the longer they tread into the dark not knowing what they may find, the more they all lost their hope of finding Danny. Tadashi fights the urge to punch a wall, his hands vibrating in frustration. He tries to hold back his tears, but they still find a way to build in the corners of his eyes. It's getting too hard for him to hold onto the hope that Danny is here, somewhere. It seems as if they've already searched the entire building. But he has to be here… He has to be…

"'Dashi..." Hiro's voice cracks as quietly puts his hand on his big brother's shoulder, a far away look in his eyes, "We'll find him… He's Danny. He's… He can't be gone."

Tadashi's heart breaks at the look in his brother's eyes – there is so much desperate hope and denial that swirled in his eyes. He brings his brother in close, hugging him tightly as he remembers that he can't break yet. Not with his little brother around. Hiro sees Danny as a big brother. If he gives up, then Hiro will too. It's bad enough he can't find Danny, but he can't handle the heartbreak his brother will face on top of it. We have to find him. He takes a deep breath and lets Hiro to observe the rest of the group. Everyone looks tired, on the break of giving up or as if they've already had. He doesn't blame them, being so close to giving up himself.

"I don't know think he's here, Tadashi," Honey speaks up softly, looking at him hopelessly.

"We need to get out of here," Wasabi offers, though it seems even saying it pains him, "We don't know if and when those guys will be back. And after this hopeless search, I don't think we can fight them right now."

"It's not hopeless," Fred is the first (and only) person to argue.

"Yes it is Fred," GoGo snaps, but he huffs at her tone, crossing his arms across his chest – something that is rather hard to accomplish in his suit.

Tadashi frowns. On one hand, they do have to leave soon. It's too dangerous here and Wasabi is right – with them all now feeling down, they're in no condition to even try to fight Vlad. On the other hand, or rather in his heart, he can't seem to leave so easily. He is still sure that Danny has to be around here somewhere. He thinks deeply, and as he tries to tune out the bickering of the group, he hears it. He perks up, shooting to attention.

"Everyone," he whistles sharply to cut over their bickering, "Quiet! I hear something!"

They don't really expect anything, but they quiet down nonetheless. Like Tadashi, they listen carefully. Until finally, Tadashi hears it again. Taptaptap…. Tap tap tap…. Taptaptap. Three fast taps. Three slow taps. Three fast taps. S – O – S. Danny. Tadashi's eyes light up.

"SOS," Wasabi seems a bit more perky himself, standing up straighter as he looks around for the source, "I think we couldn't hear it before over all our talking."

"And it's getting quieter," GoGo points out, "If it's Danny – and I'm not saying it is – he may be running out of time."

"The human body can only survive so long without food and water," Honey's voice is laced with worry as she eyes the wreckage, "What if he's been trapped under the wreckage?"

"Then that settles it," Tadashi stands tall, his face solemn yet his eyes still shine with hope, "We need to hurry."

No one has to be told twice as they scatter, listening carefully for the now fading tapping. Tadashi turns to the one 'person' that hasn't scattered yet. He hopes the others are far away enough to not hear what Baymax's answer may be since discretion isn't Baymax's strong suit.

"Baymax, is there anyway for you to search for Danny?"

"Negative. Daniel Fenton's signature is all over the nearby location and materials, I cannot differentiate between the discarded ectoplasm and his unique echosignature."

Tadashi winces and he sees the way GoGo perks up at Baymax's words, her eyes narrowing sharply. She does a motion of I'm watching you toward him before she scatters off to listen for the sound with the others. Damn, that's what I was scared of. But Baymax's words do cause him to look a bit closer at his surroundings. If he looks closely, he can see traces of green-red substance smudged into places on the metallic walls and floors. His gut twists. If they find Danny – when – they find Danny… He isn't going to be in good shape. All of this blood and ectoplasm, enough that Baymax can't get past it to find Danny… He has to be pretty beaten up. And like Honey Lemon had said – there's only so long one can go without food or water. He isn't sure how long a half-ghost can go, but he's sure it isn't too far from long a normal human can go.

"Over here," Fred's voice rings out loudly, "I think I found something."

Tadashi is the first to reach Fred's location, nearly pushing him out of the way as he listens closely. The others gather around, all desperately hoping to hear something. Taptaptap… tap tap tap… taptaptap… It's softer now, but it's still there. He looks down curiously and getting onto his knees, he takes the helmet of his gear off and presses his ear against the floor. It's a bit louder, enough so that he thinks Fred is right.

"It's beneath us," Tadashi steps back and nods for Wasabi to step forward, "See if you create an opening to get us down there."

Wasabi nods and with a swfft his weapons come forth. Honey Lemon gently pushes Hiro to make sure he's far enough back to not get injured as Wasabi swings into the ground. He creates a rather shoddy circle, but it's large enough for them to not only look into, but go through if needed. Like moths to a flame, they all gather around to look down into the hole.

Honey Lemon is the first to look away, her tears bristling in her eyes as she can't stand to look at the sight they find. Wasabi isn't too far behind her, gasping in horror as he stumbles back. Fred is the next to turn away, his heart beating a miles a minute in his chest. GoGo doesn't look away at first, soaking in the image with sorrow, but eventually even she can't quite stand it. The only ones who don't turn away are Tadashi and Hiro. Hiro stares in horror, his heart beating so hard in his chest he feels as if it may burst. Tears bristle in his eyes as his breath quickens. But it's Tadashi who falls to his knees and reaches down despite the fact that he feels as if his entire world, along with his heart, has stopped. All the tears he has been holding back fall freely down his cheeks. He wants to be relieved that he's finally found him, but with the horrific scene in front of his eyes, a part of him wishes that they never found him. He can't bring himself to look away from the most tired, hurt green-blue eyes that look up at him with so much hope. For a moment, he swears he sees a bit of red dwelling in them that leaves quickly.

They found Danny. He's merely a few feet away from the hole Wasabi has created, hung to the wall by bright green chains that hang him up against the wall. He's a good seven feet from the floor beneath his feet, which means his wrists have been supporting his entire dead weight for who-knows-how-long. His clothes are all torn apart, revealing fresh wounds that have split upon his flesh. There's quite a few large ones across his chest. What's not an open wound, is scarred tissue that's too old to be recent. There's table not too far from him on the ground that has tools on it that, despite being covered in what has to be Danny's blood, glow an eerie green just like the cuffs on his wrists.

There's no doubt in Tadashi's mind that if they hadn't found him, he would have died. And not just partly either.

Despite all the pain he must be in, Danny looks up at them with a crooked smile.

"It's not as bad as it looks." Even his voice sounds awful, scratchy from not having anything to drink and beyond hoarse, "… Why do you all look like Power Ranger knockoffs… And what the hell is Fred supposed to be?"

Tadashi is so close, he can almost touch Danny's swollen cheek.

"Danny," Tadashi's voice is soft, "What happened?"

Danny's grin doesn't leave his face despite the tears that are starting to grow in his eyes and stream down his cheeks. "I couldn't take down the microbots without killing him. I wanted to keep our promise…"

Tadashi's heart splits and he wipes away his own tears before he begins to descend to the ground through the opening. He's torn between guilt that his promise with Danny is what landed him in this position, but is proud that Danny did the right thing. He knows how hard it must have been, but he appreciates that Danny isn't willing, or at least can resist, to become a killer no matter how angry he can get. He doesn't care nor acknowledges some of the questioning looks of the others, but he can see understanding on Honey, GoGo, and Hiro – all three connected the dots on what promise had to have been made, especially since he knew of Danny's choice to go after Vlad.

"Come on," Tadashi motions for the others, "We have to get him free before we can get out of here. Wasabi, see if your lasers can cut through the chains. Fred, GoGo, help me down here and be ready to catch him when he falls. Hiro, Honey, keep a lookout. Baymax, come here and see if there's anything you can do for his wounds."

Wasabi doesn't waste time in cutting through the chains. Danny falls with a loud grunt, but Fred, GoGo, and Tadashi cushion his fall. Tadashi stands to his left, taking half of his weight, while GoGo and Fred take the other side. Baymax takes a bit longer to get down to their level, but when he does, Danny waves him off.

"It's no use, he can't heal me with my physiology. With those cuffs off, I'll heal in no time." He hacks up a rough cough. "I just need some water. I'll be fine."

Tadashi eyes him with uncertainty, unsure if Danny is speaking the truth or has become delusional from his wounds. GoGo huffs and is about to voice her doubts, yet Fred beats her to it.

"Dudeee," Fred jumps back and GoGo yelps as she's put with a sudden larger amount of Danny's weight. She glares at Fred, yet he stands there pointing at Danny's wounds with wide eyes.

Even Tadashi is surprised, and unsure of how to react, as Danny's wounds seem to heal before their eyes. The skin on the edges of each cut, no matter how deep, seem to stretch out as if it's forming new skin and reattach itself. It takes only a handful of minutes before Danny seems to be back to brand new with only scars to prove where the wounds were and even then not each one left a scar. Tadashi briefly wonders if whether or not it scars is dependent on how deep it is or how the wound was made. The swelling on his face and other parts of his body dwells down. GoGo drops her side just before Danny gently pushes them off to stand on his own.

Honey Lemon's voice is breathless as she stares at Danny in a mix of horror and awe, "How?"

"Dude," Fred jumps up and down, pouncing onto Danny in excitement with wide eyes, "You have like super healing?!"

Danny has the decency to look sheepish, gently nudging Fred off of him. "I can explain later. Right now, we need to get out of here. It's only a matter of time before they get back."

"You mean Vlad and Plasmius," Wasabi speaks up, but Danny just sends him a look of confusion.

"Wait a minute -"

"Ghost detected – ten feet ahead. Ectoenergy level – 9. Ectosignature recognized as – Plasmius."

An eerie echo of hands clapping together causes them all to pause. Like the enigma he is, Vlad emerges from the dark shadowy doorway of the room Danny was captured in. Hiro nudges Baymax harshly, muttering an irritated why didn't you tell us sooner. Danny is quick to put himself in front of the others, his arms spread and knees bent, ready to defend or attack. A white glow surrounds him, pulsating in warning as his powers begin to reach full strength. He's tired, he hasn't eaten, slept, or drank anything in too long for even a half ghost. But he can distract Vlad long enough for the others to get out. He appreciates them saving him, but with Vlad before them, he doesn't care if he dies as long as they'll be safe. No, he sneers, if I die nothing will be there to protect them. Vlad will kill them just like he's killed everyone else I loved. I can't let him hurt anyone else.

"Your little robot is easy enough to trick with doubles," Vlad's voice cuts through the silence that had settled. "But really Daniel, you think you can escape me?"

"We know your plan," Fred jumps up only to be pushed back down by GoGo.

Tadashi has his doubts about that – they still aren't sure how everything connects together or what his ultimate plan is. And there are other things that still aren't adding up. He looks toward Danny, hoping to get some sort of answer, but Danny's demeanor has changed. It's clear by the hawk-liek gaze he has on Vlad that he won't be able to answer anything right now – not with all of his focus on Vlad. His eyes are glowing a dangerous eerie green, but each time he blinks, they fade in and out of an even more dangerous red color. Don't let it consume you Danny.

Vlad merely laughs, his face turning darker, "I have no doubt that Daniel has figured out my plans by now? But you? You don't even know what you're really up against. Just a bunch of silly little children playing superhero. Rather suiting that Daniel would find friends who are just like him… And just like him, you will perish."

It is in that moment that they realize that they had so much wrong. Vlad steps forward threateningly, but slowly. With each step he takes, the ring around his waist forms and splits, going up and down his body, changing him before their very eyes. There is something horrifying and wrong about seeing a human change into a monster right in front of you. Something about it sends chills down your spine with a primal sense of fear. Every bone in their body tells them to run, yet they stay there in frozen shock at the newly formed Plasmius.

"It's a pity," Plasmius muses, "I didn't want to kill one of the only other halfas, I would have preferred if you would have just gave in and join me. But I suppose you were right after all Daniel…."

His grin turns predatory, his hand glows the stained color of blood as he raises it, ready to fire.

"...Being alone does suit me better."