A.N. Well, here I am, I know, I know, it's been a long, long time, and I'm sorry for the long break. But I lost interest in this, and guess what...it's back now. It's difficult to get back into the swing of writing chapters around 5,000 words in third person after so long of using first, and of course I had to spend a little time getting to grips with this story again, but now I have an ending all planned out!

What Unusual halflives we Lead

Chapter 17: Backup Plans with Explosive Views

The Spectre Speeder flew out from the glowing portal and soared over the trees of the Rocky Mountain range which was in darkness. Vlad immediately began scanning his surroundings for his chalet and, more importantly, for any attempts at surprise attacks. He saw and heard nothing out of the ordinary and once he caught a glimpse of a chimney through the trees he steered the vehicle down and his eyes came to rest on his elaborate chalet; he'd never been so happy to see it in all his life.

"You...er...you don't still have all the creepy animal heads...do you?" Danny asked nervously and Vlad sighed.

He'd actually ordered the place to be completely remodelled a few months ago, and he still wasn't sure why. Vlad had just been using it for a weekly retreat and all of a sudden, the décor had repulsed him, and he'd demanded that it be removed and replaced. So now, instead of wooden and cosy, it was modern and open.

"Actually, I don't," Vlad said to Danny.

"Really?"

"Really," he raised an eyebrow and Danny scoffed.

"Why? I thought you liked 'em...not that I'm complaining or anything,"

"No reason," Vlad shrugged, "I felt like a change, is all."

"Huh," Danny frowned. Vlad was acting very...un-Vlad-like and it was slightly unnerving.

Vlad took out a set of keys and flew the Speeder down to the chalet, then he waited as a large, garage door opened and he drove the vehicle through the doorway as it opened. He'd had the door wirelessly connected to the transmitter in his hand and he used the mechanism in all of his homes; one never knew when you'd need something like it.

Danny watched as they descended to the ground and he observed the modern, almost futuristic garage / lab type room in which they landed. It was a world of monochrome and was made of shining steel, or polished black surfaces or white counters; in a strange way it was quite beautiful. He slowly stepped out of the Spectre Speeder when Vlad brought it to a halt and turned his head with wide eyes.

"Woah!" he whistled in awe. Each surface had something mechanical on it, or it had books or papers, there was just so much to look at; in that respect it was very like his parents lab...but that was as far as the similarities got; this was star of the art, his parents lab was make-do and outdated.

"Do you like it?" Vlad asked rhetorically, somehow managing to find the time to be amused even now. The older hybrid stepped out of the vehicle and he closed the door behind them, he then took up the two dark, wooden staves, determined not to let them out of his sight. He then turned back to the vehicle and worked on better concealing the the sword and the book in the back seat in case they needed a quick get away.

"Uh-huh..." Danny nodded dumbly; he could spend weeks down here in scientific experiments but he shook his head with a frown as the circumstances came back to him. He felt a gentle nudge on his back and Vlad started leading him through the chalet which was as modern and spotless as anything he'd ever seen.

And the main sitting room was stunning. Vlad remembered being very pleased with it when he'd first seen it. It had all been opened; the kitchen the sitting area and the dining area were all opened out into one huge space almost like an expensive apartment room. But there was no time for Danny to admire Vlad's décor.

The young half ghost blinked for a second as he watched Vlad put down the two staves and he blinked for a second. There was something important he needed to do. He scanned the room and quickly his eyes landed on a phone he could see resting on a table but then he frowned. "Hey...erm...could I...use the phone...er...please?" he asked an astounded Vlad who simply nodded. Danny snatched the cordless phone up and dialled quickly, a number he knew by heart and waited tentatively for her to pick up.

"Hello?" he heard a tired, wary voice ask.

"Sam...man, am I glad to hear your voice, it's Danny," he sighed in relief and spun around once, making Vlad raise an eyebrow. "No...wait a minute, my parents...and Jazz they're...oh...you know...well, how are they?" he asked and a second later he slouched against the wall, "Okay...okay, well...so long as they're..."

As Danny continued his conversation, Vlad stalked down to his lab and instantly began tinkering with his ghost shield generator. Quickly, a green shield sprung up around the house and he wired in his device to keep out spirits as well. It wouldn't last long if they came under attack since it was a rushed job, but it would buy them some time to escape if they needed it. But to be honest he was still rather caught up in the domesticated feel of Danny asking to use the phone when they were on the run from a power hungry monster hell-bent on killing them both. It was ridiculous, but after wanting the boy to live with him for so long, small things like this affected him more than they should.

Vlad winced when he stood from his work as his stomach groaned in protest; he hadn't eaten in far too long and even with a ghost half, he still needed food. So he walked back up to the kitchen and saw that Danny was still talking on the phone holding it with one hand, and twirling the wooden staff in the other.

"Uh-huh," the child nodded, "Well...it's...I can't really tell you right now...it'd take way too long, trust me, but I'm okay. I swear. Okay...I swear on...I swear on the solar system, that I'm fine. I'll even swear on the constellations if you want!"

Vlad chuckled quietly to himself as Danny raised the staff and pointed it at an invisible enemy an then preceded to twirl it round again. The older hybrid then turned his attention to the fridge and started to make himself, and Daniel some coffee.

In the background he could still hear Danny talking and he couldn't help but listen as the child said his name. "Yeah...erm...Vlad...yeah, Sam...about that he's erm...not dong anything...he's..." Danny said, "No, he's not! And, no, I can't tell you where I am...just trust me, it's better off you don't know."

Vlad then picked up the two mugs of coffee and walked across to Danny, then held out one to the child who frowned. His hands were full; his right with the phone and his left with the staff. So he awkwardly began balancing the phone in the crook of his neck and then out the staff down, then took the coffee with a grateful smile. Maybe Vlad wasn't the only one who'd come to rely on caffeine.

"Yeah...okay...bye..." Danny sighed and put down the phone.

"Well?" Vlad asked him with an expectant expression.

"Mom and Jazz are doing okay...dad got beat up the worst though..." the boy answered. "He'll probably be in there the longest." Danny added with a frown, "He'll get bored...and they probably won't let him eat fudge all the time...or invent stuff...or try and fix things...and I..."

"Daniel, I do believe that you should be more worried about yourself, at present," Vlad said, "It won't go after them since they're of no benefit to him, however we are."

"Yeah...you're just happy he's in hospital," Danny muttered automatically with his head down. However, a second later his head shot up and he winced, "Sorry," he added but Vlad just shook his head.

"Don't be, it is true after all," Vlad said after a minute and Danny sighed; talking to Vlad was like playing with a double edged sword; risky and prone to a bad ending.

"Okay, so...what now?" Danny shrugged as he held both hands around the steaming mug, trying to ignore Vlad's last statement.

"You're asking me?" Vlad asked incredulously. Daniel never asked his opinion on anything at all...ever.

"Well, you're the smart one, aren't you?" Danny demanded. If Vlad couldn't get them out of this, then they really were doomed.

"I'll probably never hear you say that again, will I?"

"Nope," Danny smirked, "But for a jerk you make good coffee...you haven't poisoned it...have you?" he asked in mock-horror; teasing Vlad was always fun.

"Fortunately for you, I haven't, although it was a good idea," Vlad replied. "You should..."

"Don't say 'consider tutoring'," Danny face-palmed.

"...I was going to say 'keep that in mind for next time'. Why would I say 'tutoring'?"

"Erm...long story...not telling..." Danny blinked quickly and sipped his coffee, suddenly finding the mug a source of great importance. "So, anyway...plan...plans are good. What's the plan? Do we even have a plan?" he asked to change the subject.

"Well, if we're lucky we could have a few hours of peace before it finds us again since we didn't go back through the Ghost Zone, so I suggest you sleep, and leave the 'plan' to me," Vlad replied.

"That's fine with me...but...when did you get any sleep?"

"I am perfectly fine. I'm not the one who's powers are being stolen."

"Ouch," Danny rolled his eyes in sarcasm, but nonetheless his hand traveled down to the growing black scab on his torso. He remembered the spirit Desponius telling him that because he was still half human, he had some immunity to Calidae's ability. "Hey, Vlad, you think if I use my powers less it'll take longer for it to steal 'em?"

"That would be the logical conclusion, yes."

"I guess that means no flying for me then," Danny sighed.

"I certainly wouldn't recommend it yet," Vlad added.

"Oh well," the young hybrid frowned and continued to drink his coffee. "Y'know...this place isn't so bad without all the creepy animal heads," he said later.

"You are more than welcome to visit your dear, old uncle anytime, Daniel," Vlad grinned.

"Gee, thanks, uncie Vlad, but I could do without the big, bad monster chasing us down," Danny replied.

"One can't have everything."

"You can," Danny muttered.

"Why, yes...I can, cant I?" Vlad replied, stoically.

"Rich jerk."

"People in my position tend to take comments like that as complements."

"Well it wasn't," Danny clarified.

"Really?" Vlad rolled his eyes, "I had no idea," he added and Danny laughed, shocking both himself and Vlad.

Danny realised that he preferred this version of Vlad rather than the one beating him up all the time; for obvious reasons, and for some not so obvious ones. This version of Vlad was...fun. Maybe this was how Vlad had been before he turned bitter after the lab accident. For the first time, Danny found himself wondering if he would've got on well with a young Vlad like his father had. But he'd never know, so he shook his head and coughed.

"I wonder what these things actually do..." Danny wondered aloud as he put down his now empty coffee mug and picked up the wooden staff.

"Yes, Desponius wasn't very forthcoming in explaining that, was he?"

"Maybe it explodes when it's near, or something," Danny blurted out and stared down at the staff with a worried expression.

"I doubt it's anything as overly dramatic as that, Daniel."

"Hey! It's always good to be careful around things you don't know anything about; rule number one of living with ghost hunters...everything explodes!"

"That's probably because you are a ghost surrounded by ghost hunting equipment."

"Shut it, Vlad," Danny muttered as he aimed the staff at Vlad. Instantly it shot out a blast of golden light and Vlad went intangible just as it did so. It blasted the sofa he'd been sitting on to pieces with a loud explosion of crackling light.

"Heh heh...whoops..." Danny rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry dude, it didn't do that earlier...weird...maybe it only works when you're irritated."

"I suggest you put it down...gently," Vlad said as he floated over the rubble and across to Danny, somehow, still holding his coffee mug.

"Right..." Danny nodded and very gently he placed it onto the table and jumped back onto the sofa with his eyes scrunched closed. He slowly opened them again and sighed, "Phew...close call..." he grinned nervously.

"Not for my couch," Vlad frowned.

"Erm..."

"My five thousand dollar couch," Vlad corrected himself.

"Erm...I'll...write ya a cheque?" Danny shrugged, abashed.

"Alright, then, while you're at it, those clothes you're wearing cost..."

"Ah...I don't wanna hear it!" he shook his head.

"That's probably best," Vlad replied as Danny yawned behind his hand, "Go to sleep, Daniel, I believe we're perfectly safe for a few hours yet."

"I'm fine," Danny insisted.

"No, you're not."

"Yeah, I am."

"Daniel."

"Vlad," Danny countered and Vlad rolled his eyes.

"Are children always this irritating to people trying to help them?"

"Yup, all the time," Danny nodded sagely and Vlad sighed again, "Don't take it personally, it's just what we do."

"Fantastic. But could you act like an adult for two minutes and listen to me?"

"Sure," Danny smiled, "But you can't make me go to sleep. It's not fair if only one of us gets to rest, I mean we are both monster food at this rate, so we might as well be well-rested monster food, right?"

"An interesting analysis, but I'd rather be a tired, exhausted, living half ghost, rather than a well-rested, dead one," Vlad relied articulately and Danny frowned.

"...Good point," he said, "So we'll both be 'tired, exhausted, living half ghosts', then? I like it."

"You're not listening to me at all, are you?"

"Nope."

"Fine, fine...do what you want, Daniel," Vlad waved a dismissive hand, and finally set down his coffee mug as they lapsed into silence.

"So...any genius plans forming...anything at all?" Danny asked, getting bored of the quiet.

"I wouldn't suggest facing it head on, we need a strategy," Vlad said, glaring at Danny.

"...Like what?"

"That's what I need to work on," Vlad replied and Danny slouched back in his seat as his eyes started to droop again. He really was tired, but he wanted to stay awake.

"R...right..." Danny yawned again and he lay his head back against the couch he was sitting on, "I'm listening..." he said with a nod, but before he knew it, and despite the coffee he'd drank, Danny fell asleep within a matter of minutes.

Vlad silently carried the boy to one of the bedrooms and then closed the door. He went back into the sitting room and took out the spirit mirror from his pocket. This was working surprisingly well in his favour.

"Desponius," he said confidently when he saw the hooded face of the spirit. "The child is asleep, I have an idea that might work..." Vlad began.

Desponius floated around the Municium in the shadows after listening to Vlad's plan; he had to admit that it was a good one, not to mention a brave one. But could he let the half ghost go through with it? he'd clearly but a lot of thought into it but it was risky. Very risky, however it wasn't as though they had much choice. Calidae needed to be stopped and only by destroying him would he be stopped for good; imprisoning him would only last for so long again before they released him to he escaped.

But the old spirit was concerned. Oh yes, he was extremely concerned. In the eye of the Senate he was a traitor, but that didn't bother him; his conscience was clear about that. What he couldn't live with was the fact that the hybrid could lose his life because of his own plan. Desponius wanted his bothers to see that they should've done something about Calidae a long time ago, but now someone else was paying the price for their failures.

If his brothers discovered his alliance with the hybrids then all would be lost; they denied being in league with Calidae however was it true? He wasn't sure.

Oh yes, Desponius was deeply, deeply concerned.

Danny slowly opened his eyes and frowned in confusion as his surroundings became clear in the shadows. He was in unfamiliar surroundings and it never made him feel comfortable when he didn't know where he was when he woke up.

Oh...right, he remembered now. It hasn't been a dream; it was real, it was all real. He was in Vlad's chalet in the Rocky Mountains. "Damn...I fell asleep..." he muttered quietly. He hadn't meant to sleep, he'd wanted to stay up because he didn't think it was fair that he got to rest and Vlad didn't. Vlad was in the same situation he was and Vlad didn't fall asleep.

The room he was in looked simple enough, except that everything looked very expensive, even the curtains looked like velvet. He pushed himself out of the soft, very cloud-like bed he'd been lying in, and meandered across to the door he could see at the other end of the room.

Walking back into the sitting room Danny found it empty, so he continued to walk through the building looking for Vlad. "Vlad?" he called out as he came into each room. When he came to the garage / lab room he saw Vlad lying under a pile of machinery as he tinkered with the wiring with a stressed expression on his face. He'd discarded his jacket and his white shirt sleeves were rolled back over his forearms which were spotted with dirt.

"Vlad?" Danny blinked and Vlad stopped what he was doing to move to from his work.

"Ah, Daniel," Vlad replied and sat up.

"What're you doing?"

"Hmm...nothing, just tinkering."

"Erm...is this really the best time for that?"

"Probably not," Vlad answered, "But what else am I supposed to do?" he shrugged.

"Whatever..." Danny blinked. "I guess we're still safe, then, huh?"

"For the time being."

"Good," the younger hybrid sighed as Vlad wiped his hands on a rag after standing up. "Is that...a ghost portal?" Danny asked, looking across the room. There was a large dust sheet covering something which took a very familiar shape.

"Hmm, yes," Vlad said, in disinterest and Danny simply nodded once. The young hybrid wasn't sure what he should do or say next. It was impossible to ignore the dangerous position they were in and it was even more award because the silence was getting to him.

For a while he simply walked slowly around the room, examining books and other things which were littered on the work surfaces. But suddenly, after around 20 minutes, the ground shook violent and everything in the room toppled from where it had been precariously balanced. Glass smashed, books tumbled, cupboard doors rattled, wires were stretched, metal clattered, in short; everything was in chaos.

Danny dropped the book he was holding in shock as he too was tossed around. "What the hell was that?!" he uttered and Vlad swore under his breath. He tossed aside the tools he'd been using and ran with urgency.

"Daniel, take the Spectre Speeder and get as far away from here as you can!" he ordered Danny.

"What?!"

"Just do it!" Vlad shouted and pushed Danny over to the vehicle. He then took up the staff which he'd left leaning against the wall and handed it to Danny who continued to protest in confusion. He also made sure he'd left the mirror in the vehicle; his plan depended on it.

"This is your plan?! This is nuts!" Danny cried, "At least let me help!"

"You can't. If it finds you it'll take your powers and kill you, now go!" Vlad shouted again and slammed the door of the Speeder closed in Danny's face. He then took out his transmitter and switched in the ghost shield which he'd rigged earlier to counteract humans as well and commanded the vehicle to drive forwards, away from the chalet.

Danny watched as the building got smaller and smaller, but he also saw a familiar black shadow as it swallowed up Vlad's chalet. The surrounding woodland was also engulfed very quickly and silently in the night. He could see the birds flying away from the danger and the noise of a thousand flapping wings and squarks snapped Danny from his state of shock.

"Vlad," he frowned as he clutched the staff. When he tried to leave the vehicle he was tossed back by the shield, both as a ghost and a a human. When he tried to turn it back to the chalet it wouldn't let him. He had no way of getting back. "Damn it!" he muttered and he slammed his fists against the wheel.

All he could see ahead was peaceful, open sky...until everything shook again. Something from behind him exploded; that was the only way to describe it. He jumped from his seat and ran to stare out the back window as the chalet and the surrounding woodland exploded in smoke and flames.

Vlad waited for the opportune moment. He waited until the creature tore through his shields and stalked the very air before him. This was what he'd spent the last few hours preparing for. He'd wired the heart of the staff given by Desponius into his ghost portal and turned the device into a ticking time bomb ready to explode. But he'd need to be here to turn the switch, and he wanted to be sure that it killed the thing that had caused him so much pain.

He'd made sure Danny had the other staff just in case this didn't work, them at least the boy would have a fighting chance, even though it was unlike to work. If this didn't kill it, then it was unlikely that Daniel would be able to. Vlad had also made sure that Danny had the mirror so that Desponius could explain his actions to the boy. Everything was in order. The only plan that had a chance of succeeding was ready.

However it was likely to also kill him in the process...

This was it, it was now or never. Vlad never thought he'd die like this. But still, it was rather ironic; 20 hears ago a ghost portal had half killed him and given him ghost powers. Now, 20 years later, it was going to finish the job and kill him for good. But at least he wasn't going to hell alone...

"Daniel," Danny heard a voice speak and he yelled in surprise. He searched around skittishly for the source and quickly his eyes came to rest on the small mirror which was so strangely important. It was on the dash lard and he'd not noticed it before now, but it was impossible to miss at the moment...because it was emitting a pale golden light.

"Whoa..." Danny blinked, confused as he picked up the object. He saw the shadowed face of the spirit Desponius in its polished and spotless surface and he frowned, "Erm, this isn't a good time."

"I know," the spirit said quickly, "You mustn't go back, I know what has happened; Vladimir told me of his intentions. If you are alone, then it has happened."

"And you let him do it?!"

"It was his wish, I couldn't stop him."

"You...you can't mean he's...he's...dead?"

"Most likely," he nodded and Danny sighed. He didn't know how to feel about that. Vlad had saved his life...and now he could be dead.

"No...no, I'm going back!"

"You can't, it was his wish."

"To hell with 'his wish'," Danny shouted.

Once again, even though deep down he knew it'd do no good he tried to pull the wheel around but he was surprised when it responded. The vehicle made a sharp U-turn in the air and Danny flew it at top speed towards the explosion. To hell with Vlad's stupid plan and his stupid wish.

...Of course, Danny didn't consider the theory that the vehicle was suddenly responding now because the transmitter had been obliterated. And since Vlad had the transmitter...what, therefore had become of him?

But Danny didn't think about this; he was too focused on steering the vehicle as fast as possible to get to the chalet, or, rather what was left of the chalet. He drove the Speeder down into an almost 90 degree angle and it came crashing down into a tree top, and then it fell clumsily to the ground. Not the best idea perhaps, but all Danny cared about finding Vlad.

He scrambled out of the Speeder, grasping the stave as he ran his heart beat a mile a minute as he neared the site of the destruction. The surrounding trees had been completely burned and withered away, the ground had been scorched and had turned black from the force of the explosion and there wasn't a sound of a single animal left in the area. But as Danny got even closer, it got worse.

Now he began seeing the remains of the building which had been torn to millions of pieces by sheer force. There were pieces of metal and concrete and wood and chucks of what had once been expensive furniture all mixed together in one big mess. Books and scraps of fabric and pieces of glass, in parts were indistinguishable from each other the closer he got to the source.

As he continued to move carefully Danny brandished the stave with steady hands; years of ghosts fights had taught him a lot. "Vlad?" he whispered and walked carefully over the debris of the once impressive building. He couldn't believe Vlad would blow up his beloved chalet, especially with himself still inside it! It was nuts!

He continued to tread with caution as he scanned every inch he could see, "Vlad?" Danny repeated with growing concern, and eventually, he found Vlad.

The man was lying unmoving, covered in dust and debris. Danny dropped the staff and ran over to Vlad. He pushed off the rubble and shook the man by the shoulders, "Vlad...come on, wake up!" he ordered in a worried tone and he came close to slapping Vlad if he didn't respond soon.

"Hmm," Vlad grimaced and turned his head after a second.

"You're one crazy fruit loop, Vlad," Danny finally sighed in relief.

"Ha!" the man snorted as he opened his eyes, "And...you...never listen!"

"I already told you that. And didn't I also mention something about things exploding? When're you gonna start listening to me?" Danny asked as he started to help Vlad shift away the larger bits of debris to give him room to sit up unencumbered.

"Very...funny," Vlad groaned. His whole body ached but he'd have to ignore it; at least he was still alive. "Where is it?" the man asked aloud and they both started looking around.

"Erm...I think I found it..." Danny gulped.

He saw the black shadow not far from them. It was lying under rubble and dust and smoke as flames burnt all around them.

"Where? Is it dead?" Vlad asked but he soon saw for himself. The thing seemed to take a breath and the dust surrounding the air around it was blown in and out. And it started to move...very slowly...but it did...it moved. It was still alive.

"No..." Danny muttered in fear, "...But we're gonna be."

"It's still alive?!" Vlad breathed in disbelief as he squinted through the dust.

"Uh-huh," the young half ghost shuddered, "Come on...we gotta go now..." Danny helped Vlad get to his feet and he tried to pull the man away by his arm.

"And go where?" Vlad replied, "Once it recovers it will follow us again," he said as he quickly brought a hand up to cradle his shoulder which had started bleeding.

"So, what're you gonna do? You already blew up a house on it!"

"Yes," Vlad sighed, "With one of these to power the explosion," he said as he picked up Danny's discarded stave. "It clearly had some effect."

"There's no more houses to blow up, can't we just go?" Danny asked, "What happened to picking your battles?" he demanded but Vlad didn't answer. Instead he weakly morphed into his ghost half, looking as battered and bruised as before, he raised the stave and with its golden light, he attacked the enemy.

A.N. Please let me know if you think I should write up the rest to finish this off or not :)