**Back to third-person! Otherwise this chapter won't make any sense. Enjoy!**
As school got out, Hazel met with Bleu, who hadn't spoken to him since his private conversation with Danny.
"So how'd it go?" she asked.
Hazel finally came to a stop in front of her locker, "Good." He smiled, "He isn't mad anymore." He took a deep breath, "Still friends."
"That's good." She smiled, "So he forgave you for the whole Acid thing?"
Hazel nodded and started walking with her down the hall.
Bleu smiled, "Good." She felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled out the phone and checked it, "Oh- Mom's gonna give you the guest bedroom and wants to know if you have a color preference."
Hazel gave her an odd look, "Uh- no… th-thank you though…" he smiled, "Any color is fine, really."
Bleu smiled and wrapped one arm around his shoulders, "Welcome to the family, Hazel."
"Thank you…" he smiled.
They finally walked outside and started to walk towards the car, which was parked along the backside of the school. Behind them, their shadows seemed more prominent and irregular than they should've been.
"How's your head?" she asked.
Hazel barely felt his forehead, "Sore." He said. He glanced over and looked at her, rubbing the back of his neck, "What's up?"
She stared behind them, mainly staring at the ground, "Do our shadows… look different?" she asked.
He furrowed his eyebrows and studied the shadows carefully. "Danny?" he called.
"Danny?" Bleu looked at him.
"There's a ghost somewhere around here…" he said, "I know there is- my neck only feels this way when there is…" he said, "Very funny, Danny." He said flatly.
"If it's a ghost in general… when how do you know it's Danny specifically?" she asked.
"Because it's not a hundred-percent ghost aura I'm sensing…" he said, thinking of a different possibility, but doubting that would be the case. He took a deep breath, "Let's just go…" he sighed and kept walking.
Bleu nodded, but trailed behind. "S-So your ghost sense… is that- what's it do exactly?"
"The back of my neck tingles…" Hazel answered and continued rubbing the back of his neck. "I think since I have hallucination powers, it plays of the paranormal sense of paranoia." He said. "It'd make sense- I guess since Danny's got ice powers, and he's got the ghost sense where he sees his breath. So… I almost wanna say the… icy hand of death? And who knows what other ghost senses are there and what they can represent." He said, "It's actually amazing." A small smile grew on his face. After hearing no responses from Bleu, he finally turned around, "You o-" he froze, finding he was now alone. "Bleu!?" he called and looked around. He turned around again, "Hey- where'd you go?" he asked. He slapped the back of his neck in response to his ghost sense. Suddenly his ghost sense was overwhelming. He shuddered and turned around, almost jumping. "V-Vlad..." he breathed, then snarled, "Where's Bleu, you son of a bitch!?" he growled and clenched his fists. His eyes glared at the tall, white-dressed man in front of him.
Vlad scoffed, "Surely with the kind of information you were feeding that girl, she must've gotten bored and left." He shrugged, hardly even trying to lie.
"Where is she!?" Hazel threw a punch, but easily missed as Vlad only leaned to one side and let him miss.
"Calm down, Raven- she's not in any danger." He shrugged, "Not that you should really care anyway." He said casually, "Who should trust you? Who can trust you?" he asked.
"What are you talking about?" Hazel growled.
"Hazel Richards. You're the son of Kurt Richards, the man who has notoriously escaped the police because of his half-ghost son, who's… probably used his powers to bail him out of drug busts and police-infested areas." He applauded sarcastically, "Congratulations, you've helped your father become a fugitive." He said. "That makes you a criminal, doesn't it? And your awful smoking habits. That's not legal." He said.
"That's none of your business." Hazel growled. "Get to the point."
"It matters since I'm the mayor of this godforsaken place full of thick-headed idiots who hasn't even figured out Fenton's identity. And honestly, even I feel stupid for not getting it." He growled. "But- my point is… you've doomed your father to a long time in prison. You. The one member of his family he had left. The only person he could trust, and you landed him in prison." He stated, "Danny. The one person you could trust, and you almost killed him. He trusted you and you betrayed his trust and beat the boy senseless and thought nothing more of it."
"You're wrong!" Hazel snarled.
"Tell me I'm wrong again!" Vlad snapped and whipped around to face him, "Every person you've met, you've ended up hurting! Danny, Sam, Tucker, Jazz, your father…how long will it be until you've hurt Bleu, too, huh?"
Hazel flinched, "No, wait- I've never hurt Sam, Tucker or Jazz." He argued.
"Maybe not physically." Vlad said, "Pain is more than just a physical infliction. You of all people should know that. They know, Hazel. They know you tried to kill Danny. And they almost didn't forgive you for it."
"That's none of your business!" Hazel tried throwing another punch.
The fanged halfa dodged the punch, "And face it, Hazel Richards, you can't trust anyone either." Vlad taunted, "Do you really think the Stevens can trust you as quickly as they did? Enough to let you just have your own room in their home? Who's to say you won't be back out on the street again because they decided you can't be trusted? Daniel kicked you out of his house, too."
Hazel looked down, "But…"
"You're being used, Richards." Vlad said darkly. "They don't trust you. And I know that you don't trust them."
"Th-that's not true!" Hazel snapped, "They're the first people in a long time that I've been able to trust!"
"For how long?" Vlad asked honestly. "Don't you think you should take them out, before they get to you?" he asked and held out his hand. "Join with me, Hazel J. Richards, and I promise, you'll never be homeless again. You'll never be abused. Never be ignored. Hurt. Alone. Starved. You'll be happy again."
Hazel thought heavily about the things that Vlad had said, taking into consideration that there had always been some sort of pattern. He sighed. "I am happy." He said. He looked up and looked Vlad in the eye, "And if I get let down again, then so be it. I've been through heartbreak before." Then he growled, "But as far as trust goes, give me one damn good, moral reason, as to why I should be able to trust you." He smirked, his expression turned dark and almost vicious, "Because as far as I'm concerned… you're full of more shit than anyone else I've ever met. More fucking sleazy, scamming, scandalous, sketchy, venomous, than a fucking drug dealer." He growled.
Vlad began laughing. "Quite the mouth you've got on you." He retreated his hand to behind his back again. "You kiss your mother with that mouth?" he asked, then tilted his head to the side mockingly, "Oh right. She put a bullet in her head, didn't she?"
Hazel snarled, "Leave her out of this!" he roared and charged at him, missing once again as Vlad dodged.
Vlad pulled out a small, taser-like gadget and jabbed the crackling device into Hazel's lower back. He then grabbed the shouting teen by the back of his shirt and punched him in the stomach, hard enough to break open the stitches on the preexisting wounds. Hazel growled and tried to spark a hallucinating flame in his hand, but only feeling a dull throb instead. He looked up at Vlad in fear. He brought up a knee instead, but was hit again by the strange device and shocked. Vlad then kicked Hazel's stomach with his knee and pinned him against the wall by his throat. "You have given me no other options." He growled. He tightened his grip on the gagging teen and threw him to the side, allowing him to crash to the ground.
Hazel took a deep breath and coughed, spitting blood into his hand. He glanced down at his stomach, finding his brand-new grey shirt starting to turn red. He forced himself to his hands and knees, "What… what options?" he asked, "Of capturing Danny?" he then chuckled darkly, "I'd rather die than to hurt him again." He groaned and struggled to keep his balance.
"That can be arranged." Vlad smirked and teleported closer to Hazel and punched him in the stomach, causing him to stagger backward and fall. "But I'm not done with you." He said, venom present in his voice. He picked up Hazel by his throat once more and held him close to his face, "You just happen to be too valuable." He smirked, "Daniel doesn't trust me…" his smirk turned into a fanged sneer, "But he'll trust you." His body changed into a pink vapor-like mist and absorbed into the center of Hazel's chest, taking full control of his body.
Hazel's body crashed to the ground, eyes squeezed shut in pain, fists clenched and breaths heavy and shaky. As his trembling came to a stop, his eyes opened. Instead of their famous hazel color that the boy was named after, they were now a bright crimson. "Come on…" he growled to himself and forced himself onto his hands and knees. "We seem to be bleeding out, Richards…" he panted, but managed a weak smirk, "We should go find help, shouldn't we?" his eyes flickered to hazel and he grabbed his head, "N-No…" he growled and stumbled, bumping against the wall.
"Uh-uh…" his eyes turned red, "You'll die otherwise, Hazel…" he regained his balance and kept walking. He took deep breath and started toward the front of the school, eventually coming across the inseparable trio that he hoped to find. "Danny!" he called out, "Guys! Help…" he groaned and fell to the ground, squeezing his eyes shut in pain.
Danny, Sam and Tucker all rushed to Hazel's side, "Oh my g- what happened?" Sam gasped.
"Th-the wound…" Hazel panted, "I got into a fight. He hit my stomach and ripped the stitches…" he coughed, then groaned and grabbed his head in response to Hazel trying to regain control.
"Hazel? What's wrong? Did you hit your head too?" Danny asked. He looked around, "You guys, run and grab help." He looked up at Sam and Tucker, "The school nurses should still be working."
Sam pat Tucker's shoulder, "Come on." They got up and ran off.
Hazel opened one eye, fighting to stay gold, "R-run…" he pleaded, then he squeezed his eyes shut, "Get away from me…" he groaned. "While you have the chance…" he forced out.
Danny looked at Hazel strangely, "What are you talking about?" he asked. When Hazel opened his eyes again he backed away slightly, "Wait- why are your eyes red?" he asked.
The pink vapor rose from Hazel's chest and loomed over Danny.
"Run…" Hazel coughed weakly before closing eyes.
Danny glanced down at Hazel, then looked back up and made eye contact with Hazel's attacker. "Vlad?" he backed away and quickly scrambled to his feet.
Vlad quickly lunged forward and used the same weapon against Danny, shocking him to the core and causing him to scream. After Danny dropped to the ground, motionless but trembling.
Vlad picked up Danny and lifted him onto his shoulder. "Perfect." He said and looked down at Hazel for a moment, observing the pool of blood beginning to form under him. He turned and took off.
As Sam and Tucker rushed to the nurse's office, they came across Bleu in the hallway. "Hey- where are you guys going?" she asked.
"Hazel's hurt. We gotta go get the nurse." They answered in a panic.
Bleu froze, "I- I was just with him!" she gasped, "Then suddenly I went through a wall and I ended up in a classroom." she said, then she shook her head. "Where is he? Is he alone?"
Tucker shook his head, "Danny's with him now. They're in the courtyard." He answered, "You go meet with them, we'll get help."
Bleu nodded and began running, as did Sam and Tucker.
As Bleu reached Hazel outside, she gasped at his crumpled state on the ground. Then she looked around in a panic, "D-Danny?!" she called, then she knelt by Hazel's side. "Hazel?" she gently shook his shoulder, then carefully rolled him to his back to see the injury. "Oh my god…" she pulled out her phone.
Hazel took a deep breath and coughed before anything else was done.
Bleu jumped. "Hazel, oh thank god, you're alive." Bleu breathed. "I'm calling 9-1-1, you're gonna be okay."
"Where's…" he grabbed Bleu's phone and put it down, "Where's Danny?" he asked. "V-Vlad…" he coughed, spraying blood from his mouth.
"What?" she asked, "Wh-what about Vlad?"
"H-He over-shadowed me…" he gasped then tried forcing himself up, "Danny needs help…" he grunted.
"No!" Bleu carefully laid him back down, "You're hurt, we need to get you to a hospital."
"Call Sam and Tucker… Jazz… Maybe his parents." He shook his head and forced himself back up. "Danny's in trouble." His arm gave way, allowing him to fall a little. He shook his head and tried changing forms, "Call them!" he commanded, finally having the green flames cover his body and change him to Acid. He took off and looked around, finally taking off in a specific direction.
Bleu dialed Sam.
Hello? Hey- is he alright? The nurse's office is closed, they're already gone.
"D-Danny's gone." Bleu hesitated in saying.
What?!
What's wrong? Tucker's voice asked distantly on the other line.
Danny's not there. Sam answered, Where is he?
"I don't know. But Hazel took off after them…"
After them? Who else was there?
"Hazel said something about Vlad over-shadowing him. Said that Danny needed help." She pinched the bridge of her nose. I know which way he went, you guys come out here and we'll chase them in the car."
There was a pause. We're coming now. Be there in a sec. she said hurriedly and hung up.
Acid flew close behind Vlad, teleporting every so often to try and keep up. He groaned and held his stomach, "That son of a bitch…" he cursed, teleporting once more after losing speed. "Vlad! You cowardly bastard!" he barked, catching the vampire-like halfa's attention, "What? You're gonna beat the shit out of me and not finish the job?" he asked, growling and holding his hands out to the side.
Vlad scoffed, landing on the roof, "I don't need to kill you." He said, "I just needed to get you out of the way."
Acid scoffed and then chuckled, "Pussy." He taunted, "Even a drug dealer knows how to deal with a witness." He smirked, only running on adrenaline at this point, "Say I survive all this." He gestured to his stomach, "Who's to say I won't go to Fenton's parents about this? Or better yet- the police."
Vlad laughed loudly, "Child- I own the police!" he announced, "You think a simple bribe won't stop them?"
"And what if it doesn't and you're wrong?" Acid asked, "Be the type of man you claim to be…" he held out his arms, "And kill me now." He said, "Don't think I won't expose you. And if you do kill me, Sam and Tucker would expose you for the cold, cruel, kid-murdering, cock-head you are."
Vlad growled, "Your harsh words are really starting to get to me, Richards." Vlad growled, lowering Danny on the rooftop he stood on.
Barely conscious, Danny had been listening to Acid's argument. 'What are you doing, you idiot? You're gonna get yourself killed…' he thought, 'You're in bad enough shape…'
"Wow." Acid responded sarcastically to Vlad setting down Danny, "Letting go of your precious cargo? I thought you were hell-bent on capturing him!" he called out. "Man…" he laughed, "You're even stupider than I thought you were."
"I'm gonna need both hands to make sure you stay down this time!" Vlad vanished in a small, pink swirl.
Hazel thought quick and vanished in the toxic vapors, trading Vlad spaces and getting closer to Danny. He quickly picked him up and put him over his shoulder, staggering slightly. He turned to Vlad who hovered and looked around confused. "Not the only one with that ability, loser!" he barked.
Vlad turned around in shock.
"Au revoir." Acid saluted him before vanishing in the yellow-green mist. Reappearing finally in a storage where Acid was able to set Danny down, "You okay?"
Danny groaned and shook his head, not being used to being teleported in Acid's mists, "Are you okay? And do you realize what you've done?"
"Hey, I just saved your ass- the least you can do is-" he grunted and grabbed his stomach, the adrenaline fading and forcing him back to his human form. He dropped to his hands and knees and coughed violently, hacking up blood into his palm.
"Hazel- you need help. You need to go to the hospital." Danny grabbed his shoulders.
"I'm not done with that son of a bitch just yet." Hazel growled, forcing his ghost half back. He paused before leaving. "My name…" he sighed, "My real name…"
Danny froze, "Wait- what?" his heart began pounding in fear.
"It's James." He said before vanishing.
**I reaaallly like the way this chapter came out. This was supposed to be the last chapter, but that build-up took way longer than expected. I decided to end it there with Haze's real name kind of as an epic, kind of emotional cliffhanger. The story behind his name: Hazel's mom and dad argued about his name when he was born. Kurt wanted to name him James after his father, whereas Hazel's mom (whose name escapes me) wanted to name him after his eyes. They finally settled on naming Hazel 'James', but kept 'Hazel' as a middle name. So they both won. However, after Hazel's mother died, they adopted Hazel as a first name and left James as a middle name in her memory. Hazel had kept it secret that Hazel wasn't really his first name, but… someone had to know, right? I hope you like this chapter, because I was even sucked into writing this with how intense it got. Please leave a review, guys. Stay awesome folks!**