Author's Note: This chapter was written by Litastic.

Buried

Making a Deal

After ensuring that both Paulina and Cujo were out of sight, Danny rushed to the entrance of the hallway just in time to see his father.

"Hello, Father," Danny greeted, his voice shaking ever so slightly at the end.

Vlad only hummed something of an acknowledgment as he placed his briefcase on the floor beside him and handed Danny his coat. Danny took the coat to hang it up as per usual but was stopped when Vlad's grip didn't loosen. Confused, Danny turned and was met with Vlad's calculating gaze.

"Is something wrong, Daniel?"

Danny felt his blood run cold. Did his father already know? Was he that bad at hiding things from him? He was sure he found a good hiding spot for Paulina. And Cujo had been acting so obedient, keeping quiet and staying far, far away from Vlad.

Danny shook his head before remembering to speak. "N-No, Father."

Vlad hummed again. "I thought I heard some voices, but perhaps it was just you talking to yourself or that green pest. I suppose it can get quite lonesome here. Not something I can quite imagine for myself, however."

Danny opted not to reply and turned his gaze to his hand still holding onto Vlad's coat.

"Anyway, where are your manners, boy?" Vlad asked as he finally loosened his grip. "Aren't you going to ask how my day was?"

The corner of Vlad's lip twitched upward in a smirk that Danny assumed was meant to be jovial, but it only succeeded in appearing forced and unnatural.

Despite his efforts, Danny was still fraught with nerves as he tried to steady his words. "Sorry, Father. So, uhm, how was it? Your day—I mean—"

Vlad scoffed and sauntered toward the lab, inspecting it once more. "Really, Daniel, it's a simple question to ask. Must you overcomplicate everything?"

Danny trailed behind and mumbled another apology that fell on deaf ears as Vlad continued speaking.

"My day was quite productive. I actually finished my work early and would have had some time for leisure, but instead I used that time and found something for you instead. Something of a surprise, I suppose." Vlad gestured to his briefcase still on the floor.

Danny switched his gaze from Vlad to the briefcase then back to Vlad. Vlad rolled his eyes and leaned against the lab table, gesturing emphatically.

"Well, go on, then, open it."

Danny retrieved the briefcase, brought it to the lab table next to Vlad, and did as he was told. As soon as he saw what was inside, Danny could only stare agape as he gingerly picked it up.

It was a telescope with a beautifully engraved wooden frame and brass rings. Danny turned it over in his hands a couple times, inspecting it, completely in awe and speechless.

"Well?" said Vlad.

"It's amazing!" Danny couldn't stop staring at the device. "I don't know what to say."

"A thank-you would be an appropriate response."

Danny felt his neck burn. He gave his father an appreciative smile. "Thank you, really. You didn't have to do this."

"You're right. I didn't have to."

Danny brushed his father's sarcastic jabs aside and took a peek through the telescope, testing out its abilities. He twisted and turned the knobs and switched out the eyepieces, but soon his excited smile morphed into something melancholy as realization sank in.

Vlad exhaled deeply and crossed his arms. "What is it now, Daniel?"

"It's...well, uhm, I thought, maybe—"

"Enough with the mumbling, Daniel. Speak up."

Danny pursed his lips, debating if he should even continue, but if his father had gotten him a telescope, then perhaps there was a chance he would let him see the stars…

"I just...feel bad that you went out of your way to bring me a telescope that I can't put to use," said Danny.

Vlad's tone lowered. "It was indeed an inconvenience for me to find it." He snatched the telescope from Danny's hands and stared down the eyeglass briefly before returning it. "And it works just fine as is. What other use would you need for it anyway?"

"Well, in all the books I've read, telescopes were used to chart the skies, and—"

Vlad pushed off the table and paced around the lab, inspecting it once more. "I know how a telescope works, Daniel, don't patronize me."

"I wasn't trying to—" Danny followed after his father at a respectful distance, trying to get his attention but failing. "What I meant to say was that, well, I was just thinking about our last conversation, and now that I have a telescope—"

"I hope you're not talking about going out to see the stars."

"Meteor shower, actually," Danny half-heartedly mumbled.

"I got you the telescope so you can play pretend with it," Vlad continued, ignoring him completely. "You know, imagine you see stars. You like playing make-believe, don't you?"

"Father, I'm not seven anymore."

Vlad raised his eyebrows. "Really? Because I thought for sure a seven-year-old must've been the one arranging these beakers."

Danny sucked in a breath. "I promise I'll do better with the beakers. But as I was saying, I was thinking about what you said before and—"

"I believe I made it quite clear that my decision is final," said Vlad, emphasizing the last word with a brief glance over his shoulder.

"Yes, I know. I know I still have a lot to learn, but it's my eighteenth birthday, so I'm just saying—"

"We've already discussed the matter; I don't see why you keep bringing it up. You know I don't like repeating myself, little badger."

"If you could just hear me out—"

Vlad swiftly turned, his eyes flashing a crimson red as he towered over Danny with a fierce scowl. "You are never leaving this lab. That. Is. Final."

Danny didn't dare breathe in the ensuing silence. The chilling aura that Vlad radiated in his flash of anger crept into his bones, threatening to overwhelm his senses, and yet, despite his dissipated might, he withheld displaying such weakness. But even that was a lost cause when he dropped his gaze to the floor, no longer able to meet his father's eyes.

"Oh, great," Vlad groaned, sinking into a chair in the living area. "Now I'm the bad guy."

Danny swallowed hard, refusing to look anywhere but at the floor. He should have known better than to speak so out of line, so disrespectfully. Vlad had brought him a thoughtful and wonderful gift, and instead of being grateful, he was acting spoiled and ignorant of his father's warnings. Vlad had taught him better than that.

In his periphery, he saw the open briefcase with the telescope perched on top of it. The feeling of it in his hands just moments before now felt so distant. Pictures of stars from his astronomy books filled his mind, their brilliance now shrouded in a hazy gloom.

Something moved just at the edge of Danny's vision. His gaze shifted and he briefly caught a glimpse of Paulina hastily grabbing Cujo and disappearing into their hiding spot once more.

Danny heard Vlad speak, but it was muffled and unclear in his mind. He hadn't realized he had been staring almost directly at Vlad until he began to move, prompting his focus to sharpen immediately.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault, not yours," Danny blurted out, succeeding in diverting Vlad's attention back to him. "You're not the bad guy. You were just looking out for me, and I should have listened to you."

Vlad crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in the chair. His fingers tapped against the armrest.

Danny averted his gaze again, suddenly fascinated by the venipuncture scars on his inner arm. "All I was trying to say, Father, is that I realize now that I was making a selfish and dangerous request." He swallowed down the last of his doubts and met his father's gaze head on as an idea formulated in his brain. "So, I thought of something else to ask for my birthday instead. If that's okay."

"I already bought you a telescope. Have I really spoiled you so much that you would still expect more than that?"

"Father, please just hear me out. I promise I won't ask to see the stars again."

Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled hard. "What is it, then?"

"No experiments." Danny's tone lifted at the end, more cautious than questionable. "Not until after my birthday."

"Will you really stop asking to go outside if I do this for you?"

Danny nodded.

There was a long pause. Neither of them moved.

Finally, Vlad sighed and stood. "Fine. Don't make a mess of things while I'm gone."

As his father prepared to leave, Danny helped wherever he could. He retrieved Vlad's coat and assured him that he'd be fine on his own. Vlad straightened out his coat and placed a comforting hand on Danny's shoulder.

"I'll see you in a few days, little badger."

The room was quiet again when Vlad left. So quiet that Danny nearly forgot he wasn't completely alone when he heard Cujo's skittering footsteps. He exhaled slowly, shoulders relaxing as he knelt down and felt the welcoming chill of Cujo's soft fur against his hand.

Danny glanced back at his room where Cujo and Paulina had been hiding. Paulina was lingering by the doorframe, lost in thought until she noticed his eyes on her.

"So that's your father, huh?" she asked with a hint of caution.

"That's him."

"Does he always talk to you like that?"

"Like what?"

Paulina's brows pinched as she approached him and smoothed out her dress. "He just seems so rude and demeaning."

"What? No! No, he's…he's not like that. He just likes to joke around."

"Those 'jokes' sounded more like insults."

The back of Danny's neck burned. "He can be a bit blunt, but he really doesn't mean anything by it."

Paulina only stared at him. He could sense that she had more questions, but he didn't want to talk about his relationship with his father any longer. He cleared his throat as he stood and walked over to the table where he'd left the telescope.

He fiddled with the mechanics once more, the corners of his lips pursed in thought. He met Paulina's curious gaze.

"Were you serious about taking me to see the meteor shower?" Danny abruptly asked before he could reconsider.

"Of course, but what about your father?" asked Paulina.

"He won't be back for a while."

"How do you know?"

"He really only comes here now when he has experiments to do. But because I asked him for no experiments for my birthday, he'll be gone for a couple days."

"I did hear you say that," said Paulina. "I mean, I guess this is a lab, so it's not surprising." She walked into the lab and circled the metal examination table, eyeing the pristine counters. "What sort of experiments does he do?"

"Oh...just normal experiments."

"Ghost experiments?"

"W-What?" Danny nearly dropped the telescope. "What gave you that idea?"

"Well, for starters, you have a ghost dog. And that machine thing?" She gestured at the portal. "I don't know what that's all about, but I'm guessing it has to do with ghosts, too."

"Yeah…I guess that's pretty obvious, huh?"

"It's kind of cool, actually."

"I've been seeing my father do these experiments for so long that it's just normal to me now." Danny leaned against the table, eyeing the telescope once more. "But seeing the stars...that'll be something amazing for me."

"But won't your father be mad if you leave?"

Danny held back a shudder at the thought. "He doesn't have to know. As long as I get back in time."

Crossing her arms, Paulina gave him a smirk. "I didn't know you were such a rebel."

"You'd be surprised," Danny quipped.

Paulina chuckled. "I do love surprises."

Danny smiled. Here he was, talking to someone other than his father, someone from the outside world who wasn't here to hurt or hunt him down. Instead, she'd be taking him to see the stars. Actual stars in the night sky. Outside. In the real world.

"So, we should probably start heading out, huh?" said Paulina.

Danny blinked a few times, the tips of his ears feeling warm when he realized he'd been staring at her for a while. "Oh, right, yeah. We should."

"Well, come on, then!" Paulina started walking toward the hallway that Vlad had left through and stopped when Danny walked toward the portal instead. "What are you doing? Isn't the exit this way?"

"Well, about that…" Danny tilted his head toward the portal.

"We're going through there? Why can't we just use the door over here?" asked Paulina.

"I…can't unlock it."

"You mean your father just locks you in here like some kind of prisoner?"

"No, of course not!"

"So you can unlock the door?"

"Well…"

"Do you know how?"

"It's got a pretty intense security system."

"So you're basically trapped here."

"That's not true! I know how to turn on the portal."

"But have you ever used it before now?"

Danny thinned his lips.

Paulina shook her head and sighed before walking up to the portal. "Well, there's a first time for everything, right?"

Danny took a deep breath and nodded.

"So, how are we gonna go through this thing?" asked Paulina.

At that moment, Cujo ran toward them. Danny reached down to undo his collar. Almost immediately, the little puppy grew into the same giant monstrous hound as before, now towering over Paulina and Danny and making the lab seem much smaller.

Paulina blew out a puff of air. "Well, I guess that was obvious, too."

Cujo barked and bowed his head down to the ground, his tail wagging excitedly. Paulina pet Cujo's floppy ears, her arms almost disappearing into the mass of soft, shimmery fur.

"Yes, you're pretty cool and adorable, aren't you?" she cooed. Cujo only wagged his tail faster, big red eyes half lidded in delight.

Danny chuckled at the sight. He then retrieved the telescope and attached it to his side on his belt. It was still quite unbelievable that he was actually going to be able to use it for its intended purpose.

He returned to Cujo's side and hopped onto his back with a little help from his ghostly abilities. Even lying down, Cujo was still much taller than Danny.

"You made that look way too easy," Paulina griped as she stared up at him.

Danny smiled apologetically. "I've had some practice. Here."

He reached a hand out to her. Paulina raised a brow, eyeing the distance from the floor to the top of Cujo's shoulders.

Danny's smile remained, now gentle. "I won't drop you. Promise."

"You promise, huh?"

"You don't trust me?"

Without any further hesitation, Paulina grabbed his hand. Danny lifted her up in one swift, fluid motion.

"You're pretty strong for someone who's spent his life buried underground," Paulina remarked with a slight blush.

"I, uh…I train. A little," said Danny, also blushing.

Once Paulina was settled comfortably behind Danny, Cujo stood and began approaching the portal but suddenly stopped again.

Danny's fists were clenched tight, full of Cujo's fur. Cujo waited patiently for the signal to go forward but Danny found himself stuck and unable to do anything except stare at the portal in front of him.

The swirling energy tugged at his core, his pulse quickening in warning. Pinpricks of a long-ago memory jolted down his left side, spidering up his arm and across his chest in preparation for what was to come.

Danny nearly jumped when Paulina placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Danny swallowed hard and tried to calm his sudden panting breaths. "N-Nothing. It's...nothing."

"It's not that scary," said Paulina. "I mean, it was at first, but I still made it out okay. And you will, too." She gave his shoulder a squeeze and added as an afterthought, "Promise."

Danny looked over his shoulder with a half-smile. "Promise?"

"You don't trust me?"

Danny chuckled and gazed forward again, his grip loosening just a bit.

"Hey, it'll be fine, okay?" said Paulina.

Danny exhaled. He appreciated her encouragement, but she didn't know what he knew. No backing out now, though. No more stalling. It was now or never.

Thankfully, he was in front, so Paulina couldn't see him shutting his eyes tight when he gave Cujo the signal to go ahead. Cujo bounded forward, and Danny held his breath as they left the lab, his home, behind.