CM/EG universe Drabble [Just cause I am as obsessive as Vlad]

Timeline: Takes place months after Endgame's epilogue [but not including last scene with Skulker]. So, I guess it's in between the EG epilogue... yeah.

Disclaimer: Juukka does not belong to me. He belongs to my dear friend JH24 who has graciously let me adopt him, and I have now included him in both my universes! If you have not read his story with Juukka, go read it! Super cool story! One of my favorites!

Mutualism

"You cannot be serious right now!" Danny exclaimed to his ghostly opponent as he was forced to fly higher into the sky to evade two powerful green blasts. However, he quickly whirled around to retort with his own energy, only to gasp and duck when a sudden ecto-ball came his way.

"Whoa!" the half-ghost shouted when his enemy was in front of him in the next second; and he barely dodged the swipe of sharp claws that came too close to slicing him in half.

Danny glowered some more at the intruder before he teleported a yard away to put some distance between himself and his opponent. He then quickly fired several blasts.

"Of course, it would be today of all days when a new high-level ghost decides to challenge my territory!" Danny muttered to himself as he dodged another attack. "Wonderful freakin birthday present!"

It seemed the universe could never let him have one nice birthday, like ever. Then again, he was probably being dramatic. His day had been pretty much stress-and-ghost-free. He got to hang out with his friends. His family had thrown him a nice birthday party even if the cake tried to eat them. But it had been nice. He even got an A on his Algebra II exam!

But, of course, his great day wouldn't be complete if he didn't get blasted into a building at least once right?

Still, this ghost's appearance had been very much unexpected. Danny had been wrapping up his nightly patrol, thinking he really would have his perfect day end with a 'perfect night', when this high-powered ghost just came at him. No words. No motive or reason. It had just attacked.

"Hey, buddy! Can I take a rain check? Maybe on a day that's, like… never!" Danny exclaimed.

"Well, aren't you full of adorable banter? He did say I'd find you highly amusing…"

Danny's eyes widened in surprise at hearing the ghost's voice for the first time—but in his head!

But also catching the significance of the ghost's words, he quickly narrowed his eyes in suspicion and demanded, "Wait, who is 'he'? And who the heck are you?"

The ghost just let out amused chirps before he teleported right in front of him, and with a swipe of his strong tail, he sent Danny flying across the sky.

"Ahhhhh!"

Danny gasped in pain as he crashed into the top of a large building. But then the teen quickly jumped to his feet just as the creature appeared once more at the opposite end of the building. Surprisingly, it just tilted its head in amusement and curiosity at him

The ghost boy's hue suddenly brightened with his ire at feeling mocked by the seemingly benign gesture. He was done with this!

Pulling ice energy from his core, he released a large beam towards his foe.

The creature yelped as the attack hit him head on; but the creature wore some kind of helmet and armor on its wolf-life face and body. So, while the ice quickly formed, its ghost body remained protected.

The ghost growled as his body flashed with energy and the ice easily cracked off its armor. Narrowing his eyes, the ghost began to emit electrical blue energy from the top of its helmet.

And then it got on all fours and raced at full speed at Danny.

Danny's eyes widened in disbelief at the ghost's sudden speed. He barely had time to react when the ghost was suddenly in front of him and shot a bolt of electrical energy at him.

With a yelp, Danny reacted; and his body lit up a brighter blue just before he raised his right hand and absorbed the electrical attack right through it. And then circling it through his core, he released the hot energy back at his enemy through his other hand.

The attack hit the surprised ghost right in the chest and sent him right over the edge of the building.

"Ugh!" Danny hissed gripping his burnt hands against his chest and squeezing his eyes. "That was dumb. I am going to feel that one for weeks," he added with a pant of pain as his core further protested with the abuse.

"You have a cold core. You should know better than to absorb heat-based attacks into your core, little one."

Danny's eyes snapped open, and he tensed at finding the wolf-like ghost sitting on its hind legs once more at the opposite side of the building. Hadn't it got knocked off the building? And now it was sitting there, ears pressed back… in worry?

"What?"

"Heat-based attacks. Not good for cold cores," the ghost repeated mentally though it externally just chirped and tilted its head at him. "Are you okay? Do you still want to play?"

Danny's eyebrows rose in shock. "Play?"

The ghost excitedly nodded its heads. "He said you like to play like this… I like playing, too."

"What are you talking about?" Danny exclaimed, fed up. "You call attacking me, playing?"

The ghost tilted its head at him. "Why would I attack you? I am confused, little one." But the ghost suddenly perked up as he guessed, "Or… Is this a new game? Pretending to be mad so we can chase each other again?"

Danny just stared at the ghost for a moment, before tentatively releasing the energy curled around his hands. He took a few tentative steps forward as he asked again though more calmly, "Who are you? And…. Who asked you to come play with me?"

The ghost walked closer on all four, and Danny tensed a bit; but allowed the ghost to close the distance between them.

The ghost bowed its head slightly before sitting back on its hind legs and answering, "I am Juukka. And your guardian sent me. He said you are his youngling. He wanted us to meet… and play!"

Danny's eyebrows creased in a mixture of emotions. "Vlad sent you?"

The ghost purred back and nodded.

Of course, there was a part of the teen that was annoyed with the news that Vlad had sent a ghost to pretty much fight him; but unlike before, he didn't suspect any ill-intent from the other half-ghost. He knew there had to be an explanation. So, more than anything he was surprised and curious with the revelation…

This was particularly surprising when the teen had not seen the older hybrid since his departure from Amity Park after their battle against their alternate future self. It had been almost three months. They had not even spoken since then. It was not Danny's choice. And maybe not even Vlad's either. But somehow, the teen felt the man's wish for them to give each other the space; as if… it just wasn't time for them to reach out… So, he had wanted to respect that.

But now…

"Wait until I tell him all the fun we had! He was right; you are very entertaining!" Juukka continued with excited chirps as he got back on his feet. "What would you like to do next, youngling? Want to continue our play? Or maybe want to try a new game? I love playing chase!"

Danny sighed before smiling weakly at the ghost. "Did Vlad really send you here just to 'play' with me?"

"He also asked me to give you something. But only after we are done playing."

Danny chuckled. "I think we are done for tonight, if you don't mind."

Juukka shook his head. "Don't mind. But… can we play again sometime? I like you, little one. Good banter. Good playmate for Juukkka!"

"Yeah, sure… And my name is Danny." the teen answered, relaxing at last.

"Danny… Yes, good name!"

"Thanks… So, uh…?"

Juukka chirped as he remembered what he had for the teen. Clicking on a device on his wrist, a beam of light shot out in front of the ghost and formed into a glowing green box.

The wolf-like ghost then nudged the box towards him with its snout.

Danny raised an eyebrow; but he still picked up the box anyways.

"Huh. Not sure how I feel about getting a glowing box from Plasmius after not hearing or seeing him in months."

Glancing at the quiet ghost, Danny asked, "How do you know Vlad anyways?"

"He tried to capture me a long time ago, and I almost killed him."

Danny scoffed. "That sounds like the fruit loop."

"But we made peace. He respects Juukkka now, and I respect him. He trusts me with his youngling, and why he sent me here to play with you. You are a special, like him."

Danny blushed. "You mean because we're both half-ghost."

Juukka chirped, but answered telepathically, "Yes, and your bond is powerful. I feel your guardian bond with him. Very special. Juukka knows of special bonds. And of guardians. Guardians made Juukka long ago."

Danny was briefly awed by the ghost. He wondered just how ancient this ghost was. If Vlad had been after him at some point, it meant there was something very unique about this ghost.

"I must go now. But you will call me when you want to play again, yes?"

"Sure. And… it was nice to meet you, Juukka," Danny said with a smile, raising a hand to offer him a handshake.

But instead of taking his hand to shake it, Juukka suddenly moved forward and pressed his head against Danny's chest.

Danny gasped at the sudden flow of energy that entered his core from the ghost. But before he could ask what had just happened, the wolf-like creature pulled away, and suddenly took off across the roof again on all fours. Just as it reached the edge of the building, the creature created a portal and vanished into it.

Danny placed a hand against his strangely pulsing core. "Whoa…" he muttered.

Danny raised the box he still had in his hand and studied it. "Wonder what this is?"

The glowing box he realized was metallic. It had a lock with a weird black button in the front. He was about to push the button when the Fenton phone in his ear vibrated.

"Hello?"

Danny smiled. "Hey, Val," he answered back. "What's up?"

"I got off work early today, so wanted to know if you wanted some help on ghost patrol?"

Danny didn't answer right away since he was really curious about Vlad's little weird box, and briefly got distracted. He hesitated before he finally pressed the button.

He felt when the box absorbed some of his energy before it clicked open. Of course. Energy-signature lock. Why was he surprised?

"Danny?"

"Oh, sorry, Val!" Danny answered quickly, remembering his friend again. "Actually, I'm good. Just one ghost so far. My parents are covering the other side of town; but they haven't reported any ghost activity. So, yeah. Just take it easy tonight. I told Sam and Tucker to do the same. I'm sure everyone is still trying to recover from the food coma at the party."

Valerie laughed. "You're telling me! I was falling asleep at work. All I wanted was a bed to sleep off all the food. Your mom sure knows how to throw a party. Well, except for the cake… I'd ask for a store-bought cake next time. Less drama."

Danny grinned at that. "What? And miss the awesome chance of using it for target practice? It was both delicious and entertaining!"

"Good point! Okay, ghost boy, I gotta go. But remember tomorrow's my turn to patrol so I better not see you flying around; or I'll suck you in a thermos."

"Okay, geesh. I get it. And don't worry, I wasn't planning to anyways," Danny said with a chuckle. "I got a project to finish; so not complaining. And thanks, by the way."

"Pfft. Don't thank me. I told you. I got your back. We all do. That means even you can take a night off, hero."

Danny smirked. "Just don't forget that goes both ways, Val. I better not see you out here tonight or I'll be the one putting you in timeout."

"Yeah. Yeah. Later, ghost boy."

Danny chuckled again as his friend hung up before he finally turned his full attention to the box in his hand. He pulled back the lid and blinked in surprise at the seemingly normal sports watch inside it.

"Normal… yeah, right…," Danny muttered.

Taking out the watch, Danny put the box down on the roof and inspected the mostly black with silver watch. It was very cool looking. Obviously, expensive and high-tech.

"He sold his companies and is no longer a billionaire; but the dude clearly still has more money than he can use…" Danny mused.

Although he liked the watch, he knew it was not just a watch. With Vlad things were not 'just' something. Plus, he could feel energy coming from the watch—he could feel spectral energy.

Danny frowned as he looked down at the empty box, confused. No note. No instructions… Weird.

"If you seriously just sent me a ghost to 'play' with and some watch after months of not talking or even visiting me, I am going to go all the way to Wisconsin to kick your butt, fruit loop," Danny thought wryly.

He studied the watch some more before he finally put it on. And the moment he did, he gasped as a weird tingle ran through his spine before the black and silver watch came to life. It lit with blue energy as several of its dials and buttons literally turned and pressed down on their own.

Danny would have freaked out if he didn't know who the watch was from.

And then two beeps sounded and a voice that he hadn't heard in months came from the speaker on the watch.

"Hello, little badger."

Danny's lips slowly spread into a warm smile at hearing the other hybrid's voice. He knew it hadn't been that long since they separated; but… it felt longer to the teen.

"Hey, Vlad," the teen answered back quietly.

There was a pause before Vlad chuckled. "Even states away I can feel your presence… It's okay. I've missed you, too."

Danny blushed at realizing he was pressing on their supernatural link without even meaning to. He still wondered why the man seem to be more in touch with it than he was. Maybe it was his experience or maybe it just projected stronger for Vlad. The teen didn't really know. There was still so much about their bond they had yet to learn.

But knowing this wasn't the time to dwell on this, Danny smiled again and finally replied, "Good to hear your Danny-sense is working well, cheesehead."

"Good to hear that wit of yours remains up to par," Vlad retorted; and the teen could practically hear the smirk in his words.

Danny sighed before he took a seat on the ledge of the roof and stared down at the glowing communicator.

"Have I silenced your clever tongue at last?"

Danny scoffed, but he sobered, "It's just… I'd rather be talking with you here."

Vlad fell quiet himself, knowing the boy meant he wished he would visit him. It wasn't like the man didn't miss the boy. These past months had been… well difficult. Their bond mixed with his obsessive nature was not a good. He almost sought the boy out a couple of times; but his desire to do what was best for the boy kept him grounded.

"Not yet, little badger. It's not time yet," he finally answered.

"When?" Danny asked almost anxiously.

Vlad sighed. It seemed their bond was not only affecting him. All the more reason for them to give each other some space until they got a healthy grasp on their connection.

"I wish I could say… I just… I feel it's not time yet. And I think you feel it, too. Just like you can feel that while I am not physically present, I am still there, Daniel. You know that."

Danny briefly closed his eyes as he suddenly sensed his guardian's presence in his core. It was still an amazing thing.

"I know…," Danny answered with a sigh. But then focusing back on his watch, he began to study it again. He then said, "Not that I mind, but what brings this sudden break in silence and… a gift?"

"Do you like it? I went with a more modern look this time…"

"This time…?" Danny repeated; but then he paused as he realized. "This is like that bracelet you made me isn't it…?"

"Yes… Well, minus the evil plot. It is meant to help us keep in touch, but mostly to help you."

Danny frowned briefly. Not so much because he was reminded of the time Vlad used Jazz to force him at his side; but because… the memory did not hurt him as it would have in the past. It really felt good to put all that behind them.

"Help me how?" Danny asked curiously, pushing away his thoughts before the man interpreted his brief silence as discomfort or anger.

"I could tell you… or I could let you find out on your own," Vlad replied mischievously.

"Of course, that would be your reply, old man," Danny answered with a huff, though he smiled. "And by the way, you need to learn the definition of the word 'play', dude. You're lucky I'm supposed to like you now, or I'd be heading to Wisconsin to 'play' with you, too."

Vlad laughed. "Oh, come now, Daniel. What's a bit of roughhousing among friends, hmm? Juukka is a benign ghost. I thought your meeting him would be beneficial. Besides, you cannot deny he wasn't endearing."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay, he was freakin' adorable. But your little antics are not, fruit loop."

"Must you call me that?" Vlad asked dryly.

"Yup. That's what you get for seeking a ghost on me and then giving me a watch and not telling me what it does."

"It has a built-in ghost trap."

Danny's eyes widened when a button lit up blue on the watch. Vlad was controlling it remotely and showing him the features. He grinned down at the watch. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously… "

"Cool! And just for that, I am upgrading you to cheesehead again. Keep sharing and I might just call you by your first name again by the end of the night!"

"Hilarious," Vlad answered. "But yes, you can do away with your little soup can now. It also has an energy storage feature."

This time the watch face blinked on, revealing several touch-screen options.

"Meaning?"

"It means you can store your own energy within the watch. For emergency purposes, of course. If you are running low on ecto-energy, you can absorb the reserves to give you a power boost."

Danny stared in awe as Vlad continued to show him the watch's features.

"This one here isn't new, but still useful: it hides your energy signature from ghost devices… And of course, you also have your monitoring features. The watch will tell you how both your human and ghost halves are faring. You can download the information to a computer or PDA to keep records of your progression…"

"Level eight energy reading… Core depletion… 20%? Temperature 97.2….Wow…," Danny muttered a she read off his own body stats. "My parents, Sam and Tucker are going to love this!"

"…And now here's your radar. The watch can detect ghost signatures up to a thirty-mile radius. It also has a GPS system, which includes a map of the Ghost Zone. And just like any mapping system, you can add locations and pin places of interest and what not…. Camera, video, recording…"

"Calculator?" Danny asked with hopeful mirth.

"Really, Daniel?" Vlad asked dryly.

"What? Just sayin' what kind of fancy smart watch does not have a basic calculator…"

Danny grinned because he could swear, he could 'see' the man rolling his eyes at him.

"There… done. Just downloaded a calculator for you…. Since I know how badly you need it."

Danny huffed. "Okay, fine. I walked into that one."

"You cannot help your gullible nature, dear boy," Vlad teased this time with a chuckle.

Danny scowled down at the watch, even though he couldn't see the man. "You done?"

"I think so," the older hybrid replied with mirth. "The rest of the features I am sure you can figure out on your own; or your friend Mr. Folely I am sure will have no problem figuring out everything for you."

Danny laughed. "You know he will!" But seeing the watch's blue energy dim when Vlad released his control over it, the teen added "Thanks, Vlad. This is really cool."

"Of course. I would have gotten it to you sooner; but I wanted to add the ghost trap feature. It was a bit tricky considering how small the compartment had to be for the watch. And… well, Skulker is no longer around…"

Danny frowned. "Yeah… any luck with that? I mean, figuring out how to get him and Fright Knight out of the Realm of Nightmares?"

"Just some working theories. Nothing concrete," Vlad answered. But then he quickly changed the subject, and said, "Take a look at the ghost trap again. The watch will tell you how many ghosts you have trapped within. And by the way, ten is the maximum it can hold. Unfortunately, the size of the device does not allow for more."

"Should be enough on a given day," Danny answered. "Now-a-days, seeing even ten a week is a lot… officially marking Amity as my territory has really helped…"

"Good…." Vlad answered warmly.

Danny played with the watch until he was able to get to the ghost trap commands to show up again….

"Wait… is this right? It says there are two ghosts inside! Vlad, why are there two ghosts in here?" he asked, confused.

"Press the release command. It will ask you to confirm twice to release."

Danny hesitated, but then did as the man said.

A bright but condensed beam of green energy shot out of the watch and expanded above him…

And formed instantly into the ecto-pusses.

Danny gaped. "What the heck, Vlad?!"

The ghostly creatures hissed back at Danny in response.

Vlad laughed before saying smugly. "What?"

"Don't you 'what?' me!" Danny exclaimed as he got to his feet at seeing the creatures moving closer as if about to attack.

"Calm down, little badger. I sent them and Juukka to you with a reason."

"Yeah…? To play with me?" Danny asked sarcastically.

"Yes…. But no." Vlad teased. However, he quickly grew serious. "Daniel, I know the ghost numbers have gone down, and you have your family and friends, including Ms. Gray helping you…"

Danny resisted the urge to snort at knowing Vlad was 'spying' on him still. Some things never change.

"But it is impossible for you to run into the fray each time a ghost comes by. And having to patrol with your family and friends every night is just not practical…"

"What are you telling me?"

"I am saying you need ghost allies," Vlad answered.

"I have allies," Danny answered with a frown.

"Yes, in the ghost zone. But you need allies a bit closer to home… On hand, if you will."

Danny paused but then answered, "Lackeys, you mean?"

"You must not see this as a negative thing, Daniel," Vlad answered right away. "It's important that you develop your ghost ties with not just sentient ghosts but even simple ones, like the ecto-pusses.

"Ugh, but they don't like me," Danny answered, watching the glaring and glowing octopuses still floating in front of him.

"They do not know you. You have no connection to them."

"And you do?"

"Of course. Why else would instinctual ghosts like they do as I ask…?"

"I don't know how I feel about this, Vlad. I don't want… servants." Danny muttered with a frown. He knew he should be used to the man pulling him out of his comfort zone; but it made him nervous still.

"Again, you must push out of that mindset, Daniel. They do not have to be servants or lackeys, as you think. They can be what you want them to be to you. Friends. Allies. Pets. It's up to you… But they can help you guard your territory when you cannot. I need you to trust me on this."

Danny was quiet for a moment before he asked, "But the ecto-pusses… They obey you."

"Yes, but I am giving them to you… That is why they have not attacked you. You are their new master."

"Uhhh… They don't look very happy to be with me."

"Again, they don't know you."

"How do they not know me, Vlad? They've only come after me more times than I can remember!"

Vlad chuckled. "No, little badger. You are missing the point… Ghosts animals like they have very simple minds. They communicate and bond with energy alone. Just… reach your hand out to them, and pull blue energy from your core."

Danny hesitated but did so.

"Now, think about a feeling you want to convey to them and let it travel along with your energy."

Danny did so again, and just watched the ghost animals.

At first, they just continued to growl at him untrustingly; but then they seemed to grow curious about the pulsing blue energy glowing from the teen's hand.

They floated closer and closer.

"Raise your second hand and do the same"

Danny breathed calmly and raised his other hand.

The ecto-pusses were now a foot from him. And then with a soft hiss, they pressed their heads against his hands.

"Now, quickly, pull some of their energy into your core. And the release it back out to them."

Danny swallowed and absorbed some of the ghosts' energy. He gasped at the feel of it as it touched his core but then he shared it back with the ecto-pusses, his own energy now mixed with theirs.

The ghosts' glare fell away, and they suddenly purred, and pressed affectionately into his hands.

Danny's smiled nervously as he stroked their heads once before lowering his hands.

"They… just…. Whoa!" Danny was surprised when the ghosts abruptly pulled around him, rubbing against his upper torso like purring kittens.

"What emotion did you convey to them?"

"I don't know… I just thought about how TJ makes me feel when he's happy to see me after school."

Vlad chuckled. "Congratulations, you have two new pets."

Danny smiled a bit as the ghost animals continued to move against him. "Okay, Okay. You guys are worse than TJ. You can stop now."

And they did.

"Wait, they understand me?" Danny asked, surprised.

"Of course, they do. All ghosts understand each other, even ghost animals."

Danny tilted his head as the ecto-pusses hissed softly at him. It wasn't like they had spoken; but somehow he knew what they were saying:

'Kind, master… we like new master.'

"This is going to take some getting used to," Danny muttered, rubbing his oddly tingling core. But then he realized something.

"Wait…Juukka shared his energy with me before he left. He created a bond with me on his own. I felt it."

"Yes, it works differently with more sentient ghosts. They can choose to initiate a connection, too. Juukka liked you enough to do so himself."

"That is why he said to call him to play again," Danny replied with a chuckle.

"When you develop these connections, the ghosts will keep close to your territory. I'm not saying they will not go outside of it, or not go into the Ghost Zone; but they will always come back to you and your territory. It really is a mutual relationship, Daniel. You get allies you can reach out to at any time; and they get a safe place to venture in the human world, knowing they will be protected under you. Think of it as a sort of pack. You are their alpha."

"Still sounds weird, but I think I get it. It's like those vultures you have; why they are loyal to you and are always hanging around in Wisconsin…, " Danny said thoughtfully.

"That's right. The more sentient the ghost, the more it can choose to act on its own. Skulker and Fright Knight are examples of those connections I've made. They have their own lives but… they would come to my side when I needed them. And in turn, they got free roam of my territory and access to my supplies… Not that any of that makes up for all they truly did for me…"

Danny frowned at feeling in his core a jolt of sadness and guilt from the other half-ghost. But not wanting to bring up such a hard topic again, the teen just said, "How do I contact Juukka?"

"Well, if he is close by, you can release a wave of energy similar to how you just pulled the ecto-pusses to your hands. At close proximity, your allies can sense your energy calling to them. But if Juukka is not close, you can contact him through your watch. The good thing about sentient ghosts is that you can use technology to also keep in touch. I gave Juukka a communicator."

Danny smiled as he remembered the device the creature had around its wrist.

Focusing back on the ecto-pusses, he called them back to him with just his energy. The creatures once more purred against his hand; but then lowering it, he told them. "You can go do as you want; just stay away from humans and don't let anyone see you…."

The ecto-pusses hissed softly before they turned invisible and flew off.

"Lesson complete, my boy," Vlad teased.

Danny smiled as he sat back down on the roof. "Thanks… I liked this one."

"Good. I must leave you now…"

Danny frowned sadly. "Wait. At least tell me if you're okay. I mean, I know you're okay since I've seen the news and I talk to Annie once in a while, too, but…"

"Oh, are you spying on me?"

"What's a bit of spying between guardian and protégé, right?" Danny quipped back. But then he sobered and added, "But are you…. okay?"

Vlad knew what the teen really meant by that. He was sure the teen could feel how uncertain he had felt when he departed from Amity… How conflicted part of him still felt.

But he was okay. He really was.

"I'm alright, Daniel. You do not need to worry about me."

"That's like asking you not to worry about me," Danny retorted seriously.

"Hmm, true… Well, aside from doing away with my companies, trying to figure out a way to help Skulker and Fright Knight, and trying to understand our bond better, I have been considering going back to school… Well, more than considering it. I applied."

Danny blinked. "Really?"

"Remember my degree in Biochemistry and Genetics?" Vlad asked. But not waiting for a response, he added, "Well, what I didn't tell you was that I did complete my masters in that. Of course, it was after the whole… hospital incident; but I did go back to school to finish my degrees. I knew I would need to, and not just to survive in the business world, but also because I suppose I never really gave up on the idea of eventually getting a doctorate In biochemistry and human genetics…."

Vlad paused. "I was working on my doctorate for a couple years until I, well, set it aside once my business empire truly took off. I just didn't have time for school at that point; but, I think it's a good time to return to that pursuit… Perhaps eventually start a pharmaceutical and research company… I guess we'll see…"

Danny smiled but shook his head. "You're full of surprises, Masters."

Vlad hummed, amused. But then asked, "How about you, little badger? How's school? Have you begun to look into colleges yet?"

Danny smile fell slightly. "Schools good. My GPA is a 3.5…. And I have been looking into colleges, but I still don't know yet…"

"What don't you know?"

"What I really want to do, I guess."

"You said you wanted to be an astronaut. See those stars of yours…" Vlad said warmly.

Danny sighed. "You think I could really do that?"

"Daniel, honestly…. You survived having your DNA altered; have survived multiple invasions and powerful enemies; got me to give up my evil was; and you are asking me if you can go to college and get into an aerospace program? Dear boy, of course you can…"

But he further added, "Why do you think I am doing all this? Making sure your home is safe, the allies, all of it…? Some things have not changed between us, Daniel. I need you to see you still have a choice. The same one I offered you once upon a time when you were with me in Wisconsin… There's nothing wrong with wanting something more for yourself. You just have to be willing to make that choice…"

Danny ran a hand through his hair really wishing the other half-ghost was here right now. Still, he answered nervously, "What if it's not the right choice? I know now things are not as black and white as I first thought, but…. What if I mess up on this? This is big, Vlad… At least it is for me."

"I know; but I said I would help you. Wrong choice or not, I'll be there. At least you can hold on to that certainty."

Danny felt his core react to the sensation of a calming energy surrounding him—his mentor's energy

"Thanks, Vlad…. At least I have some time to think about it…"

"You do; but you must think about it. Time has a way of slipping by us, my boy."

Danny nodded. "Yeah… Hey, how's things going with Danielle?"

Vlad paused with the sudden change of topic, but he still answered, "I suppose things are fine. It's a process. I can tell she does not fully trust me; but I am willing to wait. She seems happy at least. It helps she has Annabelle and Stephanie around."

"Yeah, last I talked to her she told me she's going to Annie's school," Danny answered.

"Yes…They've become close. I am constantly going over to Stephanie's to pick up or drop off Danielle there."

"Speaking of Mrs. Hui," Danny replied with a smirk. "You tell her yet?"

"Tell her what?"

"Really, Masters? You gonna play dumb with me?"

Vlad was quiet for a moment before answering, "No, I have not."

"Why?"

The man sighed. "Lots of reasons…

"You're not being an idiot again, are you?" Danny asked. He didn't understand why the man always seem to hesitate to accept the good things in his life.

Vlad scoffed. "Quite the opposite. I am trying not to let my obsessive nature ruin this for me. There is also the matter that she does not remember what really happened with that Evil Phantom. And, well, there's a lot that happened that I do not wish for her to learn; but I know I will need to be honest with her eventually for the sake of a healthy relationship. In any case, when I said I wanted to get my life in order, I did not mean romantically, Daniel. I do want Stephanie in my life as more than a friend, but… not yet. And that's really all you need to know about that."

Danny rolled his eyes but he still smiled. "Think me too much of a kid to talk about 'adult stuff" with me? Is that it?"

"Last I checked you are a kid," he answered back teasingly.

"Not for long," Danny muttered though he briefly seemed troubled by the fact. He hated thinking about how close he was getting to graduating high school. It was… scary to think about. Well, mostly, he was scared of those choices he needed to make.

"I should probably warn you now, Daniel, that when you are my age, I will still be calling you 'little badger' and 'my boy'."

"Ugh. You serious?" Danny shook his head at the thought.

Vlad chuckled. "My point is no matter how old you get, you will always be the son I never had."

"And what? That means you can't talk to me about your adult stuff because you see me as your kid?"

"You have more important things to worry about than my love-life. Let's leave it at that."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Fine." But sobering up, he added, "But you do know you can talk to me, right? I got your back, too. That's what it means to be family."

Vlad paused before he said quietly, "Thank you, Daniel. I'll keep that in mind." But then he said in his normal tone, "Give your parents my greetings, would you?"

"Yeah, you do the same with everyone over there, too. Tell George that I miss his pastas."

Vlad chuckled. "I'll do that…"

They hesitated, clearly neither wanting to end their call. And they can further feel it in their cores

"…You know I will not stay away forever, right?" Vlad asked; and for the first time that night, he actually sounded anxious. "…I cannot, little badger."

"You better not," Danny replied with a small frown.

Vlad laughed warmly again; and his calm confidence returning, he said. "I hope you make good use of the watch…"

"Definitely!" Danny answered with a grin.

"Good. I will then bid you a good night… Oh, and Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

"Happy seventeenth birthday."

Danny smiled. "Thanks, Vlad."

As the watch's blue hue faded when the call disconnected, he was left sitting alone on a building with only his thoughts and the stars as his company.

He was indeed seventeen. One more year and he would technically be an adult. But more importantly, he would need to make some 'adult decisions'.

He didn't want to think about it right now though. He just took comfort in the fact that his guardian would always be close. No matter what came. He now had the other half-ghost at his side.

He could feel it in his core.