Hello!
Please be sure to read the previous parts of this series before reading Part 4 below.
Timeline in relation to Endgame [and in their respective order]:
Powerplay Part 1 [Many years after Endgame. Danny is twenty-six]
Powerplay Part 2 [2 years after Part 1]
Powerplay Part 3 [continuation of part 2]
Powerplay Part 4 [continuation of part 3]
Note: This is a future drabble. Danny is 28. That means his character and reactions will be different than when he was a kid.
Also, warning, this is a tad dark. Just a bit.
PowerPlay Part 4
About an hour later, the leader decided his prey had had enough time to marinate.
"Come, I will share his flesh with you all," he told his higher-ranking kin. "But his core is solely for my enjoyment."
They grinned and their mouths drooled at the prospect of dinner.
But as they entered the cave which held the hybrids, the gargoyles' eyes widened in surprise.
The older hybrid was still chained up, unmoving. But he was completely frozen over in ghost form. The lack of heat from his core told the creature that the man's core was gone.
"Shame… I had hoped he would last longer," the chief remarked, amused.
But his smile soon melded away and his eyes grew in alarm when they traveled over to the younger hybrid.
"No…," the leader choked out as he quickly walked closer to his prey, only to hiss when he confirmed by touch that the boy was burning hot. His core had been consumed by fire so badly that his ghostly flesh had steam pouring off it.
"What has he done?!" the leader screeched furiously before he shouted at his kin. "Untie him!"
The creatures hesitated because they knew touching the boy meant getting burned. But they still did as commanded and undid the young hybrid's binds.
The leader sniffed him only to pull away in repulsion. The once desired ice core was nowhere to be found. Instead, he smelled of fire and ash… Disgusting.
The leader sneered at realizing he had just lost his meal and chance of consuming this hybrid's once powerful core.
With a growl, the leader kicked the steaming body away. "What a waste…"
"Do that again, and I'll break your jaw."
The leader and the other gargoyles tensed and instantly looked over at the voice. Their eyes widened in disbelief when they saw the older hybrid staring back them with murderous dark blue eyes.
Then, Plasmius' eyes turned gold before the same energy curled around his fisted hands. The binds shattered like glass as he rose to his feet.
"It cannot be…," the leader muttered. The other half-ghost's hot core was completely gone! How was he alive? How was he… using synchronized energy?
"Break his jaw…? Is that all?" another voice asked darkly.
The creatures' heads darted back over in time to see the steaming body on the ground disappear and its energy absorbed into the real Phantom which had materialized in its place. And he was now glaring at the ghost gargoyles with dark pupilless red eyes.
Danny's shackles were gone, and while he was clearly hurt and bleeding still, his body was glowing with heated red energy—energy which was now building inside the hybrid at a staggering rate as it flashed between red and gold energy.
"I said I'd make you beg me for mercy by the time this was over….," Danny reminded the leader in a sneer before he suddenly raised his hands and fired a red electrical bolt right at the leader, sending him slamming into the nearest wall.
The other gargoyles cringed and nervously began to back away towards the cave opening.
"Ah-Ah… No one is going anywhere," Plasmius taunted before his glowing gold eyes flashed blue, and then a sudden burst of ice energy spread away from him and up the walls and cave openings, effectively sealing off any escape route.
The two half-ghosts then approached them, clearly having turned the tables on their captors.
"Wait… I don't… You should not be…" the leader stammered in alarm and disbelief as he struggled to his feet and pressed against the wall. It was impossible! How were their cores now opposite of their nature? Hot and cold cores were not compatible! Yet these creatures had just…
"How have you exchanged core energies?" the leader gasped out.
"It is as you said…," Plasmius said with a smirk as he stopped a couple feet from the leader and his hands began to glow with blue energy. "In the natural order of things… the weak perish, and the strong… evolve."
"And if you haven't realized it yet… you are 'the weak' in that analogy…," Danny added as his eyes and hands began to burn with bright red energy.
Plasmius suddenly grabbed the leader by the neck and whispered darkly, "This is where you beg…"
The creature screamed as Plasmius slowly began to freeze over his body; but the energy was so intense it felt like his flesh was being melted off.
"You wanted to consume an ice core, then have mine…," Plasmius sneered as he continued to draw out all the ice energy in his core into the creature.
The leader's followers panicked and tried to scatter; but Danny quickly fired a ring of burning energy towards them, effectively herding them closer and closer together as they backed away from the heat that seemed to wrap around them like a noose.
"What's wrong? Have things become too heated for you now?" Danny mocked
But his attention went over to his guardian and Chief Grošek when the leader's screams grew louder.
"Vlad," Danny called.
The older hybrid only glanced at the other half-ghost before he suddenly drew back the icy power from his hands; but then, he abruptly spun the partly frozen leader around to make him face the younger half-ghost.
Plasmius then whispered angrily in the ghost gargoyle's ear. "You hurt my protégé…"
The chief wailed when Plasmius suddenly grabbed his frozen front limbs by the elbow joint and then kicked him with such force in the back that his limbs broke off like glass.
Danny just stared down at the whimpering leader now at his feet as the gargoyle uselessly tried to get off his stomach with what remained of his front limbs.
"Please…," the chief begged. "Have mercy! I'll leave! You'll never see me again! I'm sorry! Just don't destroy me!"
Danny quietly drew back the flames surrounding the rest of the other creatures before he kneeled beside Chief Grošek. He watched him struggle for a second longer before he grabbed the gargoyle by the muzzle and forced him to meet his gaze.
"You should know…," Danny said soberly, his anger suddenly gone. "If your fate was up to my guardian, you would beg me to destroy you… But … I like to think there are always better ways of handling enemies…"
Danny pulled Chief Grošek closer before forcing him up on his hind legs as he also stood. He then whispered, "Too bad I think you warrant an exception… You see…I can forgive you using me as a chew toy… Heck, I'll even forgive you wreaking havoc on Plasmius and my territory… But you almost killed my guardian using our bond, our synchronized energy against us… And no one messes with that… "
Danny turned the monster around so his other kin could see him and darkly repeated, "No one."
Phantom instantly drove hot energy into the creature's core and body, and Chief Grošek barely could scream before he exploded into ecto-particles.
"Got that?" Danny sneered at the remaining creatures.
The creatures immediately cowered like beaten dogs, begging for mercy.
Plasmius walked up to his protégé and placed a hand against his shoulder. "I think they got the message, Daniel."
Danny exhaled, now realizing he was shaking and his core was painfully burning. He was barely controlling the heated power within it. And his suddenly wavering emotions did not help.
Sensing the other hybrid's wavering control, Plasmius lowered the icy force-field keeping the creatures trapped before he sneered at them, "We see any of you creatures again, and you will meet your leader's fate. Get out!"
Whimpering, the creatures quickly fled.
And once alone, Danny finally let his anger fade… and with it, his energy left him.
Vlad quickly grabbed him as the young man's knees gave away.
"It's alright…You're going to be alright," Vlad assured him.
Danny just gripped him back because he felt like he was going to combust at any moment. Not to mention, with his fading adrenaline, his body reminded him that he was not out of the woods yet.
He was in really bad shape.
And yet, all he could think to say to his guardian was, "I'm sorry."
Even if Chief Grošek had almost killed Vlad, Danny knew all this had been his fault.
"I am too…," Vlad surprisingly answered as he held the younger hybrid closer against him. "I-I promised I would protect you, and… It looks like you were the one who had to protect me… You saved us, Daniel."
Danny let out a shaky laugh. "I'm not a kid anymore, Masters… I think we're past the titles of who should be protecting who… I'll always protect you, just like you protect me… I can't believe we managed it though… to exchange cores… I also didn't expect for it to give us an energy boost... as temporary as it was..."
"Yes, and that is certainly something I will love to analyze further… but right now, I feel like my core is in a vice. Is this how it feels like to have an ice core?"
"Only if your core melting off is how it feels like to have a hot core," Danny answered with a grimance as he finally pulled away and gripped at his burning chest.
"Mind if we switch back then?" Vlad asked with a weak smile.
"Not at all!" Danny answered before he grabbed Vlad's hand and closed his eyes.
Gold energy quickly encased them, and Danny repeated what he had previously done, except backwards. He pulled back the coldness in Vlad's core and exchanged it for the hot energy currently in his.
Luckily, this time, their hearts did not falter with the exchange.
Their appearance began to turn back to normal, and the two let out a relieved sigh when they felt their cores return to normal, too.
"That's better…."
"Yeah," Danny answered in relief before he suddenly leaned back into the other half-ghost's chest and closed his eyes. "I'm about to pass out."
Vlad pressed his hand against the Danny's injured body. Although his gaping wounds were burned enough to not be bleeding as badly as before, Danny was going to need more than some Ives plant leaves and healing cream with how severe his injuries were.
If the man was honest, he was not fairing too well either. While his core felt a lot better now that he wasn't being subjected to cold energy, the core exchange had taken a lot of energy to do; and he knew his own body had not healed his injures either.
Still, Vlad ignored his own ailments and wrapped the young man's arm around his shoulder before he hoisted him up against him.
"Come on. Let's get you home."
Vlad quickly flew them out of the cave; and once he got his bearings, he ripped open a portal back into the human world.
As they arrived at Vlad's home in Florida, the man sneezed.
Danny let out a pained laugh.
"What?" the man asked, confused.
"Awww, Vladdy… You caught a cold…"
"You just got chomped on, badger. I will take a cold over that any day."
"Ugh… you're right."
"Derek!" Vlad shouted out, trying to get his staff's attention. He needed to get Daniel to his lab and stitched up. At least until he could get ahold of Skulker. He had contact with a ghost doctor…
Vlad sneezed again; but this time, he felt his core protest, and he abruptly lost his ghost form.
It seemed the energy boost he had gotten when they briefly exchanged cores had run out.
But it was worse than Vlad had thought. Because the moment he became human, a horrible pain gripped his arms and legs, and the two hybrids buckled to the ground under each other's weight.
"Just a cold?" Danny muttered, noticing the man's hands were some weird colors. Definitely frostbite.
"Shut it… D-Daniel… I… Ugh, I think I'm going to be ill…"
"Oh my gosh! Vlad! Daniel!"
The two looked up and found not just Derek but Stephanie had run into the room.
"H-Hello, dearest…," Vlad said with a weak smile.
"… W-We can totally… e-explain," Danny slurred.
Except they didn't, because at that moment, the two passed out in front of the woman and butler.
Vlad woke up to something poking at his chest. He tried to swat it away only for a hand to grab his wrist, and a voice said, "Hold still."
Head spinning, he opened his eyes only to be greeted by purple eyes. It took him a moment to make out a face…
"Madeline," he rasped out and tried to move his hand again because something kept poking at his chest.
"I really need you to hold still, Vlad. I'm almost done."
Feeling too dizzy to protest, the man just dropped his hand back to his side and closed his eyes. He tried to ignore the constant unpleasant poking.
"How are they?"
Vlad's drifting mind instantly recognize the voice of his wife, and he smiled. He liked her voice.
"Vlad just woke up. I'm almost done stitching these wounds."
Wait… wounds?
"Vlad?" Stephanie called as she walked closer to look down at him.
He opened his eyes and smiled. "Hello, dearest… You look lovely as always…"
Stephanie almost smiled except she was too worried to do so.
"He's a bit out of it because of the ecto pain meds I gave him… "
Vlad frowned as he tried to make sense of what he just heard Maddie say.
"Pain meds…?" he asked slowly. "Why do I need…?"
Stay with me…
Vlad's eyes widened into full clarify as everything came crashing back into his mind.
"Daniel… Daniel!"
"No, wait!" Maddie exclaimed when the man tried to sit up. Even as weak as he was, it was not easy to keep him down. And Stephanie quickly stepped in to help Maddie.
"Where is Danny?!" he choked out.
"Vlad, breathe…," Stephanie said as she grabbed one of his hands and placed another hand on his face. "That's it…Calm down… Daniel is fine. He's just asleep right now. You were both… really hurt. I had to call Maddie and Jack because I did not know what else to do."
"It's a good thing the portals allow us to get here sooner," Maddie added with a sigh as she checked over the stiches on the man's chest to make sure he had not pulled any out.
It was a bit worrying because as half-ghosts Danny and Vlad rarely needed stiches or more than simple first aid. But their cores were not healing them as quickly as they should have been. And Vlad's wounds on his chest were deep…
Then there was her son…
Vlad was not convinced; and he quickly searched Daniel out through their bond. The other hybrid was definitely unconscious because he got no response; but he could at least feel him enough to know he was… right across from him.
Vlad turned his head.
The younger man was very pale, but his heart and core were steady.
Vlad turned his head back and closed his eyes again. That had been a close call. Too close.
Vlad could not help but shudder as the sound and sight of that monster… tearing into the other half-ghost passed through his mind.
"You're lucky you did lose your hands by how badly they are frostbitten…," Maddie suddenly said. "Then again, it's still too soon to tell, but at least I think your healing ability will take care of it."
"And Daniel?" he asked, eyes still closed.
Maddie fell quiet. "He's stable. But those wounds… They cannot be stitched closed. We might need to take him to a hospital…Or… What happened to my son, Vlad?"
The man finally opened his eyes to stare at the worried mother's eyes. "We were attacked… by core-eating ghosts… Ice-core eating ghosts to be exact."
Maddie tensed while he heard Stephanie gasp quietly.
There was a thick silence in the room before Vlad suddenly attempted to sit up.
"Vlad, wait…," Maddie said as she grabbed his shoulder to stop him from sitting up.
"I am not staying on this cot, Madeline. You're right. Those wounds will not heal on their own. So, either help me or I will do this myself."
"Vlad," Stephanie said in a warning tone. "Don't be rude."
"It's fine," Maddie replied before nodding at Stephanie to help her sit the man up.
Vlad immediately clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes in pain as the pressure of sitting up, gripped at his injuries like claws.
He immediately felt nauseous.
"You're not healing well, either…." Maddie said before Jack suddenly walked in.
"Vlad! You're awake! What happened?!"
"We got ambushed," the man briefly answered before focusing back on Maddie. "Daniel and I were forced to do something to our cores… I think they might be temporarily shocked from it…At least it's how it feels. And it would explain our lack of healing."
He attempted to raise his hand to touch his chest but he instead winced at the fire in his hands. And he was on pain meds…
Vlad quickly looked at his wrist, only to realize that both his arms and hands were completely wrapped and… his watch was gone.
"Where's my watch…?"
"Vlad," Stephanie began.
"The watch, Stephanie," Vlad demanded.
She sighed and moved over to a lab table to grab the man's watch.
"Put it on for me, please," Vlad said in a softer voice as he outstretched his arm.
He cringed as pain jolted through his chest and arm again but kept his arm extended.
Once Stephanie had put on the watch, he briefly hesitated at the thought of what he needed to do next. His core needed to be activated to access his communicator and other features.
Bracing himself, he pulled on his core and this time groaned as he had to force it to work…
He shuddered as he only managed to activate it enough to feel his ghostly energy but not enough to fully transformed.
"Hey, are you alright?" Jack asked, looking from the other man to a device in his hand that read ghost vitals. Energy readings were hectic but weak. And physically, the man looked awful.
Vlad immediately glared at Jack. But when the other man winced at the look, Vlad just sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, Jack…I just… I'm worried about your son."
Vlad glanced at Danny before he looked back at the other three in the room. "Unfortunately, the hospital is our last option. Too many questions. But… I might have something better… Just need to make a few calls.."
Saying that, Vlad brought up his watch and said, "Activate voice command.'"
'Activated'
"Call 'Juukka'" Vlad commanded.
There was a beeping from his watch before a chirp echoed back.
"Juukka. I need you to go to Skulker's. And then both of you come to my coordinates. This is urgent. Daniel… is hurt."
There was a soft purr before the line disconnected.
"Call, Skulker," Vlad then commanded.
When the hunter came on the communicator, Vlad said. "Skulker, two things: Can you bring some of your energy enhancers. I will need quite a bit of it, and I cannot make more at the moment. And, two… I need you here. Right now, please."
"Uh… Alright. I can get there as soon as possible… But your coordinates show you're in Florida. Even through the Ghost Zone it will take…"
"I sent Juukka your way."
"Oh, when—" Skulker began to ask but there was some kind of buzz heard from the intercom before he said, "Nevermind. He's here. Five minutes. Just let me grab the energy vials."
Vlad took a shaky breath as the line disconnected.
"Vlad, love… I know you are worried about Daniel. We all are, but… you're not exactly well either," Stephanie spoke up, troubled by how pale her husband was. And he was sweating from pain.
Vlad looked over at Danny, and he wanted so badly to be able to transform and float over there or walk. But even he knew if he tried either, he would further injure himself.
Daniel, wake up. Please.
But not getting a response, the man sighed and did not dare to do anything more. He was in too much pain.
"When was the last time you gave me the shot for pain," he whispered weakly to Maddie.
"An hour ago… But recommendation on your bottle says…"
"Give me another… please."
The woman nodded and went to the cabinet.
"Vlad…?" Stephanie quickly asked when the man swayed to the left. She quickly grabbed him and forced him to lay down again.
"Please, you need to stay still for a bit," Stephanie whispered; but then she placed a hand against his damp forehead, only to gasp.
"You're cold!"
Vlad was never cold.
"Maddie. Jack," Vlad called, and the two quickly moved closer.
"This will help," Maddie assured him as she pressed the needle into his shoulder.
"L-Listen to me carefully," Vlad muttered. "Skulker and Juukka know where to find a ghost doctor. His name is Kuracisto. I…I have used him a couple times in the past… He will know what to do…. He can… help…"
"Vlad?"
But Stephanie bit her lip when the man's head tilted to the side as he went unconscious.
Right then, a ripping sound echoed in the room before a green portal opened, and Skulker and Juukka appeared.
Skulker opened his mouth to ask what was going on, only to notice how bad the two hybrids looked, and he muttered, "Oh."
"Kuracisto?" Skulker then asked.
The three humans in the room quickly nodded, and repeated. "Kuracisto."
It took two days for Vlad to stir again after his and Daniel's ordeal. It then took another half-day to gain enough strength to get out of his bed.
Luckily, everyone was still around. And the first thing Vlad had asked about was Daniel. To his relief, the boy—and himself—had been stabilized enough with the help of Kuracisto to be out of immediate danger.
Like him, Danny was recovering in his room at Vlad's current home in Florida.
Yes, of course, Daniel had a room there. He visited often, and had also lived with him for some time during his college years.
Now that he could walk again, the older hybrid had wasted no time to go find his protégé.
With a sigh, Vlad entered the younger man's room and sat beside him on the bed. Daniel had yet to wake up. Vlad was a bit concerned about that, and he reached forward to press a hand against the other's chest.
He felt it almost instantly. The foreign energy around the younger hybrid.
Juukka's energy.
Vlad briefly focused on Danny's core and heart. Both felt steady.
Removing his hand, he sighed again before shaking his head.
What happened at their lair… in that cave…. It should have never happened. How could he have grossly let his guard down?
Vlad supposed he should cut himself some slack. It had been years since Daniel and he had faced any real danger. Their reputation proceeded them. Their bond and power too dangerous for most ghosts to challenge by now.
He had grown too comfortable. Too.. complacent. Even now Vlad knew it was true. Less than a decade back he would have destroyed every one of those creatures; then sought out their nest, and set it ablaze for having dared harm him and Daniel.
But the need for vengeance was gone now. He was not even as angry as he should be. He was just worried. Troubled.
He shuddered as the sound of Daniel's screams as that creature… ate pieces of him echoed in his mind yet again. He squeezed his eyes closed and pinched the bridge of his nose. They almost died.
They would have died if Daniel had not…done what he did.
Of course, he was glad Daniel had somehow awakened a new ability between them. But that was also troubling in itself. How had Daniel even known something like core-transferring was possible?
He was brought out of his thoughts by the sudden feel of a ghostly presence. In a blink of an eye, Juukka materialized in the room.
He suddenly knew the answer to his question.
"Juukka," Vlad muttered.
"Guardian… You are awake at last. How's our pup?" the creature asked mentally while externally he chirped as he approached him and Danny.
Vlad looked back at Daniel, and answered, "He seems… well all things considered…"
Vlad stood before he pulled down the covers off the young man to inspect his wrapped shoulder and abdomen. He briefly inspected them for any hint of swelling or darkening around the wrapped areas. He would have to change the bandages to get a better look. However, he was sure this was Kuracisto's work. So, he was not too concerned with inspecting the wounds right away.
The ghost doctor was very good at what he did.
"You are keeping him asleep," Vlad suddenly said as he covered Danny back up and looked back at Juukka.
"Kuracisto's instructions. It will help him heal faster," Juukka answered. "His wounds were concerning at best. Yours, too."
Vlad scoffed as he briefly raised his wrapped left hand. It was his only remaining injury after suffering frostbite on his legs, arms, hands, and face. Not to mention the stab wounds from that creature's claws almost piercing vital organs. But scars on his abdoment and losing part of his left pinky was a small price to pay for his stupidity.
"How much longer will he need to remain asleep?" the older hybrid asked instead.
"It is hard to say. His wounds are still not healing as quickly as we had hoped. Juukka could wake him… But it will only slow down his healing," Juukka replied.
Vlad sat back down beside the other half-ghost and frowned quietly at him for a moment.
"You are troubled."
"Of course, I am troubled, Juukka!" Vlad replied staring at the wolf-ghost in annoyance. "We got ambushed in our own lair! Daniel almost became a meal for demented core-eating ghosts! And I…!"
Vlad halted mid-rant as he looked back at Danny.
"And I could do nothing," he finished sadly in his mind.
"Do you think those ghosts are still a threat?" Juukka asked.
"No… we took care of them," Vlad replied. "At least they are not an immediate threat."
"Then, what is important now is that you both are safe. He will be alright," Juukka replied with a purr.
But Vlad looked soberly back at him, and asked forthright, "Did you tell Daniel that we could exchange cores?"
Juukka tilted his head, clearly surprised by the sudden question.
"Juukka did... amongst other things," the creature answered calmly.
"I told you not to discuss with him anything relating to supernatural bonds," Vlad answered, still frowning.
"Is that what has you upset, Guardian?"
"You realize he could have killed us both because of your need to share with him information I told you he is not ready to know!" Vlad snapped back.
He knew he was projecting his own anger with himself on the other ghost, but he didn't care at the moment. Plus, he told Juukka not to discuss this topic with Daniel!
"But he did not kill you both… Clearly, he saved you both," Juukka replied.
"That is not the point, Juukka!" Vlad replied, annoyed.
"Then, what is the point, Guardian? You should be glad Juukka shared that information. One of us had to."
Vlad's eyes flashed red as he stood. "Do not test my patience, Juukka. I might have allowed you near Daniel for his benefit; but do not make the mistake of thinking I might one day find you a threat to him instead!" he sneered.
Juukka's ears pressed back in slight annoyance. "You are threatening Juukka…."
"You need to respect my wishes," Vlad replied firmly.
"Alright… You are his guardian after all. You must know best," the creature answered. "But word of advice, Plasmius. You should not keep things from him, especially relating to the bond you both share."
"I do so for a reason," Vlad answered. "If he knew all I know, it would do more harm than good. I want to protect him for as long as I can. And I will, Juukka. I will protect him from anything and anyone I need to. I appreciate your help over the years, but do not forget your place again."
"Hmm…," Juukka answered before he moved closer. But instead of paying Vlad any further attention, he came over to the opposite side of the young man's bed and pressed a hand against his chest.
"He might need to stay asleep for at least a few more days…," Juukka said.
"Is there anything I can do to speed up his recovery?" Vlad asked calmly.
Juukka immediately looked at him in annoyance and stood up on his hind legs to meet the man's gaze.
"Strange thing to ask, Guardian. You know that there is… But it seems you not only insist on keeping the truth from your pup, but also from yourself… Juukka is hungry. He will return tomorrow."
And before Vlad could say anything more, the creature created a portal and disappeared into it.
Vlad frowned at the empty spot the ghost had left before he sat back down. He pressed a hand against the boy's cool forehead and his eyebrows creased.
"I am sorry. I should have protected you… It is all I want to do, badger. I hope you will understand when the time comes…"
Hesitating, Vlad reached towards the other hybrid's wrapped shoulder; and using intangibility, he took off the bandages.
He swallowed at the ghastly wound. His poor protégé was missing a chunk of flesh. And while it looked to be slowly healing and Kuracisto had stitched the wound the best possible, this was even too much for the young hybrid's body to heal on its own.
Vlad sighed deeply yet again before he abruptly turned into Plasmius.
They could not keep developing their bond further. The consequences were too great if they did. But Juukka was right. He could not just let Daniel suffer when he could do something about it.
Vlad only recently awakened a new ability a year ago. Danny had not even noticed. A year ago, Daniel had gone out to handle a hot-cored ghost causing trouble near his job location. In an attempt to neutralize the creature quickly and get back to work, he had pulled too much energy too quickly from a hot cored ghost using his absoption power...
It had gone very wrong.
Vlad still remembered the phone call. Daniel had been in absolute agony; and Vlad had showed up to his location in mere seconds. The moment he touched his core, the older man knew there had been internal damage.
The younger hybrid had physically burned his core by pulling in so much heated energy.
Vlad still did not know how he had done what happened next. He remembered not wanting to alarm the already panicked and hurting young man more than necessary by telling him how serious his injury was. And instead told him, it wasn't too bad.
But it was. He had burned a hole in his core's protective membrane.
And Vlad had begun to internally panic. He remembered feeling a deep need for Daniel to be alright; and more out of instinct than anything else, he pushed gold energy into the boy's core. All Daniel seemed to realize was that by the time Vlad had finished, the pain had stopped and he felt better almost instantly.
Danny had thought it had been the mere extra energy that helped him feel better. Vlad couldn't blame the young man for not suspecting anything else. After all, sharing his energy with Daniel in the past had always helped him recover quicker whenever his core was weakened or overworked.
But Vlad knew giving Daniel some energy that day would not have been enough to heal that burn the younger hybrid suffered to his physical core.
Vlad had pondered over it for days as he tried to understand what exactly he had done. A talk with Juukka confirmed his suspicions.
He had healed him. He had healed Daniel with his powers somehow.
It wasn't an unknown ability for a ghost, though rare. And Vlad was not sure if he had somehow unlocked the ability to heal others in general; or if it was specific to Daniel.
Being that a lot of their new abilities revolving their shared bond was directed towards each other, Vlad was almost sure his ability to heal was just with Daniel.
The problem was each time he used his bond to do something outside of mere gold-energy formation, it… did things to their bond. It strengthened it. Brought it to the forefront, and Vlad was troubled by it because of what it could mean for them both in the future if their bond continued to develop like this…
Nevertheless, Vlad knew he needed to use it now.
"Last time," he told himself. But he knew it was a lie at best. Not when the possibility of Daniel being hurt would always be… a possibility, no matter how much he strived to keep him safe.
Vlad sighed one last time before he closed his eyes and focused on Daniel's core. He still remembered the feeling he had felt the other time he had done this. So, awakening that feeling was not hard.
He began to glow gold and so did Daniel.
He felt it. Daniel's core, though strong, was struggling to restore lost energy and repair physical damage to the young man's body. He briefly noticed the feeling of scar tissue forming on the edge of Daniel's core.
His core had been burned again, this time by pulling in Vlad's core energy. It was what they had done. Obviously, they could not physically exchange cores. But they might as well have when they exchanged their core's essence-its function and energy. That is what they had exchanged. So, while it had granted them both the ability of willing each other's full power and had briefly helped to counter that creature's attack to their cores, their physical core was still not meant to hold such different energies for long.
Vlad focused on that area of the young man's core, and his glow swelled. He felt as the burned tissue mended before his healing energy spread outward and he used it to examine the rest of the other hybrid's body.
Vlad opened his eyes when he felt the wound on the boy's shoulder as easily as he could now see it.
He focused on it again, and watched as the gold energy seem to congeal around the wound, repairing and rebuilding tissue fast enough to physically see it. Once done, he pulled the energy in a new direction, only briefly noticing the pink raised scar that was left on the boy's shoulder. It was better than missing flesh, he supposed.
He moved to the boy's abdomen, and though it was still wrapped, Vlad felt as his flesh regenerated and knitted back together there, too
Vlad felt his core throb as he weakened with the effort; but he did not stop. He did not stop until every single scrap and scratch was gone from his protégé.
He could not stand seeing him hurt.
Once he was done, Vlad turned off his healing energy, but still focused on one more thing…
The feel of Juukka's energy around the young man.
He didn't like it.
So, he swelled their bond until it engulfed and swallowed up the other ghost's energy. Snuffing it out like a dying ember. It really did not belong so close to his protégé's core anyways.
Vlad's eyes melded back to red as he kept his hand against Danny's core, just feeling its rhythm. Sometimes he confused it with his own after all this time.
He lingered on feeling, remembering how it felt to have the other hybrid's core inside his own. It had been awing as it had been terrifying to exchange cores. But it had been too dangerous.
Danny suddenly groaned as he began to stir.
Quietly, Vlad withdrew his hand and turned human again. He still felt how his previous actions had taken a toll on him. But he ignored the exhaustion.
"Ugh… Vlad?" Danny said his name before he even opened his eyes; the boy could feel his presence.
"Did we win?" the younger hybrid grunted as he stared tiredly at him.
Vlad smiled back warmly as he placed a hand on the young man's forehead. "We did, badger… We did."
Yes, Vlad would protect his protégé for as long as he could. From anyone. Or anything.
From their very own bond and power, if need be.
I have been enjoying this future series a bit too much. lol. I have two more installments left for it.
Until next time!