A/N

Warning: Gore, descriptions and self surgery.

Gender: Horror/Friendship

Self-surgery is the act of performing a surgical procedure on oneself. It can be an act taken in extreme circumstances out of necessity, an attempt to avoid embarrassment, legal action, or financial costs.

o.0

Danny woke up, it was deep into the night and confused as he just got a few hours of sleep, the teen turned on his other side. Just keep on sleeping, who knows why he woke up. The answer came with a shiver and a blue breath leaving his lips. He groaned couldnt ghost not give him at least five hours of sleep a day?

He morphed and sunk directly in the direction of the lab. At first glance he didnt see anything out of ordinary.

Well at the second glance he found something.

Not even a two meter from the open portal. Something was sitting on the floor curled and hidden under its cape leaning against the work space there.

A few second later Phantom knew to who the black hair and white cape belonged too.

''Plasmius are you three years old playing hide and seek? Jest because you dont look doesnt mean I dont see you. '' Danny floated close green energy already collecting into his palm. Instead of a proper response he got the figure pull the white cape close around himself hiding himself behind it as if it was a shield.

''Hey Plasmius, get out my parents lab. I dont know what were you planning but I dont want you here.''

Danny frowned, he felt oddly and uncertain. This was Plasmius? Why didnt the guy start boasting or something? The figure took a deep breath, there was a soft sound but Phantom couldnt catch if it was a curse or a whine. Must be a curse Vlad dont whine.

''Hey have you fallen asleep, old man?''

''Give me ten minutes. I will leave.'' The voice sounded annoyed and normal but so tired at the same time. Danny frowned. Was the hybrid playing mind games and why did he hide his face in his knees, the cape wrapped around all of his form.

''So what ever evil scheme you are doing now will take ten minutes to complete? Well I am not giving those minutes to you. ''

''Ten minutes... No evil scheme.''

Danny hand stopped glowing just then, he could swear that Vlad voice broke mid sentences, as if he was suppressing something. His stomach felt the unease. Something was wrong...

''Vlad...Look up at me...'' Phantom didnt plan for his voice to leak so much concern. This was the manipulative fruitloop, someone so strong it beat him up with one hand on his back. While making fun and throwing words that could cut stronger then any ecto blast could...As no answer came Danny moved closer landing with both his feet just a step away from Vlad. He didnt need any worry, especially not from him.

''Hey fruitloop... did a cat eat your tongue? ''

The green light bathing them both, even under the green hue of the light he could see the white fabric shifting, Plasmius raised his head. It lolled back against the work space as if it the neck couldnt hold its weight. There was a cut on the right side towards Danny going from under the eye over the cheek and disappointing out the view thanks to the high collar from the cape.

''Go sleep boy. Nothing to see here.'' Vlad eyes were closed, and he appeared like in deep concentration. Like a monks in meditation. The lack of anger was not doing anything good for his nervous stomach.

''What are you doing here? What happened? '' Danny mind started to whirl with past experiences was this a trick?

''Which dangerous ghost did you released now? Did they beat you up or something? So you came to beg me for help?''

There was silence. That silence was the most creepy thing from it all. Phantom gulped and slowly reached towards the cape only to jump as burnt away when a black ring appeared around Vlads waist, circling for a moment. Vlad snapped his eyes open with a jerk and the ring was gone, Plasmius was still curled under his cape.

''...Did you there...just lost consciousness?'' The head moved slowly towards Danny, reveling instead of the red orbs of fire and upcoming pain, plain blue eyes. Human eyes. He was forcing to hold his transformation up. Why? Was he stuck? Phantom gulped as that thought came to his mind. The blue eyes still, and looking at him or behind him... yet there was a familiarity to them the stubbornness he recognized.

''...Vlad?... ''

Plasmius closed his eyes once more, making a pained expression.

''Daniel, just leave. No evil schemes. My word.''

''I will leave once you stop speaking in sentences under five words each. Your evil fruitloop monologues always do such wonders for me to fall asleep. Dont you think its unfair to cut me the right to hear it, especially its your fault I woke up to begin with.''

A half chuckle left, it was weak and Plasmius face cringed again. Phantom noticed then something. It was a small spot but even in the green light he saw the green spot on white fabric. The slowly growing green spot on the edges of the cape. His brain echoed with a single word. Bleeding.

''Not leaving. So tell me which ghost did this to you? Your problems tend to come and hunt me you know. I would like to know what is tomorrow coming my way.'' To get his point across Danny walked u back p beside Vlad and stared the man down. The eyes lazily and sluggishly looked tired, sleepy. It was not something he ever imagined on Plasmius face. There was another emotion in the eyes, but Danny couldnt place his finger on what it was.

''No ghost. Humans. I dealt with them. Nothing will come your way, boy...see six words. Go away. ''

Phantom stared, speechless. Humans? Humans managed to harm Plasmius bad enough he was bleeding in Fenton basement? Bad enough he was on solely stubbornness clinging to his ghost form. Somehow Danny wanted the cape gone. He wanted the older hybrid to jump and say April fools. His mind was sure of the fact the hybrid sitting on the floor there was badly hurt, the signs of it he recognized, mostly from himself.

''...It will heal...?'' Danny voice was barely over a whisper the or not said but hanging there, but the other picked it up with no trouble. The lack of answer and the slight motion of wrapping the cape closer to himself was sending all kind of warning bells off in the heroes head. All of which he wouldnt ever put in the same basket as Vlad Masters ergo Plasmius.

He was stubborn, and Danny reached his hand towards the cape once more stepping up beside Vlad a barely noticeable sound of splash made the amity heroes fingers shake. With a glance he could see the smallest bit of ecto blood pooling where the edge of the cape was soaked green. The green grew.

Fingers took the fabric in his hands and Plasmius snapped his eyes open. The blue human eyes flashed with a red hue, not even making proper angry/scary eyes. It was a shadow of those eyes, there was it again another emotion. Fear?...Shame? ... Plea? Phantom didnt know what to make of the look. What it even was... he only knew it didnt belonged in those eyes or on that face. His own stomach clenched in a determination.

''You are hurt.''

No answer just a weak glare. Glare was good, he knew what to do with a glare.

''If my parents walk down here for any reason I am sure they would be shooting at the Wisconsin ghost. If they discover your secret they will know mine too. So dont play a big baby and let me give you first aid before throwing you out of here. You are accusing me of being a hero. Heroes help. ''

Danny spoke any words that came to his mind, trying to make the other snap at him. The young eyes fixated the older hybrid for moments, seconds, minutes as they passed for the young hero it felt like whole decades crawled by. But in the end he saw something he didnt await. Couldnt ever imagine. Vlad face moved into one of surrender.

''First aid will not cut it.'' The ghost spoke moving his right arm from his knees and with it undoing the cape shield. Allowing Danny to see the extent of his injuries. ''I need Abdominal surgery...self-surgery. To remove all of shrapnel. Cannot properly heal... because of them.''

As Plasmius spoke his words mixing with heavy breaths, Phantom couldnt move his eyes away from the uncovered view. The left arm having a open fracture, the bone was set back in place but it was still visible. There were burns and cuts all over the clothing which were mostly a mess. The cut that went over the cheek was becoming ugly at the shoulder and over half the chest. The hero mind imagined the ghost avoiding the whole blunt of the attack by leaning backwards. But not enough. The green fluid wetting the white tunic, with a eerie glowing green line. What was left from the tunic... It was the right side of the stomach that bleed the most, dirtying the inside of the cape as wounds, which reminded Danny of a hive of angry wasp ripping the skin to shreds. He could see at places where the punctures went deeper. Cutting musculature into its way inside. The green and blue hints on the organs burning into the teens mind.

The slightly motion of them reminded Danny of millions of worms. The flesh ripped searching and in the spooky way moving in search for its other half. Gently small motion of all but hypnotic. His own stomach clenched and it was only because he had nothing to puke out that he didnt vomit.

A rage Phantom didnt await overcame him at the view. He wasnt sure what he was raging at or at who, but he felt it burning inside him. The pure need to do what this rage was a blur as well. If it wasnt for Plasmius speaking up once more Danny wasnt sure what he would have done. But he could tell it wasnt going to be pretty.

''... Your portal was closer. Wanted to rest a bit. Then to my home. To fix ...this. ''

''Your home. Gotcha. '' The teen hero spoke and before the older man could have voiced anything more Danny kneed beside him throwing the healthy arm around his shoulder and extended his intangibility and flight over the other raising them both up. The left hand gently wrapped around the left side as if fearing he would touch a injury he didnt see before.

Plasmius blue human eyes fixed in surprise at Danny. The hero avoided the eyes and floated them both to the portal. He noticed then that Plasmius was still slowly bleeding even while he was intangible. The wounds drawn the teens attention and he could watch the edges of it trying to heal itself close up but kept on failing. Like working ants crawling over the ant hill fixing it, but here they were failing to put the holes closed. Focusing his eyes away from it he stared forward.

Silence was the first half of the way, as Danny didnt dare to fly at his full speed. Even more he got scared seeing the head loll forward, as if failing to keep awake. It didnt take a genius for the boy to know that turning human may be deadly at the state the older was at.

''Hey fruitloop. You said humans did this to you? What exactly happened?''

The fruitloop raised his head, a fleeting expression of understanding and thanks passing before he settled at control and concentration once more. Was he in too much pain to keep his arrogance mask up? He spoke once more, voice way too soft than Phantom was used to.

''Illegal ghost hunter organisation. The GIW couldnt catch them... red handed. Even with all the ...damn hints I dropped at...their paper heads...'' A heavy breath. ''They were using ghost ... for their own gain... They were closing onto me... captured a lesser ghost...working for me... had to save him... they were close to... my identity...too close. ''

'' Must be really bad, so you went to a rescue mission? And while you were at it you dealt with them? But how did you got like this?'' Danny summed up, sensing Plasmius needed a few moments to catch his breath... that he needed to breath made the young hybrid wonder if maybe some of Vlads inner organs were human? Would that even work? Would he be able to selectively morph organs? Would that make it easier to hold the ghost form up?

'' Mhm. It was a trap. I freed him and send him off. Was about to do my plan... of exposing them. The government would have taken... it from there. They attacked me... with a brainwashed ghost. Arm. ... I fought them. They weapons were not meant...for capturing ghost. It was to maul them. Put them under their control. ''

''That sounds mean. ''

''I fought them all. All hunters... all captures they made. I won. The GIW must noticed the fire...and the amount of ecto energy. They will clean it up.'' They were approaching the ghost portal and Danny stopped in front of it just to make sure the other side wasnt bobby trap. Vlad waved the worry away and Danny entered the lab.

The lab lit up as they floated in. ''Med station.'' Plasmius spoke, and Phantom noticed the lack of canines. ''Where do I go for that?''

''Meow.''

A white cat was sitting on the floor and watching the two hybrids.

''Follow Maddie.''

The cat meowed once more at the name and stood up walking towards a door stopping in front of it and looking behind at Danny. Meowing once more,it nearly sounded like a insult. Just for today Phantom decide not to comment on the cat named after his mom leading the way.

The cat lead to another lab a smaller one and it jumped on top of a counter and looked up into a eye scanner. Which sprung to life scanning the cat eye before opening the door that looked like a lift. Inside it was in one corner the one with the two buttons, a cat tree. Which Maddie promptly climbed. Meowing demanding at Danny. Vlad had a stupid pleased smile on his face.

''You made a eye scanner for your cat.'' Danny floated into the elevator. The cat observed Vlad for a long moment, it stretched and pressed with his head the lower button. ''She kept on following me around.'' Vlad said as if it took him a bit of time to find his voice or find the answer.

''So you teach your cat to use elevators and eye scanners?''

''Better then the vents...''

''... Good I never told you to get a dog...'' The door opened and Phantom floated into it, it was so much like a expensive hospital that he was sure Tuck would get a attack. The cat jumped on a table and stared at Danny demanding. The boy floated to the available bed and slowly with a few instruction how to do it lay the half ghost on it.

''Cabinet with the red sticker. Take the blue bottle. The glowing red, too. '' Danny turned around and went to do just as ordered. He found the bottles and turned to see the cat hissing beside Vlad face, next moment it swung her claws at Vlads left cheek. The ghost eyes opened blinking. ''I am 'wake.'' he said sounding as if he wasnt all that awake. How much ecto blood could they lose before it gets bad? The young hero looked at the purring cat, wondering if Vlad truly teach it to not let him pass out. Or was it just a cat thing.

''Here.'' Pulling the glove off with his teeth from his healthy hand Plasmius took the bottle with one hand drowning first the glowing substance before he drowned the clear liquid as well. He shifted after a moment of being still as a dead. Raising himself a bit and petting his cat. She jumped away from her spot beside Vlads head and the ghost reached to press a button. A table slid out beside the bed and he took a sterile glove.

''You dont have to stay.'' Vlad said as he picked a syringe already loaded. He sounded better. He didnt look better at all. The skin looked pale, a lot paler than normal. The glow around the ghost side was dim as well.

''Staying.''

''As you want. Maybe you will learn, a thing or two. '' The cheeky grin danced on Plasmius face, the red eyes flashed for a moment and he injected his side with what ever was in that syringe.

''What was the red glowy thing?''

''A energizer for a ghost core. Like a ghost version of Adrenalin.'' Plasmius cut away the tunic occasionally hissing as with one hand removing the fabric from the edges of the still attempting to heal wounds. Like thousand small green ants holding together. The flesh occasionally getting pulled with the fabric. Away from where it wanted to connect. ''And the other?'' Danny asked trying to keep his mind off what he was stuck watching. He couldnt look away.

''Normal Adrenalin...well I changed it a bit so I can drink it... While you are here be from use. Pour that disinfection on this. I need to clean it.'' And Phantom did as told. He was glad he was given something to do. That way he managed to move his eyes away from the side. Watching as Vlad cleaned the wound. He didnt move the left arm at all.

''Does it...hurt?'' He looked at the arm, seeing how it still had trouble to heal as well. The cut even had troubles to heal. It only managed to stop bleeding.

''Of course it does, are you a idiot?''

The boy rolled his eyes. Things became different when Vlad used a scalpel to open the wound up. The boys stomach clenched. He watched the hand with great care work, only to be changing the medical instruments to reach into the wounds and pull the first bits of a dark nearly black glowing piece of metal.

''Seven more. '' Vlad said giving a order for Danny to hold the bowl where he dropped the piece. He watched the hands repeating the procedure slowly working the way to the piece of ghost hunting weapon. Danny got glimpse of the organs ever so often he felt dizzy. The bleeding Vlad handled himself, with concentrated eyes the ecto blood would become invisible to let the older hybrid work easier. Danny wondered if he would ever be able to turn just his blood invisible...while it was leaking out of him... Sweat covered the ghost skin. It was on the last two that Plasmius took a hand shaken for a moment, swaying. Was he seeing double? Or was darkness failing on his eyes? He was bleeding lot less, but he still bleed...

''Vlad?''

''Just a moment... ''

''Do you need anything?''

''... Just a moment.'' After the moment passed Plasmius regarded the teen and spoke in his arrogant tone. ''I am not letting you operate on me. You would cut me to pieces with your shaky hands. You cannot even hold a bowl still. Forget it. ''

''I wasnt thinking of that!''

''You were thinking of offering it. '' With a deep breath he moved to remove the last two. Danny didnt deny it. Yet the boy felt just a bit lighter knowing he wasnt awaited to do it, either. He felt a bit wrong for feeling like that but he wasnt a doctor...actually neither was Vlad...was he? A quick glance at the expensive medical equipment...

''Hey, where did you learn to do that?'' Phantom waved his hand around as to indicate medical skills.

''Boredom inside a hospital. ''

''Werent you a patient? I mean just a patient? '' Vlad never moved his eyes from what he was doing. Yet he huffed at the teen. '' Have you never by... mistake overshadow someone? ''

''N-...yeah...I didnt want to. It just happened. ''

''Well my little badger... it just happened to me too...'' Last piece left inside. Danny noticed how the wounds shrunk just a bit. Healing a bit.

The cat never stopped observing them sitting on the spot on the counters and fixing them both with her eyes. Danny avoided to look towards the rich man pet. Somehow the simple cat stare was creepy. Maybe because Danny imagined the animal knowing to use ghost weapons or having a battle suit,like the one from anime...because he wouldnt put past Plasmius to make just that for his cat.

The last clang sounded and Plasmius dropped his head onto the pillow looking completely spend...Vulnerable... A deep breath and he forced himself once more to reach towards the table beside the bed. Stubborn. This time for something to clean up the wounds and bandages. As answering the boy question. ''..My ability to heal will be slow... for a few hours. I cannot stay all the time awake. ''

Phantom nodded and with out word helped to bandage Plasmius up. ''...and the bandages are glowing because?''

''They are having nutrition for the ghost side. It can be taken in via my...human skin just as well. ''

''...so it helps with healing?''

''Yes.''

''You know...next time we fight I demand you give me a bunch of this.''

A chuckle. He looked stronger.

''Was lucky.''

''This is lucky for you? What the ghost zone is unlucky in your dictionary then?''

''Could have pierced a lung... or any other organ. Stomach acid. ''

The cat jumped on the edge of the bed just when they finished with the bandaging. Vlad started petting her. She purred. The soft human eyes and gently smile towards cat made phantom feel out of place. Nearly like he was a third wheel.

''... You will be fine?''

''After a strong breakfast in the morning...Yes.''

There was silence. Plasmius eyes closed to reopen again. He lay on the bed. It was clear he was fighting off to fall asleep. Did he want for him to stay here?... Or not?... He never saw such a weak and vulnerable Vlad before. Looking around the med bay the teen only wondered in silent how often did the man actually used this room? How often Danny had no idea what the older hybrid got himself into...

''You dont have to...play mother hen Daniel. I promise I am a big boy.''

Danny blushed. ''... I will see you in the morning... For breakfast. '' The words slipped before he actually made the decision. His mount made the choose for him. Heroes do not go back on their word.

Plasmius curiously looked up. ''I dont like pity.''

It wasnt pity, a part of him wanted to scream out and slap the older one over the head. Yet he said something else.

''I have to make sure you dont make a evil plan or something. If you do I will be there to beat you up. And I know where to hit to make it hurt. ''

''Hitting into a wound? My, my... boy...'' Plasmius fall silent and Danny floated towards the door. The man must have lost his thought, falling asleep. The cat purred curled against the unhurt side. The black ring washed over Plasmius leaving the human behind. Daniel returned taking a cover and carefully placing it over the silver haired man. The eyes opened. Phantom froze, his green eyes looking at the blue...they were unfocused and hazy. As if catch inside a dream world, the young halfa thought. ''Thank you...'' The voice a whisper before the eyes closed and the breathing became even.

He felt happy as he fly back home. Once he was in the basement lab of his home he saw the green ecto blood on the floor where Plasmius was sitting... The rage build up. Taking a deep breath Danny forced the anger down. ''Humans...'' He whispered the word with such a tone it startled himself. It was just so much... poisonous and hater. Shaking his head clear he cleaned it up. It as then he noticed the green ecto blood was on his black jump suit as well. He stared at it. The clock told him he may get a hour sleep before waking up. Startled he dealt with it as well. Clean jump suit and clean lab. One would never assume it had a visitor just a few hours ago. Hours...

He morphed into his human side and walked up to his room. He wasnt going to sleep that hour, he knew that for sure. Maybe in the morning he could ask Jazz for some books. Future brain surgeon must have books about medicine, right? The images and the clam hand flashed vividly in his mind.

Well thats that. R&R