Plasmius smiled up at the huge doors before him, his fangs shining and his red eyes glowing. This was it; he finally found it. After months of searching, he'd discovered the solution to his problem, the remedy that would allow him to gain all he'd wanted.
"It was almost too easy," Plasmius mused to himself, pushing the doors open and floating into the room. It was dark, even by ghost world standards, cobwebs glistening in the corners, from wall to wall. It reminded Vlad of the many rooms in his mansion that went unused, growing dusty and haunted from neglect. "Though why it would seem so abandoned is beyond me. Especially when it possesses an item such as this." Plasmius smirked widely as he floated across the room, to the only object in the vast emptiness.
"The Espil Mirror," Plasmius said in awe. "A divine item made billions of years ago, forged by magic, to show the user what he truly desires and how to obtain it. Barely any protection in this place for such an incredible item…strange." Vlad brushed his gloved hand over the glass face of the mirror, wiping away the layer of dust. It glowed to life and Vlad saw his smile grow in the mirror as the image morphed. "The better for me in any case. Now Espil Mirror…show me how to achieve what I desire!"
The glass of the mirror shifted and rippled like the surface of a clean lake. Vlad waited with baited breath for the image to still and clear.
"Vlad Masters…"
"Actually, I prefer Plasmius," Vlad said, his excitement evident as wind blew from the mirror. A mist formed over the glass and rose. The mist twisted and formed until a translucent spirit appeared before Vlad. Her features weren't clear except for her solid blue eyes. Her body was long and icy white, wisping like smoke. "You must be the guardian of this fine mirror." Vlad mused, his gloved hand glowing pink as he prepared to quickly defeat the guardian and utilize the mirror.
The spirit raised a hand. "I am not here to deter you from what you seek." Vlad raised an eyebrow but allowed the ecto-energy in his fist to fade. "I am merely the spirit who inhabits and owns the mirror. Any can utilize its powers."
"Don't mind if I do," Plasmius said with a smirk, looking back to the mirror before him. The mirror shifted again, forming and reforming. "Show me how to get what I desire."
"What is it you desire most?"
Vlad looked back up to the spirit, who regarded him passively. "Revenge," Vlad said with a smirk. The spirit continued staring at Vlad, and then floated behind him. Vlad barely flinched before he felt something-the spirit's hand-reached into his chest. He felt a constricting feeling on his insides, a coldness so bitter and filling, racking through him.
"Revenge…hmm?" the spirit mused.
Vlad opened his eyes and saw into the mirror's face; he saw Jack's grave, cracked and forgotten. Maddie stood by it, gazing passively and then looked out the mirror towards Vlad. She smiled.
"We're together now. We can finally be together, Vlad." Vlad grinned and ignored the ache of the hand still lodged in his chest.
"Hahaha! Jack Fenton dead! And the lovely Maddie, finally mine at last!" His fangs glistened evilly. "How do I do it? Tell me Mirror!"
"This…this is not what you truly desire," the icy spirit said and the mirror's images faded.
"No!" Vlad said, reaching out to the glass. "Who are you to say what I desire?!"
"I can see it…I can feel it," the spirit said and Vlad felt the hand in his chest reach deeper. "That desire is a cover for your real wishes. The deepest desires are usually ignored and shunned, as the mind focuses on old desires or simpler dreams."
"Hmm…deepest desires covered by simpler wishes," Vlad mused. "I suppose merely wishing for Jack's death and Maddie's love is a bit…simple. Maybe I should better utilize this powerful item by using it to achieve my destiny." Vlad looked behind him at the spirit and smirked. "To rule."
"You wish to rule…" she repeated and Vlad felt that restricting pull at his chest, aching and cold, deeper still inside him. He clenched his teeth but peaked at the mirror as once again it twisted and formed.
On the glass, Vlad saw hundreds upon thousands of people, humans and ghosts alike, bowing before him. He saw posters hung up of his face, his name on the TV, people smiling out of the mirror, calling him Lord Vlad, Master, ruler.
"Yes…yes that's right. That's what I truly desire! Show me how to obtain my true wish!"
"No…this is what you think you deserve, what you think fate demands of you because you're half ghost," the spirit said and Vlad's head snapped over his shoulder to glare at the specter. "You're not human or ghost, you belong to neither world so you think yourself above them because of your detachment. You think it's your rightful place to rule, since you feel you cannot belong."
Vlad's red eyes narrowed dangerously as his irritation turned to anger. "I do not believe myself worthy of ruling out of self-pity! Are you going to show me how to get what I desire or not!?"
"Why don't we first discover what you truly desire…" Vlad gasped as he felt the hand reach deeper still, to his very core. It clenched and held, his body going numb. He felt a cold wash over him, holding him. He tried to breathe, to take a breath but everything felt frozen and his lungs weren't working.
"Wha…what are you doing?" Vlad wheezed out, his voice barely a whisper. He wanted to conjure his strength or his power, to force her away but nothing was working. She had a hold on his entire essence.
"Reaching into the very center of your soul, to see what it is you're hiding from yourself."
Vlad clenched his eyes, willing her out, willingly his body to move. After a moment, Vlad heard a familiar laugh and opened his eyes, looking into the Mirror's glass.
Danny Phantom was before him. He was flying, flying away from Vlad, but it seemed like Vlad was chasing him.
"Daniel..?" Vlad scoffed, his voice still very quiet. "That little pain in my neck…?"
Vlad watched, eyes narrowed until Danny glanced over his shoulder and laughed. The sound wasn't taunting or bitter; it was a real laugh. Danny's white hair wiped before his green eyes as he flew, his smile wide and open. "Come on Vlad, it's like you're letting me win! You getting old?" Danny laughed again and flew faster. Vlad watched and he wanted to laugh too suddenly; he could almost feel the wind rushing his face as he flew after the boy, he could feel that mirth build in his chest before it turned into happy laughter.
The image changed and Danny was human, staring out of the mirror at Vlad. He was smiling happily. Vlad had never seen that expression on Danny's face aimed at him before, as though the boy were…happy to see him.
"Vlad, can you teach me that move where you turn you're ecto-energy into a weapon, like a sword!" Danny asked excitedly. "That was so cool!"
The image blurred a moment and then reformed. Danny's expression had turned melancholy, his shoulders slumped as he gazed to the ground somewhere out of view in the image. "Vlad…it's getting harder to keep my powers a secret. What do I do?"
Vlad wanted to respond, to comfort the boy. He understood the pain of keeping something that was half of who you are a secret, especially for the boy who had a family he loved and wanted to trust. Nobody understood Danny's position as much as Vlad, and he had always wanted so badly to talk to the boy about it, to share his pain and experiences like…like…
"Daniel…" Vlad muttered, moving toward the mirror. Danny smiled at Vlad, who reached out to touch the glass. Danny's hand moved up to meet the gloved one. "Yes…I think…this is what I wanted…someone to talk to…someone to understand…when I found out Daniel was a half ghost, I was so…relieved…" Vlad touched the cold glass surface, but swore he could feel Danny's warm skin under his gloved fingers.
"This is what you truly desire…" the specter said behind Vlad, but the man wasn't listening.
"Danny…finally." He looked briefly over his shoulder and then back at the mirror. "Tell me, how to do it…how do I make him accept me as his fath—"
The image suddenly swirled and Danny was lying on his side, gazing at Vlad tiredly. Danny's lower half was covered by a dark green sheet, his torso bare. "Huh?" Vlad said, looking confusedly at the image. The covers looked a lot like the sheets of his own bed. And why was Danny naked…?
Suddenly Danny was facing the mirror, his cheeks blushed red, his blue eyes averted as he smiled shyly. Vlad felt his heart jump at the cute, innocent display from the ghost boy.
Danny was now walking beside the mirror, his hand outreached as though he were holding hands with…
"What is this?" Vlad said, stepping back from the mirror.
"It is what you desire."
"No, what you're showing me is…is some kind of twisted fantasy!" Vlad said angrily, glaring at the offending mirror. "This is sick; it's some kind of trick! To deter me from what I truly want or to scare me away!"
"This is what is in your heart, in the very center of your soul," the spirit said passively, no emotion crossing her features. "This is your very deepest desire."
Vlad stared at the mirror, which had Danny gazing out of the mirror at him. Vlad's dark eyebrows knitted together and he stepped closer, looking down into the boy's face. Danny lifted a hand against the glass, as though wanting to reach out to Vlad. "I love you."
Something inside the half ghost sparked at these words, these three words he had craved to hear so desperately most of his lonely life. Finally they were being directly at him, sincerely and gently, from someone who was so much like him. Danny was someone Vlad had wanted to share his life with for a long time; to train with, and share experiences with and be a family with. Danny was the only one in the world whom Vlad felt such a strong connection with and made him feel less lonely. But to be loved this way…
"I want Daniel as a son…not…" Vlad muttered as he watched the image change. Danny standing in front of Vlad's bed, a positively sultry look in his blue eyes as he hooked his thumbs in his unbuttoned jeans and pulled them down passed his hips.
Vlad looked away quickly, his heart hammering in his chest and his throat suddenly dry. Vlad had never thought about Danny this way! This was sick and wrong, how could this spirit tell him that this was his deepest desire!?
A pull to his core forced him to open his eyes, to look back into the Mirror's face just as the image changed. Danny was looking up at him, his head rested on a pillow. His hair was mused, his eyes were cloudy and his cheeks bright pink. He was panting and Vlad blushed at the absolutely debauched state of the boy. Vlad's eyes widened and his heart pounded, his blood boiling hotly in his dead veins.
"This...this can't be..."
"Why not?" the spirit asked behind Vlad. "You love the boy, do you not?"
"Yes, but not like this! Not..."
"Physically?"
"Daniel is...too young." Vlad blinked as the image changed. Danny stood before him, clothed this time, but Vlad noticed something different about him. His shoulders looked wider, his face longer and some stubble lined his chin. Danny was saying something about some professor. He laughed, that carefree, easy laugh and looked over to Vlad, not up at him.
Vlad blinked. The image changed. Danny's appearance didn't, he was still much older. He was sitting on a couch reading and sipping coffee. A black and white cat jumped into his lap. Danny absentmindedly stroked the soft fur. He looked up and apparently noticed Vlad, smiling welcomingly and patted the seat beside him.
Vlad let out a broken cry and fell to his knees before the mirror. That was it. That was Vlad's deepest dream and desire. Love, a home, a family. Someone like him, who loved him. Vlad didn't need that person to be Maddie, he didn't need to rule over every other being in the universe; he just wanted love, and acceptance. And to get this all from Danny, to get everything from Danny, all forms of love from the one being in the world like him…it was perfect.
Vlad gazed at the boy in the mirror, who was kneeling down and gazing carefully at Vlad. "What's wrong, Vladdie? Feeling your age?" Danny laughed and Vlad couldn't help smiling with him as tears streamed down his face. Danny noticed the tears and tilted his head. "I love you Vlad."
"Oh…Danny. I love- I love you too!" Vlad cried, sobbing and putting his hands to the mirror. Vlad wanted it, he wanted it so badly. This love. He didn't want Danny as a son, because then eventually Danny would leave him for his friends, for his girlfriend, for college and his own life. He didn't want Danny as a student because eventually Danny would grow up and become his equal, and then he'd go off on his own, to learn new things even Vlad couldn't teach him. He didn't want Danny as a friend, he wanted more! He wanted all of Danny, his very heart and soul! Vlad was selfish and consuming; if he was to love and have love, he'd have it in all its facets! Instead of a family with Maddie as lover and Danny as son, Danny would be his only and all.
Vlad was shaking, his wide red eyes leaking ectoplasmic tears. "How? H-how to I get this!?" Vlad demanded desperately, looking over his shoulder and up at the spectral guardian. "Tell me how I get him!"
"It will take time, Plasmius. A lot of time."
"I want it now!" Vlad demanded, his eyes flashing, fangs bared. The spirit stared passively. She uttered not a word. Vlad eventually calmed, breathing deeply through his nose. This ghost wasn't here to deter him from his goal. She wasn't going to trick him or make things difficult. She was neutral, straight-forward and honest.
"Many have come seeking the path to their desires. They discovered their deepest secrets, but could not face what they needed to in order to obtain them. Are you willing to go through anything for what you truly desire? Are you capable of sacrificing and showing great patience in order to achieve this happiness that you seek?"
Vlad sighed, looking back to the mirror, to Danny who smiled at him and laughed with him and loved him. He couldn't lose this. "Is it possible? Is it really obtainable in my life?"
"Yes," the spirit said. "You can gain this in your life." Vlad gasped out a weak laugh. It didn't seem possible! "But as I have said, it shall take time. Many years, perhaps."
Vlad nodded. "I waited twenty years to try and snatch up Madeleine. I can wait a few more for this." Vlad wiped his face and stood up. He put his hand to the mirror, where Danny's cheek was reflected. The boy tilted his head, as though leaning into Vlad's touch. Vlad stared with a gentle, steady gaze and then dropped his hand and turned to the ghost guardian behind him.
"Alright then, spirit. Tell me how to achieve what I truly desire."
Something I've kind of had sitting around and I finally decided to finish up ^^ Yes, the mirror in this story is based off the Mirror of Erised from Harry Potter, when I got the idea of "What would Vlad see if he looked into that mirror?" And of course, me being a Pompous pep girl, imagined this ;) can you really blame me though?
(All rights go to Danny Phantom creator and Nickelodean of course!)
SO anyway, please review, they make me smile! :D Hope you enjoyed this little whatever, and have a goodnight! ~