Kind of an explanation for my Apeirophobia AU I guess

Danny was alone looking out over the park in the still of night considering taking a trip into the ghost zone. He had been hearing rumors flitting through from passing spirits that Vlad had turned up again. He thought the likely hood of that being true was slim but there wasn't much going on now and he needed to take a trip to just relieve his mind of the possibility that his arch nemesis could possibly still be alive.

It had been almost a hundred years since the Desasteroid incident that revealed his identity to the entire world and since then the public had lost interest after the first year. He just wasn't the hot topic anymore and he had been left to continue his protecting over Amity Park. Though the ghost hauntings had become fewer over the next ten years or so new ghosts had cropped up over time.

Sam and him had tried to make it work and they had relatively well until the end of highschool and then Sam went off to University. He was proud of her and he had wanted her too. He had even helped her choose her courses. Danny wasn't a stupid boy and he knew Sam had to go off and lead her own life. She would have never been happy trapped in Amity Park with him but this is where he belonged and nothing was going to change that. She understood of course she did she was Sam and they had stayed friends slowly loosing touch over the years. Fifteen years ago he had attended her funeral, five years after he had watched Tucker be lowered into the ground. His parents thirty years before had died within a year of each other and Jazz had been hit by a drunk driver when she was twenty five.

His entire family and all his friends had passed on and he hadn't seen their ghosts even though he had looked desperately for them so he had to assume they went to a better place. Any of the people he knew from highschool were all either dead or in nursing homes and a new generation had cropped up reading about his exploits in history books. That's what he was now, he was history and it saddened him to no end.

Danny hadn't aged much in his time, he grew until he was twenty and then it just stopped, like his body had said 'okay, that's enough, let's hold here'. His mom had always teased him about looking so young.

Huffing a heavy sigh he flew to the portal in his parents basement. He didn't really use the house anymore except to sometimes recover and eat the small portions that his body still needed to keep 'living'. If you could even call it that anymore. Coming upon the ghost portal he flew into the green vortex feeling a certain peace and calm wash over him. Maybe he should just stay in here and then he wouldn't have to worry about the outside world.

He floated through the never ending sea of doors looking for any signs that Vlad had in fact reappeared but there were none as far as he could see. Scrunching up his nose he continued to look expanding his search a little to see if maybe that would help. Eventually it seemed like he had been searching for hours maybe even day, time was lost in the ghost zone, and he was reaching the outer extremities the green mist being replaced with black stars and the doors becoming fewer and far between.

That's when he saw it. A floating chunk of rock with a mansion on it that looked exactly like Vlads. Danny's heart stopped he swore it as he floated closer to the mansion to get a better look at it. It was the same but different distorted and strange.

Setting himself down on the ground in front of the mansion doors he knocked hearing the sound echo throughout the halls of the building sounding eerily hollow. He swallowed thickly and pushed the doors open walking in hesitantly.

"Hello?" He called his voice bouncing off the walls mockingly.

He didn't like the inside of this place, it was weird everything in stark and gaudy yellow in green but looking like decay. The doors lining the hall seemed to fade in and out of existence all helter-skelter and they were everywhere. Some on the floor lining the walls in rows, some even on the ceiling. It was weird.

From somewhere within the mansion came the sound of giddy child like giggling that made its way to Danny's ears sending a chill down his spine.

Why was this mansion here. It was like a lair and Vlad shouldn't have a lair, halfas didn't get lairs they got houses in the real world. It did make sense that if Vlad got back he would hide out in the ghost zone since he wasn't really welcomed back in the human world. But this was way to much.

Taking a deep breath of stale air Danny pushed open one of the doors and walked inside half worried that he would become trapped in it if the door just decided to fade away. Inside the room was a study, the same as Vlads and there he was, just as he remembered him. Silver hair pulled back, business suit proper as always. But wait…he was there too, a much younger him. A fourteen year old him to be exact. Danny watched in a mix of awe and horror as the scene played out before him, the specter-deflector, the guise of making Vlad think he wanted to be his son and then wrapping the belt around his waist.

Unnerved and confused Danny stepped out of the room neither of the occupants seeming to have taken any notice of his presence, they were just and old memory playing out. He kept checking doors and every one was the same, behind the paneling there was a memory and it was bizarre. They were from all over the place, Vlad's childhood, the accident, space, everything. He stopped at a heavy door feeling an ominous weight settle on his shoulder as he pushed open the door uncertainly.

Behind this door was space the stars seeming to stretch forever and ever and he floated into the room looking at the rock face of what he supposed was an asteroid trapped in earths orbit. Just a small piece of space rock that would burn up in the atmosphere if it got pulled in. It was beautiful and he floated further in looking down at the earth from space like a beautiful blue and green marble just slowly turning.

It was then that he heard the cough, the absolutely retched hacking and wheezing and he spun around facing the noise and seeing Plasmius as he remembered him but something was wrong and his image was flickering between Masters and Plasmius as he dropped to the ground looking like he was in so much pain. This Vlad's ghost form faltered and he was human and he couldn't breath. The look of pain and terror as the colour drained from his face and he clawed at his throat. It was awful even though there weren't any noises anymore he watched as his nemesis writhed on the ground clawing bloody scratch wounds into his throat as he suffocated without oxygen. Danny couldn't tear his eyes away as his body finally fell limp eyes wide in terror and his mouth open limbs twitching as the remainders of life fled. Vlad was dead and it was the most terrifying thing he had ever seen and he had seen a lot of terrifying things. Coming here was a bad idea.

Vlad's face was distorted as the void took its toll, his skin discoloring and his eyes bulging practically out of their sockets. Disgusting that was the only word Danny could think of as green tears welled in his eyes. Sure Vlad had been his enemy but he had also been a friend in a strange way and to see this it was just too much for the halfa to take.

So caught up in his thoughts he was that he missed the first twitch of Vlad's arm. It was finally the sound of rusting clothes that brought him back to the scene before him and he watched with awe as the body on the ground shifted transforming into Plasmius not with the tell tale rings though. His entire body just…changed and the ghosts red eyes opened. Plasmius blinked sitting up and looking at his hands and body in confusion and wonder and then over at the earth.

What happened next Danny would never have believed if he didn't see it with his own eyes. Behind Plasmius a ghost portal opened pulling Vlad in like a vacuum much to the ghosts surprise. Just like that he was gone and the memory started over again.

Not wanting to have to witness the death of Vlad again Danny fled the room and went back into the hallway. So Vlad was alive…sort of…but he was here in the ghost zone. And he was ghost, which explained the lair. But why he hadn't tried to return to Amity Park was still a mystery and he was determined to solve it.

"Vlad!" He called listening to the name bounce off the walls as he headed through the ridiculously twisted hallways and up a set of stairs that lead to more hallways. This place was like a maze and he heard that eerie giggle again and he could feel eyes on him.

"Vlad? Are you there?" He asked a little more softly pausing as he looked around.

His ghost sense went off and there was a rush of cold blur streaking past him and it wound its self around him faster than Danny could even process. Spectral tail wrapped around his legs and body chilling him even in his ghost form. This thing was colder than ice. When it finally stilled the jittering blur of black and white and red settled in front of him its tail still wrapped firmly around him as it solidified into a being.

The first thing Danny noticed was its brightly glowing red eyes set in yellow. They were full of madness like someone had loosed a whole bag of cats. The next was the black hair flying wildly around its head a few silver strands tossed being blown by some kind of invisible wind. The smile on its face was enough to send chills up and down Danny's spine as he finally realized what exactly was wrapped around him.

"Vlad?" He whispered in awe.

The ghost giggled high pitched and hysterically before wrapping his self around Danny again like a cat almost coming up over his shoulder like a scarf. A very odd, very cold scarf. He didn't seem to want to hurt Danny though so Danny just stayed stock still where he was refusing to move.

"Warm~" Vlad cooed his voice echoing off the walls in a whisper that shouldn't have bounced.

He looked so different and acted so different. He didn't seem to remember Danny at all and his appearance was drastically changed. He looked the same age as Danny looked in his early twenties. His hair was down and long and he was so thin. Vlad looked like well…a ghost of his former self. Spending so much time alone in the ghost zone must have the power to change a ghost.

Vlad continued to wind himself around Danny fingers threading in his hair sending shivers up and down Danny's spine. It was such a creepy feeling and he was so cold it felt like he was chilling Danny to his very core and that was saying a lot considering the ice powers.

"So warm~" Vlad cooed again and Danny finally decided he had enough of this.

"Alright, okay fruitloop that's enough." He said struggling out of Vlad's grip and facing the confused ghost.

Vlad tilted his head to the side wild hair dropping to lay straight almost halfway down his back.

"Fruitloop? C-c-crazed up fruit loop!" Vlad absolutely squealed in what Danny could only guess was joy before dissolving into the jittering mess again and rushing away from Danny down the hall.

"Definitely one seriously crazed up fruitloop." Danny agreed as he made his way after Vlad trying to follow the sounds of laughter though the hall. Finally he cornered the ghost at the end of a long hallway and Vlad solidified again except for his spectral tail.

"Boy?" He said it like he confused, "Memory?"

"Vlad it's me, Danny…don't you remember?" Danny said trying to coax the memoried out of him. He had to remember.

It was like a pitiful pang inside him, Vlad was the only one left alive that he knew. Everyone else was dead and he just needed to hear someone familiar say his name and acknowledge his existence.

"C'mon Vlad please, I know you know who I can you just have to remember. It's Jacks son. Jack Fenton."

The ghost froze looking at him, "Jack? J-J-J-ack Fenton~" the specters voice lowered into a growling hiss. "Murder! Kill! Kill! Hate!" He dissolved into a mess of static his voice corrupting and Danny took a few steps back for his won safety.

"Hey…it's okay he's…dead…he died a long time ago." Danny felt sick just saying the words using them as a bargaining chip to get the ghost to talk to him.

Vlad froze solidifying again and blinking at Danny his hair flying wildly again.

"Dead? Jack's dead?" It was a pathetic whimper, followed by a howl. "No! Not dead! Friend!" Vlad wailed and Danny put his hands on his shoulders to stop him from disappearing again.

Vlad had really gone crazy, one second he wanted to kill Jack the next he was crying over his death.

"Daniel?" Vlad said softly his voice lowered to a normal almost human sounding tone though the words still carried that ghostly haunt to them.

It didn't matter though just hearing his name from someone familiar was a gift to Danny and he wondered briefly if he was going a little crazy himself.

"Yeah Vlad it's me." Danny offered him a little off kilter smile.

"Oh Daniel…little badger…my boy." Vlad muttered pulling Danny close and hugging him like his after-life depended on it.

Danny hugged him back even though he was freezing cold it was almost like having his father back. Close enough he had his Uncle Vlad back now that he had broken through the wall of crazy.

"Vlad I saw…I saw what happened. I'm so sorry." Danny mumbled into Vlad's shoulder.

"Happened? What happened my dear boy?" He asked so calm and collected it was like they should still be on the streets of Amity Park.

"You died Vlad, in space…you died and now you're a ghost and I thought I had lost you for good." Danny sniffed trying to hold back tears and not being very successful.

"Not dead little badger, I'm right here. Stay." Vlad said softly rubbing Danny's back and pulling away slightly.

When Danny looked up into his eyes he realized how wrong he had been. It was still there, the broken, glistening, crazy behind those red glowing eyes.

"Vlad let me go." Danny said trying to stay calm even though he could feel the ghosts grip tightening on his arms.

"Don't go, stay little badger, stay…stay!" The last part was shouted and Danny jumped watching the corners of Vlad's mouth turn up in a wide terrifying grin.

"No! Let me go!" Danny yelled trying to wrench himself from the ghosts grip but he was strong. "Vlad!"

Vlad was snarling now his body flickering as he wrapped his tail around Danny like a boa constrictor squeezing the small amount of life he had in him out.

"You will stay and you will become like me, we're the only two Daniel, two halfas. Must stay. Have to stay!" Vlad roared shaking the walls the temperature in the entire house dropping to below freezing.

Danny felt the fangs before he could even realize what was happening. Vlad had himself wrapped so tightly around him that he could barely breath and then there were fangs piercing his throat and it hit Danny that Vlad was actually going to kill him.

In life Vlad had wanted him as a son, he had wanted Jazz as a daughter and Maddie as a wife. He wanted companion ship and he had been deprived of it for years and years and now he was left alone in this giant mansion filled with twists and turns and memories that had mostly been full of betrayal and hurt from what he had seen. This was his obsession the same as it was in life to have someone to spend his time with and apparently Vlad had chosen him. Of course he would. It was always Danny that Vlad wanted…besides Maddie of course.

Danny couldn't scream as he felt the searing pain of the fangs ripping the tender flesh of his throat and he knew he needed to fight for his life or he was going to be trapped in this mansion for the rest of his life. He kicked and clawed finally getting his fingers tangled in Vlads hair enough to yard on it making the ghost howl and pull his head back releasing Danny's throat from between his jaws.

This was his chance for escape and Danny knew it shooting ecto-blasts and getting Vlad to back away enough for him to slide out of his grasp and start flying for the door. He didn't know which way was up or down or out but he knew he had to keep moving. There was green blood pouring from his throat and he knew he couldn't handle another attack like that. Vlad was right behind him too the advantages of being a ghost in your own lair.

Vlad was howling like a wild animal the shrieks filling the hallways with an ungodly sound and Danny was reminded of why people were so afraid of ghosts. Vlad was the incarnation of exactly what people feared; terror without reason. Vlad was gaining on him he could hear him closing in and finally the heavy oak doors that lead out were within sight and he put on the speed as fast as he could go.

Turning intangible he phased through the doors and rocketed back into the ghost zone not stopping until the howls faded. Vlad didn't follow him even though he could hear the ghost causing a fuss from within the mansion. He didn't know if Vlad couldn't come out of it or if he was just scared to but he didn't want to find out. Placing a hand over his bleeding wound he made his way back to the portal not wanting to come back to that place ever again. He would do his best to erase the path from his mind because he was certain. One day he would be desperate enough to try and find Vlad again and take him up on the offer. Being alone was a terrible thing and he didn't know how much longer he could last. Another hundred years? Two hundred? A thousand? And who knew what other challenges he would have to face. What if Vlad got out of the ghost zone. There were so many questions he had but he knew he wasn't going to get any answer from Vlad. He would have to figure them out himself. Maybe Clockwork would know.

With that thought he changed direction ripping his suit and tying the cloth around his neck as a bandage. He would be fine once he found Clockwork.