Daniel Fenton awoke some time earlier that morning to his father worriedly trying to coax him out of his stupor. They were in an ambulance.
"What's-…. What's going on?..."Daniel's blue eyes groggily locked onto his jumpsuit-clad parent. Jack displayed deep circles under his normally energetic eyes. The paramedics at his side looked curiously over the teen.
Jack furrowed his brow. "Danny-boy? Where were you? It's been a week! We've been looking everywhere for you!"His father's gloved hand wiped Daniel's black hair out of his eyes gently.
Daniel's eyes widened and he tried to shoot up only for the paramedics to latch onto him.
"A WEEK?" Daniel's voice choked out. Jack seeing the look of confusion and terror radiating off his son calmly reassured him. " Daniel? It's okay. Calm down. You're safe. Maddie and Jazzy-pants are driving to the hospital to meet us. Just relax."
Daniel, however, was having a mental breakdown. Vague flashes of a monstrous shadow engulfing him after he left Pandora's garden surfaced. He could feel bile trying to score its way up his throat. ' They don't know! AGAIN! How the heck am I supposed to tell them?'Bitter tears started dripping down his face and Jack worriedly put a hand to his shoulder. He squeezed comfortingly. "Danny? What happened?"
Daniel angrily nibbled his lip and stared at his clumsily bandaged chest. Jack, realizing Daniel was in shock, sighed deeply and returned his attention to the paramedics. "So...um...what can he expect when we get there? I attended medical school when I was younger and I'm familiar with the basics. You're keeping him wrapped in that to make sure he doesn't bleed out everywhere correct?"
The male paramedic nodded. "Yeah, the bleeding seems to be contained. We don't want to remove those shirt scraps until we are certain it's not a deep wound that requires a blood transfusion. He looks fairly healthy but maybe a little food deprived. He most likely only has slight injuries, so I don't see him staying longer than a few hours…"The man rubbed the back of his head." At least, that's my opinion."
Jack sighed in relief. The ride to the hospital was hauntingly silent after that. Every time Daniel's father went to comfort him, the teen would flinch at his touch. Ultimately giving up, Jack left Daniel to his thoughts. ' Sam is still alive… but what…? God, my head… I was seventeen already in that damned nightmare… Everyone appreciated me and loved me... and now what? I'm a freak again! I hate this. I DESPISE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS! 'He cringed as he was wheeled into the hospital.'And to garnish it all off? ALL THE GHOSTS PROBABLY STILL HATE MY ECTOPLASMIC HIDE! 'He balled his tired hands into fists.' I'M BACK TO BEING A WALKING, TALKING TARGET FOR MY PARENTS AND EVERY SOLITARY GHOST AND GHOST HUNTER ON THE ENTIRE PLANET AND THE GHOST ZONE! 'He was jarred from his internal ramblings by the doctor that came in. Cutting off the shirt scraps gently, he inspected the rather shallow wound in the middle of Daniel's pectorals.
" Well my boy, you seem relatively fortunate. The wound won't even require stitches! At most, you merely have to wrap it for a few weeks."
'Pfff, you mean two days? I mean, usually, I only get light wounds or bruises. Even Plasmius doesn't-.'Daniel froze in thought. Dream Vlad had been in an entirely different league than the regular brand of fruit-loop he had grown accustomed to. Heck, prior to the whole nightmare? Vlad had even started almost becoming…. playful? Vlad was many things, but he wasn't a true killer… 'God… what am I thinking?!'
The doctor snapped him back to attention. "You know... I think all we really have to do is place a band-aid pad over this. It's only about two inches in diameter and it doesn't even seem to have broken through the epidermis and into the muscle. You will, however, most likely bear a sizable scar."He cleaned the wound and Daniel flinched."So? What caused you to go missing my boy? There have been posters plastered everywhere for over a week now. Even the mayor was making efforts to locate you."
Daniel's blue eyes widened at this information, but he grimaced bitterly at the thought.'Yeah, probably to brag to my mom when he found me so he could weasel his way into her good graces again. Lousy cheesehead.'
" I was going over to a friend's and a ghost snatched me."His voice was flat, but his eyes carried a noticeable amount of bitterness and resentment.
The doctor positioning the band-aid pad sighed. " To bad the Phantom kid wasn't nearby...then again ghost attacks pretty much dropped right around when you disappeared…"
Daniel raised an eyebrow." Wait. Really?" The doctor nodded and then shrugged." I mean... We saw some weird, blue punk-chic with a guitar screaming for Phantom for a few days but even she dropped off the radar."
Daniel's eyebrow stayed up.
Ember had been searching for him? For what reason? He groaned. Everything was making his head hurt. The doctor smiled encouragingly. " Don't worry. You're not with whatever ghoul snatched you anymore."He paused at the door and scribbled something on his clipboard." From those wrappings, we thought you were bleeding out profusely. Those shirt scraps are practically crimson. You, however, don't seem to be bleeding as severely as they suggested when the paramedics loaded you up from your porch."He paused at the door and wrote something on his clipboard.
The doctor turning out the door finished, "I think it'll be in your best interests to be with your family, so I won't make you stay here. They've been looking for over a week and you don't look like you need to be in a hospital."And with that, he departed out of the room. Daniel became slightly ill at the sight of the fabric next to him. Both his shirt and what looked like a charred and bloodied adult's dress shirt were just out of touching distance. His curiosity was gnawing him out of his skull!
The doctor, from his small perspective through the ajar door was in the hallway discussing Daniel's condition with his parents and sister.
A startled yelp and a nurse's annoyed voice rang down the hall outside his door. " Hey! You two! No running!"
A few seconds later both Sam and Tucker busted into his room. Sam ran up to Daniel and noticing the bandage across his chest frowned. Her hand extended in what looked like a sign of comfort only to end in an angry red blemish on Daniel's cheek. She had slapped him. Blue eyes widened in shock at the tears trailing down her face.
"Sam! Calm down! I'm alright!"He motioned with his hands for her to breathe slowly and gripped her shoulder gently. Still crying bitterly, she questioned, "Do you mind explaining?"
Tucker walking up from behind them and tore off his rusty beanie before lobbing it at Daniel's head. " I second that! Seriously man?! What the hell?"His voice was tinged with angry grief."We couldn't even get into the ghost zone to look for you after your dad and mom locked it up! They thought some monster was prowling after their kids and we thought you were -"
Daniel winced. " Tucker, Sam? Guys calm down. Allow me to explain."He rolled his eyes." Trust me, this story is one hell of a yarn. It probably tops every other ghost related accident or bullshit fight we've ever had…"
Sam raised her eyebrow and Tucker pulled up a chair. Crossing his t-shirt covered arms over his chest he motioned for Daniel to start.
Daniel groaned. " Okay… so remember the Box Ghost thing? Pandora and all that jazz?"They both nodded.
" Well, after I dropped by her domain to check on that blue moron I decided to visit Clockwork. I mean, he NEVER gets the company so I thought it would be a pleasant surprise for him... I was making good time to until I got blasted in the back of the head. Everything just went dark… really, really dark."He cringed." Guys. That thing... I don't even know if it's possible to consider it a ghost. It rooted in my head for hours until it found some good thoughts and memories to make a little dream prison for me. I sincerely thought…"He gripped his fists angrily." He even made me dream that I had defeated him. Nocturn… that's his name… or was… I'm kind of vague on how I actually got out of the whole thing. Jesus, guys... he had me so far under I thought six months had passed…"He gripped his fists angrily.
"The dreams were so vivid. I just thought I woke up from a nightmare…" Daniel swallowed. "At the start, he seemed to be appraising me. Figuring out what made me tick. He made this comatose reality where everyone was trapped in some Sleeping Beauty like state while he fed on everyone."Daniel grimaced. "Nocturn, even hinted that he fed off of people's life forces through dreams but of course I was completely oblivious...probably partially because Dash kept popping up to distract me. He was like a corny 'poster boy' for nightmares."
Tucker chuckled half-heartedly. "Sounds pretty accurate. Dash can distract anyone…" Daniel smiled tiredly.
"Then he seemed to start testing ideas for villains or enemies…First, he tried Walker but that didn't really work well at keeping me under. Then he tried Vlad… and well that dream was seriously warped even by regular standards. Valerie and Vlad tag teamed against Danni and tried melting her to study her remains… god, the screaming…" He flinched and Tucker and Sam both looked worriedly at him."Nocturn made sure that the dream version of Valerie seemed more approachable and settled on Vlad as the ideal villain for his whole master dream..."
Daniel jerked his head. " I'm such a moron." He ran a hand through his raven hair tiredly. " There were sooooo many inconsistencies and I still rattled along to that piper's melody! I mean… his dream in the end? It was so forced and just… just out of sorts… I couldn't break away from it, though. I wanted it to be true so badly. Even if it was outrageous…"
Tucker raised an eyebrow. " How outrageous?" Daniel smiled once more and this time chuckled. " Earth almost got swiped out of orbit by an asteroid the size of a small moon, Vlad turned megalomaniac and threatened the planet as Plasmius, and you… you were mayor."
Tucker raised an eyebrow and then laughed. " Have you seen my grades? Pffff… and out of both of you, I'm far more anti-social. Public speaking? Yeah… only in YOUR dreams."He snickered.
Sam laughed, "Seriously Danny? Tuck for mayor? What was his first rule of business?"
Daniel laughed. " Putting recycled PDAs into the school district so people could get a feel for classical technology." Sam rolled her eyes and pulled out her iPhone. " Yeah. That's never going to happen. I prefer the modern stuff."
Daniel grinned at Tucker's annoyed features. " Don't we all?" He paused and nervously eyed the fabric across from them. " Guys? That last dream though got pretty dark. It's almost like Nocturn was grasping at straws to keep me conked out. Six months passed between the whole asteroid hitting the planet and me revealing I was… well me. And then suddenly he flipped everything. I mean, first, he popped Vlad back into the picture. I thought he was dead somewhere in outer space."
Observing their faces, he rolled his eyes."Nocturn made me think that that stupid creepazoid cheesehead became a space hermit after his plan to rule the world backfired. Believe me, I don't want to elaborate. At any rate, he suddenly puffed back into the world, right as rain' and murdered…" He looked at Sam and suddenly felt nauseated.
Sam gulped. "Eh… How exactly did- "
Daniel groaned. " Dream Vlad yanked you up by your hoodie and then dropped you onto the pavement…" Daniel shivered. "I'm going to have some serious frightmares for a while after that imagery."He furrowed his brow and propped a hand to his head." The dream just became so disjointed… and then I was killing Plasmius… god… I was so enthralled with the idea, but he wasn't like the others… And then next thing I knew I was waking up in an ambulance."
He furrowed his brow and twisted his hair in frustration."I know I didn't get out of the ghost zone alone and they discovered me on the porch apparently...and… I...just don't…"He stopped as his eyes landed on the pile of clothing still splayed across the metal tray. A flash of silver had captured his gaze. Both Tucker and Sam followed his line if sight and Sam got up to inspect the metallic object. She paled at the blood soaking the garment and then gently tore the cufflink from the sleeve. Holding it in her hand, her eyes widened. Tucker, seeing her expression, got up from his seat and walked over to snatch the metal piece out of her palm. Noting the letters engraved on it, he dropped it to the floor as if it were molten hot or some sort of venomous animal.
Sam slowly reached down to pick it up and both teens exchanged an equally stunned and somewhat bewildered expression.
" Guys? What is it? Please tell me?" Daniel's voice broke through their confusion. Looking from Daniel to the cufflink and back again Sam finally walked over to Daniel and placed it in his hand.
" Sam? Tuck? It's just a cufflink! What's wrong wi-" Sam narrowed her eyes and jabbed a finger worriedly toward the silver. This time Daniel noticed the letters. A small VM was stamped in the metal. 'Oh god…What?!'
That's impossible… That's impossible…"Daniel shook his head in disbelief. Looking back on everything, though… only one person could have got him out. After all, Vlad Masters was the only one with a currently operating portal…
Vlad was feverish, and he tossed and rolled in his bed trying to rest with no considerable progress. Everything was burning and pained after he slept shirtless and barefoot on the kitchen floor earlier. Angry, he readjusted the makeshift ice pack on his head. The paper towel wrapped mess was currently his only viable solution to the ungodly heat. 'God...I could really use some spectral painkillers…Where's that blasted green booger when I need him?'
He moved slightly and feeling the excruciating abrasions burned onto the left portion of his side, stifled a pained scream. With his chest ripped open, fever reducers would likely prevent his blood from coagulating. The last thing he wanted was for Skulker and Fright Knight to barge in on him free bleeding all over the floor. Turning ghost was also a big no-no. Plasmius was out of commission. Sure… he could probably chance a shift, but the spectral form would just consume too much energy…he'd have to reserve it for emergencies.
Vlad's feverish eyes focused on the ceiling. ' Why? Why am I still keeping up the farce? Daniel practically got killed! 'Vlad gripped his head in frustration and turned on his side.'No… this isn't helping… I don't need to think about this right now… I need sleep.'
The thoughts persisted, however, fueled by the fever. "How long will it be before I actually lose my sanity over this?" He questioned aloud. His voice was hoarse and sore. Numbly he touched his hand against the burned flesh around his neck. "A collar for a monster perhaps? God knows I probably deserve that much and more…"He winced as his hand made contact with one of the thin finger-shaped pieces of burnt flesh. He could feel his cells morphing and ripping apart around the area as a defense mechanism. His face, his neck… and the visible skin on his hands had always healed completely and faster than any other part of his body. He winced as his hand made contact with one of the thin finger-shaped pieces of burnt dangers of being caught due to a visible injury were just too numerous and severe to count. Vlad, however, was currently angry at his body's prioritization over the minor wounds. His neck was of little consequence. His chest was the far more fatal and dangerous of the injuries. Vlad snickered. 'The damned mark merely wants to make sure I'm presentable before I get stuck six feet under.' He paused and rolled his eyes. 'Not like that's going to happen Plasmius…' He turned tiredly and flinched in agony.
The science behind healing in ghosts wasn't a sound one. Vladimir being a half ghost had never helped the equation. His job also added to his troubles. The more energy that was used by Plasmius, the more likely a wound would scar instead of fade or heal completely. In other words… the more human he was, the more his body healed like a human's, with the exception of certain parts or extremely damaged areas. Ghosts didn't possess bones. Their organs also didn't work, although they did retain a semblance of human anatomy for their ectoplasm to circulate through. Internal damage healed far faster and more completely than outward damage. The same applied to Vladimir. If ribs were broken, they would be healed first. If he was impaled, the spectral energy would twist its way outward and not inward. He had a suspicion that his face, neck, and hands only healed so rapidly because they were exposed the most to the portal. His scars were also becoming less and less frequent as time progressed. Whether his super healing was just evolving to the rest of his body or not, he couldn't say.
Thinking about it all made his head throb. A soft groan escaped his lips. Thirty minutes of self-beration and angry mental rants followed the mockingly hungover dissection of his healing capabilities until he finally fell back to sleep. The nightmares, however, were waiting for him…
Memories… raw and violent realities he could scarcely begin to cope with flashed in R.E.M. sleep. He woke up screaming sometime later. It felt like he was drowning. 'Calm down. You're fine. It's just a dream.'He clamped his hands around his arms to stabilize himself. ' You're safe…Breathe…'He snatched several tremulous breaths into his lungs. Noting the time from the watch splayed under the lamp by his bed, he begrudgingly got to his feet.
Walking into his closet, he snagged a black, long sleeve shirt and began buttoning it up his chest. It was, at present, 8:30 pm and the shirt wouldn't serve any purpose in practicality this evening. It wasn't as if anyone would be stopping in…His eyes however flinched at the older scars peeking out from under the bandages. Buttoning up his collar absently, he placed his palm against his now concealed chest. The shirt was more of a support system at this point...Touching his forehead and feeling the heat he groaned. Swearing under his breath, he began tying back his silver hair.
Noting the bandages getting ensnared in his tresses, he numbly shed them off of his fingers and pitched them into a trash can by his bedroom desk. His chest arched up to yawn and he gasped in pain. A searing burn had snaked its way up his chest with the sudden movement. Walking the door, he numbly put a hand to his waist. He smiled sadly, "It looks like the little badger has given me a week of recovery time…" His weary blue eyes rolled in annoyance. He wasn't going to be fighting or moving suddenly for a while. 'On the bright side you're not shot or impaled again…' He absently conducted a hand to the bridge of his nose. Vague memories came to mind of the events and a low guttural growl escaped his lips. His fangs, now un-hindered because of his inability to cloak them, glinted from under his lip. Bobbing his head in aggravation, he pushed the thoughts aside and then flinched in pain from the jerking movement. '...Smooth move… God… what I need is a pain reliever…'
Teleporting to the kitchen downstairs he almost fell over and cleaved his head open on the still blood-soaked tile by the fridge. Steadying himself slightly, he rummaged through the liquor cabinet and began pulling out multiple bottles. Some nightmares… he reasoned, needed to be drowned out, and seeing as how Skulker couldn't give him any spectral medications to soothe the pain … a human pain reliever was needed.
Sitting at one of the bar stools, he broke off the end of a bottle of scotch with one hand and began drinking. Half ghosts couldn't kill themselves with booze… God knows, Vladimir had tried on one or two occasions. Vlad himself detested the idea of drinking and solely reserved himself to it when his mind raced with worry and fatigue. Lately, he was more and more prone to it.
Having eaten dinner with his parents and sister, Daniel had tiredly snuck up to his room. Glancing at the old rocketship clock next to his desk he began nervously pacing. A silver cufflink jangled hauntingly in his pocket.
Three hours passed with him silently digging his feet across and around the blue rug in front of his bed. His head darted nervously from the window to the bed, over and over again.
' Fruit-loop wouldn't have merely dropped me off at my house… There's no way…'Daniel wrung a hand through his hair. Frustrated he began whispering aloud his internal ramblings. " He would've bragged to mom right? And even then… why not just get rid of me? Every single thing I've ever seen from the moron contradicts this ridiculous cufflink!"He bitterly wrenched it from his pocket to inspect it for the millionth time. The letters stood out mockingly in the dimly lit room.
' Damn it! I won't be able to sleep until I figure this out! 'Grimacing angrily, he shoved the metal back into his pocket and shifted into Danny Phantom. His clock chimed, informing him to the fact it was past midnight. Neon green eyes locked on the window. ' You either go now or not at all, Fenton! Man up! You can easily whoop his ass if he gives you any trouble… Just go confront the moron and see if this damned piece of metal is his! 'Growling at himself, he turned intangible and flew through his bedroom window and out toward Vlad's manor across town on Canterville drive. He typically avoided the area like the plague and he only recalled the address because his family briefly neighbored Vlad's mansion. Vlad's home was almost completely secluded. Two manors neighbored him but neither saw any permanent residents because of Amity's haunted status. Literally, the area was a dead zone.
Landing in front of the door he paused apprehensively. His hand moved to knock only for him to retract his wrist. '... He may shoot you… maybe spying around would be better?' Turning intangible and invisible, he floated through the door and into the entranceway. Looking around, he frowned in confusion.
The inside of the house was similar and yet completely different from what he remembered during is brief stay during Amity's weather problem. Then again, quite a few things were out of place last time as well…
'Wait? No, Packers garbage?'His eyes darted curiously around the almost sparsely decorated entranceway. No greens and golds… just muted honey colors and dark wooden chestnut shades. Some blues and pale reds also peaked through. Raising an eyebrow he inspected the manors layout questioningly. Despite external appearances, it had no sweeping staircases or wide expansive ceilings, at least from his perspective at the entryway. If anything it almost looked like an average home to the unassuming eye. 'God… this is so bizarre… Where's the tasteless extravagance? The pompous greens and yellows?'He shook his invisible head in annoyance and wrung his hands in the air.
' I'm not seeing anything fancy or rich! Sam even has fancier digs than this, and Vlad's like two pegs above her family in the wealth department?! Did he fire his interior decorator? Weren't there vases and-' Growling angrily he floated bitterly at the crossways between the rest of the house and the front hall. He was almost tempted to blast something until he noted a faint light down the hallway to his left. He passed by three doors as he floated toward the almost eerie yellow. Floating forward he stopped in his tracks. The entire manor-Everything was silent... except for the choked whispers coming from the room only a few feet away from him. Daniel gulped.
Still invisible, he peaked through the ajar door and his eyes widened. He gasped only to hastily cover his mouth. His arch-enemy was laying across his breakfast bar with at least six bottles of whiskey and scotch draped across the floor and counter. Vlad's hair had come unbound from his ponytail as he hunched over the marble. His fingers all but clasped at the nape of yet another bottle like it was a lifeline. It quivered above the floor, and Vlad shook against himself with his head lounging on the stone. His arm shakily lowered the glass back to the counter and subdued whispers could be heard coming from the inebriated man.
"...Why… Why did they leave?" He gurgled."... I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"He shook and wrapped his hands around the bottle only to retract his hand to wipe away the tears accumulating on his face."...Please.."He shook and wrapped his hands around the bottle only to retract his hand to wipe away the tears accumulating on his face." Forgive me… I just-…Please… don't…"
Daniel's eyes where practically jutting out of his skull in confusion at the breaks in Vlad's speech. The confusion soon faded into grief and remorse though once he finally was able to grasp onto Vlad's words… 'Jesus… I never… why is he acting like this? 'Looking once more at the scene, he began feeling nauseous. Vlad's kitchen looked like a ransacked liquor store.
'He's the villain right? My arch-nemesis? I came to confirm the stupid cufflink not to see…'
Vlad's voice continued in hushed whispers as he numbly wrapped his arms under his head on the counter. "... Jack…Mads…m' ...sorry…"
Daniel froze again.'Apologizing? Doesn't he loathe my dad? What is this? Am I still drugged up in Nocturn's fantasy world? 'Daniel gnawed his lip as he observed Vlad's actions.
The older hybrid's words were becoming fainter and after what felt like an eternity he fell asleep, unaware of the sixteen-year-old lurking and listening to his pained ramblings. Daniel waited worriedly and, noting Vlad's relatively labored breathing, floated into the kitchen. Turning visible he hovered cautiously above Vladimir's unconscious form. 'He couldn't have… I mean…'Daniel looked from the emptied bottles to Vlad's almost feverish looking body nervously.
Vlad shivered in his sleep from the proximity to Daniel's ghost form. Already precariously balanced and slightly askew on the counter he fell to the ground. Daniel's mouth widened in horror. The bottle which had been laying next to Vlad cracked and shattered against the floor by his arm. A small shard cut against Vlad's cheek and he grimaced. The blood dripped lazily as he groggily tried to open his eyes. His head rolled absently and discerning the bright neon green orbs above him, he passed out again.
'Oh my fucking god! Vlad!'Daniel instantly dropped down to the floor in utter panic and began trying to pull Vlad out of the glass and liquor snaking across the tile. Vlad's breathing was irregular and his eyes fluttered spastically behind closed lids. Cradling Vlad's head, Daniel paled considerably.
The adult was burning up. The heat was practically fear-inducing. Daniel eyed the freezer, and returning his gaze to Vlad tried jostling the adult back. Vlad grimaced in his sleep but didn't wake up. Feeling the fever again Daniel noted the long sleeve shirt Vlad was wearing with disdain. Angry, he placed his hands on the fabric roughly. " Why the hell do you wear these ridiculous button-up shirts fruit-loop?!"
Receiving no response from his outburst, he hastily began unbuttoning Vlad's wrinkled and now drenched shirt.
Daniel's face widened in absolute horror. He immediately retracted his white-gloved hand in fear. The large bandages on his arch-enemy had become loose and red had gradually forged its way through the white. Daniel stared at his glove in disdain. It was also now stained crimson.
"What did you do to yourself?!"He had never seen so much blood in his entire life. Worriedly latching on to Vlad, he wrenched him up a little higher out of the alcohol slowly dripping towards them. Vlad's feverish head fell to the side as Daniel desperately tried to support him and take in the severity of his wounds. "VLAD! COME ON! PLEASE?!"Daniel shook him.
A small moan of agony and a grimace that exposed vampiric fangs resonated from the adult. Daniel, oblivious to the teeth, was still warily staring at Vlad's closed and practically tearing eyes.'He's completely out of it…' Noticing Vlad's heavy and sporadic breathing Daniel became even more worried.
"Shit." Daniel's eyes darted around frantically in search of a solution to Vlad's predicament. " You just had to play hero this time around!" Hearing his own words, he tensed. 'Why exactly was Vlad his arch enemy anymore? He hasn't done anything truly evil in months. He didn't even flirt with mom anymore, and he never went through with his threats on killing his father...But then again… everything prior was just so warped…'
Vlad tossed slightly, jumping Daniel out of his 'villain versus hero' mental crisis. Vlad's gray hair was practically plastered to his face from sweat, and his brow was furrowed in pain. The older ghost hybrid's condition was getting worse. Daniel hastily rearranged the man, so he could handle him. Hefting him upward he clinched him to his chest and, turning intangible, went through the ceiling to where he hoped a bed or a bathroom would be.