A/N: I planned on getting this done in the summer holidays and well, that obviously didn't happen but I finally finished it! There's a lot of dialogue and switching back and forth, the different fonts are important, I hope it doesn't get confusing.

The blood mirror looked just the same as it did when he was last in here. He hadn't stepped a foot inside the room since Ingrid's birthday. He remembered his sister's reflection chasing them and Ingrid having to merge with it eventually but he didn't know what happened in the room. How did the reflection escape the mirror and will his do the same if he refused to submit?

Or maybe he didn't even have an evil reflection, Ingrid at least never believed he would.

"He's too much of a wimpire, how can there be one evil bone in his body?"

Vlad approached the mirror and saw his own reflection staring back at him. No evil vampire, just himself, frightened blue eyes looking at him. The last time he'd ever see himself in a mirror again.

20 seconds passed, 50 seconds, then surely two minutes passed, Vlad thought, and nothing was happening. Vlad huffed, he had no idea how to approach this and what he was supposed to do. He stepped away from the blood mirror and walked around it. Maybe there was something hidden that he needed to find.

But except cobwebs there was nothing. Apart from the intricate design and the (fake) dragon head perched on top of the mirror, it looked almost ordinary. Not very vampiric or magical.

"Vlad."

Vlad stopped walking. There was a whisper coming from somewhere.

"Yesss."

It felt so close, it sounded like it was coming from inside him. The birthday boy continued his circling until he was in front of the mirror again. No reflection greeted him. It was blank.

He gasped. The emptiness was eerie, it wasn't natural. So much for an ordinary mirror.

"Touch it."

Vlad had no idea what or who the voice was but for some reason he wasn't spooked by it, there was a sense of familiarity to it. He reached out and touched the mirror. To his surprise it wasn't hard glass he met but a soft texture that yielded against his fingertips.

"Come inside."

So the mirror was a portal. And he was supposed to go through it. Vlad tested the bounds of the mirror and slowly slipped his fingers through. It worked. And as soon as they did he couldn't pull back anymore and the rest of his body moved to slip through it as well.

The next thing he knew he stood in the middle of nothing. He blinked into total darkness, it seemed endless.

"You know you're doomed."

Vlad jerked around but there was no one, just the same darkness surrounding him.

"If you think you can win and fight me, you've already lost."

Was that his-

"And you can search for me all you want, you won't see me, I'm inside your head."

"So you are my reflection?" It was more a statement than a question, Vlad could feel its presence. It was eerie, it felt like a separate person but at the same time he felt a connection that went beyond anything he ever knew. It was a part of him, undeniably.

The reflection hummed, affirming. "You're not a solid being?" Vlad was thrown off, he had expected coming face to face with his reflection, the way he saw it happening with Ingrid. How else was he supposed to fight it or, if it came down to it, merge with it?

He could feel slight annoyance seeping from his reflection when it answered: "Technically no. I can become solid but it's nothing more than the manifestation of yourself, of your deepest and darkest desires, the vampire side if you will but I am you, therefore I'm not separate."

That didn't sit well with Vlad. This...thing wasn't him. It felt different, darker definitely but it wasn't him.

"As if you haven't heard me in the last couple of weeks, hell, years even", he could feel the reflection sneer at him.

As much as Vlad wanted to deny that, it was right. The presence of his reflection had been stronger the last couple weeks leading up to his transformation. The thoughts he had, the dreams, the dark urges simmering just beneath the surface...

"And again just to clarify, I'm you so all that was you, not some other evil creature invading your mind."

No! He screamed inside his head but the reflection just laughed.

"But that's what I'm here for. Isn't it easier to just pretend like it's somebody else? All those thoughts and emotions, you're not responsible for them, no, let's blame it on this thing, let's make it out to be a totally different person. Isn't that easier?"

"Stop."

"It's okay, I know this is a lot to handle, especially when you're in such deep denial about your own nature."

Vlad closed his eyes. He knew he could do whatever he wanted, close his eyes, cover his ears, none of it would help him, nothing would blend out its voice but that didn't stop him from trying. "What do you want from me?"

"In order for you to get out, you need to do one thing."

That couldn't mean anything good. "And what?"

"Accept me."

"No way in hell."

"Then we'll be here a long time."

Vlad looked around the dark abyss. Maybe there was something, something else in this place than pure darkness. He started walking around but he couldn't even tell if he had stepped forward or backwards, everything was the same. There was no light, no color, nothing. The blood mirror was also nowhere to be seen.

Both of them were silent while Vlad wandered around the place. He almost thought the reflection had left but he could still feel its presence in his mind. It let him explore the place, knowing there was no other way out but apparently it was more patient than him.

Eventually Vlad stopped still and huffed frustrated, "Why aren't you doing anything?"

"What am I supposed to do? You're the one that has to do something, not me."

He felt extremely silly arguing with essentially himself in his head but wasn't that the way it was supposed to be? The reflection chasing him and taunting him until he had no other choice but to face it?

"There are all kinds of different ways, Ingrid's was just one of many."

Great, so him mentally preparing for a battle was for nothing. What made Vlad more uncomfortable though was the fact that the reflection seemed to know all his thoughts, there was no escape.

"I am you for bat's sake, how much clearer do I have to make it?"

There had to be a way for him to emerge victorious and come out the same way that he came in. He wasn't going to let his reflection win.

"Also again, you can't fight me. There is no winning or losing, I'm not going anywhere."

Vlad ignored it but the reflection didn't let that deter it. "How do you think Robin and Chloe are doing right now?" Vlad tensed.

"They're all alone in your tower, vulnerable, practically delivered on a plate to all those hungry vampires downstairs. And who's to say no one's gone up there and took a bite already?"

He knew the reflection was smirking, he just knew it.

"If you'd just accept what you are, you could be out of here in no time and protect your friends."

Vlad glared at his reflection even though there was nothing in the dark to glare at. "Very manipulative."

"Compliments won't get you anywhere."

He scoffed. Suddenly images of Robin and Chloe appeared in his mind - eyes wide and bodies shaking of fright, blood dripping down their clothes, their wrists, their throats...

A hunger welled up inside Vlad, a sudden deep desire hitting him hard and he tried to shake it away. "Stop getting in my head!"

"I'm your reflection, I'm always in your head! These are your thoughts, I'm just making you realize it!"

Vlad gripped his head like he could rip his reflection out of it. "No, no, no."

"You secretly want to kill them, taste their blood in your mouth, you've been having dreams about it for weeks, why do you think that is?"

"No, no, no."

"You don't want others to get there before you, you can't let the other vampires get a taste of them. They're yours, you claimed them."

"No, no, that was just to keep them safe."

"Was it?"

"Shut up." The reflection laughed at Vlad's weak attempt to stop it.

"Okay, different approach. How do you feel about Jonno?"

A sudden wave of cold rage overcame Vlad at the mention of that name. He used to feel indifferent and sometimes even sympathetic towards Jonathan but that had slowly faded over the years and became thinly veiled animosity. Any traces of friendliness they had left had vanished with their last encounter.

"Yes, you hate him. You hate him for trying to slay your family and threatening you, thinking he can get away with it. Stupid, brave slayer, so foolish. That will be his death sentence."

Vlad found himself agreeing with his reflection. And his father too, they deserve to die.

The reflection hummed in satisfaction. "Now we're getting there. Let these negative emotions guide you."

Images of the Van Helsings dying from their own weapons popped up in Vlad's mind, a stake driven through their hearts by himself, images of him making them bleed and tearing into their necks to drink that delicious slayer blood...

"That's right." His reflection was enjoying the sight, and so was he. Or was the reflection just him? Vlad couldn't tell anymore. There was a tug he felt, momentarily shaking him from his fantasy. He didn't know where the tug was coming from but it seemed to be poking at him. His body? His mind?

"Slayers are only there to be killed and feasted on and so are regular breathers, you'll see it soon enough. You won't be able to keep the good guy facade on for very long, it's our nature, it's only right."

Vlad realized he couldn't find a reason why he should disagree. It is right...isn't it?

"Finally!"

The pull he felt got stronger and stronger until it started to hurt. "Ahh!" His head was pounding and Vlad closed his eyes in pain. And then, like nothing ever happened the pain was gone. The tugging he had felt for weeks now was gone. It was always there in the back of his head, something small present in his mind, that only now that it was gone, he realized it had been there.

He could think clearly again, like a rotten part of his brain got removed. He hadn't felt like this since he was 13, no...since ever! All his thoughts came rushing back to him but this time they felt far away and absolutely, undeniably wrong. He had been thinking of murdering people, innocent people and had been okay with it, Vlad felt disgusted with himself. How could he? That had been the vampire part in him, infesting his mind and his thoughts, spreading through him and he'd let it.

He had never felt this human, there was always something holding him back. Even before, when he could still pass mostly as a breather, there was something vampiric in him, something that allowed him to look past the monstrosities his family and other vampires did. But now, he knew he couldn't tolerate it any longer. Never again.

"I'm sorry for taking this away from you. Well actually...I'm not."

Something misty appeared in front of Vlad, he squinted his eyes to try and make out what it was. The white smoke slowly turned into a human like shape until a person was standing in front of him. Until he looked at himself standing in front of him.

"What?" Vlad didn't understand.

His reflection's mouth curved into a smile, full of teeth and malice. "Thanks to you, I'm solid now," it took a step towards him, "but not for long."

Vlad took a step back and looked around him. He wasn't surrounded by darkness anymore, there was light now that kept getting brighter and brighter. But still no exit, still no blood mirror.

Deep in the back of his mind Vlad knew he was fighting a losing battle but he couldn't give up without one last effort. "I won't let you take over."

If Vlad didn't know better, he thought the reflection looked almost wistful. "Still as determined as ever. But it's too late, you've already accepted me, there's no going back."

A hand clasped over his arm and he looked right in the face of his reflection. It looked way too similar for Vlad's comfort. There was no visible predator staring at him but he knew it was sleeping within. The light was getting brighter and the reflection was getting blurrier. He could feel it pushing back into his mind, destroying what little was left of his human traits.

"Don't worry, the real fun's just beginning."

And just like that, his reflection and the blinding light was gone, leaving behind only darkness.

A/N: Thank you for reading and please feel free to comment or ask me any questions in case anything is unclear! This story is far from over but I don't know how long it will take me. I have every intention to finish this story but it can take a while, bear with me.

And the guest who commented on the last chapter and made the suggestion that Vlad could have one reflection but it's shattered, giving the illusion of 1000 reflections - this sounds super cool even though I don't quite understand how you mean that? If you're still here, I'd love for you to elaborate on that as I unfortunately can't message you, it seems like a really interesting concept.