Notes: first of all, sorry for the lame title, I had another idea about it, but the chapter turned out longer than I wanted and I had to cut it into two, but I had no idea about this one's title, so it's only a sort-of fitting one

Second, it will have an additional scene, within 'bits' (Bits of the Past, or in other words, BOTP), standing between this and the next chapter. That might have a bit of a different atmosphere, but I'd be sad not sharing that, so give that a read too, if you want. (For a better clearance for my additional chapters, I suggest my tumblr page - mymadmedleyw -, I collected everything within WTPH in a reasonable chronological order, thank you.)

A moment passed, then another, and maybe five more, then a heavy – could have been counted as relieved – breath filled the air like he would have just now got freed from a hazardous situation. Maybe that was it, maybe not, Dan wondered, but- it felt so real... And the thought that this shouldn't have been even possible didn't even cross his mind. He leaned back into the rolling chair, body eased, with tilted back head, resting on the back of the seat. Everything was just silent behind the closed eyelids, alone, peaceful and- and even if inside he needed more time to leave behind everything (and the previous whatever that had been…), but at that moment he just enjoyed the stillness and let it fill his entire mind.

Then after a minute, as the void became a weight too (especially after the god-know-how-long-spent-time in that damn Thermos, where had been nothing else just the occasionally slipping in noises from the outside world, mainly Clockwork's moving, therefore, the constant faint ticking…), Dan slowly opened his eyes. Silence was precious, yes, but only for a short time. He knew well the deadness of any voices to understand where was the point when it turned out wrong and just much and it had to be ended – in particular, when it was combined with darkness too. Lately, that union brought up everything he just didn't want to think about.

As his brain started to comprehend the surrounding, his mind nearly wrecked blinking confused at the luminescent light around him. For a second, he couldn't tell where he was, nor when exactly he got here, or either why. The place felt familiar, eerily familiar, but- but then, not a moment later (that seemed more like an eternity with his currently only slowly working mind), the whole came back, assembled by the lumberingly moving gears in his head: lab, Vlad, past… Vlad.

The edge of his palms got pressed on his eyelids, accompanied by a great, lengthened groan, like this all could help on anything, or if this could rewrite any detail in the whole. It didn't make it easier, or less harmful, but- and it didn't ease on the fact either the longer he was here, the more time he had with the younger version of the man he knew (or actually, who he knew better ), it just became more confusing. It was hard looking at the other, it was hard seeing the youth, and being intact, and- just this way, speaking without fighting for every word, and- the all was just screaming 'your fault'. Or more like the tightness and suffocating kept-in truth as he had said it had been his fault all along, and he must have known better, must have tried more and-

"Just. Shut. Up ." Dan squeezed his hand on his ear like this could stop somehow the voices to hear. It was a futile try; he unfortunately was aware too. It was inside, and he knew he couldn't run from it, not here at least, not while seeing this version of the man, almost glowing with health, and literally just whole in front of his eyes as a god-damn reminder about everything he had screwed up. He still tried his best to close it out as he could. Fuck Jazz, with her nosiness and constant analysing seeing through everything, and that he was an open book for her. Fuck him, and the truth, as he had found the truest truth that only now made sense that he was running away from things. He wasn't running away, he had never run away, he just…

The scene came back now, as he had been standing on the corner of the street, and some stranger, a not known one, had been asking him if he was okay, and… and he had been just standing there, unmoved, untouched, not really perceiving anything… not until at least as the whole anthill had died away, leaving nothing behind just silence. Then in the silence, as the evening had come, with the first sights of the coming darkness, somehow it had clicked, like a bad omen, like he had watched nothing but a movie earlier… then he had run. Dan remembered he had run, to home, to tell them everything before something wrong would have happened, before the all he had just witnessed would happen, because if they had known he was Phantom, maybe (hopefully at least…) they would have understood him and… no, he hadn't run away, no. Not even from that damn place, out, to be away from everyone, because he hadn't got any air within the ones who (once?) had meant to him the most…

It wasn't running away now either, no. It was- it was just to focus on solving something, to make the wrecked things better. How to be on to turn anything decaying into a better, saveable circumstance could have been counted as running away? Just because he didn't want to deal with other things? With this- for example, to care with anything else? One could say (especially Jazz…) he was blind and he was suppressing everything, and eluding from those things he just couldn't be able to process, but- he had to. Couldn't she understand it was hard enough keeping in mind what he had to do instead of letting his mind be taken over by the more and more shrieking reminder why he just couldn't have ended him when he had had the chance? Things could have been much more easier. And-

The original thought to kill the man was shifted by the fact when it was claimed he failed him, when he had helped out Danny – this Danny – to induce by that everything that had occurred to turn out to be rewritten and… he was the one who would have liked to escape from it, from the fate what was very much deserved and… But- then, against the put-in faith, nothing had happened and above all, after that, shocked by the realisation of what it meant, he still kept on to fight and… even until the very end. Even when he had arrived, he wasn't afraid, never. He knew – thought – it was all his fault for the things to turn out like this and… it wasn't. It never was. In fact, how it could have been? The all he had done was to listen to a desperate soul's request, who saw no escape but the most drastic way…

Overall, it never was a running away, not even from him, from this all, from when he just- he just hadn't made him pay for everything. (And on the other hand, right now, Dan couldn't even find any reason why he should have done that either… what had he been thinking at all that time? As hard as he searched the background behind that, he wasn't capable to come up with any strong idea why. Everything just sounded like a lame excuse. Just because he had helped Danny? Just because he would have had a chance to make ' his ' faults never happened and had tried to take the opportunity? Just because- just because during one mindless moment he had created something abhorrible? The more Dan was wondering about it, the more that try felt justified, grasping for something that could mean a way out from him and from that dragged down time…)

Wondering about the reason wasn't the worst or the hardest to process, no. The worst was that he didn't know it became never happened (thanked to Clockwork's meddling…), that the all hadn't happened, just not in their timeline. In that timeline, everything stayed as it was, cursed, ruined, and unsavable. (How that was even possible was way beyond comprehension…) But if the time-ghost hadn't intervened, the all would have happened again and- the plan that had been put away to help (this) Danny, well, even that attempt would have died away… and that was what he thought, seeing him, facing him, not soon after he had got out of that damn suffocating Thermos – though, to tell the truth, Dan got what suffocating in real meant…

It wasn't either a running away from those things Jazz was assuming. Maybe it was. But not because he had humanity. What did that even mean? He had a mission now that had to be followed, that needed to be accomplished no matter what. And within this all, she was just coming up with this ridiculous idea he had humanity? Why couldn't she see he was a ghost? Without humanity, human side or anything she hoped he had? That was nothing but a naïve imagination that he was still in a way Danny . (And he was 'running away' while she just couldn't accept, he was not her brother, not even the remains of him?! Okay, fine, maybe in a certain view, but still, Phantom (or any ghost half in case of a half-ghost existence) was a formed infection that couldn't – shouldn't – have been ever removed, not without a serious effect to the human part…) Couldn't she just see what he was? Why couldn't she grasp he was incapable to do anything but harm? Making mess everywhere where he was going? And even, not killing him, left behind a mess, that he- that he had to solve now…

It was always the same question not leaving for any second: why couldn't he have just killed him? But if… If he had killed him, now he wouldn't have been here, wouldn't have been dealing with this all, and just… and at the end, if Dan considered, and had to confess, being here felt almost more natural and less unpleasant than being at 'home', at the FentonWorks, but seeing him (just like before everything and as the man was in real standing in his memories beyond the current pictures…), was just much. It didn't help either it was weird like he would have been seeing himself, so odd. It was like that with Danny too, but at least he knew Danny was dead, his Danny was dead. But Vlad…

It was hard to admit, but when either of them was in front of him, he tended to forget who he was, and everything that was swirling in his mind to keep a focus on just slipped out, like those wouldn't have been there ever at all. Being close to Jazz, without any of his 'parts' in sight gave the situation to an eerie feeling that something was wrong, yes, and that the red-haired teenager naturally was supposed to be dead, but- yet it was drawn to the scenes a stroke of normalcy. Maybe it was because Jazz was – had been – always there for him – for Danny –, when their parents were too much occupied with ghost issues, and…

It was just nice (above everything) and normal, being around her, and- even if he was in a way disappointed in her, hating her too, and even adding to the whole that she all along knew about being Phantom- but then, that annoyance dissolved, entirely. She was still annoying yes, mainly with this constant proving that he had 'humanity', but all in all, it changed to a nearly normal sibling-sort-of bugging… though every time, when her words appeared in his mind, Dan had to roll his eyes. Against Jazz's assumption, ghosts didn't work as humans. Even if he most probably couldn't be counted as a typical ghost, but at least that part concerned him too: ghosts were echoes of the deceased with no connection to ever be humans. Which meant no affection, no 'strong' feeling to anything. They were the lack of it, or if they had anything that was showing a sort of similarity to any human emotions, then those were only present at a very low level.

And either, what was with this humanity thing at all? Like it would have been established somehow. Just because- it wasn't connected to that he hadn't killed his Vlad… right? Or, that was what Jazz was seeing? No. That wasn't about some remorse shit, regret or guilt over it. And really either over what he could have had 'guilt' if he hadn't killed him? It was just- it was just about a debt that had to be paid. (Even if that so-called 'debt' wasn't ever said aloud, or, actually agreed aloud, it was just standing in his mind, because it had to happen, and he had to make it possible to happen – anyhow.) It simply had to be paid.

But the word 'paid' made a sour taste. Previously that expression was assigned with 'pay for'. Pay for helping Danny, pay for crossing him by that, and pay for playing with the idea to make him never existed… Maybe he just should have left everything as it was now, and not even lifting a finger for him … then, the things he had missed (killing him when he had had a chance) would happen, just without his act, not by his hands, just naturally … and maybe, behind this all, was that he couldn't do that, killing him – though he wouldn't have known why, but it could have been imaginable too… – so then, letting it happen, letting time to decide his fate was a possible way too, that maybe Dan should have considered…

Now, this all grew into a terrible headache, not even talking about every single time this mess came and went in his mind – in truth, never really disappearing for more than one second, like this would have been the kernel of this existence (in fact, it was, that was undeniable…) – it left behind a sharp pain, as someone would have sucked out every air from his lungs. (How it was even possible to such perfectly coming up with a feeling like this was still a bugging mystery…) But this was starting to be really unendurable by now. That didn't help either since Jazz had taken the question if he had ached his heart, he almost began to think it was about something similar like that demise. But his 'state' always reminded him of its impossibility. Yeah, 'cause ghosts had hearts... They didn't even have organs, that was just absurd. It was nothing but a stupid phantom pain, driving him crazy at the most unexpected times only.

Dan grunted, forcing himself to cease the unconscious rubbing now too that who knew for how long he was doing in the past minutes, not even being aware of the motion at the lowest level. Not that it made it less throbbing as he took off his hand from it, but at least while he wasn't running his fingers over it, it got less attention, which meant, hardly though, but he could keep in mind not doing it. The only thing to repress this urge somehow was to occupy his fingers, to find something to clench or fidget on instead. Where he had left Jazz's book anyway? For that thought, eager eyes searched for the object, spotting it not a second later on the edge on the table where he had put it down as soon as he had stepped in the lab, and-

As Dan decided to get up from the chair, grabbing it, he froze as a static-like chill ran through his entire body. Without any further thinking, it told clearly who was it. Surprisingly he only by that realised, during the entire time he was left alone in the lab. Dan wrinkled his forehead at that recognition, striving to piece together or recall what could have happened, but his mind was blank over it. And, so to say, his thoughts were much more stuck at the thought, whether Danny had been aware of that or not… but before Dan could have come up with any reasonable idea about the missing part, the figure already appeared, with a confused face, gazing at him like he would have made something unearthly …

"What is it?"

For a moment, the steel-blue eyes just blinked at him puzzled, but then the man tilted his head as if on to find an explanation for something, with clear awe in the voice. "You have an entirely different sensation to detect ghost beings than Daniel…"

Dan rubbed the tip of his nose more because of an annoyance than embarrassment, to the sudden attention to his red mist, and rolled his eyes at the note. "Yeah, no shit, I didn't realise…" to that, he got a raised-up eyebrow, undoubtedly by the 'friendly' tone. Not only for Jazz, and asking him to 'be nice', Dan let out a sigh a moment later, giving out a little bit of clearance about it. "Obviously I have a different ghost sense than Danny. I already told you I am not him. So why would I, in the slightest part, be the same as him? I asked you too to count me else, didn't I?"

The man looked at him for a brief second, then took a step towards the computer, giving out with a soft tone. "Even if you are not willing to accept you are the same or were the same, that you were Daniel once, you, now, at least in a way Phantom, his ghost side. The only difference is, you are an entire manifested form now. Your molecular structure can't change, might be altered a little, yes, during becoming a wholly ghost, but not that much. Not creating something entirely different."

"M-hm. I told you I'm not Phantom either. In which part you were paying attention to my words at all?" Dan took the question, albeit he suspected the answer for that was quite much obvious. But then instead of acclaiming the focusing, he got so far, he frowned, spotting an on-to-be reached out hand of the other as it immediately flinched under the movement, accompanied with a wince, shifting the attempted action to be done by the left instead. "What's with your hand?" Dan pointed towards the lame cover on it.

The mouse got pushed a little, deactivating the sleep mode on the screen, making it return to the slowly moving forward progress bar. A second passed in silence, before the answer came, "It's really nothing… don't worry about it." was it mumbled like it really wouldn't have needed any further word.

"Okay…" Dan said then, still though wrecking his mind over something about it. Especially that now the mouse was too placed to the other side of the keyboard – undoubtedly for the further preference of using the other hand. "Anyway," Dan stepped over the bothering not understood detail, that as a matter of fact, he couldn't even recall if the lower arm was like that when they had arrived or not…

"Are you feeling any better?" the question hit him unexpectedly as the man turned back, running a measuring eye on him. "The cracks on your skin… I saw it," was it elaborated for the detectable bafflement.

Cracks? – Dan got confused at the expression, but then his eyes fell on his wrist. Under the made-up human outlook, he still could feel the disturbed, squirming of the molecules, yet not settled down completely. Oh, so those 'cracks', he identified, indeed that must have seemed as some ugly fractures on porcelain from the outside, but- "Uh, yeah, well… I- I didn't expect it would act like that. I mean, I suspected it, but in a way…" he was brushing on the now plain skin with his fingers, thoughtfully, recalling the awful caustic pain that had ran through his every cell, and- "yeah, I forgot to calculate, it might try to examine me separately ."

"Separately, due to the dual signature." came an immediate cut in, finishing instead of him the sentence. Dan rose a brow, opening his mouth to underpin it, but then shut it, by the mocking scepticism in the voice.

"You still can't step over it, can you?" Dan asked, combining it with the previous note that according to the man, he should have had the same sense as Danny, it was quite obvious. "No, you can't." he put together, not even needing to examine this version of Vlad in front of him to get a foundation for that. Realising the situation, it was enough following the line that the words drew out. "Okay…" Dan massaged his eyelids tiredly, "let's get this straight, all right? At the start point," he emphasized. "Tell me who I am."

At first, there was only a blank gazing ahead, but then as the words sank, the so familiar face changed into a dumbfounded expression. "You want me to give a résumé about you?"

Well, he had to admit, phrasing it like this… it sounded just as laughable, as it felt to voice. "Listen…" Dan tried again, delivering the request a bit differently. "You are clearly lost at the basics. And if your mind is lost at every not fitting nuisance about me, about my mere existence of how much it is not equalling with what you know about Danny… you won't be able to see through it, and focus on the rest, what counts. So, yes, I'd like a bit of a synopsis. Then correct the parts what I'd like to share about me, all right?"

And indeed, without thinking much on it, it was undeniable. Figuring everything about him, or trying to make sense of anything regarding him could be equivalent to a great exploration, but right now, Dan had no time to be a base of any discovery. He didn't want to do this, but if- this trip wouldn't turn out beneficial at all…

For a short time, there was a processing moment, but then the strictly staring at him body got a bit looser. "You are being ridiculous…"

Dan heaved a sigh, trying to act like it wasn't as awkward as it felt. "And you are not being useful for me at all, old man, take it or leave it." he enhanced, waving meaningfully in the air, like the nonchalant movement could have given a severe atmosphere around it, instead of the current one.

A second later, the familiar face resigned, giving up. "Very well… You are just as annoying as your younger version, you know that, right? And stop calling me old. I'm not that old, compared to you even less. Either Daniel calls me 'old man'. I can't get it, if he is capable of calling me 'Vlad' as a teenager, why are you using my family name? If it's about alienating, at least stay at that. I understand in your time I might be old, but right now I am not. It's weird enough listening to 'Masters', but at least that's not a mock."

"Are you finished?" Dan took the question, as the tone clearly lowered down, telling which was the last sentence. Then he peered up to the man, finding fascinating the expressing while his chin was placed on his palm. "Or you have any other objection how I call you?" he asked, taking off his head from the comfortable position, but still keeping his elbow on the hand-rest, feeling he would need it until they wouldn't step over this boring part or discussion. "Just to be clear, I have every right to call you as I want you, and believe me, if that doesn't bother me, it technically doesn't bother you either, so stop this whining over it."

"It's not-" the other started, but then pursued his lips, shutting the half-sentences as Dan gave a look. "Fine. Introduction … you realize you are just as persistent like me if you want something." was it murmured under the nose reluctantly, but that, Dan rather left uncommented, and on the other hand, he was more glad about having his irritating nature (if that could be counted as a negative attribute…) than the other way. What he could have reached anyway with a heroic behaviour now?

"I'll take that as a compliment." Dan nodded, only realising he actually said it aloud, as a pair of steel eyes were marvelling at him weirdly like he would have voiced something astounding. "What is it?" but then it set together. "Oh, yeah, right." Dan scratched his neck with a strain half-smile, as the glitch came to the light. "Danny didn't like when you highlighted a resemblance…"

It produced as great attention now that even the crossed arms didn't trigger a grimace, folding over the lazily made bandage, as the man leaned back to the desk, studying him. "How long you were exactly at my place?"

Dan showed up his palm indignantly, annoyed that he again got back to the focus of unescapable eyeing. "Does it really count? As far as I'm aware I asked you something and…" he huffed as the question was directed to him such strictly now, demanding an instant response.

"Just answer it." the other told him, even before he could have finished the sentence.

"You're not the boss of me, you get it, right?" Dan remarked, in a certain level finding it amusing and getting a bit of enjoyment in the debating, beyond the growing irritation it caused. It was like… somehow it was almost nostalgic, though Dan couldn't tell why exactly. Was it about biting as Danny? Or was it about proving something as if to the teen? Or it was just about simply disagreeing with him when he had tried to reason up with him? "A few months," he replied then. "But I don't think that's what you are looking for."

"Then what is I am looking for according to you?" to it, Dan lifted a finger, pointing to the still running progress bar on the screen. With a quick glimpse, it was checked, "That won't tell anything." the man stated.

"No. That exactly will tell everything." Dan disagreed, detailing. "And I think, it might give more explanation, then I am capable to logically put into words about me. Or more like, much more than I am willing to tell to you, so yes, it will tell everything you are seeking for." he summarized, getting up from the chair, but then stopped after a few steps, unsure in a sudden. This all was nice, but he had to start working, especially if the intaking would soon be done, and then with a bit of programming from the man, he needed the equipment too to implement it into that.

"The Fenton's machine… it's a bit blurry, you already have that or not?" for the lack of information about the inquiring Dan circumscribed. "That big thing. Robot-like…" he gave out, circling his wrist in the air, thinking over what he momentarily could bring up about the invention. "I don't remember how it was titled." but then, after a short silence, waved. "No, you don't know what I am talking about…" he recognised instantly, changing the search for the other object – that was altogether the only significant and usable part in the first one. "And the- how was it called before?" his fingers were drumming wonderingly on his chin. "Something- something related to…"

His brain was like reaching out for non-existent things in an otherwise endless void, grasping for the needed information. It surely had to be something alliterating. If not, then it had to have a rhythm. Fiend Fingers? No, that sounded stupid… And Dan doubted too, the great Jack Fenton, the name-giver of most invention would have known such word as 'fiend'. Wrist Wraith? Dan took another guess. No, the order of the words wasn't fitting… the reference describing the not human entities had to be much more ordinary. And on the other hand, after all, the two designations weren't standing so far from each other either, which meant… "Gloves, yes! " Dan snapped satisfied as it in fine appeared in his mind, whirling around. "Or the blueprints of their Ghost Gloves. You have it or not?" he faced the man.

To the rapid blinking, Dan suddenly wasn't sure whether it was because the portrayed object wasn't here or yet stolen, or that- No, he knew it had to be here. The part he had the only uncertainty about, was to whom that memory about the huge metallic-like invention belonged. If to Danny, then Vlad had to have at least in his possession the searched one in a blueprint form about its previous state.

"Their Ecto-Skeleton… it is what you need?" was it asked slowly, on to see through the cloudy given-out interest. "It's more like a suit, not a robot. I have those and the notes about the Gloves too, yes, but I reckon what you want is the physical form itself, not some scrappy blueprints with Jack's undecipherable squiggle." then after a short pause, the main was added. "It's back, but-"

"Wonderful." Dan slapped together his hands, as it reached the information, he was seeking for within the pointless rambling. And either, who needed the exact names, when the all that counted was that each of those was here? So, by that, with a few huge steps, he got to the locked part of the lab – it must have sounded for anyone paranoid, having a hided part in an altogether officially secret lab, but technically that was nothing more than about preferring tidiness, and on the other hand, Dan knew too well, it was only about organising things. If once, a conception got into a highlight, then the necessary parts were drawn out for the working, but put back as something else got in the preference. It was like prioritizing the worth-to-be-cared-about thoughts within a bothering mess, and Dan, without any question, understand too well that system…

He typed in the password for the door – spending, not even a mere second to figure out there were only two possible options about it, mainly that the panel was number-based, so it was a fifty-fifty chance really for either date to work. Besides, it was hard to screw it up, if he had already a well-based knowledge about which was preferred. For a second, Dan halted, minding to give a checking look at the man, if he managed to give a scare to the not even hesitated input of the password, but then realised, even if he did, it didn't matter. Either he wanted to explain his every motion. The data would spill everything anyway, or about the little information he naturally shouldn't have been aware of – or at least by the perception if he was counted only as Danny's future self, which much to say, he wasn't, or at least not as simply like that.

The interesting was, that inside the locked room, the invention in his small flash of memories had seemed enormous and threatening. But now, standing in front of it, it was just an object, not even much taller as he was. For a moment, Dan ran through his eyes on it. Curiously it was familiar, yet strange. But all in all, almost everything had an eerie déja vu, with a cloudiness of obscurity. If he hadn't been him, he was sure it could have been titled as memories from an earlier life, but- yeah… in a way that was it exactly. He had to crack a smile on that thought, but soon it died away as his eyes fell on the hand part. Dan blew out a harsh breath, he wasn't even aware he had kept inside during the entire time, but then with a swallow, got a strong grip on each wrist, twisting those in synch. At first, it made a squeaking sound, then with a pop both, easily like that, got de-attached from the base.

"Did you just break it?" he heard immediately the questioning by the unmistakable noise the metal made.

"Oh, shut it. It had a poor attachment anyway." Dan described, tucking under his arm one as he closed back the door of the separated part of the lab. Smirking a bit over the small destruction. "Not that you wouldn't be able to recreate it in a blink of an eye," he commented as he returned back, putting down the precious loot on the working table. "Count it as I stole back a part of it." Dan rephrased, to that, he didn't get any debating reaction, instead, a half-closed pair of yellow eyes were staring at him to the increased moving. "Don't worry, it will be big enough for both of us." Dan instantly cleared to the cat, laying on the earlier offered suit, placed on the corner of the metal table. "I'll keep down the noises if you want to sleep," he offered, rubbing her on the cheek, and giving her a little bit of calm, that in fact, he didn't want to deport the pet from the spot, especially when she was momentarily halfway on to rest peacefully.

"I guess, giving out a brief summary about you became postponed." came the observation, undeniably covering a little jealousy that the cat got the attention while the other attempts were always shut off. "It was a childish request too, if you ask me, and rather revealing about a highly narcissistic personality." Dan's eyebrows arched. Narcissistic, really? But then with a grin played with the idea to just go with it.

"Oh, no. I'd be curious what you managed to put together about me. Besides, a good joke is always a good joke. I found it entertaining when you thought I was Danny's human half… so, yes, until the process is still running, I'd be open to hearing your theories." Not that those would be close enough to the truth, Dan added mostly to himself. "So, yeah, it would be fun. And way better than listening to your incessant prattling trying to figure out everything about me. So, don't worry, I did not forget about it. You can start collecting your hypothesises, I'll pay attention in a minute…" Dan drew out, giving a last stroke to the white-furred animal as she slept back under the caressing, placing her head on the three times folded part of the suit, enough high for her required comfortability.

As Maddie returned to the napping, still with an eye following the actions around her, Dan moved away, giving his focusing now to the wall-tall narrower storage cabinet behind him. Figuring out in which were the blueprints went even quicker than recalling the password for the door a minute ago, and it really was like doing an automatic moment, even the motion as he pulled out the bunch of dark blue papers to get a better look at the corner where the short descriptions were indicated. At least, even if Jack Fenton had an awful handwriting, at least he was capable to follow the common signing. By that, it was a piece of cake to find the searched piece, but then, before that, Dan paused, frowning at a precise, bit of italic words on a certain sheet.

"You know… if you adjust the receptors, it could work as a magnet, making her able to call her board. In case of falling, it might be useful. She is just a human after all." Dan noted, but then fell silent at the recognition of what he had just said. Before he could have perceived why exactly it escaped at all his mouth, he quickly got out the needed blueprint and shut back the door of the cabinet. The least he wanted right now, to give Jazz's ridiculous assumption a foundation to turn out right…

As he was tapping on the blueprint laid out on the remained space on the table, he had to recognise for a few minutes, he completely got lost in thought what if everything worked out as those supposed to. Would he just return? It just sounded so unimaginable… Then act as nothing had happened? And that he- like he wouldn't have been ever the reason why everything- The almost inhumanly quickened tapping ceased, as he bit his lips. Was he really just thinking about how much he-

"Fingers." Dan reminded himself, grabbing himself cruelly out of the poisoning train of thoughts. One thing after another, he had to concentrate one step at a time, otherwise, his mind would blow up trying to assemble into a somewhat reasonable system. Damn, even if Jazz came up with her laughable idea, but he couldn't deny at least Danny was right about that he was messed up. "Fingers, I need fingers," he told again, hurrying to another container, before it could fall out his focusing on why he was even here and collecting a coil of steel strip from a lower shelf, as the most necessary part in his plan.

As he took the distance between the storage and the working table, he already ran his nail on the strip, breaking off almost identically long pieces, putting those then down to take a look at the drawing where those would be attached to keep undisturbed the built-in neural receptors. "Don't you have a work to do?" Dan murmured, without looking up to the other, not taking off his focus from the blueprint from now. But even without taking a check, he felt the unremitting observing on him, following his every movement, and he highly doubted it was because he had said earlier, he was Danny's 'evil future self'.

"I just await the approval when I can begin my expected presentation about you." the man let out, not even caring to disguise anyhow the clear mockery in the voice. For a second Dan knitted his eyebrows, confused, but then recognised it was what he had told a few minutes ago.

"Oh, yeah, right. You can start it now." Dan circled his wrist in the arm, meaningfully, attempting to hide that he actually totally forgot about it. Seriously how it could just fell of his mind? But after all, he couldn't blame his poor memory – or more like the remained not occupied part of his concentration –, if it was already tuckered out by everything else. Especially here, especially that if he wasn't concentrating enough, the eerie pulling feeling came back, telling him without any actual word to leave, go, out, out of this place, until he could. It was really hard to give his best on anything if his mind (or whatever this constantly escaping thing was) was standing as a barrier above everything, and as an irrepressible background noise. So then Dan instead, grabbed an on-to-be-finger piece and started working on that. If he was busy in a way, at least it could be kept on a somewhat bearable level. (And on the other hand, it was a hard work too to consider the 'fingers' as fingers, and not as those would actually turn out then. Even the picture in his mind – that almost exactly needed to be followed for the targeted aim – was enough to get a shiver, so then, he refused to title the soon to be crafted metal fragments as those in truth was purposed to.)

A second passed, in silence, then he glanced up to the younger version of the Vlad who was almost branded in his mind. It was weird to think that the man, here, being not even a few feet away, until last week – yeah, that was what Danny had said, the all happened last week – was the same as his. It was like staring into a mirror and not recognising the person on the other side. Okay, maybe, in a way, some things were the same, just as the dark rings under the eyes, spilling about work-filled nights – in real, those weren't much dissimilar as the ones caused by the sleepless nights, after-

"All right," a resigned sigh came, grabbing Dan out of the blank mind-wandering. "Introduction, you say…" the man started. To tell the truth, he didn't plan to give much attention, to the words, rather as listening to it as a monotonous background noise, against the silent waiting for the program to be finished, but then, even the first words hit as it was hard not to follow the continuation.

"You are preferably called Dan and I gave you that nickname, which suggests it happened while you were at my place. It's still a bit shady how you ended up here, but I guess I won't get any elaboration for that if I ask. You said you are twenty-four, and a ghost for ten years. I am not a wholly ghost, but I am almost certain they originally count their ghost age, not their human one as they died, if they are keeping track. Interesting, on the other hand, you remember your human age. Or Daniel enlightened you about it, though I am not sure how… but it might be connected to how you two met. Which implies he told about your previous life as a human. Which could explain the shifting pronouns too, yet be confused by your previous life, and alienating from that, just as you say 'Danny' while he is – or was – you. Although, the dual signature, you told me you have is a mystery indeed. But it could be you either was manifested lately in your final ghostly form, yet being in a way unstable, or your – your Daniel's – death made somehow unsteady your molecular structure to be precarious to the testing. All in all, it's not a bit strange and daunting to imagine you in fact came from twenty years now. Though, that could explain too why you call me old. Actually, come to think of it, it must be very shocking and confusing for you to see everyone so young and-"

It could have been kept on, unstopped like that, but the groan, Dan tried to hold inside during the whole time, even from the first note, escaped now, way too loud and it just ceased the impossible speech. And the momentary silence just enlightened the words, as giving those the exact contrast. "How- how you- Jesus …" his fingers clenched on a bunch of hair on the top of his head, pulling it. "This is just- just- what the hell…" as much as he tried, assembling this whole, but his mind refused to focus on only one part, the all was just a mess, making him even incapable form normal thoughts, and not stuttering as a retarded. "I don't- I don't even dare to ask how you managed to- damn …" Dan threw his hands up a second later. "I give up, I- I seriously give up. How- how could you figure out an almost entirely working vessel from literal nothing, when you- when you are just this idiot?!"

"Excuse me, but-"

"Damn it." Dan cursed, running his hand frustratedly on his face, moaning. "Okay… this is not gonna work. Especially if you are like a hundred steps back." he came to see, hard. " Basics, okay? I came from ten years now, not twenty. How did you even get that idea? Hideous! Anyway," he stepped on the next, fed up by this tale he had heard. "I am twenty-four, because I am twenty-four! But if you so want me to calculate the 'ghost age', then I am…" he stopped for a moment, thinking. Funny enough, it never crossed his mind to view it that way, the number just always came naturally. "It's ten then," Dan deducted after a counting second, surprisingly not even get puzzled by that. It sounded weird, yes, but less weird than ever considering using his … "give or take a few months, it's a rounded one." he added. Okay, to admit it, suddenly it felt not a bit crazy, imaging by that number, now he was younger than anyone. Nah, it was a shivering scenario, it would stay twenty-four if anyone once again asked, Dan determined for the future cases.

"Next one." he changed instead to the other on the preposterous list, and yes, that was the most distressing on the whole concept… "I feel you lost the entire thing at that part… I didn't die like this ." he shoved his hands through him with a quick movement. "I didn't technically die either, that was Danny. I cleared you this before. And he died at age fifteen. And no, not Danny enlightened me about my human life, I remember that. Which is my absolute luck, most of those things came back in the past days. And the shifting… well, that's a bit complicated, but not because I don't remember my life. And no, I am certainly not unstable, I am working perfectly fine thank you." or at least mostly, Dan commented without saying it aloud, but that wasn't connected to his existence at all. As Jazz surely would have said, that was in his head, or more like with his out-of-control very nice bugging memories, but nothing about his ghostliness.

For a brief second, there was a processing silence, and Dan really hoped the quietness meant the words in fine reached the other's mind and the man – in whom he put so many faiths in – was capable to process it (or let's be realistic at least the half of it…).

"You are aware, right, neither of those things makes any sense?" came the question. A scoff really couldn't define how much Dan felt himself, un-helped by it. Not even the great moan that escaped him by this incapability to comprehend things just like that, could describe stuck with this hard-headedness.

"Seriously? Why wouldn't it make any sense? That's how I exist. I get it your perception must be limited, but that's how it is, get it in your human brain." Dan told him, getting really tired he had to prove himself. Not even counting with, he really didn't want to tell him everything, not if the running program was able to do that without him, but this just- this was just unbearable.

"If you are picking on me, my boy, it won't change on that it's not possible you are saying..." he got it back.

"For one thing, you think either the separation is viable, but here we are…" Dan grunted, still fixated at the whole conception about him. That was just beyond anything and it in real exceeded his grasp. How could someone, so crazed-up really, come up with such things? He understood, he hadn't given out everything about him, but- how this gibberish nonsense could have occurred in anyone's mind? Especially who was-

"Because it's not." the other debated not giving up either for a moment standing behind its impossibility. "Don't you think I have already done it if that would be achievable somehow?"

"Or, you just needed a fricking good motivation to make it possible…" Dan muttered under his nose, leaving that footnote rather just to himself and trying to overcome somehow the growing headache this whole caused. And yeah, he needed at least a few minutes to process this complete rubbish and return then to the task to do with a much clearer mind before this – whatever this was really – would have blinded his concentration entirely, or just to wonder about how that could have even crossed the other's mind at all…

(About the aforementioned additional one a little: I had an idea about Dan dealing with something 'human' that he got un-used to, due to the ghost-state and even if he could deal with things, those are just more annoying when he is tired or already frustrated. Then, as I started to write that, it got merged with my other concept, that in fact, Vlad could have an idea why Dan seems familiar – and I am not talking about the real reason…)