some recalls from a few previous chapters, but it could be followed without those too

also, please consider, the 'bits' (Bits Of The Past) contain some not mentioned parts for this mainline, and here are some recalls from one or two things from those too

Danny jumped up from the bed, dismissing the slightest chance to sleep. And on the other hand, how could he have allowed himself to fall asleep just like that? After all, they were here, and he was here too, and- now, in retrospect, Danny could only laugh at himself, thinking seriously for a mere second that he should have left behind everything around them and peacefully go to sleep like everything would be okay, because nothing was okay! So then, instead he grabbed his phone from the nightstand, but even before he could have taken a quick look at it, he immediately slapped it back, already aware of the many ignored calls and messages. No, he couldn't face it right now, that guilt over his silence, nor the reminder that he was closing out his (only) friends, the ones who basically were told about any circumstances (that wasn't entirely true, but they were informed about everything that Danny usually wanted to share with them), but this… Maybe, he should have enlightened them, maybe… – Danny wondered again, but soon just heavily shook his head over that idea. He couldn't let them get involved in this, no. If he had told them the most minor part (for example, that it was indeed about a ghost-related issue), he wouldn't be able to hold them back for any chance (not even talking about where he was currently or with whom...).

Right now, if the things turned out bad, at least the guilt over them and getting hurt wouldn't be on his shoulder. Momentarily there was only Jazz (and of course Vlad) to worry about, though about the last part Danny wasn't much troubled. In a way, he was, but there was that advantage that Vlad was just like him, and capable of protecting himself. Not that, in truth, there would have been any chance against him, but maybe it would have made things warm for him at least a bit... To that recall, Danny took another look at his phone, only checking the time, and trying to not frown at the numerous messages on the screen.

He made a promise to himself, once it would be over, he would give out a proper explanation to Sam and Tucker, but at the present, he had more things to deal with. It could wait, and he would have hated to lie to them about his location – or in fact, about anything regarding this journey. It made a suffocating feeling in his throat that his closest friends didn't know about anything, but no, this was the best way – Danny tried to convince himself since they had started this trip. Even though it felt like an awful, ugly betrayal, they had to understand it was for their safety only, besides, there was that protocol if he got injured... For a moment, Danny paled at the possibility what if he had to use that because that would have equalled with his biggest fear to come true, but-

"No, focus," he told himself, forcing his mind to stop thinking about such things. Then for the third time, took in hand his phone again, realising he didn't pay any attention to the only detail he really wanted to know – or if he had done, it just fell out of his mind entirely. "Eleven twenty-three," he read from the screen, repeating it twice until his brain could process the information, then nodded, putting the device back. It was already late for Jazz to be asleep, and late enough for his future self to be alone with Vlad too (actually, it meant too much time for that…).

He didn't intend to go after his elder version (maybe checking Vlad or something…), in truth he just wanted to make sure Jazz was fine, and… okay, it was rather about that he didn't want him to be near to his sister again at all. It was enough that the ghost was hiding in her room the whole time, but that, unfortunately, Danny had to swallow down without any word, like a large bitter-tasted pill. He was still pissed off at Jazz for that but if he had to admit, he couldn't blame her much. After all, that damn disguise was so perfected to mislead anyone, and he must have had many tricks up his sleeve too to use for that aim. Yes, it was on Jazz, but it was just as much on his other self as on her. And, well, he should have seen through on that 'ghost-bugs' cover sooner too – Danny reminded himself, changing the order about who to reflect on it every moment to another, returning again and again to the part that as a matter of fact, he was the one who had messed it up at the beginning by keeping everything in secret from Jazz about the event from last week.

Before his mind could have gotten into that awful spiralling again, Danny transformed into Phantom, slipping through the floor, and began searching for his sister. Thankfully, it didn't take much time to find her guestroom. (He rather left uncommented the shocking observation about the unnecessary amount of almost entirely identical bedrooms in the mansion as he flew through the rooms one by one, taking the question louder and louder internally of why the hell Vlad needed that many rooms if he was leaving alone? But Danny wasn't chewing over it much, already well-conscious of Vlad's fruitloopness to even try to grasp the reasons behind it.)

Danny slowed down in the phasing as he spotted then her sibling's outline, scowling at the sight she clearly wasn't sleeping at all. Plainly, she was very much awakened, with her maniac walking up and down, and biting her nails meanwhile nervously. As much as Danny could recall she gave up that habit years ago, but it visibly came back now. He didn't have to guess much to see what caused the return of that stress-reducing method. On that, Danny had to gulp, trying to fight off the creeping up shiver that during the past two days she had been alone with him, unknown and unprotected by him and... who knew how much she was threatened to bring back a late forgotten coping behaviour?

But at least, she was safe now – Danny reasoned with himself, floating closer, but staying invisible. Yeah, that would work, he nodded approvingly to the forming plan in his mind, he would stay here for the night. His alternate self would detect him as soon as the ghost tried to get closer to her, and only by his presence Danny would manage to keep his other version away from Jazz – except if he wanted a fight, but in that case, the noise would wake Vlad up too and- right now, Danny wouldn't be alone if something happened. Maybe he even should have gotten back to Jazz somehow that belt again, and yeah, a doubled protection would be even better, and…

Jazz suddenly stopped at the pacing, pausing as if realising something, then walked back to the exact spot Danny was silently hovering a foot above the floor. Her eyes were eagerly searching for something, but luckily, he was unseeable and untouchable for her. Jazz's forehead wrinkled thoughtfully, taking a step ahead, then she waved in the air like she would have tried to catch something, but then, a moment later a smirk appeared on her face.

"Danny, I can tell you are here, you know that right?" Danny just blinked at her question, puzzlement wrecking his mind over that very much fitting observation. "I already told Dan, talking to someone who is invisible is annoying, and just rude, so if you want something from me, I suggest you to change back." she drew out. Danny gaped, but a beat later summoned back his human outlook, thumping softly with his feet on the carpet.

"How did you know it was me?" he inquired immediately, as the red-haired teen thankfully smiled at his visibility. "You don't have any ghost sense."

Jazz shrugged like it would have been nothing particular for a not-partly ghost someone to have a right hunch like that, "It was quite easy." she said simply, but gave out the explanation, most probably to the unmistakable bewilderment that Danny was sure, still could have been read down from his face, "since you told me about your imperviousness to cold, I connected the dots. The air around you is chilly, especially in ghost form."

"It still doesn't explain how you got it right away it was me, and not him." Danny debated, shutting his mouth before he could have added 'or Vlad'.

Jazz crossed her arms, and gave him a look to the loathed pressing of 'him', but continued. "Your skin is running on a very low level, Dan's is not. I'd say, it's the opposite of yours actually. I don't know much how you work, but it could be that he is not a halfa anymore, or that he is-"

"Messed up?" Danny finished the sentence before her, shutting off that picture in his mind about how she could know that detail about his other version. Seeing that hug once was far enough or taking in the part that Jazz was talking about him as a normal person, and not someone who-

"Danny…" his sibling tilted her head to the side a bit, interrupting his fuming thoughts with the meaningful gazing, "he is not as bad as you think he is."

"I think?" Danny gasped, incredulous by that familiar protection she was showing over that being. "Jazz, I told you..." he started, but then just moaned instead, staring at the ceiling to gather patience and try to not start a lecture over it, "I seriously don't know why you keep forgetting what I told you about him! Or did he do something with you that made you this blind over him? That's it, right?"

The red-haired teen's face scrunched into a grimace, undoubtedly by the words, but she had to hear it, she had to, otherwise she would never get it. God, Danny hated to hurt her, even verbally, but Jazz just so, so so much lost in some sort of image he was showing to her, too much bought by that false outlook – curse that human disguise...

"Blind, really?" Jazz asked then, with a bit of a pained edge. "I am the blind here, when you can't see what's right in front of you?" Danny tightened his jaw at the tone. On the occasions when that tone was used, she was worse than their parents on Christmas (and that was really a big deal!). Not even talking about since their childhood, Jazz was thinking and behaving as she would have been the most responsible person in the whole family – in a way, that was true, but unfortunately, it meant too that she became really unbearable, especially if it was about a debate. And right now, it was about to prove her rightness, which was even the top of it, the cherry top of that cake Danny just didn't want to consume at all…

Danny murmured a curse, then blended into the surroundings, turning invisible, as he decided to rather go either after his other version or take a check on Vlad or something utterly else. Anything would have done it really, anything but being here and listening to another famous Jazz Fenton speech. He was not in that mood for that, at all. Danny succeeded in silently reaching the other side of the room when he heard her calling him, inducing an immediate halt to the name she only on unique cases used.

"Daniel James Fenton! Come back and listen to me!" Danny groaned harshly as he whirled around, changing back to visible as he gave out the infuriated retort to her.

"Do you realise, right that we are not children anymore?!" he pressed to her, skipping to note that she liked to count herself as an adult, but using that old, made-up middle name was very much against that hoped aim. "That doesn't work on me, Jazz, I am not five!"

"You were eight, you big-headed!" Jazz snapped, exclaiming frustratedly, but then just sighed and sat down on the edge of the huge bed, as she waved towards him. "Fine, do as you want then!" now, she was clearly pissed off…

Danny made a face, there was hardly any time when his sister was this upset or just sour, in fact, that hardly ever happened – or at least very rarely when he was present too. How much better it could have been if they had been again small and young and just playing that stupid game at home! The only arguing that time was about whose favourite movie to watch from the VHS tapes. That was damn a hard decision. Jazz's voting was about the historical ones with great dresses, and his, the almost same type of costumed ones, but about knights and kings. They had been addicted to those, playing in robes and with sticks, even before he could have learned what real fights meant – or go into any battles for someone...

That was the same time too when they had come up with the made-up middle names. Danny up to this day could bring up the sadness over realising that his heroes had nice long names with titles within, while he was 'just' Daniel Fenton. Lame, huh? It was Jazz who had rechristened him in the kitchen with a wooden spoon, adding 'James' with the note 'first of his name'. And then she had made him a paper-crown, passing to him the authority and the leading role over anything that afternoon to cheer him up somehow. His orders had been mostly about eating ice cream, over and over again until both of them got sick, but- yeah... that had been nice. At the end of the day, his last request had been to add something to her name too, and somehow 'Elisabeth' had appeared in his mind, along with the addition as 'first born' and 'guardian of the crowned'. (Thinking about it, Danny couldn't recall from how her name came from in real, but maybe someone was called like that in one of those old movies and- yeah... someone nicknamed as Sissi, it hit him suddenly, but right now it didn't really count.)

Looking back, that whole game around a not existing reality had been silly, so silly, and since then, over the years, they had changed drastically, but that secretly made-up name still could make the impact at the right moment of using it, filling that particular issue with seriousness (much to say, right now it was a weapon in his sister's hand against him). "Okay…" Danny mumbled, quitting the resistance. "But whatever you are going to say, I am telling it won't change my mind about him."

"I kind of expected it," his sibling noted bitterly, patting the sheet next to her. Danny just crossed his arms over his chest, telling by that movement getting comfortable would equal with a lengthened speech, and he was not willing to listen to her for more than five minutes. "Fine." Jazz rolled her eyes on his reluctance, but then gazed at the air as long that Danny seriously thought for a moment, she forgot she was the one who was supposed to talk here.

"Jazz…"

"Okay, okay!" the focusing came back to her vision. "I just don't know where to start, okay? I swear, he is less annoying than you are sometimes… Give me time!" she cried out.

"He was on to get into you, of course, he was nice with you!" Danny scoffed at the comparison, letting unvoiced the part that she played a very significant role in that 'let's be nice and accepting towards each other' behaviour, and counting him nothing else but his older version. "Plus, you get to know his 'human side'", Danny quoted, words sour in his mouth, "not who – what – he is in real."

"He is you." Jazz peered at him but said nothing else.

"No, he is not," Danny stated strictly, with a stiffened standing posture, "and I never ever will be him." to that, his sister's aquatic eyes pierced into him, like attempting to decipher something not seeable.

"You know, he actually said that too…"

Danny's eyebrows scrunched. Last week he had tried to prove (very much eagerly) to Danny that it didn't count what he did, everything always would lead back to that path, ending in an inevitable, unavoidable horrible outcome, no matter the changed start-point to that future, no matter if he had taken that promise, but- "What are you saying?"

Jazz wandered off for a long second, looking around, chewing hard on her lips from the inside, as if pondering on to find the right words for a proper description, but then she just let out a deep breath, turning back to him. Her eyes seemed more tired than before. "Back in the car... I asked him if he had to hurt anyone for his plan, you or either Vlad." was it specified. "He said he wouldn't hurt Vlad, but about you, he wasn't sure."

"Good to know at least that stayed the same..." Danny murmured under his nose, but to her gaze immediately pursued his lips. "Okay, continue…"

Jazz waited a bit, but then kept on with the recall. "Dan said if he had to hurt you, he wouldn't get you into it and that- that he won't let happen to you that happened to him..." she added, with an almost fading whispered tone. Danny narrowed his eyes to get the reason for the sudden quietness and faint words, because not a minute ago she was very keen to force her opinion on him, but he did not expect at all the sight of her renewed nail-biting.

"Jazz…" Danny pointed out to her the return of the habit, but the only reaction was a ragged breath as it escaped her lungs. It was unmistakable, she was sick anxious over something, but- "I can take care of myself," Danny assured her, though he couldn't deny, it was just a lame lie, only telling it to her, being well-aware if something was about him, neither he had any chance only- well, only if there was an outer help too. For a second Danny played with the idea, if that had been about it, would Clockwork intervene again, or-

"I know what he wants, what his plan is…" came the mutter, making Danny snap his head up to her, not recognising he stared off at the floor as he was thinking over the worst scenarios.

"What?"

The red-haired teen turned to him, seriously, repeating the sentence. "I know what Dan's aim is, why he had to come here, to the past, why he needs you two, you and Vlad, and everything... I know."

"He- he told you?" well, that was hardly believable, but seeing how familiar his alteration got to his sister, Danny couldn't say it wasn't unimaginable, but… every single time when their closeness crossed his mind, it just made a painful twisting in his chest. Not because it was damn hard to see them like that (because it was!), but it was more about letting it develop to the current level. It might have occurred that for some inexplicable reason he had reached a certain trust with Jazz to share some evil scheming with her, but Danny hardly could imagine that, or either why his other self would have done that, or from what great motive, to draw out any part of some malignant plans to anyone.

"No," his sibling shook her head, "I figured it out myself." okay, that made more sense...

"Not to offend you, Jazz, but-" Danny began, pausing at the scratching movement as her nails were moving up and down over her bandaged palm. Until this moment – he had to admit – he totally forgot about her injury, or even to ask about it at some point, and so to say, there were many other more important things to deal with that had come into his way since then, but… "That," Danny nodded towards it, "how that happened?" he took the question, sick of the recall of the other injury he had just witnessed a few hours ago. Even if Vlad had stated that had been nothing but an unfortunate misunderstanding, considering it right now, either that time Danny had believed that tale. "It was him, wasn't it?" it settled together. "It was..." Danny came to see, without needing any further clarification from Jazz about it. The recognition like a freezing shivering sensation ran through his entire body, filling him from the inside to the limbs with biting chilled dread.

"He- he hurt you," Danny took aback, trembling and hardly able to keep himself on two legs and not to faint, "he- he hurt you and I didn't even realise!" he shouted out, squeezing on his neck to somehow get a hold on something, against this consuming freezing panic. He couldn't close out the re-picturing in his mind about how that had happened, it just came more and more awfully after each time, and... It was just sickening, and he couldn't escape from those horrible flashes at all. He hurt his sister, that terrible being was here and had hurt her, and- and he was roaming around unnoticed the whole time, and...

"Danny! Calm down!" something was gripping on his shoulders, tight, "Danny!" was he shaken a bit now, making Danny snap his eyes open, not sure when exactly he squeezed them together, then he met with a seriously worried aquatic blue. "Calm down, okay? It wasn't Dan. He didn't do anything with me." to that he couldn't not bring back her blind claiming in the car that he hadn't been on to do any harm during last week, and that whole had been about nothing but that stupid test and simply taking his place for a while (as if that had been about such a simple scenario…).

"Hey, Phantom, snap yourself out of it!" the grip got tougher on his shoulder, almost feeling warmer her fingers on him than those naturally were supposed to be felt. Danny couldn't tell the other, this time much rougher shaking, or the hissing from the many tiny sharp pains on his bare skin, got his focus back, but then, one second from another he just frowned, legs thumping back to the floor too. Much to say, he didn't even realise he was floating, nor that his eyes were glowing, only when his sibling released him in fine, taking a step back. "You good?"

"Yeah…" Danny rubbed his shoulder, peering to the side where it ached, not getting surprised much by the crescent moon formed marks. "Ow, Jazz, your nails…"

"Sorry," the red-haired teen mumbled contritely, "you dropped like ten degrees, and totally were out. Even your eyes glowed weirdly, I didn't know how to bring you back. At least I didn't need to slap you, I would have hated that." her lips curled into a forced 'let's see the bright side of it' smile, but then nodded towards the red marks, biting her lips guiltily. "Does it hurt much?"

"Nah," Danny shook his head, massaging the skin a bit, then checking it again, following as the colour of it changed back to the previous plain state. It still gave him the creeps how fast it went, but damn, it was undoubtedly just an incomprehensibly incredible ability... "It is healing already, don't worry, it was only superficial, nothing serious," he assured her.

"Yeah, 'cause you are usually dealing with more serious injuries day after day than your sister's nails," came a slightly sour note, as Jazz folded her arms across his chest. She sounded upset, but Danny couldn't tell why she acted like that out of blue, after all, he was almost indestructible (almost, but the pain was still unbearable in some cases, even if he healed fast, but right now she didn't have to know about that part). Was it because he was her little brother and in his 'life' as Phantom, she couldn't have any words? Well, okay, Sam and Tucker were angry too when he went after ghosts, got injured and he didn't tell them about it, only when that already had happened... Thinking about it, that must have been the reason. But beyond them, he could heal, and he couldn't let anyone else to get hurt, especially not after last week. If it was about informing them about less and less, and he had to be the only one dealing with injuries, then so be it, but no one would get hurt again under his watch, he would not allow it to happen!

"Could you listen to me now?" Jazz's enquired questioning slipped into his spaced-out mind. Danny rolled an eye as he then reluctantly nodded, bringing back what they had been talking about a minute ago. "Thank you," she said, gratefully over his current cooperation. "For real, it wasn't his doing, Danny. And I am not defending Dan either as I am saying this, if that's what you are wondering about... I broke the cups in the sink when he said he came here for help. The only thing he did was bind my hand. It is a totally mundane cut, created by some broken pieces, not caused by a malicious act." well, this clarification didn't help much to see him else, in truth, it just brought back that damn hug again in Vlad's study room. Getting to know later that even earlier he had touched his sister was just dizzying, and the reminder too of how he could have let that happen.

"Did he- did he threaten you?" Danny asked with a numb mind, trying to make somehow the swirling chaos, called once as his thoughts, to stop creating scenarios about Jazz and him... How much he had missed by his obliviousness? There was a longer silence within them, that made Danny gulp, scared, what if Jazz wasn't telling something to him, what if there was something that would have made him go after the ghost, and-

"Danny…" Jazz started with a gentle tone, which was her usual convincing one. "I know it sounds unbelievable to you, but he changed, okay? Dan is not anymore the one he once was. I know he is who you described, I get it, god, I even could see it behind his words, but just think about it, please." Danny glanced at her, he couldn't say he was sceptical, because no, he wasn't believing in that, not for any chance, but- "If his plan is still the same now as back then it was, don't you think he would have got you already?" she took the question, digging further into that issue. "I was the only one at home when he came. He said he would go after you if I didn't let him in. But he didn't do it after it, but he could have. He asked me to hide him from you instead. I think… I think he realised trying to come to an understanding with you would be unworkable. And add to that, he didn't know either that time you didn't enlighten me about last week or about him..."

"I can't see where exactly you want to go with this..." Danny cut in, though quite sure there had to be something with it that his sister, as the one and only supporter of him would have liked to tell with it.

"The Spectra-case." Jazz dropped it, "that ghost's agenda was to get into the insecurities. If you turn it around, if Sam and Tucker wouldn't have been there for you at the beginning…" she didn't finish the sentence, leaving it the air opened. Maybe she didn't intend to at all, having a feeling Danny got it nonetheless. And yeah, he was thinking about it several times, and even more frequently after learning about that horrible outcome from Vlad's future self. The possibility of losing everyone since then twisted his heart, making a very bad impact on his already uncontrollable worries, not letting him sleep much during the nights (not that usually he could have got enough sleep, but there was a huge gap between not sleeping due to protecting the people or because his mind was just incapable to shut off, playing, again and again, that picture). Until at least the retake would be over... And it was now, it felt like starting a new page (or rather an entirely new book). The fear was still there, but at least a part of that way was overstepped without any trouble. But then it turned out, he was here, and... "His plan is different from what he was doing before." Jazz's voice kept on, "As I let him in, you could say, I technically offered him a second chance, which he is glad for. It was like giving a hand to him over his doubts, whether he could do something else or not. You see what I am trying to say?"

Danny wanted to correct her that no matter what he didn't deserve it, and that, for everyone's safety, capturing his alteration for all eternity in a Thermos would have been the best, to avoid any cases and just...

"Dan is onto make his Vlad a halfa."

"…What?" Danny gaped like he would have heard it wrong, but her sister didn't seem as if it would have been a made-up, just dropped-in statement to get his attention. "He told you that?" such an impossible thing like that sounded like a good way to make Jazz believe in some changed intention, he had to admit. And yeah, that could have been that strong basic point to underpin a trust in her, and just mould it into the momentary state, and… man, he was good, a god-damn nasty planner...

"I'm serious, Danny." Jazz gave him a stern look that against Danny really had to concentrate not to roll his eyes too visibly. "And no, he didn't tell me that, I put together myself." he nearly scoffed, but to his sibling's behaviour, Danny didn't want to risk hearing a speech again about his stubborn 'blindness' towards his future self, so then he rather remained still, wrecking his mind how Jazz couldn't see through it. That this demeanour of him now was nothing but a well-based lie, and every step he had done so far was just a part of a great plan and his act was just, well... was nothing really but an act to buy them.

"Jazz, he would plot anything but that…" he tried to convince her, already feeling it would be futile, she was too deep in that faith in her head about him.

"Okay, so you want to hear facts, right?" Jazz guessed, too determined to perceive anything over her own blinded conception. "Back in the car, when you mocked him that I might have broken him somehow to cooperate... I did." Danny frowned at the confession-like addition. He still could recall that weird scene. He had given back a picture to Jazz, and in a way, his other version indeed had looked numb, but- "you could word it as I found his weakness." to that, Danny shut his head up, blinking at her in surprise.

"Yeah, I thought it would make you interested..." she snapped at him, not hiding much the stabbing edge of the note, but after a deep sigh continued. "If you are capable of forgetting for a second your bias against him, Danny, just consider this: he lost everyone but his Vlad, at the exact age as you are right now." about that, Danny the less wanted to think about, especially that it could have happened the same way with him too, if there hadn't been Clockwork's help...

"You said he must have killed his Vlad as soon as he got out the Thermos you had got him in before. I'm not saying Dan didn't hurt him, though he claimed he didn't… but what if he somehow still did? Maybe not directly, but somehow. What if he- that he realised his Vlad is the only one who remained for him? What if, just as that Vlad had removed that Danny's ghost-half back then, that makes you be able to heal, he thinks with his other ghost part, he can his Vlad capable to do that too? You are the only halfa. What do you think who else he had turned to if he is on to recreate your ghostliness?"

Danny for a long minute just moved his mouth, opening and closing it, to say something, but he was just too stunned for it. There was no coherent thought in his brain for a while. It was just ridiculous, assuming that he would have had any consciousness regarding anyone, let alone that Vlad who in fact had induced his creation and- no, that was just unthinkable...

"This is insane, and- and not true…" he wanted to debate with it, but the more his mind tried to come up with anything that could confirm its opposite, the more oddness came back as his mind started to work again. Everything just reeled around it, like planets in a solar system: the crazy cooperation around Jazz's fainting, the lashing out in the car when he- Why couldn't he find anything against this absurdity?! Even the words he had told once underpinned it, and... "That's… Jazz, this is not-"

"Possible?" the red-haired teen put into words, helping Danny out. "Totally against his previous deeds?" was it emphasized, "What do you think, why is he avoiding you since he is here? Why is he trying to do the least to bother you, to cooperate with you as much as you can let him? Or why couldn't he reveal to you why he had to come here, to Vlad? Because that's how you still see him that way. He is you, Danny, maybe not entirely, but he is partly Phantom and I know you. Phantom would do everything to protect someone who is important to him. And his Vlad is important to him."

"He is more like Plasmius, not me…" Danny muttered the correction under his nose, widening his eyes in recognition that Jazz didn't know yet Vlad was Plasmius, and Vlad in fact was just like he was: a halfa. Nor that actually he- Wait a minute… "You are afraid of what will happen with him once he removes his other part, the Plasmius one." Danny pieced together all of a sudden, and damn, now it could have been impossible to deny it. And even without taking a confirming check at her, Danny knew he got into the matter, and it made him wonder too… Vlad was problematic, yes, that was beyond any questioning, being part-ghost and things like that, and if the man's ghost side made him be like that, without any humanity to see the aftermath of any action or just care about anyone or anything, then- then...

"I have to- I have to think about it…" Danny mumbled ahead with a right now too restlessly working mind to form any clearer sentence. It was just much to comprehend, or just grasp it somehow. Not because it was crazy (because it was!), but... He couldn't even tell he believed in it (because he didn't, it was not about that!), he just... "Let me think about it, okay?" Danny took a brief glance at Jazz, turning then invisible and phasing through the walls. He was just too numb over this surmise, and if he considered it… Even assuming he would plan such thing like that was just, well, much. But the more Danny attempted to see it from any angle, the less he was capable of avoiding the obvious signs that proved its rightness. It was just- just impossible! Right? Too impossible... Then why was everything leading back to it, no matter how much he tried?!

He passed a wall, as he was thinking, then the next on the way, then another, then… then the very familiar sensation called him to a halt. Vlad? – Danny wrinkled his forehead, guessing and freezing for a moment, by the man's presence. But then he shook his head, almost laughing at himself at the idea he could have been surprised, as every single time he was during their usual fights, but no. Now, it wasn't about that, it was Vlad's home after all, and he was here the intruder. Of course, it was allowed to walk around anywhere in the middle of the night. But as Danny was looking around to detect the elder part-ghost, the colour completely ran out of his skin, spotting instead someone else. Just at the same time as the sitting figure groaned annoyed and the red mist escaped from the ghost, Danny's sense appeared too, his heart pounding loudly in his chest as the other's voice hit his ears.

"I hope you didn't expect I wouldn't notice your presence..."

A/N:

writing this I realised I didn't write from Danny's view for like ages - now, you will get two... (oops, spoiler)

also, I should write some 'bits' about some briefly mentioned things here, but... I seriously don't know when I'll do that

but, instead, you will get the next one sooner than it is expected