plays after chp18

"On a scale of one to ten, how much are you freaked out right now?"

"Stop it!" Danny snapped, ignoring the smirk to his reaction.

"Okay… but still, you should go to sleep." the ghost suggested, expanding a bit later, probably to the odd look to the advice. "I mean… usually you don't sleep much and albeit there is more than the acceptable level of unbearable ghosts right now under one roof, but I highly doubt Masters would start to bother you, and me… well, I won't roam around and start scheming either."

Danny just blinked, on to voice his doubts – if there was any after their conversation and really after everything – but then his older version shrugged, continuing.

"What do you think what I could do during the whole night, hm? Seriously? I told you I won't haunt Jazz, so then there is a very short option really that is left and could count as a worrisome deed. Maybe bothering Maddie to death?" came an example, with a wide grin, Danny froze to the name. "Well, come to think of it, that doesn't sound bad and I am quite sure, she would rather enjoy it." the idea was voiced out, but then the figure fell silent, frowning at him. "The cat, Danny. I was talking about the cat, and obviously not about your mother."

It needed a second to process the clarification and to leave behind the shivering concept that he would start intruding in the middle of the night. And what he was thinking, how he could have done that? No, he didn't want to imagine the possible ways… Besides, it wasn't about-

"Cat?" Danny gasped as the detail occurred to him. "Wait a minute… Vlad has a cat?" now, the fear that it was about Mom turned out into a laughable astonishment. He even could recall when he had mocked the man to get a pet, and… "Since when?"

His other self gave a look at him, but it didn't help much on the situation that Vlad apparently had a cat… (To tell the truth, Danny didn't get much surprised over the name, it could be either some sort of female version of him or based on his mother, so really it was a fifty-fifty chance for either case.)

"You liked her too so shut up." came the note. "And she is just as your cat as his, so step over it." Danny puzzled over the addition, but then the ghost corrected himself. "Yeah, right, not yours, Danny's, which means, momentarily she could be counted more mine than Vlad's right now."

Danny couldn't tell the claiming for the pet's ownership perplexed him more (which indeed in a way could be valid) or the fact that he stated it out as a fact, with a protective (or rather possessive) manner. Recognising in an instant the similarity over the statement with the one with the same attitude towards some things (or more like people), the earlier spilt out altered family name came back, along with Jazz's reminder that he in a way was just like him if the things could have happened differently (only focusing on the normal part of it).

"So he…" Danny started, but shut his mouth, unsure how to phrase it reasonably, but then somehow he managed to collect his thoughts. "so he wasn't that uh- horrible? I mean, being here, and you know… stuffs." he rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable that he was even asking about it.

His other version stared at him, confused, then after a wondering looking around, turned his head back. "You mean, over that they- that they all died?" Danny wasn't sure if that needed an admitting. He had to swallow over the weight of it, but then luckily he didn't have to come up with anything, it got continued. "It was- it was actually nice, but I wouldn't say it was uh- nice, and… under those circumstances… it was- it was not good, at all… Yeah, maybe that's the right word for it." the ghost scratched his temple. "I- I tried though, but it was just… not enough, never enough and… nothing was working, nothing, and…" the bright eyes squeezed together, snapping the head away, as the mumbling came. "I just messed up, I so messed it up…"

Danny petrified. Was he talking about the- about that? He tried to forget the part that he was who- but… No, as much hard it was, after all, he was partly Phantom. And from Vlad, in the future, Danny got the whole separation had ruined the thinking, cutting off the awareness over the actions, and just existing without humanity and being nothing but two ghost parts, indestructible and… wait… was it just said he had messed it up? Hardly, Danny could expect any regret over it, but this just... what it was then if not that?

"You- you…" Danny gulped, attempting to stop the stammering.

"I, what?" the ghost snapped his eyes to him, which were again the crimson coloured. Danny already pieced together the vision shifted back to it, leaking through the disguise if something bothered the other.

"You are talking about Danny, your Danny," he whispered out, barely enough loud to be heard. "You…"

The red eyes pierced into Danny, but then as the lips parted, not saying anything at the end, the vision averted, as the figure leaned back to the chair. "I- I mentioned it before that my memory is not absolute, right? Well… I don't- don't have much from Danny from the time being here, just some small things, some hints, feelings…" the vision narrowed over something, "Yeah, maybe, that's it, that's what came from him… so after all, it turned out, Vlad was right..." the ghost scoffed funnily over something.

"How do you mean?" there was no way, he meant that…

The eyebrows quizzically arched up to the question. "What do you think how people would feel themselves if they lose everyone from one moment to another, just like that, in a click?" the human-mimicked fingers snapped to draw out the suddenness. He so didn't want to think about that…

"Devastated I guess…" Danny said out then. "Broken."

The other's eyes for a long glared at him, as if waiting for something, to an addition or something, like Danny would have missed something, but then the redness slipped back to the copied blue. "Yeah, you're right… they usually get very distressed over a tragedy." was it mumbled. The hands crossed over the other, nails gripping on the upper arm. Even if Danny had enough time to see his other version from a heard-out conversation, marking the reactions with someone who wasn't him or Jazz, but even over that, he could identify a tensed movement.

"I think it's better if you go to sleep now," the reminder came, with a bit of a pained tone now, returning to the issue from a minute ago. For a thought, Danny wanted to debate that maybe it could have been the best if he stayed, but soon that reflexive alert over his other self faded away due to the many learned parts from the past time.

Danny stood up, but then stopped, turning back to the being, catching as the eyes stared off at the book on the middle of the coffee table. "Do you-" Danny started, but he was cut off.

"If you wanted to ask if I need anything, I have to remind you, apart from you I could find myself here."

"Yeah, right…" Danny came to see his mistake, but still stayed at the spot. There was something he had to say, he knew that, but he just couldn't figure out what it was, so then, he just took a brief look at the tall figure. "Good night, Dan," Danny noted, feeling a bit of a less pressure, realising maybe that was it.

As Danny turned then to intangible, floating through the first few walls, he laughed up at the recognition that it was the middle of the night, and the whole mansion was filled with blackness. Earlier, he had been too much lost in his thoughts to grasp how he had got there at this part of the building where he currently was, so then, he had to realise, he had no idea where he had come from.

"Uh…" Danny began lamely as he flew back, shifting back to visible too (hardly he was unnoticeable for the ghost, but it felt fair now to reveal his attendance rightaway as he returned to the previous stop), "can I- can I get a little help?" the ghost flabbergasted stared at him, "I mean… it's damn dark and-" Danny waved around to describe the state, that in fact, only this place was somewhat under light. "Okay," Danny sighed then, giving up, "I have no idea where my room is, okay?! Just please tell me where it is, I am exhausted to seek for it, and the less I want to see today is Vlad in pyjamas."

A second elapsed, then another, and nearly another one too, but then the tall figure's lips curled into a smile. "Upstairs, after the library, third from the left." the direction was drawn out, Danny thankfully shook his head, then pausing as it was continued, "if I were you, I'd take the stairs, it's less possible to lose it that way."

"Uh, okay…" Danny muttered, uncomfortable about not flying in the darkness.

The ghost tilted his head meaningfully. "As Phantom, Danny" came the suggestion, "obviously you won't see shit this way." yeah, obviously… – Danny almost slapped himself to the advantage he had forgotten about. "I really hope I don't have to escort you…" the bright eyes observed him horrified.

"Geez, no! I can find it, thanks!" Danny cried out to the assumption, changing in a rush to the ghostly appearance, nodding again as the right starting point was shown to him. He rather closed this whole into an unused part of his mind that he had just had to ask for help from him. But to tell the truth, he had far enough today to process and to care with it right now.