Dan was lying on the couch of his apartment, Danny in his arms. There were no lights on, save for the glow of his burning hair and skin, and the only sound was the insistent ticking of the clock on the wall. It was so loud-too loud. But Dan put up with it, not wanting to move Danny more than necessary. He used up a lot of energy after all...

Dan shook his head, just as Danny began to stir, and watched him carefully. The halfa opened his blue eyes and struggled to sit up. Dan gently stopped him however, smiling slightly when the halfa looked up at him.

And then he asked, voice still a little hoarse and quiet. "Why did they try to kill me...?"

Dan stayed silent at that, instead wrapping his arms tightly around the boy. After everything that had happened he never wanted to let go again. He'd never wanted Danny to get hurt like that, but given their lifestyle it was inevitable. He just wished it didn't have to happen here... He wished it didn't have to happen now...

The full ghost held his son tighter, feeling small arms return the favor while the front of his suit proceeded to get more damp. Danny was shivering, and the only thing that seemed to keep him calm was this hug. This warm embrace that promised nothing but safety and warmth.

Dan placed a hand in the boy's dark hair and spoke his first words in the last few hours. "...I love you, Danny."

The halfa smiled through his crying and looked up at the full ghost. "I love you too... Can we go home now?"

"Not yet... Jack and Maddie won't help us anymore. Even if they wanted to, they wouldn't be able." A bitter grin formed on his face at the thought.

Danny frowned at that, laying his head back down on his father's chest. He spoke softly, staring into the darkness of their TV screen. "I really want to go home..."

"I know..." Dan said while exhaling through his nostrils and slumping a bit further into the couch. "I guess we have no other choice but to go find Vlad."

Danny tuned in some more at the unfamiliar name. "Vlad? Who's that?"

The full ghost didn't speak immediately. A while ago Dan had made a point not to tell Danny about Vlad. He and the ex-halfa of his timeline were far from speaking terms, and anytime he found anything to do with the man lying around it was vaporized. Unfortunately however, this wasn't something they could do on their own. Dan needed a lab, and honestly Vlad's was probably a better option anyway.

"Vlad is... The only person on this planet that can help us get home." Dan said carefully, watching as his son rolled those words around in his head for a little while. He then seemingly stored it away for a later date.

"...Can we train?"

Dan studied Danny briefly, before a hollow smile formed on his face. "Sure."

The next day, ghostly white boots touched down on a well-maintained Wisconsin lawn. A staggering castle loomed above their owner and his child, bringing curiosity to the eyes of the younger phantom on Dan's back. Danny found the place was cold-colder than the wind currently bellowing around them-but not in a way he was unused to. It felt like the city streets of his home, and that made Danny all the more interested in this "Vlad."

Suddenly he and Dan were invisible and intangible. They fell through layers upon layers of dirt, before entering a brilliant lab, more so than any Danny had seen. It was expansive, sleek, and… Very pink. And within this laboratory was a man that intrigued the halfa even more.

He was tall, not nearly as tall as Dan but still tall, and wore mostly white. He drifted around his lab and revealed solid red eyes with blue skin that definitely had Danny drawing parallels to Dan. The sharp ears and fangs did as well, and as a whole made Danny wonder if this ghost was related to his father. He'd have to remember to ask later on.

"Plasmius." Dan's voice broke the silence, making Vlad turn around and take a fighting stance. "We need to talk to you."

Becoming visible, Dan made note of the way Vlad flinched and put his hands up in a motion to calm the man down. "Who are you? How did you find me?"

Dan frowned, before glancing over his shoulder at his son. The boy seemed to understand the silent message and hopped off of his back, moving to sit cross-legged by a wall. The older halfa then continues with a sigh. "You don't know who I am, but my name is Dan. I'm here from an alternate reality…"

Dan continued his story, telling the older halfa about his timeline, how he found Danny, and finally about the incident with Jack and Maddie. That last one made Vlad lean against one of his metal tables, trying to drink in everything he had just been told. It was all just so hard to believe… Shaking his head, Vlad looked at the small child, who sat on the floor while playing with a glowing ball of ecto-energy.

"Danny." Dan grabbed the boy's attention, while Vlad continued to stare. "I need you to transform right now."

Danny glanced at Vlad, but didn't argue. Rather, he climbed to his feet after dismissing the glowing sphere and began to transform. The emerging white rings made Vlad's ghostly core stop briefly, as he watched Danny shift. He marveled at the massive hoodie and dark hair, with big blue eyes and healthy skin that pointed to this child now being human. The same child who'd appeared to be the son of a demon when the ghostly duo arrived. And all Vlad could think was that, standing before him, was another of his kind.

Looking back at Dan, Vlad proceeded to nod hesitantly. "Very well… Come with me and I'll see what I can do."

With a numb nod, Dan started to follow before he glanced back at his child. With a small smile, he asked. "Do you want to help?"

Danny's smile practically split his face as he jumped into the air and transformed, flying after the two ghostly men. Pretty soon, they'd be going home…

Jazz sat silently in her bedroom, staring at the dull pink walls emptily. Her knees were hugged to her chest as she replayed the events of the prior day in her mind again. The fact she had anything else to do didn't register either-all she could think about was that day.

She remembered how absolutely delusional her parents had looked when they shot Dan, and then Danny.. Their son and her little brother… But worse than that was Dan. The way he'd silently drifted towards her parents, eyes like crimson voids, still sent shivers down her spine and nearly brought tears to her eyes.

After he and Danny were gone, Jazz had called the hospital and they were now taking care of the Fentons-neither of which were keen to be there. Jack had to be sedated himself, as he wanted nothing more than to hunt down the ghost that took her brother despite his clear impairment. Maddie had been as quiet as Dan had been, but more contemplative. She hadn't looked up from her hands since she calmed down from her initial panic.

Jazz took a shaky breath before climbing out of bed. Quick hands snatched up her bag, stuffed her car keys and phone inside, and jogged out of the house. She needed answers, and knew that Dan had them-she just hoped he was willing to speak to her.

A/N: So in regards to last chapter, I kinda feel like explaining the whole thought process there. See, while writing it I really wanted to convey a sense of complete delusion with Jack and Maddie. A sort of "I just found my son-who'd been missing for 14 years-and the man responsible is sitting in my living room with him and my daughter. Not only that, but the kidnapper is also a ghost-something I've hated for years." That kind of thing doesn't sit well with a person, which is probably why some of Jack's and Maddie's actions seemed a bit out there.

I will admit though, I wish I did a bit more with Jack. He is the shoot first, ask questions later type after all, but it seemed more fitting for Maddie to act out a bit more. She is Danny's mother after all, and I feel she probably was a bit more off at everything that happened-especially considering she was the one who found the beaker in the garbage.

And then there's Jazz. Given how old she is and how she'd been in the middle of bonding with Dan and Danny before everything I couldn't imagine her trying to attack-especially since she'd be attacking a very angry ghost parent.

So yeah, that's my annoyingly long thought process-shortened to 3 paragraphs. I highly doubt I conveyed what I wanted to-but I hope you got the gist of it. Enjoy the next chapter when it arrives.