AN: A few of you asked if there was more to this, and I decided that that answer is yes!
Finger Paintings On The Walls
-o-oOo-o-
"Tell me everything that happened, tell me everything you saw."
"They had lights inside their eyes, they had lights inside their eyes."
"Did you see the closing window, did you hear the slamming door?"
"They moved forward and my heart died, they moved forward and my heart died."
-Dead Hearts, Stars
-o-oOo-o-
For the third time in his life, Danny was having the second worst day of his life.
Well, more like the second worst week, since this uncomfortable something has been hanging over him for days on end.
Leaving Vlad's had been terrible. He felt like his limbs had been made of lead, and an overwhelming sense of guilt had felt like it nearly broke his back. There wasn't any doubt Vlad had seen it all. All the monstrous depictions and vent art he'd done of the billionaire. What was worse was he didn't know how Vlad had even taken the art, or how he was dealing with what he saw. He hadn't come into contact with anything Vlad since, not hide nor hair. He was absolutely silent and Danny supposed that's what bothered him the most. At least if Vlad was attacking him, he'd know how angry the man was based on how hard he punched.
According to the internet, Vlad hadn't been very active with any of his companies either. He'd been trying to buy off a rival for the longest time, yet he just hadn't showed up to any of the negotiations since that evening. Not only did that kill Vlad's chance of buying it off, but it sent unsettle through his own companies. Vlad's assistant was trying her best to calm the overactive media, but it was clear she didn't know what was happening either.
Vlad had simply recessed into his figurative shell. Locked himself away.
Danny groaned and flopped over onto his side, the covers pulling tightly around his legs despite his efforts to kick them loose. The bright blue of his clock met his blurry eyes, reading 2:21 AM. There were no ghosts around, nothing for him to stay awake for. He needed the sleep. Yet he hadn't slept right since that day. He tossed and turned the first night, fitful and uncomfortable in the closest thing to a lair he had. The second night he just couldn't fall asleep so he'd just flipped through the stupid little book that caused all this. That had been a bad idea, since he turned immediately to the Vlad pages. Vlad's pictures were the only ones in the entire book that were actually showing him hurting Danny in any way. None of the other ghost's pictures did that. The only other picture of a ghost that he drew doing that had been torn to bits after a nasty nightmare that had seemed all to real. He'd promised to never draw Dan ever again due to that.
Danny didn't know what had hit Vlad harder-the Plasmius images or the college ones.
But he did know that Vlad had been affected-and now he felt he needed to fix it.
It was most likely the only way to get the whatever feeling off his chest. He didn't even know what it was, really. It was crushing and it was relentless. It needed to go.
2:25 AM, and he was getting up. 2:30, and he was standing in front of the Fenton portal. 2:32, he was in the Zone.
3:47, and he was in Vlad Master's castle mansion.
-o-oOo-o-
3:49, and he was already regretting coming. But he was here, and he wasn't going to run away like a coward. This was his fault, he was going to fix it. Or get blasted through a wall trying. Honestly, he'd take that option if he could.
"VLAD!" Danny called, kicking one of the glass cases containing Packer's memorabilia just hard enough for a loud racket to bounce off the stones, "Vlad, you home?"
Tiny little pitterpatters sounded to Danny's left and he spun, coming face to face with a sleek, elegant cat. It froze, staring at him. Danny snorted, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk. So much for Vlad not getting a cat like he said he wouldn't. The cat trotted forward and sniffed his leg. It pressed its entire body against him, purring loudly and twitching its head to mew up at him. Danny couldn't help it, he knelt down and rubbed its head, trailing his fingers through the soft fur. It let him look at her tag and he mentally kicked himself-he should've known.
Danny stood and walked up the stairs, Maddie jogging at his feet. Not once did she stop purring. At least she wasn't walking in front of him so he wouldn't accidentally kick her. Vlad would probably skin him alive if he did that to his 'precious Maddie'. Danny peeked into every door he could find. If they were locked, he just phased his face in. Thus far, he counted twenty seven bedrooms, ten bathrooms, eight studies, and fourteen closets. Danny didn't realize how outrageously huge Vlad's castle was until he was actually trying to find something in it. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.
And he was only on the first floor he started looking on.
Closing the door on yet another bathroom, Danny tilted his head back, groaning, "I'm never gonna find Vlad at this rate."
Maddie's ears perked up, and she batted his leg relentlessly. Startled, Danny looked down at her, brows creased. She meowed loudly, then trotted off down the hall he'd just come down. Danny's shoulders slumped.
"Great, now I'm alone," He let his hand drop off the door handle with a thump, turning away.
Maddie paused, looking back at the young human. He was walking away from her. Her ears pressed down against her head and she bolted back to him, her claws sometimes sticking in the carpet. She charged right in front of him, forcing him to stop. She batted his leg again, using her claws for extra emphasis this time, and then trotted away again. Danny yelped at the feel of her claws digging into his skin, and just watched her walk away again. She stopped, and looked back at him, yowling loudly.
Danny walked after her, and her ears perked again. She jogged further down the hall, the very confused teen on her tail. She led him to the stairs that went up to the third floor, down the east hall, turned west at the intersection and down three doors. She stopped in front of the forth door, pressing her paw to the door. Danny blinked at her, then to the door. She scratched it a little, mrowing a little. Danny tilted his head in an 'okay, whatever you say' kind of way, and turned the handle. He half expected it to be locked, the way the cat was acting towards the door.
It wasn't.
Danny stepped into a large sitting room kind of area, a fireplace burning on the other side of the room. Large floor-to-ceiling windows framed the hearth, a few opened, long burgundy blowing in the gentle breeze. Bookshelves lined the left wall, under a second floor balcony that was also lined with shelves. The right side of the room was home to the entertainment systems-with the largest TV Danny had ever see-and a grand piano. A chair was turned to the fireplace, and all the electrical lights in the room were off.
Maddie murped and trotted past Danny's ankles over to the stand beside the chair, jumping onto it. She looked back at him, then at the chair, her ear flicking.
"She's a smart cat. I trained her to do this-find and fetch things, including myself. It's nice to know that that skill has gotten some use," A hand reached out and scratched Maddie under the chin. She tilted her head and pushed into the gesture. Even across the room, Danny could hear her purrs. He heard Vlad sigh a little, "But you're not here about my cat, are you, Daniel?"
"Yeah. I'm not," Danny admitted, walking forward and transforming into his human half. The room was cold and he regretted not changing into real clothes, "I'm here about...the other day."
"I assumed as much," Vlad mused.
Danny bit his lip as an uncomfortable awkward silence settled. He watched the flames flicker and the light dance upon the stones of it's cage. Vlad made no effort to continue speaking, and Danny didn't know what to even say. What could he say? He slowly ventured around the chair, Maddie's curious eyes locked on him. Vlad didn't look up, he only continued to roll the small champagne glass in his fingers. He quite frankly looked like shit. His hair was tangled, gaunt shadows under his eyes and in the hallows of his cheeks. Despite being dressing in his normal fancy clothes, he looked more off kilter than normal. Danny looked away from him into the fire again, sighing through his nose.
"Listen, Vlad, I-"
"Go home, Daniel."
Something in his chest constricted, Danny could only blink, "What?"
"I said, go home," Vlad repeated, "Go home and be with your family. Your livelihood is safe. I meant what I said last time. You're free to live your happy life, free of me. That is what you wanted, yes? To be rid of me? You have it."
Danny fidgeted with his fingers, "That's not-"
"Go home. There's nothing for you here. It's over. I'm done."
"Vlad-"
"I will be shutting down my portal in two days time, the generator is winding down now so it can be properly turned off. I'm miles away from you and your family, and you will never had to worry about encountering me in the Zone-"
"DAMMIT VLAD, WOULD YOU LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE IN YOUR MISERABLE LIFE?!"
Danny slapped a hand over his mouth. Horror filled his eyes.
Vlad was silent.
Danny pulled his hand away, "I didn't mean that-"
"Clearly you did, else you wouldn't have said it," Vlad said sharply, "I can't argue with the truth."
"I say and do stuff without thinking about the consequences all the time, you know that, I'm a stupid teenager-"
"A 'stupid teenager' couldn't keep his identity a secret for nearly two years, a 'stupid teenager' couldn't outwit a legal genius ever single time, a 'stupid teenager' couldn't be faced with trial and tribulation time and time again and always manage to do the right thing," Vlad set his glass on the table. Maddie creeped across his lap, pressing against him, "You are not stupid, Daniel. Rash, impulsive, easily manipulated, and naive; yes. But not stupid. You know who you are and right from wrong. You know what's worth fighting for and when to walk away. Which is why you need to go home. It's time for you to walk away from this."
Danny shook his head, "No. It's not. I'm not leaving. This is still wrong. I need to fix it, that's why I'm here," He looked back to Vlad, digging his toe into the carpet,"You...you're not acting like yourself. Somethings wrong, and it's my fault."
"You're paranoid. It's natural. You expect this to all be a lie and for me to strike when you let your guard down. As I've said-"
"This isn't about our fights!" Danny snapped,"This is about you, Vlad! You're not like this! You never give up, never! Something happened last time I was here, something that broke everything I know about you, and I don't know what it was but I don't like it! This entire situation needs to fixed or resolved or whatever! I can't take it, I can't sleep because I know this is my fault and I can't stop thinking about it-"
"You have what you've always wanted-"
"That isn't the point of this!"
"-Why can't you just be content with that?!"
"Why can't you be content with all you have?! It's bittersweet, Vlad, that same exact reason!"
"Bittersweet is still better than nothing"
"I'd rather not have it than have it like this!"
"JUST GO HOME, DANIEL!"
"NO!"
"WHY NOT?!"
"BECAUSE DAMMIT YOU'RE HURT AND I CARE!"
Heat and cold mingled in the air, frost forming in Danny's hair and on the windows behind him while the fire roared larger in tune to Vlad's words. Danny payed no mind to the fact that he could see his breath puffing out, to his constricting heart and thrumming core. Vlad eyes burned, red blotting in his cerulean irises, fissles of pink weaving around his hands. His fingers were clenched so tightly together they were turning white, his nails digging into his skin. They shook slightly, and Danny knew it was taking all of Vlad's self control to restrain himself. The air around them crackled. Danny forced his own fists open and took a deep breath. Vlad looked back at the fire, his jaw working.
"Daniel, let me give you a suggestion," He said after a while,"You can't fix what can't be repaired. You can't save what doesn't want to be saved."
Danny's shoulder slumped, "Vlad-"
"And I am both of those," Vlad continued, "I'm telling you, Daniel: you need to walk away from this. Walk away, and never turn back. Go."
Danny threw his arms out, "What in the hell are you gonna do then? Lock yourself in here until you die? Close yourself away, both literally and metaphorically? I'm not leaving knowing that's what you might do. I'm not going to just give up."
Vlad tightened his jaw, "I'm fine."
"You haven't been fine since the accident, Vlad."
Silence.
Danny sighed, tracing the patterns of the carpet with his eyes, "What else do you want from me? Tell me what I can do to make things right again," Vlad opened his mouth but Danny glared, "Besides going home."
The elder half remained quiet for a long time, his fingers trailing down Maddie's back. Then, he quietly said, "I want to know if that's how you truly saw me."
His stomach flopped with guilt. Danny shook his head, "That's a trick question, I drew them when I was angry-"
"Are those things you think I'd really do? How inhuman you think I've devolved into?" Vlad mused, picking up the champagne glass again. He took a short sip.
"Vlad..." Danny didn't know what to say. While it was true he'd always drawn Vlad when he was angry, he has also drawn him the way he had seen him. Doing thing he'd be shown that Vlad does. Kidnapping his mom, hurting his friends, hurting him, cloning him...it was all true things, things he didn't just think Vlad were capable of-he knew. Should he tell the truth? Should he lie? Which would be better in the long run?
Danny watched as Vlad exhaled loudly, letting his head fall back onto the chair. All of the fight just seemed to drain out of the man, leaving him looking very worn and older than he'd ever seemed before.
"Sometimes I think I'd be better off if I'd died from my accident," Vlad whispered, and Danny felt like he couldn't breathe, "I don't know who I am anymore. I'm no one with nothing at a point that I never thought I'd ever be."
"V-vlad...?"
"I'm tired of fighting and I'm tired of lying; I'm tired of pretending and I'm tired of hurting. I'm tired of waiting, I'm tired of wanting, I'm tired of trying, and I'm tired of being tired," He said quietly, small tears escaping from his eyes, "I don't want to do this anymore. I've run on anger for twenty years. I've run out, and there's nothing left."
"V-vlad I don't like this..."
"I miss it all. Every single thing. I wish I go back to a time when everything was perfect, when everyone was happy. Just for a little bit, so I can remember what it feels like."
"V-vlad you're s-scaring m-me..." He didn't noticed the tears slipping down his own face.
"You were right on one thing, Daniel. I brought this all on myself. I'm lonely, I'm miserable, and I'm hurt. I'd undo it all if I could," Vlad closed his eyes, shaking his head, "Especially what I've done to you. All of what I've done to you..."
Danny screwed his eyes shut, wrapping his arms around himself, "Oh g-god please s-stop..."
Silence settled for a couple of moments, before Vlad spoke up again, "It's nearly five thirty. You need to leave, you have to be home for school," He waved his hand, sighing, "Go, Daniel. Go home and be with your family. You have a good thing, don't waste it."
"How can you expect me to just leave after all of THAT?!" Danny shrieked, staring at the other halfa. The wet trails from his tears stood out in the firelight. Vlad just chuckled softly.
"Because I'm your villain. And hero's don't care for their villains."
"Oh my god-I can't-" Danny choked, begging, "I can't-this is too much oh god-this is so much worse than what I was expecting oh my god please. Please tell me your pretending or acting or trying to fool-please anything is better than this!"
"...I'm sorry," Vlad said quietly, and Danny tried to muffle his crying, "Please, go. I'd like to be alone."
Danny shook his head, "No, no-don't do this, please, just let me stay for today, I can-"
"Daniel, you need to go home," Vlad's tone left no room for argument or compromise. This was it. There was nothing he could do.
Danny nodded, "I'll be back-tonight. W-we'll talk then, okay?" He got no answer. Maddie pattered over to him, pressing against his legs, and he smiled sadly down at her.
"Before you go, Daniel, I should probably tell you this now. You should expect inheritances from me in the coming weeks. All of my money will be split between your family, and all of my properties and stock will be yours personally. I am glad Maddie has seemed to take a liking to you, since she'll also be yours," Vlad said, casting a glace towards the purring feline, "You will be free to do what you want with it all. Keep them, sell them, destroy everything, whatever. They'll be yours. I understand that most likely upsets you, but I don't have anyone else to give everything to. Perhaps you could think of it as compensation for everything. Goodbye, Danny."
Danny broke.
His fingernails were digging into expensive black fabric before he even cared to realize he'd moved, his arms wrapped so tightly around Vlad's shoulders his muscles ached at the tension. His breath was coming out in choking sobs, boiling hot tears paving rivers down his skin. He buried his face so deep into Vlad's collar all he could smell was fabric and cologne. Everything in him hurt-his throat, his lungs, his stomach, his fingers, his heart. He felt like his throat was twisting closed, his stomach clenching, his heart squeezing in on itself. It hurt so bad, and it wouldn't stop hurting. He didn't even care how pathetic he must have seemed. He sat there, clinging to his arch enemy, and wailed.
Never before would he have been so damned happy to feel Vlad's arms wrap around him.
Fingers tangled into his hair, holding him close and tight. Danny twitched and spasmed, his coughs and sobs violet, but Vlad held him throughout it all. Danny could feel Vlad's shoulder begin to quake, and forced his fingers to clench tighter on his suit jacket, shutting his eyes even tighter. He felt the searing hot dots of wetness on his shirt, and only sniffled in response to them.
And together, they cried.