Chapter Twenty-Seven: Growing Darkness

"Dan?" Vlad knocked on his bedroom door. "Are you awake?"

There was a pause and then the door opened, with Dan giving a red-eyed glare. "Don't. Ever. Say. That. Phrase. Again."

"…As you wish." Vlad held out the cloak he'd been working on. "Here, try this one. Also, I've prepared a black suit. What color do you want your hair dyed?"

"…Bla—"

"It can't be black." Vlad interrupted.

"…Fine. Red." Dan glanced away.

"Alright, then." He nodded and stepped away Dan shutting the door. He heard a rustle and then the door opened, Dan wrapped in the cloak. He held out a hand and nothing came out, not even a fizzle. "See? It dampens your ecto-energy, so you'll be able to blend in. I have your suit, but let's get the dye over with, first."

Dan nodded, taking off the cloak and following him to the bathroom. He took off his shirt and sat on the chair Vlad had set up, his head leaning back over the sink. Vlad nodded and left for a bit, coming back with the red dye. "Why do you have hair-dye?" Dan asked. "You don't dye your hair."

"I bought a few colors this morning." Vlad explained, walking over and opening the bottle.

The next two hours were spent washing his hair, putting in dye, letting it dry, putting in more dye, letting it dry and then washing it again, doing this many times. After he was finished with the final wash, Vlad stepped back and looked him over.

Aside from the dull glow around him, you couldn't tell he was the same person. Vlad dried off his hair and then handed him the suit to put on. As he dressed, Vlad set to work cleaning up the sink. When he turned around, Dan was dressed in the black suit. He looked very suave.

"Alright, let's get the cloak." Dan said, heading out of the bathroom. When Vlad caught up to him, he was sitting on his bed, the hood of his black cloak pulled over his head.

Vlad sighed, walking over to him. "Let's get some breakfast. Our plane leaves at noon."

Dan nodded, getting off the bed and following him out.

Breakfast was a silent affair, with Dan quietly finishing his food before leaving the table and disappearing into his bedroom with a swirl of his cloak. Vlad sighed and finished his own food, wondering how he was going to get the poor ghost-boy to come out of the shadows. 'In retrospect, a black cloak wasn't such a good idea.' He thought.

Around noon, they got on the private plane and he offered Dan something to read for the duration. He ignored it, staring blankly out the window as they lifted into the air.

The flight was silent as death, with Vlad having no way to connect with the grieving ghost. He got up from his seat and walked over to him. "Would you like some juice, Dan?"

He looked up at him finally. "…Sure."

Vlad nodded and went to get him some from the fridge. Dan went back to looking out the window, only looking up when the juice was delivered. Vlad sighed and sat in the seat across from him. "What's the matter?"

"…We were underground." Dan replied softly. "He wanted to reach the stars, but they kept him under the ground." He clenched his fist on the table, the other hand wrapped around his glass. "I'm miles above where we were kept…flying free. I wanted him to be the one who escaped; I was fine if I was in the lab alone. I just wanted him to be free…"

Vlad placed a hand on his trembling fist, smiling comfortingly. "I'm sorry. I wish I had known, I would have come right away."

Dan looked down. "…We had no way to tell you." He mumbled. "I wanted to, to call for help, but I couldn't."

Vlad nodded. "Don't blame yourself, dear boy. You did all you could for Danny. It's the Guys in White to blame for his death."

"I didn't do enough…" Dan shook his head. "I should've ignored Danny and killed them."

Vlad looked surprised and drew back a bit, his hand still on Dan's. "You would kill?"

"Danny said I'm not a killer, but I felt like tearing them apart." Dan looked at him. "I wanted to kill them."

"Would you be able to, if it came to it?" Vlad asked.

Dan pursed his lips. "…I promised Danny I wouldn't…but, I want to HURT them."

Vlad nodded. "I can help train you for that, then. The way you were before, much of my…training would've seemed too harsh. But, you seem much more determined now."

"After what they did, anything YOU dish out wouldn't hurt me." Dan said, glancing up at him. Were his powers not dampened, Vlad was sure that those poison-green eyes would be a ruby-red color.

"Alright, then." Vlad nodded. "I won't be held responsible for anything out-of-line that Plasmius may do. He can sometimes…act strange." He patted Dan's hand and then got up, walking over to return to his book.

Dan looked out the window again, staring at his reflection. Ghosts didn't usually have such stable, unwavering reflections, but he did. He always would, a part of Danny that he would never lose.