Chapter Forty-Four: Visions
Vlad entered the lab and leaned against the doorway as the two ghosts came out of the Ghost Zone and shut off the portal. "Well? How did it go?"
"Ask him." Dan grumbled, putting on his bracelet and storming out.
"Ah. I see it didn't go well?" Vlad asked.
"He fell asleep during the second hour of meditation." Plasmius sighed. "Then he complained my punishment was too harsh, and how could he possibly walk down the path again? I carried him, but next time he's walking."
Vlad chuckled. "Well, Plasmius, he IS only a boy. We started in college, so we had the advantage of age. He's too young to manage things like meditation easily."
"Then, I must think of some other way to improve him." Plasmius sighed.
"Yes. We both must." Vlad nodded and then left the lab, leaving his clone by the deactivated portal.
It wasn't hard to find Dan. He could hear the piano being ruthlessly banged on; playing some random notes that COULD be a song…maybe. He sighed and went to the music room, opening the door and stepping in. "Phantom?"
Dan paused in his playing and looked over at him. "Why does he have to do that to me so often?! I'm not his damn sex-toy!"
"Plasmius seems to take every chance he can to make up for all the time he couldn't touch you before." Vlad sighed, walking over to him. "Shall I teach you how to properly play? Classical music can soothe the soul and ease the mind, if done right."
"Weren't most of those composers total fruit-loops?" Dan raised an eyebrow.
Vlad sighed and sat on the bench next to him. "Observe." He started to play Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata".
"Oh yeah, this was made by the deaf guy." Dan nodded. "It's pretty."
"I'm surprised you know it." Vlad remarked as he played.
"Well, Danny DID have music class." Dan shrugged.
Vlad nodded, continuing to play. He felt Dan move against him and looked down to see the teen's head in his lap, his eyes closed behind red bangs. He smiled softly and decided not to disturb him, still playing the ten minute song. He'd let him nap while he played it, then move him when he was done.
"Destroying yourself isn't going to help me, you know."
Dan gasped and sat up, looking around. He thought he'd just heard Danny's voice… No one was in his bedroom but him and he groaned, wiping sweat off his brow. "What the hell was that?" He murmured, pulling the alarm clock closer and squinting at the numbers. "What the fuck…it's only 2am. I'm going back to bed." He pushed it back and curled up on his bed again.
"I didn't ask for revenge."
That voice again. He sat up and looked around, but still found nothing. Was he hearing things? Going completely loopy? Dan decided that it was time to get out of bed and went to his dresser after turning on the light. He caught his reflection in the mirror and gasped.
He could see Danny in the mirror. He looked just like he did last time Dan saw him healthy, bandages on his arms concealing old wounds from a mutated child's claws. Reaching out a trembling hand, he noticed the image doing the same and their hands touched. "Danny…" He breathed.
He heard footsteps outside his room. They halted by the door and then Vlad was looking in, the door held open. "Phantom? Can't sleep?"
"Uh…" Dan looked back at the mirror. No Danny. No image. No hand. No voice. He turned to Vlad and walked over to him. "…I think I'm being haunted by Danny."
Vlad couldn't believe what he'd just been told. "…What?"
"I think…"Dan looked to the side. "I'm being haunted by Danny."
"That's impossible." Vlad shook his head, approaching the trembling teen. He took Dan's right hand and unfastened the bracelet, taking it away when it landed in his hand. "You are Daniel's ghost. He can't be a ghost, because you're still here." He gently placed a finger under Dan's chin, making him look at him. "What makes you think he's haunting you?"
"I-I hear his voice so clearly, like he's in the room with me…and in the mirror just now, I saw…" He looked towards the mirror.
"In the mirror?" Vlad walked over and looked in the mirror; all he saw his own reflection. "Well, unless Daniel is hiding himself from me, there's no one behind the glass." He looked at Dan. "But, maybe this room is doing things to your head through your subconscious?" He walked over and took his hand. "Let's go up to mine, and you can let me know if you're still 'haunted' there, okay?"
Dan nodded, his grip on the man's hand tightening a bit. "Okay."
Vlad sighed, leading his young charge out.
Dan was silence as they walked upstairs, but his eyes seemed to be darting at every shadow. It wasn't until he was in Vlad's room and enfolded in his embrace that he finally seemed to calm down and relax, his face buried in the man's chest. Vlad smiled and set the bracelet on the bedside table, kissing Dan gently before he pulled the blanket over the two of them.
Vlad couldn't see, could he? He couldn't hear the whispers; see the intense blue-eyed stares that he saw in every window they passed. Vlad didn't know of the secrets that Danny whispered; things that he couldn't tell no matter what.
Dr. Wilson was a nice guy, so he hadn't been mentioned at all. In fact, all they had each said was "Guys in White". Lies, so many lies. The Guys in White were only half the problem. But Vlad and his friends would never know the full truth from Dan, and Jack would never tell the full truth to the ones that he had lied to again and again.
Wrapped up in Vlad's warmth, he found that he couldn't hear the whispers as well as before and clung to the man, finally letting himself calm down and rest his tired eyes. Maybe Vlad was right. Maybe he was just suffering from all the Danny in that room, and the more he surrounded himself with Vlad, the more he could block Danny out and stop seeing him in every reflection.
But, did he want to? He missed Danny, so bad that it ached. Even if it was an illusion, a hallucination created by his own grief-ridden mind, he didn't want to let go of it. To stop hearing Danny's voice again…to never hear his voice again…
No, he couldn't let it go. He had to keep the illusions to himself, before Vlad found a way to halt them. His embrace only muffled the voice, but he could still hear it like from the other side of a blanket.
Vlad's lips against his were warm, but they were only there for a brief moment before the blanket was pulled up over his head move, further blocking out Danny.
The next morning, Vlad was looking thoughtful during breakfast. "Were you having these visions before this morning, Dan?" He asked.
"Huh?" Dan looked up from his oatmeal. "Uhm…no, not really."
"Hm. Perhaps 'Moonlight Sonata' had some kind of effect on you." Vlad remarked. "It has been associated with strange things happening before. We'll wait a few days without you hearing the song and see if the visions fade."
"Classical music can do that to you?" Dan asked.
"Classical music can stimulate the senses, especially when you're sleeping. You fell asleep while I was playing yesterday." Vlad reminded him.
"Oh, right." Dan nodded. "Then, I guess we'll try your idea and see if the visions fade."
Vlad nodded, setting down his spoon and getting up from his empty bowl. "I have some business to take care of, so if you need me I will be in my study." He started to walk off. "Make sure to tell me if the visions persist."
"Right." Dan nodded, finishing his own oatmeal and getting up from the table.
He made his way through the house and went to his room. Hesitating at first, he opened it and walked in to go to the mirror. Vlad had collected his clothes for him this morning, he'd been too…afraid? Nervous? He hadn't come in, for whatever reason. He stopped in front of the mirror and swallowed nervously, placing his hand against the mirror. 'Just my reflection.' He thought. 'No Danny…just me.' He shook his head. 'Some ghosts only come out at night, I've heard. I'll check again when it gets dark.'
He stepped away and left the room, going down to the Ghost Portal. Looking in, he cringed when he saw Plasmius guarding the portal – no doubt to prevent Dan from doing the very thing he was intending to do.
"Plasmius…" He tried, stepping into the room.
"I'm not letting you go inside on your own." Plasmius replied. "And it's too early for training."
"I just wanna visit Clockwork." Dan said. "You can wait outside his tower, I just…I want to ask him something about Danny."
Plasmius' eyes sparked and Dan thought for sure he would refuse before he sighed and gestured to the portal. "Very well. But I will be checking in on you, so don't do anything foolish."
Dan smiled and took off his bracelet, setting it on the desk again as his appearance changed to Dan Phantom. "Thank you, Plasmius."
Plasmius gestured to the portal again and Dan nodded, flying through. Plasmius followed right after, staying close to the teen ghost instead of following at a distance like he did before. They passed a few curious ghosts, but Dan didn't even pay them a glance while Plasmius ignored them entirely. They reached the tower made of gears and Dan landed; Plasmius right behind him.
"Remember, I'll be checking in." Plasmius reminded Dan as he halted at the door. Dan nodded and reached up to knock, the door opening for him. "Well. That's convenient."
"He knew I was coming." Dan sighed. "With my luck, I'm 'late'." He walked in and the doors closed behind him.