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He had been so confident it would go well, that he was perfectly safe with them. That he’d be accepted without question, after everything he had done.
It didn’t matter that Vlad hadn’t been there. Even if he had, it wasn’t the knives that tore his skin, it wasn’t the electrical shocks, it wasn’t the probes into his temples, the clamps…
“Get out of our Danny!”
“I knew ghosts were no good Maddie dear, how long has he been like this?!”
He had done…everything…everything right. He was the perfect son. He had helped them thrive, love each other more. He’d been going to classes so he could finally go to space. Jazz was alive, off to college. Dash had made it into college football, was preparing to become a coach. Vlad had the hole in his chest of his neglected obsession fixed.
He just wanted to know that every part of him was worthy of love.
Apparently not.
Silent tears trailed down his face, he hadn’t even had the will to scream or sob. His heart, and his core, were completely shredded in the overwhelming loss. He was fading, quickly, the light leaving his eyes as he went limp against their slab table in the lab.
He gasped out through the bloodied ectoplasm in his mouth, getting out a choked sob of a laugh, humming and whispering the song she had sang to him all those years ago.
“ You’re..okay…you’re alright . ” He choked out the sobs, wishing more than anything that she had been on break for college or something when he said this, but she’d been in video call with him at least, and he’d only heard her cut off screams at him being blasted before his phone was destroyed in their drive to subdue him. “I’ll…never…ever..leave your side. I…will stay, I will fight…with you.” His lips trembled as the tears flowed down his ears into his hairline, barely managing it as a whisper. “I’m okay…I’m alright…She’ll..stay here..through the darkest night…all the way…she’ll fight with me.”
She won’t be able to make it.
I know.
They’ve killed us.
I know…
I think it’s forever this time Danny.
…
Let’s hold on…just a little while longer…I beg of you…I’m not ready to go this time.
I’m so tired Vlad… what was all this for?
Shh, it’s okay Little Badger. She’ll have already called me. Jazz is smart, she’ll figure out something, she won’t leave us.
I just…why can’t I just rest? I’m sick of all of it..please…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vlad looked over from his desk, scribbling away at business notes when his phone rang. He slid it on to the speaker phone since he was alone anyways. “Master’s Resi-”
“ Vlad !!! Oh my god Vlad! Please, it's Danny!!”
His head jerked up to the sobbing cries of his Goddaughter. It had become official once he was back in their lives though they had drawn up the paperwork for it ages ago, and he shot to his feet. “Jazz, what happened? I need you to speak clearly.” He transformed, arming himself up and grabbing his headset to slide it in place to transfer the call to as he flew off.
“He finally told them! He- He didn’t want to keep so many secrets anymore and he told them about Retrospect. They fucking started shooting, Vlad!!”
He jolted in his flight, cursing and summoned a clone to go tear into the ghost zone at his home as he raced to Dan. He didn’t know how fast he went as the buildings blurred, but he knew it wasn’t fast enough. “I’m going there now Jazz. I’m going to get Desiree from the Ghost Zone. If they shoot me down before I can make that wish I need you to, do you understand?”
“W…she twists wishes Vlad! Will she rea-”
“It doesn’t matter what she gets out of it! We have to protect him!!” He tore through the air, and shredded through the very wall itself in a beeline for their basement, he knew exactly where they’d go.
He transformed halfway down the stairs back to human before they could know right away his own status, as he roared to the room. “ You get away from him !” He stormed past their frantic forms trying to piece him together.
Ancients, what did they do?
He knocked his lovers to the opposite wall with a backhand, snatching up the fishing line from Jack’s box with a snarl as he pulled Dan closer to his chest, shifting his ectoplasmic energy over into Danny to help his healing as he put things back in place, but he could feel it, his core was shattered to bits, the very last shreds of hope barely keeping him together around the edges.
“He…he’s not Dan, Vlad. He told us himself, he’s-” Maddie stammered, seeming to try and convince herself as she stumbled upright from the sudden powerful blow.
“He has always been Dan! Since your cursed portal halfway killed him! Since your incompetence left his body mangled and his confidence shattered! What the hell is wrong with you both!?” He smacked himself across the cheek to steady his hands with force, and carefully pull the fucking probe needles out of Danny’s temples. “Electrocution, opening him up, needles in his head?! Have you both gone demented?! A ghost has never been so cruel as you have been to your own damn child! You aren’t even fucking doctors to know where these should go!” He was screaming at them in a thunder where they shrunk back against the wall they were thrown to, Vlad cradling Dan’s body against his chest with a rocking, his vision blurred. “Little Badger, I'm here. I’m here, please don’t leave me. You gave me everything my dear friend, you can’t take it back now.” he whimpered his cries to him reaching out his core desperately, pushing all the comfort, love, worry that he could. But Danny’s core was fading, sliver by sliver. He got a tap on his radio confirming by his clone that Desiree was back through the portal.
“Great Desiree! I beg of you to hear me! I wish Daniel Fenton to be safe and healthy! Save his life and his core, please!!” He cried it out over the headpiece, and he praised whoever had given her her power that she shifted her way through the headpiece to him, to look over to Daniel, her face contorting in horror and shock.
“If I do this, he will live, but he will never be in this world again. Or any with Mr and Mrs. Fenton still existing. He is not safe. It goes against the structure of your wish and is something I cannot do to have him come back here by my power.”
Dan looked over to her weakly from the warmth of Vlad’s arms, whispering. “I…wish…my sister was here…”
She smiled gently down to him, leaning to kiss in his hair. “So shall it be.” He had gotten a better rapport with her over the years, he and most of his rogues respected each other.
With a swoosh, Jazz appeared into the lab, almost rubbing headlong into one of the machines as she stumbled, gasping and looking at the two wide eyed with tears streaming down her face, racing in with a sob to hug them both, Vlad casting a barrier between them and the Fenton’s just in case, hugging Dan and Jazz tightly.
Dan had weak shaky arms as he leaned up to hug them back, eyes milking over, and in a broken hum did her lullaby back to her.
“The only way to save what’s left, Vlad… is to merge his last bits with another timeline’s and send them far away from send him into the multiverse.”
“What?! I have to lose him entirely?!” Jazz choked a sob, clinging to Dan, the parents wide eyed on the other side realizing just how badly they fucked up. They had a full ghost in front of them and it was saving their son because of what they did.
Dan smiled, his lip trembling. “That…cryptic bastard. C..clockwork said… ’Rest a few years, Dan, let your core soothe. You’ve worked hard.’ A few years …t hat’s all I was ever going to get. He saved me at that time…just for this… the second chance…it…isn’t mine…it’s for another Danny…of course it is.” He looked to Desiree, even as he felt cold spreading through his body.
“That sounds like him, my pet.” She looked at him, eyes sorrowful. “I’m going to miss you, baby ghost.”
“Then I wish... for you and the others to come see me sometime when you want.Vlad to find a way too.”
She giggled as she granted it, getting bigger with the wish, but Vlad knew he needed whatever hope and comfort she could provide him, to hold on until they had no choice. To have trusted Vlad to find a way to him as well, as he knew he’d take Jazz to him as well.
“I love you, Little Badger…I will see you again, in one form or another. The others too. You be your strong, brave, sly little self, and hold fast, alright?”
Dan smiled, weakly as his grip gave out, his eyes drifting closed. Vlad could feel his heart fully stopping with the whisper of “I love you too.” and he squeezed his eyes shut tight nodding to Desiree.
“So you have wished it, so shall it be.”
And those words had never been so comforting and heartbreaking before.