This took longer to finish than expected, in between work, college and a new laptop -I lost the original work and had to start from scratch- it's been quite a journey and I thank you all for your patience.

Vlad could really have done without the man that walked straight through him. He should be used to it after all these years of going intangible with only a thought, but having someone pass right through him just rubbed him the wrong way. It was rude, invisible or not. A quick look around and he concluded that he was on a busy street. To be more exact it was his old campus in Madison.

People were hurrying after their last lectures before the winter break. That was what he guessed at least. Based on the weather and the posters he saw nailed to every available surface, saying in big bold letters, 'Xmas party! +21. 7PM, 20 DEC. At your local student pub!' on red glossed posters all over the place. Vlad remembered them now, he had been unwillingly roped into making them and then putting them up over the night during the end of his fifth semester of attending the University of Wisconsin. Jack had though that it was a great idea to get Vlad involved in whatever other Uni associations, other than their own little club, also knowns as the supernatural nutcase club, that would have him. In hindsight, the only good thing he'd gotten out of it was that they'd figured that he was good at organizing.

And as on que there he was, a Vlad in his early twenties marching down the street, clasping his jacket close to him trying to stave off the cold in vain. The black locks had started to fade, showing the early stages of graying.

"We ought to follow him." the ghost said.

"If you say so." Vlad replied in lackluster enthusiasm.

They pursued the man until they reached their goal. The place was newly renovated and the collective student body were more than thrilled for a new water hole. They slunk in through the open entrance while the young man was digging through his pockets for his belongings before handing over his coat to the girl in the wardrobe. Said girl who manned it gave him a broad smile in recognition, dimples that most would deem as cute and hazel eyes crinkled when she greeted him.

"Well well well, look who finally showed up, just in time for not having to help out with decorations too." She teased.

He smiled back at her wistfully, "I nearly froze to death putting up those blasted posters, I'll have you know. I'm sure that you managed just fine without me putting up a few garlands."

"Uhu," the girl raised a brow and pursed red painted lips, "or so you say."

"Yup. And good luck with that graduate thesis by the way, I'm glad I'm not you right now."

"Oh, your time will come as well. What will it be, extraterrestrials, energy echoes of loved ones, or something like that? She was teasing him lightly.

"String theory and parallel dimensions, if you must know."

Her other brow joined the raised one and she gave him a perplexed look. "String what?"

"I'll tell you later, if you really want to know."

"Maybe over drinks when I'm done here." She flicked her head to the side, motioning to the inner rooms, "The rest of you weirdos are in there. They arrived shortly before you did." she indulged him as he waved her good bye and continued to the main room, leaving her to take care of the people that had gathered behind him.

The older Vlad stayed a little longer taking in the young woman's face, trying to remember what her name was, but it eluded him. Was it Judy? Josephine? He could to his embarrassment not recollect it. They had had a short fling that had fizzled out quickly and yet he could not even remember her name.

"Cute." Clockwork stated matter of factly, as if he was commenting the weather, about her appearance.

Vlad shrugged and continued past her without a second glance, following his younger alter ego. "I suppose. But that's not why we're here is it?"

He did not see the disappointed shake of the ghost's head.

By the bar, the younger Vlad found the people he was looking for and smiled at the two familiar figures that were his friends. Jack was leaning with his back against the bar whilst holding a pair of jugs of what Vlad presumed was egg nog with Madeline standing close by. She was shaking out stray droplets of water out of her perm, Jack said something to her and she laughed, Vlad was not close enough to hear what he had said to her. The pair noticed the approaching Vlad and Jack's face split into one of his trademark grins. The man was almost always smiling. Vlad had found it unnerving in the beginning of their acquaintance, how someone could be so carefree and happy was beyond him, but as they had grown closer, Jack's bubbly personality balanced out Vlad's mordant quite nicely and an odd friendship had developed over their first semester. Later they had met Maddie and they had formed an unlikely trio based on their shared interest in physics and, err, 'occult' theories.

"Hey there V-man!" Jack greeted him and raised one of the jugs in salute before thrusting the other one into Vlad's hands, "We were just talking about you! Maddie here has a theory."

Vlad turned to Maddie, she smiled but her eyes held that focus she sometimes had, like he was one of her biology experiments and Vlad shuddered slightly. Her gaze could pierce right through him when she gave him 'that' look and he had yet to figure out if he relished it or if it made him on edge. Everything about her was intense, the way she spoke about something she was passionate about, the way she cared for her friends, her wit and her humor, he could only guess her love manifested the same way and Vlad would have lied if he said that he wasn't curious to find out if she did. He refocused back on the current situation and questioned her whatever it was that involved him.

She got to the topic immediately "We got side-tracked during our genetics class earlier and started discussing skin and hair pigmentation, and different conditions. And it seemed to fit perfectly. Your streak," she motioned to his hair and Vlad ran his hand through his mullet self-consciously. "it could very well be Poliosis! It's when a patch of melanin is, for better words, lacking, in an area in your skin. It's a pigment disorder and it's most noticeably in your forehead, among other places of course" Maddie was gesturing around and her voice rose in volumes, a bad habit she had adopted from Jack when discussing a subject.

The younger Vlad chuckled, "Sorry to disappoint, Maddie, but alas, I'm just your average early grayer"

"Who says that you can't have it 'and' be turning into a silver fox, huh, ever thought about that one?" Maddie smirked and winked jokingly.

Vlad nearly choked on his egg nog, flustered.

She continued and tapped her shin thoughtfully. "Although, there's always the possibility of head trauma that could cause the same symptom."

"Maddie, I was not dropped on my head, could you on the other hand, drop it?" Vlad's voice lost its mirth and his voice held a sour tone, clearly signaling that he did not wish to discuss it further.

"Alright touchy subject, sorry." She backed off, still smiling.

"Vlad, you're doing that thing again." Jack clapped a big hand of Vlad's back, making him nearly spill his drink. The much larger man laughed, "You really need to learn how to not take everything so personal, you know?"

"Jessica seems for some reason to put up with your grouchy behind, though" Maddie sipped on her own drink that had been handed to her by the bartender. "I saw her working at the front earlier, you should say hi."

So that was her name. The older Vlad thought to himself.

The younger Vlad answered. "Yes I know and I already did. She might join us later even."

"You go Vladdy!" Jack cheered Vlad on. Vlad could only roll his eyes at his friends.

"Whatever you two. You'll probably scare the poor thing away." He raised his jug, "Here's for another semester done and a Merry Christmas!" the trio toasted and drank their fill before ordering a new round. Vlad glanced over towards Maddie. He was definitely curious and he wanted to find out. She on the other hand was smiling fondly at Jack standing on his other side, he looked over at his other friend and saw the same fond look on his face.

The scenery was twisting and turning and as it changed to a new location and probably a new time, the older Vlad spat vehemently. "Should have known that he was planning a move on her already back then, that traitor."

"I fail to see how their blooming relationship is an act of treachery on Jack's part."

Vlad whirled towards the ghost. "The fact that he had the audacity to do that right under my nose like that and then taking the chance when I was oh so conveniently out of the picture!"

"If I recall correctly, you were involved with someone else at the time. Someone that you could have been happy with if you had not snuffed out that opportunity by fixating on Madeline." Clockwork pointed out.

"And what do you know of that?"

"As I told you. I know of these things. I see what could have been and other possible outcomes." The small ghost crossed its arms "As it is, you could have been happy, you could have had someone by your side later on."

"I would have had someone by my side if that oaf had not-!" Vlad startled and broke off his tirade as he suddenly realized where they were. He looked around sharply. "No... No no no!"

He knew these corridors. He knew intimately the pale cold green color that covered the cement walls. "Why did you bring me 'here'?!" This was the hospital that Vlad had been admitted to after the accident with the proto-portal. The very hospital that Vlad had spent a good portion of his twenties in.

"I think you already know why." The ghost floated past him down the corridor leading to the special ward.

"If you think that I will continue to humor you then you are sorely wrong. I refuse to play along with this farce. I demand to go back to my mansion!"

He heard a mumbled, "Time-" from the ghost before he found himself lying on his back. The air knocked out of his spectral lungs and the back of his head throbbing in pain from the impact with the tile floor. He had not seen nor sensed the ghost move to hit him. "-in."

The ghost hoovered over him. "You are in no position to demand anything." Its voice booming from its small frame with an authority that made Vlad's hair stand on end. "You are here and you will remain so until I say otherwise." It turned its back on him, "Now come." and continued further down the corridor leaving no room for argument.

Vlad rose from the ground and followed Clockwork begrudgingly. Silently vowing not to underestimate the smaller ghost again. He gritted his teeth, he had a sinking feeling about the sight that would greet them at the end of the long corridor. Vlad fixated his gaze on the back of the ghost before him. He hated this place, he hated the heaviness of the ceiling, he hated how cold it felt and how the place reminded him more of a morgue than a hospital. Vlad chuckled darkly at the irony of the last one. If Clockwork heard the noise, he did not acknowledge it.

It did not take them long to reach a specific door and Clockwork finally broke the silence. "Enter."

Phasing through the door Vlad was now in in his old hospital room. The walls were in the same sick pale hue as the corridor outside. He remembered how lonely and cold it had been and came to the conclusion that it was not just memory, if anything it was even worse than his memory had made it. He looked anywhere but at the bed stationed in the center of what he would rather call an isolation cell, than a hospital room. There were a door leading to a small restroom where he had smashed the mirror twice, one for taking in his disfigured face covered in boils and sores and then again after he had transformed into Plasmius for the first time. There was a visiting chair that had never been sat in other than by the stray doctor giving him the same news, no signs of improvement and they'd decided to keep him a while longer for observations. Finally, he dared looking at the bed. The sight had him wanting to turn on his heel and leave forever. He'd rather risk facing the ghost's wrath, than stay another second in this accursed place.

On the bed laid Vlad covered in ecto acne. The patches of skin that was clear of boils was pale and pasty. He would have been mistaken for dead, judging by his state, had it not been for the slow raise and fall of his chest and the white knuckled grip on the sheets bundled up in his hands. The man was gazing up at the ceiling and he had now the same silvery gray hair that Vlad had been sporting ever since. It had grown longer and framed his head in tangles on the pillow. Scattered around him laid letters and cards. Their cheery seasonal theme was a twisted contrast to their surroundings.

Vlad swallowed hard. "No, I don't see why we are here."

"Watch."

Laughter suddenly exploded out of the sick man, wild and hysterical that then turned into loud broken cries.

Appall hit him like a fist to the gut as he understood exactly when they had manifested in the hospital and the realization sank in as to what he was bearing witness to. Of all the cruel things Clockwork could have had him witness from his past, it had to be 'this'?

The sobbing and laughing kept interchanging back and forth in a frenzy. Until it gradually simmered out into one last pitiful whimper. The breathing slowed down until it was no more and the white knuckled grip on the sheets laxed. His dull unseeing eyes staring into the nothingness. There was no doubt that he was dead now. Exhaustion having pushed him over the brink. He was well and truly dead.

Vlad stood there frozen in place, he felt bile rise at the back of his throat. Was this how he had died? Alone and surrounded by no one but cruel reminders of the outside world printed on gloss paper.

As sudden as the hysterical fit had erupted earlier, the younger Vlad gasped and jolted upwards, gasping for air like a drowning man breaking surface. He was clutching at his chest. He kept gasping for air in large gulps and his eyes were widened in shock verging on panic.

"Happy Birthday, Plasmius."

The ghost's words were nearly drowned out by the ruckus of nurses bursting through the door after the equipment had alarmed them of their patient's state.

The cards that had been surrounding him scattered over the place as the nurses scurried around the bed. Vlad had found himself backing away in shock at the younger version's revival. One of the cards flying around them found its way to where he stood pressed up against the wall and landed by his feet. The bright red envelope was unopened. Not a card. A letter. In big blocky letters he saw the sender's address and name; Jack Fenton. The only letter he had received from his so called friend and that he had not even bothered to tear into pieces before death had claimed him, only to spit half of him back out. He stared down at it while everything around him was exploding in loud voices and movements. He barely registered when the nurses were rolling the younger Vlad into the intensive ward for observations. The room fell silent, leaving the two spectral beings alone in the hospital room.

"Do you want to read it?" The ghost gestured to the envelope by his feet. Vlad looked up at Clockwork, gaping in disbelief after what had transpired in there. He had just observed his own death up and close and Clockwork wondered if he wanted to read a letter sent by non other than Jack Fenton? The very man that had sentenced him to his death in the first place?!

Vlad placed a foot on the red envelope and ground it under the heel of his boot repeatedly while looking the ghost dead straight into its eyes. The envelope remained intact and undamaged, but Vlad felt like he had made his message loud and clear.

The ghost sighed. "Very well, then."