**WARNING** This chapter is extremely long (over 7000 words to be precise). I guess I'm going to be making a part 3 of this (even though I'd hoped I'd be able to get everything I needed to get done in this chapter so we could get more Teen Titans in this. Ugh) Hope you don't mind a lot of reading!

Third Person POV

Everything was dark, until a flash of bluewhite light filled their vision and the three teens dropped into the dark future they had been witnessing from Clockwork's tower. Sam and Tucker fell to the ground while Danny hovered above them. Tucker was the first to recover and looked around, taking in his surroundings. "Man. If this is what we have to look forward to, I'm definitely not taking the C.A.T. test." He stated.

"How do you think this all happened?" Sam asked as she sat up and looked around herself.

Danny floated around the small area that they had been dropped in, taking in all of the debris around him. "I don't know. But based on what we just saw, I have a really bad feeling I'm the one responsible." He said, uneasily.

The sound of a blaster charging up could be heard and an older looking Valerie emerged from the rubble on her jetsled. She held a shoulder-mounted blaster in her hands and was aiming it at Danny. "Got that right, ghost!" She said as she fired the blaster, the kickback knocking her back a little. 

The blast struck the street right in front of Danny, blowing the street apart. Danny retreated into the street, then rose back up through it intangibly to face off against Valerie. "Valerie! Listen to me!" He shouted at her.

Valerie's eyes narrowed, "You can't fool me this time, Phantom." She fired her blaster again and Danny flew into the air to dodge the hit. She gave chase on her jetsled and continued to fire at him as he continued to dodge. Danny spun around to charge at her and Valerie leaped off her jetsled. Danny realized this too late and was caught off guard by the board, allowing Valerie the opportunity to trap him in an electrified purple energy net. He fell to the ground and Valerie landed nearby. She trained her blaster on him and powered it up. "I've been waiting a long time for this. Goodbye and good--"

"Valerie, no!" Tucker shouted as he and Sam leaped in front of Danny, protecting him.

Valerie backed up in surprise as Sam added, "Don't shoot!"

Green eyes widened in shock and confusion. "Sam? Tucker? I-It's not possible! This is a trick! You can't be alive!" Valerie stuttered as she took a step away from the trio.

"Wait. Not alive?" Tucker asked, lowering his arms, "That's our future? I'm definitely not taking the C.A.T.!"

"The C.A.T." Valerie whispered, "That's the last time I saw you alive. The explosion at the Nasty Burger...you, Tucker, Danny's family--" Anger flared in the older woman's eyes and she trained her gun on Danny once again. "And it was all your fault!" She shouted, pain in her voice. "All of their deaths, it's because of you! Koriand'r, Garfield, Raven, Victor, Richard! All of them gone thanks to you!" The whine of her blaster intensified as she readied her finger on the trigger, "And I'm going to make sure you pay for their deaths."

Just then a flash of green flame washed over the street, knocking Valerie to the side with a scream. The trio looked up to see the origin of the flames. A blue skinned ghost with flaming white hair that was partially tied into a ponytail and blood red eyes. He had pointed ears and fangs along with a goatee. He wore a black jumpsuit with white trim, a white belt, black gloves, and white boots. He also wore a cape which is white on the outside and black on the inside. On his chest was a familiar logo, a white "D" with a black "P" inside it.

"Actually, that was me." He said, looking down at Danny, "And you, eventually." The intimidating ghost landed on the street a few feet away from the three teens. "Sam and Tucker." He began, accenting each of their names. "It's been a while. Ten years, to be accurate." He raised a glowing hand surrounded by green energy and swept in down, encasing Sam and Tucker in a green glow rendering them motionless.

He clasped his hands behind his back as he walked closer to the group. "So, to what do I owe this little blast from the past?" The older Danny's eyes widened as he saw the medallion hanging from Sam's neck. "Clockwork. Meddling again." He growled.

A purple blast from his right sent Danny's future self crashing into the street. He shakily stood and waved his hand to clear the smoke, only to see Valerie blowing the smoke from a wrist-mounted blaster, a pair of grenades in her other hand.

Narrowing his eyes, Future Danny bared his teeth and flew at Valerie. The older woman threw the grenades at him but he just morphed his body into green smoke and they passed right through him. She fired her wrist gun, but he was too fast and grabbed her by both wrists.

Meanwhile, Danny burst from the net with a cry. Future Danny lifted Valerie with one hand and punches her with the other, sending her bouncing off the pavement. He follows as she props herself on one hand and one elbow. "I suppose out of respect for our past, I should let you live." He mused, grabbing her by her holsters, "But that's not how I work." He lifted Valerie into the air and hurled her at a nearby building.

"Valerie!" Danny cried out and raced after her. The teen was able to catch up and he wrapped his arms around her, turning them both intangible. They phased through the building and crash-landed on the other side.

Danny rushed to check on Valerie and saw her eyes were open. She looked at Danny, "You're from the past aren't you?" She asked. The white-haired teen got to his feet and looked down at Valerie, confused. "Almost forgot how cute you were back then." She managed to say before slumping to the ground.

"You thought I was cute?" Danny questioned aloud, his lips turning up in a smile, "Wow! An older woman likes me." After checking to make sure Valerie hadn't sustained any major injuries, Danny flew back to where his evil alternate self was still waiting. Taking the stealthy approach Danny opted to turn himself intangible and fly under the city, hopefully catching his future self by surprise. 'Maybe I'll just think of him as Dan Phantom. Sure will make things a lot easier.' Danny thought to himself.

As he came upon the spot where he had left Dan Phantom and his friends Danny phased up through the ground. He saw a red mist come from either side of Dan's face and heard him mutter, "Oh please." He turned, balling his hand into a fist and aiming it at Danny. Green energy fired from it as Danny fired his own blast. Both blasts hit their target at relatively the same time. Due to Dan being hit, he lost his concentration and Sam and Tucker were freed from their imprisonment.

Seeing this, Danny shouted, "Tucker! Sam! Run!" Not even hesitating, the two teens get to their feet and run away from Danny and Dan.

Dan, now back on his feet, smiled as he looked over his shoulder at their fleeing forms. "Run?" He questioned, "Where are they going to go?" Inhaling deeply, Dan turned and unleashed his Ghostly Wail. 

Danny clapped his hands over his ears as he watched Sam and Tucker pause in their escape to look up at the unstable FentonWorks building next to them. Bit by bit bricks began to crumble and fall from the building. The large Emergency Ops Center tilted on the top of the building and Sam and Tucker covered their heads. 

Danny quickly got to his feet and rushed to save his friends, only to be halted by a hand grabbing his ankle. The teen looked at his captor and saw it to be his future self. "Ah ah ah." He playfully scolded. Danny watched in horror as the FentonWorks building came crashing down on his friends. A familiar sense of loss found its way into Danny's chest but it was quickly smothered by an electric shock, courtesy of Dan Phantom. Danny felt himself revert to human form and Dan tossed him at the pile of rubble.

Getting up on his elbows, Danny noticed the two sparkling time medallions in front of him. Hope swelled in Danny's chest. "They took off their time medallions!" He cried happily, "That returned them to their time period just like Box Lunch and Skulktech!" Picking up one of the medallions, Danny's smile grew wider, "Tucker and Sam made it out alive!" He looked down at his own medallion and grabbed it, "Which means I can--"

A large hand seized Danny's arm causing the teen to cry out in alarm, "What?" The hand hoisted him into the air. The raven haired teen found himself staring into the blood red eyes of Dan Phantom. "Go back with them? They're doomed anyway. And you aren't going anywhere if you can't remove your time medallion." Dan's hand began to glow green and he grabbed Danny's medallion. He needed to make this quick or he would waste his chance. Dan ripped the medallion off of Danny's neck and turned it, along with his hand, intangible and reached into Danny's chest. The teen screamed and then his body became limp. Dan smiled, "In fact, you aren't going anywhere at all."

Hoo boy, that was a long winded piece of info that we ALREADY KNOW! Honestly, when are we getting to the good stuff, I'm getting impatient. Oh, it's Normal Line Break by the way. 

"Come on Danny, it's time to get up. We have a big day ahead of us after all. Tonight you and your brother are going to perform with us in the opening act!"

Danny slowly opened his eyes, dazed and confused. Who said that? It sounded like a woman's voice, but he couldn't figure out who it belonged to. As his vision became more focused Danny saw the statue in front of him. "Mom? Dad?" He questioned as he rolled onto his knees, ignoring the fact that his arms were bound to his sides by glowing green ropes. In front of him was a statue of his adoptive parents and sister, as well as Sam and Tucker. He noticed the epigraph at the foot of the statue and read it aloud. "'Gone but not forgotten'?" Danny looked to his right and saw a statue of his old teacher Mr. Lancer. It had sunk into the ground so that the epigraph read 'MR LANCER - GONE'.

Danny managed to get to his feet and looked around. "And where's the Nasty Burger?" He asked no one in particular. Finally his eyes fell upon the destroyed building that used to be the Nasty Burger restaurant, the neon sign still flickering with life. And from the shadows of the Nasty Burger stepped Dan Phantom.

Dan smiled, showing off his glistening white fangs. "Strange how one massive fireball of highly combustible condiments can," he paused, "ruin your whole future."

Danny looked down at his chest, "The time medallion?" He asked.

"Fused inside you." Dan answered, walking up to his younger self, "Nice, huh? Intangible and unreachable whether you're ghost or human which means...you can't go back in time."He raised his hand and a disc of green swirling light began to form around it. He turned back to Danny and his eyes narrowed with delight as he saw Danny's horrified expression.

The horror quickly shifted to anger as Danny shouted, "It doesn't matter if I go back in time or not. I'll never turn into you! Never!" The teen watched as the disc of swirling green light that Dan had created grow and grow until it was about the height of Dan.

"Of course you will." Dan said as white rings formed around his waist. They spread across his body and once they were finished, Dan looked exactly like Danny when he was in his human form. "It's only a matter of time." Seizing Danny by his bonds Dan hurled Danny into the portal, ignoring his screams. "I need you out of my way and out of my hair while I make sure nothing happens to change my past. And luckily, this," Dan pulled out a time medallion, "is all I need to make sure of that..." Dan was soon enveloped in a bright blue glow and vanished.

AMAZING LINE BREAK HERE! Ignore Normal, he's still grouchy about his vacation that got cut short ^-^ I hope you all are enjoying the chapter!(P.S. This is where it's going to start getting real interesting *wink*)

The disguised Dan Phantom phased into his past self's room, looking around it with mild interest. "My old room." He said, walking over to the mirror. He leaned in close to the glass and placed a hand gently on his cheek, "And my old face."

Behind him, the bedroom door opened and in the mirror Dan saw his older adoptive sister, Jazz, looking very annoyed. "Danny? We need to talk." She stated.

Dan frowned and he turned to face the teen, keeping up the use of his disguised voice, "What do you want, Jazz? I'm busy."

Jazz approached him, holding his backpack. "Yeah, busy cheating!" She said as she pulled the C.A.T. answer packet out of the bag. "Lancer was right, you did steal the answers! Don't you understand?"

"That I'll be destroying my future?" Dan answered. "Haha. You don't know the half of it." Reaching out he took the packet and bag from her. 

Jazz lowered her head, her eyes falling upon the Booo-merang between them. It was time to reveal the truth. "Danny, I know all of it. About everything. That you're part ghost." She bent down to pick up the Booo-merang. "That you're always doing the right thing with your powers. Until now." She finished with a frown.

Dan was taken by surprise. "You knew?" He asked quietly.

"I know." Jazz told him, "And I've been covering for you with Mom and Dad because I'm proud of you, and the good that you do." She placed her hands on her hips, "But not anymore."

Dan smiled at her. "You always were smarter than I gave you credit for." Dan decided to abandon his disguise and changed into his true form, revealing himself to the bright haired teenager. 

Jazz's eyes widened as she took in the sight before her. "You're- you're not Danny!" She stammered, backing up and dropping the Booo-merang. "That's why the Boomerang wasn't homing in on your ectosignature! You're not Danny!" She exclaimed.

The monstrous ghost took a small step towards Jazz, "I was. But I grew out of it." He explained, "The Danny you know is floating helplessly in the Ghost Zone ten years in the future." As he finished, he balled his hand in a fist.

"He'll escape." Jazz told him, "He'll beat you!"

 "How?" Dan asked, "Is the answer A, the Fenton Portal? Destroyed it. B, the only remaining portal? The one my idiot cheesehead former mentor has? As soon as I find it, that's going too." Dan's eyes narrowed as he brought up his old arch-enemy.

Jazz became confused. "Cheesehead?" She muttered, "Vlad Masters?! He's your mentor!?"

"Is it C, you?" Dan continued, "No. You can't stop me from cheating on the C.A.T. and solidifying my future, so it must be D--" Dan's hand became charged with green energy and he fired an ectoblast at Jazz, encasing her in green light, "None of the above!" He released Jazz from her green prison and she slumped to the ground, unconscious. White rings formed around his waist and returned him to his human disguise. "All too easy." He said with a smile as he picked up the backpack with the answer packet inside.

The next day, Jazz awoke from a terrible nightmare. But she knew it wasn't a mere nightmare, it had actually happened. Her real brother was trapped in the future and some fanged freak was pretending to be him in order to 'solidify his future', whatever that meant.

After her parents informed her that Danny had already left for school she wrote a quick note, snatched the Booo-merang from her father's hands and ran into the basement. She stood in front of the swirling green portal and removed her headband, using it to tie her note to the Booo-merang. " I need you to find Danny." She told the tracking device, "Fourteen-year-old Danny, ten years from now." She hauled back and threw the device into the portal. Now all she could do was hope that somehow, it would find her real little brother.

I AM THE GREAT AND POWERFUL LINE BREAK! BASK IN MY GREAT AND POWERFULNESS! NOW CONTINUE READING!

Deep within the confines of the Ghost Zone Danny, still bound, was getting bounced around by his cranky ghost enemies. A chubbier Ember landed a chord, knocking Danny away from her and then a very muscular Box Ghost beaned him with some energy boxes. Johnny's shadow lunged for Danny, spinning him around. Once the halfa stopped spinning he saw Skulktech threaten him with electrified gauntlets. An older looking Kitty socked him with her purse and knocked him into Ember again. She seized him and slams him into a wall.  

"Please!" Danny begged, breathing heavily, "I didn't do all this to you, it wasn't me!"

"Oh, stop!" Skulker's voice said as he held up a robotic hand, "You're responsible for the horrible things that happened to your world and ours."

"To everyone you've ever come in contact with!" Technus added.

"Your family, your friends," Ember said, releasing and backing away from Danny, "and most importantly, us."

"But--I didn't do any of that!" Danny tried to explain. As he saw his enemies preparing to attack again, he knew reasoning with them would be wasted breath. They all began to close in on him again and Danny felt fear and panic swell in his chest. "Get away." He shouted at them, "Get away! Get AWAAAAAY!" His final cry turned into a powerful Ghostly Wail. The wail knocked all the ghosts away and vaporized the bonds pinning his arms to his sides.The effort of the attack made him partially revert to human form, his eyes and hair changing but his suit and glow remaining.

Once Danny's head stopped spinning from the use of his wail, he noticed all of the limp forms in front of him. "Whoa." Was all he could manage to say as he looked over each of his enemies unconscious forms. Then, his sense of humor returned. "My voice is changing? Great." He said as white rings formed around his waist, returning his hair and eyes to their ghostly colors, "I'm going through evil puberty. Everywhere I turn my stupid future is smacking me in the face!" Just then, the Booo-merang clocked him in the back of the head. "OW!" Danny cried, rubbing the back of his head. He saw the tracking device and the small piece of paper attached to it by a familiar headband. "...A note?" Danny snatched the device and removed the note, tossing the Booo-merang to the side. His eyes began to skim the note. "Wisconsin? Vlad! He can help me!" The young halfa shouted with glee. Filled with renewed hope, the white-haired teen began to fly through the Ghost Zone in search of his mentor's portal.

One hour later

Danny came upon the giant purple football that hid Vlad's portal from unwanted eyes and easily moved it to the side. Smiling, Danny flew into the portal and landed in a battered old cave, packed full of equipment.

"Company? I wish you would have called ahead. I haven't had any time to prepare anything." A familiar old voice said sarcastically from Danny's left. Danny turned his head to see a V-emblazoned chair positioned in front of a bank of consoles. He walked over to the chair cautiously, preparing himself for a fight.

"Vlad?" He questioned softly.

Danny heard the figure in the chair gasp and the chair spun around quickly, revealing the figure to be Vlad Masters. Danny's eyes widened when he caught sight of his mentor. Vlad still wore his trademark suit but it was torn and stained and he was barefoot. His hair and beard had grown long and there were dark rings under his eyes. Vlad's eyes grew large and he reached for a wooden cane that rested against his chair. He shakily stood up, leaning on the cane for support as his knees knocked together. "D-Daniel?" He stammered.

Danny's smile returned and he felt happiness explode in his chest. He jogged closer to Vlad and reached towards the older man, glad to see that he was alive. But as Danny grew closer, Vlad pulled out a small blaster and aimed it at the teen. Danny froze in his tracks. "Vlad? What are you doing?" He asked, wondering to himself what was going on.

The old man's hand was shaking as he pointed the blaster at Danny's chest. "S-Stay away." He warned, his voice wavering.

The teen felt fear rising in his gut. He slowly held up his hands, showing he meant no harm. "Vlad, take it easy." He said calmly, "It's me. Danny." He took a small step closer to Vlad and the man's grip on the blaster tightened. Danny's breath hitched in his throat, but he stood his ground. "It's me." He said again. Vlad still refused to lower the blaster, his eyes hardening. The white-haired teen swallowed hard, "What happened to you?" He asked.

"I could ask you the same question my boy," Vlad answered, showing no sign of relaxing his grip on the blaster. Though he did remove his finger from the trigger. "Although perhaps, I should ask what hasn't happened to you. Yet." The elder man licked his dry lips, "If it's any consolation, they went so quickly, they felt no pain." Vlad's eyes fell to Danny's right and the teen turned his head. He saw an old newspaper, starting to disintegrate. On it was the headline 'NASTY ACCIDENTS FOR FENTONS AND FRIENDS'. Below the headline was a picture of the Nasty Burger that he had seen when he had first woken up and his family and friends. It was the picture they had taken at Danny's 1 year anniversary of joining the Fenton Family. "Unfortunately the same could not be said of you, Daniel." Vlad added. Danny continued to observe the paper and noticed that lower down the page was a picture of him. Above the picture was the title 'THE SOLE SURVIVOR'.

Vlad continued his tale, keeping a close eye on the teen as he stared at the newspaper. "With nowhere else to go, you came to me--" Danny's gaze turned back to Vlad and he noticed something new in the older man's eyes. Beneath the hard gaze there appeared to be... sorrow. "--the only person on the planet who could possibly hope to understand your situation." Vlad finished. The young halfa recalled that this was close to what Vlad had told him just earlier that day. Funny how quickly things changed in his life.

"You blamed yourself for their deaths." The elder man said, "You constantly told me, 'If only I had been stronger, maybe I could have saved them'. And so began your obsession." Vlad's breathing became noticeably heavy, "You trained constantly, hardly ever stopping unless I forced you to." He began to wave the blaster around in the air, "Somehow you came to the conclusion that it was your human half that made you weak. That your emotions held you back. And you begged me to remove it." Vlad focused the blaster back on Danny once he noticed the teen trying to get closer to him. "And so I honored your wishes. No more painful human emotions to drag you down."

Danny noticed Vlad visibly wince in pain as he began to tell the next part of his story. "What we didn't think of was what you would do once you and your ghost half were separated." The blaster began to shake again, "All your negative emotions were focused on your ghost half and once I removed it, it took the negative emotions with it. Your ghost half ripped the ghost out of me and attempted to merge with it. What it wasn't prepared for was the darkness already contained within my ghost half." Vlad trailed off as memories of the event flashed through his mind. The screaming, he could still hear it. It chilled him to the bone and made his blood run cold as he heard it repeat itself over and over in his ears. A scream of pure agony and anger. A scream that defined the meaning of true pain and loss.

For some reason, the cave felt a lot colder than when Danny had first entered. He fought to control his shaking hands as he asked, "What happened to my human self?"

Vlad's eyes went blank and he lowered the blaster slightly. His head turned to the roof of the cave, almost as if he could see the event playing itself out in the forms of the dripping stalactites. "Some things, my boy, are better left unsaid." Was all Vlad replied.

He lowered his head and walked off to the side, forgetting Danny completely. "If any good came out of this, it's that ten years without ghost powers-" Vlad picked up a photo of himself with Jack and Maddie in college, "-have given me a chance to see what a fool I'd been." From behind him, Vlad heard the soft shuffle of feet. He whipped around, charging the blaster up with a whine and aiming it at the intruder. 'One shot, and I can end this.' He thought to himself as he stared at the teen, 'I can end it.' His finger gently rested against the trigger, but he didn't pull it. He tried but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Vlad sank to his knees and hunched over, dropping the blaster. Water fell from his eyes and landed on his knees. "I'm sorry Daniel." He said through his sobbing. Vlad went onto his hands and knees and looked up at the boy. "I'm so sorry."

Danny was confused and concerned for the older man, "Why are you sorry?" He asked, getting down on one knee.

The former elder halfa sniffed, tears continuing to fall. "They weren't supposed to be there. It was only supposed to be him. I wasn't thinking. How could I have done this?" He muttered, clenching his teeth.

"Done what?" Danny asked as he reached out to Vlad to try and comfort him, still confused, but Vlad slapped his hand away. The elder man gasped and quickly got to his knees. He saw Danny wasn't harmed, just more confused.

Vlad swallowed hard, "The explosion. Jack, Jazz, your friends, Maddie..." Vlad got to his knees and looked directly into Danny's eyes. "It's all because of me."

Danny went numb. He stood, looking down in horror at Vlad as the man's words echoed in his mind, 'It's all because of me.' It couldn't be true. Vlad would never do this! "Y-You're lying." Danny whispered, backing away from Vlad.

"I wish I was Little Badger, I really do." Vlad replied, grabbing his fallen cane but remaining on his knees. "But I speak only the truth."

The teen felt his world fall to pieces around him. The explosion at the Nasty Burger, his friends and family dying, Dan's creation, the destruction of the world was all because of him! He did all this? But how? "WHY!?" Danny screamed, lunging at Vlad and cracking him across the jaw. "WHY DID YOU DO IT!?" The teen hit Vlad over and over, and Vlad made no move to defend himself or retaliate. Wounds opened on his face, bruises rapidly appeared and he thought he might have one or two broken ribs, but he didn't care enough to investigate further.

Danny's punches slowed and he finally snapped out of his rage induced trance. He gasped in horror when he saw what he had done to Vlad. He fell to his knees and slowly shuffled close to Vlad. He tentatively reached out a hand to touch a rather large cut just above Vlad's left eyebrow only for the man to lean his head away from Danny's hand. "Vlad, I-I'm sorry." Danny said, tears forming in his eyes, "I didn't mean to-"

"No." Vlad interrupted, "My mistake cannot go unpunished. I fully deserved this. Thank you Daniel." He gripped his wooden cane tightly and used to it help him stand up. Danny got up quickly and tried to help him, only for Vlad to send him a death glare. "Don't you dare help me young man."

Danny frowned and extended his hand to Vlad, "Just take my hand you old geezer."

Vlad looked from Danny to the white gloved hand and back to Danny. "I don't deserve it." He replied, shaking as nearly fell back to the ground. When he finished standing up, he saw the rage and hurt in Danny's eyes. He turned away from the teen but could still feel Danny's burning gaze digging into his back.

After a long moment of silence Danny spoke softly. "How could you?" Vlad said nothing, so Danny tried again. "How could you?!" He shouted, "You were-" The teen cut himself off. His eyes widened and he looked to the floor, finally realizing in his heart what his feelings were for Vlad. "You... were like another father to me."

The elder man felt a sharp pain in his chest. He placed a hand on his ribs and silently cursed. Biting his lip Vlad turned back to Danny, fresh tears in his eyes. "That's why I did it Daniel. I wanted to be your father. I hated Jack for everything he had done to me. He turned me into a monster, stole the love of my life, the family that should have been mine, and he kept you away from me"

"Jack never meant to hurt you!" Danny yelled angrily, "He was your best friend!"

"I know that now, but back then I was blinded with hurt." Vlad replied calmly, "I had nothing else to blame so I chose to focus my anger on my former best friend." Tears began to spill over as Vlad ran a hand through his oily hair. "I let hate rule my life and always sought to get revenge on Jack for everything he had done to me."

He inhaled sharply and continued to speak, "Until I met you, Daniel." Some of the rage in Danny's eyes faded, "The time we spent together Daniel, just you and I... I loved every second of it." A smile formed on Vlad's face, "I loved helping and watching you grow into the young man I see before me now. I grew to see you as my own son." Vlad's suddenly felt like jelly as he lost his grip on his cane and fell back onto the ground. He rested on his hands and knees near Danny's white booted feet. "You taught me how to love again Daniel. You were the one who broke down my walls of anger and hate and showed me the way to the light." His head turned upwards, stray locks of his long hair falling over his shoulders and partially covering his face. But that didn't prevent him from seeing the tears forming in the teen's eyes. "I loved you Daniel, as if you were my own flesh and blood."

"Why?" Danny asked, a lump forming in his throat, "Why are you telling me all this? Why now?"

The elder man got onto his knees and stood, hardly using his cane. The adrenaline rushing through his body was more than enough to give him the strength to walk without his cane. He took a step towards Danny and gripped the teen by his shoulders, staring hard into his eyes. "Because I want you to know what a monster I was. I want you to know that no matter how happy I was thinking of you as my own son, my selfish nature took over and because of it I killed your family and friends."

Vlad crouched down so that he was eye level with Danny, tears beginning to spill over. "I could barely live with myself after what I had done. I had killed the love of my life, Jack, Jazz, your friends, and I killed you as well." Vlad was finding it harder and harder to keep eye contact with Danny. The way the teen looked at him hurt so much. In Danny's eyes were anger, hate, sorrow, pain and probably the most prominent look in his eyes was the confusion. He couldn't understand how the man he had grown so close to in the past year and a handful of months could do the terrible deed he was explaining. Yet there was no hint of it all being a lie anywhere on Vlad's face. His emotions were real, as was his story.

But no matter how much it hurt, Danny deserved the truth. He deserved to know what a monster Vlad Masters really was. And Vlad deserved to suffer for it. "The only reason I continued to live my miserable, guilt-ridden life was for you." Vlad continued, "I knew that my mistake would not go unpunished. I knew I would have to fix it." The elder man released Danny's shoulders and drew himself up, doing his best to smooth out his tattered suit. "And maybe I can do that and repent for my sins by helping you." He turned his gaze back on Danny, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Danny gulped and placed a hand on his chest. "Well, do you still have those Ghost Gauntlets by any chance?"

Vlad immediately began to search through the many boxes and containers filling his cave as Danny explained his problem while he assisted in the search. He sighed heavily as he opened another box only to find it containing old pieces of scrap metal. "Daniel." He said, turning to see if the teen was having any more luck than he was. The answer appeared to be no as Danny immediately stopped looking and faced Vlad. The older man swallowed thickly, thinking over what he was about to say. Once he said this there was no going back. He had to convince Danny to do what he asked and accept it. He couldn't allow this future to ever become a reality again. "I can't control what you do when you return to your own time, but would it be wrong of me to ask you something?" Vlad questioned.

After a moment of hesitation and thought, Danny slowly nodded his head.

Vlad's eyes narrowed and his expression became stern and serious. "Cut off all ties from me. Hate me. See me as the monster I am. Insult me. Curse me. Turn your back on me and never look back."

"Vlad..." Danny began, his face going pale. "I...I can't."

"You have to!" Vlad shouted angrily, hot tears burning behind his eyes. His throat constricted and he found it hard to breathe. "It's the only way I can protect you from..." Vlad chuckled, though it sounded more like a strained cough, "well, me."

"No Vlad!" Danny insisted floating over to the older man, hovering above the ground so he was eye-level with Vlad. He felt panic rise in his chest. He was losing another family member, and he couldn't stop it. But he had to try. "There has to be another way! I can try to help change you! I can try-" Danny was cut off by Vlad dropping his cane and grabbing Danny by the shoulders.

"You can't change me Daniel!" Vlad shouted, slightly shaking the boy, "I am a stubborn old man set in my ways. It took creating that monster who bears your symbol and playing a key part in the destruction of the world to finally see the error of my ways." Tears spilled from Vlad's eyes, "Please Daniel," he begged, "do this for me."

Danny sniffed as he wiped away tears. He couldn't lose Vlad, not after everything they had been through. The man was like a father to him for crying out loud! But, Vlad knew himself better than Danny did. If he said he couldn't change, Danny couldn't remedy that. The teen bit his lip and nodded. "Okay..." He told Vlad, "I'll do it."

"Promise me, Daniel." Vlad whispered, gripping his the boy even tighter, "Promise me you'll do it."

Danny clenched his teeth, fighting against the urge to scream at the older man. His throat felt dry, his tongue sandpaper and he found it hard to breathe. But despite all of his pains, Danny managed to say, "I... I promise, Vlad."

Vlad released Danny's shoulders and the boy floated to the ground. They exchanged an equally hurt look and continued their search for the Ghost Gauntlets. After around five more minutes of searching, Vlad came across a patch of luck and found the metallic gauntlets in a dusty container.

As Vlad pulled the Ghost Gauntlets out of their container and laid them on an empty table he turned to look at Danny. The teen was staring at the newspaper again, gently running his hand over the picture of his family and friends. "Daniel," he began, catching the teen's attention. He took a deep breath and said, "I know I don't deserve any of the kindness that you have shown me, but I hope that one day..." Vlad felt his mouth go dry, "That you'll find it in your heart to forgive me." He managed to croak out.

Danny stared at the elder man. He blinked as the silence between them became deafening. As Vlad turned back to the Ghost Gauntlets, Danny finally let his emotions take over. He flew at Vlad at high speed, arms pinned to his sides. Vlad saw the teen coming and prepared himself for another beating. He should have expected it. How dare he ask for forgiveness after everything he had done. He should have accepted the note that they had left on and leave it at that.

As Danny came mere inches away from him, Vlad tensed and closed his eyes. He felt something collide with his chest and wrap around his torso. Vlad slowly opened his eyes and was shocked to see the white-haired teen hugging him. "Of course I forgive you." Danny whispered, tears falling from his eyes. After another moment of hugging, Danny released the elder man holding back laughter as he saw his dumbstruck face.

Vlad was shocked. After everything he had told the boy, everything he had done and lied about, Danny was still able to hug him. He knew he didn't deserve the show of kindness, but hell he needed it. He fell to his knees and locked eyes with Danny. Before the young halfa knew what was happening Vlad had wrapped his arms around Danny, holding him tightly and sobbing into his shoulder. "T-Thank you." Vlad said between sobs. Danny returned the hug as more tears sprang to his eyes. The two finally separated and Vlad still refused to allow Danny to help him stand. He used his cane and the edge of the table to shakily get back on his feet. He rested the cane against the table and picked up the Ghost Gauntlets, pulling the large metal devices onto his hands.

Danny took a few steps away from Vlad to allow him some room. He chuckled, "Just make sure you only grab the medallion. I'd like to keep myself in one piece."

To both Danny and Vlad's surprise, Vlad laughed at Danny's twisted humor. "Your jokes are as annoying as ever Little Badger." He told the teen.

Danny smiled, "Thanks Fruit Loop." Silence once again filled the cave. Vlad walked closer to the teen. He removed one of the gauntlets and placed his hand on Danny's chest. Vlad looked into Danny's eyes, his gaze as hard as stone, yet still soft and caring. "Make this symbol mean hope again." He told Danny. The teen inhaled and puffed out his chest, nodding. Vlad replaced the gauntlet and made sure they were in working order.

The teen coughed, dragging Vlad's attention back to him. "I guess this is goodbye then?"

Vlad's lips became thin and he flexed his fingers inside the gauntlets, making the metal fingers move with ease. "I suppose it is."

Danny looked to the ground and rubbed his boot in the dirt. "In that case." Danny began, as he looked back up at Vlad. The elder man looked to the teen, and raised an eyebrow. Danny took in a slow breath and exhaled. "Goodbye...Dad." Danny said, his tone gentle.

Vlad charged up the Ghost Gauntlets and readied himself to remove the medallion. He had faith Danny would do the right thing. "Goodbye...son." Vlad replied as he thrust the Ghost Gauntlets into Danny's chest. The teen screamed in pain and Vlad did his best to block out the screams so he could focus on finding the medallion. Finally he felt something brush against the gauntlets. Wrapping the gauntlets around it, Vlad pulled the object out of Danny's chest with a final scream of pain from the teen. In the palm of one of the gauntlets rested a gear shaped medallion.

Danny was panting, sweating and fighting the nausea feeling in his stomach. "Did...you...get it?" He managed to say between breaths. As if on cue, Danny's body began to glow with a blue white aura. An electrified orb began to grow around him, preparing to transport him back to his time period.

As a last second thought, Vlad quickly removed the Ghost Gauntlets and threw them at Danny, who caught them in surprise. He looked to Vlad for explanation but before the man could utter a word, Danny disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Vlad stared at the spot where Danny had just been standing then dropped his gaze to the medallion in his hand. In the past he would have immediately started doing research on the odd object to figure out its origins and the cause of its power. But now, all he did was place it on the table beside him. Vlad walked over to the newspaper that Danny had been looking at and saw that there was a small, folded piece of paper on top of it. Curious, he picked up the paper and unfolded it. On it was a small letter and it read, 'Dear Fruit Loop, I know what you did was wrong, and to be fair I am still angry about it. But you did what you thought was right. While that may be wrong to others it was the way you saw things. If I knew I could change you Vlad I would, but I will obey your wish and cut off all ties from you if I win against my evil self. You were the best mentor and dad I could have asked for. Thank you Dad. Your son, Danny (Little Badger).'

Water dripped onto the page as sobs echoed throughout the cave. He knew he deserved this, but that didn't make the hurt any less painful.

the littlest line break is here to spread happiness and cookies for everyone ^-^ that was a pretty sad part, so i'm also offering blankets to you emotional readers. this is also the end of the chapter. please don't be mad at me.

A/N: Hey guys, I told you I'd get the next update out quicker than the last one. I have some good news. After the next chapter that will FINALLY wrap up this story arc there is only going to be one more episode re-write and then we'll finally be on track for the rest of the book. Thank you all for staying with me for this long. I want you to know how much I appreciate each and every one of you. See you all in the next one!