Another REALLY long chapter! Enjoy!

Third Person POV

At first, all he could see was white. There was a sense of weightlessness to him, as if he wasn't even there. Is this what dying felt like? Before he could ponder further the questions racing through his mind, Danny Phantom found himself falling through the air and landing in front of a still standing Fenton Works, the metallic Ghost Gauntlets landing in a heap beside him. Danny groaned and clutched his head as he pushed himself up onto his knees. He looked up at the large building and a smile broke across his face. "Yes!" He cried, leaping into the air and pumping his fist, "We did it Vlad! It worked!"

Vlad.

Danny's celebrations were cut short as he remembered what he had promised the Vlad he met in the future. How he had to hate the man for the monster he was. It wasn't fair, maybe he could still try and-

A loud scream coming from the direction of the local Nasty Burger cut through Danny's thoughts. It was a familiar scream. Danny's eyes widened as he realized the scream belonged to his older sister, Jazz Fenton. Scooping up the Ghost Gauntlets beside him, Danny phased into Fenton Works and snatched a Fenton Thermos and Fenton Specter Deflector from the lab, stuffing them into a backpack. He then flew as fast as he could towards the Nasty Burger to stop his evil self and save his friends and family. Oh, and Mr. Lancer!

He knew that his older self could sense him so Danny would have to stay far away from his older self until the moment of attack. Then he'd have to go in fast and hit hard. The teen decided that sticking to the skies would be his best bet until he could face off with Dan. The Nasty Burger came into sight and Danny watched as Jazz was thrown against the large Nasty Sauce container where his friends and family were already tied. Dan laughed as his hands began to glow with green energy.

Danny smirked and before he even knew what he was doing he was charging towards Dan. "Hey old man!" He shouted. Dan turned his head to see who had just insulted him and his eyes widened as Danny's speeding form came into focus. "Ready for a blast from your past?" Danny slammed into Dan sending the older ghost flying through the air and several blocks away. The young halfa flew over to his bound friends and family. "Don't worry." He told them, "I won't turn into that. Ever. I promise." The teen then looked over to his teacher who appeared to be in a mix between fear and utter confusion. "I guess this sort of explains my periodic absences, huh?" He joked.

A rope of green ectoenergy suddenly caught Danny around the waist. The teen was yanked away from the bound humans to face his scowling evil self once again. Dan reeled him in to seize him by the collar. "What are you gonna do? Waste me?" Danny questioned angrily, "What happens to you then?"   

Dan's scowl turned into a large fanged smile. He began to laugh, the sound echoing through the air. "You don't get it, do you?" He shouted. "I'm still here. I still exist. That means you still turn into me." He drew back his fist and cracked the teen across the jaw, sending him flying into a lightpost and knocking the bag off his shoulders. "I don't have to waste you," Dan said as he floated over to his dazed younger self, "I just have to run out the clock until your entire life falls apart." Dan dove at Danny, hands outstretched.

The teen noticed him coming and grabbed his fallen bag, phasing into the ground. Dan struck the lightpost instead, breaking it in two. The evil ghost spun around, looking for the teen as said teen phased out of the ground. "Maybe if you'd remembered more about your family, you'd have remembered the Specter Deflector!" Danny shouted as he held the belt-like device in his hands and flew at Dan. He managed to snap it around the older ghost's waist before Dan could turn and attack him. Dan screamed in pain as bolts of electricity shot through his body. "Or the Ghost Gauntlets!" Danny added as he hauled back and struck Dan in the face, sending the older ghost into a nearby oil truck. Dan looked around nervously at the very flammable oil he was now lying in and moments later the entire truck went up in a blue explosion.

Up in the air, Danny shielded his face from the blast. As the explosion subsided to blue flame, Danny landed and began to walk away. But behind him, a furious Dan emerged from the flames with parts of his suit still on fire. He ripped off the Specter Deflector, throwing it to the ground with disgust. He walked up behind Danny and grabbed the teen by the arm with a still-burning hand, then threw him to the ground. "Why are you fighting this Danny?" He asked, a weird feeling of confusion in his voice, "Don't you want to know who you are Danny? Who you really are?"

Danny's eyes narrowed and he slowly slid away from his evil self, "What are you talking about?" He asked, quietly.

"The surgery Danny," Dan explained, slowly walking towards the retreating teen, "It gave me my memories back! I know who we are." Dan paused and he shrugged, "Or, in my case, who I was." 

The young halfa's eyes widened. "R-Really?" He asked, hope in his voice. 

Dan smiled. "Yes. All of our memories, all of our past. I know it all. And if you want to know, all you need to do," Dan held out his hand to Danny, "is let everything play out as it should."

Danny stared at Dan's outstretched hand. Would it really be worth it? He would finally know who he was after all this time, but at the cost of his friends and family. And so many other people. So many people would die at his hand. He would be the end of everything. But maybe he couldn't stop it. Maybe he was destined to become Dan no matter what. Maybe there was no way to change his future.

"Promise me, Daniel" Vlad's voice rang in Danny's ears.

Danny's own words pushed themselves to the front of his mind."I won't turn into that. Ever. I promise."

His eyes narrowed and Danny slapped away Dan's hand. "It doesn't matter if I never know who I was in the past." Danny told the surprised Dan as he stood, preparing himself for another fight, "The only thing that matters is who I am now. And now, I am the hero Danny Phantom. The hero that is going to beat you."

Dan sighed and readied his hands with glowing green ecto-energy. He split himself into four copies and they all surrounded Danny. Each Dan attacked Danny with almost full force, they did still need him after all. After what felt like forever, the attack stopped and Danny's smoking form fell to the ground and Dan's copies reunited. "What makes you think you beat me? What makes you think you can change my past?" Dan asked him.

Danny shakily got up on all fours and glared up at his older self. "Because I promised my family!"

The older ghost started laughing uncontrollably at the teen. "Oh, you are such a child!" He exclaimed, "You promised?"

"Yes!" Danny growled, standing up, "I PROMISED!" As Danny shouted, his screams became a Ghostly Wail. The wail sent Dan flying and caused him to dig up a divot in the street as he landed.

As he sat there in the divot Dan was confused. "That power, ugh, it's not possible! I don't get that power until ten years from now!" Dan exclaimed.

Danny landed in front of Dan. "I guess the future," he began, holding his side, "isn't as set in stone as you think it is." Danny unleashed another Ghostly Wail, practically in Dan's face, sending him flying again. The wail shattered windows and blew Dan through a doorway, then demolished the building on top of him. Completely exhausted, Danny dropped to his knees as he reverted back to human form.

A fist roses from the rubble pile. Danny looked up and gasped as Dan burst from the wreckage, bruised up, flames dying, and uniform ripped. "Well, that's it, isn't it?" He said, annoyed.

"Time's up." Danny retorted as he narrowed his eyes. He whipped out the Fenton Thermos and activated it, pointing it at Dan.

The older ghost began to be sucked into the thermos and he hardly resisted. "To weak to escape--" He said as his body was pulled closer to thermos. "and you're to late to save them!" Just as Dan's entire form was sucked into the thermos he shot Danny a smile. "Say hi to Nightwing for me." Danny capped the lid on the thermos and smiled, not bothering to stop and wonder who 'Nightwing' was. Then he remembered something very important. His friends and family were still tied to the Nasty Sauce tanks!

Danny turned to see the heat indicator explode and cracks form on the leaking tanks and steam hiss from them. Danny started running to them trying to go ghost, but the white ring just formed around his waist and fizzled out. "I can't go ghost!" Danny shouted in horror. The teen wasn't watching where he was going and tripped over a rock, falling to the ground. "Noo!" He screamed as he and his loved ones stared at each other. Oddly enough, none of them looked very scared. They looked more... sad.

Then the Nasty Burger went up in flames.

The explosion mirrored itself in Danny's eyes as the shockwave sent him flying with the dust and rubble. And then everything froze. A clock hand traced out a bluewhite circle, which resolves into Clockwork in his child form. Smiling, the ghost flew up to Danny and dropped a time medallion around his neck. Danny gasped and tried to gain his balance where he floats in midair without falling, then he noticed the purple clad ghost next to him.

"Clockwork?" Danny questioned.

Clockwork pointed past Danny, and the teen looked, gasping happily. All of his loved ones were floating, unharmed and asleep or unconscious, in a nimbus of green light.

"You saved them?" Danny exclaimed, "I-I don't understand!"

Clockwork shifted to his adult form, "The Observants look at time like they're watching a parade, one thing after another passing by in sequence right in front of them." The Master of Time gestured down to the wrecked Nasty Burger. "I see the parade from above, all the twists and turns it might," he shifted to his elderly form, "or might not take." Clockwork finished with a wink.

Danny smiled, "You knew all this was going to happen. All of it!" They swooped down to the rescued people. "Even this part."

"Everything's the way it's supposed to be." Clockwork assured him. "And here we are with you, a fourteen-year-old child, risking everything to save the people you care about." Danny sent the old ghost a smile, which Clockwork returned. He raised his staff and pressed the button at the top of it, declaring, "Time in!"

They are then surrounded for a moment by ticking clocks, and in a flash of light they reappear in the classroom, where Danny's classmates are taking the C.A.T., frozen in time. Clockwork picked up the answer packet from Danny's desk as the teen looked around shocked. "You've given everyone else a second chance." Clockwork said as he shifted back to his child form, "Why not you?" Clockwork handed Danny the packet and Danny took it.

As Clockwork prepared to leave Danny shouted, "Wait!" The ghost paused and glanced down at Danny, raising an eyebrow. Danny swallowed and clutched the answer packet tightly. "I was wondering if you could tell me about my past." Danny said, a pinch of hope in his voice.

Clockwork sighed, "Unfortunately I cannot, for doing so would break the laws of Space and Time and frankly I'm already in enough trouble as it is." He finished with a chuckle but stopped himself when he saw Danny's saddened expression. Fiddling with his staff for a moment, Clockwork thought up a small idea that would most certainly keep him from getting another 'lecture' from the Observants and help Danny. "I can tell you one thing." He said to the teen. Danny looked up at him, hanging onto every word. "Keep an eye out for the Bird and the Bat." With that, Clockwork winked and disappeared.

I AM THE ALL MIGHTY LINE BREAK! SHOWER ME WITH GIFTS AND CONTINUE READING!

Danny sat on the front steps of Casper High, soaking in the sunlight and the knowledge that he did the right thing. After Clockwork unfroze time he turned in the answers and confessed that he had looked at them but he wasn't a cheater. Lancer was oddly understanding and said Danny could prove it in the makeup test next week, with plenty of time spent studying in detention. The young halfa saw Jazz approach him from the corner of his eye. "So," he began, looking up at her, "how long have you known?"

"About the test?" Jazz replied, playing dumb, "For days. But I'm really proud of you for not cheating."

Danny chuckled. "No, not that." He said, pulling out the note and blue headband that had been attached to the Booo-merang, "Your headband, your note, with your handwriting..."

"What? That?" Jazz exclaimed, pointing at the objects and blushing. She shrugged, "Oh, I didn't write that. And there must be dozens of headbands."

Danny raised an eyebrow, "Jazz."

The older girl sat down on the step beside Danny and took the note and headband from him. "Since the Spectra thing." She told him, "I didn't want to tell you until you wanted to tell me. It's your secret."

Danny smiled. "Well, it's our secret now." He and his sister both moved closer and wrapped their arms around each other in a hug.

When they separated, Jazz smiled. "Don't think this means I'll stop being meddling and overprotective." She teased.

Danny chuckled, "Wouldn't have it any other way." Just then, his promise to Vlad resurfaced in his mind. He stood from the step, looking to the sky. 

"Jazz." He said, "There's something I need to take care of. I probably won't be back until sometime tomorrow." He looked down at her, "Can you cover for me?"

Jazz frowned at Danny's sudden change in attitude, "Why? What do you need to do?"

Danny sighed. "I need to make good on a promise to an old friend. I promise I'll explain everything when I get back tomorrow." Jazz still didn't look convince as she stood to face her little brother. "Please Jazz." Danny begged, grabbing her hands, "I need you to trust me."

Jazz pursed her lips and sighed. "Fine." She agreed. "But if you're not back by one o'clock tomorrow afternoon there will be trouble mister!" She warned, only half joking. Danny smiled and nodded, letting white rings wash over him. He took to the skies and headed for his next destination.

Wisconsin.

Wouldn't it be fun to end it here? Please? PLEASE?! No? Fine, this is Normal Line Break. Enjoy the rest of the chapter.

Flying to Wisconsin took a lot longer than driving, plus it used up a lot of energy. Danny was on his fifth break and he was barely halfway to Wisconsin. Luckily he had some money on him so he stopped in at a local diner to refuel. The diner had an old fashioned feel to it with its white walls holding pictures of old rock stars, checkered floors, a small bar in the middle of the diner and bright red seats paired with checkered tables. Heck there was even a jukebox in the back corner of the diner. Danny sat down at one of the booths and ordered a simple hamburger and soda. He leaned against the booth seat, thinking over what he was going to do when he got to Wisconsin. He still doubted he would be able to do it, but he had promised Vlad. He was going to hate Vlad, abandon the man he thought of as another father, as a final request. Tears trickled down his cheeks as the waitress brought him his food.

She noticed his tears and grew concerned. "Hey kiddo, you alright?" She asked as she set his plate and drink down on the table. Danny looked up at her, quickly wiping away his tears. She was a slender woman who looked to be in her late 20's with curly blonde hair pulled into a bun. Her skin was sun-kissed and dotted with freckles. She had kind brown eyes, rosy cheeks and a narrow chin. She wore a pink button-up tee and brown pants with a white apron tied around her waist and a watch with a black band on her left wrist. The name sewn in red thread on the right side of her shirt read 'Kyle'.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." Danny told her, "Thank you... Kyle?"

The waitresses eyes widened and she laughed. Once she had stopped laughing she smiled at Danny. "I like you kid." She glanced at the watch on her wrist, "Say, my shift is over in two minutes, would you mind if I joined you?" 

Danny looked at her surprised and confused.

Kyle bit her lip and scratched her head, "Yeah, I guess an older woman asking a kid they just met if they could sit with them is kind of weird now that I think about it." She adjusted the tray that had held Danny's food on her hip, "Sorry, you just looked like you needed a friend and I have been told I can be a great listener." She turned and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Danny called after her, standing up from his seat. Kyle stopped and turned around. Danny's cheeks turned bright red. "I-I'd appreciate it if you sat with me after your shift." He told her. The waitress smiled at him and nodded. Around five minutes later Kyle returned and sat in the seat opposite Danny in the booth. She still wore her uniform but now her hair was tied in a ponytail instead of a bun.

"So what's your name kiddo?" She asked politely. 

"Danny." He told her, eyeing the name on her shirt. "And you're Kyle, right?"

She smiled, grabbing the part of her shirt that had the same sewn into it. "My name isn't Kyle, it's Kylie. They made a mistake at the factory and I just haven't been bothered enough to ask for a new one." She smoothed down her shirt and rested her elbows on the table, "Now that we've got names out of the way, what do you want to talk about?" Danny was silent. She chuckled, "C'mon kiddo, er, Danny. I know I'm a stranger and, according to those rules made by parents, you shouldn't talk to strangers but I think we're past that point by now. You look like you got something on your mind that you're not too sure about." She leaned back in the seat, her face completely serious, but still kind, "It's better to talk about this type of thing then keep it all in."

Danny sighed and put his elbows on the table, holding his head in his hands. "I made a promise to someone. An old friend of mine." He began. Kylie listened intently. "He was like a father to me and I cared about him a lot. We met up a while ago and he made me promise him something that I really didn't want to." Danny felt a lump form in his throat and hot tears behind his eyes, "He made me promise that I would never speak to him again."

"Um," Kylie said cautiously, "Would you mind if I asked why?"

Danny shook his head, "He said that he was a bad man who had done bad things. He wanted to protect me from him so he made me promise that the next time I saw him I would hate him." Tears began to fall freely from Danny's eyes now. "But I don't think I can. I know about all the bad things he did and I told him I could try and help him change... But he said he knew that he would never change." Danny fought down sobs and tried to control his shaking hands. "I can't tell him I hate him! I can't keep my promise!"

The teen felt a gentle hand grab his chin and left his head. Danny stared into the eyes of Kylie as she held his hands in hers. "Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate kiddo." She told him with a smile. She released one of Danny's hands to place a hand on her chin. "Now this seems like a major issue for you. Okay, let's go over a few basics then. Do you care about him?" She asked. Danny nodded. "Do you know if he genuinely cares about you?" After a moment of thought, Danny nodded again. From what he gathered from Vlad in the future the old man had truly cared about Danny, he just went about getting Danny the wrong way. Kylie nodded, "I see." She released Danny's hands.

"If I'm being honest kiddo, you should make good on your promise." She told him. Danny looked at her in shock. She held up her hands, "Hear me out on this. If a guy has the guts to tell you about his twisted past and you still care for him that's real love. But if he is still following his dark ways and has no true intention of changing, or he knows that he won't change that's a problem. This guy cared about you enough to tell you his past and be honest with you that he won't change. As your 'father-figure' he wants to protect you, even if that means keeping you away from him. You have to respect his wishes Danny. He is only trying to protect you." She took Danny's hands in hers once again, "He doesn't want you to get hurt Danny. I mean, sure you're hurting now and that hurt may never go away, but you'll learn how to deal with it in time." 

The teen noticed tears in Kylie's eyes as her words sunk in. She was right. He had to honor Vlad's wishes and keep his promise. It was going to hurt, a lot. It might even hurt Danny more than Vlad, but he had to do it. Vlad knew himself better than anyone else. Danny had learned to trust Vlad's judgement in the year they had spent together and when Vlad was sure about something, he was dead sure. Danny smiled at Kylie and wiped away his tears. "Thank you Kylie. I needed that." He said gratefully.

Kylie smirked, waving off his thanks, "Yeah yeah, no need to thank me. Being awesome is part of the job." She grabbed a napkin out of the napkin holder on the table and pulled out a pen. She scribbled something on it and handed it to Danny. "Here's my number if you need more advice on something. I'm a fountain of wisdom, kid!" Danny looked over the napkin and chuckled softly when he read 'Advice Hotline: Prof. Kyle' scribbled above the number. Kylie stood and pulled out her wallet, placing a twenty dollar bill on the table. Before Danny could protest, Kylie held up a hand. "Save it kid, dinner's on me. Just make sure you let the old man down easy." She gave Danny a quick pat on the head before ducking out of the diner. Danny watched Kylie walk away through the window next to him as he finally tucked into his burger, which had gotten a little cold. He was now ready to face Vlad. Well, maybe not ready, but he at least knew what he was going to do.

AMAZING LINE BREAK HAS ARRIVED! Did anyone miss me? ;)  <3

By the time Danny made it to Vlad's castle mansion it was close to midnight. He had picked up the pace a lot after he left the diner. Jazz's threat still rang through his head. The halfa landed on the front steps of the mansion and thought about knocking. But, seeing as this wasn't a pleasure call, he just phased right through the front door. He made himself invisible and searched through the mansion. From past experiences Danny knew that on most nights Vlad went to bed around one or two in the morning. He hoped one of those nights wasn't tonight. Danny poked his invisible and intangible head through Vlad's study door and saw the grey haired man sitting behind his desk doing paperwork. Danny silently cursed and removed head from the door. He landed in front of the doors and froze.

Could he do this? He had to do it. But how would Vlad react? Would he be angry? Upset? If he asked where this was coming from, what would Danny say? 'Oh you're future self told me to do it.'? Yeah, like that would go over well. Danny tapped himself on the side of the head. He was overthinking this, he just needed to go in, say what he needed to say, and get out. Simple as that. Taking a deep breath, Danny phased directly into Vlad's study and floated over to land directly in front of Vlad's desk. He cleared his throat to catch the older man's attention. 

Vlad looked up from his work and his face lit up with a smile when he saw Danny. "Daniel, what a pleasant surprise." He said, standing up, "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He stepped out from behind his desk and took a step towards Danny before pausing. "Wait." Vlad said, furrowing his brow. "You never called me to say you were coming. And Michael has been here all day." His eyes widened. "Butter biscuits, Daniel! Did you fly all the way here?!" He shouted.

Danny didn't reply, standing stiffly.

Vlad walked up to him. "You must be exhausted. Come, we'll go to the kitchen and I'll fix you something to eat." The elder halfa reached out to grab Danny's arm but Danny leaped away from the touch. Vlad looked at the boy, confused. He reached out to Danny again, "Little Badger, this is not the time to play games. You need-"

"How could you do this to me?"

Vlad stopped in his tracks, hand still outstretched. "Wha... What are you talking about Daniel?" The elder halfa's eyes widened when he saw tears in Danny's eyes.

The teen clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS ME!?" Danny screamed at Vlad, "HOW COULD YOU LIE TO ME ALL THIS TIME?!" Danny's fists glowed with green energy.

Vlad took a cautious step away from Danny. He chuckled, trying to hide the small ounce of confusion and fear he felt. "Little Badger, I assure you I have never lied to you about anything." He said, keeping a cool composure.

"You were the one who sent the vultures to kill my Dad." Danny said, tears streaming down his face. "You're in love with Maddie and hate Jack because he married her."

"Daniel, how do you know all-"

"And you're planning to get Jack at the Nasty Burger to kill him just so you can swoop in to offer your condolences and 'save the day'." Danny finished. His hands were now shaking from rage as all the feelings he had in the cave came rushing back to him.

Vlad was stunned. How did Danny figure everything out? He never let on about his plans, nor did he ever leave any of his more incriminating plans out where Danny could find them. His staff was loyal and if they knew anything they wouldn't tell the boy. So how? Vlad shook his head, "Daniel, you're obviously tired. Why don't we get you to bed and we can discuss this in the morning. How does that sound?"

Danny shook his head. "We're done talking, Vlad." He aimed one of his glowing fists at the elder halfa, knowing that once he did this, there was no going back. "You're a murderous, insane, and delusional monster." Danny said, fighting back tears and to keep his voice level. "And I hate you." Danny fired an ectoblast at Vlad, striking him in the chest. The older man was sent flying back into a bookshelf, breaking it in half and causing books to topple on top of him. A black flash of light shone beneath the pile of books and Vlad Plasmius emerged from the pile, hands charged with pink energy. 

"Daniel, what on Earth is the matter with you?!" He cried, anger in his voice. There was something obviously wrong with the teen.

"Nothing is wrong with me, I'm just finally seeing you for who you really are." Danny replied as he fired another ectoblast at Vlad. 

The elder man dodged the blast, allowing it to hit the wall behind him instead. He glanced back at the burn mark and frowned. He turned back to face Danny, who had an unnaturally cold look in his eyes. "Daniel, can't we talk about this?"

In response, Danny fired yet another ectoblast. "No. We're never talking again. I hate you Vlad. I never want to see you ever again! Do you hear me!" Danny screamed as he flew at Vlad, cracking him across the jaw. Danny fired a barrage of ectoblasts at Vlad, who threw up a shield around himself even in his dazed state. The young halfa kicked at the shield and Vlad finally struck back. He fired a bolt of electrified ectoenergy at Danny, sending the teen across the room and crashing into the marble fireplace. Danny fell to the ground with a grunt and rolled onto his back.

Vlad stood up and brushed some dust off his shoulders. "I don't know what's gotten into you Little Badger, but I most certainly do not like it." Vlad said in a scolding tone.

Danny grit his teeth. "STOP CALLING ME THAT, FRUIT LOOP!" He shouted as he charged at Vlad. The teen barreled into Vlad and they both crashed right through the study walls into the main hallway. The shakily got up and shook off small bits of debris. Danny stared daggers at Vlad as the elder man got on all fours, "I'm ashamed to know you as my teacher."

Vlad looked at Danny, fire in his eyes. He stood up and Danny followed suit. They stood a few paces away from each other, staring each other in the eyes. Danny searched Vlad's eyes for any sign of the man he met in the future. His heart sank when he saw not even a glimmer. Only a selfish man with a selfish heart, willing to kill or harm other to get what he wanted.

"Daniel, I assure you, you do not want me as an enemy." Vlad warned as his hands glowed bright with pink energy. "So why don't you apologize for your outburst and we can talk this out like civilized gentlemen."

Danny narrowed his eyes at Vlad and charged his hands with green ectoenergy, floating a few feet above the ground.

Vlad nodded. "I see." He began, letting his own hands glow with pink energy. His eyes became hollow and sad, until rage and hurt filled them back up. "Then so be it. Little Badger, you just made yourself a very dangerous enemy."

Hearing Vlad say those words shattered Danny's heart and tears threatened to fall from his eyes. But he had to stay strong. He had to keep up the act, no matter how much it hurt. He charged at Vlad, managing to fire a few blasts and catch the elder man off guard long enough to grab his arm and hurl him into a nearby staircase. Splinters went flying everywhere and a cloud of dust rose from the ground. Vlad emerged from the dust, flying at Danny and grabbing the boy by the throat. Danny felt Vlad's fingers tighten around his neck and he fought to breath. Just as he was on the verge of passing out, bolts of electricity shot through his body, causing him to scream in pain. But the jolt of energy gave him enough strength to pull up his legs and kick Vlad in the chest, knocking him back.

Danny gently placed his hands on his throat, coughing as he took in gulps of air. He would more than likely have bruises the next day. The teen glanced over at Vlad, who was prepping another attack. Danny knew he couldn't beat Vlad, but he couldn't back out yet. If he could hold out a little longer, then make his escape he'd be fine. Just a little more, and it would be over.

The teen fired disks of ecto energy at Vlad, along with orbs of energy. A few managed to strike Vlad but the rest he either dodged or used a shield against. Vlad responded by making two duplicates of himself. One of the duplicates focused on sending energy based attacks at Danny while the other focused on physical attacks. The real Vlad just sat back and watched.

Cut opened on Danny's face from the physical attacks and wounds and burn marks were blossoming on his body due to the energy attacks. "Coward!" Danny shouted at the real Vlad as one of the duplicates drove their knee into his stomach. Danny fell to the ground and landed hard, smashing his head against the ground. He resisted the urge to vomit as he fought the dizziness in his vision. "You afraid to fight me? Is that it Fruit Loop?" Danny asked weakly. "Or maybe you can't bring yourself to beat up a kid that's why you get your stupid duplicates to do it."

"Nonsense." Vlad replied, his black boots appearing in front of Danny's vision. Wait, when did he get there? Danny cried out in pain as Vlad gripped a fistful of the teen's snowy white hair in his hand and lifted him off the ground to stare him in the face. "I have no problem teaching bad children lessons they so desperately need to be taught." Vlad released Danny's hair but before the young halfa could fall back to the ground Vlad's boot connected with the teen's face and he was knocked to the side. "And you my boy," the elder halfa continued as he walked over to Danny's new location, "are in desperate need of a lesson." He kicked Danny in the stomach and the teen curled into a ball to protect himself.

"You broke my heart Daniel." He whispered, thinking the teen couldn't hear. "I thought I had finally found someone I could rely on. But no, everyone in my life betrays me eventually."

Danny wanted to vomit. He wanted to scream and cry out that it was all a lie. He really did still care about Vlad and he saw him as a father figure. But was that even true anymore? After seeing Vlad like this, so ruthless, so bloodthirsty, could he ever look at the man the same way again?

This fight had gone on long enough, time to make an escape. Using the last bits of his energy, Danny created an orb of energy around him, and then forced it to expand. It hit Vlad, knocking him away into a pile of debris. When Vlad recovered the teen was nowhere in sight. The elder halfa stood, brushing off his suit. "You weren't yourself tonight Little Badger." He muttered. "This was not what you wanted. Something made you do this. I'm sure of it." He walked back into his study, ignoring the ache in his heart as Danny's words wormed their way in. He sat behind his desk in his destroyed study as he pondered over the event of that evening. "Fine Daniel. I'll play along." He said to himself, resting his elbows on his desk and folding his gloved hands under his chin. "From this day forward, you and I are enemies."

i am the littlest line break, here with milk and cookies. also some blankets if you really want them ^-^

Somewhere a few hours outside of Wisconsin, Danny was lying down on a soft twin bed recovering from his battle with Vlad. Kylie walked into the room carrying a First-Aid box. After Danny had escaped from Vlad's mansion, he barely had enough energy to stand. Then he remembered the phone number in his pocket. Finding the closest pay phone, he called Kylie and told her where he was and asked her to hurry. A few hours later, Kylie showed up in an old blue pickup truck. A man was with her, Danny would later learn that the man was Kylie's husband Holt. He had helped Danny into the truck and tended to his wounds while they drove back to their home in Milwaukee. In the car Kylie had questioned Danny on how he had gotten to Madison so fast when she had seen him only a few hours ago back at the diner in Milwaukee. Danny was too tired to answer.

Kylie had told Holt about Danny so he knew about the teen's situation. He had asked if the man he had gone to see caused these injuries. Danny chose not to answer that one. A few hours later they arrived at Kylie and Holt's small home. Holt carried Danny inside and made him comfortable in the guest bedroom. Kylie was practically purple in the face. She demanded that Danny tell her who the man was so that she could call the police and have him arrested for child abuse. She also wanted to take Danny to a hospital to get him looked over for any serious injuries and for proper treatment but Danny refused. He wouldn't tell her Vlad's name or accept going to a hospital. So Kylie had to rely on her four years of nursing school knowledge to try and treat Danny.

She was applying disinfectant to a wound above Danny's eye, anger in her eyes. But it wasn't directed at Danny. "I don't understand how someone could do this to a child." She muttered as she bandaged a cut on Danny's arm. "Why won't you tell me who he is? Don't you agree this man deserves to rot in prison for what he did to you?"

'No prison on Earth could hold Vlad Masters' Danny thought to himself. He shook his head, "I do think he should be punished, but not with a prison sentence." Danny looked down at his bruised hands, "He's a sick man. He is only doing what he thinks is right."

"And you're being punished for it." Kylie interjected, finishing with wrapping a bandage around a gash in Danny's leg. "I don't understand how you can have an ounce of respect left for that man after what he did to you." She stood and cleaned up a few small wounds on Danny's face. "If you ask me, he doesn't deserve your respect or love. Not after this. He has proven he doesn't care about you the way he said he did."

Holt poked his head into the room. "Honey, there's someone on the phone for you." He said. 

Kylie sighed and put down her medical supplies. She gave Danny a gentle pat on the head, "I'll be right back kiddo." She turned to Holt. "Keep an eye on Rocky over here will ya?" She asked. Holt nodded and Kylie left the room.

The older man stepped into the room and took a seat in a chair that they had removed from the dining room. Holt was a tall man with large muscles and broad shoulders. He was bald and had a clean shaven face. His eyes were a soft blue and they showed nothing but kindness. His skin was dark and he had a sharp nose and an angled chin. He wore a plaid shirt and blue jeans. The two males just stared at each other, not saying a word.

"Jeez, someone turn up the temperature in here." Kylie shouted from wherever she was in the house, "I can practically feel the ice storm from here. Why don't you two Arctic explorers fix that!"

Danny and Holt chuckled. "Is she always this..." Danny began but trailed off.

"Oh yeah." Holt replied. He stood up from his chair and took a seat beside Danny on the bed. "Listen Danny," he began, "I know we just met and you've barely known Kylie for a day, but I want you to know you can trust us." He glanced over Danny's multiple injuries. "What this guy did to you wasn't right and, like Kylie, I don't understand why you want to protect him."

Danny looked away from Holt. "It's...complicated."

Holt nodded and stood as he heard Kylie approaching the room. He turned back to Danny and cleared his throat, catching the teen's attention. "If you want to, you can stay here overnight." He told the teen.

Danny smiled. "I'd appreciate that very much." He told Holt. The dark-skinned man smiled and showed himself out of the room as Kylie rushed back in. She finished taking care of Danny's injuries and gave him a change of clothes. They were Holt's from a few years ago so they didn't fit the small teen that well, but he appreciated the thought.

As Danny settled into bed that night and prepared for sleep he wondered why neither Kylie nor Holt had asked him about where he was from. Maybe they just assumed he was a runaway? He was too tired to think about it further, it would have to wait until the morning. He would have to get up early though. Jazz's warning about being home before one o'clock the next day still rang in his mind and he did not want to be on the receiving end of Jasmine Fenton's wrath.