Third Person POV

Vlad silently watched from the shores of Jump City, staring at the large T-shaped building in the middle of the water. A blob ghost hovered by his side, its expressionless form nuzzling close to its master. Vlad reached out and gently stroked the blob, smiling at the tower. "Go my pet," he purred, "go and find our prize."

The blob bobbed in acknowledgement and started its trek towards the tower. Vlad continued to smile as he watched it go. His army of blob ghosts hovered behind him, awaiting his next command. Just knowing this filled Vlad with immeasurable joy. He was once again in control. He was the master. No longer the marionette tied to the puppet master's strings. The voices couldn't hurt him here, no one could. He was Champion after all.

Vlad suddenly felt a hot pain flash in his chest and swiftly reached into his cloak, pulling out a black bag and pouring the contents of said bag into his hand. His eyes widened as he realized that he had just finished his third bag, leaving only one more. Frowning, he tossed the contents of the bag in his mouth and swallowed dryly. He was running out of time, and quickly. He knew he should have stolen more, but his time frame had been so short he could only grab the bare minimum in order to still have a chance to escape.

"I have to hurry." He whispered. "Before it's too late."

Normal Line Break here. Man these chapters just keep coming out later and later. I'd say attack Phantom but they're currently MIA so... just keep reading the chapter I guess?

"You sure about this Danny?" said Robin as they finished going over their attack plan for dealing with Vlad.

The white-haired teen nodded. "It's the only reasonable solution Robin. It may not seem like the best option, and it certainly isn't our only one, but this is something I need to do." Danny bit his lip, repeating the plan over and over in his head. He had convinced himself that this was the only thing left that he could do. Vlad was his responsibility, it's only fair he take part in the final fight.

Robin sighed, "If you say so." He turned to the other Titans. "Everyone ready?" He asked.

The Titans nodded, no one saying a word. They had all gone over this plan many times and despite them not fully agreeing on it, Danny would not be swayed. They just had to hope the ghost boy could deal with the after-effects of his actions.

Danny shivered as a trail of blue mist breezed past his lips. His eyes widened immediately and rushed to the large window of the tower, pushing past his friends. Outside he could see one of Vlad's green blob ghosts hovering, its faceless body seemingly staring at the tower. "Game on guys!" Danny shouted as he phased through the window of the tower.

"Danny, wait!" Robin shouted racing to the window, but it was too late as Danny was now outside the tower chasing after a now fleeing blob ghost. Robin cursed under his breath and spun around. "C'mon! We gotta go help him!" He shouted. The five Titans raced out of the tower and after Danny.

I AM THE GREAT AND POWERFUL LINE BREAK, INSERTING MY GREAT AND POWERFUL SELF RIGHT HERE IN THIS PART OF THE CHAPTER BECAUSE I CAN! SHOWER ME WITH YOUR PRAISE AND OFFERINGS! NOW YOU MAY CONTINUE READING!

Danny chased after the blob ghost, knowing it would lead him to Vlad. He had to figure what had happened to Vlad before he could even have a hope of facing him in combat. Just the shock of seeing him again had almost destroyed the young halfa. Add that to the whole Vlad being confused on why Danny was 'the exact same' or whatever that meant.

Something was different about the elder halfa. Before if he was near, Danny's ghost sense never went off. Now, it went off as if he was facing Pariah Dark's army all over again. The young halfa had more questions than he had ever had before and he had a feeling that the answers weren't going to come easily. Despite everything he had to face Vlad, even if it meant endangering his new family. The Titans could take care of themselves, the blob ghosts weren't exactly at the top of the food chain in the Ghost Zone, but Vlad was Danny's.  He would allow no interference.

He heard voices behind him, yelling at him to slow down. In response, Danny increased his speed as he continued to pursue the blob ghost. As Danny drew closer to the faceless ghost he noticed how close he was to the shore; where Vlad and his army of blob ghosts were waiting.

A cold shiver ran through the teen's body and he quickly focused on the exercises Frostbite had taught him to control his powers. He was getting so close to the shore that he could already see that familiar annoying smirk on Vlad's face. Danny formed a ball of ecto energy in his palms and fired it at Vlad, a warning shot. The elder halfa easily dodged the blast and it hit the sand behind him, causing a large cloud of dust to shoot up in the air. 

Vlad brushed some sand off his shoulder, chuckling softly. He smiled up at his approaching prey and the insects trailing behind it. With a roll of his shoulders, Vlad rose into the air to greet his supposed challengers. He threw his hand out to them and the blob ghosts charged forward, swarming around the teens.

Danny swiftly dodged around the ghosts as his teammates were slowed by them. Danny didn't have time to worry about that; his main focus was Vlad. The young halfa picked up speed and rammed right into Vlad's stomach. Danny was stopped dead in his tracks; it was like he had just run into a brick wall! While shaking his head to get oriented Vlad seized the opportunity to grab Danny by the front of his suit and brought him close to his face. "You really haven't changed." Vlad said softly. 

Danny's head was still spinning as he weakly tried to break free from Vlad's hold. His core was beating rapidly and he felt shivers run up and down his spine. The teen managed to compose himself enough to summon the energy to create a ball of ecto energy and let it explode, throwing the two apart.

Both suffered minor burns from the explosion as well as some confusion but both quickly recovered. Danny's eyes narrowed in on Vlad as he launched at the elder halfa once more.

Meanwhile, the Teen Titans were finishing off the last of Vlad's blob ghost army. A horde of them had clustered around Raven and Cyborg flew by on Beast Boy, clearing them all away. "Get going Rae!" He shouted. Beast Boy gave a squawk of agreement as the two dashed off to help their other teammates.

Raven took the opening given to her and flew to Danny's side. Her part of the plan was one that Danny considered very important. None of them had any idea of what Vlad was truly capable of except for Danny, but even the ghost boy was confused on how the older man seemed so different. Raven was to discreetly enter Vlad's memories while he was distracted and gain as much information as she could.

She watched as Danny fired a beam of green ecto energy at Vlad who in turn fired a ray of red ecto energy. The two beams collided and it became a game of force to see whose powers could overcome the other. It was obvious Danny was losing, and quite quickly at that. Raven had to work fast.

She muttered a spell and forced a discreet mindlink between her and Vlad. When she opened her eyes she was in a small room surrounded by shards of broken glass. The floor, the walls and the ceiling were all colored black with cracks of white in them as bit of broken glass covered the floor and floated in the air. Raven hovered above the ground and slowly moved about the room, taking care not to get cut by the glass. She came upon a rather large piece floating in a corner of the room and mindlessly reached out to touch it. Immediately the rest of the pieces disappeared and she was transported to what looked like an arena. Cheering crowds surrounded her, though she couldn't see them. A swirling portal floated in the center of the arena and a familiar figure fell out of it. 

Vlad Masters.

The older man looked disoriented as he glanced around him. He wore the suit she had seen him in when he first revealed himself to the world. "His past?" She wondered to herself.

A garbled voice came over an intercom, speaking in a language Raven didn't recognize and, from the look on his face, Vlad didn't either. 

Shortly after the intercom fell silent, metallic doors appeared at the side of Vlad. The rumbled open to reveal a giant creature. It had to have been at least 10 feet tall. The creature walked on all fours, with bulging muscles and hairy purple skin. The head had no eyes - the creature looked like it had eyes at one point but they had been clawed out - and was far too small for the body. It had no nose and a large mouth with yellow fangs protruding out of it. Black drool leaked from the sides of its mouth as it moved out past the doors. It's paws were covered in scars and had jagged, hooked claws that extended every time it put pressure on one of its paws. 

Vlad shook with fear and confusion as the creature approached. Raven shut her eyes and felt herself being whisked away to another memory. In this one she dared not open her eyes. There were so many screams, so many sounds. All of them painful. A voice, begging desperately for it all to stop, for it to end. A voice that grew quieter and quieter as the screams continued. Raven did not want to see the extent of torture Vlad was going through. She knew it was Vlad, why else would she be there and feel such a cutting pain in her chest.

"1 year... 2 years... 4 years... 9 years... 12 years... 18 years... 20 years... I think..."

An explosion sounded in Raven's ears and her eyes snapped open. She watched as a large prison looking facility became engulfed in blue flames. A hooded figure flew above it all, clutching a handful of black bags to his chest. She immediately recognized the figure as the Vlad Masters the others were currently fighting. A bright green light flashed in the red sky and Vlad quickly flew through it. Raven blinked and suddenly she was in outer space, standing a breath away from Vlad. The man had a crazed look in his eyes as he realized his surroundings. 

"I... I... I'm free." He whispered. "I did it... Twenty long years, and I finally did it." Vlad's eyes noticed the Earth and his mouth formed a wicked smile. He dashed like a comet towards Earth, right past Raven.

The girl felt like something was wrong about all of this. She had watched, or at least listened, to Vlad go through 20 years of torment. But not even a year had passed on Earth. She closed her eyes and focused on the environment around her. She was running out of time, Vlad would soon realize her presence and she couldn't allow him to trap her in his mind. The space around her felt charged with energy. An image of a large green asteroid flashed to the front of her mind. Images of Vlad nearly being crushed by the asteroid, only for a portal to open at the very last second and transport him out of danger rapidly went by as if she were watching a movie. Raven let all the knowledge sink in as she broke the link. 

Everything was clear to her now... well mostly. "Danny!" She shouted.

The white-haired teen fired a barrage of ecto blasts at Vlad and retreated to where Raven floated. "Did you do it?!" He asked quickly, looking back over his shoulder every few seconds to keep an eye on Vlad who was currently looking around wildly for the boy.

Raven nodded. "Not much time to explain, but Vlad really has lived twenty years ahead of us." Danny had a confused look on his face and Raven mentally sighed. She didn't have time to go through everything. Vlad was going to see Danny and with the teen's back turned he wouldn't hesitate to take a shot.

"Ok, listen." Raven started. "Vlad has these black bags on him that apparently are really important. You need to get them away from him and make him use as much of his power as he can." Danny still looked confused, but he understood what he needed to do. Raven glanced over her friend's shoulder and saw a bright pink ball of fire approaching them. She gasped loudly and shoved Danny behind her as she threw a shield up around them. The fireball hit the shield hard and knocked the two teens back a little, but Raven's shield held. 

That is, until Danny blasted right through it to face off against Vlad. Raven looked over at her other friends and saw them dealing with only a small handful of the blob ghosts. She looked back at Danny before flying over to help her friends to get rid of the blobs. "Please make the right choice, Danny." Raven thought to herself.

Hello all, it is I, the Posh Line Break. My has it been so long since I've last seen you all. Here, have a brand new jacket courtesy of me. Have a good day now!

Vlad smiled up at the approaching boy. He felt his core flutter in his chest with excitement. Not since escaping that hell hole did he feel so alive. Vlad discarded his cloak, revealing his tattered purple uniform and a body covered in scars. He flew into the air to meet his prey head on, to finally destroy him.

Or was it... I wanted him?

Images of the boy's battered a bruised body hanging limp in his arms flashed through Vlad's mind. The green blood seeping through his uniform and onto Vlad's hands, forever reminding him of his victory.

No... that's not what I want... is it?

Danny fired an ice blast charged with ecto-energy at Vlad, which the elder dodged and returned with a bright pink fireball. Danny met it with another ice blast and they collided, exploding in a flurry of ice crystals. The young halfa speed through the ice and barreled right into Vlad, aiming at the man's stomach and firing a concentrated ecto blast. It knocked Vlad back and caused the elder to become winded. 

Danny began panting himself and he felt sweat drip from his brow into his eyes. This wasn't good. He was pushing his limits and Vlad didn't even seem the slightest bit tired. He had to find the black bags Raven had told him about. But no where did Danny see where Vlad had black bags on him. As he glanced over the man, he noticed the small black lump on the sand down below. Vlad's cloak! That must be where the bags were! 

Vlad regained his composure and readied another fireball. Danny noticed the development and quickly hurled sharp disks of energy at Vlad. Vlad rose a shield but the disks broke through and managed to slice his arms and torso. Danny took the opportunity to dive down to the beach and grab the cloak. 

He didn't get very far when something latched around his ankle and yanked him back. "Going somewhere, Little Badger?" Vlad said, mockingly as he held the teen at arms length away from him.

Danny growled low in his throat before he felt his ankle start to heat up. Tendrils of electricity danced on Vlad's fingers and Danny was soon screaming in pain.

This did not go unnoticed by the Titans, who had been on the sidelines the whole time. It pained them to watch this. As Robin destroyed another blob ghost he subconsciously aimed a Birdarang at Vlad. Starfire grabbed his wrist and locked eyes with her friend as she silently shook her head. Robin gritted his teeth and put away the Birdarang, forcing himself to block out Danny's screams and focus on the blob ghosts. Danny had been very specific in his wishes, but that didn't make it any easier. If Danny was really close to death, Robin would interfere, regardless if Danny wanted it or not.

Once Vlad was finished electrocuting Danny, he let go of the boy's ankle and watched as he fell into the ocean below. Danny's body hit the water and Vlad looked on cheerfully as the teen sunk below the waves.

The impact shocked Danny back to his senses and he thrashed about as he swam to the surface of the water. Once he broke the surface of the water, Danny created a little patch of ice and climbed on it. His body was covered in burns and ached horribly. Parts of his suit were singed and he found it excruciatingly painful to move, but he had to persevere. He had to end it, or die trying.

The shore was only a few feet away. If he went at his highest speed he could grab the cloak and find the bags. The teen looked up and saw Vlad staring down at him, practically waiting for the boy to move so he could finish him off. Danny didn't understand why Vlad was drawing this out so much. He was obviously more powerful than Danny could ever hope to be right now, why didn't he deliver the final blow?

Danny shook his head. No, now wasn't the time for those thoughts. He needed to take the small blessings and win this. He got up onto his feet shakily and made it look like he was about to take off into the sky, when at the last second he darted towards the beach. Vlad's eyes widened in genuine surprise as he realized what his prey was going for. He made a mad dash for the teen, but it was too late.

Danny reached the shore and grabbed the cloak, soaring high up into the air with it. He reached inside the cloak until he felt something slightly heavy brush against his hand. The young halfa grabbed the object and found it to be a single black bag. He didn't feel any more bags in the cloak so he discarded the clothing piece and let it drift into the water below, never dropping his speed. He turned his head to see Vlad catching up to him.

The man had a wild, animalistic look in his eyes. Whatever this bag was, it was really important to Vlad. Danny stopped and held the bag out in front of him, aiming an ecto blast at it. Vlad halted in his tracks and fear flashed on his face. "Not another move Vlad." Danny warned, "Or the bag goes up in smoke."

Vlad looked shocked, before a small smile formed on his face. "Well well, Little Badger. I never thought you'd have it in you." He crossed his muscular, scarred arms as the wind blew his greasy hair out of his face, revealing the man's full features. They were a lot more defined than they used to be and Danny noticed there were a few small scars scattered over Vlad's face. "Tell me Little Badger, are you truly ready to have another man's blood on your hands?"

Vlad's words made Danny's blood run cold. He felt his core pounding in his ears as he shakily held the back. His throat burned as he fought to find words. 

"Why did you have to ruin everything, Vlad?" Danny choked out. "I cared about you! You were like a father to me! Why did you have to make me promise to hate you!?"

Now it was Vlad's turn to be confused. Danny knew the elder man wouldn't understand his meaning, but it still hurt. He never wanted to hate Vlad... even after all this time and with all this anger built up inside him, Danny could never truly hate his old mentor. Despise maybe, but never hate.

Vlad sighed, "You don't get it, do you? I never cared for you. All I wanted was your power."

No, that's not true!

"You were nothing but another tool I was going to use to eliminate that bumbling oaf you called a father. Then Maddie, the love of my life would be mine. And if I got the perfect son I had always wanted as part of that deal, I was fine with that too." The elder man smiled and crossed his muscular arms across his chest.

None of this is true!

Tears brimmed in Danny's eyes as his grip loosened on the bag. The Titans had finally finished off the last blob ghost and turned their full attention to Danny. They saw their friend fight back tears as his foe just smiled at the boy's pain. Vlad floated slowly towards the boy, moving as little as possible as to not provoke him. 

Sadly, it didn't seem that was going to work as Danny's eyes burned with new fire and he tightened his grip on the bag and formed a small flaming ball of ecto energy in his palms and created a clone of himself to stand in front of the original Danny. The clone inhaled deeply and unleashed Danny's most powerful attack, the Ghostly Wail.

The Titans clapped their hands over their ears and watched Vlad raised his arms and crossed them in an X-shape in front of his face as the wail flung him far away from Danny. The older man crashed hard into the water and skipped across it like a rock on a pond until he crashed into a mound of rocks in the middle of the water. Vlad coughed up blood as he clutched his chest, which more than likely contained at least one or two broken ribs. 

Even after all his time as Champion, Vlad was still no match for Danny's Ghostly Wail. He needed to eliminate this insect once and for all. His blood would stain Vlad's hands as a final moment of victory.

NO! I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO DO THIS!

Vlad clutched his head as it began to pound. The lights were back. The eyes... they looked down at him. His chest was on fire, his breathing became ragged. They were killing him, and he was killing them. 

You are our Champion.

"NO!" Vlad screamed in agony. He began to thrash about on the rock pile and fell into the waters, splashing about as he tried to drown out the voices in his head. It felt like hands were wrapping around his throat. He sank into the water as his body became still.

You are our tool. 

You belong to us.

You are not allowed to die.

Danny looked down at the spot where Vlad has disappeared. The Titans moved over to Danny, with Robin and Starfire immediately looking over Danny's wounds. "Is... is it over?" Cyborg asked quietly.

They floated in silence before turning around to head back to the tower, when all of a sudden Beast Boy let out a loud squawk. All the Titans whipped back around as the water below began to bubble intensely and the area near the rock pile in the water glowed an eerie red color. The rock pile exploded and shrapnel rained down, as Vlad rose out of the bubbling water. His eyes were glowing pure red with malice. His hair was flowing out around him, tendrils of red lightening dancing on his black greasy strands. His fingernails had grown long and come to claw-like points. He looked even more bulky and muscular than before and his breath came out in steamy puffs. Vlad's eyes locked on Danny and he let out a low growl, a literal growl; like the kind you hear a real animal make.

"Guys?!" Cyborg shouted, clinging on tightly to Beast Boy's back and reading his sonic cannon. "I don't know about you but something about this doesn't look right to me!"

The other Titans didn't answer, but they all knew that Cyborg was right. Danny held on tightly to the black bag as he watched Vlad's floating figure. "Twenty years." He whispered. "What happened to you Vlad?"

Vlad brought his hands together a glowing ball of red energy began to form in his hands. It grew bigger and bigger and Vlad raised his arms above his head as the orb grew to an enormous size. He then hurled it at the teens, the orb approaching at rapid speed. 

They dove out of the orb's way as it made contact with the tower behind them, blowing up the complete upper right half of the tower. Pieces of broken glass and metal rained in the air as the smoke cleared. The upper right half of the tower was in flames, well... what remained of it anyways, and it seemed to be alive with crackling energy.

"We need to end this fast guys, before Vlad decides to fire on the city!" Robin shouted to his teammates who nodded in understanding. Danny floated silently next to their leader as Robin was now standing on a platform Raven had created. He held the black bag close to his chest and felt a pulsing energy inside the bag.

Curious, Danny opened the bag slightly and peered in. His eyes widened and he quickly closed the bag as he felt a sick feeling in his stomach threaten to rise into his throat. He turned Robin quickly, surprising the leader slightly as he had been focused on Vlad, who had been just floating quietly for a while now. The other Titans were positioned for attack, ready if Vlad decided to make another move.

"Robin. I need you guys to distract Vlad for me." Danny said. "But I need Raven."

Robin opened his mouth to question the white-haired teen's request, but quickly closed it after realizing they had no time to ask questions. "You got it Danny." Robin replied. He relayed the orders to his teammates. "Titans, go!" He shouted as they charged into battle, Robin leaping onto Beast Boy's large back with Cyborg. Raven moved to go after them but Danny grabbed her wrist.

She looked up at the young halfa, confused. She became even more confused when she saw how tightly he was clutching the black bag and the desperation in his eyes. "Raven, I need you." He whispered softly.

hi hi everyone. it's the littlest line break, here to offer you cookies and blankets. trust me, you're gonna need em. back to the story!

Birdarangs, starbolts and sonic blasts rained on Vlad as he was attacked by the remaining Titans. He growled deep in his throat as he formed a whip made of charged red ecto energy and began lashing it at the Titans.

"That's new!" Cyborg shouted as Beast Boy dove closer to the water to avoid the range of Vlad's whip.

"What are we to do Robin!?" Starfire shouted as she fired an entire barrage of starbolts at Vlad's back. "He is too strong!" 

Robin tried to think of alternatives, but Starfire had a point. Whatever happened to Vlad when he was knocked into the water made him a lot stronger than when it was just Danny fighting him. 

Vlad made the whip disappear and in its place, made his hands into fists as saw blades made of red and black flecked ecto energy extended from his knuckles. He lunged at Beast Boy's underbelly and attempted to slash the pteranodon's exposed stomach. Beast Boy tried to dodge as fast as he could but he did get nicked slightly. Nothing serious, but seconds later a cry of pain came from Beast Boy as he began flying wildly and jerking about. Cyborg and Robin had to cling to Beast Boy's large back in a small attempt to not fall off.

"What is this guy?!" Cyborg shouted. He tried to aim his cannon at Vlad but Beast Boy was rocking about so much he couldn't let go or else risk falling to the ocean down below.

"I WANT HIM!" Vlad screamed, clutching his head. "NO, DESTROY HIM! STOP SHOUTING AT ME!" Vlad began darting around in the air, a crazed look in his eyes. His head whipped to and fro, searching for something but finding nothing. He locked eyes with the Titans before staring down into the water and diving towards it. He stopped mere inches away from the water before soaring back into the air. He flew in circles, loop-de-loops and twirled through the air with a sense of grace, but it was obvious he was still crazed. The Titans would happily take this opportunity to take the older man down, but since his movements were so random they never had a chance to line up a shot that would take him down or even stun him.

Then suddenly, Vlad stopped. He stood as still as a statue, not a muscle moved, not a single strand of hair twitched in the breeze. His back was to the Titans as they readied their weapons for an attack. Beast Boy had finally recovered Vlad began humming a quiet tune. The Titans watched in confusion as Vlad began to sing softly, "They won't stop. Nothing is stopping. Going and going, on and on, never stopping never slowing; round and round, are we going? Who knows where it ends and where is begins, not me, not I, but he knows, and he'll know even after he dies."

His voice was mellow and smooth, a complete 180 from how he had been speaking mere moments ago. It lured the Titans in as they began swaying in time to his tune. Vlad continued to hum his song as the Titans' eyes glazed over.

"Fight." Vlad whispered, his fangs glinting in the sunlight as he smiled. At once, the young heroes began battling each other. Starfire unleashed her starbolts on Cyborg and Robin, while the two boys fought each other on Beast Boy's back, who was also trying to make the two fall off his large back. Beast Boy turned into a small bird and Cyborg and Robin began to fall into the water below, leaving Beast Boy and Starfire to fight each other. 

As Robin and Cyborg were about to hit the water, Danny and Raven suddenly appeared, each grabbing one of the heroes. The tranced heroes fought to get out of their rescuers grasps. 

"What's wrong with them?" Danny shouted as Robin struggled in his grip.

"Watch out!" Was Raven's reply, while she dealt with Cyborg's thrashing.

Danny looked up to see a starbolt heading his way. He yelped and dodged the green energy while stealing a quick look up to see Starfire and Beast Boy locked in combat, while Vlad looked on, amused. Danny grit his teeth and looked over at Raven. The pale girl noticed and nodded. 

Danny let go of Robin but Raven caught him on a platform she created out of shrapnel from the tower. Raven threw a very large piece of the destroyed tower at Vlad using her telekinesis. 

Vlad saw the projectile incoming and raised his hand to fire at it. His hand glowed red with energy and unleashed it on the piece of the tower. It blew up into pieces and a blur of white flew through the chaos, crashing into Vlad's middle. The wind was knocked out of Vlad as a punch landed on his jaw followed by a swift roundhouse kick to his side.

The blur of white did a front roll in the air, extending their leg and bringing it down on Vlad's head. The man went down fast and crashed to the water below. Vlad didn't stay down long. Mere seconds after he disappeared beneath the surface he was back up, firing fireballs at his attacker.

Due to the distraction, Vlad's hold on the Titans was gone and they returned to normal. They saw Danny fighting Vlad head on, avoiding fireballs and returning blasts of ecto energy. Raven stared at the two silently, emotionless. What Danny did next was going to be his decision and his alone. Vlad, the Titans, even his own morals had no say in this matter.

Danny dodged another fireball and returned a ecto-energy ball paired with ice shards. Vlad darted to and fro, avoiding the energy and ice. He swooped in on Danny, forming his whip and aiming it at the boy's ankle. Danny did a quick splitz as the whip snapped where his feet had once been and flew up higher. The whip continued to snap at his feet as Danny increased his altitude all while Vlad gave chase.

"Just give up pitiful creature!" Vlad shouted, a wild glint in his eyes, "You could never hope to beat the Champion!" Vlad discarded the whip and allowed the saw blades of red and black ecto-energy extend from his knuckles. He increased his speed and swiped at Danny, who barely missed having his stomach torn to shreds.

"You're not Champion!" Danny screamed, as he ducked under Vlad and floated behind him. "You're Vlad Masters! Whatever happened in that arena doesn't matter anymore! You're free! The Dinsi don't control you anymore!"

Vlad turned to face Danny and froze. He stared bug-eyed at Danny, as if he was a 'deer in headlights'. "H-How... How do you know about that?" He said softly, his voice trembling slightly.

Danny's expression softened, sympathy showing on his features. "I know everything Vlad. The arena, the experiments, the Dinsi, and I know about Zimak too."

All rage faded from Vlad's face, replaced by grief and sadness. "Zimak." He whispered. Tears leaked from his eyes. "I never wanted any of this. She was the only thing that made it bearable. Then they made her..." Vlad trailed off. The saw blades retracted back into his knuckles and Vlad visibly relaxed. "If only I had never asked that of her... She wouldn't have been forced to fight."

Vlad locked eyes with Danny. Voices screamed in his head, but a gentle voice cut through them all, whispering tender words.

Thank you... for everything Vladimirus. You taught me how to live.

"I will not, let your death be in vain." Vlad hissed, two whips of red energy extending from his hands. "I will end this the way I should have long ago." The elder's eyes burned with passion filled fury once more as he cracked his whips and aimed them both at Danny.

The young halfa was caught by surprise and was unable to dodge. One whip wrapped around his wrist, the other around his neck. The burning energy cut into his skin, drawing green blood. If his blood touch the whip it sizzled, sending a disgusting smell right into Danny's face. The teen bit his lip in pain as tears dripped down his face.

"DANNY!" Robin screamed as he threw an exploding Birdarang at Vlad. Robin as well as the other Titans were tired of sitting on the sidelines. They had been patient and respected Danny's wishes but this had gone on long enough. Danny was their friends and they weren't going to sit idly by and watch his get killed while they had the power to do something.

The Birdarang made contact with Vlad's head and exploded, causing Vlad to lose his grip on the whips. Danny was released from their hold and fell towards the sea. Starfire swooped in and snatched him out of the air, carrying him to safety. "Robin... no." Danny said hoarsely.

Cyborg fired his sonic cannon as Raven lifted large rocks from out of the water below and hurled them at Vlad. The elder dodged their attacks and returned a few fireballs of his own. Another Birdarang lodged itself in Vlad's shoulder as he was struck by a sonic blast. Beast Boy flew by and tried to swat Vlad out of the air using his massive wings. Vlad responded by forming the saw blades on his knuckles and aiming fro Beast Boy's wing, who narrowly dodged the attack.

Starfire still held onto Danny, flying him away from Vlad. Danny struggled weakly in her grip. "Starfire please, stop them." He begged. "I need to do this myself."

"I am sorry Danny, but you are in no shape to fight him." Starfire responded sternly. "Why do you refuse to let us assist you?" She asked, tightening her grip slightly. "We are friends, are we not?"

Danny sighed. "We are friends, but I need to do this alone. It's hard to explain." Danny bit his already swollen lip, tasting blood. "I guess you could say it's a family thing."

Starfire looked down at Danny, a sense of understanding washing over her. She looked back at the other Titans fighting Vlad and then back at Danny once more. She sighed, "I understand. I too have, how you say, 'family problems'." The young halfa looked up at his Tamaranean friend, and smiled. Starfire turned around and flew back towards Vlad and the Titans, releasing Danny from her hold. The teen was shaky but stable as he glided alongside Starfire. Both fired blasts of energy at Vlad as Danny rejoined the fight.

"Danny Phantom what do you think you're doing!?" Robin shouted angrily. "You are in no shape to fight him anymore!"

Danny chuckled, "Sorry Rob, but I've been fighting this guy way longer than you have. I think I know what I'm doing." He charged at the elder man, forming a sword of ice and swinging it at Vlad. The sword made contact with Vlad's chest and tore through his clothes, giving him a big diagonal gash on his muscular chest and torso. 

Vlad cried out in pain as the energy in his hands changed color from red to blue and his attention completely turned to Danny. The two raced off towards the remains of Titans Tower. Robin and the others tried to go after him, but they were stopped by Raven and Starfire.

"What are you two doing?" Cyborg shouted, "We have to help Phantom!" Beast Boy squawked his unhappiness at being stopped, not to mention he was getting tired of constantly being in his pteranodon form.

"Danny has to do this on his own, regardless of the consequences." Raven said, her tone completely serious. "Whatever happens, we need to accept the fact that Danny made this choice all on his own knowing full well of the dangers and risks he was taking." Starfire nodded in agreement with Raven's statement.

The Titans had a stare-down, even preparing to fight one another, but in the end they realized what Raven said was right. Danny wasn't going to accept their help. They just had to live with the choices their friend made and support him.

IT IS I! THE ALL MIGHTY LINE BREAK! BOW BEFORE MY ALL MIGHTINESS AND SHOWER ME WITH LOVE AND OFFERINGS WORTHY OF MY ALL MIGHTINESS! YOU MAY NOW CONTINUE TO READ THE CHAPTER!

Vlad coughed as he fired a blue beam of energy at Danny, who swiftly dodged it and spiraled around, firing a return blast. It struck Vlad in his already bleeding chest and knocked him back. Vlad was getting slower, he was getting weaker. Blood leaked from the wound on his chest and dripped from the corner of his mouth every time he coughed. His chest burned and he felt his cores throbbing endlessly. He hadn't had any pills in a long time now, and with all the power he was using his cores were bound to start having serious effects on him. 

The black bag was tied to Danny's belt and the teen had no intention of handing it over easily. He sighed and laughed sadly. "I'm sorry Zimak, this was all for nothing." Vlad created a whip of blue energy and cracked it at Danny, snapping at the boy's wrist. It wrapped around Danny's wrist and Vlad pulled the teen closer to him, headbutting the teen.

Danny spun around, disoriented, and Vlad landed a swift kick to the young halfa's head. Danny zipped through the air and crashed into the rubble that used to be the main room of Titans Tower. Danny shakily got on all fours as Vlad landed next to him, falling to his knees.

Vlad gave a long cough, blood splattering on the floor. He laughed. "I must say Little Badger, you certainly have gotten stronger. Even the strongest Puaprex would have been beaten by now."

Danny tried to stand but just fell back down to the ground. He rolled onto his back and chuckled. "I have no idea what that means Fruitloop, but I'm going to take it as a compliment." Danny laid an arm across his forehead as he glanced over at Vlad. The elder was on his knees, coughing up more and more blood. He was shivering, as if cold, and his eyes flashed from blue, to red, to black and back to blue again.

"Black... Bag..." Vlad whispered. "Inside..." He pointed at the black bag on Danny's belt.

Danny frowned. He sat up and he reached for the bag, emptying the contents onto the floor. Out from the bag fell two pills, one green and one red, and a syringe filled with a glowing green liquid. Danny reached for the syringe but paused as his hand drew close to it. He felt a deadly aura radiating off the syringe.

"Syringe." Vlad whispered. He crawled pitifully towards the contents on the floor, as if he was an infant just learning to crawl.

Danny snatched the contents and scrambled backwards, away from Vlad. For some reason, this seemed to sadden Vlad. "No need to fear me any longer Daniel. You won. It is time for the Champion to be relieved of his title." Vlad once again pointed at the syringe. "In that syringe, is liquidized Ectoranium."

Danny's eyes widened immediately as he dropped the syringe. Vlad crawled closer and snatched it away from the young halfa's reach. "Vlad, no!" Danny shouted, backing away from Vlad as fast as he could in his weakened and injured state "Please don't!"

Vlad sighed. "Don't worry Little Badger. This medicine isn't for you." Vlad rolled up the rest of his tattered purple sleeve, exposing his forearm. He took the syringe and plunged it into his arm, pressing down on the plunger. He hissed as the green liquid disappeared and entered his blood stream. Once the entire syringe was empty, it dropped from Vlad's grip and he slumped to the ground.

Danny felt a pang in his chest and bile rise in the back of his throat. He wanted to scream, to cry, to do anything, but he was frozen. He robotically crawled to Vlad's side. The elder was still alive, though his breaths were shaky. Danny took the older man into his arms as tears finally started to fall. "Why?" Danny asked, "Why would you do this?"

Vlad coughed, giving Danny a small smile. "My dear boy, all those years I spent locked away fighting for my life, wondering every day if it would be my last, suffering endlessly... I kept thinking of you. How I had wronged you, and would never have a chance to apologize for all the pain I had caused you and your family."

Sweat dripped from Vlad's brow as the old man's breath became shorter. His arm began to twitch as he clenched and un-clenched his hands. "To see you become so strong, I must say I am proud Little Ba-... Danny."

Danny's tears began to fall on Vlad's face. "Why would you do this? I never wanted to fight you! You were like a father to me Vlad! Why couldn't it stay that way?" The teen sobbed and was startled to feel a hand wipe away his tears.

"I have caused you so much pain Daniel." Vlad whispered sadly, tears beginning to leak from his rapidly color-changing eyes. "This was the only way to fix things. I couldn't allow you to stain your hands with my blood." Vlad gripped one of Danny's hands weakly, "These hands were made to save, not to kill." Vlad coughed once more, blood trailing down his chin and dripping onto his collarbone.

"If you never wanted me to kill you, then why did you fight me?!" Danny shouted. "I was ready to kill or be killed! I never wanted that!" He shook Vlad's weak body, not caring that the man was literally dying in his arms.

Vlad's expression grew somber. "I was not right in the head when I returned to Earth. I didn't know whether I wanted you to be my own or to kill you. I struggled for weeks on what I truly wanted. Now I know." He gripped Danny's hand with what little strength remained in his body. "I wanted to see you become a great hero, one last time."

Danny laughed as he wiped away a few tears. "I never understood you Fruitloop."

"And I don't expect you to start." Vlad chuckled. He sighed heavily and saw from the corner of his eye that Danny's friends had appeared close to the tower, but kept their respective difference. He smiled, "You find such good friends Little Badger. I know they'll treat you well." Vlad locked eyes with Danny. "I'm sorry Daniel. I was wrong." Vlad began to shiver in the teen's hold and his breathing quickened as the Ectoranium reached his first core and began to shut it down. "I can never atone for what I have done to you, and I don't expect you to forgive me. In fact, I don't want you to forgive me. I won't ask you to hate me, just please don't forgive me."

Danny bit his swollen lip and nodded silently, tears pouring down his cheeks. "I won't forgive you Vlad. I never will. But I will never hate you."

The elder halfa gave a crooked smile. "I don't deserve your kindness Little Badger." Vlad's breath hitched in his throat and tears ran down in little trails on his cheeks. "I love you, Daniel, like the son I never had." 

Danny felt a knot in his throat, making it hard for him to swallow. "I love you too, Vlad, as the father I lost so long ago." 

Vlad looked at Danny, with enormous pride in his eyes. "Thank you Danny... for everything you have given me." He reached up to wipe away Danny's tears once more. "Please son, don't cry. Continue to be the greatest hero the world has ever seen." 

Danny nodded, "I promise, Dad."

 Vlad's hand fell from Danny's cheek as he shivered violently one last time, before going completely limp in Danny's arms. His eyes stopped changing color and settled on the blue color Vlad's eyes used to be when he was in his human form. They were dull and unfocused... lifeless. 

Danny closed Vlad's eyes, hugging his former mentor's body close to him and sobbing into his broad shoulder. The Titans rushed to Danny's side and comforted him as he continued to sob, his cries washing away by the sound of waves hitting the shore.

Vlad Masters was dead. Danny had lost another family member. But he was happy. At least Vlad had died a sane man. Danny hoped wherever Vlad was now, he was happy.

A/N: Ok, this is way later than it should have been. Anyways, a big thank you to everyone who still remembers this book. I don't blame those who got fed up and forgot it, I was gone for a very long time. I just wasn't in the best place to write (not to mention I got sick like every other week). Pile that onto a whole bunch of other problems and you have the life of me. Enough of me griping, back on to my never kept promises! Ok, this time I swear the next chapter shouldn't take more than 3 months to get out. Though it may be a while as I want to get it as perfect as I can. SOOOOO thank you all for staying patient with me and as always, I'll see you all in the next one!