Okay, so this is going to begin with a little story.

Once upon a time, there was a girl who had a life. It was an uneventful life, but things actually happened from day-to-day. Then the girl discovered a website. A website that was home to thousands of stories that could keep here preoccupied for days on end…and it soon had. During the time buried under the heaping lists of stories she wanted to read, the girl found one tale in particular. It was a good tale- a great tale –but the girl closed her eyes and saw something different happening. Soon, those happenings began tangible on paper and then onto her computer where they have been for some time now. After all of this, the girl stumbled on a story based on another story that had been referenced by yet another story (story-inception). Using this idea, the girl played follow-the-leader and finished her version of the story she enjoyed so much…and this is that story.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters nor the show-ness. I also do not own the base idea, but the story I read has been lost to my 'delete history' button and my OCD of keeping my laptop new-ish. I can't reference the original owner of the story, but should he/she come along feel free to say something in the comments and I will reference you or delete this completely…it was your idea first, after all.

I also apologize for those reading 'Let There be War' and I just have to say: I'm working on it…I'm just a little stuck. Sorry!

Read! Review! Enjoy!

It was finally Christmas.

Vlad grumbled as he flew towards the large house featuring the annual party the ghosts used to celebrate the holiday's truce. As much as the man hated these gatherings, he was anxious to see the younger-halfa. After their agreement on a cease-fire, Vlad had seen very little of the boy and was interested in his abilities' progression. That along with missing the witty banter the man had enjoyed so much about their battles.

Nearing his destination, he prepared himself to avoid the specters more than likely "haunting" the grounds for the night. There was only one being the man desired to see. Vlad landed silently and approached the door before taking a breath and knocking loudly. The large door opened to reveal the blue-haired diva, Ember, who ushered him in.

The hall was huge. Upon entering, there was a large room full of ghosts conversing and sharing gifts. A massive tree decorated the far corner lined with more gifts yet to be unwrapped while the neighboring corner housed a spread of refreshments. Though ghosts couldn't get any nutrients from the food, many specters enjoyed the taste as well as the feeling of eating. The side walls were littered with open doors seemingly leading to separate balconies of sorts that only a few ghosts were occupying.

After a quick check, Vlad was sure that Daniel had not arrived yet. Seeing Skulker, he decided to attempt conversation to pass the time until the boy got there. It worked for a few minutes, but the words passed between the two beings were forced and dull.

Just as Vlad was considering another topic, a light knock sounded on the door that silenced the entire building. Ember darted up to the door as if she was designated usher. Pulling it open, there stood a smaller figure sided by a bag larger than he was. As the door closed behind him, the light shone on him revealing his signature hazmat and insignia. His stark-white hair was cast across one side of his face, but both of his eyes glowed brightly.

Danny smiled at the many specters staring at him. "Sorry I'm late, but I brought presents!" He said excitedly and held up the bag with complete ease despite its size. "Who's first?"

Being more child-like, Young Blood flew up to the halfa, "Me first, me first!"

Danny smiled and dug in the large bag until he found a box wrapped in colorful paper and handed it to the ghost. Plunging back into the bag, Danny began to pull out gift after gift and handing them off the every ghost in the room. Presents were opened and found to be specific as well as wanted by their new owners.

When each ghost was given a gift, Vlad approached the boy bearing a small black box decorated with white ribbon and a green tag. "Merry Christmas, Daniel." He said.

Danny spun around from his previous digging only to spot the man with a smile, "Merry Christmas, Vlad" he returned. Standing up to face the older-halfa, Danny held out a small white box with black ribbon sporting a red tag. He chuckled as they traded presents.

Vlad carefully opened his gift as Danny did the same. Both soon pulled out matching pendants with the opposite's ghostly insignia on the flip side of their own. Two sides to one coin; both had made for the other by materializing their signature ectoplasm, though Danny's was slightly less pristine than his elder's. Vlad looked down at the boy to thank him when Danny looked up to Vlad unknowingly revealing the eye his hair had covered.

The older-halfa gasped audibly, bringing a curious silence to the room as the ghosts looked to the man. "Daniel, what happened?" he asked after seeing the large, fairly new cut ranging from well-above the boy's eyebrow in the center of his forehead to the very middle of his cheek crossing angrily over his eye.

Danny blanched, stuttering for a response. "What are you talking about?" he mumbled, lowering his head so his hair covered the wound once again, but Vlad was having none of it. Danny took that moment to look for food, lighting his face with his findings. He flew over to the large table laughing with excitement causing several ghosts to laugh with his antics as he dug in.

The night carried on with multiple conversations all being held between the younger-halfa and anyone who crossed his path between his mounting plates of food. It was almost as if the boy made a point to put a smile on everyone's face. It wasn't long before the plates emptied and his bright-green eyes found one of the many doors to the balcony, leading him away from any company.

The moment the door swung closed behind him, a heavy silence filled the large room only to open up into soft murmuring questions. "What happened to him?" "Did you see that cut?" "Who would have done that?" Regardless of their tough appearances and attacks on the child, they were all hiding a similar care for the young Phantom.

Vlad approached Skulker who was speaking to Walker, Ember, and the Ghost Writer. "Did any of you do that?" he asked casually, not taking his eyes off of the door hiding the boy.

"It couldn't have been any of us." Skulker mused. "That wound is new; not even a day old and we are all under truce. The whelp had to have gotten it today."

"I can send outta search to see if there are any clues, but it'll take time." Walker drawled.

Ghost Writer turned to Vlad, "Perhaps you could simply talk to the Phantom."

"Yah," Ember called, "He'd tell you before any of us."

Vlad sighed, but nodded shortly and left the group. He walked to the door and hesitated just a moment before opening it quietly then closing it behind him. He could sense every ghost watching invisibly and intangibly through the door, but refrained from shooing them away.

Danny sat on the stone railing overlooking a vast field that lead to a river crossing. Stepping closer to the boy, Vlad placed a hand on his shoulder only to pull it back as Danny flinched violently; spinning to face the man with an expression caught between battle-ready and fear.

When seeing Vlad, he relaxed exponentially which surprised the man who had believed to have once been the enemy. "Holy crap, Vlad! Don't just sneak up on someone like that; you scared me half to death..." He half-smiled at his own joke before facing the scenery again. A short time of silence passed before he spoke again in a voice much too old to be coming from the 15 year-old. "Wow, this is a cool place." He mused. "It'd be nice to live up here, huh?"

"There are no other people for miles. It would be lonely." Vlad explained gently.

Danny shrugged, "No loss there." It was said so quietly, the man almost missed it if not for his enhanced hearing.

"Daniel-"

"I should probably get back inside. I can't stay long and I haven't said 'hi' to everyone." Danny pushed himself off of the balcony and away from Vlad to get to the doors, but didn't make it far before the older-halfa caught his arm, pulling him back. Vlad watched the boy's expression flicker uncomfortably until it settled on his face. "What?"

"What happened?" Vlad asked simply.

Danny shrugged again and tried to pull out of the man's grip. "I don't know what you're talking about. Now, can you let me go?"

The man brought his free hand up to the boy's chin and lifted his face to meet his eyes. The older-halfa ran his thumb along the mark, pulling it away at Danny's wince. Even the slight touch brought blood and ectoplasm to Vlad's gloved finger. "Daniel, I do not offer any threat to you; you know this. Why won't you tell me what happened?"

The young-halfa sighed and pulled his face out of the man's grip. "It's nothing, Vlad. I can handle it."

"I didn't ask if you could 'handle it', Daniel. I asked you how you received that mark." Vlad said quickly. "Your secrecy is only inflating my curiosity."

"I-"

"Do not lie. You are truly a terrible liar, little badger."

Danny hesitated before shyly bringing two dulled, green eyes up to meet Vlad's careful gaze. "I…I got in a fight and didn't dodge quick enough." He said vaguely.

Vlad, however, was relentless. "A fight with who, Daniel?" When Danny didn't answer he repeated his question more sternly.

"My…dad," the boy admitted slowly then took a breath before jumping into the explanation. "It was my fault, though. I wasn't paying attention and I went ghost in my room this morning. I thought my door was locked, but dad opened it without warning me. He saw Phantom and flipped out asking where his son was. I tried to tell him it was me, but he wouldn't just listen. It kind of went downhill from there, but it was my fault." He spoke as if he was trying to convince himself as well.

Vlad blinked. "Your father did this?" He ran his thumb along the cut once again, yet more gentle than before, though Danny still flinched as it bled. "He shot at you after you told him?"

"Uhm…" Danny's free hand found the back of his neck. "No, he didn't…shoot me…per say"

"Explain."

"I…well…when I tried to- you know –defend myself and destroy his gun he kind of got mad…and…pulled out these new 'ecto-blades' he and mom just made. He was pretty psyched that they worked." He muttered bitterly.

The man radiated anger. "Again, he did this after you told him."

"Well, ya. I mean, he didn't believe me and thought I had messed with his son or something. I morphed again to show him, but that's when mom walked in and it got worse. She went all crazy maternal or whatever on me thinking the same as my dad. I couldn't dodge everything they threw at me- especially in my tiny room -so I tried to phase through the wall, but they had turned on the ghost shield. I had to get passed them, through the house's defenses, and go through the front door as a human."

The boy was lost in his retelling, oblivious to his audience's mounting anger.

Danny chuckled darkly as he continued. "Jazz was a mess. She actually tried to help them. I thought she was on my side since she already knew everything, but she blocked the door knowing I wouldn't hurt her to get away. I made it as far as the living room before my parents caught up with me and I had to play dodge-ball again. It was kind of funny, though; I was forced human and got shot through the living-room window. That's how I ended up getting away."

"No idea how, but I managed to go ghost and make it to the safe-house before anything else went wrong." He sighed deeply, his shoulders shrinking in the process seeming far older than his years. "I tried to get a hold of Tucker, but there was no answer- probably because it was so early -so I called Sam who told me that my parents had told everyone what happened. She told me to run so I did; here. I sucked all of the presents into the thermos before I left except for yours; I had that in my pocket."

There was no response Vlad found fitting enough. He was enraged at his old friends, sympathetic at what had happened, terrified for the boy's safety, regretful that he wasn't there to help, and curious as to Danny's plans. He could only imagine the reactions the story had gathered amongst their hidden audience.

"I'm so sorry, little badger." He said as he pulled the boy close to him.

He could feel Danny tilt his head. "Why?"

Vlad looked at him. "For not knowing about this or being there to help."

Danny actually laughed. "Oh common, fruitloop. How could you have known? Plus if you were there you'd probably incinerate them and that wouldn't have helped anything."

"Yes, I suppose," Vlad chuckled, "Of course I would have done a lot more than incinerating. I would have strung them up by their hair and beat them senseless before allowing them time to heal only to continue the torture in a never-ending cycle. Then I would incinerate them into ash."

"I now remember why we decided on that 'no fighting' rule." Danny blinked

"Come now, little badger. I would never do such things to you." Vlad mused jokingly. "I would have done something like this instead." With no other warning, Vlad poked Danny's side. The ghosts watching were confused as Danny flinched with a laugh; they had never seen the halfas act like this. The young-halfa's reaction only lead to more poking in different areas until the boy was a rolling mess of laughter on the ground with Vlad standing over him as if it was a victory.

"Unfair, Plasmius; I wasn't ready. Cheating like that is why I almost didn't make it here in the first place!" The young-halfa called with a smile.

Vlad took a great interest in the boy's wording. "What are you talking about?"

Danny raised an eyebrow. "You cheating." He said slowly.

"No," The man waived his hand in front of his face. "You said that cheating had almost prevented you from getting here."

"Oh," Danny immediately deflated.

"Daniel…" Vlad urged.

Danny stood, rubbing his neck again. "Jazz may have called the GIW on me while I was distracted by my parents and they kind of showed before I could make it out of Amity. They've been hovering around 'the most haunted town in the world' again and keep blaming me for it. I have no idea where they get their dumb ideas, but somehow it's my fault ghosts show up and pick fights as if I control them or something."

The boy shook his head. "Anyway, I sort of got caught by one of their stupid net-things before I could get out of the way; oh how I hate those net-things. Luckily, they didn't know about my ice-powers or I'd probably be on my way to their base again." He shuddered. "I don't know about you, but I call that cheating."

"What do you mean by 'again'?" Vlad pressed.

"Uh…" Danny hesitated, but seeing the man's stern expression, sighed and admitted to his past shortcomings visibly shrinking in on himself as he spoke. "This wasn't the first time my family called these guys. When they fixed-up the 'Fenton-Vacuum'- basically a vacuum that draws nearby ecto-signatures, the one you broke –I fell into one of their stupid sneak attacks. I tried to get out of it, but they modified it especially for me just like they have for all of their other inventions. The GIW were there when I was let out; in a prison of course."

Another shudder racked the boy. "You can imagine the 'fun' that involved. Anyway, I broke loose when they thought I passed out. It was by pure luck that I didn't actually pass out and morph, but I wasn't going to wait for an explanation. It was months ago though so…" As he finished his story he glanced up at his listener. One peak at the older-halfa told Danny that something was wrong. "Uh…Vlad?"

The man's eyes were burning red at the young-halfa's retelling. "I'm going to maim them." He promised darkly. He rose off of the ground as if ready to shoot off into the distance, but Danny floated with him and latched a hand onto each of the man's upper arms. "I'm going to make each of them die slowly!" Vlad was enraged. Danny held on as tightly as he could; trying to stop the man from hurting anyone. "Vlad, stop! You can't go!"

"Why not, Daniel? Why should I spare those humans from a life of torment after their doings? How can you sit aside- after they betrayed you to your enemies -while they retain breath?" The struggling continued as the young-halfa used energy he didn't have to hold the older-halfa back, though it was painfully obvious he stood little chance.

"Because, Vlad" He grunted, having immense difficulty with his self-assigned task, "They are still my family!"

The words broke the barricade the man's anger had created, leaving only stunned silence in its wake. Though, his struggles didn't falter.

Knowing he was getting through to the older-halfa, Danny continued trying to sound as strong as he could. "I don't care what they do. No matter what happens, they are still my parents and my big sister. They are all the family I have and I can't let anything happen to them just because I am angry or I get hurt. I know what I will become without them and it's not going to involve any happy ending." Wordlessly, Danny urged Vlad to land and followed him to the ground, continuing in a softer voice. "Maybe someday I can explain why, but if anything happens to them you and I will pay a price I'm not willing to risk. Just leave them be."

Obviously still angered, Vlad took several calming breaths and nodded to satisfy the boy. Danny nodded back and slowly took his arms off of the man only to sway where he stood. Vlad steadied him in an instant with a questioning expression.

Danny laughed a bit, putting a hand to his forehead as if fighting off dizziness. "I must've used more power than I thought. I may or may not be lacking a bit in the 'energy' department due to lack of sleep and a recent food shortage. No worries though, I should be fine in a second."

"What do you mean you haven't been eating and sleeping?" Vlad asked, scowling.

"Between school, ghost fights, my parents, and now the GIWs roaming town, I haven't gotten much of a chance." He shrugged carelessly.

Vlad refrained from casting a glare at the ghosts in favor of watching the boy morph to human. The man had to hold his breath to stifle the gasp that fought its way into being from the sight. There were marks and wounds all over the boy paired with holes and blood littering his tattered clothes that his hazmat had easily hid. It was obvious that after everything he had gone through with his parents and the GIW; he had been through hell.

Danny attempted to slow his breaths. "Guess I used a lot more energy than I thought. Just give me...a minute…to…" His words faltered and before another breath could be taken, his eyes rolled back as he began to fall to the floor. Vlad caught him in record time only to find that the boy had lost consciousness.

Another moment passed as the ghosts faded into visibility to accompany Vlad and the sleeping Phantom on the balcony.

"That explains why he's been so tired lately." Ember speculated quietly. "We didn't even fight this time around. He just asked me to leave. Good thing I did."

"It also gives reason for the copious amount of food he ate earlier." Ghost Writer added.

Young Blood popped his head up, "Plus, him being away from Amity today when I went to get him."

There were murmurs of agreement.

"So this was to the work of the whelp's parents?" Skulker asked incredulously as he eyed the battered child.

Walker scoffed, "No surprise. When I took over Amity the boy's parents were first against 'im. I didn't even have to influence 'em to be on my side."

"I would offer to pay them a visit, but I would never face them. They're only slightly less dangerous than he is on a good day." Ember admitted.

Vlad eyed them for a moment before looking down at the senseless boy in his arms. While the marks and bruises were a horrible sight alone, the addition of the multiple tatters in his over-worn, stained clothing made it all the worse. It was the final straw when the man's eyes caught a dark coloring around the child's neck where hand prints could be picked apart from the pale skin. "Is there a place he can rest? I believe I have business to take care of."

Smirks grew into vicious smiles that could seriously frighten those unaccustomed to such things as the ghosts lead Vlad into the building and through a door too close to the Christmas tree to be seen clearly. The room was smaller than Vlad would have preferred for the young-halfa, but it housed a bed. Vlad gently laid the boy down and created a duplicate of himself; ordering it to watch over the boy in his absence.

Without any other hesitation, Vlad lead the large group of ghosts who desired the taste of revenge to Amity Park. The small town was already on high alert as it appeared to be guarded by worthless GIW agents and a small collection of 'ghost-hunters'. Seamlessly, the halfa darted to the Fenton's house and used the broken window to get past the ghost shield as a human. Working quickly, he invisibly deactivated the ghost shield, and gave lead to the ghosts covertly awaiting his signal outside.

Danny woke up feeling more refreshed than he had in far too long. He felt as though he could take on an army, though after having done so against the Ghost King, he erased such notions from mind. As depressed as the realization made him, he knew something was wrong with these feelings. After everything that had happened, he should not be comfortable unless he was in some serious danger. Fear coursed through him with the thought of laboratories and metal tables made specifically for him. That fear intensified when he heard a foreign noise beside him.

Jumping off the bed and onto his feet, he landed battle-ready only to face a startled Ghost Writer. Both blinked at the other before the ghost set the book he had been reading on a small table and of rose out of his chair that had been placed beside the bed Danny had occupied.

"Welcome back, Phantom." He offered offhandedly as he phased through the door across the room.

Unsure if he should follow, Danny stood awkwardly before throwing all to caution and leaving his small safe-haven. He instantly regretted his decision when he opened the door and entered into the large room he had been in the night before for the truce party. Ghosts still littered the grounds, though the light outside of the window claimed Christmas had passed some time ago.

Most, if not all, of the beings in the hall watched the boy with a mixture of expressions Danny didn't care to deduct. He found himself morphing without taking his eyes off of the ghosts beginning to surround him. The young-halfa spotted Ghost Writer across the room, near the front door, speaking to someone before another familiar face came into view.

Not truly understanding what was going on, Danny remained on high-alert as Vlad approached him calmly. Noticing the boy's unease, the man smiled. "Do not worry, little badger. You are in no danger."

Danny must have looked skeptical because Vlad chuckled. "No offense, but I'm in a room full of ghosts and- by the look of the sky -the truce is over." The young-halfa muttered, unsure of his options of escape.

"Do you forget our deal? You and I are not enemies, Daniel, so you remain safe as long as I am here."

"Ya, well, you're the only one here who's under any type of deal." Danny added, but Vlad placed his arm around the boy's tense shoulders.

"You doubt my influence?" At the young-halfa's confused expression, the man continued. "I may have offered a similar deal to the ghosts to keep them out of your way."

Danny cast an uneasy glace at Vlad, "What deal?"

The man shrugged, "Oh, nothing important. I just offered them the opportunity to assist me in destroying the GIWs entire organization as well as your parents' laboratory in return for leaving you out of their cross-hairs."

"You did what?"

"Yes, Daniel, you heard correctly."

"But…but…how?"

Vlad sighed dramatically, "Again you question me." He replied vaguely. When Danny only waited for an explanation with an eyebrow raised, the man chuckled. "That, my boy, is a long story to be saved for another time. There are more interesting topics to cover before the day is out." After casting the boy a hard look, he continued slowly. "There is the matter of what transpired yesterday and your options regarding it."

Danny slouched. "I know." He mumbled, but made no other comment.

Vlad took that as a lead to press on. "Do you have any idea as to what you will do?"

"Not really." He admitted. "I mean I can't stay with Sam or Tucker because their parents hate me and I don't want to put them in any danger of my parents finding out they're hiding me. I could bunk at the safe-house even though Jazz knows about it and just hope she already checked or forgot about it. I can't go home or back to school without being found and I'm not old enough to get a job." The boy ran a hand through his stark-white hair, yet again revealing one of the many wounds he had received. "I can always jump around empty places like I did when my parents were getting too close to finding out who I was…"

"You will do no such thing." Vlad ordered suddenly causing Danny to flinch at his volume. At the young-halfa's silence, the man continued, "I will always have room for you, Daniel. You do not have to go to such lengths if you do not wish to."

Danny studied the older-halfa's face, searching for any hidden motive. When he didn't find anything he sighed sadly. "I wish I could, Vlad, but I'd have to ask someone first and he only comes around when he needs to. I can't really explain, but without his 'go ahead' I'm worried about what might happen if I take your offer."

"Daniel, I do not understand. Who would you need permission from?" Vlad pressed, but Danny wouldn't answer.

"Me." A deep voice called from across the room.

The young-halfa's head shot up in surprise at the new attendee. Without any hesitation, the boy darted over to the ghost who appeared in the middle of the room. "Clockwork!" Danny cried, throwing himself into the specter who caught him in his arms with a laugh.

"It has been a while for you hasn't it, Daniel." It was more of a statement than a question, but Danny didn't miss a stride.

"It's been a little over two months. Where have you been? I thought you said you wouldn't be away for long." The boy asked with a tilt of his head.

The ghost's form shifted into that of a child as he answered. "I was and am where I have and always will be needed." He offered cryptically.

Danny laughed. "You make no sense yet I somehow understand you."

"As you always will." The time-keeper chuckled before changing forms again and focusing a knowing look on the boy. "As standard as the question will become, I will ask how you are doing after everything."

"You already know my answer." The young-halfa answered seriously. "And you know what I will ask next."

"Yes, I do. The answer, again, is yes; everything is as it should be. Though, I must sympathize with you for this was the worse of four possible timelines your father's revelation triggered."

"Good to know."

Clockwork smiled at the down-trodden boy and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

The audience was soon remembered by the two beings as Vlad spoke. "You are Clockwork, the Ghost of Time."

The specter nodded meeting his gaze. "You are Vladimir Masters and Vlad Plasmius; the first and only other half-ghost in existence apart from our young Daniel here."

Multiple ghosts tried to speak at once, all trying to gain the powerful specter's attention. Clockwork simply put up the hand not resting on Danny to silence the crowd. "As I have my limitations due to the Ancient's rulings, I am only here for the boy." Several sighs could be heard, but no one spoke.

Danny blinked. "Don't get me wrong, I am really glad you're here, but I have to ask…"

"I came, Daniel, because you have a different, more important question to ask of me." Clockwork explained seamlessly.

It didn't take much thought, but Danny knew better than to voice the question and instead lowered his eyes in an almost shy understanding. The only reason the ghost mentioned it was for his benefit and they both knew it. Vlad, however, was confused. "What question?"

The Master of Time cast a smile at the man. "Daniel could explain better than I."

"You only say that because you talk in riddles." Danny muttered good-naturedly, but obliged. "I told you before, Vlad. I need to ask someone for permission before I can go with you, but he doesn't come around much. Well, ta-da." He gestured to Clockwork. "Here he is."

Vlad blinked. "Daniel, are you saying you-"

He was quickly interrupted by the ghost. "There will be time enough for stories in the future. My answer to you, Daniel, is this: you are who you become. No alternate vision of your path can decide your future; only you. If you so choose, you will become your nightmare. However, if you desire, your dreams will not die in the being you come to be."

Confusion littered the room, but only understanding and consideration flowed through Danny's eyes. Smiling, he brought two bright-green orbs up to meet the Ghost of Time's hooded face. "Thank you, Clockwork." He said sincerely with more experience in his voice than his listeners had ever witnessed.

The ghost nodded and brought the boy in for an embrace before saying his goodbyes. "Do not fear secrecy, Daniel. There is not to be any lies if you are to choose your place beside your kind. Trust is built off of truth, no matter how painful it is to uncover. I will return if I am needed and do not forget; I will be watching." Without leaving any time or questions, Clockwork vanished.

The hall remained silent for a short time after the specter had left. Danny stayed unmoving as if he was frozen in time.

Vlad slowly took a step toward the boy breaking the silence. Hearing the movement, Danny turned around with consideration in his bright green eyes that seemed far older than any had seen. He spoke carefully as if afraid to be denied. "That…I mean…he said I could…go with you I mean." The age in his eyes rapidly shrank as he took the form of an unsure, seemingly unwanted boy. He began to shift and stutter as the older-halfa remained silent. "I…well if you still want to…if you don't mind or anything…I mean…I don't want to be a burden…I can find another option...if you'd rather…it's just I-"

"Daniel," the man said suddenly, halting the boy mid-rant with his hands on Danny's shoulders, "I would love for you to come with me." He said softly.

A bright smile filled the young-halfa's face at the acceptance. "Thanks, Vlad!" he cheered sounding more and more like the child he was.

Not truly wanting to ruin the moment, but needing clarity, Vlad passed Danny a meaningful look as he said his next words. "I have come to understand that there is a secret you must disclose with me."

The man almost wanted to take back his words when the boy's eyes darkened with a haunted mist. It was obvious that he didn't want to answer, but he forced each word out until his story was told. No more secrets.

"It was at the beginning of this year when it happened. I don't know what started it, but I was attacked by a new ghost; one from my future." Despite the gasps, he continued, "I shoved it off as 'weird' until there was another at school. Saying I got my butt handed to me would be an understatement and without help I probably wouldn't have gotten away, but I was caught up in the light that brought it to the past in the first place."

"So you traveled to the future?" Skulker asked.

"Uh…kind of...Sam, Tuck, and I were taken to Clockwork who…may have tried to kill me before I jumped into one of his time-windows after stealing a few of his time medallions. I had seen the window earlier and decided to escape into my own future; a future where Amity was rubble and everyone was…gone." His voice deepened as did the darkness in his eyes. "We hadn't even been there five minutes when we were attacked by…me…'Phantom' is what he called himself and he had my wail. He easily beat the crap out of me and used his perfected Ghostly Wail to kill Sam and Tuck who were teleported back into the past before they were hurt. I didn't get away in time and Phantom fused a time medallion to my core so I couldn't leave."

Looks of disbelief crossed many faces of his listeners at the thought of having their core violated like that. Danny didn't seem to notice as he was lost to the pain left over from the memory; his core thrummed unhappily.

"I must have passed out because next thing I knew, Phantom had tied me up in front of memorials for my family, friends, and teacher. He told me that he needed me out of the way so I couldn't repair the past so he threw me into the Ghost Zone where you guys were." He tossed a look at a few specters in particular. "You guys weren't exactly happy to see me even though I didn't do anything to you…yet. I wasn't much of a challenge so you took your anger out on me until I got scared and discovered my Ghostly Wail."

Danny shuddered with the memory causing many specters to feel a hint of guilt for whatever they had/did/will do.

"After the path was cleared, I went to the only person I knew would have a portal and hopefully help me; Vlad." The man in the present blinked. "I got there and your lab was a wreck. You had been attacked and just never picked up the pieces. You weren't really surprised to see me and didn't hesitate to tell me what had happened to cause the future." As he continued his voice thickened. He was fighting tears. "There was this test…the C.A.T. that decided your future and I cheated which, in turn, lead to the Nasty Burger exploding and taking out my family, friends, and teacher. With nowhere else to go I went to you who I begged to separate my human and ghost halves to make the pain go away. You did as I asked, but then my ghost half did the same to you and overshadowed Plasmius to become Phantom."

Vlad looked appalled at the notion, but remained silent.

Danny sighed and looked quizzically at the man, "You wouldn't tell me what happened to my human half; just told me that 'some things are better left unsaid' and left it at that." He looked away again. "I asked you to try to use the same procedure to get the medallion out and you said yes…after, of course, you threatened to destroy me to prevent that horrible future." Looking up through his eyelashes, the boy gave the man a small smile, "I didn't blame you…wouldn't have even if you went through with it, but you got the medallion out instead."

Before the older-halfa could scold the boy for letting his guard down like that, Danny spoke.

"I was sent back to my time where I loaded up on weapons before I challenged Phantom who had everyone tied to the Nasty Burger, waiting for it to blow up. It wasn't easy and I got thrashed pretty good, but I managed to surprise him with the wail at the last minute and won. His words still haunt me. Just before he was trapped in the thermos he promised that I would see him again in the mirror…that he was…inevitable." Danny had to mentally tell his hands to stop shaking before moving on. "I won, but I wasn't strong enough to go ghost after the wail and the sauce exploded. The only reason they are still alive is because Clockwork did what I couldn't and saved them. He reversed time so I could do things the right way and admit to cheating on that stupid test before the world went wrong. Since then he's kept an eye on me and helped me steer in the right direction."

Danny sighed sadly, "If not for him I would be the most dangerous weapon in the world, dead set on destroying everything."

He had stopped speaking, but no one moved. The young-halfa's eyes were trained on the floor as if hoping it would swallow him up while his company was staring with wide-eyes at the revelation. It was obvious that the boy was scarred by what happened, but no one could find the words to comfort him.

Everyone jumped when a voice rang out among them, a voice no one expected to ever hear kind words coming from. "Hey, little man," Johnny 13 said roughly, "you're like the most goodie-two-shoes I know so you can't ever go dark side." He tried.

Danny offered him a quick smile that didn't meet his eyes, "But I did. It was still me and I still turned. I tried so hard to believe that it wasn't really me; that Phantom was a completely different person who came from an alternate version of myself I could never recreate, but it's pointless. He is me…he is what I will become if I'm careless. I can't convince myself otherwise…and that scares me beyond words."

"The 'Great Danny Phantom' does not fear." A strong voice announced. Everyone turned to Skulker who stood tall and sure. "I would scoff in the face of a prey that would show such a lack of pride, but I refuse to see if from the unstoppable young-halfa I have been defeated by. To admit defeat is a dishonor, but against such a foe as you has lessened the burn."

"But…" Danny didn't have enough time to argue before another of his enemies was defending him.

"Danny Phantom, ruler of all ghosts, second and only other of his kind, protector of those who don't deserve it. You thrashed me with my own powers, man." Ember claimed.

"You defeated the Ghost King and singlehandedly imprisoned him." A voice reminded.

Words began to overlap as each specter had something to encourage the boy. It was humbling to say the least. As the noise began to die down, Vlad placed a hand on the young-halfa's shoulder and met his gaze.

No one had seen the ghost hero, Danny Phantom, cry. Not even the slightest tear had escaped him. Now, however, tears were threatening to burst out of the boy's bright, green eyes giving him a much younger appearance.

Vlad looked at him with an expression too close to the endearing glances his father once gave him before the man had completely engrossed himself in his work; virtually ignoring the boy as his sister left for college. Though, he would never admit it aloud, Danny would have done just about anything to get his parents back to their old selves especially after Jazz left, but he soon found that it was a childish wish. The way the older-halfa saw him, now, though almost sent him into adolescent fits of tears. He had been far too long without a father.

The man finally spoke, as if he knew just what to say. "Nothing is inevitable, my little badger. Clockwork said so himself; you choose your future and if you have any doubts in yourself, trust me. I will never leave you. Never again."

Throwing all caution to the wind, Danny thrust himself into the older-halfa's arms. Feeling the strong arms wrap around him brought the tears to surface. Unable to stop the torrent, Danny sobbed helplessly. Distantly he felt a surge of ecto-signatures that seemed to warm him as if those that were once his enemies were joining in the embrace. It was all he could do to hold onto what little control he had over his emotions.

He had lost his family. He had been turned on by those closest to him and distanced from the only ones who could help him.

But he found a new family. One he could never lose to such betrayals. It was an easy decision: what he went through was worth it to gain what he found. Clockwork was right; 'everything is as it should be'.

Aww…now that's just the sweetest. I have no idea where the ending came from, but it just kind of began and ended without much of my consent. That being said, I should probably get back to my other story…I'm just a bit late…sorry.

Thanks for reading! Please review!