Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom, I'm a big fan and was feeling nostalgic.

Note (2/6/2020): Thank you so much for all your reviews guys! And uh, to address an ongoing problem that I somehow missed the first time around, yes...I realize that many of the older chapters are really cluttered in places after rereading most of them myself so I promise I WILL fix them, just not right away. I've been trying to finish the finale for months despite so many delays due to things in my personal life and other roadblocks so I'm not really ready to dive into any major editing just yet. After this chapter is done I also need a serious break from Danny Phantom related stuff so I don't get completely burnt out with it.

One of my overall goals moving forward though is to fix/update as many stories as I can which means I'll work on this one too of course, but like I said I won't be doing that any time soon. Personally I'm just glad I'm about to finally finished this story. I'm glad we made it this far, but alas, all good things must come to an end one way or another. So again I'd like to thank you all for joining in and supporting me throughout this whole journey we've taken with Danny and Vlad. And when the time comes, I seriously hope the sequel will be just as successful, not to mention MUCH easier to read! As far as that's concerned, I will keep you posted about it once I start working on the continuation of this story so be sure to keep an eye out for it here and over on my tumblr "The Soul's Pulse" too! Now, without further ado, I hope you will all enjoy the final chapter!

Epilogue: What Comes After...

"It is not "forgive and forget" as if nothing wrong had ever happened, but "forgive and go forward," building on the mistakes of the past and the energy generated by reconciliation to create a new future." ~ Alan Paton

Valerie's POV

I've never actually seen Danny cry before. He always seemed too optimistic for that even when I've seen him walk into class looking like a total train-wreck. Or more gloomy than his goth friend Sam. Somehow, seeing him completely break down like that made me want to cry too. Especially after hearing about all those awful things he went through.

It's been three days since everything happened and honestly, I'm still wrapping my mind around all this. This whole time Danny's had this secret double-life he's been keeping from everyone long before I found out ghosts were real. But becoming half-ghost was something Danny never wanted, at least not at first, but he tried to make the most of it.

Danny had to live in constant fear of his parents either seriously injuring him with one of their inventions, which it looks like that actually DID happen and that's what started all this, or rejecting him entirely if they knew the truth about what he was. Personally I still don't understand how it's even possible for anyone to be half-ghost, but realistically I could see why that would be a very real concern for him since his parents are ghost hunters. I can't imagine what'd I'd do if my dad started acting like that around me all the time, I'd probably always worrying about what would happen if he found out my secret and disowned me for being something he hated too.

But here's the thing, I don't...I don't hate Danny.

How could I after Danny struggled against that monster's control, lifted my gun to his chest, and told me that he had faith in me and wanted me to kill him to save everyone? Danny was willing to throw his life away for someone like me who has only seen him as the enemy, but that didn't matter to him. He just wanted everyone he cared about to survive, even if it meant never seeing them again...

Honestly, I have no idea how I should feel about him. I have so many questions swirling in my head that I want to ask Danny, but as soon as I found out he had finally woken up I couldn't bring myself to face him right away. I didn't know what to say anyway. Besides, my dad is still recovering and I didn't want Vlad anywhere near him, even to just make sure he was healing properly. There's NO WAY I'm going to ask that lying snake Vlad Masters for help with anything anymore!

Coming to terms with Danny was one thing, he had a reason to hide what he was, but Vlad's been manipulating me from the very beginning and he was one of Danny's former ghostly adversaries too. Vlad's just lucky Danny needed his help treating his ghost-related injuries that his parents couldn't help with because I was just about ready to give Masters a few extra bruises myself the next time he tried to talk to me.

I can't believe how stupid I was! Everything Vlad has ever told me was nothing but a lie! Well, except for one thing that I can't deny no matter how much I want to which pisses me off even more! And frankly, that's the ONLY thing keeping me from punching his lights out. As far as I can tell, Vlad didn't lie about how much he cares about Danny...

Things are obviously very different between them now and Vlad treats Danny like he really is his son, or something like it anyway. He's been very protective of Danny ever since we got here, hardly sleeping or eating to focus on helping Danny recover. And in order to save him, Vlad Masters was even willing to expose his biggest secret to us and put everything on the line for Danny's sake. Even I don't think someone like Vlad Masters would fake something like that without a good reason since he had so much to lose.

And apparently, Vlad even used the same weapon that nearly killed Danny when he went missing. I only thought he was injured and kidnapped by Danny Phantom, I didn't know the wound was that serious after all which explains why his sister was so upset. Holding something so deadly to his ghost-half can't have been very easy for Vlad either. Especially when it was made by Danny's parents, who knew exactly what it was designed to do, and they shot Danny with it...

Seriously I knew Mr. and Mrs. Fenton could be careless about a lot of things, but the fact that they turned their best friend from college and their son into some kind of ghost-hybrid is just mind-blowing. You'd think it'd be hard for two ghost experts to miss. Then again, Danny managed to keep his other self a secret from his parents while living under the same roof and from me for nearly a year and a half.

In any case, now that he's sorted out things with his parents, Danny and I really needed to talk. What happened a few days ago with him and Dan...it gave me a lot to think about and if I didn't say anything now there's no telling if I would ever get the chance to. And if I'm being completely honest, I'm not sure if Danny even wants to stay here in Amity Park anymore after Dan made him do all those horrible things to us and left this town in shambles.

But I honestly believe that even at his lowest Danny would never willingly hurt anyone. That's something I've come to accept about him as Phantom. He was never a threat to anyone or my enemy so...if he did want to stay I promised myself I wouldn't fight him anymore. There was no reason to. In fact, there never was a reason for me to fight him to begin with because Vlad took advantage of my situation with that ghost dog and used me to do his dirty work and make life harder for Danny back when they used to be enemies. Or at the very least rivals...

I used to be so sure it was all just an act, the hero thing I mean, but now I realize just how much Danny cares about others which is why he put up with everyone's snide remarks and why he's been fighting ghosts like Dan all by himself. It was to protect us. To protect people like me who up until recently only cared about destroying ghosts just like his parents. But all this time he's been with Vlad, struggling to keep himself out of Dan's reach by staying away from us so that evil ghost couldn't use us against him, exactly like he tried to do a few days ago.

As for Vlad, he still has a lot to answer for and I still haven't decided what to do about him. But this wasn't about my issues with him. This was about me and Danny. I had to let him know how I feel, about him, and about everything that happened.

He was finally able to get some much-needed closure by confronting his parents and coming to terms with them knowing his secret. So now it's my turn to hear what he has to say and decide if we could still be friends. Because even though I've already decided I won't be his enemy anymore, I wasn't sure if there was any way we could close the rift between us...

But at least I was willing to try.

Danny's POV

I don't know how long we stood there like that after the tears finally stopped, but eventually, my knees gave out from under me when I just didn't have the energy to stand anymore. I could almost see the panic in his eyes when Vlad instinctively caught me and asked if I was alright. I told him I was fine for the most part but truth be told Vlad seemed just as exhausted as I was.

After I pointed that out, Vlad sighed and promised to get some rest too as long as I went straight to bed and he put my sister back on guard duty. Personally I didn't see the point of keeping watch anymore since I felt like things had smoothed over with my parents, but I guess Vlad was still a bit paranoid about leaving me alone for any length of time. Not that I could blame him after Dan abducted me like that right under his nose.

Once we made it to my bedroom Vlad gave me one last hug before Jazz helped me climb into bed then transformed, telling us he needed some fresh air first. He didn't wait for us to respond but sort of gave me this small sad smile before leaving. And as I watched him phase through the roof I honestly couldn't blame him for needing to get away from Fenton Works for a few minutes to sort out his feelings before they got the better of him like in the past. I mean, I'm glad Vlad was able to get a few things off his chest, but it must've been hard for him to keep his feelings in check while confronting my parents since there's still so much resentment and bitterness buried deep down that probably kept threatening to resurface, and some of it did.

Honestly, I knew it was only a matter of time before all the tension got to him too despite how calm and collected Vlad usually is. Especially since Vlad's been so focused on taking care of me that he's hardly let his guard down around my parents long enough to take care of or come to terms with what happened himself. He's been trying so hard not to reflexively blame my dad for everything as usual and straying from the topic at hand. That's why I was actually relieved to see Vlad finally doing something for himself because I wanted to see him recover too, and not just his wounds...

I wanted to see the scars on his heart left by my parents begin to heal.

The past four months I've spent together with Vlad made me realize for the first time just how much my parents really hurt him. How much real pain there was that wasn't just part of his excuse to hate my dad's guts for an honest mistake he made years earlier. I only saw one side of things before and figured Vlad was just being an unforgiving jerk about my dad's role in causing his accident and ignoring the truth, that both my parents actually did feel guilty about their actions.

But the sad truth is my parents still gave up on him too soon, just like they almost gave up on me when they thought I was possessed by my own ghost-half. So, in the end, Vlad and I both had to learn how to take care of ourselves since no one else really understood what being half-ghost is like before we met each other. Not to mention how it feels being branded the villain simply for being part ghost and used for target practice. At least, that's what it was like for me since there weren't any ghosts wandering around back then to cause Vlad problems, he was old enough to live on his own, and obviously didn't live with a pair of full-time ghost hunters.

The question now is, will they give up again now that they know how Vlad really feels about them? I mean, Vlad has even stopped crushing on my mom which is something I thought would NEVER happen! And Vlad REALLY let them have it when he told them what happened to me after they chased me out of the house as Phantom and nearly killed me with that ecto-inhibitor gun. He briefly mentioned the college thing, but Vlad wanted to make sure the discussion wasn't about what they did to HIM, but about what they almost did to me.

It was...hard to admit that I was terrified of them rejecting me if they knew the truth about my ghost-half even after I was finally able to control my powers better so they stopped misfiring all the time. And sure, maybe I didn't have a twenty-year grudge like Vlad used to, but enough has happened to me this past year for it to leave a few scars of their own. And one of them was a literal scar on my left shoulder.

Up until now I never openly admitted how genuine those feelings of frustration, sadness, loneliness, and sometimes fear were to me. Or if I did no one really understood except for Jazz since she already knew how hard it was growing up with ghost-hunting parents at least. Not even Sam and Tucker know the whole truth about how I really feel. Well, I suppose Vlad knows now that things have changed so much between us and I ended up being more honest with him about my feelings than I originally planned. So basically I just finished telling my parents the same thing now that everything is out in the open, about being half-ghost, the accident, Vlad, and my feelings.

And if the situation with Dan has taught me anything, it's that there's nothing any of us can do to change the past. All we can do is move forward and strive for a better future. I learned that lesson the hard way when I thought my life would be easier if Vlad never became half-ghost and took advantage of the time I spent in the past trying to find a cure for Vlad's ecto-acne when he infected Sam and Tucker with it too to force me to help him. But now, I'm actually glad things are the way they are because Vlad has been there for me in ways no one else could be. And I'm just glad I HAVE a future again even though I have no idea where it'll go from here now that Dan's gone forever...

Sometimes I still can't believe this is real. That it's finally over. Every time I close my eyes, I keep expecting to have another nightmare about Dan but I haven't had a single one since it all ended. True, I may be too exhausted to dream much just like before, but still, I was beyond relieved that Dan's presence is completely gone now and I have finally broken free from his shadow.

Clockwork predicted all of this, he must have, which is why he let things unfold naturally even though I begged him to throw Dan's thermos into the nearest black hole to run away from the real problem. Now I understand why he pushed me to face Dan head-on because with Vlad's help it all worked out in the end. And thanks to him, I don't have to be afraid of what the future has in store for me anymore.

I was just about to nod off when there was a knock on the door and without waiting for a response, Valerie stepped into the room. My sister seemed unsure at first when she saw the guarded expression on her face until Valerie sighed and said indifferently, "Relax, I'm just here to talk."

"I finished catching my dad up to speed on everything that happened so now he knows that Danny never meant to hurt me. You'll be surprised to know that he agreed that I should talk to Danny before we leave. Most of the roads are clear now so we should finally be able to reach the hospital so a real doctor can take a look at his injury. It won't be long until he's ready so...it's now or never I guess," she finished with a small shrug, glancing over at me with a carefully blank expression.

But I could tell Valerie was actually a little nervous just like my parents were because it was still hard for them to swallow the fact that Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton were the same person and they've been actively attacking me for almost a year now. To be honest, I really wanted to talk to her too and apologize for what I did to her and what happened to her dad. When this whole mess with Dan started, part of me hoped that she wouldn't end up getting involved in it.

I figured that as long as Valerie had her dad's help they might have been able to stop Dan if the rest of us failed. After all, he helped Valerie's future self keep the town safe so I knew he was a capable guy. He even helped my parents during the whole Pariah Dark fiasco...

"Danny? I know you've already done a lot of serious talk today, but do you think you're up for this?" My sister began, but since she pretty much already knew what I was about to say I gave her hand a small pat to let her know it was ok to leave us alone so Valerie and I could talk.

I trusted Valerie because even when we were at odds with each other before she's almost always been willing to set our rivalry aside to focus on the bigger threat. At least, judging from the couple times we've actually teamed up even though it was reluctantly the first time when we were chained together and trapped on Skulker's Island. Deep down Valerie knows that protecting people is way more important. And I honestly don't believe she has it in her to seriously harm anyone. I'm just glad Valerie finally realized on her own even before finding out my secret that Danny Phantom wasn't as bad as she thought he was.

I won't lie, even if it was only towards the end when I thought I had no choice but to sacrifice myself to save everyone, I was happy Valerie finally accepted what I've been trying to tell her all along. That I only wanted to help people, and that included her. I wasn't very good at it at first obviously which is why things spiraled out of control with Cujo, but the way I see it there's nothing I could have done differently. Plus it didn't really help that Vlad decided to add fuel to the fire and manipulated Valerie into becoming a ghost hunter and indirectly spying on me when he found out what happened between us.

Sadly, that's something that needs to be discussed between the two of them and possibly her dad since he technically still works for Vlad. I don't envy how awkward THAT conversation is going to be. Regardless of both of their issues with Vlad, I want to believe Valerie and I could eventually become friends again after this now that she knows my secret. And I'm relieved that her dad is going to pull through this just fine, with all his limbs attached I might add.

So even if we end up going our separate ways, I'll always remember how much I enjoyed getting to know her. And regardless of what she decides to do after this, surprisingly, I was ok with that as long as Valerie knew that I still cared about her and that I didn't hold a grudge for all the times she tried gunning me down. Because the whole time she was doing that, it was her way of protecting my human half too.

At first, neither of us really knew what to say or how to start. Valerie was sitting on the edge of my bed, her shoulders tense, and I couldn't meet her gaze either. So much happened during that fight that both of us regret, but there's one thing I know for sure. Valerie was dead serious about wanting to rescue me even though she didn't know I WAS Danny Phantom. So during that fight she gave it everything she had to stop him, aka me, in order to save Danny Fenton.

She...really missed me a lot these past four months I've been gone which only made this more painful for both of us. We cared so much it hurt, but it was obvious Valerie still felt betrayed because I didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth about who I was or about Vlad tricking her into spying on me and keeping me busy while he was scheming to overthrow Pariah Dark among other things. If she knew about even half the things Vlad has done, including torturing and cloning me, I don't think she would ever be able to forgive him.

Not only that, but now Valerie realizes for the first time that becoming a ghost hunter like my parents was never her idea, it was Vlad's. At least I chose to be Danny Phantom even though it sucked sometimes. So now it was up to her to decide of this was still the life she wanted just like it was for me.

I couldn't stay indecisive for long though because soon I would have to decide who I wanted to be too. I didn't want to lose my friends or my life here, not now that it was all over, but I wanted her to do what was best for her too even if that meant distancing herself from me.

I could live with that.

"I'm really mad you know," Val finally began without looking at me, tightly gripping the railing at the foot of my bed. "I've been giving you such a hard time as Phantom, but you didn't trust me with your secret even after we became close. I thought we were friends Danny. I mean I know I was a jerk to you before, so that's fair enough I guess, but what I don't understand is why you didn't warn me about VLAD. Why did you let him use me like that?"

She practically spat out his name, her voice trembling with emotion as she continued, "Now I understand why you seemed to despise him so much when Vlad was there helping your parents with the Ghost King problem. It's because there was bad blood between you and he's the one responsible for it, right? He said that stupid ring was passed on from ghost hunter to ghost hunter and that he believed in me, but it was all a big fat lie! Tell me Danny, what else in my life is nothing but a lie?"

Finally turning to look at me with a helpless expression, Val continued, "Did you ever really care about helping me when all that stuff happened with the ghost dog or did you just feel guilty about it and wanted to make yourself feel better? Did we only become friends later on so you could keep an eye on me when I became the Red Huntress after Vlad sent me all that ghost hunting gear? I just want to know how you feel because I'm not even sure how I should feel. Especially after hearing about everything you went through and was there when you told me you were willing to DIE to save us. Dan was right...I...I've never faced any real danger before or the possibility of losing anyone I care about before because you always protected me despite the fact that I was always attacking you. And then your own parents, they-"

"Val, you don't have to say it," I interrupted, shaking my head and looking up at the roof, "The truth is, back then I wasn't very good at fighting ghosts so I actually did feel really guilty when Cujo caused so many problems for your family. But to be fair, that was partially Axion Lab's fault and you guys were just there at a bad time. You see Cujo used to be a guard dog that was put to sleep when the company switched to a more advanced security system and just wanted to find his favorite squeaky toy, but it wasn't your dad's fault. He didn't know about the guard dogs as far as I know when he took that job. Besides, no one but my parents knew yet that ghosts were real or how to keep them from doing serious damage."

Smiling softly, I looked back down at her and admitted, "As for whether I actually cared about helping you or not, I did care because I didn't think anyone deserved to be abandoned during a time of need after losing their fancy home like that. So even though you used to bully me I was serious about wanting to help you. I would have done the same thing even for Dash. And even though things didn't start off good between us, I'm glad we eventually became friends."

With a heavy sigh, I continued a bit more tiredly, "As for the whole Vlad situation, things have been...complicated between us ever since he found out I'm also half-ghost. Trust me, he used to be a WAY bigger jerk than you ever were. Vlad used to get me tangled up in his evil schemes because he wanted to test me and get rid of my dad so he could marry my mom."

Despite my serious tone, Val cringed when she heard that so I couldn't help but laugh a little and continued, "Yeah, creepy I know, but he sorta had a huge crush on her back in college. Anyways, when he found out I was half-ghost Vlad decided he wanted me to join him since I'm the only other half-ghost hybrid in the world. Vlad has a lot of personal baggage you don't know about, but I can't justify the way he manipulated you so even though it might not mean much coming from me, I'm really sorry I couldn't warn you about him sooner..."

"I wanted to tell you the truth after I found out you became a ghost hunter because of him," I explained, "but Vlad threatened to expose my secret to you himself if I did just like with my parents. So we've kinda been at a stalemate until things changed between us and he showed me a different side of himself. I know that doesn't make up for the things Vlad did that put you in danger, but at least Vlad put aside all his schemes to do the right thing and helped me defeat Dan who would have killed you before you could pull the trigger on that ray gun."

"Believe me, I didn't trust him at first either, but at that point I...couldn't even trust myself when Dan was messing with my head," sitting up and reaching over to touch her shoulder even though I wasn't sure if she would pull away from me or not, I looked her in the eyes and said, "Valerie, now that you're here there's something very important I want you to know. I want you to know that-"

Vlad's POV

From my perch outside on a nearby rooftop, I watched silently as Daniel and Valerie had a long discussion about what happened and likely about my role in making her a ghost hunter. If it wasn't for how it may affect Daniel I couldn't care less whether she accepted the mantle of hunting once again or abandoned her suit altogether because of me. There were other ways to make sure this town no longer had to rely on Daniel for protection anymore even though there was an opportunity here for me to help him return home if that's what he still wants to do.

But honestly, I think we both know it isn't actually going to be that easy...

There are too many painful memories here, too many scars that have yet to heal, and the truth is still too fresh in everyone's minds. I never thought the day would come where I revealed my secret willingly since Daniel and I have both threatened to expose each other in the past. Because while it's true that Dan revealed many secrets about both of us, it's likely some of it was too hard for them to believe until we confirmed it ourselves.

No one else knows the truth about us aside from those inside Fenton Works and Daniel's friends who have likely already found out what happened through Jasmine. However, it was so surreal to me that Jack has finally begun showing ANY signs of remorse for what he did to me and to his own son. Maddie as well since she played a small part in both our accidents concerning the ghost portals.

As much as I hate to admit it, Maddie was right when she said that strictly speaking I no longer have the right to keep their son away from them anymore. Especially now that they've come to terms with him being half-ghost. And I promised Daniel that if he wanted me to help him get his life back, I would, but part of me wanted to go back on that promise to keep him where I knew he'd be safe, happy, and accepted wholeheartedly.

Right now I wasn't entirely convinced his parents could provide those things for him. And I couldn't bear to see Daniel feel isolated again should they slip back into their old habits and started seeing him as less of a son and more of a ghostly specimen for them to observe from a distance. What's more, no matter how much they love him, the guilt will be exposed every time they are reminded of the day they stained their home with Daniel's blood. They would always know that their actions not only hurt me but hurt their son because they were careless with their inventions and endangered their children.

But seeing them constantly walking on eggshells around him would only make Daniel feel guilty too for admitting his true feelings and he would wish he kept it all buried inside which wasn't good for him either. As far as MY feelings are concerned, I could care less what Jack, Maddie, or Damon and his daughter think of me. I could care less that Jack has only JUST realized for the first time in his pathetic life what a total moron he is when it comes to the important people in his life. And I don't care that Maddie would never be mine because frankly, I don't love the woman anymore.

I only care about Daniel's well-being.

But, all that aside, one thing remains true. I love Daniel like he's my own son, it's not just some fantasy or delusion anymore. Those feelings are genuine. This isn't about wanting him as my son in every way possible, it isn't about beating Jack and proving I am the superior parental figure, it's about giving Daniel the life he deserves and the freedom to choose where the road will take him from here.

No matter what happens, I will continue to support Daniel. With that in mind though, there is something else I have to take care of first. I needed to make my intentions for Daniel clear before Jack and Maddie had time to recover from the shock of hearing the truth straight from him about all the pain he has endured alone all this time. How lonely and afraid he was after his near-death experience after being shot and consequently all the mental torture Dan put him through by taking advantage of his troubled state of mind.

Either way, I have no intention of continuing my involvement with Jack and Maddie beyond what is necessary as far as Daniel is concerned. One way or another I want to let them know where I stand in all this now that they're aware of our hybrid status. And I suppose by that logic I should consider talking to Damon as well because regardless of my original plans, his daughter Valerie turned out to be a surprisingly capable ghost hunter who could still provide valuable protection for the people in this town. But even if she stopped hunting ghosts, he could still provide the same service with my ghost shield technology. Not that I really care, but again it would put Daniel's mind at ease.

That decision is entirely up to him of course, but if Damon still wanted a future in Axion Labs, I am perfectly willing to let him keep his job as long as we kept things strictly business between us. But if he decided to quit I would leave it at that because manipulating them was hardly my first priority anymore. It was much like with Danielle, I could really care less what Damon or Valerie do from here on out so long as it doesn't negatively affect Daniel or myself.

However, I would need to make sure they both knew that revealing our secret to anyone would result in dire consequences. I wasn't above making good on some threats if it turns out they both foolishly decided to seek vengeance on me at least. I had no desire to resort to that of course, but while I revealed my secret willingly to throw Dan off, it was information not meant for either of them. And unlike Daniel, I had no intention of getting cozy with anyone else who happened to know I'm half-ghost.

It wasn't until much later that I teleported back inside to speak to Jack and Maddie privately. Although admittedly it's partially because I accidentally dozed off on the opposite rooftop after resting my eyes for just a moment. To be honest I haven't been able to get much sleep these past few days since my every waking thought was centered around Daniel and how being back here was affecting him.

I already knew how it was affecting me mostly because I was so irritated being in the same building as Jack for so long and being reminded of how much he hurt my little badger with that blasted gun that I had to make sure my ghost powers didn't turn my eyes red every time I looked at the man. And I was extremely restless because I wanted nothing more than to leave this place far behind me. Those feelings were so strong they were almost palpable, which in turn made it difficult to hide them from Daniel.

With a sigh, I braced myself for my next conversation with Daniel's parents and wasted no time searching for them. They weren't exactly hard to find but I was surprised to see them in the lab where Jack was shredding blueprints while Maddie was disassembling some of their inventions with uncharacteristically clumsy hands that kept fumbling with the tools. And seeing them looking so distressed like this should have made me happy since it served them right to finally feel the crushing weight of their previous actions, but we all knew deep down this wouldn't erase what they've done. Therefore, doing this now was utterly pointless so after clearing my throat, I said as much.

"Doing this isn't going to solve anything you know," I began indifferently, watching them both simultaneously turn around to stare at me as I casually made my way down the last few steps into their lab.

"If anything, it will upset Daniel seeing you trying to throw away your life's work just because you can't handle the truth. As much as I hate to admit it, despite the fact that you've been hunting his ghost-half this whole time, some of your inventions have actually saved his life and made his job of hunting ghosts easier in some cases when his own powers fell short. What happened a few days ago should prove that there are much better ways to apply your...unique skills and knowledge of ghosts in ways that would benefit him. It would be a waste to-"

"I don't care!" Jack snapped and I raised an eyebrow at him, "These inventions almost killed my son and I won't let it happen again! Maddie agrees with me, don't you Mads?"

Putting down her tools, Maddie shook her head, "Maybe I do to some degree, but Vlad's right. What difference does it make? We were wrong, Jack, about Danny Phantom and about why we've been doing this all these years. We told ourselves it was to protect our family, but compared to what Danny's been doing, how often have we actually tried stopping ghosts from hurting anyone else instead of just when the whole town is in crisis? That's why I...I've been thinking. Don't we owe our son a chance to be who he wants to be after everything he's done for us?"

"Maddie...what are you-" Jack blinked, looking just as surprised as I was how listless and dejected Maddie looked right now. Even though I no longer had feelings for her, I'll admit that it pained me to see Maddie like this.

"I don't know about you, but I refuse to make the same mistake again. I won't let anyone else hurt my baby and I don't want to stop hunting ghosts. We just need to do it for the right reasons," regaining some of her former luster Maddie stood up and gently took the remaining blueprints out of Jack's hand and said, "Jack, I know you feel just as bad about shooting Danny as I do, but this isn't the way to solve it. We can't run away from our problems anymore. We can't, not when so many people still need us and Danny has been shouldering the burden of protecting this town all by himself because we didn't do our job. Not as ghost hunters...or his parents."

"So, then you already know what I've come here to discuss," I concluded, noticing the sad look of resignation plain on their faces.

Resting my hands behind my back, I continued formally as if this was just a normal business meeting, "It's time that we discussed the matter of Daniel's future. Ultimately, Daniel will have to decide for himself what he wants to do moving forward, but surely you've realized that living in this house again is no longer an option for him. There are too many traumatic memories attached to this place which could be detrimental to his recovery."

"As such, if Daniel does decide he wants to return to Amity Park I will have to insist that you move to a new location and start over by redirecting your talents to protecting this town instead of aggravating every ghost you come across with guns blazing," I scolded pointedly, looking at their ghost portal in particular with an expression of utter disgust and brushing aside some torn blueprints with my foot as I closed the distance between us.

Then, with a stern expression, I stated, "If you truly love him and have accepted what he has become then you must realize just how crucial my continued involvement in Daniel's life is because neither of you are equipped to help him when it comes to learning how to control his ghost powers or his medical needs as a hybrid. I'm the only person in this world who is because I am the first hybrid that your foolishness created, Jack. There's nothing you can do to correct your mistake that ruined my life, but, there's still time for you to make things right with your son."

Danny's POV

After Val left to go check on her dad, it gave me some unexpected free time to reflect on a few things while waiting for Vlad to come back since I managed to convince Jazz I was alright on my own. I thought I would feel differently about returning home once Dan was gone for good, but ever since I woke up here once the battle was over, I realized that I just didn't feel at home anymore.

As it turns out, Vlad isn't the only paranoid one because honestly, I haven't been able to completely let my guard down either. Especially whenever I unconsciously remembered how many times I've been attacked by ghosts here in this room in the middle of the night or in broad daylight. And sometimes when I wasn't thinking about anything in particular, my eyes unconsciously kept wandering over to that spot on the floor in my room where I started bleeding in my human form too after getting shot four months ago. I could almost feel the wound throb painfully to remind me of how terrifying that experience was...

Not only that, but since Jazz and Vlad both 'rescued' some of my things from home when this all started, the room looked pretty much half-empty, maybe more. It was almost as if this was just another guest room and not the one I grew up in anymore. And the very idea of trying to pick up where I left off by moving back in seemed impossible now. I didn't feel like the same person anymore, and as a result, this place didn't feel the same either.

Everything was different now.

Then there was Sam and Tucker. While we may have already patched things up a bit, I don't think they'll ever understand why I trusted Vlad so much or what Dan put me through since they weren't there this time. As soon as I started living here again it wouldn't be long before they fell back into the habit of telling me what to do and how to use my powers and Sam would tell me I should start hunting ghosts again which if I'm being honest...I never wanted to do it again.

I would if I had to but this time, I wanted to have more help so it wasn't just me fighting ghosts by myself anymore. I wanted my parents to pitch in and maybe I could give THEM some ghost hunting tips since I've probably seen just as much combat as they have with real ones by now. And even if Val decided to quit hunting ghosts, that was fine as long as she could still protect herself. The same goes for Sam and Tucker if they decide to stay on the sidelines from now on.

Still, being with Vlad has made me realize for the first time how trapped I used to be by the expectations of everyone around me, by my fear, and the secrets I've been keeping even from my friends and family. I thought having my parents accept me for real again would be enough to help me move past what happened, but it isn't. I wanted to be free, really free, to choose the kind of life I wanted to live.

Vlad gave me that chance and so did Clockwork. They knew what I needed most and gave it to me when no one else bothered to really ask what I wanted and who I wanted to be. I already knew I never wanted to become Dan, but, now I had to ask myself. Who did Danny Fenton want to be...?

"You seem to be lost in thought, little badger," Vlad commented, looking up from the book he borrowed from Jazz. "Is something on your mind?"

"Yeah, there are a lot of things actually," I admitted with a weak smile.

I'm not sure why I hugged him before saying this next part, but since I knew this was probably the most important thing Vlad would ever hear from me, I latched onto him and said, "Vlad, I wanted to thank you again for everything you've done for me. I couldn't have beat Dan without you. There're so many other things I want to say but these feelings are hard to put into words so here goes nothing..."

Hugging him tighter, I continued breathlessly, "I'm so relieved that my parents don't hate me and Valerie has at least accepted that I never wanted to make her life difficult but...this doesn't feel like my room anymore. I don't...feel at home here after everything I've been through. I thought I was just imagining it since it's been so stressful talking to everyone about Dan, but now that we've been here almost a whole week it feels...strange being back in this room again."

"It's starting to feel like I can't breathe in here because of all the tension in the air," I continued, my voice catching in my throat a bit as my emotions started getting the better of me and I asked, "Is it wrong to feel this way? Why does it feel like I'm suddenly a stranger in my own home when I notice the missing posters on the walls or how empty the closet is? I don't know why I feel like this and I-"

"Now now, don't get yourself all worked up Daniel," Vlad began, rubbing gentle circles on my back before he grew serious and added, "You bring up a valid concern though so while I meant to tell you this tomorrow, it seems like you could use a bit of good news right now to lift your spirits. I actually had another discussion with your parents concerning a few things. You'll be happy to know that least as far as your missing person status is concerned, they've agreed to testify to the police that it was Dan and not Danny Phantom who reportedly kidnapped you four months ago."

"We can use the chaos to our advantage so they won't ask too many questions and that way you won't have to hide anymore," Vlad continued encouragingly. "It will take some time for things in this town to return to normal, but at the very least you won't be a missing person anymore and we've discussed the details of letting you stay with me once the police have filed their reports and released you from questioning. But don't worry, you can leave most of the talking to me since we'll pretend like I 'found' you and helped you escape Dan which is partially the truth not to mention your parents have made a very important decision."

Letting go of him I asked a bit anxiously, "Really? What kind of decision?"

Brushing my hair back affectionately and ruffling it a bit, Vlad explained calmly, "Daniel, up until now I haven't exactly been the perfect father-figure but your parents have agreed that my role in your life is still a very important one because I'm better equipped than they are to take care of all of your needs. Be it educational, financial, medical, and most importantly when it comes to your hybrid status. That is why they have agreed to make me your legal guardian."

"Wait, seriously?" I blinked, still trying to process the news.

"Yes, this means you can continue living with me should you decide that's what you want. However, this isn't like when the other Daniel came to live with me in the other timeline, you still have a choice when it comes to where you want to be and you can take all the time you need to decide. I will support your decision either way," Vlad smiled before leaning back, reaching over to pick up his book again.

Stopping him by putting my hand over the book, I replied, "Vlad...?"

"Yes, little badger?" Vlad answered quietly, though it was clear from the hopeful glint in his eyes that he already knew what I was about to say...

Glancing out the window at the surprisingly clear blue sky, I smiled and said warmly, "Let's go home."