It was more painful than anything I had ever experienced in my life before. My body kept trying to heal the wound but it couldn't because I was still holding the stake in place, so instead of healing it felt like I was being stabbed again and again. Instinctively I began to pull the wood out and the pain started to lessen, but I forced it back in. If I turned back now I would never get the chance to stop the curse again.

I was vaguely aware of what was going on around me. Even though I had fallen back in pain I was leaning against the side of the coffin, propped up enough to see everything else in the cave. Jasmine's vampire slaves were on the ground writhing in agony as if they had been stabbed instead of me. Maddie lying motionless on the ground, blood oozing from her many wounds, and I suddenly realized that she hadn't fully turned into a vampire yet. If the curse was lifted she would die as a human…

Too late to turn back now, I told myself silently. I had to stop anymore people from dying. A flash of orange went across my line of vision and I gritted my teeth against the pain that came from turning my head. Two red eyes met mine and I realized that Jazz was next to me.

"Vlad, don't do this! I'll serve you, I'll drink animal blood, I'll leave mortals alone, just don't turn me back!" She looked desperate, but she didn't dare touch the stake. I grinned and pushed it as far in as it would go. Knowing that Jasmine would be back to normal was enough to strengthen my resolve.

I was disconnected from my body now, and hardly felt the intense spasms that had started. I heard a small gasp come from my mouth as my hands fell from the spear and I sank farther into the coffin. Then I seemed to watch my corpse lose all signs of life and crumple into dust. Everything took place in less than a minute.

Then blackness engulfed me and the world was silent.

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Clap…Clap…Clap…

A strange sound filled my head. Like… one person applauding me. That didn't make sense though. I was dead, wasn't I? Someone was clapping for me because I managed to beat the curse? Over the sound I heard another noise. My heart beat. It sounded incredibly loud, and it took me a moment to remember that my heart had stopped beating when I became a vampire.

I opened my eyes (which I hadn't realized were closed), and felt for the hole where the stake had been. Nothing was there. Then I looked down at myself and saw that instead of the stone coffin I was on solid ground, and my suit wasn't bloody anymore. For a moment I held my breath, not daring to believe that I was human again.

My ghost sense went off finally and I looked up to see the Ghostwriter standing above me with a smirk on his face. He stopped clapping and said, "Thank you for providing me with an exciting ending for my story. How many vampires actually sacrifice themselves to save the people they love?"

I stared at him and shook my head, not understanding him. Had he just said that I had been in a story? What was going on?

"You don't know how hard it was for me to think up an ending for my story. I couldn't even come up with a name! Then you came along, just waiting to be taught a lesson, and I had the perfect idea! Making you the main character turned out to be a huge hit."

Slowly memories of the first time I saw Ghostwriter came back to me. I stood up angrily and glared at him. "You turned me into a vampire so that you could have a good book to read?!"

"You actually did become a vampire; it wasn't just a story, but technically… yes." He didn't seem to regret it at all.

"What gives you the right to think you can interfere in people's lives like that?"

Ghostwriter looked surprised. "Well, it's not like I left you that way. I changed you back and made everything the way it was before you decided that blood tasted good. You and I are the only two people who remember. Besides, you needed to learn a lesson. Look on the bright side; at least you weren't Frankenstein's monster."

"What lesson! That being a vampire isn't the best thing in the world?! You freaked out because I messed up your rhyme and decided to torture me for your own amusement!" I paused and increased my glare, feeling my eyes flash menacingly. "And you aren't even rhyming now!"

Ghostwriter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine, I'll rhyme. I just thought that since you were alive and all you would be too happy to get mad over such trivial things."

Another surge of anger flowed through me and with it came two black rings. I had missed my ghost powers. "Since when is being used trivial? You were the one who came and decided to make my life into a story, you-"

"Alright enough, I get your gist,

I'll talk in rhyme if you insist.

You've given me a big headache

All over danger that was fake.

Although the end was rather sad,

The end results are not that bad.

You got yourself in this huge mess

Because over people you obsess,

By the time the story was through

You helped other humans besides you.

The vampire's curse was stopped at last,

Before it could grow and spread too fast.

So as a gift I set things right

No more are you creature of night."

He looked pleased with himself. "Let me just review for a moment." I said, trying to sound calm. "You decided that I was too fixed on the idea of marrying Maddie Fenton and making Daniel my son, so you changed me into a vampire so you could write a story about me, right?" Ghostwriter smiled and nodded. "And then you watched me destroy Maddie and Daniel until I finally had to plunge a stake through my own heart to stop their pain, correct?"

"It's not as bad as it might seem,

At least tragedy was not the theme."

I continued as if he hadn't said anything. "After that you woke me up, told me it was actually just a story… and expect me to say thank you very much, yeah?" He seemed to realize that I wasn't as happy as my voice sounded. "Well, I will thank you for one thing." I charged up a red ectobeam in my hands. "Thanks for bringing me here so that I could do this."

I blasted him continuously in the face for a few minutes, taking away that stupid grin and setting his scarf on fire.

"All I did was teach a lesson!

There's no reason for- OW!

Forget it! I'm not rhyming anymore, it's too much trouble."

When I stopped his face was scorched black and his glasses had melted. "The next time you decide to turn someone's life into a novel remember how much that hurt." He gave me a look that was somewhere between scared and angry and flew away.

My feet left the ground and I began flying towards my portal. It felt so good to have my old powers back, and not to feel starved all of the time. The only thing that could make this better would be if I had someone else to take my anger out on. Then I remembered the perfect ghost for that.

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Skulker paced back and forth in his lair ranting to himself. "Plasmius, I quit!" he said, then shook his head. "No, that won't work. I'm sick of being your servant, and I quit! No, that doesn't sound right."

I appeared behind him and waited for him to turn around. He did and then let out a high pitched scream. "Skulker," I said, drawing back my fist and charging an ectoblast at the same time, "You're fired."

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The entrance to my ghost portal came into view and I flew faster than I already had been. I burst through the strange green light and landed on the floor of my lab. Everything was back to normal, and I let out a sigh of relief. It was like I had never become a vampire.

Suddenly my ghost sense went off and Daniel flew through the ceiling. The entrance to my lab opened and Jasmine came down the steps, making Daniel glare at her. Ghost Writer had made everyone forget that I had been a vampire, but I was back to the moment when I revealed myself.

"Vlad, we all know you're up to something. Why don't you just give up and we'll go easy on you?" Jasmine said. "It's not like you're going to win against us anyways." Danny rolled his eyes.

I was speechless for a moment, and then I regained my composure. "I have no idea what you're talking about Jasmine. In fact since you and Daniel aren't enjoying your stay here, I'll talk your parents into taking you home early."

"I knew it!" Daniel burst out. "Wait, what?"

"Really Daniel, you should listen to your superiors, especially since I am trying to be kind to you two undeserving children." A smile formed on my lips. "Trust me, you would be much better off at your house than here, and I don't want to deal with teenagers right now. I'm sure Jack will protest, but since Maddie isn't very fond of me she'll help convince him too."

They stared at me in shock. Finally Jasmine spoke. "Are you feeling all right Vlad?"

"Fine thank you, I've just finally realized that obsessing over something isn't healthy." In my case it made me suck blood. I was going to have to drink a bottle of Listerine every time I remembered that. "Now go to bed" To my surprise they did, since they were so shocked about my sudden change of heart.

I left my lab and walked upstairs to my restored bedroom and went over to the huge window. The curtains felt very heavy as I pulled them back, and I was surprised at how easily I had opened them before. The window opened smoothly though, and I stepped out onto the balcony. Then I watched transfixed as colors spilled over the horizon in one of the most beautiful sunrises I had ever seen.

Scene fades out as the song Possum Kingdom starts playing: I will treat you well, my sweet angel, so help me Jesus…

Thank you all for staying with me and reading my story. I can't thank you all enough for the reviews and favs you've given me. Although I don't usually write sequels I do have one for this story in mind. Vlad is in it, but Danny's the one who turns into a vampire. Of course, there are other possibilities, werewolf Vlad for example. It depends on if you guys want a sequel or not.