A/N: Okay, so when I was editing this, I made a lot of changes. So many that it ended up being over 4000 words.(Sorry) Hope you enjoy it still!

Third Person POV

Danny sped through the Ghost Zone at his top speed, ignoring the increase of pain in his head as he battled with the headache he had received by crashing his head against the stone floor of Vlad's lab. The teenage halfa arrived at Clockwork's Tower in less than a half hour after leaving Vlad's lab. Not bothering to be polite Danny flew straight into one of the many windows on the tower. Specifically the one that led to the Time Master's grand chamber. "Clockwork!" He shouted, seeing the empty chamber.

Danny floated to the ground and began to walk around the large room. Clockwork's medallions rested on their hooks and the large chamber held multiple clocks, their ticking echoing throughout the chamber. He walked over to the medallions, doing his best to ignore the annoying tick of the clocks around him and how they only worsened his headache. The halfa took one of the gear shaped medallions off its hook and held it in his hand. Memories flowed through his thoughts of the first time he saw them. When he had first met Clockwork and traveled to the dark future that was home to his evil alternate self.

He remembered his time with the Vlad there. How the elder man looked, how he spoke, how he held himself. He was frail and damaged, becoming a hermit. His powers had been taken from him and he was nothing but an empty shell of his former self. That Vlad was different. He had had the chance to destroy Danny, to prevent the dark future he now lived in from happening. But he didn't destroy the teen. He helped him, Vlad had faith in the teen's abilities and believed he could defeat his darker self. The Vlad Danny knew more personally was nothing like the one he met in that future.

From the corner of his eye, Danny saw Clockwork's viewing screen began to glow. He placed the medallion back on its hook and walked over to the large screen. He stood in front of the large screen as it became fuzzy, but it soon cleared to reveal an image. It was a sunny day, there was a picnic blanket underneath a large tree. Two sandwiches, a basket of strawberries, and a pitcher of lemonade with two glasses. "Can I open my eyes now Vlad?" Danny heard a female voice say. It was quiet and gentle, but held a bit of humor in it.

"Not yet, we're almost there." He heard Vlad's voice reply, but it sounded... younger? Almost, happier even. Two figures appeared on screen. One Danny immediately recognized as Vlad. His hair was long and gray and he had a large smile on his face. He wore a short sleeved green and black striped shirt and faded blue jeans with red sneakers. He was leading a woman up the hill to the picnic blanket. A woman Danny recognized as the woman from the pictures that had come with Vlad's letter and from the pictures in the brown book Danny had seen in the recording. Danielle Ryder.

Her long black hair flowed down her back and a few locks rested on her shoulders. She had a hand over her eyes. She wore a short sleeved red shirt and loose black jeans with white sneakers. She wore a golden bracelet on her right wrist and a wide smile was on her face. Danny recognized the outfit from the picture Vlad had given him in the letter. They reached the top of the hill. "Okay, now you can open your eyes." Vlad told her, his smile not once faltering.

Danielle removed her hand from her eyes and her bright blue eyes instantly lit up with excitement. "Is this... Was this you?" She asked, looking at him, her face a pure expression of joy. Vlad nodded and Danielle's smile grew wider. She flung herself into his arms and planted a kiss on his lips. Danny resisted the urge to gag. Danielle and Vlad sat down and began to eat their picnic. They talked, they laughed, and they fed each other strawberries. "I love you Vlad." Danielle whispered as she rested her head on Vlad's chest. She reached for Vlad's hand and intertwined her fingers in his. Vlad wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him.

The elder halfa stoked her hair and whispered, "I love you too." Danny noticed that he looked unsure as he said it. The teen frowned, remembering what Vlad had said happened between them in the letter. Vlad still had feelings for Danny's adoptive mother while he had been dating Danielle. Seeing their relationship in action, Danny could tell that Danielle had strong feelings towards Vlad. It wasn't fair what was going to happen to her later.

The screen went fuzzy again this time it showed the inside of an apartment. The apartment was small, with cream colored walls and a wood floor. Pictures of Vlad and Danielle were hung all around the room, though some of the had the glass covering them cracked. There was a couch in the corner and a TV set across from it. The TV had been knocked onto the ground. The brown coffee table between the couch and fallen TV was covered in papers. The floor had multiple pictures of Maddie and Jack and love letters addressed to Maddie.

Vlad and Danielle were in the middle of yelling at each other. "All this time! All this time you had feelings for another woman! " Danielle shouted at him. She had tears running down her face and her hair was messy. She wore a jacket and had a suitcase by her feet.

"Yes I did." Vlad said simply, not even trying to deny it or defend himself. Danny narrowed his eyes in anger at how insensitive Vlad was being towards Danielle.

"Was anything real between us? Did you ever have feelings for me? Or was I just your 'rebound girl'?" Danielle shouted. She stalked towards Vlad, her sadness quickly disappearing and changing into anger. Her normally bright blue eyes now burned with rage.

Vlad began to shout back as Danielle continued to approach him, "You were not my rebound girl! I do love you Danielle! But you must understand, Jack stole from me. He ruined my life, took away the first woman I ever loved-"

Danielle cut him off, now standing directly in front of Vlad. "How is your life ruined? You have a warm home, a well paying job, food in the fridge. So what? You spend a few years in the hospital because of one mistake and dwell on it the rest of your life?" Danielle turned her back to Vlad, throwing her arms up in the air. "Jack never meant to hurt you! He was your friend! It wasn't his fault you decided to stick your face in front of a highly dangerous device."

She turned back to Vlad, getting right in his face. "And Maddie? She never loved you!" The younger woman took a few steps away from Vlad, placing her hands on her chest. "But I did Vlad. I loved you, I cared for you, spent every moment I could with you. I did my best to make you happy!" She lowered her hands and clenched them into fists, looking ready to punch Vlad. "But apparently I wasn't enough to fill the void in your heart that was meant for Maddie." Danielle whipped around, fresh tears spilling from her eyes. She took a few steps away from Vlad before quickly turning around and slapping him across the face, hard. Danny gasped at the sudden move, waiting to see the man's reaction at being struck. He feared for Danielle's safety, as he knew how Vlad could get when he was mad.

Vlad was in shock at the sudden hit and placed a hand on his already red cheek. His eyes watered in pain as Danielle walked to the door and picked up the suitcase. She paused in front of the door and rolled up her jacket sleeve, removing the golden bracelet on her right wrist. She dropped it onto the floor and opened the door, looking over her shoulder to give Vlad one last glare. "Good bye Vlad Masters." She said coldly. Danielle slammed the door shut behind her and Vlad removed his hand from his cheek, clenching both his hand into fists. Two dark rings appeared around his waist and spread across his form, transforming him into a blue skinned, dark haired, fanged ghost wearing blindingly white clothes.

The screen went fuzzy again and this time, the image settled on a plain white screen. A woman was screaming. "That's it Ms. Ryder, you're doing great." A woman's voice said over the sound of crying, "Just one more. PUSH!" Another scream. Then, Danny heard a baby crying. The image became the inside of a hospital delivery room with a female doctor holding a crying baby."It's a boy." She said. The mother of the baby laughed lightly before her laugh turned into a cough. It was Danielle again. Her long black hair was now a bob and her forehead was slick with sweat. Her normally smiling and bright blue eyes looked dull. There were dark circles around her eyes and she looked deathly pale. The only color on her was her flushed cheeks.

She held out her arms for the baby and the doctor gave her the newborn boy. "Hello Daniel." She whispered as she gently bounced the crying baby. Danielle coughed again, but the baby had begun to stop crying. He reached up at his mother and Danielle moved her hand so that her son could wrap his tiny hand around her index finger. Danielle smiled at the small baby and gently kissed his forehead. She looked up at the doctor. "Would you do me a favor?" She asked. Danielle pointed her chin at a camera on a nearby chair. "Would you take a picture? Please?" The doctor nodded and grabbed the camera, snapping a picture of the mother and child. "Thank you." Danielle whispered before going into another coughing fit. The coughing shook the baby and he began to cry again.

The doctor rushed over, "You should rest now Ms. Ryder. I'll be back to check on you in a bit." She said. Danielle nodded and gave her baby one last kiss on the forehead before handing him to the doctor. She leaned against the pillows, watching the doctor leave with her child.

"I love you Danny." Danielle whispered as she watched them leave. Her breathing slowed and her eyes fluttered closed."I'll always love you." The screen went dark.

A hand fell on the teen's shoulder and Danny jumped, spinning around to face the newcomer. "Hello Danny." Clockwork said calmly. He was currently in his middle aged form and his emotionless features hid his feelings on Danny entering his tower unannounced. But, as the Master of Time, he had already known that the boy would have just barged in demanding answers. So he decided to let the teen find the answers on his own.

Danny's face was as hard as stone as he looked at the elder ghost. "Is it true?" He asked. "Is it all true?" Clockwork closed his bright red eyes and nodded. Danny's heart beat in his ears and he tasted bile at the back of his throat. Tears burned his eyes as he fought to keep them from spilling over. The teen sank to his knees and pulled at his hair. "No." He whispered. "I'm not his son. He's not my father. It's a lie, it's all a lie!"

"There is no lie Danny. Vlad was always telling the truth. He is your father, and you are his son." Clockwork said simply, crouching down and resting a hand on the teen's shoulder. "But just because you share blood, does not mean you are him." Danny looked up at the old ghost, the tears he had been holding in finally spilling over and falling down his cheeks. "You are vastly different from Vlad Masters, Danny." The Time Master locked eyes with the teen. "It is true he is your biological father, but can't you see that he was willing to change? He wanted to be different! He was just afraid."

Danny's tears stopped and his eyes narrowed. "Vlad is evil. He didn't want to change. He only said that to make me feel sorry for him." He straightened his back, squaring his shoulders. "Vlad Masters was a cruel and crazy old man, who cared about nothing but himself and gaining more power than he could actually handle." The young halfa hissed.

Clockwork rose, gently gripping Danny's arm and pulling the teen to his feet. The elder ghost's eyes were narrowed in annoyance. "Is that all he is? Evil and manipulative?" Clockwork questioned. He pointed to the screen with his staff, causing an image of Vlad in his prime to appear. "Was he anything more to you than a villain? A joke? A man you would never see as anything other than an enemy?" Danny stared at the screen, glaring at the image of Vlad. Clockwork shifted to his elderly form. "You saw him in the future. How he changed, how he realized his mistakes and wanted to make up for them." The elder ghost turned to Danny, still gripping the teen's arm. "You give everyone in your life a second chance, but you never gave Vlad his."

Danny hung his head, staring angrily at the floor. "I couldn't." He growled.

"No, not couldn't. Wouldn't." Clockwork said firmly, releasing Danny's arm and allowing a small frown to appear on his features.

"He had done nothing to deserve it!" Danny shouted, rising off the ground. He glared at the Master of Time, his fists tightly clenched. Danny felt his temper rising, but he knew if he were to attack Clockwork, it would be the biggest mistake of his after-life.

"Because you never gave him a chance to prove himself!" Clockwork said back, slamming his staff on the ground. "He wanted to change and make up for everything he'd ever done to you, and everyone else he knew. But you didn't bother to try and see him change. You only saw a mad man working to destroy you." Danny floated to the ground and and mulled over Clockwork's words.

The elder ghost sighed, turning his back to the teen and floating away from him. He paused, "Everything is not so black and white Danny. Sometimes, you need to see the gray in between." Clockwork said over his shoulder.

Danny shook his head and flew out of the tower. Clockwork didn't know Vlad like he did. Vlad didn't care, he never wanted to change. Did he? Danny flew towards Vlad's portal, silently lost in his own thoughts about all he had learned in a few short hours.

Clockwork watched the boy leave, and turned to the large screen. He shifted to his toddler form and adjusted the time on his staff. The blank screen became fuzzy and an image came into focus. Clockwork smiled at the image of the happy family.

There was a gray haired father kneeling beside his young son. The son was small and frail but his bright blue eyes held strength and bravery in them. His dark hair was messy and tangled and his small hands were having trouble holding onto the football his father was trying to teach him how to throw. A happy and healthy looking mother stood a little farther away, ready to catch the ball. Her short dark hair was pinned up out of her face and her blue eyes were smiling and full of life.

The old ghost pressed a button on his staff and the image began to play out before him. The father guided his son's hands and helped him throw the ball. It soared through the air and the mother rushed forward to catch it. She caught the ball and both her and the father cheered while their son giggled with joy. The father scooped up his son in his arms, holding him high in the air as his wife rushed over to them. The little boy giggled happily as his parents showered him with love and kisses.

"One choice can change everything." The Master of Time said proudly as he exited his chamber, the sound of the family's laughter echoing throughout the large room.

ABOUT A HALF HOUR LATER

Danny entered Vlad's portal and arrived in his lab. He flew straight up and phased back into the elder halfa's study. He was about to phase right out of the castle when a book on Vlad's desk caught his eye. Danny floated over to the desk and recognized is as the brown book from Vlad's video. Danny didn't remember it being there when he first searched the desk. He picked it up and began flipping through the pages, looking at all the pictures. He flipped to the last page, looking at the picture of Danielle on the rock.

Danny noticed that there was another page after that one. He turned the page and saw the picture that the doctor took of Danielle in the hospital holding her baby boy. Him. Danny traced his finger across her features. "Mom." He whispered. Danny's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said aloud. He just called this woman whom he had never met mom. She wasn't his mother, Vlad wasn't his father. His family was the Fenton's. But still...

Before he even knew what he was doing, Danny took the picture out of the book, placing the book back on the desk. He tucked the photo into his boot and phased out of the castle. It was dark out and the moon was high in the sky. Danny wondered how long he had spent in the castle. He'd already been gone more than a day. His friends and family must be worried sick about him. Sighing, Danny started flying back to Amity Park.

ABOUT ONE DAY LATER

Danny arrived in Amity Park around midnight the next night. It had taken him a long time to return since he was still recovering from the shock of all he now knew. He mentally slapped himself for taking so long, his friends and family must be so worried about him. Danny flew above the city, letting the cool night air fill his lungs and whip against his cheeks. He could feel the picture he had taken from Vlad's book in his boot. More than once during his flight home, he considered just letting it fly into the wind, out of sight forever. And he came close to doing it more than once, but every time he would look at Danielle's smiling face and tired eyes he would put it back in his boot and continue flying. City Hall came into view and the young halfa landed beside the statue of him holding up the world.

Danny sat on the base of the statue, removing the picture from his boot. He stared at it, rubbing a gloved thumb over the picture. He looked up at the statue of him holding up the Earth. He was a hero now, everything was perfect. Or it had been at least. Vlad once again had to ruin everything, and this time he did it just by sending a stupid letter. Danny averted his eyes from the statue. How it mocked him. The boy on the statue was a hero, he was a mistake. He sighed and stood up, taking off once more. Danny started heading towards home, thinking about how he was going to apologize for being away for so long without contacting anyone. When he arrived at the large Fenton Works building he paused. He wasn't ready to face them yet. They would want to know why he'd been gone for so long, then he would have to tell them. And the fact is, Danny wasn't ready to share his horrible unknown past.

Instead, he simply phased into the house and remained invisible. After learning about their son being half ghost, Jack and Maddie disabled all the anti-ghost defenses, which meant Danny could sneak in undetected. He was originally just going to go in, grab his phone, get out and send a quick text saying he was alright, but his plans changed when he saw Jazz sitting on the couch in the living room, her eyes glued to Danny's cell phone. There were folded pieces of paper in her hands and she sat on the couch, her body barely moving. Taking the phone with her watching would be difficult, so Danny made a distraction. He flew into the main hall and knocked on the door. Jazz's eyes instantly went to the door. "Danny?" She whispered, her voice hopeful. She launched off the couch and ran to the door. Danny swooped over to the coffee table and snatched up his phone, phasing out of the house and flying far away from it.

He sent a quick text to all his friends and family, saying that he was safe and sound, he just needed a little more time to himself. He was immediately met with responses of relief and demands. They wanted to know where he was and to come home. But Danny wasn't ready. He was more surprised by Jazz's text. 'Danny, please come home. Sam, Tucker and I know. Mom and Dad still don't and I won't tell them or say it over text messaging just in case they get nosy as usual but please, you need to come back. We can talk about this!' Danny shook his head, confused by Jazz's words. He put away his phone and continued to soar high above the city.

After flying above the city for a few more minutes, Danny landed on the roof of a tall building. He sat down at the edge of the roof, hanging his feet over the edge. The teen turned his head skywards and stared up at the moon. Danny shrugged and closed his eyes. "So? You wanted to change?" He said aloud, kicking his feet against the wall. "Forgive me for thinking you're lying, it's just a natural response to all those times you lied or tricked me."

Danny opened his eyes and looked down at the picture in his hands. He placed it beside him, closing his eyes once more, he continued to talk to himself. "Why didn't you just tell me? I probably wouldn't have believed you at first, but if you would have shown me then maybe..." The teen trailed off. He wrapped his arms around himself, gripping his arms tightly. "Maybe I could've tried too. Things could've been different. Things could've been better." The teenager leaned forward and placed his head in his hands. "I don't know what to think anymore about you. Were you a good guy? A bad guy? A psycho? Completely sane?"

Danny furrowed his brow and grabbed the picture in his hands. He looked over every detail in the picture. Danielle's eyes, the way her hair stuck to her brow with sweat. The baby boy she held in her arms with his tiny hand wrapped around her delicate finger. He looked at Danielle's pale skin and how she almost blended in with the pure white color of the delivery room walls. Danny could see a few black hairs sticking out of the blue hat the baby boy was wearing. The teen grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes. He crumpled up the picture and stood, preparing to throw it away. Danny raised his arm, the picture packed tightly in his fist... and paused. He willed his arm to move forward, to throw away the picture so he would never have to see it again. But he couldn't.

Tears burned his eyes. He knew the truth now. The woman in the picture was his mother, his biological mother. But she wasn't his real mother, nor was Vlad his real father. True, he may be related to Vlad by blood, but the man was in no way, shape or form his father. Maddie and Jack Fenton were his real mom and dad. They raised him, took care of him, loved and accepted him. With all their flaws, the Fenton's were his real family, Maddie was his mom, Jack was his dad, and Jazz was his big sister. Squaring his jaw, Danny turned and threw the picture far away from him on the roof. He sighed, turning and sitting back down on the edge of the roof, looking up at the starry night sky.

"I do hate you Vlad. Nothing in the world will ever make me forget all the pain and suffering you caused me. Just because you sent a stupid letter and recorded a video doesn't make any of what you did right or justified." Danny said firmly, all sadness and guilt gone from his voice. It was now replaced by anger. "You were a coward, hiding behind all your money that you gained by being a liar and a thief. And you still think it can make things right?"

The teen pulled one of his knees up to his chest and hugged it. "I don't want your dirty money, your stupid companies, or your old creepy house because of one thing they all have in common." The teen brushed a few stray pieces of hair out of his eyes and glared up at the stars. "You." Danny's frown deepened and he threw his hands up in the air. "And now you've even ruined space for me, now that I know you were up there, and probably still are."

Finished with his rant Danny inhaled deeply, running his gloved hands through his tangled hair. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that Jazz was trying to call him. He ignored it and placed the phone on the ledge beside him. The teenage halfa closed his eyes, focusing on nothing but his abnormally slow heart rate and breathing. In a way, it calmed him. It cleared his thoughts and made him feel slightly better. But he still couldn't shake Vlad from his mind.

Danny growled deep in his throat, clenching his fists. But then, he relaxed, and tears feel from his eyes without his permission. "Just tell me something." He whispered. "Did you honestly mean what you said? About Danielle? About me? About undoing your mistakes? Did you want to make up for everything you did, just so I wouldn't hate you?" Danny clutched his head. "Would I even accepted you if you did?" Tears continued to fall from the young halfa's eyes. He willed them to stop, but soon his whole body was shaking with sobs. He wanted to go home. He wanted to tell someone. He wanted all this anger and hurt to go away!

Danny froze as the thoughts went through his head. The same thoughts that lead to his dark future. The teen shot up in the air, head turned skywards. "How?!" He screamed. "How do you do it?! You mess with my mind and you're not even here!" Danny's hands gripped his hair and pulled at it, floating high in the air. "Stop it... Stop it! STOP IT!" He screamed, turning his head skyward and letting out his ghostly wail.

Once he was finished, the teen floated back down to the roof and sank to his knees. He panted, trying to recover the energy he lost without transforming back into his human form. Danny still felt like he was being watched, oddly enough. Danny stared at the stone roof, his bangs floating in front of his eyes. "I knew the truth." Danny said sadly. "I knew from the moment I read your letter it was true. I had always felt different, and now I know why. But for you to actually be my real dad, well I'll just say it's a plot twist I was not expecting."

Danny chuckled lightly. "Okay, one more question you crazy Froot Loop." Danny stood and looked up at the stars once more. He crossed his arms. "Say you did change and I actually believed you. And then we started getting along. Would you have told me the truth then? Would you have come forth and say 'I am your father'." Danny said that last part in a deep voice with his hand covering his mouth while doing heavy breathing noises. He laughed at his own little joke, but quickly stopped.

"Oh great," he muttered, "now I'm the Froot Loop." Shaking his head, Danny stood and walked over to the edge of the roof where his phone still rested. "You know, you may be one seriously crazed up Froot Loop Vlad, but I guess you're not all that bad." Danny felt a cold sensation in his chest as he grabbed his phone, and a blue mist flew past his lips. The young halfa froze as he heard footsteps approach him from behind.

"Oh Little Badger, you flatter me."

A/N: And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...

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THE FINAL CHAPTER! I'm right aren't I? ;) So, just click that little button down there or scroll or swipe or do whatever you do to get to the next chapter! Hope you all enjoy it!