A/N: As I had said in a chapter in the original book, anyone who could tell me Masters Blasters' first lines would get bonus points. And by bonus points I meant a shout out in this long awaited chapter!

The only two who played my little game were two of my favorite readers.

-The-Architect

bloopbleepgirl

But I still want to say a big thank you to everyone for patiently waiting for this chapter and showing my book so much support. Hope you enjoy the final chapter!

Third Person POV

Danny felt his heartbeat quicken. His breathing was short and quick. The teen's grip on his phone tightened and he was surprised that it didn't break. No, it was impossible. He can't be here, he can't be! Danny shook his head and closed his eyes tightly, it was just his mind messing with him. Vlad was not here, he was gone. Danny was alone on that roof. He was probably just over tired, yeah that was it. All that flying did take a lot out of him and using his Ghostly Wail did not help matters at all, though it had made him feel slightly better. Taking a deep breath, Danny stood up straight and turned around. He slowly cracked open his eyes, and saw an empty roof. He let out the breath he had been holding in relief, pressing a hand to his forehead. "I knew he wasn't here." Danny whispered to himself. "I should go home and get some rest. It's been a rough few days."

"I would agree." A familiar voice said from beside the teen. Danny stiffened, his eyes widening. Slowly, he turned his head to the side, and nearly fell off the roof. Beside the young halfa was the, clearly alive, Vlad Masters. Danny yelped in surprise, scrambling away from the man. He missed his footing and tumbled off the side of the roof. Danny began to plummet to the ground far below. The ground was fast approaching and Danny willed himself to fly, but his powers were still weak from him using his Ghostly Wail earlier. He mentally cursed himself for abusing his powers like that. Danny braced himself for impact as he was about to hit the ground, but mere moments before he would have made contact with the hard pavement, Danny felt something grab his ankle. It stopped him from falling and flew him back up to the roof, depositing him on said roof, far away from the ledge.

Danny scrambled away from his rescuer as the man stepped towards him, his white cape flowing gracefully in the nighttime breeze. "T-This isn't real. This can't be real!" Danny shouted, still backing away from the man. Fear was etched into his eyes. "You're not here, this is all fake." The teen leaned onto his side, curling into a ball and clutching his head. "It's a nightmare, and I'm going to wake up any second now, safe in my bed." Danny panted, closing his eyes and willing the man to go away, for him not to be real. But he still heard the soft footsteps growing closer to him.

"Daniel please." Vlad whispered, his voice sounding desperate. The footsteps continued to grow closer, and they finally reached the boy curled up on the roof. Danny was shaking as he continued to listen, still hoping desperately that this was a dream. Vlad sighed. "I'm not here to hurt you Daniel." The elder halfa knelt beside the teen and cautiously reached for his shoulder. Danny opened his eyes and saw the movement. He immediately rolled away from Vlad and flew into the air, but he didn't fly away.

Danny was confused by his own actions. Why wasn't he getting as far away as he could from the elder halfa? Why was he just floating there? As odd as it sounded, Danny felt like he needed to stay. He felt like he wanted to see Vlad, if only to finally see the once proud Vlad Masters broken and weak. But even if that were the reason, why did he feel so bad? Shouldn't he be angry to see Vlad? Or at least slightly ticked off? The teen felt none of these emotions. He didn't feel anything at all. His thoughts were clouded and his green eyes were locked onto Vlad.

An expression of hurt donned Vlad's features as he stood. His red eyes stared up at Danny as his cape fluttered in the midnight breeze. "I thought you had finally come to accept the truth Daniel. I thought you had finally accepted me." As the elder halfa said this, he slowly floated into the air. His cape flapped around him, shining in the moonlight. He started to float towards Danny, holding out his hands. "Daniel, I know we've had our differences in the past-"

Danny snapped out of whatever trance he had been, finally feeling that sense of rage he had been missing. The teen interrupted Vlad and started his own rant, "Differences? Differences?! You call trying countless times to kill my dad and get my mom to fall in love with you differences?! You call cloning and kidnapping me differences?! You call infecting and almost killing my best friends differences?!" The halfa shouted, his voice raising with every word. His green eyes burned with anger. The man that had caused all his suffering and pain was floating in front of him, and he was calling all the times that he had hurt Danny and the ones Danny cared about mere DIFFERENCES?! It sickened Danny to know that he was related to this monster of a man.

Vlad hung his head. "Maybe differences wasn't the best choice of words." He muttered. The two halfas floated in silence and it was then that Danny noticed that Vlad looked different. The older man looked like a mix of both his human and ghost forms. He adorned his trademark suit, but it was now white where it was once black and vice versa, similar to Danny's own attire. A small blue flower was tucked into the breast pocket. The cape that he wore while he was in his ghost form was attached to his shoulders, but the collar was gone and on his hands were small white gloves. His skin was not it's usual blue tint, it was now just slightly pale. The man's eyes still burned red and his hair was black, but it flowed freely, no longer in its upward pointing style.

"W-What happened to you Vlad?" The teen whispered, confused and concerned by the elder halfa's new appearance. The more Danny stayed on that roof with the man, the more confused he became. He needed to get out of there, he needed to go home! Yet he remained, as if under a spell.

Vlad glanced at Danny, then at himself. He chuckled softly and twirled in the air, throwing his arms out to the sides. "Do you like it? I feel that this brand new look suits me. It's to show how much I have changed Little Badger." He explained. Danny floated a few inches farther away from Vlad. The sudden change in Vlad's mood made Danny uneasy. There was something off about the elder halfa, he was not acting anything like himself. Vlad noticed Danny floating farther away from him and frowned. "Please don't be afraid of me Daniel. I didn't come here to fight. I just wish to speak with you."

Danny paused, raising an eyebrow at Vlad. "And what makes you think I'd want to talk to you?" The elder halfa started floating towards Danny once more and the teen raised his fists in defense. Danny noticed that he still held his cell phone. The screen flashed with unread text messages and missed calls from his friends and sister. He wondered what could possibly so important that all his friends were trying to contact him. But that would have to wait, right now his main focus was Vlad. Danny slipped his phone into his boot, ignoring the constant vibrations, and turned his attention back onto the elder halfa. Vlad had stopped moving towards Danny and now just floated a few feet away from the teen.

"I don't understand," Vlad began, "I changed for you Daniel. I'm trying to undo all that I have done, why do you still reject me? Even now that you know the truth." There was genuine hurt in Vlad's voice.

Not only that, it was smaller. More timid. Any shred of Vlad's ego and pride was gone from his voice. One could even just tell from the way the man held himself he was different. Gone was his intimidating posture and air of confidence. Gone was the devious look in those cold eyes, replaced by sorrow and darkness. All that could be seen was a timid old man, making himself look smaller than he was.

Seeing Vlad like this... it wasn't right. Where was the pompous old man that thought he was better than everyone else? Where was the cunning evil mastermind that believed he could rule the world? Where was the Vlad Masters that Danny knew and hated? The teen narrowed his eyes at the man. "I do know the truth, but it means nothing!"

Vlad sighed and took the small blue flower out of his breast pocket. He gently brushed his gloved fingers against it's soft petals, their blue glow reflecting in the moonlight like water. "It means everything my boy." The older man's eyes focused on the flower as he spoke. Danny charged his hands with glowing green energy and moved into an attack stance. His eyes narrowed in on Vlad and he aimed an ectoblast directly at the elder halfa, who was still distracted by the blue flower. The teen fired, but just as the blast neared Vlad he swiftly dodged it. The white cape fluttered around his body as Vlad placed the flower back in his breast pocket. "Honestly Daniel, must it always be violence with you? I already told you I didn't come here to fight."

Danny smirked. "Well that's too bad. Because I did!" The teen charged at Vlad, his hands alight with green energy. He fired relentlessly at the older man and managed to land a few hits. Vlad quickly threw up a pink shield around himself to avoid the blasts. The elder halfa shook his head at the boy's antics.

"Will he ever learn?" Vlad grumbled as Danny continued to fire upon his shield. Cracks were forming on the shield and Vlad could feel the barrier crumbling. Danny was getting strong, very strong. Vlad smiled, this pleased him. The boy was learning after all. Vlad dropped his shield and flew out of the way of another ectoblast.

Danny frowned and fired more blasts at Vlad, all of which he dodged easily. Growing angry that his long range attacks weren't working, Danny decided to go for a direct approach. He charged his hands with energy and flew straight at Vlad, preparing to ram into the man. Vlad merely turned intangible and the teen passed right through him. "Come now Little Badger, I thought you were always one for second chances. Why won't you allow me to prove to you how I've changed?" Vlad asked, his tone slightly teasing.

Danny turned to face the man, anger burning in his eyes. "I give second chances to those that deserve them." The teen's hands glowed with green ecto-energy. "I never gave you a second chance because you never showed me that you deserved one. You still haven't shown me a reason to give you a second chance." Danny fired a ray of energy at Vlad, but before the ray made contact with Vlad, the man swept himself up in his cape and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Danny grumbled. "Coward." The young halfa flew around in the air, shouting Vlad's name. "Come out and face me old man! Prove you've changed!"

When the teen's cries were met with silence, he became angry. He fired blasts of energy in all directions, not caring what he hit. He just wanted to hit Vlad. He wanted to fight. He didn't care if he would be destroyed in the process, if it meant Vlad would be gone forever, he'd be happy. Vlad would never get a chance to hurt him or anyone he loved or cared about ever again. Danny would make sure of that.

While Danny continued to search for any sign of the crazed elder halfa, his panic was rising. Vlad was stronger and more skilled than Danny. The teen had to do his very best whenever he fought the elder halfa. A surprise attack while he was panicking would not end well. He needed to calm down and focus."Can't you see I want to make things right between us Daniel? I don't want to fight anymore." Danny felt a chill run up his spine and two strong hands gripped his shoulders. "And I don't think you want to fight anymore either."

Danny shook with fear, he didn't know what to do. He wasn't strong enough to beat Vlad, but maybe if he attacked he could buy himself some time to get away from him. But... did he want to fight? Was Vlad right? Danny was really tired of fighting the older halfa, constantly getting beat up and teased about how weak he was compared to Vlad. He was happy when he learned Vlad was gone and was glad it was all finally over. All this fighting between them, the suffering, it just needed to stop. Then everything could go back to normal, or as normal as it got for a half ghost teenager. He could stop fighting Vlad and then...

Danny's eyes widened, what was he saying?! He would never stop fighting Vlad or any other being that wanted to hurt those he cared about for that matter! Vlad was messing with his mind once more and Danny grew angry at himself for allowing Vlad's words to affect him.

The teen jerked himself out of Vlad's grip and flew away from the elder halfa to the other side of the roof. He charged his hands with energy once more, shaking the fog from his thoughts. Vlad was messing with his mind again, he couldn't allow himself to succumb to his dark words. "I'll never stop fighting you Vlad!" Danny shouted. "I'll fight you even if it kills me! I'll never let you hurt anyone else!"

Vlad smiled at the teen, his eyes full of pride. The older man noticed a crumpled piece of paper near his feet and leaned down to pick it up. He unfolded the paper and his eyes, once filled with pride, now held sadness. "I see you took one of the pictures." Vlad said, trying his hardest to smooth out the creases on the photo. He stared at Danielle's face and the baby she held in her arms. The older man looked up at Danny. "So, your little speech earlier, did it mean nothing? Were all your words lies?"

Danny grit his teeth as he remembered what he had said earlier to himself on that roof. How he had said Vlad wasn't 'all that bad', or how he might have actually accepted him if Vlad had changed. He was honestly shocked that those words had come out of his mouth. "I don't care what I said earlier, I would never accept you, not after everything you've done!" Danny continued, the energy in his hands becoming brighter and casting an eerie shadow on his face. "I don't know what I was thinking when I said that you weren't that bad. You're a villain and a mad man. Always have been, always will be. I won't let you drag me down into your pit of madness."

At first, Vlad looked hurt by the boy's words. He lowered his head and tightened his grip on the photo in his hand, his flowing dark hair draping across his shoulders. Then, he began to snicker. It was small laugh at first, but then it turned into a chuckle. Then the chuckle turned into a laugh, and the laugh grew louder and louder until Vlad was practically screaming. He gripped his hair and gasped for breath as he laughed. He was starting to sound like a true madman. The older man's laughed echoed through the night air and sent chills up and down Danny's spine. "You won't let me will you?!" Vlad said in between laughs. "Well, what if I told you you're already there!"

Danny frowned. "What are you talking about Fruitloop?!" He demanded. Danny wasn't crazy, he knew that. Vlad was the only crazy one on that roof.

Vlad's laughter slowly died down and he wiped a tear from his eye. He straightened out his white suit and smoothed down his wild hair. He put the picture of Danielle and the baby back on the roof, adjusting the small blue flower in his breast pocket. He stared at the flower while he answered Danny. "All that paranoia, talking to yourself, becoming so obsessed with finding the truth." The old man floated up into the air once more, a smug grin on his face. He looked at Danny from the corner of his eye, their red glow shining in the darkness. "But you knew it was true from the start didn't you? Yet you were still so determined to expose it as a lie. As another one of my little 'tricks'."

Danny stiffened at Vlad's deduction. The man was right, he had suspected that Vlad had been telling the truth the whole time, and Danny had believed his words. But he didn't want them to be true. He looked for every excuse he could to prove that it wasn't, but in the end, the evidence was air tight. There was no way of denying it, he was Vlad's son.

"There is no lie Danny. Vlad was always telling the truth. He is your father, and you are his son."

Clockwork had spoken with the teen while he had been at the elder ghost's tower. His words now repeated themselves in Danny's mind. The green energy Danny still held in his hands grew brighter. The teen inhaled deeply and exhaled, closing his eyes, he calmed himself. "Yes." Danny answered. "I knew it was the truth. I didn't want it to be true, but in the end all the evidence was solid."

"Just because you share blood, does not mean you are him."

Vlad smiled. "Your sleuthing skills are improving greatly Daniel. I must say I am impressed. This just proves how alike you and I are." Danny flinched at Vlad comparing the teen to himself. He was nothing like Vlad, he was his own person. He was a hero.

"You are vastly different from Vlad Masters, Danny."

Clockwork knew that Vlad and Danny were two very different people. Sure, they shared physical similarities and now they shared blood, but their goals and mentalities were extremely different. Danny knew he was always better than whatever Vlad became, because Vlad was a selfish and sick man. Narrowing his eyes, Danny fired an ectoblast at Vlad. The elder halfa swiftly dodged the attack and Danny fired another blast at him. Vlad dodged the blast again and shook his head with disappointment. "Again with the violence Daniel? Isn't this dance getting old to you?"

Danny landed a kick to Vlad's back, effectively knocking the man to the ground. He floated above Vlad, arms crossed and a smug grin on his face. "I've always liked dancing, and it looks like you're the one who's getting old."

Vlad slowly picked himself off the ground, placing a hand over his breast pocket. He silently sighed in relief and chuckled. "Always with the quips Little Badger." The older man got onto his feet and gripped the edge of his cape. He glanced over his shoulder at the floating teen before twirling around and disappearing in a puff of red smoke.

Danny groaned, "Not again." He searched the darkness for Vlad, keeping his guard up. His phone vibrated in his boot but he ignored it. He couldn't afford to be distracted for even a second. The younger halfa felt the familiar cold sensation in his chest and blue mist breezed past his lips."I did this for you Daniel." Vlad's voice whispered in the teen's ear. "I changed for you.". Danny whipped in the direction of the voice and fired and ectoblast, but nothing was there. Danny was becoming confused, this happened when he sensed Vlad the first time. "Everything I ever did, was for you Daniel." Vlad's voice whispered again, only this time it sounded like it was coming from all around the teen.

Danny was rapidly growing irritated. He was tired of games and really just wanted to smash Vlad's smug face in the stone roof below. "Don't you ever get tired of all the fighting? Don't you ever want to stop?" The elder halfa whispered.

Danny chuckled as he continued to search the darkness for Vlad. "Your mind tricks won't work on me Vlad, not again." While Danny's words were brave, he was in fact terrified. Vlad's voice whispered to him from the darkness. He was like a shadow, taunting the young halfa.

"But it's true, is it not? You want to stop all the fighting. You want a normal life. You want to be an astronaut." Vlad's taunts were starting to dig into Danny. He had wanted to be a real astronaut, but ever since he gained his powers he believed it to be impossible for him to ever live out that dream. It pained Danny to think about his lost dream and he felt a heavy sadness in his heart.

Vlad wasn't done his taunting yet. "Such a wonderful dream. Exploring the outer reaches of the great wide galaxy, seeing the cosmos up close. But that's all it is, a dream." Danny felt a cold hand brush against his cheek. He jerked away from the touch and fired an ectoblast at where he thought Vlad would be floating. There was still nothing there.

Danny started finding it hard to breath, though he really didn't need to breathe in ghost form. It was more of a habit really. But still, his breaths were becoming short and quick. His lungs felt like all the air was being forced out of them. Danny's vision was becoming blurry and he could feel the faint buzzing of his phone against in leg in his boot. He didn't have time for whatever Jazz, Sam or Tucker had to say, he needed to concentrate on Vlad. Black spots appeared at the edges of Danny's vision.

Danny could feel himself growing weaker from constantly using his powers. He was still on low energy after his Ghostly Wail and the constant attacks on Vlad. He needed to stay strong, he needed to fight. But he was so tired. Danny ignited his hands with green energy once more, ready to fight.

"Just stop fighting."

The green energy faded from Danny's hands and he started falling to the roof below. Vlad's strong hands gripped the boy's shoulders just before he hit the roof. The teen knew he should be fighting against the man, but he felt so weak. He could barely stay in the air. "It's alright Daniel," Vlad said calmly as the two of them touched down on the roof, "everything's alright."

Danny relaxed slightly, his stiff posture disappearing and his head slightly limp. The elder halfa loosened his grip on the teen's shoulders. "All this fighting... it's pointless. There is no end to it." Danny sank to his knees and Vlad knelt beside the teen, gently gripping one of the boy's shoulders. "We could go on for eternity battling each other, and what would become of us then? Our gifts were given to us for a reason." He moved in front of Danny, lifting his chin so that they locked eyes.

"You and I are special Daniel. We have powers that allow us to do things beyond our wildest dreams!" The elder halfa looked up to the night sky and smiled. The stars shone in his glowing red eyes, filling them with joy and childish wonder. "We can go anywhere we want to go, do anything we want to do, be anything we want to be!" He looked back to the younger halfa, who still appeared to be slightly lost in his own thoughts. "You can finally travel through the stars."

Vlad released Danny's chin and shoulder. The older man stood and extended his hand to Danny. "We can do it together Daniel. As father and son. We can soar through the stars and never look back. You'll finally be able to live your dream."

Danny looked up at the stars. So close, and yet so far away. They were so elusively beautiful. They could form pictures in the sky, brighten the darkest night, shine like millions of diamonds and still remained untouched. One could only dream of getting close enough to touch one. He smiled at the thought of finally getting to live his dream. He could leave this life of fighting, move onto the stars where he belonged. Even if it meant being with Vlad.

The teen looked back at Vlad and nodded, taking the man's hand and standing up. The elder halfa smiled. "Wonderful. This is all I ever wanted Little Badger.". The elder halfa glanced at the undamaged blue flower in his breast pocket. "You're going to love it there Danny." Danny's eyes widened. Vlad never called him Danny. Only Daniel or Little Badger. Almost instantly, the fog clouding Danny's thoughts cleared and he began to question Vlad's meaning.

Danny pulled his hand out of Vlad's grip and backed away from him. "What are you talking about, where were you going to take me?" He asked, fear in his voice. The last bit of fog clouding the teen's mind finally cleared and Danny realized what he had been about to do. He was going to abandon everything and go wherever Vlad had been trying to take him. That was never going to happen again. He would never go anywhere with Vlad.

Vlad smiled, pointing at the sky. "We're going to the stars Danny. Just like you've always wanted." Vlad started slowly walking towards Danny. "You'll be able to stop all the fighting and be happy. And you can do it with you real father."

Danny continued to back away from Vlad, making sure to get a fair distance away from the crazed man. He narrowed his eyes when Vlad called himself Danny's real father. As he felt his strength returning to him, Danny prepared to fight one last time. Vlad stepped towards Danny, holding his arms open as if expecting the teen to rush into them and give him a hug. "We are blood Daniel. I am your father. You are my son. So why don't we stop this foolishness and be a family like we were always meant to be."

Danny felt the rest of his strength return almost immediately and charged his hands with glowing green energy. He moved into an attack stance, raising his fists and floating a few feet above the ground. "We may share blood, but you are not my father." The teen hissed. "The only father I have is Jack Fenton!".

Vlad halted in his approach, his arms still held open. Curling his gloved hands into fists, his red eyes narrowed in anger at the mention of Jack's name. He bared his teeth, revealing glistening white fangs. "That oaf of a man can barely tie his own shoes. How is it that you accept him more than me?!"

Danny braced for Vlad to attack him, and answered his question. "Jack has his flaws but he would never do anything to purposely harm me! I am not his real son but he treats me as if I was! Both Maddie and Jack are the greatest parents anyone could ask for!"

Vlad growled, a deep growl that sounded more animal than human."Jack abandoned me in space! He left me behind with no concern whatsoever about what would become of me! It's because of him I am like this!" Vlad shouted, gesturing to himself.

Danny backed away from him, realizing now why Vlad was so different. Why he no longer acted like himself. Why he looked different. Why Danny's ghost sense reacted the way it did whenever Vlad got close to him. It all made sense now. The answer was so clear he wondered why he hadn't figured it out sooner. It was the only explanation for how Vlad could be on that roof with him.

Vlad Masters was dead.

Vlad's eyes widened as he realized what he let slip out. "Daniel-" He started, but the teen wouldn't let him get any further than that. He fired and ectoblast directly at Vlad. The surprise of the attack caught Vlad off guard and he was hit square in the chest. Vlad screamed out in agony, reaching for his breast pocket. He pulled out the blue flower and quickly inspected it. The petals were slightly singed and some had fallen off. The stem had been broken and now was two separate pieces, barely hanging onto each other.

Vlad was constantly worrying about that flower. The whole time he had been talking to Danny, some of his attention had always been on the flower. For some reason, it was important to Vlad. Danny had to destroy it. While Vlad was still distracted by his broken flower, the teen readied an ice blast. He aimed it straight for the flower and fired. Out of the corner of his eyes, Vlad spotted the oncoming blast and dove out of the way. He held the flower close to his chest, doing his best to protect it from harm. "Daniel please." Vlad begged, looking up at the teen. "Don't do this. I promise things will be better between us. I just wanted us to be a family... forever."

Danny paused in readying another ice blast. He stared into Vlad's eyes and felt guilt growing in his heart. The man was broken, hitting him while he was down wouldn't be right. And destroying the flower that obviously meant a lot to him? How could he do such a thing? Vlad smirked as he saw the young halfa's hesitation. All he needed to do was keep him distracted a little longer. Then he would be ready to strike.

Danny noticed the smirk, and all sense of guilt went away. He formed a large ball of ice in his hands and charged it with ecto-energy, and sent it hurling towards Vlad. The ball of ice struck Vlad in the back and he fell onto his stomach, the flower slipping out of his hand. Danny took the opportunity to dive at Vlad, who was desperately trying to lunge at the flower before Danny got it. The man's fingers just barely brushed the broken stem of the flower before Danny grabbed it and flew into the air.

Anger burned in Vlad's eyes and he launched himself off the ground and into the sky, heading straight for the young halfa. Danny saw him fast approaching and quickly tried to destroy the flower. Just as Danny charged his hand with energy, Vlad slammed into him and they both crashed to the roof below. The teen landed on his side and crashed his head against the roof, yet he held on tightly to the flower. Vlad landed in front of the teen, slightly disoriented. Danny fought the spots in his vision and sat up, once again ready to destroy the flower.

"Daniel please! Don't do it!" Vlad cried. Danny looked over at the man, who was now on his hands and knees in front of the teen. His eyes were pleading and he looked incredibly weak. Tears were in his eyes. "I'm begging you."

With those words, Danny realized an important fact. This man, though he sure as hell looked like it, was not Vlad Masters. Vlad Masters had died up in space, this was just a shell of what used to be the fearsome and powerful man. Tears in his own eyes, Danny gripped the broken blue flower tighter. "I'm sorry." He whispered as he charged the hand holding the flower with green energy, effectively destroying it.

Vlad screamed in agony as he saw the flower being destroyed. He tried to lunge at Danny, but he froze mid-leap. Vlad began to shake and his body started shimmering. Danny watched in horror as Vlad seemed to evaporate into the air. With a final scream of pain, the blue flower's charred petals fell to the ground, some still flaming, and Vlad disappeared into the sky. Danny was shaking. "I-I didn't know t-that h-he would..." The teen trailed off. He looked down at the charred stem in his hand, still broken in two with both pieces hanging onto each other like their lives depended on it.

The young halfa dropped the charred stem onto the ground and felt his phone vibrate against his ankle once more. Seeing that Vlad was finally gone, Danny pulled his phone out of his boot and saw that it was Sam calling. He answered it. "Hey Sam." He said, faking sounding cheerful.

"Danny Fenton you are in so much trouble when you get home do you have any idea how worried we have been you've been gone for almost two days where have you been why didn't you call and say that you were alright?!" Jazz's voice screamed from the other end of the line without taking a breath. Danny had to immediately pull the phone away from his ear to avoid going deaf, though he could still here Jazz ranting.

Once the volume had quieted down so that he didn't have to hold the phone at arms length to clearly hear what Jazz was saying, he placed the phone against his ear. "I know, I'm sorry I was gone so long. I just had a lot to deal with." Danny answered, staring at the charred stem and petals on the ground.

"Danny, we know. Jazz found the letter." Sam said from the other end of the line. Danny felt his blood run cold. Jazz found the letter. The letter that Vlad had written to him. And if she found the letter then she must have read it, and found the other papers and photos that Vlad had included with the letter. That must have been the piece of paper she had been holding in her hand when Danny had snuck back into the house to get his phone. "Danny? Are you there? Please say something!" Sam said, her voice full of worry.

Danny cleared his throat. "Y-Yeah, I'm here." He replied quietly. His world was falling apart now. They knew he was Vlad's son. Or maybe they didn't believe it, but then Danny would have to tell them that it was true.

"Dude, you can't believe anything that guy says. Just because you're adopted doesn't mean that he's your dad." Tucker's voice said quickly. Danny froze, his friends knew he was adopted too?! Jazz must have told them. He knew he should be mad at her for telling them something like that without his permission, but given the circumstances he could see why she did. From the other end of the line Danny heard the sound of someone getting hit, followed by Tucker crying out in pain. The teen chuckled, Sam must have hit him for letting that slip.

"Guys-" Danny began, but he was cut off by his sister.

"Danny, Vlad is a liar. There's no way you're his son. And even if you were it wouldn't matter! You're a Fenton, Danny!" Jazz stated clearly, though her voice sounded a bit tight, as if she was holding back tears. "You're my little brother."

Danny felt his own tears threaten to spill over. He wondered how he was still able to cry after the amount of time he'd cried the past two days. It was embarrassing when he thought about it. He took a shaky breath. "Vlad wasn't lying Jazz. I'm his son." The teen heard gasps on the other end of the line.

"You can't believe that Danny!" Sam shouted. The others made noises of agreement.

"Sam, I did my research. I went to Vlad's castle, I did tests, I even went and saw Clockwork!" Danny replied, throwing his free arm up in the air even though they couldn't see him. "It's the truth. Vlad is my biological father, and that Danielle lady is my biological mother." From the other end of the line, Danny could hear the sound of someone crying, though they were doing their best to hide it. The teen halfa smiled sadly, "But just because they are my biological parents, doesn't make them my real parents." The crying stopped. "The Fenton's are my real family."

Silence came from the other end of the line. "Dude, when you get back you have to tell us everything!" Tucker said, only to cry out in pain again. "I mean, only if you want to..." Danny chuckled as he could basically feel Sam's icy gaze cutting into Tucker.

"Don't worry, when I get home I'll tell you guys everything." Danny's eyes fell on the charred stem and petals. "Everything." He repeated.

"Fine. But if you're not at Fenton Works in ten minutes I'm sending out the Booo-merang." Sam threatened, though her tone was worried. After assuring his girlfriend that he would be at Fenton Works shortly, they hung up.

Danny slipped his phone back into his boot and heard a clattering noise behind him. He turned around and was surprised to see where Vlad once stood, there was a small golden bracelet. The same bracelet that Vlad had given Danielle. Danny walked over and picked up the bracelet. He ran a gloved thumb over the leaf marking engraved on it. The teen noticed writing on the inside of the bracelet. He held it close to his face and squinted to make out the words.

'The vines that strengthen the love between two hearts are as precious as gold'

"I always thought it was a cheesy saying." A soft voice said from behind the teen. Danny jumped at the voice, dropping the bracelet and whipped around, facing the newcomer. He gasped as he immediately recognized the figure. The woman smiled, but made no move towards Danny. She would not force him to like her, it was his choice. Danny didn't know how to feel. Standing in front of him was the woman responsible for everything.

Danielle Ryder.

She looked the same as she did in most of Vlad's old pictures. She was young, her long black hair flowed freely down her back. Her lightly tanned skin was now pale and she still sported the small mole above her top lip. She wore a white long sleeved shirt and white skirt. Her feet were bare and her blue eyes now glowed a dark green. She smiled at Danny and gave him a small wave. "Hello." She said cheerfully, her voice was gentle and kind.

Danny was still in shock and just stood there, mouth agape. Danielle noticed this and rubbed the back of her neck. "I knew this was going to be awkward." She muttered. Closing her eyes, the woman sighed. "Danny, I know you're probably not happy to see me but-" Danielle was cut off by Danny slamming into her and wrapping his arms around her in a hug. She gasped at the surprise reaction and quickly hugged him back, tears falling from her eyes. "I've waited to do this for so long." She whispered.

The two broke out of their hug and Danielle knelt down, cupping Danny's cheeks in her hands. "My baby, let me look at you." Their eyes locked and Danny felt tears spill over. This was his mom, his biological mom. She was there with him, she was holding him. It was the greatest feeling ever.

Danny placed a gloved hand over one of Danielle's. "H-How? How are you here?" He asked.

Danielle chuckled. "It was my desire. I wanted to see you all grown up. I wanted to see the brave young man I knew you would become." Danny knelt down in front of her and the two embraced once more. Danielle kissed the top of Danny's head. "And most importantly, I wanted to make sure you never went anywhere with that horrible father of yours." She said into his hair.

Danny's eyes widened. "But Vlad said he talked to you and-"

"Whatever Vlad told you about me was a lie. I haven't seen him since the day I left his sorry ass in his apartment." Danielle said coldly. She gasped, and then giggled. "Oops, pardon my language." Danny laughed at Danielle's curse. They separated once more and Danielle brushed her son's bangs out of his face. "I hope your mother has taught you not to curse."

Danny smiled. "Yeah, she's really strict on bad language." Both knew they were talking about Maddie Fenton. Danielle was Danny's biological mother, but she knew that Maddie was the one who raised and cared for Danny. She was his real mother. Danielle wished she could thank Maddie for taking such good care of her son, despite at one point she thought he was an evil ghost and shot at him. Danielle chuckled and pressed one of her hands gently on the side of Danny's face. "I'm so happy I finally got to see my baby boy." She whispered to him.

Danny reached for her hand and gripped it gently. "I'm happy I got to meet you mom."

Danielle's eyes widened and her eyes welled with tears. Her hand covered her mouth and she closed her eyes, tears running down her cheeks. "T-That's all I-I've ever w-wanted to h-hear." She hiccuped. Danielle had finally been called mom, her desire was filled, and she could live on in peace now. Her body began to glow with a bright light, and a sense of weightlessness filled her body. She knew it was her time to go now.

Danny knew it too. He could sense it. He was sad to see her go, but he knew it was for the best. Danielle would finally be at peace, and so would he. Sharing a look, the mother and child embraced each other one final time. "Stay strong Danny. Hold on tightly to your family and give them love from me for taking such good care of you all these years. I love you son."

Tears stung Danny's eyes as he hugged his biological mother tighter. "I love you too mom." She kissed Danny's forehead as her form disappeared into the stars. She was gone.

Standing up, Danny glanced at the stars. So beautiful, so elusive. One could only dream of getting close enough to touch one. Danny smiled, he didn't need the stars. He had something so much better. He turned, and took a running start to the other side of the building. Once he reached the edge, he launched off it and into the air, heading towards his home. His family and friends were waiting for him after all. And they were his stars.

Soaring through the air, he said quietly to himself, "Jack and Maddie Fenton are my mom and dad. Jazz Fenton is my big sister. Sam and Tucker are my best friends."

And with one final cry, the young halfa shouted at the stars, "I am Danny Fenton!"

THE END