Dizgirl: I wrote this in one sitting yesterday. It just came pouring out and I really like it. I hope you do too. This was inspired by Cordria's "Last Day". It was also indirectly influenced by Pearl84's "Checkmate." Good stuff, awesome authors! (You don't have to read either, though, to read this!)

Enjoy and love. See my profile for my disclaimer.

Goodbye Daniel

The phone rang for a long minute, the purring tone echoing in the empty hallways of Vlad's Wisconsin castle. The sound seemed to reverberate back from the depths of the building in deep and foreboding rumbles, like the unconscious growl of an enormous dog. Finally the ringing stilled, replaced quickly by Vlad's voice requesting the caller to leave a message and a loud demanding beep.

The speakers on the answering machine in the castle's entryway crackled for a second and then a quiet voice spoke, "Vlad?"

"Vlad? Are you there?" The caller paused, as if waiting for a response. After a few seconds there was a loud sigh. "Probably better that you're not. This will be easier…" the caller lingered on the word as if it wasn't the right one before adding, "I guess..."

"Um, it's Danny. I just called because…I have something I need to tell you before…well, I have something to tell you." There was another rush of sound as he exhaled noisily. "I…I don't really know why I'm doing this, but it just seems…right."

"I…" there was a pause, "I know…that you…." There was a quiet growl. "Look. We don't get along and I don't agree with how you do things and why you do them. I think you're really twisted sometimes and you always go about things the wrong way. We've fought a lot and I would still fight you if you showed up right now. You try to kill my dad and break up my family. I can't just ignore that but...but…"

His voice tightened and there were the sounds of the phone being shifted around. "But, now…I need to tell you something. I need to do this before it's too late…" The last part was whispered and barely heard above the buzz of the machine.

"I just wanted to tell you…I just wanted to say that I'm…" silence stretched for several seconds, "sorry. I don't always get you, but maybe that was my fault. Maybe…well I jumped to conclusions a lot of times—most of the time I was right, but still—I called you my archenemy and maybe that's what we would always be but I never gave you a chance, did I?"

"And, you know, I'm sorry that I always called you a fruitloop and I made fun of you and made cracks about your obsession with my mom—that's still really gross though—and I destroyed your castle a few times. We...we're enemies and maybe this is stupid, but they tell you, 'forgive your enemies,' right? Uh, they do say that, right?" An uneasy chuckle trickled over the phone.

"It's just…I don't know. It's just that I wish things didn't turn out the way they did. I wish that you didn't hate my dad and keep trying to hurt him—us. Because, you know, if you weren't so set on killing my dad and taking my mom and making me your 'apprentice' or whatever then maybe we could've been friends! Who knows?"

"I….There was always a part of me that kinda wished you could've taught me some of what you know, you know? Sometimes there were problems with my powers and I wished there was someone who knew the answers. And then I'd remember that you did, but you were my enemy! And you still are in many ways, but I just couldn't…I couldn't…"

"I couldn't leave it at that." A hush fell over the line and even the answering machine's speakers seemed to grow quiet.

"Vlad? I…I have a favor to ask of you." He stopped again and the words tumbled out of his mouth almost quicker than he could form them. "I know I don't really have any right and I know you probably won't do it but I have to ask. Please, Vlad, just listen okay?"

"Vlad, I can't always…be there for my dad—for my family and friends and Amity Park. I can't always be there for them and I try my best but sometimes…things happen."

"Could you…could you please think about your…grudge against my dad? Could you think about it? I mean, I know you had a rough time and you lost a lot of stuff and you're angry and hurt and all that, but could you just really think about it?"

"Vlad, it was twenty years ago. Look at your life now. I know I make fun of it a lot but you've got a pretty sweet deal going on. You have two houses and they're huge! And I bet you have more. You're a freaking billionaire and you can buy anything you want! And on top of that you have ghost powers! Don't tell me you hate those 'cause I know you don't!"

"Look, was it really that bad that my dad messed up? He made a mistake. Heck, he made it twice! But I forgave him, can't you? And don't pull my mom into this. I know my mom and I know that even if she had the choice she would still pick my dad over you. I'm sorry, but let's face it, you lost that one a long time ago."

There was another crackling silence before he mumbled, "sorry, I bet I made you really mad. I wasn't trying to…taunt you or anything, really. I…just think you need to hear this from someone who kinda knows what it feels like. I get it, I know how unfair life can be. I know…" His voice trailed off quietly.

"Vlad, just think about it, okay? Please, I don't want my dad to die. My mom would be heartbroken—my sister too. Please, Vlad. Just think about it." A wistful sigh echoed from the machine.

"I gotta go. I've got…something I gotta do. I just needed to…say that to you. Um, thanks for listening—if you do. Really, thanks."

"I guess…there's really just one thing left to say…um," there was a long pause, the faint sound of his uneven breathing brushing against the phone and then he spoke.

"Goodbye Vlad." The speakers continued to hiss for a few more moments and then the phone call ended with a click.

Several hours later the phone's ring trilled again and once more the machine in the entryway answered it. The beep signaling the caller to leave a message bounced down the stone hallways and clashed in the corners.

"Vlad?" a female voice, flat and numb, called out from the machine. "Are you there? It's Maddie." The hum of the speakers was drowned out by a shaky sigh followed by a sniffle. There was a quiet moan and the sound was muffled suddenly.

A minute later there was the creak of the phone moving and in a hoarser tone she continued, "Something's happened."

There was the sound of shuffling papers. "I have your cell number somewhere…I'll call you there." The call abruptly ended with the clatter of the phone on the other end.

Four days later the large door to the entrance hall was pushed open and shut heavily, the sound resonating along the stone walls. Slow footsteps fell as Vlad Masters walked into his home, his eyes downcast and his expression solemn. He paused at the table in the entryway and absentmindedly pressed the play button on the answering machine next to it, loosening the black tie around his neck as he waited for the machine to warm up.

As Danny's message crackled to life he froze, his shoulders stiffening and his blue eyes wide. The machine played on, Vlad never moving an inch through the boy's rambling monologue. Finally the click indicating the end of it stirred the older man into movement. He lowered his arms, leaving the half-loosened tie around his neck, and turned around to face the empty hallway decorated in gold and green. Maddie's message played next but he silently pushed the stop button.

For several minutes he stood in silence, emotions playing across his face in a myriad of troubling patterns. Then, with a long low sigh, Vlad looked up at the arching stone ceiling and whispered softly, "goodbye Daniel."

Dizgirl: Did Danny die? I believe so. How? Why? That's up to you.