Rage. That was my beginning.

(That was my end.)

Total and complete rage. It was hungry. It was starving. It needed more. So I fed it.

(It was my fault.)

There was a man. I recognized him. I used to hate him, I think. Do I still? Hate equals rage, right?

(All of it.)

The man looked vaguely scared. He held me at arm's length, eyes widening as he took in the ecto-plasma leaking out from the edges of his blades, soaking my suit. A small smirk worked its way onto my face. Fright fed the rage too.

(I didn't mean for it to happen. I didn't… I didn't know.)

I remembered… I remembered… this man ran on rage too. So much of it… All right in front of me. So easy, too easy, just to take it.

(I had to stop it. It was my fault, after all.)

So I did. It was easy, too easy, to rip the claws off of his hands and to flip them onto mine.

(It was hard, but I managed to wiggle out of the contraption. I fell to the ground with a soft clatter.)

Pain was my second feeling. It was agonizing, pulling the spindly needles out of my chest. But I loved it. It fed the rage.

(I had to stop it. I had to.)

The surprise on the man's face almost made me laugh out loud. A low chuckle escaped me a moment later, joining the sound of the man's tortured shriek as I tore him in half. I felt salty saliva form in my dry mouth as I flung the weak to one side, and the rage, the sweet, sweet rage, to the other.

(I had to stop it. I felt it in my gut, a solid certainty that took my breath away. So why was I crawling as far away from it as possible?)

I shook the metal gloves off, hearing a distinct clang as they hit the wall. The rage was close. So close.

(Stop. Turn around. Please. Why can't I turn around?)

Before either side of the man could do more than glance at each other, I was there, entering the rage, letting it consume me. Suddenly, I was it, and it was me. A sharp gasp left me as the pain came back, clawing ruthlessly at my insides, turning my breath into a deranged howl. But I craved it. It fed the rage.

(I was the hero, right? So why couldn't I face it?)

A few moments later, or maybe a few years, the pain came to a grinding halt. But I wanted it. I needed it. The rage was a gaping maw. It wasn't full, but where… Oh, wait. There was one more, wasn't there?

(I crashed into the metal barrier that made up the perimeter of Vlad's lab. A shuddering breath forced its way out of my lungs. I had to stop running at some point, right? I had to face it eventually. Why not here, why not now? Slowly, I turned away from the wall to find it. An involuntary whimper left me as it did too.)

Something tickled at the back of my mind, on the tip of my tongue. I knew this thin, shivering mass framed by greasy dark hair. But from where?

(It stared at me, blood-filled ruby eyes blazing as it took me in. Its face had morphed into one of confusion, its head cocked slightly to one side. I trembled, pressing my back against the steel dome. A bolt dug between my shoulder blades, but I made no attempt to move. Its gaze was so familiar.)

I hesitated as its dull sapphire eyes met mine. Its gaze was so familiar. I knew it from somewhere… Something about this pathetic creature was important, I think. But what?

(It wasn't attacking. Maybe it wouldn't. Maybe it couldn't. My heart soared a little at the thought, a small inkling of bright, sparkling hope, but it wasn't enough to stop me from curling into a defensive ball.)

But who cared? It didn't matter, because it would feed the rage. And that was all that counted.

(Its face transformed into a demon's faster than I could blink. A silent scream pushed up into my throat.)

(And then everything went black.)

I wailed with pure delight. That one soul, whoever it was, had given me the final push.

Finally, finally, I had been born.

But the rage was still famished; I could still feel it eating at my innards.

So the world turned black.


AN

I always wondered why Dan killed his human side. He looked like he wasn't going to, but then, bam, he did it anyway. He had to have some reason behind it. Even Vlad never tried to kill Danny. Ever.

So this was born. This is what happens when I get an idea at midnight then stay up until one writing it.

Reviews are awesome, guys. I'd love to hear your feedback.

And this is sort of a random question, but I've heard floating around that the Vlad/Danny pairing couple name is Pompous Pep. Now, I don't support this pairing, (come on, Vlad went to college with his parents and Danny's only, like, 14), but that has to be the weirdest couple name I've ever heard. So I'm just wondering, is this true? I mean, seriously? Pompous Pep?