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"I'm not Superman, so I can't say anything big like I'll protect everyone on Earth. I'm not a modest guy who will say it's enough if I can protect as many people as my two hands can handle either. I want to protect a mountain-load of people." Kurosaki Ichigo (Bleach)

Third in the Obsession series

The Struggling Warrior presents…

What would you give up for the people you love?

What would you sacrifice for the good of humanity?

What would you do just so life can continue?

Everything? Nothing? Something in the middle?

Do you even really know?

Well, I do. I know what real sacrifice is. I know the pain of giving up one friend for another. I have experienced real loss. I have suffered just so that others can have joy.

"The world is going to end." She said with tears in her eyes. "This world will burn and there is nothing you can do about it."

"Yes there is!" Phantom yelled. "There is always something that can be done."

"No…there is only two options now." The girl cried. She knew the truth. "Both of which involve death."

"Whose death? Yours? Everyone's?" Phantom questioned angrily. "Because I'm not willing to give up any of them."

"You don't have a choice…"

"There's always a choice."

"Why are being so stubborn!? My death will save the world! Are you actually willing to risk the world for one worthless girl!?"

"Yes…" Phantom hugged her tightly. "Because I would never sacrifice my sister."

Do you know what it feels like to feel helpless?

Do you know how painful it is to watch your friends suffer for you without the ability to help them?

Do you know what it is to see your friends disappear from your eyes?

I know this pain so well.

Despite my best efforts, my friends and family continue to disappear.

I can't stop, though. I must save them. I must bring us all together. I must prove that I'm not the little girl that needs protecting.

Spirit was sobbing. This was so hard! Why?! Why did he have to die!? She didn't mean for him to get hurt like that! She was trying to protect him! Why did this have to happen?!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The halfa girl screamed up into the heavens.

She could feel their eyes watching her. Her friends...her comrades…they didn't understand. Yes, they were saddened. Yet, they didn't truly understand. They didn't know the true extent of what happened.

Spirit had just caused a ghost to give up his obsession.

Have you ever been pushed to the breaking point?

Have you ever looked into the dark abyss as the world seems to try to push you in?

Have you ever been to the point where you lose the will to fight?

I highly doubt that you can even begin to understand.

The universe itself seems to want to break me beyond repair and scatter the pieces.

I can't let it do that. Life has too much value to give up. I must preserve that life. I have to fight on. If not for me, then for everyone else at least.

Silence. That was all Dusk heard despite the vast amount of noise around him. The battles, the shouts of pain, the miniature war…they all meant nothing to him anymore. Right here, right now, all the ghoul cared about was what was happening in front of his eyes.

Blood…

There was so much blood…

Could a body even hold that much blood? Dusk didn't think so. Yet, there it was, and it was everywhere. It stained his clothes. It covered the ground. It was even on…that thing...that demon.

This what not what he planned. Dusk never intended for things to go like this. He was trying to preserve life, not be the cause of its end. It was too late now. The blood had been spilt. The monster was ready to go for the kill, and Dusk was helpless to stop it.

Staring at the demon, Dusk felt something odd. He felt anger. He felt outrage. He felt hatred.

This…was hatred. What Dusk was feeling was the desire to see another being's existence. He wanted the monster to leave and never return. Not only that, he wanted it to suffer…Yes, he was going to make this thing suffer.

"You…" Dusk pushed himself to his knees. "I…want to…kill you."

That was a horrifying thought. Dusk was a pacifist. He went out of his way to prevent violence and death. Now, though, all he wanted to do was to cause pain and suffering. The halfa should be disgusted, but, instead, he was eager. He wanted this thing dead.

"I'm going to kill you…I'm going to kill you…" Dusk merely whispered at first. It was like he was dipping his toe in the water, but now he was going in for the cannonball. With all the venom he could muster, the halfa yelled, "I'm going to kill you!"

Protecting all of them might be impossible, but I don't care.

I have to try anyway.

Hey, they call me the "Fate Changer," right?

Maybe I can live up to that name.

But I can't do it alone.

To do this, I have to have the help of my family

"There's nothing you can do now." Nightwing noted.

"What the hell are you saying?" Phantom glared at his long-time friend. "Of course, there's something I can do."

"This is no longer your responsibility." Nightwing explained. "Let me and Batman handle this."

"No." Phantom shook his head. "I can't do that. I can't just abandon a friend. You know that. If I was the kind of person who abandoned the people closest to him, then Young Justice wouldn't even exist anymore. You all would have died a long time ago."

"I know," Nightwing nodded. "But this is now out of your hands. We don't want you to interfere. You might…overact."

"Overact? Are you kidding me? You think I'll kill that psycho, is that it?"

"No…Maybe…I'm not sure."

It won't be easy.

Even with all my training, my foes are still vastly stronger than me.

I always had a stubborn streak, though.

Hey…Can't just let the boys have all the fun, after all.

But to do this…to bring my friends out of the darkness I'm going to need help.

I'm going to need the support of my family.

"We're leaving soon…" M'gann stated to the younger girl.

"I know." Spirit didn't look up. She continued to look at the picture in her hands.

"Are…you ready?" Superboy questioned.

"Not sure." Spirit sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do…"

"This is important." M'gann noted. "People…our friends are in danger. If you don't think you can handle this..."

"I can handle it!" Spirit looked up and glared at the two aliens.

"I know." Superboy nodded to his fellow clone. "But I know what it's like to be conflicted. To feel pulled in two different directions. It's not easy. Can you handle it during the mission?"

"Yes. I can." Spirit nodded.

"And if you're forced to fight your friend?"

"…I'll do what I have to."

I'm not sure how long I can last.

The orphanage, the Shadows, the Ghoul Project, and all my other trials…It adds up very quickly.

But I will endure.

I will continue to push through the difficulties.

This won't be possible on my own, though.

To survive, I need the assistance of my family.

Dusk quickly jumped to his feet. Despite the fact that the sneak attack was quite strong, Dusk didn't care about the pain. His Numbing ability had already kicked in was numbing the pain of the wound. He would have to do something about the bleeding, but his quicker than normal healing would stop the blood flow soon enough.

"No…It's…" The normally composed Joel felt himself break out into terrible sweat. His face lost all its complexion. He had heard stories, descriptions, and even saw a memory of this guy, so Joel recognized him instantly.

The being before the ghoul was tall. He had broad shoulders and was incredibly muscular. This was easy to tell with his tight black and white outfit that even had a cape. The man's skin was blue, his teeth were fanged, and his hairy was like a white fire. As Joel stared, a forked tongue slipped out and waved about.

The most noticeable thing for Dusk, however, wasn't any of this. No. The symbol on the man's chest spoke more everything combined. It was the same symbol on the clothes of Dusk, Spirit, and Phantom.

It was a flaming DP.

"Speechless? I would be to. You better not stay that way, though, boy. Because we have a lot to discuss, little halfa." Dark Dan smiled sharply.

We will fight for our beliefs.

We will protect what matters.

We will cherish our loved ones.

We will bring peace to ourselves and others.

Together, we will prevail.

This is our…

"One day, you'll have to choose between love and being a hero."

"There is no possible way for you to defeat me."

"It's alright…This is the ending that I chose."

"It's time to finally grow up."

"We all owe them a debt that can't be repaid, and we will fight for them until our dying breath."

"No! I refuse to lose like this!"

"People died, and I was responsible for three of them. How am I supposed to live with myself?"

"Death…is the single most powerful force there is."

"Long live the Ghost King!"

"For them…for the people that matter to me, I'll sacrifice everything that I have. Body, soul, and spirit…None of that matters if I can't protect my family."

CONVICTION