Hey guys! I'm sure you all found the last chapter to be a big escalated, probably even confused as to why the events even occurred, but I assure you, that everything will be revealed in due time. But for now, let's get the chapter started!

A sudden jolt, a terrifying nightmare, and an aching pain caused an awakening. Unfortunately the one who regained consciousness hit his head on what felt like a thick plank of wood. "Fuck! What the hell?!" Came Danny's voice. It was dark, but the young halfa realized something. "Holy shit, am I… in a coffin?!" Turning intangible, he flew up out of his wooden prison, through the dirt to the surface. He came face to face with his own tombstone. His eyes widened, and then he looked at the tombstone next to his. "Tucker…" The young halfa phased through the ground and pulled out his cousin before doing the same with his sister. "What am I gonna do now? I can't just start acting as if everything is normal again, people would know about my powers. Besides, I doubt that me cafe is there anymore…" He muttered.

It took a while of thought for his next move. There was a small number of reasonable choices. He could travel with Dani and Tucker, but that would take a lot of expenses he didn't have. Going to live with Vlad could've worked, however he was adamant that such an identity was no longer valid, and knew his dead family would have been brought up, which wasn't a topic he wanted to think about whatsoever. Taking on a new identity in a different town was too risky. There was one other option he could think of. Picking up Dani and Tucker, the young halfa turned invisible and flew to Titans tower.

*linebreak*

It had been weeks since Robin had to watch his friends be put into the ground, and he still wasn't over it. Neither was Valerie, who was completely distraught. She missed them, especially the rambunctious Dani. The mood of both Robin and Valerie affected the entire team, and none of them were to be prepared for their surprise visit.

Everyone was in the main room, silently eating their breakfast, when Danny appeared in thin air, holding both Tucker and Dani. "Hey…" he awkwardly greeted. The Titans' jaws hit the floor.

"Danny? Is that really you? But I-I saw your dead body!" Robin shakily said, not believing his eyes.

"Robin… I'm half ghost, I can't really die." The young halfa explained. "I'm sorry I gave you a scare."

Valerie had tears in her eyes. She went over and hugged him. "You're really something, aren't you?" Letting go, her gaze adverted to Dani. "I can take her to a spare room if you want, and maybe Robin can help you with Tucker."

Nodding, Danny handed her his unconscious sister before turning to the boy wonder. "I hope you're not upset I didn't tell you." He mumbled as Valerie took Dani to a spare room.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, nobody could have suspected that asteroid to hit you. And from what I could tell, I doubt you saw it coming towards you." Robin led him to a room with bunk beds. "I'm guessing you don't really have anywhere to go right now, do you?"

"I don't… Not without high risks." Danny told him as he placed Tucker on the bottom bunk. "Though apparently Clockwork, the ghost of time, believes this is a good thing."

"Did he say why?"

"Yeah… sorta. Apparently I have a choice to make, and this'll help me." The young halfa sighed as he brushed his ravenous black hair out of his face. "Sadly I don't know what the choice is about. He's completely vague about it, even though he has mentioned it multiple times."

"Strange… I wonder why he won't tell you if it's so important. Wouldn't it be better if you're prepared?" Robin pointed out.

"In theory, that would make sense, however that's not usually the case. More often than not, stress works differently between different people. He knows what he's doing, he always does."

Sighing, Robin said, "I hope you're right if it's really this important."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it is. I trust Clockwork with my future more than anyone else. He's literally the reason I'm still here, and gave me more time with my family before they officially died in this timeline." Danny reassured.

"Good. You should probably get rest though, you probably need it." The boy wonder suggested, earning a nod from his half dead friend.

"Alright, I'll see you in a few hours then." With that, the young halfa went to the top bunk as Robin left the room.

*linebreak*

It was nightfall when Tucker awoke from his slumber. "Damn, I feel like I've been sleeping for days." He mumbled tiredly. Sitting up, he looked around and nearly freaked out. The room wasn't his. It was plain, having a small desk with a chair, as well as having a plain dresser. "Where am I?" The techno geek pondered, getting out of bed. He sensed Danny's energy and glanced up to see the ravenous haired halfa. "Danny? Holy crap, Danny!" Tucker began to shake his cousin. "Come on, wake up!"

Grumbling, Danny muttered, "Not now Tucker. Go back to bed."

"But-"

"We're at Titans tower. Now let me sleep." With that, Danny slipped back into the world of dreams. It was clear the boy didn't want to be bothered again. Sighing, Tucker decided to go and confirm what he was told, so he left the room. Walking around, he recognized parts of the building. But it wasn't until he heard a particular friend's voice that he was able to believe his "cousin's" words.

"It's certainly a surprise to see you up. I was expecting Ellie to beat you to it." Valerie greeted from behind. Surprised, the techno geek turned to her.

"Val? If you're here, then that means I'm really in Titans tower right now!" It took the boy a moment of thought before a question popped up in his head. "Wait, why am I here? And why are the other two here as well?"

Valerie sighed. "Danny brought you guys here earlier today, however we thought you guys were dead for weeks since the whole asteroid incident."

Tucker gave her an inquisitive look. "Asteroid incident? What are you talking about? And why did you think we were dead?" He questioned. Once Valerie explained, everything was clear, and upsetting. The electric halfa crossed his arms. "Man, this sucks. Danny loved his cafe. What am I going to do now?"

"Since when was it your job to care for Danny?" Valerie was a bit confused by her friend's words.

"He needs someone to make sure he's happy Val. The dude would be a depressed potato without me." Tucker stated assertively. The huntress rolled her eyes.

"Seriously? A depressed potato? What are you, twelve?"

"No…" Embarrassed by the blatant accusation, Tucker avoided eye contact. "I'm technically fifteen right now."

Valerie frowned. "I'm curious, will you and the other two ever age? Or are you completely stuck at fourteen?"

Shrugging off the question, the techno geek said, "Well according to Danny, we are permanently fourteen, which means I'm gonna be perfectly young for eternity." He made a goofy pose to make his friend laugh.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny."

Robin came around the corner, a box of pizza on hand. He planned on leaving it in the room for his guests, and was surprised to see that one of them was awake. Nonetheless, the boy wonder smiled. "Finally awake, huh? How are you feeling after the whole incident with the asteroid?"

Tucker turned to him. "I'm alright, still shocked about the whole thing. But hey, at least I didn't lose anyone this time, and neither did Danny." His gaze fell on the pizza box. "So, Um, is there any left?"

"If you're referring to the pizza, then yeah. I was actually planning on leaving the box in you and Danny's new room." The masked hero handed over the box. "It's half cheese and half meat lovers."

"Thanks man, I'm starving, and Danny probably will be too when he wakes up." Came the grateful electric halfa. His aqua eyes were bright, seeing as he was incredibly hungry and the aroma coming from the pizza was strong enough to make any mouth drool. "Imma head back to the room you're letting us use." He said before heading back to his room. The boy walked over to the small desk, sat in the only chair that was there, and began eating. While he was consuming the cheesy slices with meat, he noticed a small box with Clockwork's symbol in Danny's hand. "I wonder what Clockwork gave him this time."

After a few minutes, Danny woke from his slumber. It was due to the pizza's aroma of course. He groggily made his way over and reached for a slice. "Morning…"

"Hey Danny." Tucker greeted. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired and sore…" Danny mumbled before biting into the now lukewarm pizza. "Disappointed about the asteroid destroying our home…" After a moment, he added, "I wonder how Vlad took the information…"

"Oh, he probably hasn't heard yet. I mean, he did have a business trip overseas." The techno geek reminded. "It was supposed to be a month according to what he said on the phone a few days before the incident."

"True…"

The boys finished eating fairly quickly, and as they did, the bedroom door violently swung open. Both teens turned to see a wide eyed Vlad. "Uh oh…"

"How dare you scare me like that!" The older halfa shouted, his voice echoing through the halls of Titans Tower. He scared both teens, causing them both to jump. After taking a deep breath, Vlad questioned, "Why did you get hit so easily? Why for so long?"

Danny looked away. "We can't predict the future Vlad. We didn't know. And how could we warn you? We were literally squashed by asteroids. I'm surprised that it only took the amount of time it did to heal. You know it can take years to heal for most ghosts."

"Daniel… please don't ever scare me like that again." The older halfa hugged both boys. "You need to be more careful."

Tucker was shocked and confused as to why Vlad hugged him as well. He decided not to question it however, because he knew it was literally the worst idea to anger the man. After a few awkward moments, Tucker was glad the man stopped hugging him and Danny. "So I'm guessing you aren't going on a trip any time soon?"

Vlad frowned. "Of course not dear boy, why would I? After what happened, I need to keep an eye on you both until I know you'll be safe on your own."

Annoyed, Danny said, "Vlad, seriously? We're fine. I doubt any more crazy asteroids plan on squashing us again any time soon." He crossed his arms. To him, it was one thing to be worried, but being outright overprotective? That was far too much for the boy to handle.

"Daniel…" The older halfa gave a worried look on his face.

"Look… Vlad, I know you care and are looking out for me, but I'll be fine. I'm half ghost after all…" Danny's eyes softened. "I'm not gonna end up dead, I promise…"

It took a while to calm Vlad down, but eventually both boys did. They understood though, more so than they could when they were enemies with the man. All Vlad wanted was love, and seeing the only family he technically had get hurt, it was more than reasonable to become anxious, and to feel hurt. Family is like a tree, each member is a branch, and no branch is exactly the same, but all connect to one root. No, the root isn't blood, nor is it history. This type of root doesn't rely on the connection to the physical plane, rather it connects to the love in a person's soul. The roots reflect the love onto the branches, giving them life in hopes that each branch will blossom into color and reflect back. In Vlad's case, he was the only branch of his tree, and though he had full connection to his root, there's only so much light a single branch can capture before it's pummeled into darkness by the much healthier and sturdy trees. That's why he wanted a family, Why he so desperately tried to get Danny and the boy's mother. The mother was a reminder of the hopes he once had, the reminder that there is more than just darkness. And Danny? He was the reflection, as well as a sign. A sign of which meant he wasn't alone in the world, or at least he didn't have to be. That's why Vlad tried so hard to get them both, he was afraid of being swept into the darkness, and afraid of seeing two bright lights burning out. One was already snuffed because of the monster with a million eyes, and now? Danny was the remaining light, and though the boy's brightness was dimmed, he still shined bright in Vlad's eyes.

There was no way Vlad would let another sprout die out before getting the chance to become a branch of this fighting tree.

Alright everyone! Here's the end of chapter 24! I do hope you enjoyed reading it, and sorry for the delay! It's hard to juggle free time and work with low energy levels and writer's block. Anyway, that's all for now!

Please review and subscribe!