A/N: I do not own Danny Phantom, or even the rest of he story that comes before this. That pleasure is granted to sapphireswimming, who has inspired me on several occasions, including this one. Well, Butch Hartman owns Danny Phantom. Sapphireswimming owns the previous bit of this story. Just to be clear. (Link to the story is here: (www . fanfiction / s / 6909483 / 1 / Defenseless) without all the spaces.) If you haven't read it, GO READ IT NOW! This won't make much sense if you don't, and it's completely worth looking into!
The monster stops. Something was trying to shoot it? It turned, trying to pinpoint the thin green rays coming from Sam's wrist ectogun. It does nothing but annoy the cloud creature, but that is enough to draw it away.
As it leaves, it begins raining. Because that's what happens when something sad occurs. Thunder rolls, drowning out the sobbing of a trio of ghost hunters, clustered around a body of one who died too young. Lightning strikes, lighting up the sky. Jazz stands, unable to hug her dear brother's corpse any longer. Instead, she turns to her parents, practically throwing herself into their open arms. They have only each other now. For a while, they stand, holding onto each other for several minutes before Jazz breaks away.
Another boom of thunder. Nobody notices, because Jazz lovingly fixes Danny's hair, murmuring one last goodbye. Maddie and Jack stand back, waiting. Finally, Jazz returns to their arms. They have to leave now. They have to go get Sam and Tucker and tell them what's happened. They have to get to safety: there's no time to waste. Leaving Danny lying there, in the middle of the road, green and red in a pool under him.
They ran. With heavy footsteps, they ran, towards what they knew to be almost certain doom.
Alone, lying broken in the street, the remains of Danny Fenton, once known as the hero Danny Phantom. The thick smell of blood and ectoplasm goes unnoticed by the world, not a single living thing around. But as for the dead... Well, that's different. The rain pounded against the asphalt, making the green and red mess run, the only movement to be seen. Until, that is, Danny sat up. Knees and upper half out of his body, Danny's intangible ghost rubbed it's eyes and stretched. It stood, then floated fully away from the earth and it's once mortal shell.
"Is that… Me? I… I died?" His eyes widened and he stopped his intangibility.
It was true. You see, Danny was only HALF dead. And since he reverted back to his human form, his living half, before he died... Well, he's a Halfa no longer. Now, as he inspected his new full ghostly self, he saw that not much had changed. He is still bleeding ectoplasm, even. He LOOKS like Phantom. But instead of his normal opacity, Danny is now slightly see-through. He holds his glowing white gloved hands up to see, and smiles grimly, clenching them into fists. He has a second chance, now, to finish what he started before he, uh... Died. He shivers. It'll take some getting used to. But he has work to do. He speeds off toward the dark cloud taking up most of the sky, the rain slicking his hair back and making it hard to see. A green blast catches his eye. An ecto gun's blast. His parents? They should be getting everyone to safety, not fighting! That was his job! Oh... Wait... Right. They didn't know he was still around. Well, he should probably deal with the larger problem first; that cloud monster.
He made a sharp turn. He needed a thermos. The one Tucker had been trying to use got destroyed. Tucker… Sam… He hoped they were alright. Maybe, if his parents kept distracting the beast, he could sneak up behind and catch it before it could attack any more. Soon, Fenton Works comes into his sights. Going intangible, he doesn't even slow as he speeds through the roof, goes through several rooms, and finally ends up in the lab. His eyes dart left and right through the clutter. There! A lone thermos. Grabbing it, he rockets back up through the house leaving only a small dribble of ectoplasm as proof of his short time back. Focusing on finding a place close enough to the ominous cloud-being to use the thermos without being detected, he turns invisible and flies as fast as he dares, knowing that some ghosts could sense something invisible if it was moving too quickly. He needn't have worried. It was preoccupied with the blasts from one wrist ray, one eco-lipstick, two ecto bazookas, and two ecto guns. He could see the light show, and hoped he would be able to implement his plan in time. Stopping just under the outer edge of the cloud, he soundlessly uncaps the thermos and aims. Taking a deep breath, he pushes the button that activates it.
Nothing happens. He must've gotten a defect! Stifling a groan, he bangs against it with the flat of his palm. Nothing. One last try. A blueish glow came from within the thermos, answering the glow that is coming from his hands. It worked! He almost let out a whoop before remembering that stealth is key. He raises the thermos once more, pressing the button. Blue light shoots out in a thick beam, up and up into the sky, pulling down whatever bits of the ghost it touched into the swirling blue vortex of the open container. The ghost shrieks with alarm and hatred, sensing that it was near defeat. What had it missed? What could have ensnared it as it was about to finish with his toys? The bulk of the cloud had been sucked in now, and only a small bit was left. Eventually, even that was rapidly sucked into the small metal cylinder, which was then quickly capped. Done. He had done it. He hoped everyone was alright. Now, he could check on everyone. Flying up a few feet, he made his way to where he had last seen the flashes of green light. But he felt drained. And tired. So tired. He had to see them, though. He had to know if they were ok. He had to... What did he have to do? His friends... His family... He had to see if they... He began to fall, thermos still locked in his grip.
"Danny? Danny!" Eyes snapped open. Sam! Sam was alright! But where was she? He looked down, trying to find her voice. Other voices rang out, shouting their joy and disbelief. He could hear Tucker! He could hear his mom and dad! And Jazz's voice, all carrying a spectrum of emotions. But he was so, so tired... He could barely keep his eyes open as he locked on to his friends' and family's figures below. Down he went, almost falling, but awake enough to slow his decent somewhat. They ran to him. He didn't get a chance to reach the ground, because they were waiting for him, arms ready to catch him. He shut his glowing green eyes, content. Knowing they were always there for him, and always would be. The voices softened to a comforting monotone. He could no longer feel the cold rain, or hear the booming thunder: everything was dull. Someone took the thermos. Good. His work was done. No, wait. Not quite. His green eyes opened to gaze into concerned amethyst ones. He could hear her voice, but not her words. With the last of his strength, he pushed a finger to her lips, shushing her, smiling as her eyes widened.
"I love you, Sam. I'm sorry."
And with that, Danny Phantom, savior of hundreds, Faded into nothing within his crying loved ones' arms.