A/N: Well, what do you know…I'm starting this before I thought I would. Lucky readers! So, I hope everyone enjoyed Ashes, and for those of you who are new, welcome! You don't necessarily need to read Ashes before this, as I will explain events as they arise…but it would sure help to clarify things!
So…I hope everyone enjoys this ride as much as the last one, and this is because I completely spaced it the last round:
Blanket Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, or anything related to it…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon do unfortunately. I do, however, own every plot line and every character you do not recognize…I ask that no one use them without first asking permission.
Thanks and enjoy!
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Dust to Dust
Prologue: Once Upon a Time…
The stale wind blew across the field, making the flowers she was sitting among tickle her bare legs and making her snow white hair flutter about her face. She painted a pretty picture, one that the great artisans would fight over to depict, a lone maiden as beautiful as a sunset playing with a plucked daisy that glowed with an unnatural green light. Her face was drawn into a small frown, creating a picture of sadness for this poor girl, trapped away with naught but her flowers to give her company. It was as if she was waiting, eternally, for her Prince Charming to come and rescue her…a lovely fresco she would make indeed.
She crushed the flower in her hand with a gentle smile, lifting her face and all blue eyes to stare up into the ever-shifting green sky…the sign that she was forever bound in the land of the Dead as a living creature. Well, a creature who breathed anyway…living was all up to interpretation. She hated this limbo she was cast into, mainly because of the monotony of it all, and wished for nothing more than to tear it all to shreds and walk among the living and the mortals once more…humans were so much more interesting to crush than flowers and just as delicate.
But…she had to have patience to get what she wanted. She knew this well, just like she knew the force binding her here was something that needed to be eroded away gradually and with a little outside help. And she had patience, and all that patience was going to pay off soon…just a bit longer and she could finally walk free as she had a thousand years ago. And this time, she would be sure to finish the job properly…and thank her dear creators in the best way she could think of…destruction.
"My Lady," a cold and grating voice said reverently, breaking her from her contemplation…but other matters needed to be addressed. She would have plenty of times to come up with ways to "thank" the Seraphs later.
"Machina," Vani spoke in a melodious voice as she rose easily to her feet, smiling benignly at her most useful toy…a puppet who new to obey her master and always was efficient. "I assume that you have news concerning the Eastern factions…"
"Yes, my Lady," the ghost named Machina answered as she canted her helmed head forward, red eyes flashing in satisfaction. "All have rallied to your cause should you need them…they grow as restless as I in this new peace forged against our will."
"And what of the Spirits? Do they suspect?"
"They are fools who are lulled into complacency," Machina answered with a smirk on her cruel, hawk-like countenance. Her black hair, untouched by death, was thick and wild, just as she was, hanging past her back and threaded through with medallions and bones of her conquered. She was garbed in a warrior's clothing, all black iron and discolored in areas by dried blood. It was no surprise to Vani that she had died in battle…it was only fitting for a fierce fighter like her dear puppet was. "They will not notice our campaign until it is too late…this will be all too easy."
"Perhaps," Vani answered as she turned her eyes back towards the sky, anticipating the arrival of her most recent toy…and perhaps her most important one. "But, let's not leave anything to chance…I have not waited a thousand years to be sloppy. Make sure that our area is secluded even further and I want all of our allies to continue to attend the Spirits' councils as a sign of good faith."
"And…what if the Spirits begin to suspect, my Lady?" Machina asked in a tactical way…good, she had no use for simpering sycophants in a war.
"They won't…they will be too concerned by the signs I am sending their way to think to look for traitors among their ilk…I am much more of a threat than any of your kind could ever aspire to be."
"Of course, my Lady," Machina responded respectfully as she gave a terse bow and prepared to deliver her master's verdict. She paused in her powerful strides for a moment and turned her torso around to ask in a careful tone, "And…what if the halfling becomes involved? He…is quite similar to you after all."
"I'm counting on it," Vani answered softly with a terribly gentle smile, bending down and plucking a glowing red rose from the field and bringing it to her nose. "Do not concern yourself with it; Machina…all will play out as it should. Please to hurry and let the allies know of my words."
With one last bow, the warrior ghost took to the sky and zipped off, leaving the still smiling girl gazing after her. She inhaled the rose's sweet scent one last time before dropping it to the ground and walking towards, what looked like, an ancient looking birdbath that was her only look into the changing world of mortals. She smiled at it serenely, for despite its cracked and ugly appearance, it was her most prized possession and the sole artifact that linked her to her…former existence.
She stood beside the basin, not a common birdbath at all but a Seeing Pool, and waved a hand lazily above the inky, black seeing waters. It was almost time for her puppet to contact her, just as she had for the past two years, and she would be loathe missing one of the meetings now. For, this unwitting, mortal toy was her ultimate key to resurfacing and in desperate need for a friend who understood her as Vani could. And, when the time came for the girl to help her friend…she would without question because she was a trusting fool; all of her kind were.
She smiled as the waters began to shift, showing a picture of woodland clearing with a clear, starry sky above in its depths…everything was going smoothly. Soon, she would break free of this prison constructed for her…soon she would destroy the Seraphs for all their ambitions and arrogance. Soon she would destroy the Dead World and all of its lost souls…soon she would unmake the Spirits and end all of their troublesome meddling. Soon…very soon she would finally be able to confront her Beloved…a being who dared to imitate what she was and yet remain human. All she had to do was wait.
"Vani?" a cheerful girl asked through the waters as an eager blonde with brown eyes appeared. "Vani…are you there?"
"Hello, Denea," Vani answered with a genuine smile, all blue eyes alighting with a happiness that was not faked…merely misinterpreted.
Soon…
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"Danny! It would be great if you at least pretended to help out!" an annoyed voice shouted through the rooms of the apartment, shaking the black-haired young man out of his thoughts. He looked up with a sheepish grin and blue eyes all aglitter in an attempt to barter pity from the wrathful young woman before him suddenly…sometimes girlfriends were scary.
Especially if your girlfriend happened to be Sam Manson.
"Sorry, Sammy," he said with a nervous chuckle as he rose quickly and help carry a box into the kitchen of their new apartment…their apartment. It had a nice ring to it. "I didn't get much sleep last night…and it won't ever happen again because this is so much more important than sleep!"
"Idiot," Sam answered with a smile as she slapped his arm and followed after him with another box labeled "kitchen." She admired the view her boyfriend gave her as she followed him into the kitchen, appreciating how his lanky frame grew into the toned body, similar to that of a swimmer's. He wasn't that tall, but she had suspected that he would never pass six feet when he was only fourteen…she wasn't tall either, so it's not like it mattered. It only gave her teasing rights whenever Tucker came and visited…it was funny how the bespectacled man sprouted up like a beanpole and now towered over everybody save Jack Fenton. Danny hated it…Sam and Valerie found it hilarious.
'Where do you want this one?" he asked, fixing his ageless blue eyes on her…even at twenty-one, those damn eyes still made her heart flutter.
"Just set that one on the counter," she answered as she put her own box on the table, pushing her long black hair out of her face afterwards. It was getting to long, in her opinion, and reached almost to her mid-back…but Danny said he loved her hair this length. So maybe she'd just get it layered or something. She smiled at him when he did as he was told and then wrapped his arms around her from behind…it was funny, even in his human form he still felt physically cooler than most. "If you're trying to distract me from your lazy ways, Danny Fenton, I'm afraid I'm not that easily swayed…"
"Really?" he asked in a playful tone as he loosened his hold on her enough for her to twist around and lock her hands behind his neck. "Are you telling me that I'm not adorable enough to distract you from the absolutely boring work of unpacking dishware? I find that hard to believe…"
"Not cocky at all, are you?" Sam laughed as she gave him a quick kiss and pulled away, tossing him a look over shoulder and then motioning towards the unpacked boxes of dishware.
"Tease."
"Lazy bum."
They both smiled at each other as they relaxed into the monotonous chore of unpacking and finding homes for various kitchen items, with only an occasional interjection from Sam on Danny's abysmal packing skills when she found something for the bedroom in the kitchen boxes breaking the comfortable silence between them. It was nice to have a break now that classes had let out and summer began…moving took a lot of work apparently. But, Sam was happy…she was happy that things were finally going right for once.
The two twenty-one year olds had decided late into the school year that they wanted to move in together officially after school let out and Sam's lease was up at her current apartment…it wasn't as big a step as their parents had thought but it was significant. They had decided on a modest apartment complex near the Amity Park University for Danny, and that was only a bus ride away from the art studio that Sam interned at. It was the perfect location and still close enough if either of them had a ghost emergency and needed the elder Fentons' help.
After attending New York University for a school year, and returning to find Danny partly healed from his horrible experiences from the previous summer, Sam had decided to transfer to a more local art school that was only a few hours away in Chicago…she came home every weekend and it was much easier for Danny than the New York distance had been. She helped him deal with the rest of his guilt and fear that Riley, Martino, and Vlad had left on him, and also let him know she wasn't going anywhere because he was Danny Phantom…renowned half-ghost hero who had a habit of making a lot of enemies. The art school ended up being a great choice overall, and it had landed her a great starting position at a modern art studio…she was happy that a better solution had worked itself out.
Tucker was still attending Caltech, and visited on breaks and during birthday weekends…and anniversaries with Valerie, who was still attending Amity U with Danny. He was thinking of accepting a job offer with a new and promising technology company, where he'd work as a technician for all the new products. Valerie was finishing up with her Criminal Law degree this next year, and was planning on becoming some sort of private investigator out in California to be close with Tucker. They had made the impossible work…a long distance relationship in college, and both Danny and Sam were suspecting Tucker had plans to propose to the huntress this summer.
Jazz, after helping Danny and herself through the psychological turmoil Riley's attacks and kidnappings had left them with, had returned to finish school up in New York, earning her degree in psychology and now working on her doctrine alongside her new fiancé, Michael Fabino or just Mikey to everyone who knew him, and was being considered as an intern at a top psychiatric facility that fall…both were still living in New York, but had been down earlier to help her and Danny move into their new apartment. Sam had been asked to be one of Jazz's bridesmaids, and was already warning the elder Fenton sibling she didn't do pink…but, they had a few more months before the wedding to decide a suitable dress color for everyone.
Danny was doing great too…after this year he'd finish up with his biology major, and was being considered for a research position offered at the school concerning how to help the environment…Sam hadn't even tried to persuade him to do that. After taking a bunch of different science courses, Danny grew a love for the environmental classes…he still loved meat though, much to Tucker's relief when told about his plans when they all four got together the week before. Both Maddie and Jack were so happy for Danny…even if he wasn't going to go into ghost hunting alongside his parents. They knew that being half ghost kind of made one lose the interest in studying ghosts…plus, he wanted to do something on his own.
In short, Sam mused as she and Danny finished unpacking the kitchen, they were all growing up. After fighting against this moment for so long, all four of them were embracing it…funny how everything works out isn't it?
"Please say were done, Sammy?" Danny pleaded with those big blue eyes and his lower lip in a pout…damn that man.
"Fine, just stop whining, you big baby," Sam shout back with a play scowl and little actual threat in her laughing tone.
"My parents are coming tomorrow anyway…" Danny said with a yawn as he wrapped an arm around Sam's small waist and guided them both towards their bedroom…the only room in the apartment that was completely done. Sam, for all her preaching against turning out like her meticulous parents, was still an extremely organized person, and had refused to sleep in their room until it was completely unpacked. They had been missing a few things (now discovered as being packed in the kitchen boxes) but it was done nonetheless…much to Danny's dismay as he wanted to just sleep after all the moving in.
"I suppose they'll help unpacking everything else," Sam said with a smile and a grin that made her unique violet eyes light up in mirth.
"If only to find space for ghost hunting equipment and weapons," Danny quipped in a dry tone that was reminiscent of Sam's as he plopped down on the bed, dragging Sam with him. He promptly wrapped her tight in his arms and nestled his face in between her shoulder blades before straightening his back…he really was such a kid sometimes. Sam let herself relax in the embrace as all the work she had been engaged in all day caught up with her, not caring that she and Danny were still in jeans and t-shirts…he was comfortable enough to substitute sleepwear.
"What were you daydreaming about earlier?" Sam asked softly as she tucked her head underneath Danny's chin, wrapping her own arms around his and playing with the skin of his right hand with her nails. It was still too early for either of them to fall asleep yet, and she was curious as to what he had been thinking to have not heard her calling his name three times.
"I don't really know," his muffled reply came as he tucked his face in the crook of her shoulder before resting his chin on her shoulder. "It was weird…I think I was in a field in the Ghost Zone…there were flowers all over. I think there was someone else there, but I couldn't see anything…just heard some kind of singing."
"That is weird…do you want to tell Bruma about it?"
Bruma, true to her word and promise, had continued to check in on the two regularly, and had even began helping Sam learn how to control and manipulate the gemstone Danny had given her as a birthday present three years ago. The pendant, something that Bruma called the Crai'agh, but what she called Merlin's stone, had actually ended being a long lost heirloom that linked Sam distantly to the famous wizard…a hidden talisman that unleashed a hidden power only for her. She could transmute emotions into pure energy and could manipulate them a great deal…in addition to the common ability she and Danny shared to see into the other's mind when one was in trouble. She personally didn't have any magic, and no one in her line had for hundred of years, but the talisman still recognized her as an heir…it was both convenient and troublesome.
In addition to her being some long lost Heir to families of witches and mages that Bruma called the Bloodlines, Danny ended being a reluctant participant in some ancient augury of the Spirits. They called him the Hybrid…he didn't really know what anyone expected him to do, just that he would when the time came; he didn't enjoy being thought of as a pawn. Bruma would always chastise him when he said things like that though…the Winter spirit had a way about her that always made sure that people listened to her. She and her siblings, one for each season and thus the Seasonal Spirits, told him it didn't matter whether some ancient prophecy says he will do something…because of whom he is, he would do it anyway.
Sam referred to it as something the Spirits used to figure out who the Hybrid was…not force Danny to become one. Kind of like a fingerprint…just one that was a thousand years old.
"No…I don't think it's anything serious," Danny replied with a grin as he pressed his cheek to Sam's. "More like I just was tired and had a bunch of different thoughts jumble together. That and I don't think we should eat anything from that taco place again."
"The salad was fine."
"Okay…but everything else was not. I think they violated health codes just making my tacos."
Sam laughed out loud and rolled around so that she was facing Danny's pseudo-contemplative face, one hand reaching forward and tracing his jaw line with a finger. She leaned forward and rested her forehead against his before tilting her head to the side, allowing his lips to ghost across hers gently and then possessively. She let herself get pulled into a straddling position, digging her hands into the young man's thick and unruly black hair as their kiss turned from something chaste and playful to hungry and demanding. They lost themselves in each other, in touches, kisses, and moans, forgetting all the miniscule worries…because, right now, everything was blissfully…perfect.
It was going to be a fantastic summer.
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A/N: Please review and feed my starving muses…they love the feedback! This might not be updated on a regular schedule due to school and work…but I can promise at least one chapter a month at the very least. Thanks for understanding!
Osco