AN: I am so sorry I've been gone so long. It's a long story, and feel free to PM me if you want it. The short version: I am FINALLY capable of being here again. I wrote this a little while ago and thought I'd post it with my apology.
I do not know when I will be getting back to my previously unfinished stories, but looking back at them now, almost 1.5 years later, I am disgusted with some of the things I wrote. If I update again, it will most likely mean I'm ripping the old version into shreds and posting a new version.
In the mean time, I will try to post either short stories and one-shots to try to get my writing ability back up to where it should be. Believe me, It kills me inside that I have left everything go for so long. I'm so very, very sorry.
Also, is you can afford the time, please take the poll on my profile page to give your opinion on how I should move forward. It would be much appreciated.
Danny eyed both Phantom and Fenton warily. He was clearly just as uncomfortable as them.
All three were chained to separate walls, long enough to move around, but too short reach each other.
"I thought you had died. That's what Vlad told me." Danny asked his older human self.
"Vlad?" The man laughed. "I admit, I almost died, but I did make it out alive."
"Unfortunately…" Dan drawled. "Why couldn't you just die? No matter how many times I try…"
The two older versions began yelling at each other, and Danny just sat there, trying to think.
"Will you both just SHUT UP!" They glared at him. "If you haven't noticed, we are CHAINED to a WALL! Now, do we have a plan to get us out?"
They just stared at him.
"Dude, if you don't know, I haven't gat a clue. Same brain, ya know." Fenton shrugged and Danny sighed as the two fought over whether or not being fused to Plasmuis had made Dan any smarter.
"Actually, Phantom is no more Plasmuis than I am." A new voice entered.
"Clockwork?" Danny asked.
"Phantom was strong enough to overtake Plasmuis and through his psyche out. Now, I must be going. Oh, and the chains will be staying until the problem is solved."
"Problem, we don't have a problem!" Danny protested, but he was met with raised eyebrows from BOTH versions of his future self. 'Oh, point taken."
All was awkwardly silent, until Danny posed a thought provoking question.
"You know, I've always wondered, and I guess now is a good time to ask, but ever since the Ghost Catcher incident…"
"Spit it out, boy!"Phantom demanded.
"Aren't Fenton and Phantom the same, or am I two different people right now?"
The two were silent.
"Cuz you know, if I'm two different people right now, then how did Phantom come about, and why do I not have a multiple personality disorder or something…. I mean, it's clear that parts of my personality change, but isn't that just because…."
"Ugh, SHUT UP! You're giving me a headache." Fenton growled out.
"Well, I was just wondering."
"It's obvious we are two different people you idiot. How else could we be here?" Phantom rolled his eyes at Danny.
"So, you both remember being together, but from different points of view?"
"Not exactly…" Fenton closed his eyes. "It was a lot like the ghost catcher experience."
"Yeah, 'cept you wake up as the unwanted half." Phantom spat bitterly.
"Unwanted? Dude, I loved having ghost powers."
"Then WHAT? You didn't NEED me?"
"That's not what I was trying to do!"
"Oh, then what! What happened at the Nasty Burger wasn't MY fault. Why, then, did you feel it necessary to split!"
"It wasn't a matter of guilt, you idiot! I never meant for ANY of this to happen!"
"What? Losing your beloved family? Earth?" Phantom sneered. "It happened though."
"No." Fenton cleared his throat and looked awkwardly at the ground. "I never meant for us to…to be split. I had forgotten we COULD be split." Fenton's tone become softer.
Phantom's yells only increased in volume. "Well, WHAT DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN WHEN HE PICKED UP THE GAUNTLETS!"
Fenton looked up and glared. "I think you know what I thought would happen."
It was silent.
"Hey, as long as we're screaming our emotions at each other, could I ask how we got here?" Danny interrupted the mood.
"You realize those two had nothing to do with each other?" Fenton sighed.
"I am NOT emotional."
"Oh yeah, anger is an emotion, did you forget that?"
Danny interrupted. "Hey! Cut the tension, shouldn't we be finding a way out of here?"
He was ignored.
"Oh, so apparently I'm the one who got all the emotions!" Dan growled
"How should I know! I'm not you!"
"You were!"
"Well, look how that turned out!"
Danny sighed, ignoring the two of them, and looking for a way out. Searching his pockets, he found a bobby pin Sam had asked him to keep track of… he worked at the lock on the chains. If ghost powers wouldn't work, maybe some good old-fashioned tinkering would do.
Fenton and Phantom had both gotten to their feet.
"You had Vlad rip us apart!"
"WE had him do that!"
"SO you support the theory that we ARE one person?" Dan asked.
"AS much as it pains me to say it, I do." Fenton looked at the ground. "Ever since then, I haven't felt whole. Just as before, I felt like half of me was missing!"
"Don't expect me to give you PITY if that's what you are searching for."
"Not pity, but understanding. Come on, admit it!" Fenton now sported a mischievous smile. "Did you miss me?"
"W-wha…did I..OF COURSE NOT! YOU are the reason for this!" Dan looked flustered for a second before covering it.
"You forget we made that decision together!"
"No, you decided you didn't NEED me anymore. And what wasn't needed was to be thrown away!" Dan's voice grew cold, and held a touch of hurt.
"Of course I needed you, it just couldn't handle everything! You knew how I…WE…felt. The whole world had crashed and I just needed stability."
"Stability? Our life was stable."
"Uhh, HELLO! WE were living with VLAD of all people! I just…I needed…"
"HA! You ADMIT IT!"
"No! I needed to get rid of the guilt!"
"How was this supposed to do it!"
"I…I don't know. I couldn't handle the responsibility."
"Re-responsibility! Imagine how I felt, WAKING UP AS THIS. THE ONE I HAD COME TO DREAD!"
"I NEVER hated you!"
"WE may very well have been the same person, but when split we are two VERY different people!"
"No, Phantom, we are two halves of one."
It was silent.
"What did you find missing when you woke up?" Fenton asked quietly.
"Missing?"
"Yeah, when I woke up…" Fenton laughed. "Dude, I had no courage whatsoever. I was frightened of my own shadow. I knew how to survive, but when Valerie found me, I had to relearn almost everything. I was at the mental capacity of a child."
"I didn't wake up." Dan growled softly.
"How…?"
"I was awake for the whole procedure."
Fenton looked at him in shock, "But…"
"I found myself outside of everything I had ever known. You…you had your identity, a name, a past. I was left with NOTHING! You had no idea what's it's like to actually have nothing but the clothes on your back, not even a story to fit to yourself. Plasmius tried to destroy me before you woke up, but I fought back."
"I had no idea…" Fenton spoke softly.
"You didn't protect me." Dan whispered.
"What?"
"You weren't there. I was technically 'born' when you stepped into that portal. I didn't know any better. Whenever I failed, you were there. You could take over if I had lost. I knew that even if I was fighting, I would never have to truly defend myself. Fenton…Fenton would protect me."
The two looked eyes, green on blue, and sat there, finally realizing the pain each had gone through.
"Okay, I'm glad you made up and all, but are you gonna stay like that forever, because you guys are kind of starting to creep me out…"
The two snapped their heads over to where Danny stood, free from the chains.
"How did you…"
"Girlfriend. Make out session. Bobby pins. Don't ask…" He rolled his eyes and reached for the keys on the wall, tossing it to the pair.
"Girlfriend?" Dan asked.
"Sam. We've been dating for the past year."
The two just stared at him.
"What?! We aren't THAT clueless." He shrugged and moved to the door. "Now, if you don't mind…"
"WAIT!" Fenton cried out. Danny turned. "Before we go back to our time, could we… do you still have the Fenton Ghost Catcher?"
Danny raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. I'll grab it and be back. We're in Clockwork's Tower, so I'll grab a portal and be back in 15." Danny was out the door.
"Do you think it would work?" Phantom asked.
"I think so… it's been so long though."
"It will work, but not entirely." Clockwork floated into the room.
"Clockwork!" Dan charged up an ectoblast, but Fenton pushed him back.
"What do you mean, 'not entirely'?"
"You have been apart for much too long to become one again. Using the ghost catcher will make you a halfa again, but your mind will be split between the two of you. You will share everything, but you will remain separate."
"That really doesn't make much sense." Phantom sighed in annoyance.
"It's the best we'll get." Fenton nodded towards Clockwork, who disappeared. "I'll take it, what about you?"
Dan thought for a moment before sighing. "Yes. It does seem like the best solution." Both of their chains fell off, left at the floor.
Fenton stopped and looked towards Dan. "Do you not want this? I didn't think you wanted to remain apart, but I guess if Phantom wants to not be Danny again…"
"Dude, I never want to hear that sentence again." Danny yawned, floating in. "Did you know it's two in the morning back home?" Two rings formed, returning him to human once more.
The other two watched greedily as the simple little act represented both the subject of their hatred, and utmost desire.
Danny held out the ghost catcher. "Got it. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Fenton nodded, looking towards Phantom.
"Completely." The ghost nodded.
"Well, here ya go," Danny set it down and waited. Phantom grabbed Fenton and flew towards the green strings.
A flash of bright light left one standing where there had once been two.
And as the two halves met, both once again met peace.