They had always known that the day would come when Danny just wasn't strong enough. Who would've guessed his death was about as normal as Danny's life ever got? A pilot's mistake took him down. Sam felt eyes on her all the time since he passed. The feeling of being watched came and went, and, though it was sometimes uncomfortable, she always felt loved and safe when it came. She felt the eyes on her as she steered herself towards the piano.
Her fingers had lost their beauty, and now were but shriveled skin flaps clinging loosely to bones. Her once pale complexion had gained blemishes and liver spots. She wondered if playing the piano was like riding a bike, not that she'd done that in a while, either. As her fingers brushed the keys, she was bombarded with an onslaught of long forgotten memories.
"Danny, you should check it out! It sounds cool. Who knows, maybe you can get it working!"
"Alright, I'll check it out, I guess."
It had always been her fault, though he told her differently. She sighed, the small action causing her failing system pain. She knew she was dying. She was 100, it was inevitable. She hoped that when she died, she'd be out of the wheelchair that had held her captive for 11 years. Would she walk again?
A flash and a scream. That's all. Then, Danny came out of the Ghost Portal, only, he wasn't Danny. He was like a photo negative of the Danny who had gone into the Portal. After that day, many adventures befell Danny, Sam, and Tucker.
Sam's vision blurred slightly. No, not yet! She began searching through the sheets of music in desperation. She had to do this one last time before she left! Voices suddenly ran through her mind. Some she could place, some she could not.
"Fear me and my power over all things cardboard and cubical!"
"So you have wished it, so shall it be!"
"Whelp, I shall have your pelt!"
"I DO NOT NEED A CAT!"
"How come you never play the piano anymore?"
She finally found it. Fur Elise. The only song she could still remember. Her fingers began to play the tune as the eyes watched from the shadows. They knew her time was almost out. Even in her old age, she was still the most beautiful creature they had ever seen. The owner of the eyes sighed as he watched her fingers move with grace across the piano. She still played like she used to. Her head began to droop as another memory played itself.
"So, where are you going?" Sam asked. The trio had grown a lot since the accident. Sam now wore pants and a Three Days Grace band-T. Tucker still dressed the same, but he was edging on 6 ft tall. Danny had buffed up from all the ghost fighting. He now wore a plain white T-shirt with faded blue jeans.
"India. They said that it'll be our last family vacation before I move out."
"Oh yeah, you're almost 18 now, aren't you?" Tucker piped up. Danny nodded.
Sam's eyes blurred again, only this time it was because she had begun to cry. She kept playing, though. The memories kept coming.
Danny kissed Sam good bye as they stood on the loading dock at the airport. Sam smiled at him. He turned and boarded his plane, giving a wave to the two friends behind him. As the plane took off, Sam frowned.
"What's up, Sam?" Tucker asked.
"I don't know. I've just got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Several hours later
"This is an emergency news bulletin!" Sam sat bolt up and stared at the screen.
"A plane has crashed just inside India's boarder! Details have yet to be released." It couldn't be Danny's plane, could it? The more Sam tried to deny it, the more she knew that Danny had been on that plane.
The list of the deceased was released the next day at the town hall. It was surprisingly short. Sam was hesitant to read the list as she made her way through the crowd. There it was. At the very top of the list. Daniel Fenton, followed by Danny Phantom, as unusual as it sounds. Sam dissolved into tears. Eventually, Tucker found her there. Tucker was always late, so it was no surprise that everyone else had already left.
"Sam?"
"It was his plane!" Sam sobbed.
"I heard. Vlad wants to see us."
"Why? What does that creep want? Danny's dead, shouldn't he be out of our lives?"
"Sam, he seems upset about this, too. He wants to show us the black box from the plane."
"How did he get it so fast?" Tucker gave the broken girl a pointed look that said 'I don't know, but I assure you, it was illegal'.
Sam's hands wavered. She knew it was almost time. A familiar voice came from the shadows.
"It's okay, Sam. I'm here. I know you can do it, just a few more notes."
"I recovered this black box from Daniel's plane. I thought you should hear what happened." The small box whirred to life.
"This is Alpha Delta 49, American Airlines. We have just entered India. Over and out." For the next few minutes, there was only light banter between the pilots and flight attendants. Suddenly, they became serious.
"Alpha Delta 49, American Airlines. We seem to have a problem. Requesting emergency landing ."
"Request granted Alpha Delta 49."
"Alpha Delta 49, American Airlines. We're losing altitude fast! Jets are now smoking! Mayday! Mayday!"
"Hello? Pilot? I'm one of the passengers. Is something wrong?" Sam gasped as she heard Danny's voice.
"We seem to be experiencing a problem, sir."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Sure, kid. Tell everyone to take out their cell phones and call their families. I think we're going down."
"What do you mean 'we're going down'? Are you just gonna give up without a fight?"
"Sorry, but we've tried everything."
"Not quite everything." Sam and Tucker immediately recognized the sound of Danny transforming. The people in the plane cabin gasped.
"Holy shit, you're the ghost kid!"
"I'll try to fly the plane down safely."
"But won't that kill you? You'll get crushed! There must be something else we haven't tried!"
"It's the only way." Danny sounded grim.
"Here, take this radio with you so we can tell you how you're doing. Want some time to say bye to your family?" The trio surrounding the box heard the door open and close, then nothing. Soon, though, they heard Danny's garbled voice come across the radio.
"How am I doing?"
"Good. I think with your help we can minimize the death toll. Maybe we can even get you back in the plane on time!"
"I wouldn't get my hopes up."
"Right. How're you holding up?"
"I'm alright, considering the circumstances." Several minutes passed. You didn't need to be there to realize how tense everyone was.
"Alright, kiddo, I think we're ready to land." Danny's reply was more of a grunt than an answer. Suddenly, there was a loud crunching sound.
"We've landed, please direct yourself to one of the emergency exits." A flight attendant's calm voice rang across the announcement system. The pilot tried to contact Danny.
"Kid? Kid? You did it! Are you there?" He turned off the radio, "He's gone." The transmission ended. Sam sobbed. Even Vlad looked remorseful.
'Daniel always was the hero." As the years passed, Sam tried to move on. She never really did.
Sam finished the song with a sad smile. Her eyes closed. She let out her last breath as she whispered "Danny, I'm coming."
A disconnected, yet familiar voice reached her in her world of black.
"Wake up, Sam. It's time to go."
"Just a few more minutes," Sam begged as she struggled to open her eyes. Suddenly, she was floating. Sam looked down at herself. She was eighteen again!
"Geeze, what took ya so long?" The voice teased. Sam looked at it's source.
"You waited for me!"
"Of course I did! Come on, Tucker's been waiting for you, too!" Sam smiled at him.
"Were you the shadow who's been following me for so long?" He nodded. Sam grabbed his hand as the two walked towards the light.
"I missed you so much, Danny."
"Me too, Sam," With those final words, the reunited couple crossed over and never looked back.
A/N: Sorry for the suckiness, but I had it rolling around in my head for a while. Also, I do plan on hopefully updating my Inuyasha stories. Criticism welcome!