This is my first story. Please use constructive criticism so I can write better in the future.

I do not own Danny Phantom. That is the property of butch Hartman.

Remembrance

He was falling. Falling through a sea of diamonds as far as the eye can see. The beauty of the stars around him was almost enthralling, if only he could stay in that state of silent bliss. Yet he could feel something very wrong with the situation. A searing heat could be felt all around, and the reason soon became painfully apparent. The cosmic scenery was dyed a vibrant green by roaring flames that surrounded the boy. With a growing sense of panic he tried to right himself, for what reason he did not know, he was clearly going to die.

The stars seemed to turn from glimmering diamonds to blazing emeralds within the raging inferno. So he fell; ever deeper into the swirling abyss of emerald flames leaving the comfort of the space above to the endless heat of the...

Danny was jolted awake by the sudden impact with his bedroom floor having just fell out of bed. Blushing despite being alone, he untangled his self from his covers and headed to the small cubby of a bathroom. After washing and shaking off the odd dream from before he set is bright blue eyes upon the old grimy mirror above the old sink. He gazed into the eyes that stared back at him, trying to see a clue or even hint of who he once was but still couldn't see anything of the sort.

Sighing he tried to fix his messy black-as-night hair but stopped half way through seeing it as pointless. With a yawn and a stretch that made a unhealthy cracking sound, Danny that it was time to start the day, his master would not be happy if he wasn't there for morning practice. In fact, if the old clock by his bed was any indication, he was already late. Rushing out into the main loft spluttering apologies, even if they wouldn't necessarily help, stopped in wary silence when he noticed that there was not a old man scowling at his apparent lateness; there was in fact nothing of the sort. Slowly looking around as he made his way to the practice mat in the center of the loft, he finally noticed the sticky not on the refrigerator.


Making sure that there was no one around to jump and suddenly attack him, he walked over to the small kitchen nook to see what the note said.

"Danny.

I know you will be late in waking up, for now that will be ok.

Before you go out to be with you friends be sure to practice.

I am out arranging something that might help with your

memory. Will be back later.

be careful and PRACTICE!

"Well, thats lucky." Was the only thing that Danny could think of to say to the note. Not even thinking of skimping out on practice (the old man will know) he went back to the practice mat and started his routine. After he was finished stretching to loosen muscles, and had gone through the movements etched in his mind and body, the morning had become quite old. Finishing up and toweling off, Danny started to get ready for the rest of the day. Getting dressed in jeans, a old shirt and his old trench coat he found about a year before. Feeling set and ready he headed out and locked up.

The weather was cloudy with a cold wind, yet the singes of spring were apparent. With a deep breath Danny started down the street. He past the occasional person on his stroll, they all skirted away from him giving him odd looks, mostly suspicious or fearful looks. Danny couldn't blame them, he did have a bit of a reputation.

"Hey D." said a voice of a little ways ahead drawing Danny's attention. The voice could be traced to a fanatically waving boy of asian decent with hawkish like features.

"Hey Ken! Whats going on?" Danny said with a laugh of his friends antics. That was when he noticed the other boy standing by Ken's side.

"Ah, this is a old friend of mine, Mark." said Ken indicating the Blond boy next to him.

"Yup, Mark Eagleye, pleasure to meet you...D?" The blond said.

"Daniel, but people around here call me D or Danny." replied Danny

"No last name?"

"Well..."

" Danny here has amnesia , only remembers his first name." explained Ken, seeing the awkward look Danny had.

"Yea, can't remember anything past the rise." Danny said with a sad smile, interrupting the question he new was going to come next. "So; new to New York, or to the slums in general?"

Thankful for the change of subject Mark replied "Yea, new to New York. So don't worry I can handle my self." Mark finished with a shrug and a relaxed smile.

"Well good, one needs to be carful around here. There are a lot of fights over territory but luckily nothing lethal; otherwise the enforcers come in and no body wants that." Danny said with a lazy stretch.

"So are you guys with any gang or group?" asked Mark

"Nope, no gang, no nothing."said Danny "It dose make for interesting weekends though." he added with a shrug.

Confused, Mark said nothing for a moment. Then "How do you..."

"RAVEN!" said a loud boisterous voice thoroughly interrupting Marks next question. The three young men turn and see the biggest person they have ever seen. Seven foot five, and a odd mixture of fat and muscle made him dwarf every one else in the slums by a wide margin. Not only that he was also wearing what looks like football armor with and patchwork padding, that only made him seem even larger. All in all the trio thought he looked like something fresh from a would be Apocalypse movie. "I have come for a fight, I will finely defeat you!"

No one made a sound for a moment. The street was quickly emptied when the giant appeared. Danny said in exasperation "Really, why now? Hasn't the last dozen times mean anything to you?"

"Don't think you can get out of this this time! You and me! Mono y mono!" bellowed the overly large man "and to make sure you fight this time. Your friends will be held as collateral!"

"Yea? You and what army?" said Ken in a board voice. When seemingly out of no were dozens of smaller yet identically dressed men appeared and took hold of Ken and Mark.

"That army!" said the giant with a air of superiority.

Perplexed, Danny said "That was actually impressive. Did you teach them how to hide like that?"

"Yep! I am so proud of them" replied the giant smiling and wiping a tear from his eye.

"There seems to be less than normal though, only about thirty-five or forty."

"Yea, most of them are sick, and I had to leave some of the healthy ones to take care of them."

"Aw. Michel! You are just a big softy aren't ya." Danny said with a laugh.

"Hey! I take care of my minions!" replied the now dubbed Michel. "Now enough of the idle chatter. I, The Giant of the North, will now defeat you!"

"Yea like that will ever happen." Danny said off handedly. Then turning slightly to address his bound friends "Just stick tight guys, I'll be done in a minute. OH! And Mark, welcome to New York." With that he just turned back toward Michel and took a relaxed stance.

With a mighty yell Michel charged with a brick like fist aimed at his much smaller opponent, who simply dodged the strike. Before Michel could change direction Danny was already moving. He lunged and leapt off of Michel's leading leg, and with a twist sent a spinning kick to the side of the bigger mans head. Michel stumbled for a bit and regained his ground while Danny landed lightly on his feet.

With a quick dash and leap Danny was at the giants face once more to send a knee cracking against his skull. After this the smaller fighter proceeded to strike out at the larger man in a hurricane of punched and kicks, yet was forced back after narrowly dodging a swipe form Michel.

Taking this chance to catch his breath, Michel flexed and seemed to swell another inch in each direction before bellowing like an angry elephant and continued the fight.

Meanwhile, still bound Ken and Mark were force to watch the current proceedings unfold. Mark had a anxious expression and was trying and failing to find a way to help without setting the rest on Daniel. The guy didn't seem all that bad. Looking over at the friend he has known longer to ask his opinion immediately forgot about any plan at the almost bored look on his face.

"Why aren't you worried!?" said Mark obviously confused.

"Well, we can't do anything or the rest of the goons will try to pile on D. So the best thing we can do is give back up when they go to try to help there boss. Speaking of which do you sill have your things?" asked Ken still looking relaxed

"Yea. Why?"

"Well by the look of this Particular fight, the minions are going to jump in soon. They wont touch D but, you know, just in case. Forty dudes is still a lot, and he needs to be back at his place later." replied Ken causing Mark to blink.

With nothing else to add to that Mark just turned back to the fight just in time to see Danny throw the much larger man; which landed hard enough to shake the ground slightly. Michel was slow in getting back up, and Danny didn't seem to be heart or even winded at all. Suddenly one of the goons leapt from the crowd with a makeshift club aiming for Danny's head. The next moment the goon was violently thrown back by a back kick of Danny's. As soon as the unfortunate goon landed (a sum of five feet back) the rest fallowed, attempting to gang up on the raven haired boy.

Ken reacted the instant the grip on him loosened. Twisting out of the clutches of the stunned stooges he quickly reached into the back of his person, pulling out and revealing a small flashlight like object which quickly extended to a four foot long baton. With a slight grin, he started to strike left and right, showing some considerable skill in sword play. Meanwhile Mark, still stunned by the turn of events continued to watch Danny battle it out.

True to Ken's word, the mob couldn't touch Danny. He was barely attacking himself, the wild sings of the goons seem to be taking out their comrades faster than Danny's punches or kicks. Suddenly Mark felt someone shaking his shoulder drawing his attention away from the odd dance that Danny seemed to be preforming.

"Quick gawking, and fight!" said Ken irritably once he got Marks full attention.

Nodding, Mark reached into his coat pocket and drew a odd contraption. It was a combination of a pistil with a long barrel and a slingshot. Taking quick aim, he let look several small ball like projectiles which shattered upon impact with his targets. With the combined efforts of all three, Danny's odd dance, Ken's expert swordplay, and Marks marksmanship, the mass brawl was quickly became more and more subdued. once the dust settled only the trio and Michel were still standing.

"Well... I guess you win. Again." said Michel begrudgingly. "Oh well, now the new bloods see why we don't march on the Ravens territory. Now that they see that you can kick all of our asses easily enough, but can't say I wasn't hoping to get you this time."

"Yea well... Maybe next time?" replied Danny not really sure what else to say.

"Yea. See you lot around." said Michel. With the fight done and over with the giant went to collect his underlings, helping them to crawl back from whence they came. Taking a deep breath and a seat Danny chose this time to relax a bit before he had to go back for mid-day practice with his master. Hopefully he would still be out by the time Danny got back.

"So... That happen often?" ask Mark, also taking a seat.

"Yea on and off." Replied Danny

"Well, whats with the name 'Raven'?"

This time it was Ken who answered "Thats because D here is one of the best fighters of the slums. Each one of the four compass directions have a 'Leader' I guess you could say. Their the strongest of that aria, and usually control the most powerful gang too. It keeps every thing in balance."

" And before you ask. We don't have a gang." added Danny

"Yea, D is one hell of a fighter, always has been, but never interested in starting a gang. He just beats up every one who starts trouble. Of corse he can't do that by himself, so I help out to, keeps me sharp." finished Ken with a lazy shrug."

"So. Let me get this strait. You, Daniel, are one of the best fighters in the New York Slums. And for that they gave you the name of 'Raven'? Why a raven?" asked Mark, still confused.

"Its because of the coat." explained Ken "The old thing is as dark as his hair, meaning blacker than night. And when he came here almost...two? Two years ago, there was a big brawl over the southern territory. Some how he got into the middle of it and ended up dominating. They say that he was surrounded by the bodies of the brawlers..."

"They were just unconscious!" interjected Danny

Ken continued "...and he was just sitting there with his big black coat and messy hair. Ever since then he has had the name 'Raven'. They say to see D angry is a omen of death, and that his skill..."

"Ok Kenshi. That's enough." interrupted Danny "Those are just rumors that sprang up after the fight. Besides, I'm a lot better at fighting now anyway." Danny finished with a grin. "Well, got to get going, Master will know if I skimp on practice."

"Oh! Let us come to! Mark still need to meet Old Man Yi, and it is always a blast to watch you get tort-to practice!" replied Ken giving Danny his best puppy dog eyes.

"Oh all right. Besides I could use a sparing partner." relented Danny trying to hid his grin at his friends antics. "You can come too, Master might give you a few pointers on combat."

With that said three friends, old and new, headed back toward Danny's loft. On the way they made idle chatter.

"Whats that gizmo you used in the fight?" asked Danny to Mark.

"Oh, well its a little self defense thing I made. I call it a 'Sling-pistil' completely non lethal, but hits hard enough to knock a linebacker out."

"You made it?"

"Yea, a little hobby of mine, before the rise I wanted to be an engineer. Now I make little gizmos with some salvage and stuff."

"Cool. Sounds useful." replied Danny.

Mark then moved to Kens side as to speak to him easier "What was up with that way Daniel move back there? I could have sworn he should have been hit."

"Oh that. Well at the risk of sounding nerdy, I call it his 'Phantom Dance' because you just can't catch him when he gets like that." replied Ken

"Gets like that?" asked Mark

"I only do that when I'm pushed, dunno why I just do." answered Danny instead.

Conversation slowed as the reached the building and got into the loft. Mark found a seat in a small chair while Danny and Ken took off their jackets and moved to the practice mat in the center of the room. Danny got into a stance, and Ken produced his 'sword'. After a moment the two went into a flourish of movement that seemed to defy the norm for a 'sparing match'.

"Pretty impressive eh?" said a voice that came from right next to Mark.

Jumping with a yelp as he finally notice the oldest man he has ever seen sitting in the next chair. "who are you?" he ask warily.

"Oh Master! Your back!" said Danny with a odd look on his face. Ken had since moved off the mat to stand by a wall well out of the way. The look was soon justified when the old man lunged and struck Danny's stomach, causing him to fly backwards a couple feet.

"You still need to practice some more, my student." said the old man who was brushing off some dust from his hands and clothes. "But lucky for you, I need you to be able to wake up tomorrow bright and early. So no practice for to day." tuning his attention to Mark. "Are you going to introduce your new friend or what, it wont do to be rude now!"

Struggling to regain his breath Danny said "This is Mark Eagleye he's new in town. Mark this is Yi She Mon, my teacher."

Standing and shaking hands with the old man Mark was still confused by the odd greeting the master and student showed. He was further confused and winded when he found him self on his back some feet away.

"Rule one! Never trust any one!" Yi said with a air of a drill sergeant.

"For future reference, bow to Yi and you might not get heart." Ken said to the downed Mark. "and it is good to see you as well Master Yi." said Ken to Yi with more respect than his two friends are use to, giving a deep bow to top it all off.

"Yes, Yes. You have also gotten better Kenshi." said Yi nodding to Ken. "Now Danny, since you practiced in the morning like you were supposed to I will assume that you read the note I left." Getting a affirmative from Danny Yi continued "Yes, well I have thought of another way to help restore your memory. And no, it isn't a potion or old remedy either." Yi added seeing the trepidation written on Danny's face.

Sighing in relief Danny said " Well what is it?"

"I am getting to that! So don't interrupt! We are going out of the city and into the country side to find a old spot I like to go to. There you will meditate and look in to your most inner self. Maybe with this you will at least be put on the right path."

"We've tried meditation before. How will this be any different?" asked Danny

"This spot has great spiritual powers. Perhaps they will help. Not only that, I need a vacation from all of this strife." said Yi with a off handed wave of a hand.

"Oh. Really." deadpanned Danny. "Well its worth a shot anyway." he said with a shrug, already use to the way his master acts.

"Oh, yes your friends can come to." Yi added. "Ken you have to inform your father, and Mark... I am not sure of your situation so just come with."

The tree friends shared a look and nodded. Danny couldn't help but to be excited. He might unlock some of his memories, and if not he will get out of the slums for a bit and hang with his friends like a normal seventeen year old. This was going to be a interesting trip whatever the outcome.