DISCLAIMER: While I suppose I'm still not actually ripping anybody off, this is much closer to fanfiction than the poems I've posted in "Of Rhyme and Reason", so... Yeah. Dun own Danny Phantom, please don't sue me.
Author's Note: I was sitting in my Geology class Tuesday night, when an idea for a new poem slapped me upside the head. But not a regular poem. No, this one was to be vastly different from my previous 20-30 line rhymes. This was going to be epic! And in a first-person perspective, namely Valerie's. For the record, I am firmly a fan of D/S, but you sure as hell wouldn't know it from this. Several sleepless nights and 310 lines later... I present you with...
Lament
By: Firefury Amahira
The End
The day my world ended was a regular day
No gloom, no storms, nor portents of doom
It was his world that ended that day, not mine
So I thought, but it was his tragedy that brought
Disaster to many and destruction to us all
His grief that was boundless, the guilt his alone to recall
Had I but known, could I have prevented his fall?
Blind in my hatred, set firm in my course
Deaf then to sound reason, now full of remorse
The tragedy cruel, but none knew the force
Even now almost none know that it was the source
The prelude to rampage, sign of what was to come
Few saw the warnings in that young face so glum
In an instant his world was thrown to the wind
That most dear to him, his friends and his kin
Lost forever, gone to the sky
Proof of his failure, mark of his shame
Sign of his weakness, with none else to blame
With home empty solace, and school no reprieve
Silence around him, left alone to grieve
He needed a friend, and it was me that he sought
I swore I would listen as his story was wrought
That promise was broken at his secret revealed
I acted on impulse, in anger I shouted
His sincerity doubted, old habits die hard
Even then, in the face of that sorrow
I acted in cruelty, his last hope gone sour
The last hour I saw him, I drove him away
The next day I looked, but he was gone by that morrow
Vanished just like the ghost I had chased
Where once was my anger was soon replaced
By guilt and worry, my old hatred erased
It would be many years before I discovered
The truth of his leaving, that he never recovered
With none left to turn to, he went to one of his kind
A mistake in the making, both his and mine
The pain overwhelming, the grief all-consuming
An end to his suffering was all that he sought
A youth distraught, looking to kill his pain
With nothing to lose and all to gain
He got what he wished for, but at what cost?
His sorrow was lifted, but his humanity lost
He died that day, in more ways than one
Murder or suicide, the result is the same
The boy I loved had died
And I had only myself to blame
My mistake, it would haunt me, overshadow my life
Heavy with guilt that cuts still like a knife
One boy's mistake launched by one foolish girl
Doomed then was our world, now filled with strife
Salvation
When next I did see him, he was changed
Into something horrible, mind rearranged
With mistaken relief I rushed out to greet him
Belief misplaced that my friend was come home
That I could undo the things that I had done
Apologies fell from my lips in a tangle
My arms looped around him, I embraced his cold form
My tears shed for joy as I rejoiced his return
Certain sure now that we could put things right
His hands gripped my shoulders and held me at length
It was then that I first truly studied his face
Saw those red eyes, felt his terrible strength
Gone was the boy with intense emerald eyes
Gone was his kindness, gone was his concern
Gone was the boy, never again to return
With head aflame and eyes that burn
No compassion remained, that I learned
With his wicked delight my affections were spurned
Before my eyes, my dearest friend
Had become the very nightmare I dreaded
I should have shot him, then and there
But with guilt and hope, I didn't dare
The thought of killing him I couldn't bear
That he was already gone, I wasn't aware
My heart turned traitor and wouldn't fight
His might overwhelming, his intentions a fright
My joy was frozen, my fear realized
In my weakness I should have died
An easy kill, that was until
A new figure arrived, one I knew
His valor great but his power small
He fought bravely while I was enthralled
Wounded badly from the fire he drew
I was finally shaken from stupor
By the blood his wounds spewed
My injuries searing, I returned to the fray
Not to do battle, but to get us safe away
That day was awful, that I recall
My friend on a rampage that none could stall
Nothing seemed to ease his rage
The fury of a monster freed of its cage
I had to stop him, or no one would
But in the past he'd done such good
Innocents suffered for my indecision
Old hatred bound by new sorrow
Losses mourned on time ill-borrowed
In the midst of my agony came a singular vision
Last dying wish of a friend since passed
There was no going back, this conclusion foregone
It was my mission, my only goal
I had to stop him, only I could
If he was now the demon I had believed he was
Then I had to hate him as I had then
Twice now he'd ruined my life
Taken everything from me
My comfort, my home, my father's health
A twisted cruelty, I did as he'd done
Buried my love, locked away my compassion
There can be no mercy for those who give none
There can be no redemption for the soul that's gone
There was only one fate, to save him t'was too late
With heavy heart and anger burning
The masses rallied, the battle turning
An ill-trained army fighting, falling
Back to the gate from whence his troubles had spawned
The trek paved red from the defenders fallen
On the brink, I confronted him then
Stared down my memories, sealed them away
He was weakened then but never beaten
Only hatred in those crimson eyes
Hatred for me, for all who lived
For having things he had lost, his joy forfeit
The moment had come, the threshold crossed
I had to drive him, force him across
I couldn't beat him, he couldn't die
But I had to thwart him, I had to try
He had to be sealed 'fore the gate was destroyed
My only concession, a tear in one eye
I fired my gun as I told him goodbye.
The gate then closed and could never reopen
We had to recover, we had to rebuild
It was too good that he was gone forever
I saw it bright as day in those hating eyes
He would return, with greater power he'd rise
And with it lay waste to all he despised
Irony abounds, we raided his home
For he and his had the things that we needed
The warning of his destruction heeded
The survivors would all learn to fight
When he returned, it would be an army alright
But seeking advice, I had to take flight
Imagine my surprise at the sight
A castle in shambles, ruins pale in the light
The keeper battered, his expression contrite
A man, spirit broken, mind burdened with sin
With a sad smile he invited me in
Surprised by the wreckage I saw without and within
I asked what had happened, imagine my chagrin
When he explained what happened, and what he had been
The fault was his, he quietly explained
The boy came to him, in grief barely sane
So he had offered an end to the pain
The effort was bungled, the boy went insane
Ripped him in half, this was all that remained
A man torn in two, the boy now his bane
My breath caught tight as I dared ask
"What happened to his human half?"
His face a mask, he beckoned I follow
Down a passage to a secret hollow
The room a disaster, roof open now to the sky
The tools all scattered, I wondered why
He brought me here, to see this mess
When with trembling voice, the man confessed
This was were it all went wrong
Where the demon became so strong
It was here, he said, the boy had died
That's when I saw it, one wall stained red
My throat seized at the truth, that moment of dread
I'd known in my heart that he was dead
The tears I'd withheld now freely shed
I fell to my knees near that painted wall
My anguished cries echoing through shattered halls
With weary care I was shown the boy's simple grave
The resting place of a hero brave
Leaving behind a creature depraved
My anger renewed, this man was the source
In the face of my fury, he was only remorse
Hearing my troubles, of that terrible force
He gave me what tools that he could
Not asking forgiveness, he understood
The deeds he had done, the crime he committed
He freely admitted his condemnation was due
His actions now he would forever rue
His gifts in hand, homeward I flew
A blot on the horizon and I feared the worst
A war in progress, at the explosions I cursed
The nearer I got, the more horrible it was
Smoldering tanks, soldiers killed all because
The terror they faced was above all their laws
As I soared over the maelstrom, I saw him again
Taller, more wicked, delighting in ruin when
His eyes met mine, his smile cruel
My anguish buried, my anger fueled
Once again we violently dueled
But I wasn't alone, not in this battle
In matching suits, their weapons rattled
The dome viridian our only safety
We flanked him, somehow drove him away
The losses were steep, the defenders weakened
The demon held back by well-armed children
His hate ever-rising, he vanished away
But I knew we hadn't yet won the day
He was freed, and bound to return
A fortress was needed, this we had learned
One at a time the towers soared
A shield on a scale seen never before
But the masses were foolish, they ventured outside
He was gone, they reasoned, why should they hide?
But those who knew, we stayed ready
Weapons poised, our resolve steady
Heralded as heros, accolades ill-deserved
It was only desperation that had steeled our nerves
Despite all our warnings, the city grew beyond
The reach of the shield, it would take too long to respond
I tried to convince them, but they laughed at the danger
They felt they were safe, that I could protect them
In the past, such adoration would have made me whole
But in darker times it simply weighed more on my soul
I knew my limits, that if he returned
His strength would be greater
And we would all burn
It wasn't very long before he proved me right
The explosions that came in the dead of the night
Screams filled the darkness as the buildings came down
Once more I flew in defense of the town
"You think you can stop me?" He sneered as I fired.
I told him nothing, my hatred inspired
I no longer saw him as the boy from my past
My love since killed and by anger surpassed
It sickened me, as with such glee
He evaded my blows, his interest in those
Fleeing below, the families with children in tow
With a flick of one hand a wall crashed upon them
Cries lost in the chaos, mine and theirs
He was toying with me and I began to despair
But at last the call came, that the survivors had fled
The defense was over, and on a chase he was led
I smiled with bitter glee as I shot under the dome
In his rush to beat me home and stain the ground red
He didn't see what was there, and on the dome smashed his head
I waved with mock sweetness as he angrily raged
And threw all his strength at the shield we'd engaged
Despite all his efforts, despite all his might
He was repelled by a thin dome of blue light
His prey safely sheltered, he turned instead
To the buildings outside he could easily shred
Outside he left a wasteland we saw tinged blue
But when this time he left, everyone knew
To venture outside was a terrible folly
Our perimeter secure, life slowly resumed
How could we have known that we were all still doomed?
The Fall
Time passed onward as it is wont to do
Safe in our home, a city grown skyward
Desolation all around us, never far from thought
Comfortable in safety so direly bought
But our end was coming, the end of it all
Our final bastion, our fortress would fall
Otherworldly wailing pierced the afternoon
To the towers, shining sentinels it was attuned
One by one I watched them fail
In childlike helplessness I was thrown from the rail
The technology that saved us had also doomed us
I could hear him laughing, a wicked sound
In horror I watched our comforting light
Ascend toward the heavens as it vanished from sight
In the wake of that terrible moment
We all stared in silence
We knew what it meant
We didn't know what to do, but that our time was spent
The first battle I fought wasn't with him
He was too busy raining down his wrath
Slaughtering people, relishing our torment
It was all I could do to stall him for awhile
So that people could run, and perhaps get away
I stared down that monster and his malignant smile
His power grown terrible, his intent ever hostile
He merely threw me aside as the city died
Our safety gone, us few scattered alone
I saw the destruction, knew the terrible truth
His cruelty complete, I saw what was left of my youth
He finally stole everything, I had nothing left
My family destroyed, my friends lost in the cleft
Grim now as death, a huntress bereft
I was now like the boy I had loved
With nothing to lose and all to gain
I had to finish him, to end this pain
I would hunt him down and end his reign
Stalking the wastelands, my new domain
Red nightmare, phantom's bane
A lone wolf on a mission, on hatred sustained
I would not rest until I obtained
The vengeance I desired, I knew I was insane
Running on fury, I was running to death
I thought then I saw him and caught my breath
A ghost of a memory, or figment of madness?
This was not the demon I'd come to hate
No this had to be some kind of emotional bait
Feelings I'd buried surged again to the fore
I yelled out as I ignored them, trying to end this war
All the anguish of the years, all the terror, the gore
I would have killed him, the boy out of memory
But snapped from my madness by two young faces
They were ten years dead, why here of all places?
Impossibly come, all three from the past
Before the nightmare began, the day was his last
Then he showed up, the demon I hunted
To my surprise he was confronted
By this strange ghost of the past
We were both overpowered, the battle was fast
The boy saved my life before I blacked out at last
The past fought the present, a disturbing contrast
He saved me from madness, vanished without trace
When I woke I wondered what had brought him to this place
From the midst of the chaos, I recalled his embrace
His desperate eyes shining in that determined face
Our time was cut short, and I unable to pursue
He was gone when I woke, after all I'd been through
That I saw the fond memory was too good to be true
But still, I never got the chance to bid him adieu
I never told him
"I love you."