This just came to me, and I had to type it up. What's going on is up to you guys.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom *sobs quietly in corner*

"Are you ready, Danny?"

The Master of Time stands beside me, his sceptor clutched in his hand, a symbol of the power he possesses. He is powerful, but not enough so that he can stop what's about to happen. His eyes are staring down at me pitifully, regretting what he must do to make things right. The future is about to become the past.

"No," I say, my voice a pained whisper. I'm not ready to go yet. But I am ready to say the truth: "I'm scared," I say, my voice breaking.

I'm doing the right thing, I know, but it's a terrifying prospect, dying. You don't know where you're going after it, but you do know you're leaving something behind. For me, it was my whole life. My family, my friends, everything I'd worked for, would be unreachable. They'd still exist, but I'd never be able to be with them. I'd be a world away.

But life would go on, whether I was there or not. Sam and Tucker is would grow up, graduate from high school, and build lives for themselves. My parents would watch my sister do the same, prideful smiles etched on their faces as they watched her accept her diploma. Jazz would be successful and happy, which was all I really wanted for her. She had the smarts and the will to succeed.

I would never get to graduate, or go to college, or be with my family. By choosing to save them, I was giving all that up.

Tears pour from my eye's, landing on the stone floor. I never imagined things would be this way, that this was how I'd make my exit from this world. I always expected to go out with a bang, but instead I'm going with only a whisper, my life a candle blown out in the wind.

A hand is placed comfortingly on my shoulder, the weight a reminder of the reality of my situation. "I know it hurts," Clockwork says sympathetically. "But it won't forever. You'll see them again someday." He smiles "You don't know what's coming your way, after all. It could be something extraordinary."

He looks towards the ceiling with a sad expression, like he can see something I can't, and looks me in the eye's. "I can't keep time stopped much longer, I'm afraid. It has to be soon."

I gave a small laugh, smiling through the tears. "You're that eager to get this over with, huh?"

He shakes his head with a smile of his own, but it's full of longing, for what, I'm not sure. "Are you ready?" He asks again.

I stare at his face, watching as his appearance changes with his age. He is a child, a young man, and even older, all in the space of a few minutes. I wonder if he knows what it's like to be all three.

I'm running out of time, and I think I'm finally ready. I've done what I needed to here, and now it's time to move onto somewhere else. I'll miss the people I love, but this goodbye isn't forever, as Clockwork has said.

"I'm ready." I nod my head, images of my life flashing through my mind. I see my first day of kindergarten, then high school, bittersweet as it all was. I see myself meeting Sam and Tucker for the first time, and my overprotective sister giving me advice that I tended to ignore. I saw my parents, how I grew up with them over the years. I remember how I became Phantom, the start of the most amazing year of my life. That year was ending, and what was left was this moment, now.

"Time in."

Your reviews make my day, you guys. A

I always appreciate them.