A/N: Hey peoples. I know it seems like I'm writing like a maniac, but once I get back in school, I won't be able to update for a day or two, and I want to get to a suspenseful part so that I can torment you. *crazed laughter* What can I say? I'm doing some extracurricular activities and I need to focus.
Dan muse: Hehe... what Erin is trying to say is that she's not doing so well in school and has to study, or SOMEBODY is going to get their computer privleges taken away...
Me: (slaps him on the arm) They didn't need to know that!
Dan muse: ow! Yeah, but i just wanted to see your reaction.
Me: (sending him an evil glare) I despise you. Anyways, people, Just so keep confusion at bay, Dan and I will still be calling Danny Danny, but everyone else calls both him and Dan by the name Dan. It is a bit strange, so Dan is Future Dan.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, no matter how much I wish I did.
Chapter Four
Guess Who's Back? Back Again?
By: Dannyphantomaddict5855
Sam's PoV
It had been six months since Danny had left. Six months since I had screamed at him to leave us alone. Six months since he had embraced the darkness, and six months since he had threatened me with my life. It had also been six months since I stopped missing him.
After he had left, people had flocked to my house, asking what Dan had meant. I, of course, told them the whole thing. From the portal accident where he had become Danny Phantom, to where they had gone ten years in the future and seen Dan's older version destroying everything, to the park that afternoon. She had not been surprised when Amity Park hadn't quite believed her, and was even more surprised when the Fentons had told the people that she was telling the truth. It made her wonder exactly what had happened that made Danny believe that they had betrayed him. She had tried asking them, but they had just turned around and walked away. Jazz had looked like she was about to start shouting, but instead, she had broken down crying. That had really confused Sam, because the only other time she had seen the nineteen year-old cry had been when Danny had exploded at her in the hallway at Casper High three years ago. She winced, remembering what she herself had done.
"It's over. Stay away from me and Tuck, ghost." She spun on her heel and walked away, ignoring Danny's shouts of pain and anger. She had kept a straight face all the way walking to her house, but the moment she slammed the door to her room, she flopped down on her queen-size bed and started sobbing uncontrollably. She felt wave after wave of guilt and remorse, and each wave came with a fresh bout of tears. Her body shook, and she gripped onto her purple comforter as she breathed deeply. Once her sobs died down, she reached over for the phone and dialed Tuckers number as she swallowed in an attempt to calm herself. She heard someone pick up the phone on the other end.
"Hello?' A hesitant voice asked. She sighed and replied,
"Hey, Tuck." She winced at how hoarse her voice sounded. "It's Sam. I just did something very, very stupid. Can you come over?" Tucker stuttered out a quick response.
"Y-yeah, s-sure. What is it? You're not pregnant, are you? You're not, right?"I laughed weakly and rolled my eyes.
"No, I am not pregnant. Although, I almost wish that was it. This is much, much worse." Tucker hesitated, obviously trying to think of how something could be considered worse than pregnancy. As if he remembered something, he asked me,
"Oh yeah, how did your picnic with Danny go? He was planning something special for later tonight. Has he told you about it yet?" I bit my lip. No, and he never would, either. Out loud, I replied to him,
"Um, Tuck, that's kind of what I want to talk to you about. It didn't go too well... I really need someone to talk to right now. Please, come over as soon as you can. I need a shoulder to lean on." Tucker didn't hesitate as he replied,
"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up. Tucker lived on the other side of town, so she knew that she had about twenty minutes until he got here, twenty minutes to straighten herself out. She quickly splashed some water on her face, and rubbed off the streaks that her mascara had trailed down her cheeks during her cries. She reapplied her lipstick and eyeshadow as she stood in front of the mirror on her vanity. She decided that she looked almost normal, and sat down to wait for her friend to show up, as he had an estimated five minutes left to get here. She stared out her window at the sky, hoping to see some sign of Danny so that she could apologize to him. She did see a small black spot in the distance, but it could have been anything. Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a creak in her doorway. She turned around lazily and saw Tucker standing there, looking very uncomfortable. She smiled and scooted over on her bed so that he could join her. He walked over and landed beside her as he bounced a few times. Noticing my puffy, bloodshot eyes, he stopped and asked me, concerned,
"Hey, you all right? I know something's wrong; just tell me so I can help." I closed my eyes and swallowed. Here was the hard part. I prepared myself for when I had to tell my best friend that I had betrayed my other best friend just because he had happened to show a violent streak. I bit my lip, and sighed. I decided to start from the beginning. I told him everything, from the beginning of the date to when I had stomped away. Tucker stared at me with a disbelieving gaze, but he responded like a true friend should have. Like I should have when Danny had snapped at me.
"I understand how you reacted. I probably would have done the same thing. I'm not saying that it was the right thing to do, but you shouldn't be too hard on yourself. Danny will probably get over it in a day or two, and then you can go apologize to him." I couldn't believe how understanding he was acting. I had just betrayed our best friend, and he was telling me not to be too hard on myself! I would never understand how this caring, forgiving boy had become so evil when given ghost powers by Desiree... I just sighed and shook my head.
"How can I not be so hard on myself? Tuck, he has been our friend since kindergarten, and all of a sudden, I betray him because of a little violent streak. I'm a terrible friend! He must hate me right now!" Tucker rolled his eyes.
"Sam, Danny could never hate you! He loves you, and he always will." He laughed and continued, "Besides, he promised us three years ago that he wouldn't turn evil. What is there to worry about? Worst case scenario, he sulks for a few days. Besides, it's Danny, he wouldn't do anything to hurt us! You know that!" I sighed, and leaned over onto his chest. He looked surprised, but quickly got over it. I sighed, and replied,
"You're right. Sorry about doubting him. And..." I sniffed, crinkling my nose. "Are you wearing that cologne that you used to get rid of the ghost bugs? What did you call it again?" Tucker smirked proudly and responded,
"Foley, by Tucker Foley." I rolled my eyes disbelievingly at how cocky he sounded at the moment. I snorted and said,
"Whatever it is, never wear it inside my house again. It smells like an old sock dipped in bacon grease! No wonder even the dead bugs thought it was revolting." I laughed at how quickly we had gone from being so serious to making fun of each other. Tucker chuckled before looking at his watch and saying,
"Wow, I can't believe how quickly time has gone! I've been here for almost two hours! I really should go before it gets too dark." I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Had it really been that long? I opened the door for him, asking,
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather have me drive you over? You shouldn't be driving in the dark, you just got your license back from the police from when-" Tucker raised up his hand, cutting me off.
"Please, don't remind me. I'm sure I'll be alright by myself." He hugged me as he left, climbing into his old Camaro. I sighed and flopped down on my bed, tired. I'm not sure when I fell asleep, but I remember just laying there, staring at my ceiling for a very long time.
I was woken a few hours later by the sound of my phone ringing by my ear. I groaned as I picked it up, silently promising that if it wasn't a matter of life and death, I was going to strangle someone. On the other end, I heard a scared and surprised Tucker.
"Turn on the news!" He shouted at me hysterically. I jumped before asking him,
"Why?" He didn't reply, just shouted,
"Just do it!" Hearing the stress in his voice, I turned on my television and stared at what I was seeing. Danny was floating over Main Street, beside a defeated and bloody Box Ghost. Danny had the glowing red eyes, fangs, and fiery hair as his evil self, Dan. The volume came on just as he said,
"Sam, you can tell them whatever you feel like telling them. I'm going to be targeting you anyways." He flew off into the night, leaving my jaw agape in shock. I put the phone bacl up to my ear.
"Tucker, you were wrong. You were very, very wrong." I whispered into the phone. I closed my eyes as a solitary tear rolled down my cheek. I choked back a sob as I remembered the cold and uncaring tone of voice he had used when addressing me. Tucker, obviously noticing the pain and distress in my voice, comforted me by replying as calmly as possible,
«Sam... No one could have predicted what would happen. Danny is... Unpredictable. But you can't blame yourself for this! If anyone is to blame, it would be Danny for acting so violently as to cause this whole mess in the first place.» Yet no matter how much Tucker tried to convince me otherwise, I knew that this was my fault. Danny may have provoked me to do so, but it was I that had fired that first shot; I had started this hypothetical Battle of Lexington. No matter how much I pretended otherwise, this whole thing was my fault. I could not blame this on Danny.
Back then, I had been sure that Danny becoming evil was my fault... But now that I had seen how his family reacted, I wasn't so sure. Not for the first time, I looked back on what Tucker had said. Danny had had something special planned for me that night. Knowing him, it could have been anything from ghost hunting to proposing to her... Personally, she hoped that it was something like ghost hunting, so she wouldn't have to feel the extra guilt for breaking his heart. If it had been anything like the latter,... All of a sudden, the room felt very stuffy.. Sam decided to go take a walk through town to help clear her head. She pulled herself up out of her sitting position and stumbled over towards the window. She opened it up and swung her legs out, searching for a solid grip. Once she found one, she crept across the roof to the rose trellis. She scaled down it effortlessly, having many years of practice. She landed on the perfectly tended lawn, the soft grass muffling her already quiet footsteps. She stuck her hands in her pockets as she walked down the street, careful to avoid muggers and rapists. She wandered aimlessly until she got to a familiar brass gate that served as the entrance way to the park. She walked in, still completely engrossed in thought. Too much so to notice the enormous tree in front of her until she ran headfirst into it. Startled, she fell back into the grass She just lay there, with her arms crossed over her chest as she thought about Danny. What should she think about Danny? She knew so many sides of him, from the sarcastic, fun-loving kid to the serious and gloomy Danny that had been showing up lately. Then there was Super Danny...
Oh dear god. Don't even get her started on Super Danny. She remembered him far too well for her own good. Have you considered switching to bright, primary colors?She chuckled a bit, and those chuckles turned into laughter as she remembered something else; when he had overshadowed Danny. Curse this infernal messy room! This looks like a job for... THE VACUUM CLEANER!Sam sighed as she closed her eyes. Super Danny was... pathetic, to say the least. Even Technus wasn't threatened by him!
And then there was Dan. In the future, he had destroyed Amity Park without a second thought. He was evil through and through, demolishing his enemies... And now Danny had broken his promise and become him. She growled under her breath. Damn, Danny was hard to figure out. She often wondered if he had multiple personality disorder from all the times he had fallen through the Fenton Ghostcatcher,
She was snapped out of her memories when she banged her elbow on a small, black felt box that was sticking out of the ground. She picked it up, and dusted it off. She froze when she saw the familiar white DP symbol on the lid. That was when she realized that this was the exact same tree that she had been under with Danny six months ago. He must have dropped it while he was battling Skulker. Curious on its contents, she flipped the lid open. She gasped when she saw what was inside. It was the little gold ring with a small bluish stone set into it. She remembered that it had the word 'Sam' enscribed inside of it. She smiled when she remembered Tucker's stupid question. Who's Wes? She tilted it, and gasped when she saw that the inscription had changed from the last time she had seen it. It now read, 'To Sam, who I would never be complete without. S+D Forever' She barely noticed as a lone tear trickled down her cheek.
She didn't see the glowing raven sitting on the tree branch above her, intelligent red eyes glaring down at the gothic girl. She didn't hear it murmur, "We will get our revenge, Danny. Do not worry." She screeched and dived at Sam's head, and then flew off into the sky.
A muscular silhouette floated up above the city. He saw the people below through the ghost shield, going on with their business, not knowing that their world was about to be turned upside down. A raven flew up and perched on his shoulder before morphing back into a panther.
"Hello, Amity Park. Miss me?"
A/N: Hey guys... sorry it took me awhile to update. between school, family, and and my birthday coming up on Saturday... i've been busy. not to mention that fanfiction deleted half this chapter, and i had to retype it. by the way, can anyone guess how old i'm turning? i'll bet that you can't. on saturday night i'll put it on my profile, but until then feel free to review what you think the answer is! Dan muse is having some... technical problems, but he told me to say hi for him until he reforms. until next time. bye