Disclaimer: Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman.
Wow, can you believe it? Another chapter!! And just 3 weeks after the last one!
Chapter 6
"What?!" Valerie screamed.
Phantom winced; he opened his mouth to say something but Valerie beat him to it.
"You liar!" she yelled, shoving him against the wall, "My dad is not a murderer!"
"Valerie, I-!"
"NO! I don't want to hear anymore of your lies! I can't believe I trusted you!" Red sparks formed around her fist before an ecto-gun materialized into her hand. Tears slipped from her eyes as she pressed the weapon against the ghost boy's chest.
"Valerie, please! You have to listen-!" Phantom tried again, but Valerie pinned him to the wall by his throat; he struggled weakly against her hold. The ecto-gun glowed red as it powered up. Phantom struggled a bit more vigorously, but still to no avail.
"I should've Obliterated you last time," she spat.
With that, Valerie pulled the trigger.
The blast hit him point-blank in the chest. Valerie watched impassively as Phantom crumpled to the floor at her feet. He looked up at her with pleading eyes as he writhed in pain.
Ectoplasm poured from the gaping hole in his chest, staining the wooden floor a sickly green. He pressed a silver-gloved hand to the wound, yet the green blood continued to spurt from the wound.
"V-Val-ler-ri-ie," he choked out. The rest of his words came out in an unintelligible strangled mess as the green blood began to seep through his mouth.
His plea fell on deaf ears, however; Valerie merely glared.
Phantom thrashed for a few more minutes before his movements became feebler; eventually his body went limp, and he lay deathly still, resting in a pool of his own blood.
It was a moment before the reality of what she'd done came crashing down on her. Before she knew it, Valerie found herself kneeling in the ectoplasm gazing at the bloody hole in the ghost boy's chest. His once lustrous blue eyes were glassy, staring aimlessly at the ceiling. With nerveless fingers, Valerie closed his eyelids.
She stayed there for a moment more, before finally deciding that it would not please her father one bit if he saw the living room in such disarray (especially the obvious evidence that she had been fighting the paranormal even after she'd promised she wouldn't).
Standing up, Valerie let vivid red sparks dance around her, swirling rapidly until finally, her ghost-hunting outfit appeared. She mounted her jetsled and bent down to lift up Phantom.
Valerie hesitated. He really had seemed sincere, and he appeared so human too…
Get a grip, Valerie she thought to herself firmly. He was just a ghost…
…And nothing else.
Valerie frowned; Phantom himself had said that, mere minutes ago, though it felt like ages.
Just a ghost, he was just some ghost…
Still, it really had felt like killing another person…
No! I can't think like that! He was just a filthy lying ghost. He deserved it!
Pushing the guilty thoughts from her conscience, Valerie hoisted Phantom's limp body onto the jetsled. An unpleasant image of a giant rag doll crept unbidden into her mind's eye, its great head lolling flaccidly as something crimson trickled out a large gash in its cloth chest. Its limbs flopped uselessly while the red liquid began spilling out through its stitched up mouth. The doll suddenly morphed into Phantom, lying in a puddle of sickly green ectoplasm as his dead eyes stared blankly ahead. An invisible force seemed to eat at his skin, and the rotting corpse of Danny Fenton emerged, shreds of cloth hanging loosely on the bony form. With a sickening crack, the skull suddenly dislocated itself. Slowly it began to roll toward her, stopping inches from her feet, where its hollow eye sockets glared at her.
The image imploded and Valerie shook her head as if to clear it from unwanted thoughts. Still, the image of Phantom writhing in pain seemed to be branded into her memory. Slightly shaken, Valerie proceeded to steer her jetsled outside.
Cool air seeped through the suit, and the serene cityscape below usually helped Valerie relax a little.
Usually.
Tonight was different.
The lamp-like moon seemed to glower above a dark town, casting eerie shadows among the buildings. A brittle wind swirled around Valerie as she glided through the frigid skies, supporting Phantom's limp body. She tried to ignore the viscous ectoplasm still streaming out of his wound.
After a few more minutes of flying, she descended in the cemetery. Glancing around, Valerie shivered; tonight the headstones seemed to have a rather ghastly glow, while the church was a lone shadow atop the hill.
Valerie spotted the gnarled willow tree. Beside it, a marble gravestone stood, lonely and bleak.
The grave of Danny Fenton…
Valerie approached; before long, she could see the slightly worn inscriptions on the stone.
She laid Phantom to rest at the base of his gravestone.
Valerie stared coldly at his lifeless form. In the center of Phantom's chest, was the wound. It had dried slightly, save the occasional trickle of green blood. Other than that, it was coated in dry, brittle ectoplasm.
Valerie shuddered- she could see the ground right through his chest.
Upon closer inspection, Valerie realized, with a start, that Phantom seemed much more translucent than before. Already, his boots were beginning to appear misty, smoke-like trails slithering off his form before dissipating into the air. Phantom's ethereal body was deteriorating rapidly.
Finally, Valerie bent down and unlocked the Anti-Ghost Bracelets; she let his hands fall back onto the ground with a muffled thump.
Silently, Valerie stood and mounted her jetsled. She rocketed off without even a backwards glance.
Behind her, Phantom's ethereal form shimmered violently.
The sun slowly crept into the sky. Light overtook the darkness and glistening dewdrops shone like small diamonds.
The rays filtered into the gradually awakening town of Amity Park, including the lone cemetery, where the grave of Danny Fenton stood, quite devoid of anything spectral, save one glittering drop of ectoplasm.
Before long, that faded into oblivion as well.
On the bright side, it wasn't as long a wait, right?
(Dodges flying fruit) Okay, okay! I get it! Longer chapters next time!! (Runs off)
I tried to stretch out the chapter, but I don't think it went too well… Hope you enjoyed it even though it's kinda short…
R&R!!
