Disclaimer: The following chapter is entirely fictitious. Any similarity to the history of any person living or dead is entirely coincidental and unintentional. Except when noted otherwise in the cast and crew credits, all celebrities voices are impersonated and no celebrities have endorsed any aspect of this fic.

I wish I got paid for this.

Author's note: My fic is getting really boring. The last chapter was literally pointless. And thank you to PhantomAl and Yugilovr97. On with the fic!

Chapter 17: From Beyond the Grave

'-'

Danny really didn't want to go to school the next day. He knew that even though know one knew his secret any more, there would still be whispers behind his back. And there was Kelsie. He wanted so much to avoid her. he was wondering if that was possible. Most likely it was. There were so many kids at his school that it wouldn't really matter. He was glad that school would be ending soon. He had about a full week until school let out and he was eager for that.

December 11, 2004.

Even though it was only three days ago, it felt like it happened that day. And now the weekend was here and Ri's funeral was that day. The weather had been very peculiar lately. Last week had been oddly cool, but now it was freezing cold. It started to mist that morning, but it faded away into the dusky morning sky. It had been a long time since Danny had been to any kind ofchurch. He could only vaguely remember the last one he went to, and it might have been at a wedding when he was five. With his parents being ghost hunters and always busy, they really never had time to go to church.

The church was shaped like a pentagon and was almost like a dome. It looked like it had a sky light made in the style of a stained glass window. The cross stood out over the front of the church, bigger than a mountain. Small trees and bushes framed the outside, making a pretty green frame. It looked like a dome on top of the church, with a brick red trimming and gold rings linking together. The church was apart of a school, third through eighth on one side, and kinder through second a few hundred feet away. A small narrow one car street ran between the church and the pastoral center.

A small group of people were gathered around the front of the church. A black hearse sat on the right side of the church along with some other cars. Danny was standing in the darkest corner he could find. He just sulked there, watching everyone hugging, crying, of swapping stories as if someone the knew had died. But Danny knew better than to join them. None of them knew the real Ri. Know one knew what really happened to her. Only him, Tucker, Sam, and Jazzknew. As much as he wanted to tell everyone how wrong they were, how much he wanted to say how she really died and that they had no right to pretend they cared, he couldn't. He looked up to see Sam and Tuck approaching him.

"Danny," Sam said. "We kinda have to go inside now. "

Danny followed her into the warm church. Danny felt his energy slowly being restored. For one reason or the next, Danny always felt weak when it got so cold. He didn't know why, it just happened.

The pews were lined up in a semi-circle, divided into four groups. The piano and an organ sat in the far left from the church front entrance, in front of a statue of a woman with a crown of stars on her head. The woman wore a dark turquoise robe. She was stepping on a snake. On the other side of the church was the statue of a man in a brown robe with a gold disk attacked to his head. A baby sat at his foot, looking at him with admiration. Red carpet ran up and down the aisles and in between the gaps of the pews. The sealing could have easily been the sky, being so far up. A huge evergreen reef hung over an alter underneath a stain glass picture of a cross. Three seats sat in the front of the church, under a man who was attached to a cross by nails; one through his feet, and two through either one of his hands. The man wore a crown of thorns and nothing more of a shawl. The statue was nothing he could get himself to look at. That man looked too beaten up. Danny tore his eyes from the sight and took a seat on the section closest to the podium near the nice gold box looking thing. After people finished filing in, the service began.

Danny found himself zoning in and out. His mind was filled with so much clutter; he felt all his thoughts and memories trying to get out so they have more room to wander. Of course, Danny wanted to let them out too. Danny stifled a yawn and tried to pay attention. It wasn't that he was bored; he was way too stressed out. The events of the past year had just recently done some damage on his body. And now that Ri was dead, that just added on.

Danny suddenly remembered that he was supposed to make a speech of some sort. Tucker and Sam had been asked the same thing. Danny wasn't sure what he was going to say. He was supposed to say all of the good things he remembered about Ri. After that, he knew what he might say.

"And now, a few words from some who were close to Ruri Ama" the pastor said. Sam, looking at the two, went up first.

"Well, hi. I'm Samantha Madson. I was one of Ri's friends.

"Ri could've been envied by anyone. She was really smart, got all A's. She was pretty strong. I remember one time in Gym class, we were practicing karate and she practically kicked the crud out of the instructor. I'll never forget that" Sam said, smiling bleakly as a tiny wase of laughter came over the crowd.

Shut up, Danny thought to the crowd.

"She was always full of morals. You could never fell sad around her. She was the person you went to if you felt like the world had turned on you.Ri always wore a smile, even if she too was depressed. But you couldn't tell. You could never tell. But we were all fine with that. She was fine with that.

"In truth, even though I hung with her a lot, I didn't really talk to her. But when I did talk to her, she was able to keep me listening. She could talk to anyone and keep their attention. I wish I could have talked to her longer. It was as if she was barely there.

"Ri was very artistic. She could draw almost anything. Even though certain people make fun of her because of it, she didn't care. She kept her head up high and kept walking. She never looked down."

Sam finished after a few more minutes of talking. She hastily took what was hers and made her way down the small set of steps. Tuck looked at Danny, who didn't acknowledge him, and went on up.

"Hey, I'm Tucker Foley. I too, was one of Ri's friends.

"I really don't have anything written up. I hate to write, but I let it go for today.

"Sam basically said what I was going to say. But she did leave out one thing. Ri could cook. She was a fantastic cook. Even though I've only tried her cooking once, she still made vegetables enjoyable. And I hate vegetables.

Tuck's speech was a lot shorter than Sam's, but he mostly rambled half the time.

Tuck finished up and now it was Danny's turn. For some reason, he had been dreading it, but he had to go up anyway. So he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and walked up to the podium.

"Hi, I'm Danny Fenton. Most of you do or do not know, but Ri talked to me the most."

'-'

A motorcycle came thundering down the street on the left, the engine roaring like the sea.The manwore a leather jacket with some red Asian kanji running vertically and underneath,saying mizarukikazaruiwazaru. He had a black helmet and dark blue jeans with black convers.

Stop here, someone said. The mad didn't ask questions. He listened to the voice and pulled into the school's parking lot. He turned the motorcycle off, pulled of his helmet to reveal he was Asian, who looked about eighteen, wore thin, rectangular glasses, and had messy inky hair with crimson tips. He made his way to the side entrance and peered inside to a group of people. A boy around the age of fifteen in a dark grey suit and a forest green tie stood near the podium, far from him. A casket was in the center isle. It was a plain white casket with gold handles.

Who the devil could this be for? he asked himself. He listened for a name.

"I probably knew her better than anyone. No one knew the true her. Only she did."

Boy is this any help! the man thought.

"Everyone thought she was strange, and I could kind of see why. She kept a lot of secrets from everyone. She could hardly trust anyone. But she met me, Tucker and Sam and it seemed she was happier than she ever seemed to be. Even though she went through a lot of pain, Ri still managed to smile, even when most of us would have given up."

The man closed the door at the sound of Ri's name.

It can't be, no it can't!! the man kept denying. Damn it, it can't be!! She should be alive!! How the heck could she have died?! They've got to be lying!! She's not dead, she can't be!! Why…

The man shrank to the floor, back up against the door, and buried his face in his knees. That's just perfect. What happened to Hebi then? He probably doesn't even care. Not like he ever did…

Oi…

A voice called to him. He looked up to see no one.

I need you to do something for me…

'-'

Danny's speech was the longest one. He went on and on, and he probably could have gone on forever. But he didn't. It hurt too much to remember her. Danny sat down and heaved a sigh. He looked around to see a man in his late teens walking down to the stand. Danny glared at him, but the man didn't notice. He stopped in front of the gold box, bowed, and walked up to the stand.

"Um, excuse me," he started. "Hi. None of you know me, but I need to state some words to a few certain people. Some of the people who Ri was fond of.

"Her first words are to Samantha Madson." Sam jumped when she heard her name being called. "Ri just wanted you to know how much she liked you. You were her best friend and a great person. She saw you as an impenetrable shield. She saw that no matter what people said about you, you didn't care. You kept your own head up high and she admired you for that. You let people know what was on your mind without complaining like most other people did. She just wished that she could have been a better friend."

Danny looked across at Sam to see her- crying? Danny had never in his life seen Sam cry. And yet it wasn't really crying. Her eyes were watering and they turned a slight pink. She took a glance at him and hastily wiped her eyes.

"Her second words are to Tucker Foley." Tuck had the same reaction as Sam did. "She wanted you to know that you are one of the coolest people, despite what anyone said. Your knowledge of electronics can get you far in life. You made her laugh in a certain way. She thought of you weird, in a cool way. She wants you to keep at what you're doing now. She doesn't want you to change. Ri enjoyed hanging with you and wants you to know that."

Tuck was wearing a smile. He looked very proud of what this man had said.

"To Mr. and Mrs. Fenton." Jack and Maddie jumped in their seats. "She wants you to know that she thought you were the coolest parents anyone could have. She thought that you being ghost hunters was so cool. She just wanted you to know that."

Maddie smiled, while Jack started bawling like a baby.

"To Jasmine Fenton." Jazz's head shot up. "Ri wanted you to know that you were going to make it big in life. Even though she didn't talk to you much, she just wanted you to thank you for welcoming her in such hospitality." Jazz shed a tear, but wiped it away.

"And to Danny Fenton." Danny kept his head down, but he looked at the man and he held a stare with him for a quick second. "She wants to thank you for everything you did for her. You didn't have to talk to her, welcome her, or even acknowledge her presense, but you did anyways. Not a lot of people showed her hospitality in her life. You stuck by her side and defended her until the very end. She knew that even though you had… certain problems of your own, you still helped her and others. She thought of you as one of the rare people in the world who, no matter what, always attempted to show kindness. She wants you to keep your head up and remember everything she's told you. She doesn't want you to suffer anymore than you have now. You saved her in ways you couldn't see, but she did. There were times in her life where she just wanted to walk away but couldn't. You came and changed that. She could smile more, laugh harder than she ever did, and most of all, be herself. She didn't know who she was until she met you. You brought her true self out when she thought it was never there. She's glad she didn't die alone. You saved her, and she wanted you to know how much she appreciated what you did."

Danny didn't bother to lift his head even an inch. He continued staring at the floor, finding interest in a small clump of lint.

"Well, I'm pretty much done here. Ri would like to shed her final good bye on everyone. Thank you." The man stepped down from the step, bowed again in front of the gold box, and made hi way out of the church.

'-'

Okay, that was dull. Very, very dull. If any of you are curious of what the gold box is, it is called the Tabernacle. Since I go to a catholic school, I have attended many masses and know that it is of consideration that you bow when you pass it. And the reason Danny and the others didn't do so, I mention it in the beginning. Signing Off!