Without Me
By, Cassie Buttelman
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, but I do own my characters in the story, don't steal them without permission, Or I will get very evil on you.
Chapter 1Everything was dark, that much he knew. He stumbled around, then seemed to realize that someone had their hands over his eyes.
"Please, let me see." He said. Then he heard a voice say. "No Danny! This is a surprise!" The voice was female, and she seemed slightly amused. She even gave a small giggle. Danny gulped and generally seemed afraid, as they continued to travel for a long distance, she finally let her hands go of his eyes. Before him he saw his parents, sister, Tucker, Sam and three figures, shrouded in darkness.
"Surprise!" they all shouted. Danny turned around to face the girl who held his eyes, but the girl herself had no face, her whole body was covered in darkness and only the outline of her appearance was seen.
"Danny whats wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Someone said from behind him. He turned abruptly and looked at everyone, surrounding a cake and massive presents, wearing ridiculous birthday hats. Then it felt like as if time froze. The figures in darkness combined together and started to step away from the scene as it became darker by the second.
"Wait!!! Who are you?!" Danny demanded, running after the retreating figures in the darkness. But the figures continued to run, Danny followed them breathlessly, waiting for them to stop. Finally he caught up to them and they stopped, and each turned to face Danny. But he still couldn't see their faces.
"Who are you? Why can't you tell me who you are?! Why can't I see your faces?" Danny asked hurriedly. One held up their hand to silence him. He instantly closed his mouth.
"The moon and sun are the parents, the stars are their children." One of them said.
"What?! Huh? What does that mean?" Danny asked confused. The figure didn't answer.
"All is fair in love and war."
"The flower will betray."
"Its raining, its pouring.."
"Don't loose hope, we did this for a reason." All the voices rang out, as if they all were in the same tune. Though clearly they were different voices entirely. Then each stood back and disappeared slowly.
"Wait! No! What does all of this mean?!" Danny begged, as they all disappeared before him. Soon he was alone, and his questions weren't answered.
He sighed and a swirl of colors appeared in front of his eyes. He looked up and gasped as a strange black hole appeared in the room and seemed to be sucking everything from the room into it. He saw several pictures of his friends and family sucked into it, and toys, such as a teddy bear and a power ranger doll. He also saw a cat, a candlestick, a fish bowl, and a white rose fall inside. He cried out and grabbed onto the one thing he could, it was a strange cloth. He suddenly realized that the black hole had sucked the air out of the doorless and windowless room. He instantly collapsed when the gravitational pull subsided but the burning in his lungs didn't. He tried to scream for help, all that came out was a small squeak.
"Well, well well. Look who we have here." A evil voice snarled. Danny looked up and his eyes widened with horror. It was Vlad, but he looked like he had blood splatters on him. Only it wasn't blood, it was paint. Streaks and droplets, of pink, blue, yellow and red were across his chest. His red eyes burned with rage as he got closer to Danny. Danny himself wondered why he was able to still be alive without breathing for an entire minute. Then Vlad finally got close to Danny and smiled wickedly. He reached his hand down and reached literally into Danny, his arm turning intangible as it hit his skin. Danny gasped as it grabbed something, something he desperately needed.
"NO!" Danny screamed, thrashing about. But Vlad held onto it still and smiled as he pulled it from Danny's body. Danny cried out as if he was in massive pain. Tears stinged his blue eyes and flowed down his face. Vlad stood above him holding a ball of light. As it dimmed it transformed into a bottle in which Danny could smell a familiar but mysterious fragrance. He needed that fragrance. But Vlad crushed his hand around the bottle and squeezed it tighter and tighter. Danny struggled to his feet, although he was very weak and stumbled at Vlad. "No, don't….that's all I have left.." Danny said weakly.
But his pleas only increased the hold Vlad had on the bottle. Danny cried out as he saw the bottle shatter in Vlad's hands. Everything now seemed to go in slow motion. The liquid poured from Vlad's clenched hand onto the floor below, and instantly evaporated, the fragrance along with it.
At the same time, he heard a voice screaming. "DANNY!"
That's when his eyes instantly opened and he stood up in his bed, breathing hard. He frantically looked around him, for Vlad or anything else from his dream. When he finally realized it was a dream, he sighed in relief. He put his head in his hands and tried to think about everything in the dream, and if it meant anything. What had Vlad pulled out of Danny that was so precious to him? He was certain it was something important, but what, he could not remember.
………………………………………………………………
Two weeks earlier
"Happy Birthday Danny!" Everyone yelled. Danny smiled softly as he saw a bunch of kids at his party, including Dash and his gang, along with strangely, Mr. Lancer. Danny shook his head and smiled to himself. But he was glad that today there wouldn't be any drama, nor any ghosts or other halfa's. He smiled at his guests, but noticed one, all alone and sitting by herself in the corner, as if trying to turn invisible from the crowd. He walked over to her, pushing his way through the crowed that was in his living room and finally got next to her. He flashed her one of his smiles and sat down next to her. She gave him a small smile, then returned her gaze elsewhere. Danny looked at her blonde hair covering half of her face and sighed softly. He reached out a hand to touch it, when she flinched away.
"Danny, don't. We aren't a couple anymore, you cant.." Danny nodded and restrained his hand with his other one. Rosa sighed softly and smiled at Danny once again softly.
"I'm sorry, I guess I am being a party downer. Happy Birthday Danny." She handed him a small golden box with a sliver ribbon tied around it. On it was a card that had Danny's name in delicate handwriting, which could only be written by Rosa. He looked at her and smiled softly, then pulled out the card and read it. Then set it aside on the table next to them and untied the bow. Then he lifted up the top of the box and glanced inside it. He blinked and pulled out a small golden pocket watch. It was the kind that could hang from anyplace like a belt buckle or a hip pack or even a backpack.
"Wow.." Was all he could say.
"There's more." Rosa took it from his grasp and pressed the small golden button on the side, the round cover over the watch instantly flipped up and away from the face of the watch itself, but Danny noticed something. Some writing on the inside of the golden cover of the watch. He read the handwriting so delicately crafted into it.
"Danny, you will always be the only phantom for me. Happy Birthday, Rosa." Danny felt a wide smile cross his features as the warm feeling washed over him. He clipped the pocket watch's cover back over it and looked into Rosa's one eye, love and gratitude radiating from his eyes like sunbeams. Rosa felt herself smile softly at Danny back.
"Thank you Rosa. It is wonderful." Danny said. He once again looked at the cover of it and saw the imprint of him in ghost mode. He blinked and smirked. When he looked up again, Rosa was no longer in her seat, he glanced around and saw her dancing with Aries and laughing with him as they talked. He fiddled with the clasp on the pocket watch and managed to clip it to one of the belt loops on his pants and slip it casually into his right pocket. Then he stood up and walked over to Star and Sam and started to chat away about everything that had happened recently.
Sam smiled at Danny as he walked up to them. He gave her a smile back and then they all started to talk casually. But then a figure was seen in the corner of Danny's eye. He turned his head and saw Aries leading Rosa away from the room. A sudden chill went through his body as he gazed at Rosa's one eye, that looked lifeless. Danny realized evil Aries was up to his old tricks again. He had hypnotized Rosa and was trying to lead her away without causing chaos. Danny quickly told Star and Sam, Star frowned and ran to get Brooke. Danny ran after Aries and Rosa. He had to stop them.
"What is taking so long?!" The voice yelled at the figure in the lab that was located in a secret location. The man winced as the liquid he was holding now turned a strange color and let out a strange explosion, which caused the mans hair to stand on end. He growled and threw down the beaker, not amused by the disruption.
"It will take longer if you keep this up." The man told the blue skinned Halfa that was mere inches to him.
Vlad's red eyes flashed. He stared hard at the pale skinned dark haired man before him. He was debating on whether he should threaten to hurt the professor's family or simply destroy him now. Everyone was expandable, and he had a lot of money to find someone else. But time was what he needed desperately, so he relaxed his mind and powers and simply glared at the professor before him.
"Very well Professor Blank." Vlad simply said. "This will be the final time today I will arrive in. I just must remind you, you should finish that post haste. That potion must be able to turn someone purely good, into pure evil."
"Yes, yes I know. Just remember, it will be triggered by anger, or depression. Those are the only two emotions that can cause it to work in the human body. Don't worry Mr. Masters. It will be finished, soon enough." The doctor arranged the glasses over his brown eyes and smoothed out his black hair as much as he could. Then, straightening his white lab coat, he continued mixing several chemicals into a beaker, as Vlad left the room.
"I hope you know what your doing, dealing with these chemicals.." Professor Blank said.
"Oh don't worry, I will use them wisely." Vlad smiled as he entered his viewing room and looked at the crystal ball of a freeze frame of Rosa and Danny together. His mouth opened to reveal a wicked smile.
"I swear.."