BEAT AS ONE
By: Cristi Muth
Danny Phantom is owned by Butch Hartman and Nichelodeon. I am just playing with them and causing them great angst.
"Sam, I'm so sorry..."
Danny Fenton was sitting on his knees in the mud as rain poured down on him for the third Saturday in a row. His head hung limply, as if he no longer had the strength to support it. Warm Spring rain had matted his jet black hair to his forehead and dripped down from his bangs onto his nose and chin. His tears mixed perfectly with the rain, so that he could not tell which was which.
He couldn't believe it had already been three weeks. But, of course, it had happened just a week before graduation. A graduation that Danny had not attended, because he couldn't bring himself to go through it without her. They were both supposed to walk across that stage, and then throw their caps in the air. Then they were both supposed to take a trip to Europe with Tucker, and then start attending college together while Tucker went to a local tech school. It had all been planned out, from start to finish. But in one moment it had all drastically changed.
Danny lifted his head a bit and blinked water out of his eyes. He took in the cold gray slab of marble in front of him, and silently cursed it. It was brand new, the grooves of the chiseled words so deep that water was draining in and out of the letters as the rain continued to fall.
Samantha
Manson
1991
- 2008
Beloved
daughter and friend to many.
Forever
on our minds, and in our hearts.
The words on the stone were so final. They said so much. A young woman, barely into her prime, was taken away from parents and friends who loved her. What the stone didn't explain, however, is how or why.
Or whose fault it was that Samantha Manson was no longer with them.
Danny's tears began to ebb as he remembered that day. His sadness, pain, and loss over Sam were forces to be reckoned with, but they were nothing compared to his anger.
As the events of that day started to come back to him, Danny found himself gritting his teeth, and his baby blue eyes began to glow bright green.
The girl had been unconscious for weeks. Plasmius knew this, because he had watched over her, diligently. Normally, one would wonder at this show of compassion. But for Plasmius, it was all part of a grander plan. A plan that was sure to be foolproof.
About three weeks into it, the girl moaned and opened her eyes for the first time.
All around her was a great green void. Swirling mists of God-knows-what, and ghosts floating around, just surviving (if that's what ghosts even do.)
"Good morning, as it were." Plasmius commented, causing the girl to turn her head a little too sharply and cry out in pain.
"Take it easy," he said, approaching her. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"Yeah, right," the girl croaked. Her voice was thick from not being used. She wondered for how long.
"About three weeks," Plasmius said, as if reading her mind, "You've been with us about three weeks now."
"Where am I?" She demanded, her voice becoming a bit stronger.
Plasmius gave a hearty laugh and said, "Where do you think? You're where everyone with unfinished business goes when they die."
"When they...die?" The girl repeated the statement, staring blankly at the familiar ghost.
"Yes, when they die. And you do remember how you got here, don't you? Why, I believe it had something to do with your good friend, Daniel."
The girl's head finally started to clear, and some memories were coming back. A flash of green light, a boy with white hair, a fight...struggling. Then a moment of brief pain, and nothing.
Plasmius watched the wheels turning in her head and smiled to himself. He sat down next to her and put an arm around her. She was too shocked to recoil from his touch.
"Sam, was it?"
The girl nodded.
"Well, Sam, I think it's about time you and I had a little talk..."
To Be Continued! And I promise I'll continue this one starting tomorrow, because I can see this being a big deal story for me. Way bigger than the other one I'm workong on. Reviews are welcome!