Hello! And I present to you, the final chapter! Thanks so much to all my reviewers, and I'm kind of glad I finally finished one of my first stories ever. This story is actually a year old, maybe more and I'm just now finishing it. Kind of slow that way, hee hee. (By the way, chapter six has finally been rewritten, I'm still working on seven and eight).
But seriously, thanks for giving me cool reviews! Love you guys so much! Signing off for Images…
PrettyArbitrary, Slayer of Souls, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, DannysGirlForever, cakreut12, Rain Raven, XxFadedxMemoriesxX
Disclaimer: Danny Phantom is owned by Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon Studios.
Previously In Images: Together, Danny Masters and Danny Fenton defeat Vlad Plasmius, The Leader, with their combined strength. However, even victory isn't enough to take away the pain of too many lost loved ones, and Danny Masters is forced to feel it in the darkest way. When he transfers his powers to Danny Fenton, he sends him away, fading, while Danny gets to finally return to his real home.
Chapter Ten
Nothing Has Changed
Danny stepped into the familiar hallways of the school, breathing in a totally new scent than he had been; cleaner and lighter. Moonlight poured through the windows, bathing him in luminescent light. He closed his eyes for a moment and then turned around.
The blue—green portal still existed after him and he focused, moving his hand in a circular motion over the vortex. It disappeared almost immediately, fading off into a regular wall—closing the door to the other world forever.
A thought occurred to him. If he tried, could he make the world back to normal? He knew the answer was no. There was no way he could turn anything that was connected to that world bad to normal without destroying it again. It was hopeless…
Suddenly, everything seemed surreal. Time, life, death…Seeing what he had, put a new perspective on everything. The space between life and death…hell and heaven…spirit or no…Life was just one big illusion when it wanted to be.
He walked down the hall absentmindedly, staring at the shadowed lockers and the brightly colored walls and never imagined the day when he'd ever be happy to see school again.
Maybe he'd taken some things for granted. The answer was yes and he knew it. He had a loving, caring, protective family and understanding and accepting, always—there—for—you friends. You couldn't come across that very often. He felt a warm shower of gratitude pass over him.
"Danny, there you are," called a familiar voice, making him jump.
He turned around and felt his heart beat a little faster in excitement. The Sam Manson he knew rushed over, wearing the same clothes she'd always worn, her purple eyes relieved upon seeing him.
"Where have you been?" she asked, smiling. As she came closer, he had the sudden impulse to do something. "We were looking all over for you and-" She stopped as he embraced her in a hug and then kissed her. Here eyes widened in shock, but then closed as she fell into it. He pulled away after a moment.
"Hi," she whispered, blinking very fast.
"I'm sorry," he said quick, nervous as well. "I didn't mean to do that. Well, I did mean to do that, but-"
"Danny?" she asked, cutting him off.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"Are you feeling alright?" she asked. She gave him a curious stare, biting her lips that he'd just kissed.
"Right now I'm kind of half and half. I'm just glad you're alive," he said.
"I've been alive for fourteen years Danny," she stated, raising an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"I have just spent the last twenty four hours, probably more, fighting off some pretty weird things and I met--" he began explaining.
"Twenty four hours?" she asked, confused. "How is that possible?"
"What do you mean?"
"Danny, we lost contact with you only about ten minutes ago," she told him. "Tucker freaking grabbed the microphone away from me and--"
"What? What time is it?" he exclaimed. Talk about impossible…
She looked at her watch tentatively. "It's almost midnight." He looked down. "Danny, what is it? What happened?"
"Finally!" said a voice.
They both looked up to see Tucker walk towards them. "Do you know how long I've been looking for you both? Figures I would find you both together." He finally reached them, his smile normal now. "Let me guess. Valerie caught you together and you were having a "fakeout—makeout…" am I right?"
Danny had never been so happier to see Tucker again. Normal—with no undead qualities whatsoever. And alive.
"Tucker, shush, Danny was trying to say something," Sam snapped.
"Actually, I would love to get out of here right about now. I mean, it's not a school night, so my parents wouldn't mind if you guys came over to my house and had a snack while I explain everything, as long as we're quiet," he said.
Sam and Tucker thought about it a moment, exchanging glances. He put his arms around both of their shoulders.
"What do you say?" he asked.
"I say, heck yeah," Tucker said excitedly. "Free food always sounds good to me. Man, I could eat anything right now."
Danny cringed and Sam noticed. She gave him a curious look, but still smiled. "Are you sure you're alright Danny?"
He shrugged. "It's just been a long night…"
Sam yawned, leading onto a chain reaction to both boys and laughed. "Wow, I'm glad it's not a school night. I'd probably blow up on a teacher."
"I will set you ablaze right now," Tucker said. "Watch me as fire flies from Goth girl's fingers."
"Are you kidding? Fire? That would be okay, but electricity would be so much better," Sam corrected. Danny couldn't hold back a laugh. Some things never changed no matter what world.
"What?" they both asked.
He glanced at his two best friends. It had indeed been a long night. The story he'd tell them would be hard and confusing for them both. He looked back at the wall one last time.
The two followed his gaze. Tucker spoke first. "Whatcha looking at Danny?"
"Nothing anymore," he said. He sighed. "Let's go home."
The End
Ah, finally, the very end. Please R&R! There is no sequel. I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for making one of my first stories a good one!
Lateraina Wolf