A/N: So sorry this is so late guys! Life kind of caught up with me and school seems to think that having all their midterms at once is healthy for the students. Whatcha gonna do eh? I feel horrible about this, but I cut this chapter in half so I could get something out. What that means is that this one will be a bit shorter, but the next one will be longer and I will get that one out before I head off for spring break.
Thanks for all the awesome reviews guys! You guys are the sunshine on my rainy days! That sounded stupid but whatever…I'm tired so give me a break.
I hope you guys don't sick armies of mutant animals or threaten bodily harm after this one…I promise to get the next one out before next Monday! Cheers and happy readings!
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Ashes to Ashes
Chapter Eight: Extinguish
Tucker tripped on a raised section of concrete as he barreled down the street after a certain red-clad huntress, nearly losing his footing and eating it on the pavement, but managed to just stumble ungracefully before continuing onward. His breaths were coming in short, painful gasps and he could feel a burning sensation spread through his legs, but he kept running forward until he arrived in the park where Valerie Grey was engaged with a rather troublesome ghost. He skidded to a stop and reached back into the backpack full of Fenton ghost paraphernalia to fish out the Fenton Thermos as he saw the dark-haired girl finishing up beating down the shifty looking specter that had appeared as the pair walked over to the Fenton household.
Tucker opened up the Thermos as he heard Valerie shout out his name and sucked the ghost into the cylindrical prison, its last shriek making the young man wince before he could shut the lid completely. He reached up and wiped away some of the sweat off his brow and flashed the ghost huntress a bright smile as she landed and, with a push of a button, changed out of her hunting suit and back into her blue skirt and white shirt she had been adorned in before. She smiled back at him, and Tucker couldn't help but admire how pretty the femme fatale looked as she reached back and pulled her brown hair into a ponytail at the base of her neck. Tucker shook his head and tore his gaze away as he shoved the Thermos back into his bag, willing those thoughts out of his head for a time.
'I can't think about that right now…' Tucker thought to himself as he directed his green eyes back to look into Valerie's chocolate gaze with a sad look disguised by a smile on his face. 'Maybe after everything settles down and goes back to normal. Danny needs our help right now…I can't be distracted by this…attraction…towards Val. But, she does look incredible when she's up there and fighting…and that suit certainly don't leave anything to the imagina—NO! Bad, bad Tucker! No thoughts like that…oh hell, I don't think I'm going to be able to keep this up too much longer…'
"Tucker?" Valerie asked the dazed looking boy with an amused look, noticing that he had been staring at her with a dopey look on his face for a few moments. "You okay? You've been staring at me for a couple minutes…your head still attached?"
"Wh-What?" Tucker stuttered as he tore his gaze away and looked up into the brown eyes tat could look right through you. "S-sorry Val! I guess I kind of spaced for a second there…hehe! I think I'm still here…mostly," he trailed off with the last bit barely audible to him.
"Sure," Valerie answered with a knowing smirk on her face. She kept her cool composure on her face but inside she was crowing in victory. Somewhere between her break-up with Danny and his subsequent kidnapping she had started to harbor feeling for a certain techno-geek that were not fostered in an attempt to somehow undermine the 'Ghost-boy.' It also helped that he underwent a growth spurt halfway through junior year and now towered over her by a good five inches or so…not that she still couldn't kick his butt if she wanted to though! And now, it seemed that Tucker was returning her feelings after waiting for so long!
Too bad it came at the least opportune moment…
Valerie and Tucker both came to a mutual understanding while waiting for Danny to wake up in the hospital that they needed to focus on the Fenton siblings and helping them before anything happened between them. Unfortunately, Danny's case became a bit more…complicated…and now after three weeks of denying feelings and resisting urges that any normal young adult experiences, that mutual attraction had morphed into something entirely different. Desire. It was becoming increasingly hard for the two friends to deny what their bodies were screaming for…and all the ghost-hunting they had adopted in Danny's absence certainly didn't help them either. It was a rather irking situation to be frank, for both parties.
After a few more moments of awkward silence, Valerie finally broke the unbearable staring and shy smiling with a simple statement. "Maybe we should head back over towards Danny's."
"Yeah," Tucker answered back, mention of Danny shaking him out of his fantasy world and back into the real one. "They're probably wondering where we are…we were supposed to get there twenty minutes ago. I bet Jazz and her parents are worrying over us per usual."
Neither Valerie nor Tucker spoke aloud the admission from who would be worried about them…mainly because it's hard when someone you care about and have known for so long suddenly thinks of you as strangers. Tucker was taking it especially hard, and Valerie could see why and didn't take offence when he had told her it was going to take him more time than her to get used to Danny's condition. When you're best friend of thirteen years doesn't recognize you or let you near him it can be distressing on a person's psyche.
"Not to mention Sam," Valerie said with a slight smile as she and the dark-haired boy walked back in the direction of the Fenton home. "She'll probably yell at us for 'chasing some stupid ghost' instead of visiting him…as if that's not an important job what we're doing! Sometimes I swear something's stuck up he a--"
"Well," Tucker interrupted, trying to calm the fiery brunette down; she and Sam had a fight early that week about this and it was still grating on Valerie's nerves. "I suppose I would to if the person I loved looks at me like Danny looks and acts at her. I swear, it's like he hates her…I understand that he's frustrated with not remembering anything but it's like he takes all of his anger out on her! It's amazing that Sam hasn't broken down yet…she just sits there and takes everything with a calm face!"
"I think there's something else going on there that she's not telling us," Valerie interjected with a slightly put out look. She hated being out of the loop, and that was what Sam seemed to be doing to her two best friends…it got on her nerves! "And I think it has something to do with that pendant thing. Ever since she talked to that thing in Danny's head…Knowledge or whatever…she's been acting off and I can tell she's keeping something from us!"
"Maybe she can't tell us," Tucker offered, feeling slightly perturbed that Sam was keeping things from him, but not getting angry like his companion was. "It wouldn't be the first time something like this happened. Back in sophomore year, Danny couldn't tell us about some problem in the Ghost Zone because Clockwork told him he couldn't…and then junior year I couldn't tell any of you guys about that Technus thing or else he would have gained access to the framework of the Ghost Portal. You remember that."
"I know," Valerie answered with a frustrated shake of her head as they turned a corner and approached the unmistakable Fenton home. "It just pisses me off that she doesn't trust us about anything when it concerns this necklace and how it connects her to Danny. I mean, we could actually help her out if she at least let us know the entirety of what's going on! She only told you about the emotions and how she can sense Danny with that necklace…she never explained to us about that weird light or that power it sent out! It's just frustrating I guess."
"I know," Tucker replied as he placed a calming hand on hers and gave a gentle squeeze. "But right now, let's just try and focus on Danny and restoring his memory. I mean, he's only been out of the hospital for a few days and he's still adjusting to everything…"
"Do you think his memory is really coming back Tuck?" Valerie asked in a worried tone as they stopped in the driveway of the Fenton home, a different kind of fear echoing in her eyes…Tucker was slightly surprised because this fighter almost never showed fear to anyone.
"I don't know…"Tucker answered looking straight ahead, still holding her hand. "Sometimes I think he is but then…it's like we lose him all over again. It's only been a week and a half since he woke up…I'm sure he'll start recalling things soon the more we all hang around him!"
He finished his answer with a bright, optimistic smile that didn't reach his eyes hoping that would fool the girl in front of him. She gave him a small smile and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before pulling her hand out of his and walking over towards the front door. Tucker placed a warm hand to his blazing cheek for a second before hurrying after the brown-haired girl with a real smile on his face. They both grinned at each other stupidly as Tucker pushed open the front door, which was no doubt unlocked because Jazz had been spying at them from inside, and crossed the threshold into the living room of the house.
Unfortunately, those smiles on their faces melted instantly as they walked passed the two stressed looking Fenton parents and heard the yelling coming from the kitchen. Jazz walked out of the room with a frown on her face and shaking her head in frustration. She looked up and fixed both teens with a glare before she spoke to them. "About time you guys showed up…go in there and see if you can get him to stop yelling at her. I honestly don't know how she puts up with it…"
Jazz stormed off, muttering something about how Michael better hurry with the hot cocoa or else there would be murder, and the two adults fixed them with sympathizing looks before disappearing after their daughter to try and calm her down. Tucker and Valerie steeled their feelings and postures before pushing the door open to the kitchen and walking in. They knew instantly why Jazz had got so frustrated and left, but both just stayed silent for a moment as they listened to the two 'lovers' quarrel with each other.
"I just don't get why you have to such a bitch about this! I'm just asking that you call me b something that doesn't sound like a two year olds name!"
"Please don't call me a bitch Danny…it's rude and you've always sounded like an idiot when you've tried to swear."
"Stop calling me that! I don't even know who you are so stop acting like you know me! Everyone keeps telling me my name is 'Daniel' so call me that! Or 'Dan' or something!"
"You hate being called by your full name, and I've never used it so I won't start now just because you're throwing a 'woe-is-me' tantrum. I thought we moved past this teenage angst stage last year…"
"Shut up and get the hell away from me! You are the most…I can't stand you! Why do you keep coming over here and trying to get me to remember shit! It's obviously not working, and I think you just make it worse."
"Or, maybe you are by acting like an insufferable prick. Why won't you just accept the things we've all been telling you Danny? Do you think we all made up that you have ghost-powers or that we've been friends for so long? If you don't trust the stories, we can't you trust the pictures? It's not like we doctored them or something."
"I'm trying all right! But everyone keeps expecting me to act a certain way and be this 'Danny' that I'm supposed to be but I can't remember anything past waking up in the hospital…and you sitting on top of me kissing me certainly didn't help anything."
"I thought you were someone else…and I won't stop 'annoying' you until I get that person back. I don't care if you 'act' like Danny Fenton or not…I just want you to remember your life Danny. You can hate me right now if you want, but I'm positive that you won't after you wake up from this nightmare. So, like it or not Danny, I'm not going anywhere…no matter how scared you are to remember your life."
Tucker and Valerie watched the entire exchange with something akin to shock and surprise on their faces as the entire argument played out. The had walked in to find an amnesiac and weak looking Danny glaring at the calm and smirking Sam going at it around the kitchen table. Danny kept trying to walk away from her, only throwing the occasional glare her way, but she followed him all over with the neutral face on the whole time. His expression turned a scary kind of angry for a second there, but after Sam had concluded the argument, nearly all of the rage he had pent up flowed out of his body and left him numb looking as he sat down in one of the chairs. Sam wordlessly plopped down next to him and then turned her gaze on Tucker and Valerie, motioning them to come closer now.
"Hey Dan," Tucker said in a careful tone as he sat down opposite the staring young man, Valerie sat down next to Sam without a word but flashed the hurt boy a smile. "How are you feeling today?"
"Fine," Danny answered in an emotionless tone, not looking at Tucker or Valerie to acknowledge their presence. Tucker frowned at this as he looked over the injured boy and deciding he still wasn't 'fine' in any way. The boy's face still sported many cuts and bruises, and his neck still had the markings of a man's fingers circling it. His wrist was wrapped in a splint and Tucker knew that Danny had large white bandages wrapping around his entire torso underneath his black shirt; he also wasn't breathing normally as he sat there. 'I guess his and Sam's argument took a lot out of him,' Tucker thought to himself as he gazed helplessly at the broken boy before him that once was his cheerful best friend.
"Do you remember us Dan?" Valerie asked tentatively, not taking her eyes off of his downcast face.
"You're Valerie Grey, and he's Tucker Foley," Danny answered as he directed his gaze to the very interesting countertop next to the refrigerator. "You came to visit day before last…and you were in the hospital a bunch of times. But if you're asking if I remember you two, then I'm sorry but no. The first time I can recall meeting you two is that day in the hospital when Maddie, Jack, and Jazzmine came to see me. Sorry."
His last word didn't sound apologetic at all, but no one made a comment, Sam just gave him a pointed look before giving Tucker and Valerie a remorseful shrug. No one said anything for a while, and Danny continued to just stare listlessly at the countertop, even when Tucker started telling a funny story about what happened as he and Valerie were hunting a ghost earlier that day. Valerie started to laugh, although Danny gave a small smile at how forced it sounded, and then started to tell a story from freshmen year that was similar. This was the routine that they had perfected: Sam would fight with Danny, Tucker and Valerie would enter and stop the fight, the pair would launch into a story and Danny would pretend to remember, and Sam would sit silently, not taking her eyes off of the amnesiac boy. Funny how routine becomes second nature during times of crisis.
None of the four really knew how long the story-telling lasted this time, but eventually the heavy silence fell over the able yet again. Tucker let out a sad sigh and caught eyes with Valerie for a second before asking, "Anything yet Dan?"
"No," Danny answered in the same monotone voice that sounded so foreign coming from his lips. His dulled blue eyes looked away from the counter and he pushed up from the chair with a pale hand. "Sorry…I'm going to bed. I trust you guys know where the doors are in this house."
"Okay," Valerie said as she pushed herself up as well, trying to catch the moody young man before he disappeared as usual. "It was good to see you again Dan. We'll stop by again tomorrow…if that's all right with you."
Danny gave no answer, only shrugged his shoulders noncommittally before continuing out the kitchen door, evaporating from their sight like he always did, his footsteps echoing down as he climbed up the stairs in a measured step. Valerie felt like letting out the tears she felt behind her brown pupils, but instead opted for a shuddering breath and leaned up against Tucker's taller frame for support. She looked up and saw the raw pained expression on the boy's face and she felt her heart skip a beat as she engulfed his hand within her own. He smiled sadly down at her before looking over at the still stony faced Sam.
"Thanks for coming guys," Sam said after a few seconds of silence as she pushed herself up from her seat, her free hand clutching the pendant hanging from her neck. "I know you two are tired from all the ghost fighting…Bruma said she would send Aestas to help once things in the Ghost Zone settle down."
"Are the ghosts still fighting about this pendant business?" Valerie asked as she narrowed her eyes at the small gemstone clutched in the pale girl's hand.
"That, among other things," Sam answered mysteriously, not truly responding to the question. "Anyway, thanks for coming…it helps."
"Are you kidding me Sam?" Tucker asked in a tired tone, a little exasperated from all the whirling emotions brewing beneath his skin. "This isn't helping at all! He doesn't recognize anything still and he can't stop yelling at you! And he just talks to us like a robot…this isn't helping."
"Yes it is," Sam replied with a harsh smile as she pushed in the chairs. "He's just not showing it. He doesn't want to remember…so he pretends like nothing seems familiar to him to try and stave off the inevitable. I know he's wearing you guys thin, Lord knows Jazz can't take much more of him like this, but thank you for still coming."
"Sure…"Tucker answered as he pulled away from Valerie and grabbed a water bottle out of the refrigerator, ignoring the glowing leftovers in there, and looked back over with doubtful eyes. "Anytime you need me here, I'll be here Sam. Danny's my best friend, and I'll weather through Dan for a few weeks if I have to."
"I agree," Valerie said, still not taking her suspicious eyes off of the necklace. "So what if he's a little temperamental right now…so, the ghosts are still arguing over that necklace eh? Seems like a lot of trouble over some little gemstone…are you sure there's nothing else going on here Sam? Like, no secret powers that stone has or anything?"
"Val," Sam responded with a pointed lilac gaze at the other girl. "I don't understand half of what this thing can do, how can I tell you what it can or cannot do? I know you and Tucker think I'm keeping things from you, and I kind of am, but I can't say anything until this issue with the Ghost Zone calms down. If word gets out to more than who already know…Danny's still way to fragile right now to have to fight off a bunch of dead maniacs trying to stop some rede from coming true."
"Rede?" Tucker asked in a confused tone. "Like a prophecy? What does that have to do with Danny? Is there something written about him or something?"
"Kind of," Sam replied with a wave of her hand. "Bruma calls him the 'Hybrid' and mention something about a legend about this 'Hybrid' but I don't know how much more I can really say about this. I'm sorry guys…I don't want to hurt you guys but I just can't until…"
"No worries Sam," Tucker answered with a sad smile, giving Valerie a pointed look to keep the retort the feisty girl had to herself. "Let's just focus on Danny right now. We'll be back tomorrow…same time?"
"Sure," Sam said with a small grin towards her two friends as the all walked back into the living room. "I think Detective Jake is coming over tomorrow to go over some details with Danny's parents. They're trying to figure out who sprung Riley and Martino from their prison, and until they get some definite proof on Vlad Masters, they can't do anything but speculate."
"They won't find anything, you know that," Valerie replied scathingly, frustrated at the billionaire and his conniving ways and not at Sam…entirely at least. "You know he did everything as Plasmius…there won't be any proof left behind. If Maddie and Jack take their equipment, they might be able to find some residual ghost energy, but no one's going to believe an accusation against Vlad Masters from three eighteen year olds. Much less one that pins him as a half ghost…not unless we are willing to reveal Danny too."
The three teens all fell silent, contemplating different things as they each stood in the front room, looking everywhere but upstairs, where Danny was. Finally deciding he had enough silence, Tucker announced he was heading home and Valerie instantly said she'd walk home with him since they lived in the same area. Valerie's father was promoted to a better paying job at the Axion labs, one that was able to pay for a modest home instead of the apartments that had housed the Greys during freshmen year. Sam smiled slightly as both of the dark-skinned teens waved goodbye and hurried out of the house, walking close to one another. Sam briefly wondered how long they would ignore the feelings between them, but figured the worst that would happen would that they would eventually just end up kissing each other so fiercely they would turn blue in the face.
She walked away form the closed door and collapsed her tired body into one of the large chairs surrounding the television set in the living room, rubbing two fingers against her temple to try and stave off the headache forming behind her eyes. It was getting harder to keep the calm face on whenever he yelled at her like that, but she had to. She had promised Knowledge she would stick by Danny no matter how bad things might get…this was just one of those times. She was so distracted by her thoughts and exhaustion; she didn't even hear Maddie Fenton come near her until the gentle hand gave her shoulder a squeeze and alerted the dark-haired girl to her presence.
"Sam, honey," Maddie said with all the softness a mother can muster, her turquoise eyes shining with sadness and care. "Head on home…you can't do too much if you can't even keep your eyes open. Get some sleep and come back tomorrow if you're feeling up to it."
Sam nodded wordlessly as she rose from the sofa and located her keys on the stand by the door. She remembered she had dropped them on there right when she had walked in, half because she wanted to show Danny she wasn't intimidated by him and half because she was so hurt by the hateful glance he sent her way the moment he saw she had entered. He never looked at anyone else that way…always the vacant look of indifference for everyone except her. He always reserved that special look of annoyance and dislike for her.
'At least he's showing some emotion with me though,' Sam thought to herself as she exchanged goodbyes and a hug with Danny's mother and walked out the front door towards her car. 'I'll take that over the apathetic attitude he gives everyone else…'
She clicked a button on her keychain and opened the door to her black car, a simple environmental safe Hybrid, and was about to climb in when something made her pause. It was a feeling…a feeling coming from her pendant. She turned her head around to look into the window that led to Danny's room and caught a brief look of black hair before the head vanished from sight. She smiled slightly, the first true one since Danny had asked who she was in the hospital those nights ago, and turned back around and finished climbing into her car. Maybe things were getting better…she was sure getting tired of bull-shitting everyone day after day.
"Will you stand by him girl, no matter what the obstacle may be?"
"Promise me Sammy…don't leave him when things get hard. Hard times are approaching…stay by him no matter what."
"You're not just going to give up are you? You say you love him…well prove it damnit!"
Sam smiled slightly as she repeated the voices of Bruma, Knowledge, and her own inner voice in her mind as she pulled away from the Fenton house. She wasn't going to give up…no matter how much of an asshole Danny was being at the moment. She'd just have to give him a good scolding later…
A smile graced the lips of Sam Manson the rest of the drive home, a truly rare sight to behold considering her trials. She knew more were to come, but she'd weather them like she had before; but this time, she wouldn't give up on Danny just because things seemed hard. She owed it to him after all…being a superhero did have its perks from time to time.
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Danny walked up the stairs in a measured way that, for some reason he couldn't place, irked him to no end. He felt like bounding up the stairs two at a time, that was what seemed right, but he wasn't about to admit that to himself. So, he purposely forced his sore body to walk up in a calm manner and walked down the unfamiliar hallway to his…to his room? He stopped as he was faced with three doors, and he was unsure of which room was his…this was getting ridiculous. He had been in this house for a little over a week, why did he still get confused about which room was supposed to be his? He warily pushed open the door of the middle door, but he knew right aware that the room he had chosen was wrong…mainly because he was greeted with the careworn faces of Jack and Maddie Fenton; the two people who were supposed to be his parents.
"Err…" he began uncomfortably as he started to back out of the room. "I-sorry. I just…"
"Come on sweetie," Maddie said as she rose from her seat and guided him out back down the hall and to the room with a window overlooking the front yard. She was careful not to touch him…for some reason anytime someone came near him he freaked out and couldn't stop shaking. She gave him one last sad smile, whispering to let her or his father know if he needed anything before closing the door with a soft click. He stared at the closed door for a second before he sat himself down on what he supposed was his unmade bed.
"Danny…don't you ever clean this room? I swear, you're worse than Tucker sometimes…"
Danny shook his head and rose off the bed immediately, wishing he had some Advil for the monster headache he had right now. He paced his room for a moment before pausing in front of his window, opting to stare listlessly out the window rather than think about anything. Unfortunately, he didn't succeed. He knew he was acting like a jerk, something in his head was screaming at him to quit talking and acting like he was, but he couldn't think of anyway else to keep the feelings away. He didn't want to feel them…he was scared.
The sound of the front door slamming caught his attention and he saw the two African-American teens walk out of the house in a hurry…probably just pleased to get away from him no doubt. They were walking closely together, and Danny thought he felt a pang of familiarity in his heart, but that quickly changed into a stabbing pain in his head…
"Why don't you just make a move already Tuck? I'm sure Val won't say no…"
"That's not the point Danny! I need to make sure everything will be perfect…it's important to me."
"Whatever you say dude…"
"Go away!" Danny hissed to no one but himself as he shook his head a bit more violently to be rid of the words. He closed his eyes and took a few calming breaths before he dared to open his blue eyes again to face the brightness of his room. When he finally did reopen his eyes, it was because of the front door slamming shut for the second time, and his curiosity overcame his better judgment and he looked back out the window.
He was met with the view of the black-haired, purple-eyed Sam Manson walking out to her car in a tired way. He felt his breath catch of his own accord as he saw he slim form, clad in a simple pair of denim capris and a black tank with black flip-flops, walk away from his house…walk away from him. Not that he could blame her…he had been trying to force her away from the minute he woke up in the hospital with her…well, straddling…his hips. The reason was simple really…he knew her face and he didn't want to remember…
He didn't know how long he had been staring at the girl before he felt panic rise in his chest as she turned her head abruptly and his blue eyes met with her lilac orbs. He whirled away from the window, breathing deeply and quickly to try and calm down the fluttering his heart had taken to doing the moment he looked into her eyes. He didn't hate this feeling…but it made him feel like it would be okay to start recalling everything and he didn't want to do that.
He waited another moment before sneaking another look at the girl who had captivated his mind and what was left of his memory, hoping to God that she wasn't there anymore and also hoping she was. He saw he starting to get in her car, and he caught the small, true smile dancing across her lips right before she completely disappeared from view and eventually drove off the way she had came from that morning. A smile of his own made its way across his lips before he hastily banished it away with all the voices clambering to be heard in his mind. He couldn't keep thinking like this damnit!
He tore himself away from the window and headed back over towards the full length mirror he had hanging on his wall. He paused in front of it and examined his reflection for a moment, noting that he still looked like he had got into one hell of a fight with someone or some ones. He paused for a second, and then with very deliberate movements, he removed the black shirt he had adorning his upper torso and looked at the mottled bruises all down his back and front. He knew he probably had more, but a large and stiff white bandage was wrapped around his entire ribcage and covered the rest of his chest and back from view. He looked like shit to be bluntly honest, and he felt even worse.
After getting a good look at himself when he was finally allowed to move around at the hospital, he had been terrified of learning why he had lost his memory. And the way everyone looked at him, like he was about to break or collapse from a memory, further his resolved to try to not remember anything. He was scared to death to find out if he really was this superhero ghost-thingy that Sam…that girl…kept saying he was, and to find out what had happened to him to put him in this kind of position.
Unfortunately, one look at the lilac-eyed beauty and he felt all of those carefully constructed barriers start to come crashing down.
A familiar jab began behind his eyes, and Danny shut his eyes tight to try and block out the forgotten memory from coming to fruition. It didn't work though.
A cold hand trails down his arm…
Pain floods his chest as a foot connects with his pale skin…
Danny took a sharp breath and he snapped his eyes open quickly and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He didn't see a rather thin but fit young man there though, he saw himself crouched against a wall and a huge man leering down at him before he closed his eyes again. He pressed his hands against the sides of his head, his fingers curling around his midnight black hair. They don't stop though…
"Guess what dipshit? The boss got tired of your little sister…"
Cold hands force their way past and connect with skin…
Rough, scaly lips press themselves on…
The shirt's gone now and a buckle being undone fills the air…
Danny fell to his knees as he felt the pounding in his head increase tenfold. He was fighting to not scream in pain and settled for a slight whimper as he could feel the blood pounding in his ears…it hurt so much.
A wail…his own…
Darkness…
"Don't you see Daniel? You're more like me after each passing day…"
"Shut up! I will never be like you!"
"But it's already begun little badger…"
"Please…" Danny whispered to no one as he gasped again, the pain continuing to send waves that wracked his body as well as his head. "Please just stop…" But they didn't.
"That Phantom character is dangerous Danny! He needs to be destroyed before he can cause anymore damage!"
"Don't you think it's about time you started growing up Danny?"
"Mr. Fenton…when I see you, I just see my failure as a teacher…"
"You will become me Danny…nothing you try to do will change your fate!"
"It's always about you isn't it Danny! Maybe if you stopped being such a show-off all the time…"
"Danny…I don't love you…I'm sorry."
"I don't want to see…I don't want to see anymore! Go away…please just go away…"
"My my Daniel…do you honestly consider yourself a threat to me? I have twenty years of experience on you, what do you possibly think you can do to stop me?"
"Your friends were always your weakness…my humanity was my weakness. I rid myself of that weakness because you wished to not feel anymore…"
"I'm sorry Danny…I can't focus on a relationship right now…I have other things going on right now. I'm sorry because I thought that I really liked you…"
"Your sister can't protect you forever…and when that happens…"
"Dude, ever since you got that invitation you've been acting kind of like jerk…"
"What do you see in shallow girls like her anyway?"
"You're just a freaky little kid trying to fit in with humans…"
"We are what are choices make us Danny…always remember that…"
Danny writhed on the floor for an unmeasured amount of time, trying to focus on anything but the pain threatening to overwhelm his entire being. He wasn't aware that he had started to yell and scream in pain, and he also wasn't aware of his 'parents' and his 'sister' rushing into the room and trying to calm him down. He could only focus on the thoughts and images whizzing past his subconscious…he didn't want to see these! His entire world was crashing down on his head and he didn't want to remember!
"I promise not to ever let you fall again Danny…"
Screams as a building comes crashing down on a small family of four…
The taste of rain and lilacs on silk…
"I think I fell in love with you…despite myself…"
"Come on Danny…it's killing me to be away from you…come back to me."
The last conscious thought that Danny could remember thinking before he let the darkness take him again, letting the pain throbbing in his head and his aching limbs fade away into a numb feeling, was one that seemed important. It seemed like it had some kind of significance, but he couldn't remember what…
"If dreams are like movies, than memories are films about ghosts Danny. Fitting, don't you think? I keep finding songs that remind me of you…maybe that's what love is after all…"
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A/N: And there we have it! I guess it really wasn't all that short but whatever. You guys should expect that by now eh? I hope this met the expectations some of you had…and if not, let me know what was up! I was actually somewhat pleased with this one…I liked writing Danny as a jerk! I hope I was able to justify my OOC ness in there, and if that kind of bothered you, sorry but it was needed.
Oh, the song from the last chapter is called "Away From You" by Aphasia. It works really well with that chapter…I think I'm going to make a soundtrack to this story…what do you guys think? I would post it in my profile under this story's slot.
As always, let me know what you guys thought por favor! Honestly, reviews are food for my poor fast-food deprived soul…darn Lent! I promise to have the next chapter up before I leave for spring break…and I won't watch "Rent" for a little while okay? Kael was angry with me but Ellie loves it so I listened to her…REVIEW!
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