The trio were dropped on the other side, the sight before them rather disheartening. Around them was their town, but this town had seen better days with all the destruction that lay before them. There were holes in the roads around them, the buildings were crumbling to the ground and there wasn't a soul around them. Not a sound around them, no birds, bugs or any form of life. Tucker was the first to speak while Sam floated over to what was left of a building with Danny standing there, his wide blue eyes taking it all in.
"If this is what the future holds, than there is no reason to even take that test," he stated, standing to walk over to Danny. "What do you think happened?" Sam turned back to them, her eyes shuttered, but she looked upset.
"I did this," she muttered. They had seen the screens, but to know how bad it really was was rather heart clenching. To think that she had done this because of something in the past, in the time that they were in, was confusing. What had happened to cause her to go crazy? Before she could dwell on that thought a blast knocked her back, a net with a glowing pink power, wrapped around her before taking her to the ground. "What?" Looking forward she found herself face to face with Tucker. The male before her was older, a man in his own right, he was on the board that Valerie had used before, the one that she had hunted Danny down in before Sam had changed his role.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice cold. "Haven't you done enough?! Killed enough people who were innocent?" Sam blinked. She knew what he was talking about because of what they had seen, but she wasn't sure all of what she had done since she wasn't from this time. "You think that looking like this will fool me again?!" The large bazooka looking weapon in his hand began to glow again, the muzzle of the weapon pointed at the downed teen. "Th-"
"Stop!" Danny and Tucker cried as they came to stand before Sam, Tucker taking in the form of his older self before him.
"Danny?" the techno-geek whispered in confusion, his teal eyes watering before he turned to his younger self. "How are you alive? You died!" Tucker turned to his best friend, Sam following his motion, her own eyes wide with tears. Her friend, her best friend was dead in this time?!
"I'm d-dead?" the former halfa whispered, his heart clenching. How had he died? When had he died? Sam looked back over at the older Tucker and she wondered if he knew such information.
"Definitely no reason to take the test now," Tucker muttered. His older half looked to him, recalling that he had seen Danny alive that last time when it had come to the test.
"That was the last time I saw you, Danny," he stated. "You had just taken the test." The older Tucker turned toward Sam, his weapon raised toward her again. "And she is the one responsible for it all!" Suddenly a purpled streak of light, an energy blast came from the other side of Danny, and knocked the older Tucker away. Three pairs of eyes turned to see Sam, the older Sam with glowing red eyes that narrowed while her lips twisted into a smirk.
"Actually, I did that," she stated, almost proudly. "And you will eventually do that." Landing before them, Sam's eyes moved toward Danny before quickly noting that all three of them were teens. "Ah, Danny," she said, seeming to forget the other male before her. "Been about ten years since I saw you." Danny could hear an almost remorseful tone to her voice, but before he had time to think about it he and Tucker were frozen, her hand coming up with a purple aura moving around her palm. "What do I owe this blast from the past to?" She noted the necklaces around all three of their necks. "Ah, so my little friend, Clockwork, is the reason." She moved to stand before Danny, his blue eyes watching her with unease. This woman before him wasn't his friend. She was colder, her eyes shuttered and her tone hateful. "If I had any humanity in me, this would be a moment of happiness..." A blast knocked her back, not powerful enough to do any damage, but enough to get her away from the three teens.
She turned to see Tucker in the doorway, his eyes narrowed at her. She almost paid him no heed as she knew she could kill him whenever she so desired, but she was more interested in dealing with the three teens. When Tucker tossed three bombs at her though, the dark form of Sam growled before she was off, taking the dark skinned male down with ease. "You must have a death wish," she hissed, her hand wrapped around his neck tighter. "You were always so afraid of all the ghosts, and yet you seem to have grown some balls in the last several years."
The teen Sam couldn't take looking at what her future self was doing and with a cry of anger she was out of the net, her body moving to stop her future self from killing their friend. Sam knocked into her, removing the threat as Tucker fell to the ground. "Get out of here!" was all she said before flying after the dark Sam in pursuit. The older Tucker moved to aid the other two teens instead, throwing them under his arms before rushing off. Dark Sam noted them, but before she could do anything Sam started throwing blasts at her to keep her future self from harming her friends. Unfortunately for her her older self was far more powerful and with a single hit knocked her from the skies before rushing after the trio, now duo as Danny told the older male to get away.
Tucker listened to his advice since they were further from Dark Sam and with a quick 'good luck', left the teens to continue on toward a rather destroyed Fenton Works. Dark Sam just smirked, her eyes flashing before she opened her mouth to release the wail that all three had seen at Clockwork's tower, the echo of it forcing Sam to cover her ears, her eyes closing in pain from the force of the attack. Wincing, she opened her eyes, forcing herself to move when she noted that the attack wasn't on the two teens, but on the large OP's structure above Fenton Works, as the teens rushed under it. Crying out, she tried to go to their aid only for her older self to yank her back by the leg, her eyes watching in frozen fear as the large structure fell on top of Tucker and Danny.
"Nooooo!" she cried out just seconds before a blast ripped thru her body, the pain of the attack forcing her to de-transform. With her momentarily dazed and drained her older self used her like a bat, hitting her into the ground several times before thrusting her in the direction of where her two friends had been. She groaned, moving her head to look around the spot as blood dripped down her head. Even with her blurred vision and the headache throbbing in her skull she noticed the two necklaces on the ground, a smile twisting her lips. They had gotten away and with that thought she went to remove her own, ready to join her friends in their own timeline, but it was not to be as her older self grabbed her by the back of her neck.
"Ah, what do you think you're going to do? Stop this future?" She let out a dry chuckle. "He's doomed and while Tucker might live to see the light of day..." she faded off with a shrug. "Well, all that matters is that Danny doesn't." Grasping the necklace with her hands, the older Sam made it intangible before thrusting it into the chest of her younger self. Sam released a whimper of pain, the feeling of the object being thrust into her body forcing her to faint as the older Sam laughed. "You won't be going anywhere, except for down the same road and into our future."
Tucker and Danny appeared next to the Nasty Burger, the sight of the structure assuring the former halfa that they were back in their time, but that Sam was not. He glanced over at Tucker, the dark skinned male still cowering before he too noted that they were no longer in danger.
"Oh, so you removed the necklaces," he said with a sheepish smile.
"Yeah, but Sam's still back in the future at the mercy of her dark self," he muttered. "We have to help her."
"How? We can't d-" The former halfa growled at him, frustrated that he was right about that. There was no way to go back and help their friend and without knowing what could be happening he felt bereft. Sam had always stood by his side, coming to his aid whenever he needed her. Hell, she had taken up the mantel for him so he wouldn't have to go thru it all again, but he couldn't do anything to help her. If he had known that she was going to have to go thru such an ordeal he found that he would rather he did it instead. It wasn't because she was weak, but because she had already gone thru so much in her life with her own parents and didn't deserve an even darker future. Still, what had happened to take her to that point? He had died, but would Sam have turned evil because of his death?
"Danny?" came a feminine voice from around the corner of the fast food structure. He felt hope bloom that it was Sam, even Tucker turned with a look of relief only to find that Jazz was standing there and she looked peeved. "We need to ta-"
"Not the time, Jazz," the raven haired male muttered, ready to head past her when she reached out to grab his arm.
"No, it is the time or maybe mom and dad with Lancer need to open your eyes." This brought him to a stop, his eyes narrowing at his sister. What was she talking about? Then it hit him. She knew something... but what? "Glad to see that I have your attention. You need to return the answer sheet. I know that you are planning to cheat and while I have no idea how you got that in the first place, it's not the right idea."
"I wasn't go-"
"I'm not stupid, Danny," she fumed. "If you weren't going to use it then why did you take it in the first place?" He didn't have an answer for her, not right now that wouldn't betray Sam's role in getting it and the way it had come around. Sure, he had considered cheating, but with all that was going on with Sam now he had forgotten that envelope and the test in general.
"Look, there's something more important at stake right now," Danny spat back. When she raised her brow he continued, "I can't get into that right now, but I promise I won't cheat." Shaking her head at him and with one final warning she was off. Tucker turned to Danny with confusion. "We need to figure out what caused Sam to go rogue."
"What if it had to do with you cheating on the test?" the other male inquired. Danny shook his head. There was no way that the reason she went evil was because of him and that test. Sam had been helping him with that test and even if he did cheat then why did that cause such a dark future with him dead and Sam killing and destroying Amity? That made no sense.
"I don't think so," was his response. "Me cheating wouldn't have made her turn evil and then as for my death... why would I die just because I cheated?" Neither boy had the answer.
Sam awoke, her vision still blurry and her head pounding to find herself looking at Danny, her parents scowling behind his still form. It was a statue of the three of them before her and while she cared not for her parents, she had never wished for their death. It wasn't even them that caused her heart to clench. It was Danny, his smile causing tears to gather in her eyes. Below them were the words 'Gone, but not Forgotten.' She almost chuckled at that. Her parents could never be forgotten, not with all that they had donated in the past to keep their name alive since as the only child her name would change. It was the fact that Danny was in that group.
She knew that his family would never forget him and she would never forget him as he was a part of her heart, but why had he died? How had it all happened? She found that she was tied up, the glowing power of the binds a bright purple hue. Looking around she noted that there was a statue of Lancer off to the side and behind him was the Nasty Burger, the structure little more than ruins. What this where it happened? She knew she had done damage to the building during her last fight, but it hadn't been this bad.
"Ah, yes, the Nasty Burger, the final resting place of Danny and your parents," came a dark voice, Dark Sam stepping out from the shadows of the building. "A little heat on those secret sauces and BOOM, there goes your bright future." She frowned now. "Not that it was all that bright since our love for the former halfa was never to be reciprocated." Sam gasped. "You know that he could never be with us and yet we never stopped following him." She shook her head now. "Still he didn't deserve that fate, but now that I have had time to think about it, maybe it was for the best that he was gone..."
"You don't mean that! If you are truly me then you would never want Danny harmed!"
"Not that it matters now," the older Sam stated. "I will return to your time while you get to reacquaint yourself with the Ghost Zone, not that there is anything in there any more. I will ensure that my future as the one that reigns down Karma on all those that were responsible for all the pain dealt to all of us, are dead and gone. I was always alone and even now, I find that being alone is the best path for us." Picking up Sam, the older Goth smirked, changing before her eyes into her younger form as her human half, before thrusting the other Sam into a portal that opened up. Once the younger one was gone, Dark Sam opened up a time portal. "I loved him, but I would have ended up alone and soon you will see that it is all for the best. No more pain, no more heartbreak."
When Dark Sam appeared in the past, she found herself looking at the inside of the Nasty Burger, the side of the large structure that was open to viewing due to the large hole left from the battle. Smirking she turned away with a thought of how easy it was going to be to keep her future on track, Clockwork watching from the glass, assured that the girl had been returned to her time and that she looked nothing like the evil one that he had been told would happen. He still had yet to figure that out, but turning away he failed to see all that transpired at that moment as Danny and Tucker rushed to her side. Tucker pulled her into a hug and once he released her Danny pulled her close, failing to notice the emotions that flickered in those amethyst orbs.
'How I missed this time,' she thought, but brushed it aside as Tucker spoke and Danny released her.
"Did you get rid of that scummy evil version of you?" he asked, her eyes flashing red for a second. Sure, she was evil and while that shouldn't have bothered her since it was Tucker after all, she still was ticked off at his words.
"Even when you ticked me off, I still miss that mouth of yours," the Goth whispered, her voice harsh and yet reminiscing as she eyed the pair now staring at her with strange looks. "I got rid of her, don't you worry about that. She will never be bothering us again." She smirked, Tucker relaxing, but Danny watched her with such an intense gaze that she said, "Who wants to head to my place for a night of movies and video games?" That seemed to work as he smiled at her and the three of them headed off.