Thanks to all of my reviewers: DP fan, kpfan72491, Sapphire Wolf Master, phantomphriend, Unrealistic, FernClaw, and RedRoseRebel.
Yay! My computer is finally fixed and running again. Hopefully, I won't have that problem anymore. Anyways, if I make any grammar or spelling mistakes, I apologize. I don't always proofread my documents as carefully as I should. Well, here's the final chapter of Battle of the Century. I am thinking about writing one final sequel, then this story will be done. In your review, please tell me whether or not you want a sequel. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, but I do own the characters I make up and the idea for the story.
Battle of the Century
Chapter Eleven- The Truth and the End
When I opened my eyes, I saw broken glass over my head and wires sparking angrily. I heard the sounds of the frazzled electric wires and heard someone cursing under their breath. "Her ecto-ball fried my circuits! But why did it react in real life like it did in her dream? Damn it, it's ruined!" they shouted. I can hear and see? I'm not dead?! I thought in shock.
"I'm not dead!" I shouted happily, not caring who heard.
"Ah, yes, it appears you would be alive, eh?" I heard Black Thorn's voice, appearing to be laced with hatred.
"Black Thorn?" I said in surprise, jumping out of some containment chamber, ready to fight. There was smoke rising from a few feet away from what looked to be a control console. "Where am I? Why am I here? Why are you here? Why aren't I dead?" I asked in a rush.
He sighed, closing his blood red eyes and rubbing his forehead with his hand, as though he had a headache. "In order: one, you are at an abandoned warehouse in Amity Park; two, you're here because I brought you here; three, this is a makeshift lair for me; finally, you aren't dead because you were in my nightmare chamber." He gestured his hand in the direction of the chamber which I had jumped out of. Smoke was now rising from it, and it looked like it was going to blow up any second.
"Why did you put me in there?" I demanded, angry.
He smirked and gave a small laugh, an empty one. "My dear, it was all a test."
A test?
"Yes, a test."
I have to remember that he can read my thoughts. I sighed and said, "So, this was all made up? None of it was real?"
He laughed once more, but this time, it appeared to be a joyful laugh. "Of course not. I wouldn't waste your time like that. It won't happen anytime soon. Later on, though, every bit that happened will come true. I saw everything as you experienced it, and I hate to tell you that every last bit of it will come true."
My eyes went wide, and I found myself speechless for a moment. My mind flashed back to when Gramps and Grandma had died. I don't want that part to come true. "Everything?" I whispered.
"Yes, however," he pointed out, "you can change time's course. Make a few different decisions in your life, and maybe none of it will happen. That or a few minor things will change."
"But how do I know what decisions lead up to that future. One little change, and it could end up being one hundred times worse!"
Black Thorn smiled. "Just do what you believe is right, and the future will eventually reveal itself.
"You are Clockwork's cousin, aren't you?" I skeptically asked.
He nodded and gave me another brief smile. "Indeed, I am. That part of your nightmare was the only thing that can't be changed."
I nodded, starting to understand everything. "Are you still my ally in the future battle, or is that supposed to be changed as well?"
"No, I never was your enemy to start with. I've always been on your side. I just had to act like a villain; otherwise, I would've blown my cover."
Odd way of showing you're on my side.
"My dear, do you think if I asked you to step in my chamber, you would have?"
I pondered this for a minute. "I may have. If you actually reasoned with me..."
"Lily," he said warningly. "Don't lie; you'll just get yourself in more trouble."
I sighed and hung my head. "Probably not." I picked my head up and looked him dead in the eye. "Was kidnapping me really necessary, though?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "What needs to be done needs to be done. My job needed to be done."
"Did Clockwork know about this? I remember that in my nightmare, Clockwork seemed to know something that I didn't. Was he really there?" I inquired.
Black Thorn laughed again. "Lily, he was the one who told me to do it. He may have been there as well, just watching everything that was progressing in your nightmare."
Figures that he needs someone to do it for him. He just can't do it himself.
His laugh rang through the air again. "My sentiments exactly. Of course, I usually get assigned to his dirty work from the Observants."
"So, the Observants told Clockwork to do it, and he told you to do it?" I asked.
"Exactly."
"I take it he doesn't really like to do anything the Observants assign."
He gave a half-smile. "The same goes for both him and me. It runs in the family. As he said before to your father, the Observants see time like a parade, one event passing after another in sequence. However, Clockwork and I view the parade from above and can see all the twists and turns it might or might not take. (A/n: I love that quote! It's so cool!) Usually, he or I make the twists and turns occur. We don't always want the bad things to occur, but sometimes they can't be prevented, no matter how hard we try."
I nodded my head in agreement, knowing he was right. "So, you aren't the villain in this?"
"No," Black Thorn answered. "We needed to tell you what was going to happen. Your brother is the villain here."
"Figures," I mumbled. Just then, I remembered something. "What time is it?" I questioned, jumping off topic.
"Three in the morning."
I gasped. "Oh, man, if Grandma sees I'm gone this late, I'm in so much trouble! Is it still Saturday?!"
He waved his hands in a calm down motion. "Calm down, it's still Saturday. You've only been gone five hours."
I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God," I muttered. "I'm already going to be in enough trouble when I get home." Something then clicked in my head, but I quickly covered it up with other thoughts, not wanting Black Thorn to see what I was planning. "I need to get going, but there's one thing I need to do." I made sure I was covering up my plan with other thoughts so that he didn't know what I was going to do.
"Oh?" he inquired, eyebrow raised.
I walked over to him, hands behind my back. I let them flow with amethyst ecto-energy, ready to have the last hit. "This," I curtly before hitting him in the jaw. Luckily, since I had blocked with my thoughts what I was going to do, he didn't expect it. He flew backwards a little bit and fell down, stunned by the attack.
"What was that for?" he cried, jumping up on his feet. He was holding his jaw tenderly, and I saw a slight bruise already forming.
"Payback. It's only fair," I replied. I gave a smirk, proud that I had finally hit him. He glared at me and took a step forward, looking like he was going to attack. Black Thorn then quickly drew back, looking as though he heard something. Whatever he was hearing, it was keeping him from attacking me. His lips mouthed a few words, and then he cringed after his lips stopped moving, as though being scolding.
"Hmph," he grunted. He then vanished in a poof of smoke, appearing to explode. "We'll meet each other soon, Lily, very soon," his voice echoed throughout the warehouse. I stared at the spot where he had been standing until the smoke cleared, wanting to make sure he had left. The smoke cleared, and Black Thorn was nowhere to be seen.
"Good," I mumbled, "because I'm ready to go home." I gave a slight yawn, worn out by everything. I thought I saw something move out of the corner of my eye somewhere in the shadows, but I wasn't sure. When I saw nothing else move, I convinced myself that it was just the tiredness messing with my eyes. I then turned on my heel sharply and headed in the direction of the door, finally able to leave. When I stepped out of the door, I jumped up in the air and took off into the night, my legs forming into a ghostly tail. The cold air whipped at my face, giving me a wake up call. Soon, I saw my house. I phased through the wall of my bedroom and changed back to my Fenton half, ready for bed. I slipped on my lavender night gown and crawled into bed. The minute my head hit the pillow, I closed my eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.
??'s POV (back at the warehouse)
I watched from the shadows as Lily walked through the door to the outside. She nearly caught me when Black Thorn disappeared. I flinched slightly, and I saw her eyes steal a glance in my direction for a second before turning away. She took off into the night, heading somewhere, probably back to her house. As soon as I was sure she was gone, I stepped out from the shadows, my white hair with black streaks hair giving a light flap in the wind. My newly aquired cape, courtesy of the late Vlad, whipped in the wind as well.
"Soon, dear sister, soon," I hissed before holding my cape up to my face. I focused hard, and I then disappeared in a puff of orange smoke. When the smoke had cleared, I was long gone, back at my home in Vlad's castle in Wisconsin. "Let's see how well you do when I throw an army at you." I chuckled, knowing I could defeat her once and for all. "This time, I shall be the victor." I then went into Vlad's lab and made plans, finally ready to beat her.
Disclaimer: I don't own the idea for the nightmare chamber.
Yay! I'm finally finished. Black Thorn, when he was moving his lips and cringed, he was arguing with Clockwork. Clockwork was telling him not to fight with Lily, or else the Observants wouldn't be happy at all. In my next story, I may add a few chapters with Drake's POV again if you want me to. Hopefully, you liked the final chapter of Battle of the Century. R&R please! L8r!
dreamwriter2010