Thanks to Quacked Lurker, YumeTakato, HiddenAuthor, Snickerer, m3, and Shadow Crystal Mage. Your reviews made me feel all mushy inside! (And yes, I know I haven't replied to reviews yet. I will. Promise.) This is everyone else's last chance to do the same. Take advantage of it, or you'll regret it forever!
Epilogue: Future
I don't own Danny Phantom or anything by Bob Dylan. Wish I did. Maybe if I rigged up a time machine?
July 4th dawned bright and sunny and everyone in Amity Park was outside celebrating. The Christmas of 2006, which had changed the town forever, was only a memory now. It wasn't talked about much anymore, but the paranormal was present wherever you went in the town, so much so that the billboard that welcomed visitors to the city now read Welcome to Amity Park: Where the Paranormal is Normal. Amity Park was doing a brisk tourist business because of it, and it had also become the center of American paranormal research. The Fentons, who had become a household name, did most of the technological work, while Vlad Masters led the scientific front from his new mansion outside of town. The Guys in White would have been stationed there too, if the government hadn't pulled all funding from the program in early 2007, following a violent outcry regarding their policies on ghosts and treatment of Danny Phantom.
The park was the center of activity today, with children playing, couples walking together, and people tossing frisbees to their dogs. A blond man in a tie-dyed shirt sat with his back against a tree, facing the lake and playing an old song on his guitar, completely absorbed in the moment.
Come gather 'round people, wherever you roam,
And admit that the waters around you have grown,
And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone,
If your time to you is worth savin'.
And you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone,
For the times, they are a-changin'.
The ectoplasmic contamination that Cyclone had caused had dissipated by now, so levitating buildings and possessed supermarkets were a thing of the past. However, there were still a number of people in Amity Park who had minor ghost powers, since the powers were too cool and useful for most of the townspeople to voluntarily give up. The people whose powers had been weak at the beginning had lost theirs entirely, completely providing the theory the Fentons had put forth at the first press conference. Everyone had lost their obsessions and ghostly features, too. Nobody was anywhere close to being like the halfas, and neither would their children be. Danny Fenton and Will Lancer had held several workshops to teach the "partas" to use their powers responsibly, and by now it had become a fact of life that people could shoot ectoblasts or become invisible.
Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pen,
And keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again,
And don't speak too soon, for the wheel's still in spin,
And there's no tellin' who that it's namin'.
For the loser now will be later to win,
For the times, they are a changin'.
After things had settled down again and people had accepted Danny, Dani, and Lancer for what they were, Team Phantom and its affiliates had begun working to integrate the ghosts Vlad had rounded up into society. Jazz Fenton had spent her summers and spare time, along with several friends from Yale, counseling these ghosts to help them kick their obsessions. When she felt they had been successful, they were offered the chance to stay out of the Ghost Zone permanently, with Team Phantom keeping a watchful eye on them.
Ember and Sam resurrected P.A.R.T.Y ("alternative radio, whatever your life status") and it had met with enough success that after a few years they hired a few teenagers to act as DJs and now acted as supervisors only. Ember played a concert every so often, just for fun.
Dora bought a house with a large yard in one of the new subdivisions that sprang up following the tourist boom. She now ran the most popular preschool in the Greater Amity Park area. Notable children in her care were Box Lunch, Sarah Thirteen, and Davey Fenton.
Technus moved into Tucker's attic and split his time between Tucker's revolutionary computer company, which used ghost and human technology, and the Fenton's lab. Skulker now trained the local cadet regiment and helped coach football at Casper High. Desiree started a popular cosmetic brand, Genie ("Your wish is guaranteed").
Not all ghosts took the chance at a normal life, though. Poindexter felt out of place in the modern human world, but would visit from time to time. Spectra had no desire to leave the Ghost Zone under the conditions Team Phantom had set, so went about her afterlife as normal ghosts did. Bertrand stayed with her only out of loyalty.
Walker couldn't get past the idea of century-long sentences, so stayed in the Ghost Zone where he could still exercise such control. However, his jail was registered as the highest-security prison in America, and he had a few human inmates awaiting the death penalty. He'd also promised that death would not necessarily end their sentences.
Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call.
Don't stand in the doorway, don't lock up the hall,
For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled
The battle outside ragin'.
For it'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls,
For the times, they are a-changin'.
Outside of Amity Park, people were still wary of ghosts, but not as much as they had been. This was helped along by public broadcasts along the lines of Lancer's GEIST lectures and public appearances by the nicer ghosts, such as Dora and the Dairy King. The younger generations were much warmer to ghosts than their parents and grandparents, and in several other paranormal hotspots similar things to what was happening in Amity Park were beginning to take place.
Ectoplasm-based technology, on the other hand, had become indispensable. Berry, Tucker's computer company, was a huge step forward from the other computers on the market. Ectosleds such as Valerie's were commonplace, but required a license, as would the ectocars to be released in a year's time. A bulletproof vest with ectoshield capabilities was just entering the testing stage, and police officers had already replaced tasers with ectostunners. Ghostproof materials developed by the Fentons were making their way into building materials, furniture, and even cooking utensils. The hottest toy on the market was a miniature Ecto-Coater with reduced capabilities. Several governments worldwide had ghost portals, and most of the Ghost Zone had been mapped now. The U.S. was starting a trade alliance.
Come mothers and fathers throughout the land,
And don't criticize what you can't understand.
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command.
Your old road is rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand,
For the times, they are a-changin'.
Tucker Foley was a multimillionaire by twenty thanks to Berry. He had been seriously dating Valerie Gray for three years and the blonde singer had recently seen him near a jewelry store. Tucker had let her and Sam give him a makeover a few years ago, and the body that puberty and ghost fighting had given him was now at least moderately showcased. Tucker often collaborated with the Fentons and Vlad as well, since he had a fair amount of technological know-how that they found useful.
Val was currently traveling around the country giving lessons to the military on the use of ectoweapons. She came home as often as possible to visit Tucker, the Fentons, and her aging father, who still ran security at Axion Labs, but she was gone most of the time. She'd also helped Danny a few years ago with a minor uprising in the Ghost Zone, but for the most part her hunting days were over. There was no need anymore.
Jazz Fenton had used her summer psychology practice to get a full scholarship to Harvard for her doctorate, and was now doing her thesis on treating ghost obsessions. She had already been offered a number of jobs in the burgeoning field, and was having a hard time choosing between them.
Dash Baxter hadn't gotten into college on a football scholarship because his lingering ghost powers constituted "physical enhancement." He had attended the local community college instead, and was now essentially a ghost parole officer for the city. His wife of two years, Paulina, was an assistant for the Amity Park PR department, working alongside Kitty Thirteen to make promotional and educational videos. Paulina and Kitty had plans to shoot a Hollywood-style movie using ghost actors, provided they got the funding.
Kwan Kim attended a mid-level college and was now back in Amity Park working to set up a medical practice specializing in ghost medicine. Over the years, the Fentons had discovered a lot about ghost and halfa physiology, and Kwan had been given full access to their material. It would be a small practice, but a groundbreaking one. Star Schein, who'd gotten a nursing degree at the same school Dash attended, would be working with him.
The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast,
The slow one now will later be fast,
As the present now will later be past.
The order is rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now will later be last
For the times, they are a-changin'.
Danny Fenton had married Sam Manson two years after they graduated from high school. They had a place of their own now, in a high-end neighbourhood that Sam had ensured by any means necessary wasn't full of snobs. Danny, Lancer, and Danny's parents had worked for three years to get Amity Park where it was today, and Danny no longer had to worry about more than the occasional new ghost who still believed in the old way of things. He now divided his time between studying chemistry, helping out where needed in Amity Park, doing publicity work, and teaching Davey to use his powers.
Sam had campaigned for ghost and parta rights in Amity Park during the Restructuring. She also spent a lot of her time doing publicity, but she made sure that both she and her husband spent time with their two-year-old on a daily basis. There were rumours that she planned to enter politics full-time once Davey started school.
William Lancer had been elected Mayor of Amity Park a year ago. GEIST had served its purpose and the previous administration had phased it out three years ago, but Lancer had used his experience with the program as the basis for his campaign. Of course, it certainly helped that he was one of the town heroes and every citizen of the town could identify with him. Under his supervision, Amity Park's "golden age" had become even more golden. He had stopped teaching at Ghost Zone High, but only because most of the students there had transferred to Casper and were being taught by the regular staff.
Cathy Sanders had talked Lancer into moving out of his apartment into a modest house near FentonWorks, so that they had space for entertaining and running civic programs, and could let Dani have space of her own. She worked behind the scenes, preparing speech notes and ensuring that her boyfriend stayed on schedule.
Dani Lancer had been able to enjoy a fairly normal teenage life in Amity Park, working hard to keep her popularity in check. Because she hadn't attended school and so was nine years behind her peers, she had been homeschooled. Cathy had taught most of the humanities, with Lancer helping when he had a chance. The Fentons had taught her math and science. Vlad had offered to help as well, but Dani still hadn't trusted him. The girl had signed up for karate lessons at Valerie's old dojo, where she'd made a number of friends. She was now where she needed to be for graduation, and was planning on studying education come September.
The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast,
The slow one now will later be fast,
As the present now will later be past.
The order is rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now will later be last
For the times, they are a-changin'.
The singer finished the song and relaxed his hold on his guitar, and only then noticed the pale man standing beside him holding a paperback.
"He's a brilliant lyricist," the newcomer said, slightly enviously.
The blonde man stood up and slung his guitar over his back. "He's still around, you know. You could visit him, Geoff."
Geoffrey Wolvington sighed. "I know. I prefer listening. I'm sorry I missed the era."
The musician grinned in understanding. "It was pretty fun."
Wolvington had done well for himself since the Restructuring. The memory of his past life had returned a few days after he'd been hit with Cyclone's humanity, and his first step after he'd readjusted was to hire a lawyer and successfully get all the royalties his work had earned in the past two hundred years (adjusting for inflation) turned over to him, based on the fact that he'd never fully died. This had given him enough money to live comfortably while writing, and he'd already published a best-selling novel based on his experiences in the Ghost Zone.
His companion had also regained his memory, but refused to say much about his past. Aster, as he insisted he still be called, spent his days doing odd jobs, tending a little plot of land behind Wolvington's house, and helping Dani prank people around the city. Danny had given him a guitar for his fifty-fifth birthday, and he'd taken to playing folk anthems whenever he could. His happy-go-lucky attitude had earned him a lot of friends among Amity Park's citizens, though many of them got irritated by it at times as well. He'd struck up an odd friendship with Cathy Sanders, which involved food exchanges, reminiscing about the hippie era, Dani, and coordinating their teasing of Lancer for maximum effect.
"We should probably get to the town square," Wolvington suggested. "They'll be unveiling the statue of Will and Danny in about half an hour, and then we've got the banquet and the fireworks."
Aster nodded, and two fuchsia rings appeared at his waist, changing his white skin into a bright pink and revealing the peace sign necklace that still made up for his lack of powers. Geoff Wolvington did the same, though his rings were a deep purple. Once his transformation was complete, he nodded at Aster, who grinned back at him, and the world's only two teteras, with just enough real-world molecules to have two forms, but no powers beyond the basics, took to the air in the direction of City Hall and the celebration of everything that had changed in the last ten years.
The (Very) End And that, folks, is officially the end of the Spirit Quintology. Eight months, five stories , 115, 323 words, and currently 12, 021 hits. Wow. Thanks, everyone! I never imagined this would happen when I dreamed Will up in March. I thought it was just going to be one story, like all the others that get passed over on a daily basis, but I got hits, reviews, watchers, and friends out of the deal. Lots of 'em! And over the course of everything I've discovered that writing is what I really want to do with my life. Who'd'a' thunk it, eh? Now, there are a couple things left to say about Spirit…First of all, anyone who wants to do fanart or fanfiction based on the people of the Spiritverse is welcome to do so, if they let me know they're doing it. I'd like to see the results, too, out of interest. All I really ask, if you post your work, is that I be credited with any of the ideas you use that appeared first in my stories (Spirit, Aster, Cathy, Cyclone, backstories, inventions, characterizations, etc.).
Second, Aster, who's proclaimed himself Esme's Muse, keeps bringing up the idea of the Spiritverse resurfacing to mark special occasions like holidays and anniversaries. I keep telling him it's a bad idea and I really don't want to go there, but so far he hasn't been paying attention. Depending how well he argues this winter, there may or may not be a Spirit-oriented oneshot for Feb. 14, my one-year anniversary, April Fool's Day, and so forth.
Third and last, I will be reposting Much Ado About Nothing starting in a day or two. Once that is finished, I'm going to be doing a bit of tweaking (but probably no actual reposting) in Comedy of Errors and The Tempest, to get everything to match up properly again.
Also, and unrelated to Spirit, I'm planning/hoping to get back into writing Ghost of Myself and The Phantom. I'd blocked on them, and then school and Spirit took over, but I should be able to move slowly towards continuing both of those in 2007.
Once again, thanks everyone so much for their support of me, however you've shown it. It's greatly appreciated and you have no idea how much it's changed my life! You're the best, you really are!