AUTHOR'S NOTE:

You know what the absolute best part of Danny's awful evil future is?

NO SAM! :D

Yeah, just him and Valerie 24/7.

Except that they want to kill each other...

But hey, I can accept that, as long as Sam is still dead.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything pertaining to Danny Phantom.

WARNINGS: None.

I have a memory.

It's locked inside my chest, hidden away so that the fire of this unwanted future can never touch it, never burn it away.

"Danny, I know you're in there somewhere."

The ghost shot a smirk her way, white hair flaming upward to the sky. "Danny?" he mused, head cocked to the side, as if in confusion. "Now where have I heard that name before?"

Valerie gripped the ecto-gun, eyes narrowed at the strange yet achingly familiar face. "I know you never meant for any of this to happen, Danny. You may not be human anymore, but you still have your memories."

Please remember me.

Was it selfish, petty, even of her to wish he would just remember them as they had been, even once? Could he truly no longer recall the feel of her lips on his, how her dark eyes had brightened at his touch?

"Honestly, human, I hold no desire for you any longer." He grinned, flashing two gleaming canines at her. "Silly little things likes kisses and whispered sweet nothings hold no precedent over power and immortality."

He remembers!

He remembers those kisses, those soft embraces. He remembers each and every whispered declaration of love, doesn't he?

But before the powerful blast of ectoplasm even connected, Valerie knew the truth; he remembered everything. He remembered loving her, recalled each and every moment their eyes had met.

But he didn't care anymore.

"I don't hate you, Danny; it's because of you that I'm the most powerful ghost hunter in Amity Park."

Why did I let you go that day? Why didn't I just kill you or cart you off to Vlad? If I had just killed you, this future wouldn't even be happening, so why didn't I just snuff out your existence for good?

But Valerie wasn't foolish enough that she didn't know the reason why she had let him go all those years ago.

She flew off the glider as Dan's ectoblast shot into her abdomen, toppling to the ground, the sound of something breaking muffled and distant in her ears. Whether it was a bone, or something more, deep inside of her, she didn't really know.

Dan gripped her by her thick mane of hair, pulling sharply, eliciting a cry of pain from the hunter; she would have to remember to cut it if she made it out alive.

Valerie closed her eyes, screwing them shut with all her might. She didn't want to look into those eyes, those strange, cold eyes that seemed so out of place on that face.

We were more than this. So, so much more...

But the red glare in his eyes clearly disagreed.