Well here it is Chapter 5!! Welcome to the Black Parade…literally. R&R PLEASE!!! I'm using the radio edit of this song which means the repeat of the intro is gone.
Dan opened his eyes to a dark sky and quickly sat up.
Where the hell am I? He wondered.
He was surrounded by piles and piles of charred wood. Smoke was rising from the mounds. Dan was sitting on a dirt road. He could see buildings off in the horizon; and the color of this place was gray and brown; bland almost miserable if you will. He stood up and brushed dirt off his johnny.
"I don't think I'm in Amity Park anymore…"
Then he heard a voice. Soft yet audible and it was familiar. Dan didn't know if it was real or if he was just imagining it.
Voice – "When I was a young boy,
My father took me into the city,
to see a marching band.
He said son when you grow up,
would you be the savior of the broken the beaten and the damned?"
He looked all around to try and find the source but the only thing he spotted was a fairly large silhouette in the distance, advancing towards him.
Voice – "He said will you defeat them
Your demons
And all the non believers
They plans that they have made
Because one day I'll leave you
a phantom to lead you in the summer
to join the Black Parade."
Everything was now visible to Dan. The figure: a huge float with a skull on the front. Following it was what looked like a marching band.
What is this, some mini parade?
But it wasn't until he was in the middle of it all he really noticed the details. The one atop the float whose voice Dan had heard, was actually his ghost half, Danny Phantom. Dan shook his head in disbelief.
NO WAY…I-I'm going INSANE!!
Phantom – "Sometimes I get the feeling she's watching over me
And other times I feel like I should go.
And through it all, the rise and fall, the bodies in the streets."
Now the band members were marching by. Some carried trumpets, some flutes, some drums, tubas, xylophones, any and every instrument. And as Dan looked at their faces, he saw they were all skeletons. Really skeletons, really dead. Dan was very startled by this and jumped back, but he bumped into a large bass drum player and was pushed farther into the crowd.
Phantom- "When you're gone we want you all to know.
We'll carry on,
We'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
We'll carry on
And in my heart I can't contain it
The anthem won't explain it."
Dan was now being pushed and shoved toward some girls carrying banners and flags. He got whacked in the face with the end of the fluttering flags a few times.
Phantom - "A woman sends you reeling from decimated dreams
Your misery and hate will kill us all.
So paint it black and take it back
Lets shout it loud and clear
Defiant to the end
We hear the call
To carry on
We'll carry on
Though you're dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated
Your weary widow marches"
Even though Dan was toward the end of the parade, he noticed a prominent band member sitting on the back of the float. He had a marching cap with a feather on it and was waving around a baton.
"On and on we carry through the fears
Ooh oh ohhhh
Disappointed faces of your peers
Ooh oh ohhhh
Take a look at me cause I can not care at all"
Just as Dan was about to attempt to jump out of the mob, two women grabbed his arms and lead him toward the front. Dan was way to in shock to fight them.
"Do or die
You'll never make me
Because the world, will never take my heart
You can try, you'll never break me
You want it all, you wanna play this part
I won't explain or say I'm sorry
I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar
Give a cheer, for all the broken
Listen here, because it's only you"
The women let him go in front of the float which was now standing still and the one with the baton and feather stood above him. Dan looked backwards to try and see what he was doing but before he could get a glance the man placed a metal around his neck and the girls kissed him on the cheek.
"I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
I'm just a boy, who's meant to sing this song
I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
I…..DON'T….CARE!"
This time Dan was able to get out of the way of the parade as it began to move again. He looked down at the metal. It read: THE BLACK PARADE.
"We'll carry on
We'll carry on
Though you're dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
You'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated
Your weary widow marches on."
Dan just watched in amazement.
"Carry on"
The band began to get smaller and smaller in the distance.
"We'll carry
We'll carry on!!"
The only thing he could hear now was a single drum roll. Then a BANG! And the band, the float, the entire parade was gone. It was like it hadn't even been there.
Dan walked around the rubble wondering to himself, What the hell just happened?
He was totally lost, spinning around in circles examining his surroundings once again. Eventually he ventured near the deserted city. He shuffled down a street, almost in a trance. Then, he heard clanging, like a bunch of instruments clanging together, and it was coming from around the corner. Dan stopped at the end of the street and debated weither to round the corner or stay put, or even try to find a way out of there.
"Alright!" A voice boomed from the same area, "Good job everybody! Very nice. Now Fear, Regret, please return Mr. Phantom to the spirit realm. You all know where your instruments go! And please don't leave them on the float this time!"
Dan's curiosity got the better of him and he was now walking through all the chaos. Indeed it was the parade that was here. Dan walked past members carrying their drums, flutes, etc to wherever they were going. Then he spotted the man or should I say skeleton with the infamous hat, holding a clipboard. He was speaking with a woman who had white frizzy hair. Dan couldn't see her face for it was covered by a gas mask.
"My dear Mother War," The man kissed her hand, "Thank you so much for participating in the parade today. It was such an honor! Please do join us again!"
The woman nodded and began to walk past Dan. She was being followed by two very ill looking children. One carried a sign that read: Starved to Death in a World of Plenty.
The man scribbled something on his clipboard and Dan decided to approach him.
"Um, excuse me." Dan said quietly.
The man looked up, "What can I help you with?"
It was still very strange to be looking, none the less talking, to a skeleton.
"I-uh…" Dan stuttered.
"Ah, you must be new. Just put you're instrument or flag over in that building-."
"No, I'm not part of this…parade." Dan said cautiously. "At least I don't think I am."
"Oh, well-."
"Where am I, exactly?" The words just seemed to spill out of Dan's mouth.
The man laughed, "Why, you're in the Land of the Dead."
Dan's eyes widened and he quickly began patting himself.
"Am I….you know?"
The man laughed again, "Dead? Well, if you are, you just died. You still got all your skin and muscles! Most of us are just bones!"
Dan was now gaping at the man.
"But I honestly don't know." He continued, "I'm sorry, I don't believe I caught your name."
"M-me? I'm D-Dan." Dan swallowed hard, "Dan Fenton."
The man closed his eyes (more like his eye sockets) and gave a heavy sigh. Then he re-opened them with an annoyed look on his face.
"FEAR! REGRET!"
The two women who Dan had been scooped away by earlier came over.
"Yes Death?" They said in unison.
"I thought I told you two to return Mr. Fenton back to whence he came!" He said through gritted teeth.
"Yes sir we-." One began but then both noticed Dan was standing beside the man whom they'd called "Death". They both bit their lips and looked at each other through their masks.
"Sorry, sir. We didn't realize-."
Death raised a hand, "Save it. Please just return him now?!"
The girls nodded. Then he turned to Dan.
"I'm terribly sorry this happened to you. Fear and Regret should've returned you home precisely after the parade, but now they'll escort you back." He turned on his heel and began to march off through the crowd.
"Hey, wait!" Dan called after him and followed his trail.
"Why am I here?! And How?! How did I even get here?!" Dan yelled.
Death stopped and whirled around.
"Hmm….I suppose you do deserve some answers. This isn't exactly how it works….Fear and Regret will get it for this…" It was like he was debating this with himself, "Very well. First thing's first, my name is – Danny."
Dan was surprised, "Really? That's kinda neat I guess."
"As I said before you're in the – Danny."
Dan cocked an eyebrow, something strange was happening.
"And all of us are the – Danny!"
Suddenly everything began to fade to black.
"Danny?"
Ooooo! Suspense! And I am SOOOO SORRY this took FOREVER! I came down with a case of writer's block (don't cha hate it?). But I swear the thoughts are flowing slowly but surely now and expect chapter 5 out in a couple weeks. I'm also finding less time to write so the wait's always gonna be longer than a week. :-( And if anyone didn't noticed, a lot of this chapter was from the Music Video. LoL. Hey it works! Til next chapter, which might I add includes SAM!!! Yesh, chap. 5 is a heartbreak chap. Toodles!
DDH