Tucker turned to face Sam as she stared back at him with apprehension and confusion. He lightly nodded his head in reassurance and forced himself to return his attention to the screen. This would either go up in flames or down in history, but it needed to be done.
"Again with the camera?" Danny tiredly asked.
"I want to get the last few memories of high school," Tucker replied.
"You hate high school, Tucker."
"Yeah, but soon we're going off on our own ways. You and Sam are going to the same college, sure, but I'm going to that one out of state. We won't see much of each other anymore."
"True…" Danny shrugged before grinning. "We'll still be best buds forever, though."
"Definitely! Also… So…have you and Sam…you know…?"
"Have Sam and I what?" He glanced over with a quirked eyebrow before his eyes suddenly widened. "Oh! Oh, God, um… That's…something between me and…her… I- Tucker!"
"You did!' Laughter bubbled out. "I knew it!"
"It was one time!" Danny yelled. "And I don't want to talk about this with you. I really don't." He raised his hands up and walked faster; the camera shook as Tucker hurried to keep up.
"Did you use protection or shall we be expecting a bundle of joy to name after your best friend?" Tucker joked, snorting. Danny stopped walking. Tucker went past him before stopping and slowly bringing the camera around to show a frozen face of terror. "…Danny? You're kidding, right?"
"I am such an idiot!" Danny pulled at his hair. "It was one time. We weren't planning on it or anything. I— Oh, God!"
"Relax, man. You haven't even talked to Sam. You're freaking out over nothing."
"But what if…?"
"You're both eighteen, Danny. There's nothing wrong about that."
"Her parents are going to kill me if it's true! What did we do?"
"…well, I'm guessing that—"
"Tucker, stop fooling around! This is serious!"
"I know. Just breathe, Danny. Just breathe. It's probably not as bad as you think it is."
"Sam?" Tucker called, wandering through a hallway. "Hey, we're waiting for you."
"I'm in here, Tuck!" her voice shouted back. It was followed to a semi-opened bathroom door.
"What are you doing? I'm sure Danny likes you just fine. You don't need to spend an hour doing your makeup."
"I'm not putting makeup on. I'm…checking something," Sam said timidly. The door was pushed fully open.
"Like?"
"Like a…pregnancy test… Maybe."
"…I guess Danny was right to freak out." Sam glanced toward something on the sink counter and pressed her lips together to stifle some awkward giggling. "It's positive, isn't it?" She put her hands over her mouth and nodded.
"I can't believe it… Danny and I… This is so exciting!"
He offered an airy chuckle. "I can't believe it, either."
"My parents are going to kill me!" Tears formed in her eyes, likely from happiness than anything else. "I'm so excited- Don't tell Danny! I want it to be the perfect moment. Promise me, Tucker?"
"I promise I won't say a word. I still want to tape his reaction, though."
"I just can't believe it! We're going to have a kid- Danny and I are going to have a family! Oh, Tucker! Can you believe it? We're going to have a family!" She uncharacteristically bounced a couple times, still giggling as she wiped at her eyes. "I can't believe it!"
A semi-frowning Tucker took the spotlight once again, pushing his glasses up his nose. "That…should have been the start of good things. Everything should have gone right. But it didn't. And— And it's not fair." He rubbed a finger at the corner of his eye. "I…uh… I was filming the day Danny died and… Um… There's one last thing you all need to see. I know Danny would have wanted you guys to know. He never knew when the right time would have been to tell the world, but I think this is as good a time as any.
"Whether you realize it or not, Danny…actually meant a lot to you. You just didn't know. After you see this, you'll understand what I'm talking about. If you leave before this finishes, I'll understand that. Sam…I'm not going to force you to watch this, either. Just… I'll just get started."
Tucker swallowed and chanced a glance to Sam. If she wanted a stop put to this, she would have to speak now or forever hold her peace. However, she nodded in understanding at him and stood, walking the short distance to the stage to stand beside him. He felt her hand slip into his and worked to ignore the curious and already shocked murmurings from the rest of their peers. He held his head straight to keep from risking a check toward the teachers that he knew were watching with wary anticipation.
The line had already been crossed for the videos, and that line was about to be torn to shreds in the next couple minutes.
The next video began to play.
"I'm going to do it," Danny said, smiling as he chewed on his lip. They were sitting on a bench in the park.
"Do what?" Tucker asked from behind the camera.
"Propose to Sam."
There was a pause of silence. "Really?"
"Yeah. I…love her. Isn't that you what do when you love someone enough?" It came out more like a statement, rather than a question.
"I guess that's what you do. And she's going to be ecstatic. You guys are lucky to have each other."
"I feel lucky. A girl like her and a guy like me…" He shook his head in disbelief and then turned his head to face the camera. "Want to see the ring?"
"Yeah!" The screen was aimed toward a small black box once it was pulled out; Danny opened it to show a ring with a silver band and a black diamond in the center. Three smaller diamonds ran along either side of the main stone. "She's going to love it. And you even got black!
"I know. I can't wait." He sighed as he tucked the ring away, gnawing on his lip again. "I'm going to do it tonight, I think."
"How are you going to do it?"
"I don't know. But how hard can it be? All I have to do is get over the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and ask the girl of my dreams to marry me. If I'm lucky, she'll say yes. If I'm not, I'll keep asking until she does."
Tucker scoffed. "She'll say yes, Danny. You know it."
"Yeah… Sam will say yes." Danny's hopeful expression faded a little. "Hey, Tucker?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you promise me something?"
"Sure. Anything you want. Think of it as a pre-wedding gift!"
"Can you promise that if anything happens to me in the future that you'll look after Sam? Keep her safe. Stay friends no matter what?"
"Don't say that, Danny. Nothing's going to happen."
"Just promise. I want to know that you guys will always have each other to lean on."
"Yeah, I promise. I'll look after Sam if anything—which it won't—happens to you."
"Thanks, Tuck."
"Now let's go meet Sam by the wishing well for the picnic. You know how she hates when we're late."
"Yeah. Let's go see my Sam." The camera stopped.
"Danny, just try it," Sam said. She held up what sort of looked like a hot dog.
"Um…it's tofu. Hot dogs are not meant to be tofu. They are meant to be made of disgusting things that no one ever likes to think about," Danny retorted.
"One bite?"
"…fine." Danny took the food, made a face at Tucker and the camera, and took a bite. He chewed for less than a second before stopping all together.
"How is it?"
"Um…do I have to answer that?" he mumbled, not swallowing the bite of food in his mouth.
"It can't be that bad."
"Sam, it's fake meat," Tucker stated. "Of course it's that bad." Danny cringed and daringly swallowed before handing Sam the rest of the tofu dog.
"I eat your vegetables, strange smoothies, and most of everything else. I am not eating tofu. Sorry," Danny finished, hands up in surrender.
"Okay…" Sam sighed. "And it's getting late, anyhow. We should start cleaning up."
"Yeah, hand me that bowl of potato salad," Tucker said. The camera was set down and the three went to work putting everything away into the basket.
"Hey, Sam?" Danny piped up at one point.
"Yeah?"
"Will you take a walk with me in a few minutes?"
"Sure."
"Cool."
"That's everything, right?" Tucker asked, lifting the camera.
"Yeah. Looks like it," Sam said. "Want to walk now, Danny?"
"Sounds nice." Danny grinned at Tucker and winked.
A sudden blast disrupted everything.
"Get down!" Danny yelled. The view spun to see what had been the cause of the attack.
Vlad Plasmius drifted some distance above the ground, palms alight with pink ecto energy. "It's Vlad!" Tucker said, creating a larger picture of the surrounding area as he moved backwards. Another blast was aimed toward the group and they scattered back.
"What are you doing?!" Danny screamed, throwing a protective arm in front of Sam. "What's wrong with you?"
"I have come to a decision," Vlad answered. "Years of trying to persuade you, years of trying to work with you- And there is nothing to show of it besides the failure of my plans! You will always prove to be a nuisance, and there is nothing I can do to change that!"
"What? Then why are you attacking us?" Sam demanded.
"I'm not attacking you, girl! I'm about to destroy him! Never again will he be a wrench in my plans!" A series of blasts surged their way toward Danny, who narrowly dodged by rolling to the side.
"Sam, Tucker, run!" Danny said. "Get out of here! Go!"
"I'm not leaving without you!" Sam latched onto Danny's hand and bolted for the basket, pulling a thermos out of it. "Come on, Tucker! Let's go!"
"I'm right here!" The camera shook the picture as they ran, the audio picking up the sounds of more blasts burning into the ground as pink bolts fell into sight ahead of them.
"I have to fight him," Danny said hurriedly. "He's not going to quit!"
"What?" Tucker shrieked. "The nut is actually trying to kill you!"
"I know. I have to get him in the thermos. He's gone way overboard! Take Sam and hide until I get this finished!"
"I said that I'm not leaving without you!" Sam snapped back.
"Please, Sam. Let me handle this. You can't get hurt right now. I can't lose you."
"I can't lose you, either!" Danny briefly halted and dragged her close, kissing her hard before stepping back. "You better come back to me, Danny Fenton."
"I will." He glanced toward the camera. "Remember what I said, Tuck."
"…I will, man. Now go kick his butt."
"And take this," Sam said, tossing the hybrid the thermos.
"Thanks. Stay safe." He smiled for a moment before utter seriousness settled on his face. "Goin' Ghost!" Two glaring white rings appeared around his waist and traveled their familiar path over the teenager.
Within seconds, Danny Phantom was standing in Danny Fenton's place.
"Good luck, Danny," Sam said as he took to the air. "Come on, Tucker. Danny should know by now that we never sit on the sidelines." She grabbed his hand, running after their friend.
Danny shot at Vlad, who blocked it and fired back in quick succession. It hit Danny square in the chest and sent him reeling backwards. "You don't have to do this, Vlad!" the white haired ghost called.
"I don't care!" Vlad snipped, flying at Danny and taking a hold of his shoulders as they.
"What's wrong with you, Fruitloop? I haven't been doing anything to you lately! Did you just snap or something?!"
"I'm not the one who's going to snap!" Electricity pulled a scream from Danny as Vlad released the power and threw him aside.
"Leave him alone!" Sam ordered, chucking a rock at the elder hybrid. "You're trying to ruin everything!"
"Ruin what? The nice little life you're trying to make? You two could never have something like that! I won't allow it when he foils everything I try to gain!" Vlad soared toward her before being unexpectedly slammed into by Danny, sending them both to collide into the wishing well.
Water splashed over onto the ground and the statue in the middle of the structure cracked apart. "Stay away from them!" Danny shot a powerful blast at Vlad and pulled himself out of the well, limping slightly as he glared at his enemy. He pulled out the thermos, tore the lid off, and aimed it, but before Vlad could be sucked inside, the older ghost disappeared from sight. Danny warily glanced around as he friends grew closer.
"Where is he?" Tucker called.
"I— I don't know!" Danny spun around furiously in search for the ghost. "He just vanished!"
"Or did I?" Vlad's voice taunted; Danny was pulled through the ground.
"Danny!" Sam bolted for the fateful spot, turning in panicking circles. "Danny!"
"Where'd they go?" Tucker asked. A sharp scream rang out from somewhere, and Sam fearfully looked toward her friend.
"Danny! Where are you?"
"Danny!" Another scream sounded out. "It sounds like it's coming from that way!"
"Vlad is going to get his! I swear he will!" Sam yelled from somewhere out of frame as they took off. "If he hurt Danny, or- or…"
"Danny's fine. He always is." The tone of his voice came out as if he was trying to more reassure himself rather than Sam. It took them a matter of minutes to follow the next two screams that reached their ears. The end of the park bordered on a collection of pavement and warehouses, and that was where Sam caught sight of their friend and Vlad as she tripped over the discarded thermos.
"Get away from him!" Sam shouted, pushing herself to her feet with the thermos raised high. Vlad looked up from where he was standing over Danny, who was lying on his back, once again human. A blue light erupted from the thermos, sucking Vlad inside before he had a change to retaliate. Sam immediately ran for Danny and Tucker followed after; the camera was dropped to the ground, a long crack stretching through the screen as it landed and rocked before settling upright.
"Danny? Danny, are you okay?" Sam asked, kneeling beside him. Tucker rounded to their friend's other side, nervously raking his eyes over the red staining the chest of the one primarily white shirt.
"It hurts, Sam," Danny said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, man. Oh, man—" Tucker said, pulling out his cell phone. He quickly dialed and pressed the phone to his ear, rambling out, "We need an ambulance! My friend… He- He got attacked by a ghost. It's not looking too good. You need to hurry! We're by the warehouses at the edge of the park. Please, you need to get here!"
"Danny, what hurts?" Sam asked. "We can help. Just tell me what hurts."
"Sam…I'm not making it out of this one," Danny admitted slowly; he winced and gasped in pain, and she avidly shook her head.
"Don't talk like that. You are coming out of this one, Danny. You're going to get better like you always do and we're going to move on with our lives." Sam grasped his right hand, rubbing his knuckles with her thumb.
"No. You guys are going to move on with your lives. I'm not."
"Yes, you are!" Sam yelled. "You're going to marry me and take care of your kid! Do you understand me? You are not leaving me a widow before I even have a ring, Danny!"
A smile curled at his lips. "Kid?"
"Kid. I wanted to wait to tell you. But now you know, and his name will be something we'll argue over until the day he's born and he'll probably be a freak like you and you'll teach him everything you know! Tucker, tell him that he's going make it through this! Tell him!"
"Danny, she's right," the techno geek agreed, lowering his phone and hands to his lap. "You can't go and you're not going to. You and Sam and I are going to go through life and do everything that we planned on."
"I'm…not, though," Danny said, tears collecting in the corner of his eyes. "I can feel it inside. Everything is fading. I can't even feel my ghost half anymore. I never thought that I would say that. But I'm not coming through this one. I'm not—"
"Stop it!" Sam cut in. "You're sure as hell not leaving me! Do you hear me? I need you, Danny! Everyone needs you. You can't…"
"Tuck, reach into my pocket." Tucker bit down on his lip as he did so, revealing a black box. "Give it to her for me." Sam stared at the box as it was pushed into her hand before looking to Danny. "You're going to move on without me and live a life, all right?"
"No," Sam stated flatly, giving a head shake as she opened the box. "You are going to be the one to put this damn pretty ring on my finger."
"I knew you'd like it. You, Tucker, Jazz, and…if you can find Dani, she'll be a good help with that baby." Danny chuckled lightly and clenched his eyes shut. "Okay? You guys will stick together."
"And you're going to hold us together," Tucker said. "I don't care what you say. You're not becoming a full ghost just yet. Even if you do, you'll haunt us until we die and become ghosts, and then we'll haunt each other."
"Sounds like a plan, Tucker."
"No. We'll go to Clockwork," Sam insisted, wiping at her eyes. "He'll fix this. He will."
"Sam, stop. I don't like when you cry. I don't like when you cry."
"I don't like when you're being a bonehead. You'll get through this, Danny. You will. I believe that."
"I don't." He opened his eyes. "I know, Sam. I just know. Just do me a favor."
"Anything," Tucker said.
"Bury Vlad in the backyard."
"Isn't that against your morals to leave a ghost in the thermos, let alone a human?"
"He's lost it. I don't care if Vlad is half human or not. He's not going to stop at me. He's going to carry on with others, and I'm not going to be there to save the day." Danny let out a slow breath to try to keep him together.
"But you will be," Sam said, sounding defeated. "Danny, you will be. You're the hero that's never supposed to die at the end. It's not supposed to end like this. The hero always pulls through because that's what's right."
"I'm sorry." Tears spilled over onto his cheeks. "I'm sorry I won't be there anymore. I want to be. I want to watch the world go by and watch you guys make something of yourselves. I want to have a family with you and grow old with you, and I can't. It's killing me inside. I won't be there to protect you anymore. I can't save you when you're in trouble. I won't be there. I'm sorry I won't be there. It scares me I won't be there."
"I don't like when you cry," Sam retorted. "You'll always be there, Danny. Always."
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be," Tucker said. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Danny."
"Tell my parents to not feel guilty. I know they didn't mean it. I forgive them and I'm sorry I never told them. Valerie, too. Tell her I'm sorry."
"Tell them yourself," Sam tried again.
"…that's what I love about you. You are so stubborn." Danny turned his head a bit and then looked back at Tucker. "That camera of yours is still a nuisance."
"You love it, though," Tucker joked.
"I always wanted to know…which do you love more? The camera or the PDA?"
"I can't decide." He huffed loudly and pursed his lips. "This sucks," he said angrily. "This really freaking sucks!"
"I know it does. And…don't try so hard with the ladies. It's embarrassing."
Tucker's face softened. "That's TF for Too Fine."
"Too Freaky," Sam corrected; Danny grimaced as he chuckled. "Is this really it?"
"Wait for me?" Danny asked, ignoring her question. "I know it's stupid, but—"
"Forever. I'll wait forever." She gently kissed him on the lips. "You can count on it."
"Thanks." It was silent for a few seconds; Sam lightly brushed some of Danny's hair out of his eyes.
"You need a haircut." He smiled up at her; then, "What are you thinking about?"
"I don't want to die," he answered in a whisper.
"Then don't," Tucker said.
"I wish it was that simple."
"No one wants to die," Sam said. "And you better come back to me. You're not leaving. I will find you and kick your sorry ass if you leave."
"I love you."
"Don't say that. You're only saying it because you think you're going to die and you're not," she berated, adding afterwards, "I love you, too."
"Hey, Tuck," Danny began, "when are you going to ask my sister out?"
"What?" Tucker asked, eyes widening.
"I know you like her. Don't wait on it. You're wasting time."
"…okay. You got me. I'll do that and then run because you're her overprotective brother and I'm afraid you'll punch me in the face."
"Guys are morons," Sam snorted. "You are all morons."
"But I'm your moron," Danny added.
"I know. You're a special kind of moron. Then there's Tucker… I'm not sure what kind of moron he is yet. He definitely is one, though."
"A fine one," Tucker said proudly. Sam shook her head as she set her gaze on Danny; he stared back and glanced to Tucker before bringing his eyes back to hers.
Another short bout of silence fell before Danny coughed a bit, gasping a little. His friends tensed and hovered over him. "Promise me that you guys will- will…" Danny struggled with his words, wrapping an arm over his torso. "Promise that you'll ke-keep… Keep fighting. No matter what, keep fighting. Promise me." His eyes slipped shut and his chest slowed. "Promise me…"
"Danny?" Sam wondered; his hand became limp in hers and she choked, shaking her head. "Danny, please? I… I mean we…pro-pro… We—"
"Promise, Danny. We promise," Tucker finished. A rush of tears ran down Sam's face as she grabbed onto Danny.
"No," she sobbed. "Danny, no. Please. No. Come back to me. Please, Danny, come back to me. I love you so much. Come back. Please come back."
"Sam…" Tucker put a hand on her shoulder. "He- He's not… He's gone… Sam, Danny's gone." He swallowed and cleared his eyes with a couple fingers, moving to step over their friend to curl his arms around the girl. "He's not coming back. I want him to, too. I do, but Danny's gone."
"How, though? Tucker, how?"
"I don't know, Sam. I just don't know. I don't know."
"It's not fair." She buried her head on his shoulder, shaking. "It's not fair. It's not fair that we have to lose him."
The camera went fuzzy and stopped.
The lights in the auditorium shot on, stunning the students and faculty back into reality.
Tucker slowly breathed out and turned toward the microphone, his hand still clutched in Sam's. "There wouldn't have been anything that could've been done if help had arrived in time. The injuries he sustained were too great, and he…" He squared his shoulders, looking about the crowd in earnest. "He died for a stupid reason at the hands of a pitiful person, and it's not fair. What he faced through these years was so much more than one pathetic man, and because of a few lucky shots, everything for him ended. But Danny… Danny wouldn't want any of you to cry over him or pity cry or feel sorry for him. He wasn't that kind of guy. He did what he did because it was the right thing to do, not because he wanted the fame or popularity. He fought for the principle of right and wrong, and he fought for his friends and family and this town. And in mine and Sam's and his sister's eyes, he succeeded.
"Danny made us promise to keep fighting. That means he never wants us to give up on life. He never wants us to say we can't do something, because we can. We can fight back in the hardest of times. Danny did. He fought until the last possible second; he always did. And if a weak and klutzy kid like Danny Fenton can fight back, so can we." He paused for a second before finishing. "Cherish every moment you have with the people around you, and sure as hell don't let little fights and arguments get in the way of a friendship. Life is the longest thing we will ever do, but it's too short to waste. You don't know when someone is going to be ripped from your grasp. And… And I…" Tucker lightly shook his head, having nothing more to say. He left Sam on the stage and walked himself out, ignoring the tearful and morose eyes following him.
Sam watched him go before flickering her gaze to the microphone; she approached it, clearing her throat to find her voice. "Congratulations to the graduating seniors of Casper High," she whispered. "Live like every moment is your last, because sometimes it is. And never, ever, forget what's important. And…keep fighting." She made her way over to Valerie, who wrapped her arms around the goth.
"Sam," the huntress said, "I wish… I wish I had known. I mean—"
"Don't worry about it. He never hated you. He doesn't hate you. He always understood, and he just didn't want to hurt things between you two."
"I miss him." Valerie rubbed a fist at the corner of her eye.
"I miss him, too." A small smile pulled at Sam's lips as she pulled away."I think you should close up."
"…yeah." Valerie nodded meekly and moved up onto the stage, viewing the dismal crowd. "Who would have thought?" she began. "Our own town hero was a…dorky kid at Casper High. I'm ashamed to say I never figured it out, and I was pretty close friends with him. We all have times ahead of us. Whether they will be good or bad is still yet to be decided. All we know is that we should keep fighting. Danny had that much right. From what I saw on that video, Danny died in vain. But we can change that. We're the future. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true. We can make a difference.
"We can do the right thing in life. Help others. Forget grudges against one another and look past them to help someone in need. Danny did. He helped people he probably loathed, but he still helped them. He helped every day and we never knew. Let's make something of ourselves, graduates. Let's show the world we can keep fighting for what's right, even when all of the cards are turned against us. Let's keep fighting." She smiled. "For Danny. For you. For us. For everyone who needs the help. Keep fighting."
The crowd erupted into loud cheers as she walked herself off stage. "Keep fighting…" she murmured. "I promise, Danny. I promise you that much that I will."