Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom.

Note: Well, here we are at last. The final chapter of "Nevermore!" and I'm so happy with how it turned out! Now I can turn my attention to planning out the sequel which if you're following me on tumblr I've decided to call that story "Vestige." Normally once I complete a fanfic I'd try to spread things out by updating a different one but unfortunately I don't have access to the chapters I was nearly finished with since they are still on my main laptop and everything on my flashdrives isn't exactly recent apart from the chapters I've written from scratch on this other laptop.

Anyways it's a shame the notifications are still busted on this site since I have been eagerly awaiting reviews to read your thoughts on the past few chapters I've posted but what can you do? Either way I'm proud of myself for getting to the end of this part of Owen's story arc before the end of 2023. It's been a small goal of mine ever since I continued writing. So yeah, hope you guys plan to stick around for the sequel and again, thanks for being a part of this with me!

Chapter 40: Final Verdict

Owen's POV

It took a little while for the guests to recover from their dazed confusion once Vlad gradually released them from their possession by his shades -which by the way would explain why I felt like he had literally been everywhere at once earlier- but unsurprisingly everyone just chalked it up to being worn out from a long day filled with excitement and settled down for the banquet as originally planned. Well, almost everyone. After replacing the ectoplasmic ropes with something a little more believable Vlad's security guards helped round all seven of the intruders up somewhere secure until the police arrived to take care of the rest of the formalities.

Once Vlad finished expertly weaving a convincing enough lie to explain how we stopped this kidnapping attempt in its tracks without giving too much away apart from the evidence Danny and the others found the social workers got an earful for letting themselves be deceived by such flimsy disguises and such an obviously forged document. And from where we stood the two of them looked like children being scolded by a teacher with their heads hanging low and their eyes filled with shame. But it wasn't like they were about to admit to running from a ghost since those aren't supposed to be real which was good news for them otherwise Vlad would have had to intervene directly.

Of course they also had to report what had happened to their superiors on top of everything else, minus their ghostly encounter with Vlad Plasmius, and ultimately it led to the pair being reassigned to a different case. To be honest I felt really bad for them since I could tell their hearts were in the right place and they genuinely wanted to keep us safe but at the same time I also understood exactly why neither of them were up to the task of protecting anyone...

Vlad on the other hand had successfully proven to be more than up to it so for the time being the police decided to make an exception for us so I'd be allowed to stay with him a little longer under the condition I come in for questioning at the station later with the other kids from Mistveil regarding the kidnappings and the director's supposed involvement in it. From the looks of it though the police were starting to have serious doubts about that considering how someone had orchestrated yet another abduction right under their noses while the main suspect was already in custody.

Anyways, it was awkward to say the least when the police gathered up the rest of the Mistveil group to finally explain the situation to them now that the charity event had finally drawn to a close. Turns out none of them even knew the director was gone including the other staff members who had been assigned to watching them because they figured he was busy mingling with the other group home owners visiting today. My stomach twisted in guilty knots seeing the frightened looks on everyone's faces after getting the bad news that Mistveil might be shut down soon unless new evidence comes to light to prove the director's innocence. This still meant all the other adoption procedures were going to be put on hold along with mine.

In the end Vlad managed to talk the police into changing their plans a bit by assigning a few patrols to keep an eye on everyone at Mistveil while also promising to hire more security at the mansion to keep me safe. That way it'd reduce the risk of someone tampering with paperwork again like they did today to quietly reroute us somewhere beyond anyone's reach. Not to mention it would greatly reduce our stress levels about the whole thing to stay with our foster families since the younger kids already looked like they were on the verge of tears...

Tristan on the other hand didn't look upset by the news, he was furious about it and surprise surprise eventually decided to march over to try and take it out on me right in front of Vlad and the police, snapping venomously. "I bet somehow this is all your fault Owen. Ever since you showed up at Mistveil things have gotten really weird so why don't you do us all a favor just stay out of our lives for good?"

Rolling my eyes at Tristan since I honestly couldn't care less about his opinion of me anymore I replied calmly. "Trust me, I'd love nothing more than to never have to see you again but this is a lot bigger than you or me. We should count ourselves lucky Vlad's so persuasive otherwise we would have to be crammed into a van and taken to a shelter until this is all sorted out. I mean, you thought sharing a room with me was bad. Just imagine living in a place built more like a boot camp with barely any privacy at all."

"Ugh, fine. Point taken." Tristan grumbled before adding smugly. "Still I wouldn't get too comfortable if I were you. Mr. Big-Bucks is going to get tired of you eventually and find out what a hopeless loser you are!"

Watching him stomp off to regroup with his buddies I chuckled to myself. Yeah sure, keep telling yourself that. Whatever helps you sleep at night Tristan.

And with that I confidently made my way back over to Vlad, feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders by standing up for myself against one of my former bullies too. It was a reminder of how far I've come in only a few short weeks since Vlad and I first met. A meeting that has already changed the entire course of my life because for the first time in years I don't have to hide who I am or what I'm capable of. Sure there's still a lot more to my past and my powers we've yet to uncover but I'm ok with that. All that matters now is we're in this together.

Obviously I don't expect things to get better right away but I think they're already changing for the better. So as long as I do my part then I'm sure everything will be alright in the end. No more hiding. No more burying my head in the sand and silently hoping my problems will go away. This time I'm going to give it everything I've got and then some!

Unknown POV

"You see Brother? This is why I warned you against doing anything hasty." My dear Sister chided softly from her lofty seat high above me as I stood to present my case before the high council. "We already had a perfectly good plan in place and it would have worked if you hadn't given the order to spring the trap too early. Still, I suppose through your most regrettable actions we were able to confirm that Kurst isn't there shielding the Ravenwood boy from us anymore. Otherwise none of the people you sent would have gotten close enough to see his face so to show our gratitude I think we'll be lenient with your punishment."

"How generous of you." I replied sarcastically which didn't go unnoticed by several of the others currently in attendance who did not seemed pleased by my reaction.

Regarding me curiously like a cat debating how best to toy with her prey before making the kill, the same Sister cooed. "Indeed it is. Or need I remind you how your position in our ranks has been precariously dancing on the edge of a knife over the past few years? And with every blunder you make we lose a little more of our faith in your competence."

"Hmph, if you ask me I think its high time we replace him. Maybe then we'll finally start making progress again towards our goal." Another man chimed in, folding his hands in front of him over the signet ring adorning his thumb I have been yearning to own myself one day.

"Silence, both of you." One of the senior Sisters ordered sharply, returning everyone's attention to the matter at hand. "Now isn't the time to be pointing fingers at each other. We are all at fault for not intervening much sooner and allowing ourselves to become too complacent when we know full well what's at stake here. As such I would implore all of you to remember why we're doing any of this to begin with."

A moment of silence followed apart from a few hushed whispers between a few people who nodded in agreement which I took as a good sign. Clearing my throat, I began earnestly. "Esteemed members of the Council of the Veiled Vestige, rest assured that whatever I have done it was done for the right reasons because these children are our future and we need them. We need them because our very way of life is dying out as the world strays away from accepting the true nature of things. They think science alone provides them with all the answers to life's hardest questions such as what becomes of us after death. But we know better.

"We know all about the magical and telepathic potential that lies buried within the bodies, minds, and souls of almost all living things. Especially the children who will inherit the world we're striving to create for them. A world we need their help to protect with the marvelous gifts of a selected few which is on the verge of becoming a battleground for dark forces the likes of which they've never seen. And that is because the barrier between the world of the living and the dead is growing thinner as we speak which means its only a matter of time before something terrible slips through the cracks that will doom us all."

Turning to look at the others, one of my Brothers spoke up and said. "He has a point. There has been an drastic increase in ghost activity all over the world according to my sources to support his theory. Besides which up until now even I think we've been too meticulous with our selection process of new members mainly to avoid accidentally allowing children to come under our care who are not equipped with the tools to defend themselves from such beings."

"That much I agree with." The senior Sister relented before leaning over the edge of the table to meet my gaze to say. "At any rate, as noble as your intentions were we cannot allow such reckless behavior to continue so consider this your final warning, Brother. Disappoint us again and you will be stripped of your rank and sentenced to spending the next year personally re-inscribing every single one of the protective runes carved into the walls of this facility. Do I make myself clear?"

Bowing low, I answered. "Yes Sister, I understand and will be sure to take your words to heart."

"See that you do." She nodded, motioning for the woman from earlier to stand. "But to make sure of that I will be assigning Sister Umbra to your department oversee your progress and she will be reporting everything back to us directly until such a time as we're certain there won't be a repeat of what happened today. Not to mention it was also your folly that cost us one of our most talented Shadow Walkers, Eris Wright whom we have yet to recover and I for one would very much like her back."

Resisting the urge to grimace since I knew full well it was my fault no progress had been made there mostly due to the fact I detested that girl for not knowing her place I decided it best to swallow my pride and go along with the council's request without a fight. I was on thin ice enough already. But still, at least they praised me for getting our members closer to Owen Ravenwood than anyone else has for the past sixteen years thanks to Kurst, the ghost of a necromancer who died in order to help our predecessors seal away the boy's ancestral memories to make him much easier to control as a Living Ghost in his next life.

At least that's what I've been told but sadly due to my low status that's all the information I've been privy to since advancing one level above my previous rank last year. The Ravenwood family has a long and storied history only our highest ranking members are aware of in its entirety. And its thanks to them we know for certain Owen Ravenwood is the last living heir to this old and distinguished bloodline...

Speaking of bloodlines, just a few weeks ago I happened across another family name during my research that rang a bell since I had seen it documented before in one of the journals we had stashed away in the archives so I had one of my men look into it while they were there. The name was Nightingale, or more accurately John Fenton Nightingale who once shared close ties with the Ravenwoods due to him coming from a family of ghost hunters. Apparently he often procured large quantities of Blood Blossoms from them which inevitably ended in creating a shortage in their supply of these powerful plants. However, once the witch trails drove the Ravenwood family away they lost all contact with each other.

Now I wouldn't call the current Fenton family 'distinguished' by any means but I didn't see the harm in making sure they descended from the same family tree. Clearly their son shows some signs of power, but what kind it is I couldn't say. Not that the journals made any mention of their family having any powers aside from their expert knowledge of anti-ghost weaponry, natural remedies, and combat skills. Still I thought it worth looking into regardless since there are so few records left of who survived the Salem Witch Trials that possessed any real gifts.

Nevertheless I had every intention of proving my worth to the council even if it meant suffering the company of Sister Umbra for the foreseeable future. She's a clever woman I'll give her that but there are times I wonder whether or not she's really on our side or not whenever her eyes become so cold they're almost inhuman. Then again one could say none of us are human, not entirely anyway. But that is precisely why we have to stand together as a family because if we don't, then no one will because its something they can never hope to understand...

At the end of the day that's all I want to give these children. I want to give them place to belong where their gifts can serve a greater purpose for all of humanity! Is that really so wrong? After all isn't that better than being considered too different or 'difficult to handle' by the rest of society just like I was before the council rescued me? Well the answer is obviously yes even if they don't know it yet, but they will.

Soon.