Sorry for the long wait. School has been a real pain in the bottom right now. Thank God (or whatever higher power up there) it's over in eight days.
Well, this is it. This is where the story concludes.
Thank you very much for reviewing the previous chapter. I know it wasn't that good, so I posted a slightly edited version instead. Plot-wise, it's the same; but the writing had to be adjusted (especially at the end, which is also a bit more ambiguous than before).
Oh! And thanks to Fey Phantom for the beautiful drawing she did from Chapter 12 (where Fenton and Phantom are crying like idiots, hehe). To check it out, copy and paste the following address, minus the spaces:
http / www . deviantart . com / deviation / 34872772 /
Anyway, I've got a lot of people to thank and other things to say at the bottom notes, so I'll move on to the story now.
Chapter 17: Waking Up
A sharp gasp broke the silence that resided in the dark bedroom. The boy responsible for such disruption had been sleeping serenely, but he suddenly woke up and sat bolt upright on his bed. As soon as he took in his surroundings and realized where he was, he froze on his spot with a puzzled expression.
Wait a minute… my bed? My room? How the heck did I end up here?
Danny's mind was muddled as thousands of questions plagued his head. He could barely even remember what had happened before he fell unconscious.
He rubbed his eyes and glanced at his clock. It read 4:17 a.m. With an annoyed and tired groan, he let his body rest on his mattress again.
If it's still Saturday, it's a crime to be awake this early.
All of the sudden, his memory unscrambled whatever happened a few hours ago and it all came back to him. Actually, he recalled the events from two different points of view, even though his human half was inactive during most of the fight.
Several images, including those of his parents, Remy, the Guardian of Dreams, Jazz, and his friends, filled the gaps in his brain. His main questions now were 'where's Morpheus?', 'what did he do?', and 'what the heck happened to the others?'
Quietly, Danny transformed into his ghostly alter ego. Once the rings of light changed his appearance, the boy turned invisible and intangible before he phased through the walls to scan the other rooms.
He reached his sister's four-walled space first. The phantom was fortunately able to see the outlines of Jazz's belongings thanks to the FentonWorks' sign outside, which diminished the darkness with its neon light. One of the silhouettes Danny could discern was the dormant body of his sibling. Perplexed, he floated next to her to confirm it was the same redheaded girl he grew up with.
But… how did Jazz get here? She didn't take her car to Sam's house. If she came home with mom and dad, why didn't they wake me up?
New enigmas troubled his teenage mind. However, he didn't have the heart to waken his sister so he could get the answers he needed. She seemed to be peacefully sleeping.
As silent as he entered, he moved to the next dormitory. Several things startled him once he made it to his parents' bedroom: one, the Fenton Ghost Shield was off; two, his mom and dad were there, lost in a deep slumber; and three, even though his father was snoring as loud as ever, the woman next to him wasn't wearing her Fenton Earplugs to help her rest through the noisy snorts.
Although these observations fazed him, Danny knew they were fine. After a few seconds of making sure nothing else was off, the boy phased through the wall and returned to his bedroom. He sat on his mattress and changed back to his human form, the blank stare on his face never receding.
Everyone seems to be safe and sound. I don't get it. Did Morpheus transport them or something? And why did he say that everything is the way it's meant to be? He was clearly acting weirder than usual.
Oh, no… what if I dreamed all of it?
The boy panicked and his eyes shifted towards the clothes he was wearing. Due to his bewildered state, he hadn't paid attention before to his current outfit, which consisted on a white T-shirt with red accents, blue jeans, and red shoes… the same thing he had been sporting the night before, with the same ink stain at the bottom of his shirt and the same hole in the left pocket of his pants.
Relieved, Danny released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Okay, it was real. At least I didn't hallucinate again. Still… I have no idea of what was going on with Morph. I guess I'll just have to wait till the others wake up to discuss this.
So… what am I going to do while I wait if I'm not really sleepy?
"Danny, are you in there?" the hushed and frantic voice of Jasmine Fenton called from outside her brother's bedroom at 8 in the morning. The sound of her words was accompanied as well by a soft knock on the door. Even if the girl had heard some noise from the room, she didn't want to be loud enough to waken her parents.
Two seconds later, she could hear footsteps near the other side of the door. The knob was turned and a wide-awake Danny appeared at the entrance. The boy grinned once he saw his sister and allowed her into the room. "Hey, Jazz," he greeted, closing the door behind them. "I was beginning to worry. You usually wake up earlier than this," he joked.
Jazz didn't laugh sarcastically or roll her eyes, like she normally would. Instead, she frowned with concern. "Actually, that is odd," she replied. "I don't even know how I got to my room. I vaguely remember the fight and how you woke up afterwards and followed mom to the roof. Then there was a red flash and…" she trailed off, unsure of her words. "I think I fainted or something."
Danny's eyebrow had kicked up once she mentioned the light. "Did you say… red flash?" he inquired intrigued.
His sister nodded. "Yeah. Why? Do you think Remy has something to do with that? What happened anyway?" the girl now questioned.
"Rem was defeated," he answered simply. "Morpheus showed up before I had a chance to look for a thermos and trap the dream eater."
"Oh, yeah, you left yours with us," Jazz interrupted.
"I figured. Anyway, Morph kinda… erased Remy. He then put some sort of spell on mom once she made it to the roof and she fell asleep. After that, he took my two halves to the lab and told us to go through the Ghost Catcher. It's all a blur from there, but I guess he's the one who brought me to my room," Danny explained.
An awkward silence grew between the two siblings. "So…" Jazz began after a while. "You think Remy's really gone? And that Morpheus brought us here? Have you even checked on Sam and Tucker yet?" she asked, sensing something strange as well.
Danny chuckled lightly. "Trust me. I had around four hours to think about it. Actually, I can't believe I'm almost… tireless. I think Morpheus restored my energy or something," he confided, at which Jazz stared questioningly. The boy sighed when he noticed the look on her face and continued explaining as he paced around the room. "I woke up four hours ago. I went to check on you and our parents. When I saw that you were all right, I decided to fly to find out what happened to my friends. They were in their respective homes and sleeping peacefully. I tried following your example and headed back to bed, but I was restless. It was like I had all this energy inside me… I even had a run-in with Skulker and played videogames before you knocked on my door," the boy narrated.
Jazz studied him carefully and noticed a slightly healthier tone on his skin. His eyes lacked of the bags underneath them that usually gave away his worn out condition. He seemed fresh and rather spirited, ironic considering his nature.
"There's something that has been bothering me, though," Danny continued, snapping his sibling out of her musings. "But I wanted to talk to you and the others about it once you were awake."
"Well, why don't you and I talk about it now?" the girl offered.
The youngest Fenton considered this for a second before giving in. "All right," he replied. "It's something Morpheus said before making me go unconscious. He said that things are just the way they're supposed to be. I've been giving it a lot of thought, but I still can't figure out if that's something to worry about or not."
Once again, Jazz raised an eyebrow. "He said that?" she asked and Danny nodded. "I can stay alert for any changes in your character, if that's what you're afraid of. Though, if Morpheus was so helpful at the end and he gave you back your energy, maybe it's nothing to worry about," she comforted. "You have to be careful, though. Try to stay attentive to your surroundings, specially if you're fighting."
"Yeah, I suppose…" the young hero exclaimed, still not fully convinced.
Before any of them could say another word, loud steps could be heard through the hall and nearing to Danny's door. When they were outside of his room, the door was suddenly slammed open with a bang, revealing a gun-wielding Jack Fenton at the entrance.
"Danny! Where's the ghost!" the large man in the orange jumpsuit yelled, pointing his ecto-foamer to several parts of the bedroom.
Cringing, both Jazz and Danny turned to face him. "Ghost?" the nervous black-haired teenager asked. "What ghost?"
"Jack," another voice came from the hall. A second later, Maddie Fenton calmly –and tiredly- appeared next to her husband. "I already told you: there's no ghost trying to haunt Danny. You dreamed all of it," she exclaimed with an annoyed tone, as if she had already told him more than once.
Dejectedly, the Fenton patriarch lowered his weapon. "Aww, Maddie… I thought you agreed with me," he complained.
The two kids just shared a confused look before returning their attention to their parents. "Uh, mom… dad… what's going on?" Danny questioned.
Both adults turned to face their son. Maddie smiled and walked towards him. "Nothing, sweetie. Your father just thinks some cloaked ghost is haunting you," she explained as she ruffled his hair. "He was just dreaming. He assumes that just because I had a nightmare in which I was chasing the ghost boy to protect you, I agree with him."
Jack then turned around and began to leave the room. "Stupid ghost dreams," he muttered before was out of sight. Maddie sighed and smiled before following her spouse, leaving two awestruck teenagers behind.
"But… they were there," Jazz began.
Danny nodded. "Yeah."
"I heard mom say something about how the ghost boy was controlling you, last night," she added, still perplexed.
"I know…"
"And they saw us at Sam's house."
"I know."
"So… Morpheus made them forget?" the girl wondered out loud.
Danny shook his head and turned to face his sister. "I think so. I mean… I thought for sure they would be barging in here to question us about it. I even had my excuses planned," he confessed. A smile then appeared on his face as realization hit him. "If they think it was all a dream, then we're probably not banned from the lab anymore," he enthusiastically exclaimed.
"You were banned from the lab?" Jazz asked.
"Long story short: apparently, mom and dad thought Phantom was using me to spy on them or something… so they restricted us –including you- from going to the lab," Danny answered.
"So…" Jazz once again began. "That means things are back to normal. They're just the way they're supposed to be, huh?"
Well… my family and friends seem to be fine, Remy's gone, my parents don't suspect there's any relationship between my two halves, and I seem to have regained my energy…
"You know what?" the boy exclaimed with a smile. "I think you're right."
Night and day were practically two unnecessary concepts in most parts of the Ghost Zone. Past, present, and future seemed just as pointless to some of its inhabitants, specially if they didn't have anything to look back or forward to.
There is, however, one area in which those three terms mean everything and nothing at all. A lair in which said triad moves back and forth, but every small change can alter its whole harmony.
Only one figure understood the thin line between construction and destruction. The owner of the aforementioned lair, after all, controlled time at will. He knew all the routes and possible outcomes of any situation.
He knows everything.
That's how he was aware of who was visiting his domain even before the newcomer made its entrance, which is why he wasn't surprised when one of his closest friends –if one was to apply such terms- appeared with a curtain of smoke in his castle.
"Morpheus," the old-looking Master of Time greeted with a smile as he wound up the clock on his staff, not really facing the other entity in the room. "Just in time."
The Guardian of Dreams advanced towards Clockwork as soon as the smog cleared. "The boy is safe, sound, and fully charged, like you requested," he said. "There's still something I can't grasp completely: if you wanted Remy eliminated, you should've let me done that from the beginning. Why did you want me to intervene the way I did? Twice, to be accurate."
Clockwork's face changed into a serious one, as his form switched to look like a child. He turned his attention to his visitor and motioned him to look at one of the screens that showed a different timeline.
Danny Phantom could be seen battling Remy at a building under construction. Both ghosts traded blows but the young hybrid soon gained the upper hand and trapped the dream eater inside a Fenton thermos.
'That will show him not to mess with a hero in a hurry,' the proud boy exclaimed while closing the lid of the cylindrical container. He then flew away, towards his home.
The dream guardian stared in awe at the scene. "I don't understand. You knew he could have actually won the first time, yet you asked me to do my job and try to take Remy under custody without vanishing him?" Morpheus inquired.
"Yes, but it was necessary. Otherwise, it would've been worse for Danny in the near future," Clockwork replied. Pressing a button below the screen, the image changed to FentonWorks.
'What were you thinking?' an enraged Maddie questioned her son. 'There are dangerous ghosts out there at this late hours!'
Danny Fenton's expression showed a mixture of guilt and annoyance as both of his parents lectured him in the living room.
'I expected a better judgment from you, son,' Jack exclaimed next.
'You're grounded until further notice, young man,' Danny's mom added. 'Go to your room and go to bed immediately. From now on, you will only leave this house to attend school, am I clear?'
'Yes, mom,' the boy muttered before heading to his bedroom, irritation clear in his tone and look.
Once he was in his room, he slammed the door shut and shot a ray from his finger against one of his pillows, which exploded instantly.
As his pillow's feathers covered his bed and part of the ground, Danny groaned exasperated. 'Stupid ghost powers!' he muttered. 'If I hadn't been trying to save this town again, then I wouldn't be late or injured. Heck, I wouldn't be exhausted all the time! And how does everyone repay what I do to save this rotten city? By declaring me Public Enemy No. 1 and blasting me whenever they have a chance! And now, I'm grounded! Again! I hate this!' he ranted as he shot another pillow with a beam.
At that point, Maddie knocked the door. 'Daniel Fenton! What's all that noise? Open this door right now!'
'I'm fine! Just… leave me alone!' he yelled back at his mother.
The scene stopped and Clockwork turned to meet Morpheus' curious glance. "In the end, he would have blamed his ghost half for every one of his problems, most of them not even ghost-related. If this wasn't attended immediately, he would have renounced to his duty as the protector of the human realm," he explained as he changed once more, now into an adult. "Daniel has always preferred to learn the hard way. That's why I needed him to go through this test."
"Yes, I noticed that rift between his two halves, but I didn't know the consequences would be as dire as you imply," Morpheus spoke, contemplating the possible scenario proposed by the other ghost.
"They won't be," the Master of Time replied. "At least not anymore. Now that he has embraced his ghostly nature and that Remy's gone for good, things will look brighter in his future."
The shadowlike visitor shook his head softly as if in disbelief. "I still have a job to do, but you'll have to explain this to me in another occasion," the Sandman said as he began to conjure up a curtain of smoke. He paused for a second and then turned to his friend. "You probably know what's best for him since he's your responsibility, but try not to be too hard on him. He's a good kid." The smoke resumed its movement as it surrounded the dream guardian. "We'll meet again, Clockwork. Preferably when it doesn't involve testing your protégé," Morpheus exclaimed as he parted with the smog he summoned.
The Master of Time smiled once more as he transformed into an old man once again, his features gaining a wise feel to them.
Yes. Clockwork knew. But then, he knows everything.
"Gotcha!" a girl wearing black pants, a purple top, and a gray bandana, yelled as she threw another sponge filled with green paint at one of her friends.
The trio had agreed to play a lighter version of paintball in the park that sunny Saturday afternoon. After last night's events, they tried to find a way to relax and simply have some fun. Of course, not everyone enjoyed the game…
"No fair, Sam!" Tucker exclaimed as he noticed his now colored sweatshirt. "I've been your only target!" He turned to throw a red sponge at the Goth girl but was surprised by a sneak attack behind him.
'Splat!'
Two laughing voices filled the park as the tech geek tried to find the one responsible for the blue mark on his neck. He turned around to find a hysterical Danny becoming visible. "Seriously, Tuck," the half-ghost exclaimed between chuckles. "You're a bigger klutz than me when it comes to this game!"
With a light giggle, Sam joined the Fenton boy as Tucker scowled. "Yeah, but only because you have ghost powers," the girl conceded.
"Finally! Someone who agrees. Thank you," the dark-skinned boy said as he grabbed another sponge and tried to hit Danny, who just turned intangible once more. "Why can't you just play like a normal kid?" Tucker complained once more.
"Sorry. I would need to actually be a normal kid to do that," Danny replied with a triumphant grin.
"In that case, you give us no other choice," Sam exclaimed with a mischievous smile.
The ghost boy never liked that grin. He knew that his friend only used it whenever she was sure she had the upper hand. The girl turned her lilac gaze towards Tucker, who smirked just as slyly.
"Oh, yeah? What are you going to do? Take me down molecule by molecule?" Danny challenged.
"No," Tucker began. "But almost," he said as he pulled out a Fenton Booo-merang from behind his back. Sam did the same.
Danny's eyes widened in shock as he saw his two friends attaching wet sponges to the flying devices. "You never said anything about using my parents' gadgets," he exclaimed nervously.
"Now would be a good time to run, Phantom," Sam mocked as she prepared to throw her (almost) harmless weapon.
The boy transformed into his ghostly alter ego, once he made sure no one was watching, and fled the scene as fast as ghostly possible. The two locked devices followed him soon after.
Well, at least we are really enjoying our first real weekend of fun since I became a ghost, but now without putting aside my responsibility as Amity Park's protector.
I mean… there are no more worries, no more identity crisis, no more misunderstandings with my parents, no recent run-ins with Valerie or any ghost… I'm still alert for any attack, but I'm trying to relax in the meantime.
It's not perfect, but it's good enough for me.
I'm really, really, really thankful for all this weirdness. Living a perfect life or even a "normal" one is definitely not for me.
Been there, done that. Back to the real world.
This is part of my reality. Being there for everyone, having to deal with spooks on a daily basis, or even playing with my friends using my powers is part of what now makes me… well, me.
And it's nice to know we can still have fun even if I'm a half-dead teenager.
While Danny continued his musings, Sam's Booo-merang closed in on the white-haired boy as he flew higher into the sky.
Oh, who am I kidding? Losing in this game even with my ghost powers totally reeks.
'Splat.'
THE END
Notes:
I'm just mildly satisfied with how this was written, but at least it's finally here.
Yeah… That's all! It's done!
Wow. it was almost six months ago when this started. I never thought it would take so long to get to this point.
If there's something you want me to clarify, let me know so I can fix it.
I want to thank those who took at least a minute of their time to read this story and reviewed, faved, or alerted while at it.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Aisu no Doragon, AkaiKurai, Almaseti, AnimeWriter, Benny, BlackShadow875, blindyourears (thanks for the C2), BlueMyst19, briedee, CalicoKitty13, casade, Catmedium, Catnip070, Celestial Moonshine, centaurgurl08, Crossover Fiend, Danaphantom, danny0709, DanPhantom, Dariana Night, darkmoonwriter13, Darth Frodo, deadly-anger, Deleila, deranged black kitten of doom, deserriwisher, Digimon ruler.9, dramaqueen07, DSK, ducky76, EHHimel, Elven Angel10, epobbp, Fey Phantom, fox eye, GhostAnn (thanks for the C2), Halfa-NariMaruko, I Brake For Ghosts, iGoGhost, I-I-It's c-c-coold heere…, IlovTrunks16, InuPhantom, Jalison, JTN, Just call me Crazy, Kamoto, Karen Rosalie, katiesparks, Kayo, Kitty Kyinsky, Kkwy, Lady Two-Bit, L'ange-Sans-Ailes, Lateraina Wolf Leppers, littlekittykat, MattsLittleSister, Me, Miss Selarne, Missmeliss4251, Mistress of Darkness, MmFlamerosemM, Mr. Snuffles, mutantsquirrel4, Netbug009, Nix Noctua, Nobody-Important91, Ohka Breynekai, Outdated Reviewer, Petitio Principii, Phantom Of A Thorn, PhantomBoy827andMasterofProcrastination, phantomdog, Possesed Angel (thanks for the C2), purpledog100, Queen S of Randomness 016, RainbowSerenity, Risika135, rockpaperscissor, RonninBlade, Ryo Hoshi, Ryo's destiny, sarah-sama, Satoshi Silver Syoran, Serena the Hikari of Love, Shadow Guardian of the Gate, Shimegami-chan, Silent Elegy, silvermoonphantom (thanks for the C2), silverstagbeauty, Sleep Warrior, SliceyDiceyOnTheIcey, Snickerer, Sparky the Wonder Weasel, Spidergirl, Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse, Static-elf-of-insanity, TailsFreak2, The Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy, The Person Who Rights, The Sleep Warrior, timydamonkey, Truth91920, ttaf1991, TuffaChica, venusgal100, whirlgirl, WolfDaughter, X-wingPilot52, XxLight ShadowxX, -XxX Hero's Crest XxX-, yoyo-illuser, Ytak, yugihfan2002, Yumi Hallo, Zagonarth, ZAGRH8R, Zeldyrox, and Zuzanny.
(Please let me know if I forgot to mention anyone)
Well, I still have other stories in progress and two upcoming one-shots, so I'm off to work on that. Thank you for your support, your patience, and your time. I hope you enjoyed reading this fanfic as much as I enjoyed writing all of it.
Take care and I hope to see you around.