The cold, silent laboratory that sat underneath the Fenton Works building seemed a perfect match for Danny's mood as he stood in front of the now inert Ghost Portal. Once, it had opened into a world beyond anyone's imagination. A realm where the dead would exist forever and loved ones would never truly die. Now the device was still active, yet no portal opened before him. It was nothing more than a tube of useless wires and technology that led nowhere.
His hands rose to rest against the steel that made up the outside of the portal. A rented tuxedo hung from his scrawny frame, while a red tie rested against his chest as he stared into the device. He was waiting for it to activate and some unspeakable horror to attack him from somewhere beyond. Waiting for Tucker to emerge as a ghost and tell him he was really still there, that he really still existed. He would even like to see Valerie emerge and come after him guns blazing.
He didn't react when he heard a pair of soft footsteps reach the bottom of the basement stairs, stopping near the exit. "We're going to be late, Danny." Jazz told him softly. When he didn't respond she stepped closer to him. "Are you okay? You've been spending a lot of time down here the last two weeks."
"It's just so much to take in, Jazz." Danny shook his head and closed his eyes. "Everything's different now. Tucker's gone, Valerie's gone, Vlad's gone, the Ghost Zone is gone. Even I've changed..." Danny slipped his hands off of the Fenton Portal to look down at his palms, staring at them blankly. "It's like everything I knew before is just... gone."
He listened to Jazz walk up behind him, not turning to look back at her. She stopped right behind him and her arms wrapped comfortingly around his torso from behind, wrapping around his chest. "I know you're going to miss the past, Danny. Losing something... or someone... that's been such a huge part of your life. It's like being thrown into a whole new world. And when it's someone you cared about... it's like having a piece of your own heart ripped away from you. But you still have so much to live for, including me... and most of all, Sam."
"I guess... I guess I took for granted that Tucker would always be there, like he always has been." Danny turned around slowly to look back at his sister. She was wearing a formal black dress that hung off of her frame, accompanied by a pair of elbow-length black gloves and even a black umbrella hanging from the crook of her arm, since a series of thick storm clouds seem to have overtaken the city over the last two weeks. "I didn't even tell him goodbye, Jazz."
"That's what today is for, Danny." Jazz smiled kindly and held one hand out to him. "To say goodbye, so we can go on with our lives." Danny looked down at her hand, then looked unsmiling up at her eyes as he reached out to take it. "Come on, the others are waiting."
Danny nodded, and Jazz turned to lead him up the basement stairwell into the living room, where their parents were standing near the door, waiting. When they emerged, Maddie looked at him with a gentle smile and wrapped him in a tight hug. Normally Danny would object, but not now. He wrapped his arms around her, leaning into her comforting embrace until she let him go and stepped back, taking a handkerchief out of her black dress to gently wipe at his eyes.
When she finished she moved back and her husband stepped forward wearing his massive, way-too-tight black tuxedo, slapping a hand on his shoulder so hard he almost knocked him to the floor. Jack didn't say anything, just smiled down at his son in that strangely energetic way he had before looking over his shoulder and moving to the side, allowing Danny to see beyond.
Sam was standing in the middle of the room, a black silken dress drifting down her frame like a luxurious robe, though it left her ankles bare, where he could see her old pair of thick steel-toed boots. Like Jazz, she wore a pair of black gloves that went up to her elbows, but she also wore a thin black veil over her face, which she pushed out of the way with one hand so she could give him a gentle, sad smile.
Danny smiled sadly and walked toward her, opening his arms to wrap them around her waist, pulling her close so he could rest his cheek against her shoulder. Her hands ran over his back tenderly, and he felt her plant a soft kiss on his cheek. A few moments passed before a pair of footsteps moved up beside them, and a pair of hands landed on their shoulders.
"We'll be in the RV when you're ready." Maddie told them. He felt Sam nod and heard the sound of his parents' footsteps heading toward the front door. Reluctantly Danny pulled his head off of Sam's cheek, resting his forehead against hers as he stared through the black veil into her deep violet eyes.
"I can still feel it, Sam." Danny told her softly. "I can still feel the ghost inside me. Angry... wanting to lash out. To hurt people."
"It doesn't matter." Sam shook her head. "You, Danny Fenton, are stronger than any ghost."
"But if it does get out some day..." Danny began before Sam interrupted him.
"It won't, Danny." She smiled. "How many times do I have to keep telling you this? I won't let any ghosts hurt you. Not the Reaper, and not Danny Phantom."
Danny smiled and chuckled slightly. "Guess I'm just a slow learner." He pulled away from her, holding both of her hands in his. "I'll just have to get used to being the containment unit for the last ghost."
"And I'll be your lock and key." Sam nodded with a smile. They turned to leave, their hands clutching one another as they made their way out front to the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle.
Jazz leaned against the wall beside the door, watching them leave with her arms crossed over her chest. When they were gone she looked down at the floor, moving her hands to run her fingers down to her stomach. "The last ghost huh...? We'll see..."
"Take care of that child, Jasmine." A voice from further inside the house made Jazz jump and look around in a panic. When she spotted a powerfully built ghostly form floating near the kitchen in a thick blue cape that hung down its frame to scrape the floor, she turned to scream, but he spoke before she could. "Please, do not be afraid. I come in peace, you have my word."
"Who are you?" Jazz demanded.
"My name is Clockwork." The ghostly figure floated closer. To her astonishment his form shifted without warning, replaced by that of a chubby infant, though his voice didn't change. "I have just come to say goodbye."
"Clockwork?" Jazz exclaimed in surprise. "But Danny said all the ghosts were gone." She glared at him suspiciously, but he merely smiled a kind and gentle smile that looked oddly natural on his child's face. "What are you?"
"I am a friend." Clockwork floated across the room to stop beside her, looking out the front window where Danny and Sam were trying to argue that their seats didn't need six seatbelts. His form shifted again to that of an old man. "What else is there that matters?"
"Hmm." Jazz didn't like the answer, but decided to let it drop as she turned to look out the window with him, watching her brother. "So you can see the future, right?"
"I can see the river of time flow, and the places where it might lead. But what will come to pass always depends on the decisions of the individual." Clockwork replied.
"Please, just tell me one thing." Jazz looked at her brother sadly. "Will he ever turn? Will the ghost ever take him over completely?" She looked away form the window, staring up into Clockwork's suddenly solemn red eyes. "I don't need some philosophical lesson... just please. I have to know."
"The darkness in his future heart was born of Vlad Plasmeus... but fueled by Danny's own hopelessness and despair. If those two elements combine, it will bring once again the future that he has fought to prevent." The ghostly figure shook his childish head. "So I suppose, Jasmine, that his future is in your hands. And Sam's. To keep him from becoming consumed by loss and rage."
"We'll do everything we can." Jazz nodded solemnly.
"I know that you will." Clockwork turned away from the window. "The rivers of time are many, from this point forward. Danny has an infinite number of futures awaiting his choices." Clockworked looked at her over his broad, powerful shoulder. "But looking now at the present, I believe in my heart that he will be just fine." Jazz smiled back warmly. "I should not stay too long, so please do pass along my well wishes to Danny."
"I'll be sure to do that." Jazz nodded. Clockwork nodded back gratefully and turned to float back toward the kitchen, but Jazz suddenly thought of something. "The Reaper." Clockwork stopped, though he didn't turn to look back at her. "Where is he now? What happened to him?"
"He is where he belongs." The old ghost looked back at her kindly. "As are we all. Take care of yourself, Jasmine. And watch over your brother. There may yet be difficult times ahead for him." He turned away and left through the kitchen, leaving Jazz staring after him. Despite his reassurances, she was still pretty troubled by all of this.
"Jazz?" Jazz almost jumped out of her skin when Sam spoke from right beside her. She whirled on the shorter girl, who stepped back in surprise. "Whoa! Calm down there. What's taking so long? Are you coming?"
"Y-yeah. I'm coming." With one last glance back at the kitchen, Jazz turned to follow Sam out to the Fenton RV. This knowing the future stuff was a bit spooky. But not knowing the future was scarier, she thought to herself as she climbed in the RV and saw Danny strapped into four seatbelts on one of the solid steel benches. She watched him for a few moments, then slipped into the seat nearest the door, looking down at her abdomen as she sat. So much uncertainty going forward... but she would do her best to make sure their future was bright.
THE END
Author's Note: This was a long story, written after a very long writing drought where I didn't write anything at all. I hope to write more in the future, time will tell if it's fan work or that original novel I've been trying to write for months. But thank you for reading through this sprawl, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And thank you so much for the enthusiastic reviews throughout the story. Every single one of them put a smile on my face. I just hope I put a couple smiles on yours... and maybe a tear or two.