So this is what it all comes down to. One final chapter. *looks tired* I honestly cannot believe it myself. It started almost three and a half months ago, and now, on October 1st in Central Daylight Standard time, I have finally completed a Danny Phantom fan fiction for the first time in many months. My first centric one in too long—to much love, approval, and threats for updates. But enough of this for now.

For now, my thanks for these reviews: AnneriaWings, NeverEnough15, Invader Zhyr, Call me Mad AKA Ninja Fish, JackieDanielStark, Echoheart, Nadis Aten, aryaneragon4ever, spiritmind675, TacoBell Obsessed, TwiLyght Sans Sparkles, Nano Phantom, PsychoticNari, Cloudcrossing, dragondancer123, Sabsi13, Fluffy things r cute, Ecokitty, Midnayuki, Samantha Seldowitz

Part VI: Pain

"He's gone, Daniel…"

But the only question was- did I really want that? Or was it simply a moment of weakness that made me crumble into nothing short of a coward? Seeing my dad on the floor like that was enough to make me want to do nothing short of die right then. To know they had stood up to his rage for as long as they did—something in me just jerked to reality. Like all my anger and hate for them had evaporated in a single hand through the chest. My body couldn't cooperate with my mind.

Happy or sad?

I opened my mouth to try and say something. Nothing doing. As if frozen in time, I could only stand there and stare at the blood. There was so much gone—it was like looking at my own dissection all over again. Part of me wanted to vomit, but again, I just… couldn't. Mom was still on the floor, but her movement was now minimum. Plasmius was stalking over to her, and my mind was screaming for me to stop him. The more I thought, the more fuzz came into play. 'Save her… you should save her and not your father.'

Plasmius glanced at me for a split moment before walking over to Mom's limp body. He kneeled next to her and grabbed her neck, lifting her high into the air and chuckling darkly. "So this is how it all ends, Madeline. You have destroyed the trust of the one thing you thought you could 'save.'" He snorted, eyes flashing again as he slammed her up into a wall. She wasn't even fighting back, the light dim in her eyes. "And to think I once loved you… I wanted you, needed you. Craved for your touch, my dear." The fingers gripped her throat tighter, voice getting harsher. "Never again…"

I couldn't just…

"If you tried to murder your son—my son with your own hands for your selfish desires to experiment on him…"

My stomach churned. The haze finally cleared up slightly, leaving nothing but a screaming realization finally in my mind.

'You should have told them. Then none of this would have happened.'

"Y-you're no different."

Plasmius slowly turned around, gripping Mom's throat still. I must have looked pitiful standing there, giving this listless gaze at my dad and looking back at Vlad. Pain was searing through my body, and it just couldn't stop. It wouldn't stop. My hand felt my chest, felt the scar forming on my body. They were glowing now, a soft sort of bluish-green. "Y-you're not different from Mom and Dad… you twisted—"

They loved me. They wanted to protect me. I just couldn't see it. I was blind with hate, rage, despair, disappointment. Everything. I felt sick. I just wanted to die right then. Not because Mom and Dad found out while dissecting me, but because—because they cared. They loved me. And I turned it down in a fit of rage.

God. Why me? Why. Me.

"…you finish that sentence, boy, and I will make you wish you were in my grasp and not your pathetic mother," Plasmius whispered, dropping Mom to the floor and turning to me. He still had that murderous look in his eyes, but I actually didn't back down. I didn't budge, staring back at him and shaking my head. He took a step forward. I still didn't move.

"…you twisted bastard," I muttered.

I am pretty sure I don't think I have heard a more terrible roar than the one my enemy howled out. I turned invisible then, immediately avoiding what would have been a death throttle by the hands of my dad's murderer. He didn't hear anything as I swooped in to see Mom, to make sure she still had a pulse.

Amazingly, she did. I don't know how, but…

Unfortunately, Vlad saw me in this instance, and he roared again, hands outstretched. Eyes narrowed, I scooped up Mom's body and immediately did a one-eighty to avoid him once again. It was a close call—Plasmius went straight through the wall, and it gave me a very quick moment to grab my dad's body and scoop him up. My mind was no longer focused on the pain, but rather to simply get their bodies to safety. That was upstairs. 'Get them out of here… gotta save Mom… help Dad… he's dead, idiot…'

I grunted, heaving their bodies through the roof of the lab and setting them down finally. Mom still wasn't moving, but I didn't have time to worry about that now.

Plasmius.

I slipped through the floor now and landed there, looking down at my reflection in the pool of blood. My bile rose in my throat, covering my mouth for a moment before becoming intangible again right as Plasmius was about to tackle me. My voice was shaky. I couldn't help it. "S-Stop."

Plasmius snarled, shaking his head.

"You're worse than them," I told him softly, gazing at his furious eyes and biting my lip. "I'm no better than them. I finally know what they wanted to do, and I couldn't—" My voice choked. "I couldn't tell them. I was a damn coward, and I couldn't just…" My fists clenched now, body tightening for an attack from the fruit loop. "I couldn't do it. It's my fault."

"You need to be studied. To become perfection. To become mine." Plasmius's hand burned, as did his eyes. "I will be the first to study you completely. Your parents have done nothing to this extent, and I will surpass them in this."

It was becoming harder and harder to hold myself together. Oh god… god, what the hell had I done? What had I been— what the hell had I been thinking? I'd been pissed before all this had happened. Depressed that they had gotten me. Pained to think they could actually "fix" me and try to make things better. It made it all sound like they were veterinarians and I was a dog… I stared at my hand, biting my lip and watching it shake slightly. Was that blood I saw? Was I hallucinating?

I didn't even know anymore what was real. What wasn't.

Plasmius lunged, my body becoming intangible again and him sailing right through. There were no more words to be said. I turned to him, eyes bleak as a rainy day. I hadn't felt this terrible since the day I had woken up from that nightmare my parents had put me through. There wasn't much left to fight for. Dad was gone, Mom was barely there as it was in the upstairs… I slumped to my knees, staring at that red hand and shaking my head.

I thought it'd make him stop.

He got even more pissed.

"I'm not taking you if you just surrender, Daniel," he sneered, firing a ghost ray and hitting me square in the chest. The wound burst open, blood splattering forth and my body flying into the steel wall. I screamed out in pain, agony, tears unexpectedly flowing down my face and mixing with my fresh blood. "Come on. Put up some of a fight!" His voice was shrill, shooting another and hitting another bull's-eye. "Get up!"

By now, I was too blind in my pain to do anything more than simply scream. Nothing else was telling me to do anything more than just scream. Hands tried to feel my chest, only sensing liquid seeping through my fingers.

Screams. So many screams. Mine. Mom's… Dad's…

Wait.

Mom's screams… Dad's screams?

I couldn't just—

I don't know what happened next. I was too in pain to see my mother limping down and screeching at someone to get away from me…

Sheets. Towels. Cushions. Pillows.

Must've been in the living room.

Someone was holding me there for a long moment, and I couldn't see who it was. Words were coming out in shudders, shivers, whimpers—I didn't know what was going on. There were whispers, someone sitting next to me as I tried to move. My eyes were bleary, hurting as if I had just sobbed for hours at a time. My head moved to the side, looking over and seeing someone limping through the house.

A voice. "…critical condition."

"Is he—?"

"…hard to say."

My voice cracked. "M-M-Mom?"

Shuffling. "…oh my god, Danny…" Someone kneeled next to me, placing a soft hand on my face. Bandaged, but I could still feel fingers there. "You're alive…"

I could have said the same thing, but I didn't. "Dad?"

"H-He's… he's alive… somehow…"

My mind was blurry with questions. How the hell was Dad alive? Where was Vlad? What happened to everything, everyone? Sam, Tucker, Jazz…

"T-There's something else, Danny…" Jazz's voice faded in and out.

My eyes closed. So much pain. So many levels. So many different shades.

"You're dying. Blood loss, physical weakness and pain." Her voice was strained. "Any minute, any day—you could just die. We can't save you any more. We can't…" Jazz was sobbing softly now, hair shaking slightly. "I'm so sorry! We can't do anything for either side. We can't help you, save you… anything…"

My voice was eerily calm, but choked. "I know."

Written to: too much crap I cannot remember. Mainly Resident Evil.

I am going. To get shot for this. Dammit, Anneria had a better ending than me, and this is all open-ended and begging and pleading on its knees for a blasted sequel. I couldn't keep it going before it got too sappy, but dear god almighty, don't shoot me for anything and everything please. I know what I'm doing. I've been going at this for almost four years. I DO HAVE PLANS, YOU KNOW.

But enough about me. Enough about this. I just wanna thanks people.

For your faves. Your reviews. Your alerts. Everything. 60 faves and 66 alerts? I'm in utter shock. I can't believe it. I don't know if it's because it's a spin-off or because I actually wrote something good, but—I'm sincerely very happy you all liked it. It's gotten me back in a Danny Phantom mood, and I have all of you to thank for that. So damn much. You have no idea…

For now, I must be off. Sleep calls. So does my PS2 and maybe some crossover bunnies and drabbles in the near future.

Reviews are enjoyed. I'll be damned if I don't answer every not-anon. review this time. I promise.

Anneria, get ready. Lab Rat: TBA is coming… very soon.

Love always, Shining Zephyr