Epilogue

Tucker held up Danny's photo to reporters as tears streamed down his cheeks, Sam took off her engagement ring and tossed it into a lake, Valerie lay dead in the remains of what was once Vlad's mansion as an ancient evil broke through from the Ghost Zone, Dani stood with Ember and Skullker as they readied themselves for battle, and other images flashed upon the screen as Clockwork scanned the possible futures. All, some, or none of what he was seeing might come to pass but it was all connected to Danny and that time-line was locked off to even him. For the first time in centuries even the master of time was unsure of what the future would bring. Clockwork hoped that Danny would be up to the task.

What he could divine was simple. The next big event would start with the eyes of a mad man.

In a cold prison cell far back in the Amity Park Police station, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and shivering in a corner, Vlad Masters repeated a single phrase like a demented mantra.

"You'll never defeat me."

[Final thoughts: I wanted to add a little something before I close this story out to let you all know that I do in fact plan to continue this in farther volumes. I had set out to tell a simple story to advance the Danny Phantom mythos but it has become more than I ever thought. I'm not quite sure what happens next, much like Clockwork, but I have a few ideas and a few places that I want to go with this but I need some time to develop them, which is why I have temporarily turned it over to the Fanfiction community for the time being, and I am frankly curious what thoughts might be floating out there about what has already been laid out.

I don't own Danny Phantom or related properties.]