A/N: Well, I have to admit, I'm kind of relieved to be done with this. *rubs back of neck sheepishly* I left the DP fandom for a reason...

Thank you to FowlFanKid13, Invader Johnny, RMXStudio, Vin, PotterBlackRemus13, xelano123, lexi1220, and ttme123 for reviewing!

Title: Veritas

Author: liketolaugh

Rating: T

Pairings: None

Genre: Tragedy/Angst

Warnings: Character death

Summary: In the end, it's ghost hunters who end Danny Phantom. (Danny's death, and then the things that come after.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, nor do I want to. If I owned it, I'd have to take responsibility for the monstrosity that is Phantom Planet.

The longest dry spell since the portal opened, and of course Danny wasn't here to see it.

It was a few weeks after Danny's death that the first sentient ghost showed his face in town again, and obviously, it was the Box Ghost. Who the hell else would it be?

The Fentons had indeed gone on to pick up ghost hunting again, but it was slow going, so Sam, Jazz, and Tucker hadn't dropped it yet, keeping up their patrols in the absence of other things to do. (Sam had never realized just how much of her life revolved around Danny.)

It was Sam that the Box Ghost ran into first, which was unfortunate to him, because Sam's temper had been rather short as of late, and she did not have the patience for his shit even on a good day.

"Where is the ghost child?" were the first words out of the Box Ghost's mouth when he saw her, which did not help her mood in the slightest.

"None of your fucking business," Sam snapped, grasping for her ecto-gun, glaring at him. Worse, the Box Ghost, in a way the shapeless ectoplasmic blobs never could have, reminded her of Danny, and it tightened her chest in a way she didn't want to think about.

The Box Ghost huffed, crossing his arms childishly. "No one has seen the ghost child! Why not?"

Sam clenched her jaw. Hold it together, Manson. "He's dead," she told him harshly, fist so tight around her weapon that it was shaking slightly. "Understand? He's dead and we're never going to seem him again, so let's get this over with so you can get lost!"

The Box Ghost, however, didn't seem to have processed most of her words; instead, he was staring at her dumbly, seemingly stuck on one thing. "He's dead? The ghost of the cylindrical container... is dead?"

Sam's eyes burned, and she'd never felt so enraged. "Yes, he is!" she spat. "And it's your fault, you and the other ghosts like you!" She stepped toward him, shaking with anger. "If you didn't keep coming here and trying to do whatever it is you're trying to do, he wouldn't have had to keep fighting you off! And if he hadn't had to keep fighting you off, no one would have known about his ghost form, and his fucking parents wouldn't have killed him!"

My the end of her speech, her voice had risen to a near-hysterical scream, and the Box Ghost was just staring at her with wide eyes.

Then, abruptly, he vanished, and she quietly cursed herself and stepped back, scrubbing at her eyes furiously.

She didn't see the Box Ghost again that day.

Jazz was the first one to see Dani, who practically ran up to her in the middle of the street, tennis shoes clapping against the ground and nearly stumbling in her haste.

She stopped right in front of her, tipping her head back to stare at her, wide-eyed. "Jazz, I heard about- Is it true?"

It took Jazz a moment, but then she understood, and tears pricked at her eyes. "Yeah," she said softly, head dropping, fingers tightening around her book. "Yeah, it- Yeah."

Dani's eyes widened, her hand clapping over her mouth. "Oh my God," she breathed, eyes horrified and crushed and ridiculously like Danny's when he was this upset. "I can't believe-"

"I know," Jazz agreed in a tight, low voice that was all she could force from her chest.

"How…?" Dani was still just staring, clearly in shock, and starting to shake slightly.

"Mom and Dad," Jazz forced out, anger burning her throat like it always did when she thought about them lately. "They know now, but they… they didn't then."

"Oh," Dani said in a small voice. Then she shook herself, visibly forced herself to perk up (which hurt just to watch) and said bravely, "I… I thought you might need help. With the ghost hunting. Since…"

This, too, took Jazz a moment to process, but then she nodded, taking a deep breath. If Dani could handle this, then so could she. "Yeah. You're right. Thanks, D-Dani."

Dani ended up staying with Sam as well, and Jazz thought the only reason her parents didn't protest was the stern looks Sam's grandmother gave them every so often, which seemed to curb their tongues.

Dani wasn't quite as good as Danny - she usually avoided areas thick with ghosts, for fear of attracting Vlad's attention - but she lifted a lot of the strain off of them.

Jazz had personally made sure, with low words hissed in a tone made of icy steel, that her parents knew not to attack Dani, and when she made sure of that, she spent the first week following the girl around, making sure she could handle it.

Not that she would have been able to do anything about it if she couldn't.

It was hard to shake off the fear, worried as she was that Dani would get herself into trouble while Jazz wasn't looking (like Danny had, her mind whispered) but Dani yelled at her for stalking her, so she had to lay off eventually.

Naturally, it was shortly after that that she ran into Skulker.

Skulker was being unusually quiet, though, half invisible as he poked his head suspiciously around corners, one arm-gun bared and ready to fire. Jazz fingered her ectogun and cleared her throat pointedly, directing it at him. (She never went anywhere without it. Hadn't for a long time.)

It was actually embarrassing, how easily he dismissed her when he finally turned around to look at her. She faltered on seeing his expression - far from the triumph or perverse excitement that usually put a vicious smirk on his mouth, it was pensive and slightly disturbed.

"You're the ghost child's sister, aren't you?" he asked abruptly, tapping his foot impatiently in a surprisingly human gesture.

She took a step back and nodded cautiously, hiding a flinch just at the mention. (She really needed to get over that.)

"Where is he?" Skulker sounded frustrated and, again, a little disturbed. Jazz's grip tightened convulsively.

"Didn't the Box Ghost spread the word?" Jazz asked bitterly, with a hitch in her voice she couldn't control. She put the gun down, since Skulker didn't seem like he was about to attack. "He's dead. Mom and Dad killed him."

"Impossible." Skulker's voice was stern, cutting across hers like a knife through butter as he scowled at her like she was a disobedient child. "The ghost child cannot have been killed. It cannot be done."

"Obviously it can," Jazz snapped, barely holding back a sob as tears stung at her eyes. "Look, metal mouth, I really don't have the energy to deal with you right now, and I definitely don't have the strength to argue with you right now. Danny was always the strong one, and he's gone." Then, with uncharacteristic spite, "If you want to ask someone about it, talk to Mom and Dad."

He blinked at her, clearly startled and still frowning, and she glared at him until, abruptly, he winked out of existence.

He never returned.

After Skulker left, the ghosts started coming back again.

Wulf came and stayed with Tucker for a few days, sniffling sadly and occasionally howling mournfully at the moon. Technus came and flailed around for a bit, yelling about human sentimentality and fragility and seemingly confused by his own listlessness. Unlike the others, he didn't leave on his own; Dani took care of him in the end.

There was Frostbite, who came to offer his condolences with solemn, old eyes, and Cujo, who had come sniffing around Amity Park and hadn't yet left; Sam thought that he was looking for Danny.

Well, he could keep looking. He wasn't going to find him.

The most annoying was Spectra, who had, naturally, come to feed off of everyone's misery, and was doing a frustratingly good job hiding from all the ghost hunters, especially when she didn't need to milk it, really. There was more than enough to go around.

"Hey, babypop!"

Ember's rough voice drew Sam's attention, and she barely had to turn to shoot the flame-haired ghost a venomous glare.

"Yes, Danny's dead, no, that doesn't mean you can haunt Amity," Sam snarled at her, tired of this and of everything and most of all of being this sad. "Are we done?"

Ember didn't smirk like Sam expected; instead, she leveled a pitying look at her, and held out one hand. "Found this floating in the Zone. You might not want it back now, babypop, but believe me, you'll want it in a few years."

Sam looked at her suspiciously, and when she made no hostile moves, she hesitantly moved forward to at least see what it was.

It was the ring. The class ring she'd thrown into the portal.

"What," she said flatly.

Ember, satisfied she knew what it was, threw it at her face. "Take it, lady. Trust me, you'd regret throwing it away." She turned and started to walk away as it bounced off Sam's face and the girl absently caught it, frowning at her. "See you around, babypop. I got a sulky boyfriend to look after and a rampaging warden to avoid." She flashed a smirk over her shoulder. "But don't think I won't be back."

Sam stared after her until she was gone, but when she finally was, she bent down to pick it up.

She stared at the ring for a few long moments, and then she shoved it into her pocket.

She had a feeling Ember knew what she was talking about.

Sam tolerated Spectra's presence for maybe a week before she snapped and went after her with a Fenton Ghost Peeler and a thermos.

It was a vicious beatdown. Tucker sort of really never wanted to see anything like it again. And then she locked Spectra in the thermos and threw her into the river. (No one, as far as Tucker knew, had gone to retrieve her yet. She'd sunk too low.)

Not long after that, Valerie moved away, and then…

Sam had to laugh. She had to laugh or she was going to start screaming and never stop.

She never thought she'd be sorry Vlad was dead.

Sam sat on the edge of the river, on a bench, curled up in a ball and hiding her face in her knees, shaking slightly all over again.

Dammit, Danny, she thought miserably. I didn't even know you could do this to me. I didn't know I could feel this bad.

It wasn't like this all the time, not anymore, but sometimes…

And of course, it wasn't like it was a mystery, what had happened to Vlad. Jazz had refused his offer, and less than a week later, his mansion had exploded. There was green goo everywhere, and hardly enough left of Vlad to scrape together a positive identification.

Apparently he'd started living for the two Fenton kids, and when they were gone, he'd decided what he'd been making do with before was no longer enough.

It fucking figured.

"Who gave you the right?" she whispered to the air, angry tears stinging at her eyes.

"Dearie?"

Even entrenched in brooding as she was, Sam couldn't fail to recognize the Lunch Lady's voice. She turned her head away, fervently wishing that she would go away, but instead felt a cold hand on her shoulder and flinched away.

"Dearie, it'll be alright," the Lunch Lady murmured, voice uncharacteristically soft and understand, and Sam growled at her.

"No, it won't," she snapped harshly.

"Yes," the Lunch Lady contradicted firmly. "It will."

Clockwork examined the image in the mirror, adult face solemn and borderline regretful, as the Lunch Lady continued to speak to Sam until, abruptly, the girl started to cry, leaning into the green-skinned ghost lady, who patted her back comfortingly, looking a little sad herself.

Then he waved his staff, and the image changed. With new, old eyes in a wrinkled old face, he observed Amity Park in ten years.

In front of a crowd, Sam Manson's worried look changed to a triumphant, broad smile as she won the election for mayor, and thus the right to change the laws surrounding ghosts in the small town.

Tucker cheered for her and slung an arm around Dani to grin at her, and Dani rolled her eyes but smiled back, elbowing him in the ribs.

That could have been you, she said, though Clockwork couldn't hear her.

Nah, Tucker dismissed. No one likes me that much.

That's why you keep getting promoted at work, because no one likes you.

I keep getting promoted at work because I know ghosts.

I know ghosts, no one promotes me.

You're a superhero! The city pays you! Superheros don't get promoted!

That's discrimination!

As their argument continued, Clockwork waved his staff again, causing the image to switch to a different place in the same time.

Jack and Maddie Fenton, faces worn with stress and age, leaned over a desk together, talking in low voices. Beside them, beautifully framed, was a picture of Danny Fenton, and then another of Danny Phantom, placed side by side.

We've almost got all the regulations changed, Mads, Jack said, with a weary smile that had become characteristic of him after his son's death.

Yes, we have, Maddie agreed, with a swift kiss on his cheek. And then we can start making the Guys in White into a group that people will look to for help, instead of just one not to be scared of.

Yeah, Jack said softly.

Clockwork nodded to himself, and waved the staff one last time.

Jazz stood in front of her class, giving a lecture, eyes intent and focused. A tap of the keyboard changed the slide to a bright green ghost, and several students who had not been paying attention screamed, one falling out of her chair. She laughed, scolded them, and then apparently moved on, though the light of mischief lingered around her eyes.

He sighed, nodded, and then shut the screen down, turning away.

With a look far too old for the infant face he wore now, he said quietly, "Everything is as it should be."

Regret pulled at his chest anyway.

I have to admit, it's kinda funny how many of you wanted me to bring him back as a full ghost. *laugh* Sorry, but I've never been that kind of author - frankly, I'm kind of surprised Danny and Vlad are the only ones who died. (I've killed off most of the DGM main cast several times over.) Well, that's over and done with, thanks for reading, and please review!