All's End, Part Two (Finale.)
Quote:
"Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion."
Hallo, everyone! And so this project ends (Starts weeping.)
You've all been wonderful....and so, thank you for everything, you guys. ^^
Please don't send Chuck Norris at me....ANYTHING BUT THAT!
*~*~*
"Da....?"
Blinking blearily, the hybrid's still sore body throbbed painfully as he tried to make past the bleary spots directly in his line of vision
Clockwork was gazing at him, eyes expressionless as the young hybrid stiffly rose with a small groan, wildly looking about himself. The older
ghost chuckled quietly, and then presented a relieved ghost boy with the bundle he'd been holding.
"Cute little fellow….." he commented, as Danny blushed slightly and looked down.
Danny Masters lay in his arms, face red, body weighing no more than five pounds and a few ounces- bewildered blue orbs meeting Danny
Phantom's emerald, the newborn infant began to sob, wails picking up in the empty realm of time's halls.
A bird croaked uneasily to himself, uncertain what to make of the odd shrieks coming from the distance Northeast. With a shudder and flurry of
feathers, it silently took to the air.
All was silent legions away, save for a curious, hollow echo.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Clockwork gazed at the rift he had just created before slowly turning around.
"So….you chose right at the fork in the road," he said hoarsely, watching the bundle in Danny's arms fidget and gurgle.
He smiled. Danny had to resist rolling his eyes, orbs somewhat weary.
"You….knew this was going to happen all along, didn't you, Clockwork?"
The ghost chuckled again, red eyes sparkling.
"Indeed, Danny."
"And you didn't stop it because….?"
The ghost simply shrugged.
"I am simply a slave to the laws of the universe, Daniel. That, and….well, I COULD tell you why, but…."
His eyes sparkled with greater intensity.
"….I DO know the outcome of a venture of such as well."
Danny managed to force a weak but benign smile.
"....let's just leave it at that."
The spector time cleared his throat, contenance grave.
"Vlad will be unaffected by the course in time, Danny," Clockwork said quietly as the hybrid met his gaze.
"He WILL know what has transpired. How, he will not know. But remember this, child…"
Clockwork's hands gripped at Danny's shoulders. The ghost boy had to restrain himself from shuddering.
It was like solid ice had just nestled on his shoulder blades!
"If you do not allow fractures to set, they will heal-if only crookedly. And, once sense is restored-"
Danny closed his eyes, and finished the sentence for the ancient ghost.
"….pain comes full circle. I know," he said wearily, drawing a hand over his eyes.
"That's why…I….well, y'see-"
He blushed. Clockwork's countenance softened somewhat.
"I know of your plans, Danny. Go and fulfill them as you see fit-it is your choice riding the roads of many now. I cannot tell you how this will end
-but I can answer you this: Not many would choose your path of travel."
The hybrid managed a nervous smile, and made a step towards the portal. But Clockwork stopped him.
"Danny?"
The hybrid paused.
"Yes….?"
Another smile.
"You have a gentle heart. Use it."
Danny shot him a bewildered look, but a small smile as well, before turning around once again, heart accelerating like wildfire underneath his
rib cage.
A trembling step forwards.
Then another.
And another.
And anot-
And the hybrid was lost in a firestorm of spangled light.
~*~*~*~*~
Clockwork managed a small sigh before shaking his head, smile still evident.
If anything, these cases that continued to occur, again and again every millennium…
…made him realize what kind of sense of humor fate had.
Humans.
Ghosts.
Such simple creatures.
Easy enough to learn everything and anything about either species. For him, anyway.
Slowly shaking his head, Clockwork silently withdrew.
Yet the little ones still surprised you, no.....?
~*~*~*~*~
Danny silently completed his task in the witching hour before heading home.
Heart swelling, feeling like singing-and he knew from experience that THAT was not something you would wish on anyone, by hook or by crook-
even knowing what had to be done the next day-
He phased into his room, and allowed his body to transfigure back into a form he had locked away for fifteen years.
Sliding under the all-too-familiar sheets, Danny closed his eyes, wiping them slightly with a sigh.
He turned, face halfway buried in his pillow, luxuriating in its comforting scent.
Home.
Sleep came very easily-a blackout.Almost kind of creepy, though.
This was nice.
Sam lowered her novel-Seeing is Decieving in Study Hall to cast her neighbor Tucker a quizzical glance.
Danny had come to school....unusually cheerful.
When the two had come over early for breakfast-even Tucker, who normally could be mistaken for the dead asleep- could be coaxed out of bed
for Mrs. Fenton's waffles-the hybrid had been....exceedingly happy.
Not only had he hugged and kissed a very surprised but nonetheless very pleased duo of ghost hunters, Jasmine had been left at the kitchen
table, digging frantically at her pyschology book for a reference on odd, sudden teenage affection.
And he'd crushed the two into a hug.
Sam cast the slightly humming boy a few isles away a gentle smile before returning to her book.
Whichever or whatever it had been...she was glad of its occurence. It was refreshing to see the hybrid so upbeat.
The bell had rang. As dozens of delighted students began to pour from numerous classrooms, the teen had cornered Tucker, Sam, and Jasmine
in the hall. He fidgeted, looking somewhat awkward.
"Can you...guys handle patrol tonight? You can always reach me if something gets too hairy, but....."
Jazz took his hand. For once, the boy didn't pull it away.
"Uh....sure, kiddo. Mind telling us why, though?"
Danny managed a somewhat awkward smile.
"I have to....see someone."
Sam threw him a bewildered stare as the school readily began to empty for the weekend.
"See? Who?"
Danny Fenton simply shrugged before allowing his body to phase into his ghostly counterpart. He paused in midturn, a small frown on his face.
It slowly relaxed into a smile Tucker took as somewhat timid.
"Old.....friend, I guess. I dunno."
And, without another word, the ghost phased through the walls, straight into an overflowing blue sky.
* * *
Secondary Quote:
"It boggles my mind that someone can see life breathed into a baby, watch the grass die and then come to life again, see leaves fall and watch the r
rebirth of a tree, or gaze on any of the majestic splendor that is this earth and not be overpowered by the presence of an Almighty-!"
*~*
Alfred sighed wearily as he put down his book, shaking his head with a slight smile.
If only Master Masters would read this. It would project his current thoughts perfectly.
Well....something of that sort....IF the man would drop his gaze from the soft, cerulean bundle clutched in his arms in an afterswab of velvet.
And IF the man were thinking at all. Alfred simply chuckled from his own passenger seat a few meters away from the Master.
But judging by the billionaire's expression, there wasn't a thought in the floating abyss he called thought.
~*~
An infant lay in the crook of Vlad Masters' arms, eyes flickering in and out of a light gray and blue haze that dilated occasionally, in and out of
focus.
His lips twitched in a half smile, eyes flickering from sapphire to emerald-and then, the little ghost hybrid managed a soft sigh.
Vlad's already watering eyes-he hadn't torn his vision away from the child for an instant-blinked for the slightest fraction of a second.
Already, the boy had a slight habit of letting out little sighs here and there. The exhale was softer then a slightest puff of a breeze, but it was a
gentle sound, and the billionaire knew by now it was a simple, silent voicing of content.
His eyes stung-but this time, not with dry eyes.
Quite the contrary, as he impatiently reached for his handkerchief in his pocket, sighing himself.
Alfred believed the child to be Vlad's own, the mother deceased-and the reason why they were leaving for Norway.
Danny Masters eyes parted again, and a flailing arm he had no idea how to use freed itself from the quilts, and tapped the surprised man's wet
face curiously.
His skin was a slight alabaster-unlike the flushed hue most newborns had. And his ghostly counterpart occasionally flickered in and out of
existance. But Vlad managed to keep his hold on the baby-even when he accidentally passed into intangibility. He really had no control over
such motions as of yet.
When he had woken that morning, confused, dishelveled, and slightly desperate, he had wrestled himself somewhat free of the smothering
comforters.
Daniel! Where had he-?
How did-
Why.....?
But those answers had been completed just as easily, before Danny silently phased through the room, expression somewhat apphrensive.At last.
At long last. Daniel WAS his own.
The butler turned to give the billionaire a somewhat odd look from the corner of his eyes, managing that before a symphatetic sigh.
It had been years.....YEARS since he had seen the man forced to such emotion.
But, judging by the loss of his Lady wife and a child suddenly thrust into their lives....
Well, it was safe to say that the tears had finally come.
Vlad closed his eyes, a soft sigh of his own escaping his lips.
Perhaps once they arrived in his old homeland, they could-
!
Suddenly, the billionaire froze, heart accelerating as he whipped his head to the window.
A puff of hot, scarlet air escaped from his lips. He abruptly stood, bundle still lying in his arms before gruffly retreating into the empty, richly
carpeted isles.
Alfred shot the startled man's retreating figure a bewildered look, and began to rise from his seat as well.
"Sir....?"
"Back in a minute," was the only reply he received.
Alfred blinked, and hesitantingly glanced at his own seat.
"Sir....is there anything I...?"
"I'll be back presently, Alfred."
So dark was the billionaire's scowl the now slightly sheepish man sank down to the velvet without another a word.
The baggage racks. The billionaire scowled in the darkness, indigo eyes flashing crimson.
One of his servants was flying the plane....that was one ghost. But the radius of the signature was a common one-and therefore, had no
effect on his sensory.
And Daniel was simply a baby! Surely, he wasn't yet powerful enough to trigger such reactions?
He cast a tender look at the infant still snoozing in his arms, and his grip tightened.
The billionaire couldn't have left the child with Alfred-that would've put Daniel in too much danger if whatever-or whomever-was powerful
enough to bring down this entire-!
A figure phased into existence in front of the billionaire. He started, foot taking a clear double take.
His eyes narrowed, and chose to observe his shiny black shoes instead of looking at the boy in front of him.
"Daniel."
* * *
Silence.
Neither hybrid said a word. Danny Masters murmured in his slumber, but simply turned in his sleep to doze on.
Finally, Vlad spoke in the uncomfortable silence.
".....when you....left Daniel with me....er...well, you, but I-"
His hands tightened around the blankets.
The young hybrid managed a thin smile, which was quivering.
"You already did a DNA test, right?" he asked saracstically, leaning against the opposite wall, eyes downcast.
Vlad slowly shook his head.
"....I already knew."
He passed a serious look at Danny, who kept his eyes traveling on anything but the older hybrid.
"And you...knew, too. Why? If you already knew what it would CAUSE you....?"
His voice trailed off. Danny finally turned to face him, expression uneasy.
"You don't....want me to take him back? Because, if you don't..."
"Don't you even DARE talk about such a thing."
Silence. The man flushed. Danny's smile widened.
"Well....that's....yeah."
A pause. Vlad's face contorted into another scowl.
"But you KNEW it would hurt you! Why didn't you just, if Clockwork...."
Danny slowly shook his head.
"....if I could save Fenton, I could save Masters, right?"
Vlad closed his eyes, heart panging like a metronome.
"You say "Masters," he mention quietly, heart clanging dully in his breast.
"Did he....play any role in your...decision? You could've simply resumed your life at Fenton Works. But you left me with...."
The boy managed a laugh, startling the man slightly. The bundle moved slightly in his arms, but no other movement was detected.
"Dude. You're still a fruitloop-anyone tell you that?"
Annoyance bean to lick at the already irritated hybrid.
AGAIN with that stupid-?!
"Do you really think that Danny Masters would've wanted you to be alone? And do you HONESTLY think he would've liked Amity?"
Vlad's mouth dropped, lost for words.
* * *
Danny uncomfortably fidgeted, cornflower blue eyes at last meeting the winter indigo orbs.
"He hasn't forgotten, Plasmius. Neither have I. Is that why....."
He paused again.
"You're leaving for...?"
The billionaire finally found his voice. He laughed softly, amused smirk fading to that of gentle mockery.
"Phoenixes begin anew again and again, Daniel. In Quebec, In Norway-or in some ghost-infested cess pool."
Danny's eyes narrowed.
"Hey! That cess-pool happens to be my home!"
Vlad shrugged, a slightly anxious look appearing in his eyes.
"My apologies, Daniel. With your blessing, I'd...like to leave. Dani-" He rolled his eyes.
"Danny will thrive under my care."
His orbs burned into Danny's.
"I can give him....what I couldn't give him before. No truths to confirm. Or lies to deny."
Danny managed a faint smile before turning.
"What makes you think I won't....try to take him back or somethin'?"
Vlad chuckled, a tint of the old evil entering twinkling crimson eyes.
"My faith in you has never failed, Danny Phantom. Why should I ever start now?"
*
"Is everything alright, sir?"
Alfred cast the hybrids an anxious look as Vlad slowly made his way back to the seats, face buried in one palm, other hand still securing the
child to his chest.
Vlad cast the concerned man a somewhat worn smile.
"Indeed. Better...."
He carefully redid one of Danny's buttons. He groaned.
Drat-the-cat, he was STILL ten pounds underweight!
"...then I've been for quite a long time."
Final Quote:
Come dance with the west wind,
And touch all the mountain tops,
Sail o'er the canyons, and up to the stars,
And reach for the heavens, and hope for the future,
And all that we can be, not what we are.
I searched along the changing edge
Where, sky-pierced now the cloud had broken.
I saw no bird, no blade of wing,
No song was spoken.
I stood, my eyes turned upward still
And drank the air and breathed the light.
Then, like a hawk upon the wind,
I climbed the sky, I made the flight.
The world seemed to be bursting into a catacomb for fireflies below.
Danny silently fluttering above the jewel like world below, feeling the wind soothingly ripple his messy brow.
Cars everywhere had headlights bursting into the nightly roads, indeed looking like insects from such a height....
Sparkling, flaring, whirling-a rainbow, an assortment, a collection, a meangerie of pure energy was below them. Danny fluttered slightly
downwards, hovering slightly with his mouth open.
He had missed the familiar sight of his hometown.
The dominating colors below, as red lights twinkled in even lines, back and forth on the town bridge, were a glaring white, and twinkling
starbeams of yellow, flashing undiscriminately from the world below.
Danny closed his eyes, and, heart beginning to rise itself, as if on a pair of frantically fluttering wings, Danny rose upward, plopping himself on
his back when a gust of wind drifted past.
A sigh of pleasure escaped him when a far more mysterious and entrancing sight met his orbs.
Everywhere-hundred, thousands-eons and eons of stars twinkled overhead, like that of a sea of diamonds that had burst into flame.
Danny blinked, slightly startled.
Where had THAT come from?
Ah, well.
He rose even higher.
* * *
The boy picked up speed, heart rate going faster and faster-until he thought he might've left it behind in midflight-and the ghost boy's body
became a dazzling bolt of silver flame.
Jazz watched from her window, drawing her shawl more tighkt around her.
Sam lowered her telescope, and made a mark of interest on her reference chart. Danny always did love these things.
Tucker turned, blinking slightly before heading back into his home, momentarily blinded.
Maddie cast the sky a thoughtful glance as she helped Jack carry in a few idiotically named devices into the RV.
And Vlad Masters shook his head from where he watched the bolt zoom away into the distance, an amused smile on his face before his
eyelids flickered-and the man's head began to nod as Alfred gently placed a quilt over the two figures.
* * *
Everything seemed new. Fresh, exurberant-
But mostly-alive.
Danny made a turn around in his flight, and shot across the heavens again, cocky grin on his face as he made his way towards a place he'd
been denied for a good ten years.
Home.
If for now.
After all, it was only beginning, wasn't it?
- - - - - -
The Ever Loving End