Inevitable

Amity Park was in ruins. Fires raged and car alarms blasted through the silence. Survivors of the massacre were hiding in the buildings that remained standing and hoped their hero would save them again from this new ghost.

Danny Phantom floated over it all. His face was blank, but his glowing green eyes were ablaze with fury. How could this happen? How could he let this happen?

A laugh, deep in tone and insanity, echoed through the streets, sending a chill up the spines of all that heard it. Danny's eyes narrowed at the sound, and his fists unconsciously burst into flames, flickering the same color as his eyes.

"Oh, there's no need for that, Danny." a baritone voice chided, and Dan Phantom came into view, his blood red eyes lit up in amusement at his younger self. "I think we've already established that the more you fight, the more our precious town gets destroyed."

Danny growled, but the ecto energy went out instantly. "Yeah?" he hissed. "And what do you care? You want everyone dead anyway."

Dan snarled, his cruel face twisted in malice. "Untrue, Danny, untrue. If everyone was dead, I wouldn't have any toys to play with." He paused, thinking. "Well, I suppose there's always the Ghost Zone, and they'll last a lot longer than these pitiful humans that you protect." Dan sighed and shrugged. "No matter. That'll come when it does, but for now, I can content myself with the screams of your beloved town. Maybe I'll start with that family of ours."

Danny glared at his older self. "You won't touch them!" he shouted, his eyes glowing a dangerous angry green. "Any of them!"

Dan laughed again. "Oh, you poor, incompetent fool. Was I really this naïve?" he wondered, then sneered at Danny. "I already have, you idiot! Look around you! And when I'm done here, I'll just move on! The next town, the next city, the world, eventually! I'm being kind, here, honestly. I could just wipe them all out with a wave of my hand, but I'm giving them time to prepare! Much more fun that way." he added with a fanged grin. His forked tongue slithered out like a snake.

"I've stopped you before." Danny growled. "I can do it again."

At this, Dan laughed, long, loud, controlled but insane. His red eyes flashed. "Don't you get it, Danny? It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter what you do now, because guess what? I still exist. Meaning that you still turn into me. It's inevitable."

Danny glared at Dan. "Yeah, that's what you said last time. That didn't turn out to well for you. Besides, I won't turn into you, into that. I refuse."

Dan laughed. "You refuse? You truly are a child. You don't understand, Danny. The death of our family and friends was what triggered the entire thing. It wasn't some stupid test that we cheated on. They died, and with them our human half died - or, in your case, will die." Dan smirked, waiting for the fifteen year old to make the connection.

Danny's fists became alight with ectoplasm again. Anger flashed in his eyes. "You won't touch them. You won't dare go near them!" he yelled, his voice echoing with the pulse of power. If Dan wasn't careful, Danny's Ghostly Wail might come out and while it didn't effect him in the long run, it was bothersome for trying to have a conversation.

Dan smirked. "That's the thing, Danny. I don't have to. You and I, we've got all the time in the world. Did you know ghosts are immortal?" At Danny's unchanging expression, Dan continued. "Yep. Frozen forever at the age we died at. For you, being only half ghost, I suppose you'll stop aging once you mature. We can change out appearances if we want, but that takes an awful lot of energy."

"Thanks for the lesson," Danny snarled. "But school ended a week ago, and you're going down."

Dan quirked an eyebrow before laughing. "Am I?" He sneered at Danny. "Fine, Danny, if you insist, I'll 'go quietly'. But that won't change anything. You're only delaying the inevitable."

Danny's face actually registered surprise, and his unfired ectoblasts puffed out. "You'll... What?" Then his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? I'll never become like you! I'm not delaying the inevitable, I'm proving the 'inevitable' is actually impossible."

Dan put his hands behind his back and glared down at Danny, keeping his eyes locked on the younger one's face. A malicious smile curled his lips. "And why is that?"

Danny's eyes glowed brighter. "I'll never let you near them. I'll never let anything or anyone hurt them!"

Dan roared with laughter. "You truly don't get it, do you? I don't have to do anything!" Danny jerked back a little, and Dan grinned. "Time, Danny. Time moves mountains, crumbles civilizations, destroys races, chronicles the entire history and future of the universe. Except for us, for ghosts, who exist where time is ... different. We aren't brought down by time, we thrive in it. Ghosts who can change the past, write the present, guide the future, all without half a thought. Your human family isn't like us, they have no control over their lives, despite what they choose to believe. They will die, abandon you to be alone forever, and after awhile, you'll get lonely, Danny, get bitter, because you'll be afraid to let anyone in, knowing they'll just die and you'll be alone again. You could move to the Ghost Zone, but no, you're still human, at least half of you, anyway. You belong here as much as there, and you won't be able to leave the petty humans behind, so you'll be stuck, in between, not able to live without either the Ghost Zone or the human's world."

All through Dan's speech, Danny looked horrified, determined, and maybe even a little bit scared. He didn't want that. Not for anyone. Was being a ghost really this lonely? Was being half-ghost really this lonely?

Dan didn't even pause, but his face was slowly twisting into a sick kind of joy at Danny's flitting emotions. He could smell the fear that what he said was true, which it was. There was no doubt in his mind that this would happen one day. He just had to be patient. Just be patient...

"There are other half-ghosts." Danny protested weakly, and Dan's smile grew wider.

"Ah, yes, our beloved cousin Danielle, and her creator, Vlad." Dan smirked at Danny, who looked like he wanted to die. Again. "Don't get your hopes up, Danny. Danielle has an unstable core. She'll die within the year. She did in my timeline, anyway. Ever wonder why you didn't see her?"

Danny's eyes widened. "No..." he breathed, thinking of his cousin, his clone, the only one who truly understood him without trying to kill him. She was too young, not ready to leave the world she only just barely knew.

"And we both know you'll never go to Vlad, after what happened with me." Dan smirked, his fiery hair illuminating his face menacingly. "You're too afraid, too afraid to become your destiny, to become me. Coward."

Danny flinched visibly. "No..." he whimpered, sinking towards the burning town. He eventually hit the ground and just knelt there. "I- I'm not a-"

"Not a what?" Dan asked, red eyes burning with hate. He followed Danny and stood in front of him. "Not a coward? You are, Danny, and you're also a ghost, technicality or not. They'll never accept you, not really. You could show the world who you are, what you are, and you'd be locked up in a cage faster than you could blink. You're a freak, both here and the Ghost Zone, and better yet, you're an immortal freak. You'll become me one way or another, Danny." Dan smirked. "It's only a matter of time."

"Dream on, ghost!" a familiar voice shouted, filled with fury, and with a bright light, and a surprised yelp, Dan was sucked in to the Fenton Thermos in Valerie Gray's hands. Her normally pristine ghost hunting suit was chipped and broken in many places, and she had lost her helmet sometime during the fight.

Danny stayed where he was, not comprehending the fact that Valarie of all people had just captured the most powerful ghost in existence. Or the fact that Dan, knower of all things, was surprised about it.

"Phantom? Ghost Boy? You in there?" Valarie's voice was murky. Danny just kept staring at the ground.

They will die

Muffled cheering surrounded him as remaining citizens emerged from their hiding places. No one got close enough to touch Phantom, but no one ignored him. Valarie knelt down next to the unresponsive ghost. "Hey." she said. Valarie had forgiven Phantom at the beginning of the three day battle with that other ghost. "Are you okay?"

Abandon you to be alone forever

Slowly, he shook his head no. No, I'll never be okay. Not for long. Valarie's eyes widened as she quickly scanned Phantom for injuries. He didn't have many, and the ones he did were already healing.

And you'll get lonely, Danny, get bitter

"What's wrong?" Valarie asks, her tone gentle, kind. Danny started to shake. He couldn't do this any more. Couldn't do this knowing one day, Valarie or some other ghost hunter would be the one to put him in a thermos and lock him away forever. He knew it would happen. He had just watched it happen.

Because you'll be afraid to let anyone in

He should just tell her. Tell her the truth, tell them all the truth, while they were happy, celebrating their victory, his victory. He knew right now he would be accepted, be praised, revered for all that he had done. Dash wouldn't bully him, Valarie wouldn't hunt him, Sam might...

Knowing they'll just die

But that would all pass. Eventually. With time. And then he would hurt, be scarred and hurt in a way that wasn't visible, that couldn't ever heal or fade. Dan was right. These people, these wonderful, normal, humans would die, and...

And you'll be alone again.

Danny didn't want to be alone. Not now, not ever. It would hurt, too much, more than he could take. Why couldn't he be normal? Why did he have to go into that portal? He hadn't wanted to. It was Sam's fault, Sam made him do it, Sam made him like this! Dash bullied him, Valarie hunted him, his parents wanted to dissect him, his sister analyzed him, and the town hated him. Thought he was a freak and couldn't be trusted, until they needed him. Then they wanted him to save them, save the ones who wanted to torture and hurt him.

It's only a matter of time.

Stupid, judgmental, pathetically weak, normal humans! How dare they? How dare they celebrate around him, celebrate him, when just last week they had shouted insults, attacked him, hurt him in unimaginable ways? How dare they act like everything was fine?

It's inevitable.

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No.

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I refuse.