DGG: I think it's finally ready! This chapter is at least. Lo and behold, it is the third story in my Danny Phantom trilogy. Would you like to know how long I've had this idea trapped in my head? Since probably around the time I wrote The Ghost Boy Prophecy if not shortly after that. So for at least 5 or 6 years. That's crazy!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it. A lot of people have been asking about this story, and I'm very pleased to finally be able to post it.

It is rated 'T' for talking about murder, and that will be in later chapters. Nothing is gory or descriptive about it. They merely mention it, so don't worry. It's fine.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Danny Phantom. I'm just writing for fun, and oh what fun it is.

"One year. It has been exactly one year since our town's battle with Plasmius and his horde of minions. One year since Tucker Foley, Samantha Manson, Jasmine Fenton, and Valerie Gray risked their lives to save ours. It's been a year since the town of Amity Park band together to expel all the ghosts from our town. And it has been one year since Danny Fenton gave his life to protect all of us," spoke the regal, robust, strong-voiced female mayor of Amity Park.

The African American woman, dressed in an all-red suit, stood at her podium and looked out into the massive crowd. The citizens, dressed in their most formal attire, met in the center of town to commemorate the anniversary of their town hero's death. It was tough for the entire city. Most people were crying already while many had their heads bowed solemnly.

Sitting upon the wooden, makeshift stage behind the mayor was the entire Fenton family, along with Sam, Tuck, and Valerie. Strong sobs escaped the red-headed mother, her husband holding her comfortingly. The four teens onstage were also having a hard time keeping their tears inside. Silent tears and sniffles escaped the red-headed teen, Jazz, as she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. Tucker let a few sobs escape him every now and then, trying his best to muffle them. Valerie Gray was doing the best of not letting any tears or sobs out; however, tears were glossing over her eyes. Sam, the Goth of the group, was crying almost as hard as her late friend's mother.

The mayor continued.

"I know we all feel guilty. None of us feel that we are worthy of Danny's sacrifice, especially after forcing him to run away beforehand. But there have been minimal ghost attacks since that fateful day. Danny's sacrifice will help to protect this entire town for years to come. But I know that even with that small glimmer of hope, it doesn't help ease the pain of what has happened.

"We have all been holding on to the small sliver of hope that Danny has maybe gone from half to whole ghost, that perhaps he may be somewhere within the Ghost Zone. Every day since his funeral last year, Jazz, Sam, Tuck, and Valerie have ventured into the Ghost Zone in order to find their lost friend, our fallen hero. Unfortunately, they have returned without him every time. We all wait on our toes for their return every day, and I know it is unpleasant to hear, but it becomes less likely to find him with each passing day. I do not want to believe that he is gone forever either. I know we all long for his return, but at this point, it is more likely that he has passed on to the other side. He is in a better place now. He still watches us every day. Perhaps it is his watchful gaze from the heavens that helps keep our town safe now. But wherever Danny Fenton is now, I hope that he can see what we have for him."

The mayor motioned with her left hand toward a large, tarp-covered sculpture to her left, the entire town looking in that direction. The mayor nodded and a few volunteers untied the tarp, allowing it to fall to the ground, revealing the statue underneath.

"We dedicate this effigy to one Daniel Lee Fenton for his bravery, courage, and dedication to his home town. The statue and its base are sculpted from marble. A gold placard on the base tells about his heroism. It shows him in his ghost form, standing vigilantly so in this way, it will be like he is still here with us, keeping us all safe with his watchful gaze. This will help to keep the memory of Danny Fenton alive for generations to come."

The massive crowd then began to form a line, each person taking little flowers and gifts to place in front of the newly resurrected statue. Many sniffles and muffled sobs could be heard as each person paid their proper respects for the second time now. The group on the stage watched as everyone laid something down in front of the statue. Even Dash Baxter, the blonde star of the football team who constantly picked on Danny in school, had tears in his eyes as he put a tiny, plastic football at the base of the sculpture. Many people placed flowers all around it while a few of them placed some thank-you cards on the ground.

Sam stared at the face of the large likeness of her best friend. It still seemed impossible. Danny just couldn't be gone. They had just gotten him back. It still seemed like yesterday that they had found him and yet at the same time it seemed like a lifetime ago since they had last seen him. The Goth couldn't take anymore. She bowed her head, gripping the black skirt she was wearing tightly. Tucker, who was sitting to her right, placed his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. He, too, was on the verge of completely breaking down.

The African American male looked at the rest of the people on stage with him. He was on the end of the row. Sitting to Sam's left was Danny's sister, Jazz. Her face was flushed red, and she was panting heavily as she attempted to stop her own sobs. Next to her was her mother, Maddie, who had been crying since before the ceremony began. Jack, her husband, was next to her holding her tightly while crying, himself. On the other end was Valerie. Tuck couldn't hear anything from her, but she was now hunched over with her face in her hands with her shoulders shaking. Tucker sighed. The overwhelming pain of Danny's loss still wore heavy on everyone's hearts. It was almost too much to bear. Who was he kidding? It was too much to bear.

"Sam," his voice cracked with tears as he spoke, "do you want to leave?"

The girl shook her head.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, Tucker," she sobbed.

The boy frowned; however, he knew his friend wouldn't go anywhere. He couldn't blame her. He didn't want to leave the ceremony either, despite all the pain it was bringing.

Finally, the crowd making its way to Danny's statue was thinning out. There seemed to be hundreds if not thousands of little flowers and trinkets surrounding the large statue. When most of the citizens had returned to their seats in front of the stage, the mayor cleared her throat.

"And now, Tucker Foley has offered to say a few words," the mayor motioned with her right hand for the boy to come forward, then stepped off to the left of the platform to make room for him.

The crowd remained silent as the boy made his way to the podium. He gulped at the massive crowd as he tugged on his blue suit and pulled at the blue tie around his neck. Sure he could fight ghosts, but that seemed easy compared with talking to a gargantuan group of people. He closed his green eyes for a moment. He was up here on Danny's behalf. Finally, he took a deep, somber breath and opened his eyes.

"I…um...didn't prepare anything formal for this," he admitted. "Any time I tried writing something down I just broke down. So I just figured I could wing it, you know? So here goes.

"I've known Danny since pre-school, maybe even before that. We'd been through thick and thin together. We were inseparable. Since we met, we'd seen each other mostly every day. Before school, during school, at lunch, recess, after school, weekends, holidays, birthdays, whenever. And one day Danny became half-ghost. He devoted his life to protecting each and every one of us from the ghosts that came through the Fenton Portal with help from Sam, Jazz, and me. At first, you guys didn't even realize there was anyone protecting you from anything. Yet, despite how poorly you treated Danny in his human form, he kept on defending all of you. Everyone knew he was a nice guy, but then Plasmius showed up, spewing lies about how there was some evil, half-ghost living in the town who wanted to destroy all of us.

"You have absolutely no idea how scared out of his mind Danny was when all of you were conducting your little ghost hunts. He didn't know what to do or say. Yet despite how crazy the town became, he still tried protecting everyone. I know things became a little crazy when Danny defeated Plasmius that first time. But it wasn't his fault. He had absorbed a bunch of negative energy, which caused him to act so…coldly and evilly. Then he ran away because everyone seemed to be afraid of him.

"Sam, Jazz, and I ventured into the Ghost Zone to find him and bring him back home last year. When we did find him, he was set and determined to never return. However, he was now in self-exile for a different reason. He wasn't really afraid to return because of how he was suddenly viewed here. He was afraid to return because his prophecy told him that he had the chance of dying if he ever did. However, when he saw what Plasmius had done to our home, he knew he couldn't just leave. He had to stay here and rescue all of you. And he made the ultimate sacrifice."

Tucker stopped briefly as he heard his best friend's mother begin to wail again along with Jazz and Sam. At the sound of their crying, Tuck found that he was starting to get a little choked up as well. He closed his eyes again in an attempt to stop any tears from falling, and his breathing quickened as he attempted to withhold his own sobs.

"His…his death shocked every one of us," Tuck continued, his voice less than steady. "I've seen the sadness in everyone's eyes. You felt bad for driving Danny away, and when he finally came back, you never had the chance to say 'sorry' or 'thanks'," the tears began flowing down his cheeks. "We all miss Danny, not just those of us who were closest to him. But I'm sure that wherever he is now, he's happy."

Everyone watched as Tucker bowed his head and began to cry as well. The town had already had a hard enough time keeping their emotions in check this morning, and seeing the teen at the podium lose it caused many of the citizens to start sobbing again as well. The mayor walked over and placed her hands comfortingly on the boy's shoulders who sniffled as he looked back out into the sea of faces.

"He's happy," Tuck continued. "If he is w-watching us, then…then I know he's h-happy to see that…that the people he g-grew up with…actually do care. We've all c-come…a long way. And I'm sure… that w-wherever D-Danny is…he is p-proud of his h-hometown."

DGG: So there's the first chapter. Please review if you get the chance!