Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

Timeline: Though it doesn't really matter, this is after Phantom Planet. Remember, as always, that Season 1 was 2004, Season 2 was 2005, and the third season ending in 2006. Thus, Danny was 16 in Season 3. So, this 'shot is 37 years into the future...

Notes: All the thoughts in this chapter are Danny's. I won't tell you who's POV the boldfaced sentences/paragraphs are in...you'll find out in the end, trust me! It was originally Clockwork in the one-shot itself, but...

Warning: Kinda' angsty, so...yeah...

This story is based off of a one-shot in my Phantom Shots collection. In fact, this prologue is that 'shot! I didn't edit the actual one-shot at all, but I did edit the author's notes, obviously...oh, and in the one-shot, I didn't say the exact year and date, as I do here.

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Incidental

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Prologue

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It was naïve of her to think that she would lead a normal life.

She was, after all, the clone of a freakin' superhero. Not only that, she wasn't a stable clone until the one she was cloned from found out how to do so. For that, she was grateful to him. She would give her life to save him.

Not that it mattered, now that he was going to die.

Danielle 'Dani' Phantom, in ghost form as she found herself more comfortable in it, stared quietly at the bed where Danny Fenton was laying on what seemed like a calm day on April 4th, 2045. Despite being thirty-seven years into the future, she was still physically a twelve year old...something that she was reminded of every single day...

Dani stared with unblinking eyes at the fifty-three year old half-ghost man on aforementioned bed. The half of Danny that was still alive was dying, and soon he would be dead. He had no real unfinished business; he wouldn't become a ghost, and she would be alone...

It was naïve of her to think that he wouldn't age like her...not to mention selfish to think such a thing.

She had always—or, at least, since Danny convinced her that Vlad was evil—considered Danny to be her 'real' father, which made sense considering she was his clone.

Dani spoke, "D...Danny?"

Danny opened his tired blue eyes, sending her an unasked question with them. 'Yes, Dani?'

She couldn't hear him, but the ghostly girl knew his response. He always listened to whatever the spectral girl needed to say.

"...I...I love you." Dani whispered to the only person she could consider family. She licked her lips nervously, blushing a little in embarrassment.

Danny smiled weakly. With that smile, he was able to respond. 'I love you too, Dani...'

Dani smiled weakly back, knowing that he loved her more then anyone else could...

"Have I ever told you that I..." She paused, "consider you...my father?" She winced a little, but didn't avert her gaze.

Danny raised an eyebrow, an amused look in his eyes as his weak smile widened a little. 'No, you haven't. I kinda' guessed. I have always considered you a daughter, in a way...'

It was naïve of her to think that he didn't think of her as family; it was also naïve of her to consider him 'dad'...but it was understandable.

"...I wish I knew what you were thinking." Dani laughed weakly, "Unfortunately, you're way to weak of an old man to talk." She smirked.

'If I could talk, I'd yell at you for calling me old.' Danny frowned.

"I didn't mean that." Dani put a hand on the ghost man's chest, "What I really wish is that I could be joining you..." She closed her eyes, her eyes stinging of unshed tears.

'Don't...even wish that. You're just glad Desiree got destroyed all that time ago...' Danny thought as loudly as possible, hoping that Dani could hear him.

She couldn't.

It was naïve of him to even try to 'think' at her.

Dani could tell he was thinking something about Desiree, though, by the look on Danny's face: the same look he had whenever he made a lame joke. Dani giggled softly, "I don't know what you're thinking, Danny...but I bet it was funny."

Danny smiled weakly.

Dani then went back to thinking to herself. Over the years, she and Danny had increased in power. Danny taught her everything she knew about using her ghost powers. Dani learned how to use the Ghostly Wail, ice powers, and a few other powers such as duplication, from Danny. Some powers she taught him were there, too...she learned how to teleport, first, after all.

Well, actually, Danny did teleport before she taught him how, but he could only go very short distances. Now he could be wherever he wanted.

Suddenly, the two half-ghost's ghost senses went off. However, they breathed out green mist. This was their 'half-ghost sense', for the lack of a better term. It was basically just another use of their normal ghost sense that only half-ghost's set off. They couldn't set off each other's half-ghost sense, however.

"Hello, Daniel...uh, and other Danielle."

It was Plasmius who spoke, landing beside Dani. Two shadow black rings appeared around his waist, one moving up and the other moving down, de-transforming him into Vlad Masters...but in a wheelchair, which appeared with the transformation into his human form automatically unless he happened to be off it when he went ghost.

Vlad actually was the exact age he was thirty-seven years ago, wearing his usual black suit. His dark blue eyes were void of any fatigue of someone who was technically almost eighty years old. He had stopped aging sometime around the year of 2008, something which was confusing.

Why didn't Danny stop aging, too?

Dani assumed it was because of the same incident that had destroyed many ghosts, and killed Danny's parents. Dani smiled weakly at the thought. If Danny was her 'father', that made his parents her grandparents...

"Danielle?" Vlad asked, concerned.

"Oh...sorry." Blushed Dani, "I was just, um, thinking."

Vlad chuckled, "That's ok, Danielle. Do you want to leave? I can watch over Danny..." Lately, ever since the Disasteroid incident, he began calling Danny...well, 'Danny', instead of Daniel...well, most of time, at least. That, and it was easier to tell who was talking to if both of the Dannies were around.

Dani smiled weakly, "No, it's ok. I'll stay." She paused, "Um, Uncle Vlad?"

"Yes, little badger?" Vlad also began calling only Danielle by that. The older half-ghost had became more over-protective of the ghost girl since he found out about her un-aging status. Why, Dani wasn't sure, but she was strangely flattered. Still, Dani couldn't think of him as a father anymore...something that Vlad respected.

"...If we could...cure him...would you think it would be the right thing to do?"

'No.'

"No," Vlad sighed, "I think that, if someone is going to die of age, that you should let them." He frowned, "Something nether you nor I, little badger, will have to worry about..." He closed his eyes sadly.

'Melodramatic, much?' Danny rolled his eyes a little.

Dani noticed this and smiled a little, "I think Danny doesn't like you being angsty, uncle."

Vlad scowled at Danny, the hint of a smile on his face ruining said scowl, "Easy for you to 'say', Danny."

Danny just stared blankly at the technically-older half-ghost, his eyes filled with amusement. 'Whatever, you fruitloop.'

"I love you, too, little badger." Vlad said to Danny before transforming into his ghost half, which was standing up the instant he was in ghost form, as if he hadn't been sitting down. Plasmius said, his voice the same as when he was human but with a ghostly echo, "I must get going. Please contact me if..." He trailed off before going intangible and flying through the wall. His unsaid finish was he dies...

Dani sighed softly.

It was naïve of her to not support Danny when he believed that Plasmius was actually good.

Looking at Danny, the ghost girl whispered, "Danny...in case you're scared of...dying...just know that...you're a good person and...you'll meet Sam up there..." The tears in her eyes were inevitable; the fact that they began falling was just the same, as gravity was not able to be avoided...unless you were a ghost.

It was naïve of her to think her life would be so happy after she was stabilized.

'I'm not afraid to die, Danielle.'

"Can I tell you something?" Dani asked. She smiled a bit sheepishly, "I guess you wouldn't have a choice but to listen, anyway, but..."

'I will listen.'

It was naïve of her to think he wouldn't.

"...I was always jealous of your relationship with Sam." Dani confessed, "I didn't...don't have anyone." She wiped her stinging eyes almost angrily, "I won't...ever...have anyone..."

'You will. I promise.' Danny thought desperately; desperate that she both could hear him and that she would understand.

Dani jumped and gasped.

It was naïve of her to underestimate her own powers.

"I...I can...did you just talk?" Dani whispered, shocked.

'No, that was all you. I stopped learning new powers when I was twenty-four, remember?' Danny pointed out.

"Yeah..." Dani blinked. "Wait...a new power? I stopped learning new powers since I learned how to not de-transform after using the Ghostly Wail..." She trailed off.

'I love you.'

"Love you, too...dad." Dani finished shyly.

'...You'll carry on my legacy, at least.'

Dani snorted, "Yeah, for the rest of time!" She smirked a little.

'Aw, well, at least you can meet my descendants after John and Lilith.' Danny smiled softly.

Dani nodded, "That's true..."

Danny's smile vanished. 'Dani...' Danny's mental voice was getting weaker.

It was naïve of her to think Danny Fenton's voice would always stay strong.

"Danny? What's wrong?" Dani asked, worriedly.

'I'm...getting weaker...I can't hold on much longer...' Danny stared at his 'daughter' with sad eyes.

"D...Danny...no, please...you can't leave...you can' t leave me..." Dani whispered, falling to her knees beside the bed and grabbing Danny's right arm gently. "Not now...not now...not after Jazz..." She whimpered softly, the tears falling again, this time more frequently.

'I'm sorry, Danielle...I have to...I love you...as a daughter...'—Danny winked a little—'but I must die...Skulker will be so happy at the news. Tell him he can have my pelt. Tell Vlad that I forgive him for everything. Tell Ember that she should just tell Skulker that she wants to get back together with him.' He chuckled weakly.

"No...don't...NO!" Dani stood up, staring in fear as Danny shut his icy blue eyes for the last time. The half-ghost's chest stopped rising and falling, and all his body's systems shut down within milliseconds.

It was naïve of her...to think that he would always be there for her.

Dani buried her face in the sheets, sobbing, not caring when the door opened for Jonathan 'John' Fenton and Lilith 'Lilly' Fenton, the son and daughter respectively of Daniel 'Danny' Fenton and Samantha 'Sam' Fenton-formerly-Manson to run in and join in her grief.

It was naïve of her to think...her life would be normal after the death of Daniel James Fenton...

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Danny was fifty-three in an homage to the fact that the show has fifty-three episodes, obviously. Just thought I should say that...

Vlad was in a wheelchair because of an 'incident'. The very same incident that both destroyed Desiree (and various other ghosts not mentioned) and killed Danny's parents; all three of these events are related, as you will find out in flashbacks during future chapters!

More detail on the 'incident', in case you're wondering...it caused a disease that made humans begin dying at a younger age. People were just beginning to age to almost one-hundred years old, but the 'incident' caused the disease and now the maximum age is almost forty. Those above that age died quite quickly, by the way. Sam died when she was forty-seven (which was pretty old thanks to the disease), Jazz not too long before this one-shot (she lived even longer then Sam, as she died when she was almost fifty; Danny claims it was because the 'disease was annoyed so much by her it was weakened'), while Tucker only lived until he was thirty-nine. Danny only lived longer because of his ghost powers, and even then, he died during this 'shot, just of age...

Despite all of this, our heroes' descendants will be making important appearances. Also, Dani's immortality is limited: she will live for possibly thousands of years, but she can be killed by someone powerful enough!

Trivia: Clockwork is the only ghost immune to the disease (Dani and Vlad being the only half-ghosts, with no humans so far being immune). So he will make some appearances...some in which will be important to the story! Oh...and this was originally a one-shot. That's trivia, I guess. Meh, whatever.

Future chapters won't be as depressing...though still somewhat angsty...

...So...yeah.