Dark Days
It had been a few weeks since the destruction of the world had been averted, though often times he wondered if the world had been in any real trouble considering that the beings who practically shaped the universe were behind the entire ordeal. With a shake of his head, the light blue flaming white haired ghost kicked up his feet and rested them across a tall stationary cog which acted as a table, or in his case, a foot rest. He snorted, then closed his eyes and yawned, showing his sharp fangs while his tongue curled up and slightly out of his mouth.
He closed his mouth and smacked his lips together a few times while he opened his eyes, half lidded, and gazed forward at the dark blue room he had been sitting idly in for the last few hours. The place was a complete wreck. Books were strewn across the floor, a few pages and spines bent and broken while small spider like cracks spread up lighter blue-green walls. A few miscellaneous cogs and shelves were torn asunder and scattered across the floor.
His behavior was petty, he knew, but it was also a way to relieve his aggression. He had been forced to reside with Clockwork, though he hadn't been shoved into a thermos so one should think he'd be grateful. He was, a little bit, but in the thermos or outside of it, he was still a prisoner; his cell was just bigger. Dan snorted at the thought as he rose to his feet. His white cape lined with black snapped behind him while his white booted feet stomped into an adjacent room. His red irises glowed vibrantly approached a silver staircase. He placed a black gloved hand along the side of the wall and began to make his way down. Once he reached the bottom, he turned his attention towards what was once a bare green wall that now had the words "Dan's Room" in a glowing red paint-like substance. Dan somewhat smiled at that, but his smile immediately faded and he placed his hands upon the wall.
Why, he thought as his eyes narrowed. Why is this happening to me? What is happening to me?
Dan removed his hand from the wall while raising the other and he looked at them both. They trembled slightly before he clenched them into fists.
"This isn't me," he muttered agitatedly. "I'm not a creature that can be kept in a cage and yet...here I am."
Dan slammed his right fist into the wall with a feral snarl before smashing his left fist into the wall. Soon enough he was repeating the process over and over again until ectoplasm leaked from his fingers. The pain felt relieving, wonderful, EXHILARATING, and yet...he knew that it was only a temporary reprieve. He knew that everything would come crashing down around him again. He continued to pummel the wall, for what could have been hours. Finally something from the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned, his eyes completely engulfed in a blazing crimson while his hands blazed emerald. He snarled and thrust his hand forward, firing whatever energy he had mustered up ahead of him. He thrust with his other hand, then the other again and again until his energy was nearly depleted. He slumped forward, shoulders hunched and head bowed.
When he finally looked up, his eyes locked on with completely crimson ones which showed no pupils or whites like his own. It took him a moment before the dark purple cloak and silently ticking pendulum within the creatures chest registered in his troubled mind.
"Clockwork," Dan muttered while halfheartedly baring his fangs.
Clockwork said nothing as he watched Dan struggling to reign in his emotions. He kept his expression blank though his eyes betrayed his worry. Dan resented the Time Master, always meddling where he wasn't wanted. Unlike his weaker halves, Dan knew he needed no-one. All he needed...all he wanted was pain and destruction!
"What," Dan spat while tensing, his body poised to attack.
Clockwork hesitated for a fraction of a second before he placed his hand on Dan's shoulder. Dan looked at the Time Master with a sneer on his face, but Clockwork was undeterred. Clockwork's hand gave off a momentary glow while Dan's body tingled. He would have attacked Clockwork then and there if it weren't for the simple fact that he could not move.
When the glow faded, Clockwork took a step back and watched as Dan slightly stumbled, a bit disoriented. Dan placed the palm of his right hand against his forehead and closed his eyes. When he opened then again, he found Clockwork examining him. Dan raised a brow before his hands began glowing again.
"Desiree wasn't...wrong," Clockwork stated as he continued to stare at Dan, or more specifically the slight alteration of Dan's costume.
Dan looked down, but saw no difference, at least until he saw that instead of his usual cape, it was a cloak with a DP clasp on it, and it had a hood that was lowered. It took Dan a moment to realize what had been done. Instead of being angry he found that he was generally confused.
"Desiree...what?"
"She said you needed something a little different but not overly so."
Dan placed the hand on the DP clasp and before looking back at Clockwork, his head tilted slightly to one side.
"Why?"
"Friends do nice things for each other," was the flippant voice that came from the top of the stairs.
Clockwork and Desiree both directed their gazes towards Desiree, who was wearing a light blue toga-like dress with a belt that had an hour glass on it. She floated down the stairs with a slight smile on her face, though Dan frowned. His room was beginning to get crowded.
"Who said we're friends?" Dan snapped at Desiree who merely shook her head. Clockwork said nothing, looking a tad bit awkward. Desiree looked from Dan to Clockwork, then back to Dan before she pointed towards herself and Clockwork.
Dan looked at Clockwork, who refused to lock his gaze with Dan's. It had only been a couple of weeks...then again, he had been in the thermos for much longer. Perhaps there was something akin to a friendship there, at least with Clockwork and he refused to admit that. Instead, he turned his focus back to Desiree and mustered up whatever hatred and darkness he had left in his core. It wasn't much, at the moment, but it was something.
"Then you're a fool. Have you forgotten what I did to you? That wish I made that silenced your pathetic cries right before you were ripped from existence?"
Desiree bristled while Clockwork crossed his arms over his chest. He hadn't exactly been near enough to hear Dan's insensitive wish, but he had gotten the story in bits and pieces from Danny, Danielle and Desiree herself.
Desiree narrowed her eyes before she ran her fingers through her hair.
"It was insensitive, yet it was also a slip of the tongue."
"HA! Please. You and I know it wasn't a slip of the tongue."
"Why do you wish to push us away?" Desiree bit back. Dan hadn't been prepared for that question, but he did his best to not let it show.
"I think the better question is why do I have to push you away. You should know what I am. You should know how I am. I am a destroyer; a monster who will stop at nothing to get what he wants."
"What do you want then,"' Clockwork cut in. Dan's gaze snapped to him, but he didn't answer.
"Well?" Desiree prodded while Dan turned his back to them.
"Death. Destruction. Pain. The list is pretty long."
Clockwork sighed before he shook his head.
"You're a pain in my pendulum, and you've destroyed the entrance to my tower once again."
"Two out of three, then" Dan muttered with a dark smirk on his face.
"So death is your goal then," Desiree asked though her tone wasn't accusatory.
Dan couldn't place her tone, but he knew that he didn't like it. He turned to her, and almost wished that he hadn't. The look in her eyes were that of pity and sadness. He didn't want her pity. He didn't want anyone's pity! He wanted death, destruction, pain, blood...or at least he thought he did. He had before something in him changed. Now it was just...hollow pangs. What he was doing...what he was portraying now was an act, or partially so. He wanted to cause all those things, but his heart...his core was not in it, and he didn't know why.
He snarled at his inability to understand.
"You don't know anything," Dan said quietly, but Desiree and Clockwork had heard him.
"They're still here. They may not be yours, but you can adapt."
Dan bristled, knowing exactly who Clockwork was speaking of. He didn't respond right away. Instead he began to play with the emblem on his cloak, noting that the emblem was the same shade of red as his eyes. He tilted his head a bit to the side before he leaned his head against the wall. He didn't want friends. He had friends, two sets of friends, and he had lost each one at the same time. Jack and Maddie, Sam and Tucker...Jazz. It had hurt him as Danny and it had hurt him as Vlad. When his two halves merged into one the pain was unbearable.
"I wanted to get rid of it..." Dan mumbled, unaware that he was speaking. Desiree looked at Clockwork, but the Master of Time kept his gaze on Dan.
He had never felt so useless, so hopeless, so...so broken and there was no one to blame but himself. He had come across the answers to the C.A.T.s after running away from Dash and a few of Casper High's football players after school. He had turned intangible, ran through the wall and through Mr. Lancer, unknowingly causing the answers to fall from the suitcase which Lancer had handcuffed to him in order to prevent theft.
Lancer exited the room while he let his intangibility drop. He sighed, relieved before he noticed the answers on the floor. He gulped hard as he walked towards the answers. His hands shook as he bent to pick up the answers.
"It's about time I catch a break! I mean, these are the answers...THE answers to this stupid test! Goodbye Nasty Burger and Hello NASA!"
He placed the answers to the test in the backpack which he had on his back and then made his way intangibly out the back wall to the classroom. He regained his tangibility and found Sam and Tucker waiting for him in near the school's flagpole.
"Dude," stated Tucker with a knowing smile. "I thought Dash and his pompon squad were gonna waste you!"
Sam shuddered at the mention of pompons before she playfully punched his shoulder.
"As much as I hate to agree with the meat head, I didn't think you'd be able to, ya know, ditch those guys. They seemed pretty persistent."
He gave a nervous laugh and nodded once.
"They would have got me for sure if I hadn't managed to find a deserted hall. I managed to turn intangible. My luck didn't end there either."
"How so," Sam asked curiously while he looked around.
"I'll tell you, but not here. C'mon, let's go to my house."
"Are those-"
"The answer to the C.A.T.s?" Tucker finished for Sam. He nodded.
"How did you get them?" Sam asked with a disapproving frown on her face.
"What? Wait, I didn't steal them, or at least I didn't try to. I mean I think they may have turned intangible when I ran through Lancer."
"Dude, you have to return them."
"I will, Tuck. I will, but I...I mean I can't just let this opportunity pass me by."
"Danny, that's cheating."
"Don't think of it as cheating. Think of it as utilizing the resources around me."
His friends didn't look to impressed.
"Okay then. Think about it like this. I've been out fighting ghosts, I can barely sleep let alone study for some stupid test that isn't so stupid because it will decide every turn my life will take after high school!"
Sam and Tucker looked at each other, both being able to agree to a certain degree.
"If that's what you...you want Danny..." started Sam who was still looking towards Tucker.
"Yeah man. I guess this is like...some reward for all the good you do..." Tucker trailed off, not believing his own words at all.
He frowned, not liking his friend's attitude towards his good fortune.
"You guys act like I robbed a bank or something."
"More like you found the stolen money and decided to keep it for yourself," Sam snapped. "Danny, this is wrong. You know the saying, 'cheaters never win.' If you cheat, sure you'll pass, but because you didn't study you won't know the information and when a situation arises, you won't be able to solve it because you decided to take the simple way out!"
He glared at Sam before he turned his attention to Tucker.
"What do you think, Tuck?"
Tucker looked at the ground before he let out a shaky breath.
"You're my friend dude. I want you to succeed, but...cheating will only get you so far..."
He sighed before he tossed the answers to the test on his desk beside his bed.
"Alright I get it, but if I don't do this, I won't pass. I'll be flipping Nasty Burgers for the rest of my life. If I just glance the answers now, I can study it later! You guys can help me. Come on, please guys. With all the ghost fighting...I'm so far behind..."
"Do whatever you want Danny. We're your friends, not your parents."
He had taken that as a victory. He shouldn't have. Not really.
"One chance," came Lancer's voice. "I have no idea how it happened, but someone managed to pry the test answers right from beneath my nose. I'm giving the perpetrator one chance to confess and returns the answers. I will then set aside a time and date for a make-up test."
Lancer waited and watched his class. It was the last class he had and also the last class he gave this speech to. Sam and Tucker looked at each other then turned their gazes towards him. He merely kept his eyes downcast while he toyed with the hem of his shirt beneath the desk. Lancer had caught the movement and eyed him carefully. He could see the telltale signs of guilt eating away at the boy and knew right then and there that he was a suspect if not the culprit. Out of all his students though, he would never have guessed Fenton would be the perp.
Class went on normally from then, and when the bell rang, he had been the first one out of the door. Sam and Tucker took their time, each one able to feel Lancer looking in their general direction. They said nothing to the man as they exited the room, though it was clear that he wanted to talk to them. Instead, he decided to talk to the one person closer to him than his two best friends; his sister.
Jazz hadn't believed it when Lancer had told her that her brother was a suspect in the stolen C.A.T.s case, but she had assured him that she would get to the bottom of it. While he had been out at the Nasty Burger with his friends, Jazz went into his room, and took a look around. She glanced at a slightly open draw and walked over to it. A manilla envelope caught her attention. Her heart skipped a beat as her breath hitched. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, telling herself that she was overreacting. There was more than one type of manilla envelope in the world. Just because he had one hidden in his clothes drawer didn't mean it was the test answers.
Jazz hesitantly reached in the drawer and withdrew the answers to the test. She closed her eyes, trying to force the tears back.
"Oh Danny, no," she said sadly as she stared at the test answers that were now in her hand. "I know ghost hunting is rough, but you can't take the easy way out, little brother."
Jazz placed the envelope back in the drawer and sighed before she reached in her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She looked through her contacts for Lancer's number, but then stopped. She wouldn't call Lancer immediately, no, she would talk to her little brother first and get him to see reason. If that didn't work, then she would call.
He came back from the Nasty Burger with bruises under his shirt and on his legs. The Box Ghost had been trying to steal boxes that had different types of Nasty Burger ingredients in them, and of course he caused a panic. Everyone had run out screaming, including many of the employees. He confronted the Box Ghost and was somewhat caught off guard with dodging flying boxes full of buns and patties. Eventually he remembered the lecture about Nasty Sauce from their school assembly. He smiled wryly as he picked up a small packet of Nasty Sauce from a pile on one of the serving tables. He threw it at the Box Ghost and then immediately shot a small beam of ecto-energy at the packet. Box Ghost looked momentarily confused before the packet exploded. He hadn't been prepared for the big explosion which knocked down the back wall of the building. Box Ghost had been disoriented for a moment, but managed to make his escape since he had been disoriented as well.
When he picked himself up off the ground and looked at the building, he couldn't help but feel annoyed. There went his after school snack place.
He went to flop down on his bed, but a clearing of someone's throat caught him off guard. He turned around and faced Jazz who wore her 'we need to talk now' look on her face.
"Jazz, whatever this is, can it wait? I'm sort of tired. Kinda got into a uh...fight at the Nasty Burger."
Jazz looked alarmed at the news, knowing that he meant that he had been fighting ghosts. She bit her lip. She was at a loss. She wanted to let her little brother know that she knew of his ghost powers. She wanted to let her little brother rest, but most of all she wanted to let her little brother know that what he was planning was wrong.
"Danny, I know about the test answers."
He stiffened.
"I don't know how you got them," she stated while hoping that he hadn't used his ghost powers to steal them for himself, "but you need to return them."
"Mind your own business, Jazz."
"Danny, I just want what's best for you!"
"Then you know why I have to do this! I can't possibly pass without those answers! Besides, how'd you even know that I had the answers? I thought we agreed not to snoop in each others room!"
Jazz frowned and folded her arms over her chest.
"That was before I found out that my little brother was a CHEATER!"
He winced at the volume of her voice, hoping that their parents hadn't heard.
"Listen Jazz, you don't understand. You can't possibly understand but...I need to do this. I promise I'll study whatever was on here later, but at the moment there isn't enough time to study for it. S'just...just back off!"
Jazz closed her eyes and sighed. She had given him a chance and he had made his choice. Now, he had to live with it.
"If that's what you want," she muttered as she turned around and walked out of the room, disappointment rolling off her in waves.
"It is," he muttered, though he had become uncertain.
The day of the test had arrived, and he found himself up early. His nerves refused to let him sleep, or perhaps it was the uncomfortable feeling swishing around in his gut. With nothing to do, since he had taken a cold shower the moment he had awakened, put on his clothes, did whatever he could with his hair, and made sure everything he needed was in his backpack, he began to pace. Moments later, his mother called up the stairs, informing him that Sam and Tucker had arrived to walk to school with him. He smiled somewhat before he grabbed his things and promptly ran downstairs. He bypassed his mother's goodbye kiss and his father's smothering bear hug and ran out of the front door. Sam and Tucker looked solemn that morning, and their mood was dampening his.
"What is it," he asked his friends as they began their trek towards school.
"It's nothing, dude," stated Tucker while keeping his gaze on his shoes.
"It can't be nothing. Guys, what's up with you?"
"Are you still going to cheat?" Sam asked with a frown on her face.
Of course that was what was bothering them. They hadn't let it go, and even when they said they would, he could still see the disbelief and the disappointment in their eyes. It hurt him knowing that they were disappointed yet at the same time it angered him. It was his test scores that were on the line. It was HIS future that was going to be decided by the test answers that were in his backpack.
"So what if I am? It's not like I'm forcing you to cheat with me!"
"Dude, chill. We're your friends. We only-"
"What, you only want what's best for me? Why can't you see that THIS is what's best for me? If I pass this test, then I'll be set!"
"Whatever," Tucker stated as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Why can't you guys just leave it? After all the ghostly butt that I've kicked, all the times I've had to bail out on school to fight, you can't POSSIBLY expect me to be able to pass-"
"No no, you're right Danny," Sam stated sarcastically. "The guy with the super powers obviously has to cheat while his two best friends, who might I add, are also out there kicking ghost butt with him-"
"Oh please, Sam! You two don't have to skip out in the middle of school, not to mention you have tutors and Tucker is naturally smart."
"I'm not naturally smart. Remember that supercomputer you guys hooked me up too-"
"You have Jazz! She tutored Dash so I know that she could tutor you. You're just making excuses!"
"If you don't like it Sam, then that's fine, but I'm not gonna spurn my good fortune."
He placed a hand on each of his friends shoulder and tugged them in front of him. He turned back to make sure that the coast was clear, turned invisible, went ghost and flew ahead towards school. Sam and Tucker looked towards each other before they picked up their pace; not quite running but not quite walking either.
He swiftly pulled out the answers to the test and placed them in his desk before Lancer or anyone else had even come into the classroom. He then waited outside of the classroom, since Lancer wasn't inside and the door was locked. Once Lancer arrived and unlocked the door, he had gone inside and sat at his desk, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Minutes later, other students began to file in, Sam and Tucker included. They gave one last disheartened look towards him before they took their seats. Once the bell rang, Lancer began to talk about how no-one had come forward and that he was going to give the perpetrator one last chance to come forward. When no-one made an attempt to come forward, Lancer sighed and began to pass out the tests. Lancer lingered over his desk a little longer than the others, but he hadn't noticed. He was focused on the sickening ache that was simmering in the bottom of his gut, making him feel as though he was going to hurl.
"Keep your eyes on your own tests. Once you've finished you may leave. Ready? Begin."
Once Lancer gave the word, everyone started writing on their test papers. He wrote his name slowly and then the date as well. He looked up towards the front of the room, noticing that Lancer wasn't paying him or the rest of the class any mind; his nose was stuck in some book whose title he couldn't make out, not that it was important.
He took that opportunity to pull the answer sheet slightly from under the desk, and began to copy the answers. Sam and Tucker looked at him, before lowering their eyes back to their own papers. Lancer's brow furrowed and he let an inaudible sigh escape through his nose.
A half hour or so later, he walked up to the front of the room and turned in his paper. Lancer looked at him while he fidgeted ever so slightly.
"Finished so soon, Mr. Fenton?"
He looked at Lancer nervously before he looked towards the door.
"I-is that a problem?"
"How should I know? I don't have all the answers. Do you?"
He hesitated before he left and the room. Lancer lowered his book and rubbed his forehead as he watched him leave. With a heavy heart, Lancer rose to his feet and pulled out his cellphone and began dialing Fenton Works.
He had waited for his friends to to finish their test, and when they exited the building he went to greet them.
"That wasn't so bad," he stated with a small smile.
Sam and Tucker exchanged a look before they turned back to him.
"After you left-" Tucker began, only to be interrupted by the all too familiar horn of the Fenton Family Assault Vehicle.
He turned towards the RV as his father's head peaked out of the driver's side window.
"Hey Danny-boy!"
"Uh, hey dad. What are you doing here?"
His mother stuck her head out of the same window, and her chipper voice piped in.
"We got a call from Lancer earlier today saying for all of us to meet him at the Nasty Burger."
"I bet it's because Danny aced his test with flying colors! Perfect score, just like Jazzy-pants."
He smiled nervously at his parents before turning back to his friends. Again, Tucker and Sam exchanged a look. His father caught it and his smile grew even bigger.
"Don't worry kids! We know you're Danny-boy's best friends! We wouldn't dream of you missing out on this! Hop on in!"
Sam and Tucker hesitated, as did he, but the trio got into the back of the RV where they found Jazz sitting with her arms crossed over her chest. His anxiety rose as he saw the look on Jazz's face. He knew by his parents' reaction that she hadn't told them, so why was he so nervous?
The ride to the Nasty Burger was silent and seemed slower than what it actually was, but when they finally arrived, they noticed a stone faced Mr. Lancer outside of the building. Maddie's expression turned to one of confusion. She thought back to her conversation with him earlier and her stomach began to turn.
"Mr. Lancer sounded urgent on the phone...Danny, is something wrong?"
He felt his stomach knot and the walls of the RV close in on him. He swallowed thickly and muttered, "Not yet..." He couldn't deny it. He was completely, without a doubt, busted.
"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton...Daniel, this is the Nasty Burger. When people fail this is where they end up. Whether they fail because they don't study or because they cheated."
The Fenton parents gasped, unable to believe their ears.
"Danny, is this true?" his father asked, sounding outraged at the prospect.
"Did you cheat?" his mother asked.
He looked from his father, then to his mother, and then to his sister and best friends. How could Lancer have known? Maybe he had always known? Or maybe someone had told? He frowned as his attention shot towards Jazz. She looked away with a frown on her face.
"I...I...Jazz, you told?"
Jazz bit her lower lip while his parents looked at each other and than at him.
"Danny!" they scolded together, but his gaze was locked on Jazz.
"You told Lancer?" he asked incredulously.
"Daniel, I saw you in class today."
He turned to face Mr. Lancer while his parents and Jazz moved closer to the entrance of the Nasty Burger. Sam and Tucker shifted uncomfortably before they moved to stand beside Jazz. They had told him not to cheat. They had warned him that cheaters never prospered.
He lowered his head in shame before he rubbed the back of his neck.
"You guys just don't understand," he mumbled to himself. "You'll never understand," he snapped as he gazed at everyone around him.
He turned his back and began to walk away, but before he could get too far there was a large explosion behind him. He was sent flying along with burning metal, chucks of concrete and small packets of Nasty Sauce that gave off mini explosions. The next time he woke up, the world he knew was gone. His family and the only friends he ever had, plus his teacher had died in the fiery explosion.
It had been a tossup between who would get custody over Daniel, but in the end he had more resources than the boy's aunt Alicia and he was also the only other person that Daniel had anything in common with. Aside from them both being the only Halfas in existence, they had each lost someone special in the Nasty Burger explosion, as did Alicia, but she was irrelevant.
He had welcomed the boy into his home with open arms, though Daniel hadn't been at all responsive. It was clear that he was in pain. He was grieving and couldn't let go even after the funerals. He had been quiet and had isolated himself in the room he had been given. He would weep and plead with whoever would listen to bring his loved ones back, but no-one ever answered him. He couldn't take Daniel's pain. He wanted to help the boy grieve and let go. He wanted to make the boy whole again, but he was hurting as well. He had lost his Maddie, and he could even admit that a part of him cared about Jack enough to grieve for him as well. They had been more like brothers at one time after all.
"Vlad?" Daniel asked, his voice hollow and broken.
He hadn't even heard the child come in, and it showed when he jerked up from the plush beige couch he had been sitting on in his luscious burgundy and gold sitting room. He had been sipping at his cup of tea in silence, thinking of all the plans he had that were now ruined because the one variable that his plans were centered around was no more.
"What is it, my boy?" he asked, his heart bleeding for the child in front of him. He looked sick; dark circles beneath his eyes, his frame slender from not eating, and his bright blue eyes were dull, merely shadows of their former selves.
"M-Make the pain...make the pain g-go away."
He looked at the boy, stunned speechless by the request. How was he supposed to accomplish such a feat? Pain was a natural part of life, and yet...
"How do you propose I do that, dear boy?"
Daniel fidgeted while he shuffled his feel. It looked as though he had an idea in mind, but didn't want to voice it.
"Daniel?"
"If I-If I didn't h-have ghost p-powers, then I would have been able t-to study."
He had heard Daniel speak of this before, but didn't truly understand. Daniel never spoke to him about what happened, and he had never tried to push the conversation.
"Daniel, tell me what happened."
Daniel looked towards him, still fussing with himself. His eyes glossed over as liquid pooled in them then flowed freely from his eyes.
"I...cheated on-on the C.A.T.s. B-because I-I couldn't study. T-too many g-ghosts t-to fight...not e-enough time. Lancer...confronted u-us at the Nasty B-burger t-to tell them and then...it...I couldn't even s-save..." a huge sob wracked his body, and he swayed dangerously to one side. He made it to the boy's side and caught him before he could hit the ground.
He didn't know what to say, but he understood it now. He should have known. The boy blamed himself.
"I d-don't want these st-stupid powers...it hurts...I want...I want it gone. I want the pain to stop. P-please V-Vlad. Please, m-make it all go away."
He held Daniel close and let the boy cry until he exhausted himself, then he carried him to his room. He laid Daniel in the bed and walked towards the door. Before he exited the room, however, he watched Daniel for a moment and nodded once. He would respect the boy's wishes and remove his ghost half, and hope that the boy would at least be able to move on somehow.
He wasn't sure what went wrong, but he knew that it was his fault. Slowly, ever so slowly, he walked towards the completely human boy who laid motionless on the stone cold floor of the lab. His hands were shaking violently as the images of what he had just seen flashed before his eyes. Daniel's ghost half, upon removal from it's human host, attacked and ripped out his ghost half and merged with it. The combined darkness within the two ghosts overpowered the good and took control, leaving one pained creature behind. In a fit of pained induced madness, the creature snapped Daniel's neck.
He knelt down beside the lifeless boy and stared into his lifeless eyes. He took in a sharp breath and released it before closing Daniel's eyes. In a twisted sense, he had gotten his pain taken away, or at least, the human half of him did.
"I wanted to get rid of the pain, but I couldn't."
Dan shook his head and glared unseeingly at the wall ahead of him.
"I never got to say I was sorry. I never got the chance to tell them I loved them," Dan murmured with a shake of his head.
Clockwork knew the story all too well, but for Desiree, it was the first and she had never been so torn before. This ghost was one being comprised of two creatures filled with pain, hatred, self-loathing and guilt. It was no wonder he was such a destructive mess of a being.
Desiree lowered her head, while Dan snorted and began to laugh. He turned to face the duo, his eyes glistening with something akin to unshed tears.
"I've killed countless in my world in hopes that by inflicting pain on others my own turmoil would end and it did, but not for very long, oh no. You see, it always came back, full force, mercilessly, unwavering, and I would lash out again. What more could I do? What more was there for me to do?"
Dan chuckled as his eyes locked towards Desiree.
"Many of the ghosts perished, many went into hiding while others stayed and fought, though they stood no chance. I wanted to make them pay for what they had put me through, but in the end I knew I couldn't blame them. No, I was the one who sealed my fate. I cheated on that test. I went to Vlad. I asked him to rip out my humanity, and he...I oblige. I made those gauntlets that ripped my ghost halves from me, and then we merged. We became one. We became ME!"
Dan laughed again as a clear glowing liquid soaked his ghostly cheek.
"You dare believe there is good in here when all I cause is destruction to soothe my own pain, even if it is only for a few fleeting moments?"
Desiree turned to Clockwork, who's expression was still set in stone, though his eyes showed pain. He felt bad for Dan, and so did Desiree.
"I...understand," Desiree stated which caused Dan to glare at her.
"I may not be on your level of destruction, but I understand what it is like to inflict pain for the soul pleasure of making yourself feel good."
Dan cocked his head to the side, trying to remember all he could about Desiree. He knew she had been forced to grant the wishes of others true desires...then it hit him. Yes, she could understand him. She had made the choice to warp the wishes of those around her because if she couldn't have her heart's desire, then they could not have hers just like if Dan couldn't have a pain free existence, then no-one should be allowed to either.
Of course, Desiree had changed for the better. She was still a witch, it hadn't been so long ago that her curse had been broken after all, but she was turning over a new leaf with the help of Clockwork. Dan knew that he too was changing, but he had no idea of if he even wanted to change. Maybe he liked being the dark and demonic ghost combination of Danny Phantom and Vlad Plasmius. Maybe that's how he wanted it to remain.
"You're not alone, Dan," Desiree stated as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, curiously, before he smirked at her.
"None shall touch me unless I allow it."
Desiree frowned playfully before she pulled her hand away.
"So you have wished it," Desiree said before she turned to face Clockwork. She smiled at him before she floated back to the top of the stairs.
Clockwork and Dan stared at each other for a moment, before Clockwork began to speak.
"Instead of causing pain, why not try to help others like you used to? You might find that it will fill the void in your chest, and it may even get you into the good graces of the others."
Dan frowned at Clockwork's words.
"They aren't my loved ones," Dan muttered somewhat defensively.
"No, but they can be. You already have Jazmine and Danielle on your side."
Dan said nothing as Clockwork began to make his way back up the stairs. Dan closed his eyes and swallowed down a familiar warm feeling that had been trying to force it's way up. When he opened his eyes, he too began to ascend the stairs.
When he made it back into the sitting room, he found that the mess he had made was gone. He frowned somewhat at that, knowing that it was most likely Desiree's doing. He walked back towards his earlier spot and sat back down, propping his feet up. Clockwork spared him a tender smile while Desiree grabbed a book from the newly restored shelf. She then made her way towards Dan and sat on the opposite side of him.
Desiree opened the book and began to flip through the pages while Dan skimmed the title. His mouth twitched upward in a smirk while his eyes followed Clockwork.
"My favorite chapter of that book," Dan began lightly, "Is the chapter that describes just how cute Baby New Year is."
Clockwork's attention snapped towards the table, while Dan ducked his head while telling Desiree what page to go to. Before Clockwork could even think of what he had just heard, Desiree began to laugh as did Dan. The two turned their attention to Clockwork and laughed even harder when they saw the dark green tint to his cheeks. Dan's laughter slowed until he finally stopped. Clockwork was glaring daggers at him, mumbling about how he thought he destroyed that book, twice, but Dan ignored him in favor of Desiree.
"All things considered, I do believe this is going to the start of a beautifully destructive friendship."
END
Author's Note: A lot of the text in Dan's back story is taken directly from the episode, Ultimate Enemy. You'll know the text when you read it. And don't worry if this seems too sappy. Dan isn't changing THAT fast. That's too unrealistic even if there was a bit of divine intervention, lol.