A/N: Well, this was going to happen eventually. I've decided to start writing for Danny Phantom. But before I write some big action/adventure story, I thought I'd try something simpler. Just a little epilogue for 'D-Stabilized,' an upcoming season three episode. The events in this story will have an effect on my future DP projects, just a heads up. Also, this is my first time writing something like this, so constructive criticism is not only welcome, it's encouraged.
Disclaimer: Danny Phantom and all related characters copyright Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon, Viacom and Billionfold Studios. I certainly don't own it…
Danielle flew through the night sky, happier than she had been in a long time. She finally became stabilized and made friends with the hot headed ghost huntress Valerie. Now that her latest (and, hopefully, last) encounter with Vlad was over, she was heading to parts unknown.
Or, at least, that was here planned. Those plans were cut off by a voice shouting at her from not too far behind. "Danielle!"
Perking up at the mention of her name, the half ghost clone turned to see her de facto cousin flying up to her.
"Danny? What's the trouble?" she asked.
"No trouble," he replied, flying up to the young girl. "It's just that my night suddenly got freed up now that Valerie doesn't want to interrogate me. So I was wondering if you'd like to spend the night at my house."
Danni brightened up. "You really want me to?"
Danny smiled. "Yeah, I think a little family bonding time would be good. Besides, this is one of the few times we can do this safely. Since we took out Vlad's lab, he has no reason to come after you until it's rebuilt."
Danni was ecstatic. She really liked Danny (after all, he was the only family she had) and wanted to hang out with him more. However, when Danny asked her if she was heading off, she took that to mean she needed to leave. But, now her only relative was inviting her to stay the night. "Sure thing!"
Danny smiled. "Cool. Come on, we better get going."
Dear kids,
Got a call about a big spike in ecto-energy a few towns over. We'll be back tomorrow morning. Love, Mom & Dad.
P.S.-Pizza money is on the kitchen table
Danny put the note on the coffee table as Danielle, now in human form, leapt onto the sofa. What luck, his mom and dad were gone, which meant he was spared coming up with an explanation for his guest's presence. Jazz was out doing something to earn extra credit for college (exactly what, Danny didn't know or care) so the house was empty.
"Well, looks like we have the house to ourselves until my sister gets home. So, how about I order us some pizza?"
"Sure. Make mine triple cheese with everything on it!"
"Wow, there's a heart attack waiting to happen."
"Well, excuse me, but you don't exactly dine buffet style on the streets."
Danny's smile faltered at the mention of that fact. Danielle was living on the streets when she shouldn't have to be. "Right. I'll order that extra large then," he said walking into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Danni picked up the remote and began flipping through the channels.
"Finally," Danny muttered as he left the kitchen. The pizza place phone lines had been so busy that it had taken the halfa fifteen minutes to place his order. With that task done, he reentered the living room, only to find that Danielle was no longer there. He glanced at the television. The image on the screen showed a preacher giving a fire and brimstone type sermon. The teen picked the remote off the couch and turned the device off. With the room now in silence, he heard it.
Crying.
Danny blinked in confusion. After a moment, he realized the noise was coming from upstairs. He immediately levitated upstairs and phased into his room. There, lying on his bed, was Danielle, curled up into a ball and quietly sobbing.
"Danielle? What's wrong?" Danny inquired, sitting on the side of the bed.
The young clone looked up at her original with tears streaming down her face. After suppressing a few sobs, she finally spoke. "Danny…do you think I'm going to go to hell?"
Danny was completely caught off guard by that question. "What? Why would you think that?"
"I…I heard some bible guy on TV talking about it. He said that it was a good thing that cloning was banned. He said that if there were anything like a clone made, they would be evil…that they wouldn't have souls…that…" at the point, the young broke down and buried her head back into her knees.
Danny, finally understanding the situation, picked the girl up and placed her in his lap, wrapping his arms around her in a warm hug. Immediately she wrapped her arms around his neck and began quietly sobbing into his shoulder. Danny rocked the girl back and forth for a few minutes before he spoke.
"Danni…let me ask you something…do you love me?"
Danni looked up at him, tears still dripping from her eyes. "Huh?"
"I'm your family, aren't I? Being in a family requires love. So, do you love me?"
"Well…yes, of course."
"And you've also felt emotions, haven't you?"
Danni blinked in confusion. "Of course."
"Well, let me tell you, it's impossible to do that without a soul."
Danielle wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at her cousin again. "You really think so?"
Danny smiled. "I know so. It's those things that make you real. That guy on TV, he's just one of those guys that think anything different than him is evil. Don't listen to people like him. They don't know anymore about you than anyone else."
"You…you're sure?"
"Danni, I admit, I don't know everything about how the afterlife works, but I know whoever's running the universe won't send you to hell just for existing. Besides, in case you haven't noticed, you're not a normal clone. Unlike all the others, you can think and feel. I think that's because you were the only one out of them with a soul. Besides, do you think I would have treated you like family if what that guy said was true?"
Danielle sniffed softly, unsure of that to say. Danny hugged her closer and continued. "Let me tell you something. There are a lot of girls at my school who were born the normal way, and they're much less real than you are. They're stuck up Barbie dolls that don't care about anyone but themselves. But you have it where it matters, in here," he said pointing at his heart. "That makes you real. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Danni was silent for a few minutes afterward. She just continued softly crying into her cousin's shoulder, while Danny softly patted her head and continued rocking her. Finally, she spoke.
"Thank you…you're the best Danny," she whispered.
Danny smiled. "I do my best. That's what cousins do."
After another pause, she spoke again. "Danny?"
"Yeah?"
"Um, do you think, instead of my cousin, you could be my big brother?"
A pause, then, a smile crept onto Danny's face. He bent down and kissed her forehead. "Alright. From now on, I'm your big brother."
Danni smiled. "Thanks."
"By the way, that means you also have a big sister."
"Really?" Danni had heard from Vlad, back when she was still in his employ, that Danny had a big sister, but she had never met her.
"Yep, and whenever I was sad, she had the perfect way to cheer me up."
"What's that?" Danni asked. At that point, she noticed Danny's smile had turned into a rather sly one. "Danny?"
Suddenly, Danny pushed her down onto the bed. Before she could react, her newly declared big brother pounced on her and began to rapidly tickle her sides.
"Stop, don't…hahahahaha!" Danielle's pleas gave way to laughter as her brother playfully assaulted her sides. "Stop it! Stop it! Quit it!" She tried phasing away, but Danny quickly blocked this with his own powers.
"Foolish mortal! Thought you could escape my almighty tickle grip?"
"Danny…stop," she cried through her laughter. "Uncle! Uncle! I…I think I'm gonna be sick!"
"Yipe!" Danny cried, pulling away, knowing he would have to clean up such an accident. "Oh man, I'm sorry!"
"And you're gullible!" Danni responded, pouncing on her brother. She quickly flew behind him and began tickling him.
"Hey, hey! No fair!" Danny said, trying to turn around to face her, but the girl kept a death grip on her back.
"All's fair in love and war!" Danni said in a singsong voice.
"Alright then," he said, finally grabbing his sister off his back, "if that's the way you want to play…"
For the next few minutes, the pair continued their playful grappling. In fact, their game was only interrupted by a new voice.
"Danny?" Jazz's voice revealed her presence. Seconds later, Danny's door opened, confirming it. "What's going…" she trailed off after seeing Danielle.
"Uh, Jazz, remember that clone I told you about?" Danny explained, motioning to Danni.
For a few moments, Jazz stared at Danni, who just smiled. Danny had told her about her clone relative, but this was the first time she had actually seen her. Danni was getting nervous, wondering how she was going to react.
"Aww," she said gently, crossing the room. She then scooped the girl up in her arms and gave her a hug.
"You are too cute," she said, holding the girl in her arms. Danny watched with a warm smile, happy Jazz had taken better to Danielle than his friends did.
"Me and Danny were just having a tickle fight." The youngest Fenton commented.
"Oh really?" the elder sister said, giving her brother a sly look.
"Hey, what are you doing? What's that look for? Hey, wait…no...No, wait…"
Suddenly, both his sisters tackled onto his bed and began to give him a heaping dose of what he had previously been administering.
"Hey, hey, no fair! Two against one? No fair! Alright, you asked for it…"
After fifteen minutes, Danny, Danni and Jazz were laying on Danny's floor, trying to catch their breaths.
"Wow," Danni commented, "that was fun."
"Yeah, I haven't done that since Danny was twelve," Jazz reminisced.
"Finally got too big for you to pick on, huh sis?" Danny teased.
Jazz ruffled her brother's hair. "I don't know about that, I beat you just now."
"Oh you did not." Danny retaliated.
Before the discussion could continue, the doorbell sounded.
"PIZZA!" both halfas exclaimed, phasing through the floor.
Jazz, now the sole occupant of the room, rose to her feet. "There better be some left for me," she muttered, heading downstairs.
"She's definitely your clone," Jazz commented to Danny.
This comment arose from the fact that the former contents of an extra large pizza box were now located in Danni's stomach.
"You should have seen her the day I met her," Danny whispered back. "She ate like half the food in our pantry."
Jazz shook her head. "I swear, when she actually does move in, she's going to eat us out of house and home."
That last statement caught the young halfa's attention. "Wait, what did you say?"
"Well, when you move in here…" Danny started, but was cut off.
"You really want me to move in here?"
"Danni, do you honestly think I want you to live out on the streets?"
Jazz moved to Danni's other side. "After Danny met you, he told me everything. We talked it over, and we made a decision."
Danny finished for his sister. "After we find a way to permanently get Vlad out of the picture, I'm going to tell my parents everything, and you can move in with us."
Danni's eyes brightened. "Really? Wait, why can't I move in now?"
"Because it would be too easy for Vlad to find you," Danny explained. "Heck since he's the mayor, all he'd have to do is order you to come to him and you'd have to do it. When we make sure Vlad's gone for good."
"How are you going to do that?"
"I don't know yet," Danny admitted. "But Clockwork told me once that Vlad would eventually be revealed to the world. He wouldn't tell me when, but he assured me that one day he'll be gone for good. Whenever that is, you're moving in."
Danni smiled, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. She threw her arms around Danny in another hug, which the teen returned. Jazz hugged the two from the other side, allowing all three siblings to share the family moment.
Danni, now dressed in a pair of Jazz's old pajamas, snuggled into the guest bed as Danny pulled the covers over her.
"Comfy?" Danny asked.
"Yeah. Um, thanks again for, you know, taking me in…"
Danny smiled. He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "It's what family does, sis. Now you better get some sleep, you've had a hard day."
Smiling, Danni snuggled into her pillow as Danny walked to the door and flicked off the light. "Good night, Danni," he said, closing the door.
Danny's peaceful sleep was interrupted by a small figure that climbed into his bed. He opened his eyes, taking in a blurry vision of his room.
"Uh, Danny?" a small voice said.
"Uh…Danielle? What's wrong?"
"Uh, well, I had a nightmare about Vlad, and…"
"Oh. You're scared?"
"No!" she defended. "I just thought…if he shows up, you're going to need back up quick…"
Danny smiled. "Come on, we're not getting to sleep any faster," he said, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close. As his little sister cuddled closer to him, he began to drift back to sleep.
"You sure you got everything?" Jazz asked for what felt like the millionth time.
"For the last time, yes!" Danielle said, exasperated. "Are you always this way?"
"Yes," Danny answered for his sister, earning an evil glare from her. "That's just another part of family life."
"Lucky me," the girl muttered, turning to the Ghost Portal. "Are you sure about this, Danny?"
"I don't want to throw you back on the streets," Danny said. "That map I gave you should take you to the kingdom of Aragon. That's a kingdom I saved a while back. I've had a talk with their leader, Princess Dora, and she's agreed to take you in until we deal with Vlad."
Danielle nodded, putting the backpack she was given onto her back. Inside was an over abundant amount of food and clothing, provided by an overprotective Jazz. "Thank you both."
"No problem. We'd take you there ourselves, but school starts in ten minutes. Just fly straight there, and if you run into anyone on the way, don't mention you're related to me, or they'll get hostile."
"Aw, Danny, I told you, nothing can hurt me now." With that, she gave her brother a kiss on the cheek. "Bye Danny! Bye Jazz!" she added, hugging her sister. With that, the young halfa flew into the portal, out of sight from her siblings.
There was a moment of silence before Jazz spoke. "I like her."
"I figured you would," Danny said, throwing his backpack on. "I just hope she gets there safely."
Jazz smiled. "You're becoming as overprotective as I am."
"There's a scary thought," Danny muttered, dashing up the stairs.
"Hey!" Jazz countered, chasing her brother up the stairs and out of the lab.
Next up, Valerie and Phantom have a long overdue discussion.