Chapter One
New Ghoul in School
Darienne Plasmius Masters charged through the Ghost Zone at light speed, her newest enemy hot on her trail. Her ghastly red eyes detected every green and black swirl around her as well as her father's presence not far behind. She could feel her ghost energy starting to wane as it always did at this part. She was starting to get tired of running, but she couldn't disappoint her father. Not again.
"I am the Box Ghost! Beware my power over everything square!" the Box Ghost wailed behind her.
"Ah, shut up, Boxy!" Darienne retorted. She whirled around to face her enemy, who looked more like a hobo than a ghost.
"Darienne, ghostly wail!" her father, Vlad Plasmius, ordered.
The halfa glanced over at Vlad just in time for a box to hit her upside the head. She watched as the box floated away, and then quickly realized that the fight was not over. She angrily faced Boxy, who had several cube-shaped objects ready to fight with.
Darienne, on the other hand, had a ghostly wail.
She dropped her jaw, inhaled, and let out her best ghostly wail. She had to be careful to cover her ears as she wasn't quite used to the sound yet. The Box Ghost was flung backwards, and the cube-shaped objects disappeared into the ether. Her father stood aside, watching her every movement.
The ghostly wail always left Darienne gasping for air, which wasn't available in the Ghost Zone. She could already feel her human side desperate to take over and her eyes were starting to flicker back to sky blue. The halfa knew that if she changed here, she would never go back to being a human. Ever.
Suddenly, Darienne felt her father's strong grasp on her arm.
"Dammit, snap out of it," Vlad ordered. "He's coming back!"
Darienne snapped up her head to see Boxy charging towards her at full force. She grew more determined than ever to beat this foe.
'C'mon, Darienne. You don't have the Plasmius name attached to you for nothing!' the halfa thought silently.
Darienne closed her eyes, mustering all the ghost strength left in her. Then, opening her eyes, she dropped her jaw, inhaled, and let it all out. She could feel the power behind it, the strength of the Plasmius line showing through. She could also feel something gooey dripping down her chin.
As quickly as the ghostly wail came out, it was gone. Darienne glanced over to see her father staring in the direction that the Box Ghost had been flung. That was never a good sign. She then looked down at her white shoes and saw a green ooze on them.
'I must've overdone it again.' Darienne muttered in her head.
Suddenly, Darienne felt her father grab her wrist. They started heading toward the entrance to the Ghost Zone so fast Darienne almost blacked out. The fact that her father had started towards the entrance must have meant that the strongest ghost was hot on their trail.
Clockwork.
Darienne was flung onto the carpet of the Masters living room, still in ghost form. Her jet black hair was coming out of its ponytail and her usually tidy uniform had rips everywhere. She rolled over to face her father, who was also in ghost form.
"I'm going to go settle down Clockwork." Vlad said. "Once you're back in human form, please clean this mess up."
Darienne nodded weakly as her father disappeared back into the Ghost Zone. She felt some ectoplasm escape from her mouth and onto the carpet. Then, a white circle started at her waist and split to encompass her body.
She was back in human form.
Her jet black hair changed to a platinum blond and her red eyes changed to a sky blue. Her black uniform became a blue sundress that Vlad had bought her over the summer, and her white boots turned into bare feet.
"Once you're back in human form, please clean this mess up."
Darienne knew that's not how it would go this time. She was too weak from the training to even move. She felt something moving up her esophagus, but quickly swallowed it back down. Her father wouldn't want more of a mess in the Masters living room.
The halfa quietly stared at the entrance to the Ghost Zone, her thoughts starting to grow fuzzy. She felt her eyelids starting to droop. Why did it always have to be like this?
'Dad, please come back soon…'
Darienne woke up to being carried. The mansion had grown dark, and she was no longer in the living room. In fact, she was in the hallway in the upstairs chamber now. She could also feel that she was in one of her favorite nightgowns, the one with the kittens on it. She curled up her lips in a tiny smile.
"I cleaned up your mess for you." a stern voice said.
Darienne look up just in time for them to pass the bay window in the living room. Moonlight showed through, revealing that she was being carried by none other than her father, Vlad Masters. He was back in his human form, that being of an older gentleman.
"Thank you." Darienne answered, her voice barely a whisper.
Vlad opened the door to Darienne's bedroom and turned the light on. It revealed the room of a teenage girl about to start her freshman year in high school. The room was painted a light green with kitten trim and a queen-sized bed in the corner. There was also a dresser on the far wall, and a walk-in closet on the other. The bed itself had bedposts on its four corners and cream-colored curtains surrounding it. Vlad lay his daughter in the bed and then sat on the edge.
"You shouldn't use all your power like that, you know." Vlad said, moving Darienne's bangs from her face.
"I know," Darienne said, averting her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"It does worry me when you use too much power. You know that-"
"If I change into a human there, I'm never coming back out." Darienne chimed in. This wasn't the first time father and daughter were having this talk.
"Yes…," Vlad said slowly. "You also need to get your rest for school tomorrow. It'll be your first day at a school that size."
"Do I have to go? Why can't you homeschool me like normal?"
"My employees are complaining that I'm not there enough. Running two companies is much more difficult than you give it credit for, my dear."
"Oh, all right. And Dad?"
"Yes?"
"Hug."
Vlad caved in and gave Darienne the hug that she always got each and every night. With that, Darienne watched as her father gave her a small smile, turned the lights off, and shut the door behind him.
Within minutes, the halfa was in a deep, deep slumber.
The next morning, business was as usual. Darienne turned off her billions of alarm clocks and picked out one of the numerous dresses that Vlad had bought her over the summer. She decided to go with a red dress with a white lack color and lacy white sleeves. After changing, she brushed her hair and teeth and then called her father into the enormous bathroom to do her make-up. She would have done it herself, but it was something that her fruitloop of a father enjoyed doing.
"Do you want a lot or minimal?" Vlad asked.
"Minimal. It is my first day, after all." Darienne answered.
Her father nodded in approval, and proceeded to decorate his daughter's face. In the end, she had black mascara and purple eyeshadow. Perfect for a girl with blue eyes and a red dress.
Afterwards, the two each grabbed either a bagel or toast for breakfast and climbed into the limousine in the drive. Whenever Vlad had to work on a day like today, the two would talk about the day's coming events and discuss where to drop Darienne off. Today, it so happened that Darienne was to be dropped off at the high school.
Once the limousine arrived at the high school, it received tons of surprised stares. Darienne's face flushed with all the attention. Normally, she only received attention from one person, which was her father.
"Don't be alarmed, Darienne." Vlad said. "I heard that the student body president will be showing you around. And if you need anything, you have my cell."
Darienne nodded, giving her father one last hug before stepping out. Once outside the limo, she was greeted by a girl not much older than she. The girl had long orange hair held back in a headband and wore a black three-quarter-length shirt and blue jeans.
"Hi, I'm Jazz Fenton," the girl greeted cheerfully. She held out her hand. "And you are…?"
"D-Darienne Masters." Darienne answered meekly. She shook Jazz's hand.
"Masters? Is your f-?" Jazz asked in surprise. Darienne watched as Jazz peered around her into the eyes of Vlad.
Vlad gave a small wave as the limo sped off, leaving Jazz and Darienne standing awkwardly in the dust.
"Don't mind my father," the halfa said quickly. "He's a fruitloop."
Jazz slowly nodded, her gaze evidently somewhere else. Then, as quickly as Darienne noticed it, Jazz's focus was back on her. She motioned for Darienne to follow her, and the two girls walked up the sidewalk towards the high school.
"Your first class is going to be with Mr. Lancer. He can be a weirdo, but you'll get used to him. You'll also be with my brother." Jazz's eyes sparkled with pride.
By that point, the girls had reached Mr. Lancer's room. Jazz escorted her into the room, where Darienne was greeted calmly by Mr. Lancer. He was a tall, balding man with a black goatee and noticeable potbelly. The teacher waved at Jazz with a smile as she left the room.
"All right, class, listen up," Mr. Lancer said formally, getting mixed reactions from the students. "We have a new student this year to the district. Would you kindly introduce yourself?"
"H-hello," Darienne greeted, channeling her inner Vlad. "I'm Darienne Masters. It's a pleasure to meet all of you. I hope we have a great year together."
"Thank you for that, Darienne," Mr. Lancer said. "You can sit next to Mr. Fenton over there."
'Fenton…where do I know that name…? Dad might have mentioned it before…I think.' Darienne thought as she sat down next to the Fenton kid.
"Hey, I'm Danny." the kid said, waving. "By any chance, are you Vlad's kid?"
"Y-yeah…," Darienne replied, waving back. "Why?"
"Just wondering."
"Mr. Fenton, would you please stop wooing our new student?" Mr. Lancer asked, apparently annoyed.
The question was received by giggles from around the classroom. Danny's face grew red and Darienne looked away. It didn't help that she had her father's eyes as well as his slightly upturned nose.
After class was over during passing period, Darienne was stopped by Danny and a couple of other teenagers, a Gothic girl and a boy with a red hat. She cocked her head to one side as to why they were stopping her during such an important time.
"Hey, Darienne," Danny said. "You wanna eat with us at lunch? Sam's vegetarian, but other than that-"
"Oh, shut up," Sam, the Gothic girl, interrupted. She elbowed Danny in the side.
"Back off, Fenton, rich girl's mine!" a jock in a Letterman jacket butted in. "She's cute and she has money."
"I think I'll pass," Darienne said, looking up at the jock. "My dad said that I shouldn't trust people who are in it for the money."
"Yeah Chad, piss off." Danny retorted at the jock.
Chad made rather dark eye contact with Danny and walked away. Darienne quickly agreed to eat lunch with Danny and his friend, as she didn't want any more attention than was absolutely necessary. The hours quickly passed by with Earth/Space Science, World History, and music class. Before long, Darienne had joined Danny and friends for lunch.
"Something's fishy here," Danny said, gazing at his food. "Was this moving yesterday?"
"Not that I remember," the boy in the red hat answered.
"Tucker, would you go check on Sam? She's been in the lunch line for forever. I'll keep Darienne company."
Tucker nodded and was off in a flash. Once Tucker was gone, Danny turned to the halfa.
"Is your dad really Vlad Masters?" he asked.
"Y-yes… Why?" Darienne answered shyly.
Danny paused, closing his eyes, as though a huge revelation was about to take place. Darienne gulped as Danny turned back to her. He move the black bangs from his face, revealing a pair of blue eyes as deep as the ocean.
"What about Vlad Plasmius?"
Darienne was taken aback. How would another human, especially one she had never met, know about her family secret? She felt the blood rise to her face, and her voice came out in a whisper.
"H-how did you know…?" she stammered.
Danny's eyes grew wide, but their conversation was cut short by Tucker arriving back at the table. However, Sam wasn't with him.
"Danny, Sam's in trouble," Tucker panted. "There's a ghost in the kitchen!"
Danny stood up and dashed over behind a trashcan. Then, Darienne heard three words that she would hear many more times in the future.
"I'm going ghost!"
Then, a figure with white hair and glowing green eyes emerged from behind the trash container. Darienne's sky blue eyes grew wide.
"Danny must really trust you if he lets you see him like that. I thought it was just me and Sam." Tucker commented. "What were you two talking about anyway?"
"N-nothing…" Darienne murmured. Then, it came to her.
She wasn't the only half ghost, half human child anymore. Now, it was Darienne Plasmius and Danny Phantom.