Clockwork: It will be interesting to see how many of your readers saw through what will happen in this chapter.
Selene: Which you, as the ghost of time, are doubtlessly already aware.
Clockwork: Naturally. After all, I know everything.
Dana: *rolls eyes* I don't see how much good that is when you aren't even allowed to give your friends spoilers for things like books and movies.
Disclaimer: Selene Airay doesn't own anything that is recognized in this story.
Chapter Two:
Switch Flip
Dana blinked. "… There goes that feeling again."
Naturally, being a curious five year old, Dana decided to investigate. Following her instincts, Dana's feet led her to the basement. At first, all she saw were a bunch of dusty old books. Because she hadn't been there before she didn't know, but little Dana had ended up in the part of the library that was still open to the public but was used for storing books that hadn't set foot out of the building in so long even the most optimistic of librarians had given up on someone checking them out.
Feeling a sneeze coming, Dana groaned. 'Oh, man. First Petunia always goes overboard, now the library's janitor ignores the basement completely?'
Passing around a corner created by a bookshelf, Dana came across a strange sight. A man in a purple coat with a scarf was floating a couple of feet above the ground. A book was floating in front of him, and he was jotting down notes in a notebook. The man, and even the book, pen and notebook, were glowing. That was when it hit her. A lot of the weird people she'd seen had been able to fly just like her. But this one… he didn't have noticeable legs. Instead, he had, for lack of a better term, a tail of some sort. Clearly, this wasn't just some man because he obviously wasn't human.
She wasn't frightened, startled, or even surprised. Instead, she felt smug that her relatives had been wrong about the sort of thing they despised most. Hearing the ghost mutter about nothing rhyming with orange, Dana barely stifled a giggle. He looked up as if he had heard the sound anyway, but she turned invisible so he didn't see her. Then when she took her hand off of the shelf she had been holding on to, some dust was displaced. She sneezed, giving her away. The ghost heard it loud loud and clear, and in his surprise the library book dropped.
He turned, looking in Dana's general direction. "Who's there?"
Knowing she was caught, Dana stepped forward and into view. "Hi! I'm Dana! What's your name?"
'Why, it's just a child.' the ghost thought, 'One who is remarkably reminiscent of the Ghost Girl, in both name and looks.'
"I'm Ghost Writer." he said, then, upon realizing the fact that a five year old was talking to him like it was a normal occurrence asked, "Don't you realize that I'm a ghost?"
"I do now." Dana said, "But... if your a ghost, then that means that you're dead, right?"
"Well, yes." said a now confused Ghost Writer.
"Then... What does that make me?" Dana asked.
"What are you talking about, Dana? You're a human aren't you?" Ghost Writer asked in return, even more confused.
Rings of energy that Ghost Writer hadn't seen in years went up and down the girl. When it stopped, she was wearing a black shirt with a white stripe across the middle, black pants, and white boots. Her hair, which had been silver before, was white and her green eyes were glowing. He hadn't been a ghost for more than a few decades, so if such a thing had happened in the past Ghost Writer didn't know. Considering he actually lived in a library however, it wasn't very likely. The important point, however, was that in his afterlife he had only known of two people that could do that, both were half ghost half human. Those energy rings were part of the one thing that they had in common.
One of them was the eccentric billionaire Vlad Masters. Ghost Writer was acquainted with him but didn't like being around him if he could help it. His alternate form looked ridiculously vampire like, and when he was like that he went by Vlad Plasmius. Vlad, Ghost Writer had heard, had a town house in London. Currently, the man still lived in America.
The other one had been the slightly infamous Ghost Girl herself, Dana Phantom. She was also known to ghosts and a select few humans as Dana Fenton. It still amused Ghost Writer that the one thing that never failed to annoy her was how the humans she knew continued to call her Ellie and that ghosts just rarely used her name except for a few that called her Phantom. In spite of starting off on the wrong foot Ghost Writer and Dana had become friends.
It was hard not to, in their case. When the next Christmas came around and he was still stuck in prison the Ghost Girl surprised everyone for bargaining for his freedom in exchange for a manual on human laws and unwritten rules she put together for the Warden. Upon being asked, she said to consider it both a Christmas present and an apology for the whole mess. However, Dana had died saving her friend Sam from being hit by a car six and a half years ago. He still missed her, and wondered why she hadn't become a full ghost. Shaking himself from his thoughts, Ghost Writer ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. Why, he wondered, did he get stuck telling a five year old girl that she was essentially dead?
"You're what's commonly known as a halfa to those aware of their existence." Ghost Writer explained, deciding trying to be delicate might only make it take longer for the child to understand, "You're half human, half ghost."
Dana blinked. "I'm... half ghost? But I thought you had to die to become a ghost?"
"Usually, yes. That would be the case unless somehow your parents were a human and a ghost, which I'm guessing isn't the case." Ghost Writer agreed, "It is possible, however. I knew two different humans who were shocked with enough electricity to kill them but only became half human half ghost because ectoplasm fused with their DNA."
"I'm... half ghost... and... I should be dead, like my parents are?" Dana asked for confirmation.
Ghost Writer nodded. "I'm afraid so."
Something like that was hard for anyone to hear. Especially a child who barely understood death. Yet somehow, it sounded oddly familiar. Like the idea was nothing new, or she had gone through something like that before. Dana could almost call them memories. It would certainly explain why Ghost Writer seemed so familiar, and why a apart of her felt a sense of amusement and irony when she first set sight on him. As if started by the last through, images flashed in Dana's mind at a rapid pace. It was a little to much to take for Dana, and she fainted, still in her ghost form.
Ghost Writer barely managed to catch her before she hit the floor. He picked her up, and carried her over to a couch. He set her down, then sat next to her head. It immediately struck him as odd when he noticed that Dana only looked like she was having a restless sleep. The ghost bit back a little voice in the back of his head that he was only concerned because she reminded him of Dana Phantom. Then, Dana started glowing.
"Well, that was unexpected." Ghost Writer commented, "I hope she's all right."
Then, Dana started to glow, interrupting Ghost Writer's thoughts and concerns.
The fitful sleep was stranger than Ghost Writer knew. All her short life Dana remembered waking up from strange, fitful dreams that she couldn't remember. It felt like Ghost Writer's words had flipped a switch that broke some kind of dam or seal. Now she could see and hear clearly, and they all contained the same people. A black boy with a red had and yellow shirt that always had a PDA. A girl that both had black hair and always wore black clothes. Both felt like friends, something Dana had never experienced. A woman in a blue jump suit, and a big man with an orange jump suit and a boisterous, loud voice. A girl with red hair kept out of her face with a blue hair band. For some reason, those three made Dana think of family. Then there were other familiar people. Such as a blonde boy that made Dana think of an active Dudley.
Then the boys and girls that were shown were teenagers. There was a weird metal gateway, the man and woman that were always wearing a jumpsuit put together some kind of plug. When nothing happened, they walked away disappointed. Then it showed the boy and girl.
"Hey, what's that?" the girl asked.
"Hm? Oh, my parents called it a ghost portal." Dana could hear herself saying, "It's supposed to be a door into the Ghost Zone."
"What's a Ghost Zone?" the boy asked.
Dana shrugged. "I think mom said it was the name for where ghosts live."
"I know, why don't you check it out, Ellie?" the girl suggested.
"It's Dana! And I don't know, Sam... my parents invent some pretty dangerous stuff." Dana said.
"I'm sure just stepping inside for a look can't possibly do any harm." the girl assured.
"You could always wear your hazmat suit, Ellie." the boy suggested, holding out white with black clothes.
"Her what?" Sam, the girl, asked, confusion clear on her face.
"Tucker means my costume from last Halloween." Dana clarified, "Because I was complaining that I couldn't find anything with a sci-fi look to it for my star ship pilot costume, Mom and Dad got it especially for me. Tucker calls it that because it's as close to a jump suit like theirs as I'll even touch."
"It's a costume. What good would that do Ellie, Tucker?" Sam asked the boy.
"It's from her parents. It's sure to give her some kind of protection." Tucker pointed out.
Sam gave in, and Dana found herself slipping the outfit over her clothes. When Dana was inside, almost tripped on a wire. She put a hand on the wall of the metal contraption to steady herself... and found herself pressing something. All she knew was the sensation of being shocked with thousands of volts of electricity.
That was when the dreams intensified, and she found herself half ghost. Only Sam and Tucker, her friends, were aware. Then, the the only people who showed up as often as the people she had realized were actually family and friends were ghosts. Some of whom occasionally didn't look even remotely human. She ended up fighting most of them. One was a rocker girl with blue flames for hair named Ember. Another was one with an annoying voice that could control technology called Technus. One that was mostly metal and flames named Skulker who called himself a hunter. Even a half ghost named Vlad that was her parents' old college pal. Only, he hated her father, wanted her mother for himself, and wanted her for an evil apprentice. He was also on top of being a cheese head fruity and loopy, so therefore a fruit loop.
The one that truly scared her involved time travel. There was a test, and she was freaking out. A little girl ghost showed up, and Dana ended up with the answers. Before she could figure out what she would do, a ghost called Skultech showed up. Dana ended up in a strange place with a gear that showed a future with a ghost wreaking mass destruction. Then, a ghost who could control time named Clockwork showed up. He informed them that an evil ghost called Dan was her ghost half fused with Vlad's, therefore that future was her fault. First she ended up in the future fighting Dan, then she found her way back to her time. After she defeated Dan, Clockwork showed up just in time to save her friends, family, and her teacher Mr. Lancer.
Then there were flashes that covered five years. (To her delight after the first year there were no plots to kill her dad by Vlad.) Dana even saw Ghost Writer. It slowed down again eventually to a horrific event. A car was headed towards Sam, and Dana got hit pushing her friend out of the way. Sam was fine but she was badly hurt. She was trying to keep Sam and Tucker calm. Then, everything froze and Clockwork, one of the few ghosts Dana could call friend, was there.
"H-hey. I didn't expect you to show up, Clockwork." Dana said in way of greeting.
Clockwork pulled her head into his lap. Sam and Tucker were still by her side. But now they were crying silently. Neither had ever interfered or interrupted her conversations with Clockwork after the Dan incident.
"You know you were always the one person I couldn't bring myself to leave alone no matter the consequences, Dana." Clockwork said.
Remembering how they met, Dana chuckled. "Heh. Guess I'm just lucky. You're the only reason I got this far, you know."
Clockwork smirked, but it was bitter. He still hadn't forgive the Observants. "I could never have simply let you die or go through that."
"I never did get to repay you." Dana said with regret, "I'm... done for... Right?"
Sam and Tucker protested, said that she would be fine. Clockwork didn't lie, though. He had never lied to Dana.
"I'm afraid so. If it's any consolation, Sam would have been okay in the end if things had taken a different turn." Clockwork admitted, "Either you both would have been all right, or Sam would have lived but been hurt."
Dana didn't need her current clear view of Sam's face to know she was grimacing with the guilt.
"Guess I was... a little hasty." Dana admitted, "It's kind of ironic that it ends this way."
"It figures that the one slightly possible outcome that should never have even been in the equation is one that the foolish Observants would prefer over how it was supposed to be." Clockwork said, clearly upset in spite of the attempted humor.
"Hey now, don't be like that." Dana said, touching his face with her hand, "I'll... be... back. Promise. Even if I have to defy death again."
"I'll be waiting." Clockwork said, "You've accomplished the supposedly impossible so often I find myself believing you."
Suddenly, everything clicked into place. Dana remembered everything. She used to be Danielle Fenton, also known as Dana, Ellie, or Dana Phantom depending on who you asked. Dana had been the half ghost younger daughter of ghost hunters Jack and Maddie Fenton. Now she was five year old Danika Potter, orphan despised by her uncle, bullied by her cousin, and usually neglected by both her aunt and her uncle.
A pulsing feeling that came from Dana's very core came with the revelation, and her latent power surged. Suddenly, Dana was semi aware but still asleep. Her eyes opened, and she felt herself changing. When the accompanying light passed, it was a very different Dana lying on the couch. Ghost Writer found himself with Dana Phantom in his lap, with the same appearance and age as when she died and disappeared.
End of Chapter