I know, I'm sorry it took so long! I'll try to be faster next time! It's just that I've been busy lately...
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Realization
Andy took a heavy breath while looking out the window in Danny's room. The stars twinkled and blinked, the moon was almost full in the sky. It was weird for him to remember last night, the natural satellite was nearly vanishing, turning into what his dad taught was the phase called new moon. This morning, he woke up on a Wednesday, now, Friday was almost ending. He was feeling totally out of place.
Hours passed since Andy explained everything for the group of teens. Sam and Tucker stayed as long as they could, but nearing dinner time, they had to get back to their own houses. Before dinner, Jazz managed to make a sandwich for Andy, and Danny left it for him in his room. However, the little boy wasn't hungry anymore.
The two siblings entered the room, not scaring the boy because he knew no one other than him or Jazz would come at this moment. The teens had just finished eating supper with his family.
"Good thing tomorrow is Saturday, so I don't have to worry about what we'd do with you during school hours. I don't think it's a good idea to leave you alone for long." The teen boy said sitting on his own bed, he was talking to both Andy and his sister, though the boy wasn't looking at him, still staring at the night sky.
"That's right, but what are we going to do tomorrow? Are you going to look for Clockwork's staff?"
"I don't know, Jazz. We have no clue at all. We don't know if it was a guy or a girl, we don't even know if it was a ghost or a human. Or even a halfa, granted there exists more than the three we know in the future." He replied. "Maybe wait for his or hers next move will be better. But, anyway, since mom and dad are probably going to stay and work on the improvement of the Fenton Bazooka, I guess it'd be better for the three of us to hang out with Sam and Tucker."
"Okay then." She agreed turning her gaze at the silent stargazing boy. He looked different from before, he displayed so much energy and brightness and now it was almost like a lamp that was about to stop its glow. He was definitely low-spirited and gloomy. "What's up, Andy?" she asked kneeling beside him. On the table, she saw the sandwich barely eaten "Why didn't you eat your dinner? Do you want something else? I can make you something different."
"It's not that, aun-" he cut himself just in time again and corrected his phrase. "Jazz. It's just that I want my mommy to make me dinner. We'd probably eat spaghetti tonight. She likes to put eggs and vegetables in it, then my daddy would make us something with meat separately, 'cause mommy doesn't like to eat meat, she is an ultra recycle vegetarian."
"Seriously? Like Sam?" Danny asked hearing the entire conversation; Andy realized his mistake and quickly tried to make it right.
"There are a lot of vegetarians in Amity Park."
"Probably so, but Sam is the only one I know."
"Anyway, I'm sorry Jazz, but I'll eat your sandwich if I get hungry." He said in an attempt to change the subject.
If you let slip any information about the future or us that might let our past selves figure out who you really are and who are your parents, try to change the subject. Talk about anything else. Andy remembered his father advising when they were going to Clockwork's lair, moments before he went to the past, and that's what he did.
However, Jazz was very smart and she noticed his attempt to change the subject. She also noticed that he almost called her 'aunt' a few times. She wondered if he was really her nephew or if it was just a nickname for her. She needed to know more about him and observe a little more to know that for sure, but Jazz also saw that she wouldn't get those answers now.
"Well, I guess it was a long day for you, right? You must be tired. Do you want to sleep?"
"I think so. But I didn't bring my pajamas."
"There's no problem." Danny said, "You can use the shirt of one of my old ones. It'll be a little too large, but it's okay."
"Thanks dad-" he cut himself again and completed "Danny."
There it is! The final peace of the puzzle! Jazz thought He almost called him 'daddy'! I'm sure of it! So he really is my nephew! And, judging of what he said about his mother, she's got to be Sam! So he's Sam and Danny's son! Judging by his age, his future is probably around 12 to 19 years from now.
"Jazz, why are you smiling so much?" his cute little voice asked interrupting her thoughts.
"Nothing. I Just imagined how cute you'll look with a shirt as big as you." She said kissing him on the forehead. "But I think it's better to leave you guys to take a rest. If you need me, just call and I'll come running."
"Right." The small boy managed to smile again.
"Good night, Andy." She stood up and looked at Danny, the smile from figuring out the truth was still there "Good night, little brother. Take good care of him."
"I know. Good night, Jazz."
And so she left the room. She wouldn't tell anything about Andy's parents, at least if it wasn't completely necessary. He did tell her and everyone else that he was not supposed to reveal information about the future.
She could keep it a secret just like she did when she found out about Danny's powers. Besides, he and Sam would be totally freaked out when they discovers that Andy is their son. Another smile crossed her lips. It'd be funny to see them blushing from embarrassment like that.
Andy and Danny were sharing the bed, since there was enough space and the five-year-old boy was so small, Danny didn't see a problem, at first. Turns out, Andy couldn't fall asleep. Even though he was tired, his eyes were wide open.
He stayed for a few moments looking at the wall on the other side of the room in front of him until he decided to change and look at the ceiling one more time.
"Will you stop moving?" Danny moaned sleepy, it sounded almost like a groan.
"Sorry, dad-" once again, he stopped himself in midsentence "Danny. It's just that I can't fall asleep."
"I thought you were sleepy."
"I am and I do want to sleep. But I just can't." he said with a sad voice while Danny turned to face the little boy, holding his head with his right hand and with sleepy eyes "I miss my mommy. And my daddy too. I've never slept in another place other than my home without her calling to tell me good night. Like last month when I stayed in my grandparents' house for the weekend, she called me every night to asked me if I was a good boy and ask if I brushed my teeth."
"You must really miss her." The teen stated, "By the way, did you brush your teeth?"
"Yeah. Well, kind of. I didn't get time to bring my toothbrush, but I did use your toothpaste on my finger. You're not mad at me using it, are you?"
Danny raised an eyebrow when noticed a hint of fear in his voice.
"Of course not. You can use it whenever you want to."
"But I didn't ask. Daddy always tells me not to use someone's stuff without asking first."
"He's right, but I guess when you wanted to use it, I wasn't near for you to ask. Besides, it's just toothpaste, it's nothing personal."
"I'm sorry for not getting to sleep right now. It's just that I miss my mommy so much. My daddy too. He's the best daddy in the world. He's my hero!" Andy said smiling "Do you think you can tell me a story to help me sleep?"
The teen smiled, not feeling so sleepy anymore. The little boy mesmerized Danny, he was captivating, and he was hoping he'd meet him soon in the future. He was polite, sweet and energetic, and as fearless as a five-year-old kid can be. Danny was amazed to think that's the kind of son he'd like to have.
"And what story do you want to hear?" he asked trying to remember the stories his parents used to tell him, obviously, about ghosts, but Danny never really liked them. He tried to remember the ones his teachers used to tell, the normal ones, like 'red riding hood' or 'the ugly duckling'. Andy was probably used to one of those, he thought. Danny was wrong about it.
"What about the one when you fought that meat monster? The lunch lady ghost." Andy started saying with brightness and intensity sparkling in his blue eyes "Or maybe that time with Pariah Dark. Or the Fright Night, in Halloween. Mommy told me this one last Halloween, it's been a while. Or the one Johnny 13 tried to get Jazz to be Kitty's host. How about the one when you discovered you learned to use your ice powers? Or maybe the one you made the whole earth intangible. That's one of my favorites, though it's hard to pick one, I like all of them!"
"Slow down, kiddo." Danny laughed, "How do you know so much about the fights I've had since I got my ghost powers?"
"You told me, in the future. I said we know each other. Mommy tells me some of those stories almost every night before I go to sleep since I was a baby."
"So, your mom probably knows me very well, right?"
And then, Andy realized he said too much.
"I can't tell you!"
The boy exclaimed in a tone of voice not too loud while pushing the covers to his head until it hide all of his face, leaving only his fingers showing up. Danny laughed, careful not to make too much noise and wake someone in the house.
"You know what? I'm getting curious about who are your parents. Maybe I should tickle you until you spit everything out."
"No! Please don't do that! I can't resist tickles. And Clockwork advised me not to talk about the future!" he moaned still under the covers.
"Don't worry, I was just kidding. It's not your fault. But about the stories, what do you think about you telling me one of those instead of me? I mean, you already know all of them, so I won't be telling you a new one anyway."
"I never did that before." Andy lowered his hands just enough to peep his eyes to look at Danny "I think it'll be fun. May I choose the story?"
"Sure."
"What about the one you divided yourself between your ghost half and the human one? With the Fenton Catcher." he suggested, "It's one of my favorites!"
"Sounds good enough. I remember I just wanted to have some nice normal weekend with my friends."
"Yes! And then, you were on your computer and ended up unleashing Technus!" Andy continued with a big bright smile on his lips, remembering every detail. Danny was happy to hear it, but was glad when he got tired enough to fall asleep.
When Jazz woke up in the morning, it was still early, and she decided to let Danny and Andy sleep in as long as they wanted, the little boy needed the rest anyway. However, they didn't stay in bed for so long, around ten o'clock, the two Fenton teens and Andy were already out meeting up with Sam and Tucker outside the Nasty Burger. That was something that hasn't really changed in the future, Andy thought to himself looking at the fast food building. Sure it was different and reformed up, but he could still recognize it.
Andy was so happy that it didn't even look like he was so gloomy missing his family the night before. He greeted the Goth girl and the techno-geek who smiled at his joy.
"I believe you slept well." Sam declared and he boy nodded quickly.
"And he even decided to tell me stories. Danny Phantom stories."
Tucker laughed. "He surely does know a lot about you, maybe even more than you do."
"I guess so." Danny said kidding as well. Jazz bit her lower lip, reminding herself not to say anything she deduced during the night before.
"Anyway, I have good news and bad news. Which one do you wanna hear first?" the techno geek asked his best friend.
"You choose."
"The good news is that I made some research about the ghost and other enemies that could have came back in time with the time staff."
"And?" Danny asked hopeful.
"Didn't find anything. That's the bad news."
"Gee, Tuck, we'd never figure that out." Sam mocked with a bit of sarcasm in her voice. The black teen rolled his eyes.
"It's just that it doesn't make much sense, I mean, you can kick any ghost's butt pretty easily in this time period, with a few exceptions, so I was thinking of two main possibilities. The first is that the person that got back in time didn't really know you at that age; therefore, you're probably going to meet him or her in the future. The second is that this person may not control the time staff too well and ended up in here. Though there's actually another theory, a third one that I'm working on. "
"What's that?" Jazz asked curious. Andy was trying to understand but it was a little hard for him to keep up.
"That he or she know enough about Danny's history to have a reason to come for this time, like, I don't know, maybe still something specific in this period or try to have some fight just for fun and then try to kill him. But then again, if it was one of the enemies you already know, it could be some kind of trap." He continued "But it's all just theories. I've been thinking about other stuff too, but that's it for now."
"They're good theories, yet, they don't lead us anywhere. We need to discover who has the time staff so Andy can safely go back to the future and stops that person once and for all."
"Danny." The little boy said getting his attention by pushing his shirt a few times.
"Yeah?"
"Could you take me to the park?" he asked "You know, Daddy was supposed to take me there the day I was sent here, and I know you guys want to talk about all those boring stuff that I don't understand, so you can do it while I play." The boy suggested, "I promise I won't go too far. Wait, there is a park in this time, right?"
"Sure there is." The halfa teen answered. "I guess it's okay if we go, we don't really have a schedule or anything to do today. What do you think, guys?"
"I can't believe I'm gonna say it, but I'm saying anyway: he's so cute I could squeeze him." Sam joked with a smile while messing up with his dark hair. "It's fine by me, we can go there."
Tucker and Jazz nodded and Andy jumped in a blissful way as they started to walk in the park's direction.
"Finally we finished the improvements on the Fenton Bazooka, Maddie!"
"Isn't it wonderful, Jack? Now that ghost boy won't stand a chance."
"I say let's get the Fenton RV and look around the town to find some ghost and try it out!" Jack suggested ecstatic as always when he was talking about ghosts. Maddie happily agreed and the two Fenton adult ghost hunters quickly left the house.
They drove slowly around the city, looking everywhere for a trace of any ghost. It took them almost half an hour, but when they were almost making a turn after the park, Maddie and Jack finally found what they were searching for. They heard an eerie echoy voice, addressed to someone – or something – close to them.
"Going somewhere?" there was a hint of irony in the voice as well.
Maddie, who was driving, parked and they decided to go out quietly to see who said just around the corner of a building. They were surprised to see Sam, Tucker, Jazz, a little boy that looked exactly like Danny at five and the ghost boy facing an adult ghost with a white cape and black and white jumpsuit with the same symbolic D on the chest just like Phantom's.
"Guys, stay behind me!" Phantom yelled, none of them had realized Maddie and Jack's presence nearby. The ghost boy turned to the unknown ghost. "How the hell did you scape the thermos? It was with Clockwork!"
"That's none of your business, kid! I've been for so long in that stupid thermos! I've been there for years! All I want now is revenge. And the best part of it, is that I now exist out side of time, I can even kill you and I won't disappear"
The adult ghost said with a mischievous grin and his deep eerie voice was enough to make the Fenton married couple feel a chill go down their spines.
"Years? But the last time we saw him was months ago." Jazz thought out loud. "Unless you're also from the future."
"What are you talking about? If Danny doesn't exist, there's no way you do too." Tucker declared. Dark Danny laughed an evil laugh.
"Do you really believe that? Clockwork changed your destinies, but I'm still here."
Danny Phantom was concerned and uneasy facing Dark Danny, and if someone looked close, could see that he was also a bit scared, after all, the last time he fought with him, Danny almost lost the people he cares about the most.
The little boy turned to Sam, the closest person to him and asked loud enough that Maddie and Jack managed to hear but just barely "What is he talking about? You know him?" it was exactly what the Fenton couple were thinking about "But you never told me stories about this ghost, who is he?"
"You know what, I'm tired of you guys talking there. Maybe I should just finish you off." The ghost said evilly, charging an ecto ghost ray in his hands. Danny shot his own ecto ray just in time to stop it from hitting the group of teens and the five-year-old child.
Tucker, Sam and Jazz exchanged worried looks, wondering if they should or should not tell Andy the truth. The black teen kneeled down and took a heavy sigh, making his decision.
"He's from an alternative time line. He's called Dan Phantom and he's an evil older version of Danny Phantom."
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