Chapter 7
Casus Belli
With the shop having burned down and Jason dead, Danny had found himself out of work. He'd taken to lounging around his apartment, drinking perhaps more than was good for him. This was due mostly to his guilt. For had he not overshadowed Jason and had him break the wrist of the enforcer, the massacre would not have occurred and Danny's coworkers still be alive.
So he sat the kitchen table, drowning out his consciences cries of pain with liquor. He had been doing it for four years, so he had some experience. He heard a knock at the apartment door and looked up.
"Come in!" he called, expecting maybe Garrett.
The door was opened and a young woman with black hair entered. Danny managed a smile when he recognized his clone.
"Dani" he exclaimed with delight, "c'mon in, been a while since I've seen you around."
"Hey there Danny, I…" Dani paused as she wrinkled her nose at the smell of alcohol. "Are you drunk?" she demanded.
"I'm getting there" the latter replied with a tipsy grin.
Dani let out a sigh as she sat down across the table from the man she had always looked at as an older brother.
"Since when do you drink?" she pointed out in a disappointed tone.
"Dani, I really don't need a moral lecture right now" Danny replied in irritation before taking another swig from the bottle of beer in his hand.
"Fair enough, I need to talk to you about something…" said ghost girl explained curtly, but she was stopped short by a loud groan from her counterpart.
"Why so businesslike, can't we just talk?"
"Fine, what do you want to talk about?"
"I don't know. How's life as an Organic Chemistry teacher?"
"It's fine, how's life as a refugee hiding from anyone who ever loved you?"
"Don't get smart" Danny snapped angrily, causing a hurt look to come over Dani's face. He saw this and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, I'm just so tired of everything…so tired" his voice dropped as he continued.
There was an uncomfortable silence as Danny continued to stare at his half-empty bottle and Dani at the checkered table cloth. As last, Danny began to laugh, but his laughter quickly developed into sobs and he began to cry. Seeing this, Dani stood up and moved over to him. He embraced her tightly as he continued to cry.
"How did it come to this? Why did it all go wrong? Why?" Danny gasped, hugging his female clone even tighter.
"I wish I knew" was all that Dani could whisper in reply, "I wish I knew".
Sam went into work that morning with a sense of numbness, as though someone had shot her full of Novocain. The shock of learning that Danny, the man she loved, the man she had cried herself to sleep over many a night, the father of her daughter, was still alive was almost too much to absorb. After being released and sent home by the GIW, Sam had entered her apartment in the early hours of the morning. She gone into Madison's room and stared at her sleeping daughter for several hours.
She had Danny's eyes. That was what always struck Sam the most. The light blue, almost pale blue, eyes were so in contrast to Sam's own violet eyes. Of course, she could not see them through her Madison' closed eyelids as she slept, but Sam knew they were there. One of the greatest challenges she had imagined herself facing was the question of what to tell Madison about her father. Indeed, as the young girl grew older she would ask questions about her father, Sam knew that. She just did not know what her answers would be now.
"I thought your father was dead but he really wasn't. He was missing for a long time until I found him." Sam played through responses to the questions in her mind, "he lied to me" she shook her head at this last answer.
Danny was a lot of things, but he was not the type to abandon his family and his responsibilities without good reason. Sam just couldn't figure out what that reason might be. She closed her eyes as she remembered that painful day once again.
Sam had woken up in the hospital after being injured while try to help Danny fight off a particularly powerful ghost. She had awakened in a hospital gown lying in a bed with a broken arm and many bruises.
"Good morning Mrs. Fenton, how are you feeling?" a doctor who was in the room when she had awakened inquired.
"Where am I? Where's Danny?" Sam had demanded immediately, trying to sit up in the bed.
"Please, Mrs. Fenton, you've been through a lot, and you probably shouldn't be moving so much, it might…" the doctor tried to calm her down, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder in an effort to get her to lay back down.
"WHERE"S MY HUSBAND!?" Sam had screamed at the top of her lungs in frustration.
The doctor fell silent for a moment, contemplating on what to do. Finally, he seemed to come to a decision.
"Mrs. Fenton, the rescue personnel were not able to find your husband in the rubble from when the building collapsed. They believe he may not have made it. I'm…I'm so sorry" the man explained in a quiet voice.
At first, all Sam could do was stare at the doctor in shock. Tears began to form in her eyes and she began to shake her head.
"No…no,no,no,no,no NO!" the young woman was shrieking as she desperately tried to stand up, but the doctor's strong hands held her down.
"Mrs. Fenton please, you've sustained injuries and your PREGNANT, we have to make sure the baby is stable" the man had shouted as he continued to pin her down.
The word 'pregnant' once again caused Sam to freeze in shock. She was pregnant?
This momentary lapse of struggle was all the doctor needed. He immediately took out a needle of sedative and injected it into Sam's neck. Darkness began to close in around Sam, and as she drifted off she whispered one last time: "Danny, please".
Then, she was gone.
It was a painful memory. One that Sam usually kept at the back of her mind, like a dark cloud on a distant horizon. Now however, as she relived the horrific moment in her mind, the cloud spread until it obscured the sun, and her eyes brimmed with tears.
She was not sure how long she cried. It may have been an hour, it may have been longer. Regardless, Sam sat at the edge of her sleeping daughter's bed and wept silently. She had spent four years staring at that empty spot on the bed next to her, and now she was told that the person that had always filled that empty spot was still alive.
The alarm on Madison's clock went off, and the young girl stirred a little before opening her eyes.
"What's wrong mommy?" she asked, noticing her mother's red eyes from crying.
"Nothing honey" Sam had said quickly, pulling Madison into a tight hug.
They sat like that for a few minutes, mother and daughter, in a loving embrace.
"Honey, mommy's going away for a few days. She'll be back, but Auntie Rebecca is going to look after you until I get back, ok?" Sam whispered.
Upon realizing that she would be going away for a while, Sam had immediately called Rebecca from her cell phone and asked her to look after Madison. Although Rebecca had not understood this sudden departure (and was a bit hacked off at having been awakened at 4 in the morning) she had agreed.
Madison only nodded, and Sam released her before standing up and heading toward the bedroom door. She turned back and smiled at the young toddler.
"Better get ready for daycare sweetie" she said with a smile before leaving.
After dropping Madison off, Sam had headed straight for work. So now, here she was, walking down the halls of the Amity Park Animal Hospital, still feeling as numb as she had when the GIW had released her. She was not there to work, however.
"What do you mean, 'leave of absence'?" her boss demanded, dumbfounded by the suddenness of it.
"I'll be taking a temporary leave of absence, only for a few days" Sam repeated her previous words resolutely.
"And who will take your place, Sam? You're one of the best doctors here." The chief of staff persisted in an irritated tone.
"That's not my problem chief."
At this, the man in charge gave her a very hard look. Sam saw this and let out a short sigh before shifting her gaze from her boss to the floor.
"Look, I know its short notice, but this is really important and personal. I'll be back in a few days." she apologized.
This time it was the chief's turn to sigh, and he stared at her with caring look. "You be careful out there Sammy, I'll expect you back next week" he consented.
Sam smiled at him appreciatively. "Thanks chief" she said with a nod, before standing up and leaving.
The chief watched her go with a sad look. She was a good person and a good doctor. He just wished he could understand her.
Out in the halls, Sam ran smack into Eric on the way to the parking garage.
"Hey" he had greeted her with a wide smile, "don't forget our date tonight".
Sam heart froze at this statement. In all of the sudden shocks and decisions of that day, Sam had never thought about one thing: what was she going to tell Eric?
On one end, she did not want to hurt him. Eric was a good man, he put others before himself, and Sam liked that about him. How could she tell him what was going on? What would he say?
At last, she decided to take a more conservative route and replied: "I'm sorry Eric, but I'm going out of town for a few days, family emergency" she explained (it wasn't a lie per say).
The look on her coworker's face turned from one of happiness to one of concern and he palced a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder.
"Why, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Eric please, it's personal" Sam had replied in a quiet voice.
Though clearly curious, Eric respected her words and only nodded. "Give me a call if you need anything" he said, before stepping forward and giving Sam a hug.
She surprised at first, but she returned it gratefully (she needed some form of comfort right now). When they had separated, Sam managed to give Eric a weak smile before turning and heading toward the parking garage.
He watched her go with a confused feeling raging inside of him. What could possibly be going on that Sam would leave work on such short notice?
"You're so full of mystery Sam" Eric thought as he watched her walk off, "It's what I like about you".
Danielle sat on a small chair in the "living room" of Danny's apartment. She had been unable to bring herself to talk about Clockwork and all of that with crying and all. He had only stopped after falling asleep in Dani's arms. She had carried him over to the couch and laid him down before taking a seat, waiting patiently for Danny to awake.
As she looked at his sleeping form, Dani couldn't help but compare him to the old Danny. The old Danny had been a strong, confident, selfless young man. He had always been willing to lend a hand, it was what made him such a great hero. But now, this passed out shell of the man she once knew sat before her.
"What happened, Danny?" she thought sadly, "why are you so broken now?"
Suddenly, Danny stirred on the couch and his eyes opened. He jumped at seeing Dani and sat up quickly. When he realized who it was, he sighed in relief and lay back down.
"Sorry" Danny muttered after a few seconds of silence.
"What's happened to you, Danny" the latter replied, a very concerned expression on her face.
Said Halfa simply stared at the wall in silence.
"Do you at least want to talk about it?" Dani pressed.
"They're dead because of me. Practically everyone I worked with is dead. Ever since the incident, every time I've tried to help people, some has died" Danny explained in a somber voice, his eyes showing the deep pain he felt.
"What about all the lives you've saved? Do they not count?"
"When they're stacked up against all the people who have died because of me, no!" the frustration and pain in Danny's voice became more apparent and he looked as though he was going to start crying again.
"DANNY, YOU CAN'T SIT HERE FOREVER FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF!" Dani shouted, making Danny jump with surprise.
Danni had stood up and was breathing heavily with anger as she stared down at him. At last she managed to regain her temper and she continued in a quieter tone.
"Danny, I spent three years wandering around the Ghost Zone after you stabilized me. I've been where you're at, and I'm telling you right now: self-pity doesn't work. It just magnifies the pain."
"What would you have me do then?" inquired Danny, "go back to Sam and tell her the truth?"
"Clockwork sent me, he says we're running out of time and that you need to get up off your ass and do something about this evil he keeps talking about" Dani explained (although going back to Sam didn't seem like a bad idea to her either).
The latter shook his head and let out a sharp laugh. "Clockwork, of course. There's no way you would have visited me just because you missed me." He growled bitterly.
Dani was actually a bit hurt by his words. "Of course I miss you, Danny. You're like a brother to me" she whispered, looking down slightly.
Danny saw how much he had hurt his clone and walked over to her, giving her a hug. "I'm sorry" he apologized.
Danielle accepted the hug with an appreciative smile. They sat like that for a moment, like a big brother and his little sister, in a tight embrace. When they finally separated, Danny let out a sigh before looking at Dani resolutely.
"Alright, give me till tomorrow to get some things sorted out and we'll go see Clockwork" he agreed at last, and Dani smiled at him.
"Ok, I'll be back tomorrow morning" she stated and Danny nodded in agreement.
He saw her to door and, after some last goodbyes, Dani left and headed off down the hallway. About halfway toward the stairs she glanced back one last time at her friend's door and smiled. That was the Danny she knew.
She turned back to head down the stairs and 'BAM' a fist knocked her square upside the jaw. Before Dani could even react she was out cold.
Back in his apartment, Danny opened up his fridge and took out a bottle of beer. He took the cap off and was about to start drinking it, when he paused. Then, after a moment's hesitation he poured the alcoholic beverage down the kitchen sink. He smiled as he did this; it felt good in a strange sort of way.
Before he knew it, he had taken the rest of his drinks and sent all of them down the sink as well. Just as Danny was finishing up this little cleansing, there came a shout from outside that made his blood run cold.
"DANNNNY, DANNNNNY FEEEEENTON!" a voice shouted loudly.
Terrified at having just heard his full name used, Danny ran toward the window of the apartment.
"I swear, if that's Dani, I'm gonna…" he froze in mid-thought when he pulled back the curtain of the window and saw what was outside.
Dan Phantom, Danny's evil self from another timeline, hovered just outside the window, a evil grin on his face. Floating next to him was an unconscious Dani.
"Hello Danny, wanna come out and play?" Dan hissed maliciously.
Another slow chapter I know, but hey, think about the action you'll get to see in the next one. Poor Danny, he's consumed with guilt :(. At least he seems to be working through it a little. For those of you who may be curious about it, Casus Belli is a Latin (ancient Roman) term for an incident that justifies a declaration of war. Fitting no? Please take the time to review. Happy reading. Cheers.
