A drabble written exclusively for my Patrons in March. Want to see more stories like this one?

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Title: Patr(e)on Exclusive - Pawn

Fandom: Danny Phantom

Alternate Universe: None, set right before the episode Kindred Spirits

Rating: G

Loosely Inspired By: ibelieveinahappilyeverafter tumblr com/post/67451555214/silversteampunk-coin-what-coin-whaoanon

Summary: Danielle practices her chess strategies with Vlad as she prepares to go after the one person who will be able to save her and the other clones. Problem is, it's hard to focus with so much pressure on her. Besides, what's the point of a stupid game where something like a pawn can become a Queen?

::

"Okay, so I move this one- Er, no. No, I got this, hang on. I move- This-" Dani growled in frustration as the rules slipped her mind once more, mortified when she felt angry tears start to prick at her eyes yet again. "Why is it even important for me to learn this!"

"Oh, dear girl." As always, her father's voice soothed her at once, Dani hastily brushing her tears away when she was sure the other wasn't looking. "Chess is an important thing to learn not because it's a game, but because it improves your ability to strategize. It was actually used to plot out war maneuvers back in ancient times."

"Yeah, and now kids chew on the pieces and use them to play checkers." Biting the inside of her cheek, Dani shot a few dozen looks to Vlad as she slowly moved her knight in the proper way of an L-shape. Vlad's smile wasn't proud, but it was there, which meant she had at least remembered how to move it the right way. "How come only I have to learn this?"

"Your brothers are still developing, Danielle." Yeah… Dani shivered and clutched at her sides as she thought of the cold lab deep in the basement of the mansion. The faces of her brothers still scared her and she wasn't sure how many she had seen fall apart. "Danielle? Are you alright-"

"I'm fine! I'm stable and everything right now, I promise." She had felt dizzy for a while now, but she could push it off as not getting enough sleep. She had to. There… There was no way she could go back to that basement locked away in a stasis pod until she maybe got better. "This is stupid, Daddy. I should be out there finding him."

"And you will." Ugh. He had been saying that for months now! "You know I don't want you going out there until I'm certain you can handle yourself. I want you and your brothers as stable as possible, Danielle, and Daniel, well… He's confused from all these fights. He doesn't understand, yet."

"I know." At the look given over her sharp tone, Dani contritely looked to the floor, scuffing her shoe against the wooden boards. "I know, Daddy. I'm just… What if I fail?"

"That, my dear, is precisely why we're playing this game." Vlad moved a piece forward absently, as if he barely had to think about it. "This forces you to think ahead of your opponent and plan in advance. That, Danielle, is a very good thing to be able to do."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right." Um, okay, so pawns could only move one forward, knights in the weird L-shape, and… Rooks went sideways? Or, er, no, was that the bishop? Okay, okay, focus. Maybe distracting Vlad would work better. "So what am I gonna tell him when I meet him?"

"What do you think you should tell him?" Thinking about it, Dani finally moved a piece, mind more focused on her brothers and him. Danny Phantom. The only one who could stabilize them all.

"Maybe I can say I'm family? A cousin, or something. I can come up with some story on how I got my powers, or faint before he tries to question me. He's all about protecting his family, right? I'll just be family. I mean." Dani gave a small smile. "We do look alike."

Dani was filled with pride at Vlad's chuckle, the man moving a piece of his own across the bored- Damn, there went her bishop. "Yes, I suppose you do. That might not be enough to fool him forever, though."

"I don't need forever, just a day or two, right?" Truthfully, it would be hard enough to last that long. Dani knew she wasn't much more stable than her brothers. She needed to get that mid-morph DNA. "Do you think… Do you think he'll give it to us willingly?"

"No." Vlad's tone was harsh, Dani instinctively flinching away as it caused her to topple her next piece. There was a quiet sigh, red energy wrapping around the fallen knight and setting it to rights. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm just as worried as you about all of this."

"I know, Daddy." Dani picked up one of the pawns and played with it, finally biting her lip. "I'm scared I'll fail."

"You won't." But what if she did. "Come now, dear girl, it's your move." Her move. What move could she make that would let her win? She was cornered. Nothing she did would ever work and there was no way- Her Queen had already been taken and you couldn't win without a queen, right? How did someone get a new Queen? There should've been a way to change it all, right?

"Danielle-"

"Promotion." Dani blurted the word out more than anything, scared at Vlad's unamused look. "That's what it's called to get a new Queen, right?"

"Of sorts. If you can get your pawn to the eighth rank and touch the other end of the board you can substitute it for any other piece. It's true that most typically do choose Queen, however."

"That seems kind of silly." Dani set the pawn down and pushed it forward. "Pawns are the weakest pieces after all, aren't they? They're useless. I mean, they're just- Just canon fodder."

"That, Danielle, is how you lose a game of chess." Vlad captured two of her pawns in one move, Dani drooping. That left her with one pawn, then. "Each piece serves it's own unique purpose. While some are not as, mm, strong as others, they still work to win the overall cause."

"So- So like acceptable loses, right?" Vlad gave her a proud smile this time, Dani perking up at the unsaid praise. "'S still kind of silly a little bit, though, isn't it? I mean, a weak pawn able to become anything, even the Queen. The Queen's, like, the most powerful piece in the game!"

"Well, while they're not useless, they are typically meant to be sacrificed to help your stronger pieces." Huh. So why the promotion rule, then? A pawn could only go one step forward and couldn't even move back like other pieces! Despite what Vlad said, pawns were useless. "I know that look, Danielle."

"I just don't get it," Dani finally sighed, pushing her last pawn forward. "They can't go back, they're meant to be sacrificed, and they can't even capture other pieces."

"Ah, but that's what makes them so formidable." A few more moves and Dani, stupidly, sacrificed her knight to save her pawn. "If they're allowed to grow, then can change the entire game."

"Seems pretty impossible circumstances to grow in." Shivering and trying to act natural as she shifted in the uncomfortable seat, Dani looked to the window where the sun was shining through brightly. Soon. Soon she could go outside and play like a normal little girl. She just needed to be patient.

"Check." Wait, what? Gaze shooting back to the board, Dani groaned as she was about to lose. Maybe… Queen, huh?

"I'll get that mid-morph DNA, Dad. I promise." Her brothers needed her, after all. She hadn't seen some of them in a long time - part of her was too scared to ask if they had finally…

"I know, darling. How about we send you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Her pawn moved forward one more space. "Yes. I can do it." The smallest and weakest piece could change everything, huh?

Maybe.

"Not so loud. I'm Danielle. Your third cousin once removed. I ran away from home. Hey, you got any food?"