Chapter XIV: Phantom Reunion

The sun was almost setting and Valerie was on the verge of asking Dani to stay the night when she decided to make one last run past the Fenton's place to see if they were home yet.

As they walked up to the brownstone building, Dani asked Valerie nervously. "Will you stay for a while?" She asked. "I'm not exactly sure how to explain myself to Danny's parents."

"Of course I'll stay and help explain." Valerie told the girl. She walked up to the door and knocked loudly. Less than a minute later, they got their answer about whether the Fentons were home. Maddie opened the door, with one of biggest smiles that Valerie had seen her wear in years.

Though, when Maddie saw that it was Valerie, she quickly worked to tone her smile down. "Good evening, Valerie. Is there something we can help you with?"

"Yes." Valerie said. "Can we come inside? It's about Danny and his… you know… secret." Valerie lowered her voice, glancing around for eavesdroppers.

"We?" Maddie asked, confused, and then she spotted the young girl hiding behind Valerie, giving her a sheepish grin. "Oh, yes, of course. Come in." She shut the door behind Valerie and Dani. "I didn't know that Danny had let you know about his… secret."

"He told me the truth when he came back to the human world to open up relations between the human world and the Ghost Zone. That's actually part of the reason why I'm here today. He asked me for a favor, and I'm here to see it done."

"And who is this young lady?" Maddie asked.

At first, Dani was pretty shocked that Maddie said nothing about her being an obvious ghost, but if she really did know the truth about her son now, being around ghosts was probably not as big deal anymore. But when Dani opened her mouth to answer, she found that she couldn't say the words. She desperately looked to Valerie for help.

"It's a little bit complicated, Mrs. Fenton." Valerie said. "One of Danny's archenemies from back in the day is actually someone who wanted Danny to be his apprentice instead. When Danny refused, he tried to clone Danny to make himself a perfect half-ghost son. This is Dani Phantom, the only surviving clone."

Maddie's eyes widened as she stared down at the young girl. "But how could you be a female clone?"

"Unlike Danny, who through pure luck, had his ectoplasm bind to his DNA in such a way that it did not destroy or mutate his genetic information with every shift to and from his ghost form; Dani's ectoplasm is crudely patched in, causing the sort of mutations one would normally expect from the fusion of ectoplasm and living tissue. One of her earliest mutations changed her from male to female." Valerie explained. "When Danny came back to the human world, he asked me to keep an eye out for her, and to bring her to him in the Ghost Zone safely."

"Oh, then that's perfect!" Maddie said, smiling. "We've actually spent most of the day at Phantom's Keep and we're going back in a few minutes. We only really came back to pick up our cameras."

"Have you found something new to study in the Ghost Zone?" Valerie asked.

"Even better." Maddie said, smiling. "Danny became a father today! Jack and I got to witness ghost reproduction up close! It was very interesting! And the baby? He's just so adorable!"

While Valerie expressed her congratulations to the Fentons on becoming grandparents, Dani's face fell. Danny was a father now? A real father? She knew that he had always called her a cousin, but ever since her falling out with Vlad a small part of her had felt like Danny was her father.

It was silly. Danny was not really her father. He was not any sort of normal relative to her. Vlad had stolen his DNA and created her in a lab. But on cold nights when she was all alone; when she saw parents and their children playing together, speaking in languages she couldn't understand but when the meaning behind the words could not be more clear; on the day she first realized that she could no longer shift into her human form without risking death… during those times she called him daddy.

But now he had a child. Not just any child, but a prince or princess. One who was sure to be much more impressive than a half-formed halfa with barely enough ectoplasm to protect herself against all but the weakest foes.

"Dani? Is something wrong?" Valerie asked.

"What? Oh, it's nothing!" Dani said, forcing a smile on her face. "Danny's a dad now? That's great! I didn't even know he was married."

But she could fool neither of the women. Maddie knelt down, meeting the girl's eyes. "What's wrong, Dani?" She asked.

"It's… it's nothing. It's not that big of a deal." Dani said, trying to play off her feelings.

"It's obviously a big deal for you." Valerie said.

Dani looked up at Valerie. "It's just… when he asked you to find me, I know that he was more than willing to take me in and keep me safe from our enemies. But now he has a child. What use could he possibly have for me? A halfa so broken that I can't even change human anymore?"

"Sweetie… people are not members of a family because they are useful to each other." Maddie said. "They are a family because they care about each other. And just because new members are added to a family doesn't mean they stop caring or care less about the ones who are all ready there."

"Honey! I found the camera!" Jack yelled from upstairs and came rushing down. As soon as he spotted Dani, he stopped in his tracks. "Oh. And who are you?"

Maddie smiled. "Jack, sit down. I'm sure this is a story we'd all like to hear."

"But… we have to get back into the Ghost Zone." Jack began, holding up the camera.

"Samael is only a few hours old. We are not going to miss anything." Maddie laughed.

"Samael?" Valerie asked. "Let me guess… Sam picked the name?" Maddie nodded.

Dani smiled. For the first time in years, she finally felt at ease, and well enough to tell her story. So she told her story, making sure to never call Vlad by name. Valerie had told her over lunch that Danny was still trying to keep that piece of information a secret to everyone. Something about Vlad's fragile mental state. Dani didn't mind. She didn't want to set Vlad off any more than Danny. Danny could, at least, protect himself from Vlad's wrath. If Vlad came after her again, she would likely be erased completely.

(Phantom's Keep)

When Danny first took over Phantom's Keep all those years ago, there had been a chamber branching off from his room that was empty and had no obvious purpose. Now it finally had its purpose.

"Sometimes I think this castle has its own sense of humor." Danny commented, poking at the mobile that was hanging above Samael's newly-created crib. Instead of the typical things that were on human mobiles, little toy ghosts hung down over the crib.

"The keep is tied directly to you." Sam commented. "That means this somehow came out of you."

"Really? I'm much more creative than this!" Danny laughed.

"This coming from the guy who chose the name 'Danny Phantom' as his alter-ego's name." Sam said.

"Sam, I was fourteen years old." Danny turned to face her with a smile. She never looked more beautiful to him than she did at that moment, holding their son in her arms. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?" He asked.

"Well, it wasn't as strenuous as nine months of pregnancy and childbirth, but it was strenuous in its own way. Having my core outside of my body… I've never felt so vulnerable." Sam blushed as her mind drifted back to their child's creation. Danny had told the truth to his parents. There was no physical contact needed to create a ghost child, but at the moment when their cores came into contact with one another… It had been one of the most sensual things she had ever experienced in her life. A ghost's core was their identity after all, and she had felt every aspect of Danny's soul. She felt the vast amount of power that he held at his command, she felt a brief awareness of nearly all of his memories, and she had felt the full range of his emotions, which at the time, was mostly composed of a love so powerful it left her stunned.

She knew he loved her, that had been clear for years. But you could never know just how deeply that love ran until you had the chance to experience that first hand.

"And when our cores touched..." Danny trailed off, apparently having the same thoughts as Sam. "Clockwork or Thanatos should have warned me it would be like soul sex. I would not have let my parents watch!" He trailed off with a laugh.

"It was a meeting of souls, and we had never experienced that before." Sam said. "And we did fine. Better than fine." She trailed off, gazing down at their son.

Danny swept over to her, wrapped his arms around her, and joined her in staring at their son. "He's perfect, Sam. Perfect."

"I know the spiritual monarchy doesn't work the same way as a human monarchy does, but I know he'll make us proud." Sam said as she gently placed him down in his crib. Then she turned and pulled Danny into the passionate kiss that she had been dying to give him since their son had been born.

However, just about as things began to heat up between the two, Danny pulled away from Sam with a thoughtful look on his face. "Danny, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Danny said. "Sam… Danielle, my clone, is back in the Ghost Zone!"

"That's wonderful!" Sam gasped. She had never met Danielle herself, but she knew a lot about the clone girl from Danny. "I know you've been worried about her. Go. Bring her to the Keep. I'll meet you down in the throne room."

Danny smiled gratefully at his wife, took one moment to make sure that Samael was sleeping peacefully, and then opened a portal and stepped through.

(Just inside the Fenton Portal)

Almost as soon as the Specter Speeder was in the Ghost Zone, Dani let out a sigh of relief. "What is it, Dani?" Maddie asked.

"Ever since my human body failed, I've been living in my ghost form all the time. My ghost form feeds on ectoplasm, but that's always been hard to come by on my travels. Sure, I was always able to get enough to survive from natural portals, or picking up stray ectoplasm from other ghost's haunts, but the Ghost Zone is like a seven course meal when it comes to energy."

"That makes sense." Jack commented. "When Danny still lived in the human world, he could not get access to enough ectoplasm to sustain him fully, which is why he still needed to sustain himself with food and sleep. Since he's moved into the Ghost Zone, he's had no need for either of those things."

"Are you kidding me?" Valerie gasped. "Danny hasn't eaten or slept in years?"

"No, he has. But both of those things are a luxury now and not a necessity." Jack said. "The ambient ectoplasm of the Ghost Zone can sustain him completely."

Before they could step on the gas to make their way towards Phantom's Keep, a portal opened up in front of them. Jack and Maddie, who were well-familiar with their son's knack to pop up out of nowhere within the Ghost Zone put on the breaks. And, sure enough, their son floated through the portal.

Dani gasped in shock. She might not have aged a day since she last saw Danny, but he most certain had gotten older. And he looked the part of a ghost king as well. His physical changes were still nothing compared to the vast amounts of ectoplasm that seemed to radiate off him. When she saw him, felt his power, she stopped being scared of Vlad, because what could Vlad possibly do to such a powerful ghost?

"Dani!" Danny gasped excitedly, holding his arms open for her.

Dani couldn't wait another moment. She turned intangible and phased through the front of the Specter Speeder and dove into Danny's arms. "Danny!"

"Dani, it's so good to see you again after all this time." Danny said, embracing her tightly and then loosening his grip to look at her. "Oh… oh, Dani..." He sighed when he saw her un-aged state.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine." Dani said.

"I should have tracked you down ages ago." Danny sighed. "Your ghost form seems to be fine, but something isn't right. How is your human half?"

"Not good… mutated." Dani admitted.

"Is there anything I can do? I could give you an infusion of ectoplasm or..." Danny asked.

"All the ectoplasm in the world can't fix me now." Dani told him.

"I suppose that is true." Danny said, reading her ectoplasm and her emotions to see what had gone wrong. "The only thing I could do to make you stronger is to… kill your human half. But if I did, you would no longer be yourself. I'm sorry, Dani, but you don't have the ectoplasm level to retain your personality after death. I don't want to see you as a ghost driven solely by an obsession. You really are the best you could be right now."

Dani looked up to meet his eyes, tears starting to form in her eyes. Danny's smile fell out of concern. "Danny… I really missed you." She said, pulling him into another embrace.

"Hey, I missed you too." Danny replied, returning her embrace. After several moments where the humans in the Specter Speeder just watched the two Phantoms reunite, they pulled apart and Danny took notice of the rest of the group. "What are you doing staying here? I'm sure you all want to get back to the..." He trailed off when he saw that Valerie was in the Speeder. "Valerie?"

"Hello again, Danny." Valerie said.

Danny let go of his cousin and floated over towards the Speeder. "Valerie? I'm torn."

"What?"

"I'm assuming you want to come to the Keep, but I'm not sure if I can let that happen. I'm still half human, so I'm not worried about myself. But my subjects are ghosts, my wife is a ghost, and my newborn son is a ghost. And you… well, the Red Huntress is a known enemy. I can't even separate you from your suit to put everyone's mind at ease, not without causing permanent damage."

"Danny… I swear on my own humanity that I won't even summon my suit. I'm not carrying any of my weapons and I'll cause no harm to anyone on this visit." Valerie swore. "But if you still want to send me away, I'd understand. I know you just want to protect Sam and your son. I could never fault you for that."

Danny stared at her for several moments before Dani floated up next to him. "Danny, I know that you're worried, but Valerie is good now. She might not like ghosts very much, but you know that she'll keep her word. She flew all the way across the state to bring me here to you."

Danny turned his gaze on his cousin and saw the truth in her eyes. He let out a deep sigh. "Sam and Tucker always said I was a bleeding heart. Valerie, I have chosen to trust you. But you cannot equip your suit for any reason. It's not just for our safety but yours. There are many in my realm who do not remember the Red Huntress fondly."

"I understand, Danny. I promise I won't give you a reason to doubt me." Valerie said.

"Good. Then follow me." Danny said, turning around and beginning to fly off into the Ghost Zone. "I can't wait to introduce you to Sam..." He told his cousin.

"Sam your son, or Sam your wife?" Dani asked with a laugh.

Danny joined her with a laugh. "Yeah… walked right into that one."

While they traveled, Valerie stopped paying attention to Danny and his clone, allowing them to talk in private. Instead, she paid attention to the Ghost Zone around her. She had only been in the Ghost Zone twice before, once when she had been handcuffed to Danny and once when the former Ghost King had dragged all of Amity Park into the Ghost Zone.

Danny was not paying attention to anything besides his cousin, but his presence was certainly not going unnoticed. Every ghost that past by, with the exception of the animal spirits, stopped and bowed to their king as he passed.

"Do all the ghosts follow Danny as their king?" Valerie asked.

"Well… Danny won't go into particulars. But I think that he did have trouble with some of the ghosts after he restricted travel to the human world." Maddie said. "He also says that in practice he rules over the entire Ghost Zone, but that it's far too big for him to actually extend his rule over the whole thing. But pretty much every ghost and spirit that we've met follows Danny except when there's a challenge to the throne."

"What do you mean a challenge?" Valerie asked.

"The spiritual monarchy is not like a human monarchy." Jack answered. "Danny gained the right to his kingship through his combat with the previous Ghost King. The throne is not passed through a bloodline, but to whichever ghost is the strongest and has the will to challenge the king and pass the test of the Crown of Fire."

"So Danny's son won't become king?" Valerie asked.

"Not unless he decided to challenge and beat his father in combat." Maddie said.

"Wait until you see little Samael, he's the spitting image of Danny! Well… Danny in his ghost form." Jack said excitedly.

Valerie laughed at the Fenton's happiness, but she couldn't help the thought that kept crossing her mind as they flew through the Ghost Zone. The Ghost Zone had not just a figurehead ruler in Danny. He was the actual titled king, and there were rules to this place. And not just rules but a culture that was completely independent of the human realm.

And then there were the ghosts themselves. She had always felt that because nearly all of the ghosts she had encountered were evil, they all had to be evil. But that was a sample size numbering in a couple hundred ghosts, most of them spirit animals. In the Ghost Zone was an uncounted multitude of spirits and ghosts who had never invaded the real world for causing trouble.

It was hard for Valerie to swallow, but as she past by more and more ghosts that were simply going about their existence she had to admit… perhaps she was wrong.