Disclaimer: I own nothing from Danny Phantom

Note: Welp, had to slip one last Greyghost moment in here before calling it good. This chapter took ages to finish but it turned out amazing! I love it so much! Such sweet catharsis plus a big hint of things to come! Gonna post this when I'm actually awake and not nodding off at my keyboard but again, still very proud of this beautiful mess I just wrote.

Chapter 34: No Regrets

Vlad's POV

To say I was furious is a vast understatement. I could regale you on what happened from my perspective but it would be pointless in the end. All you need to know is that I was going to make it my personal mission to introduce those blasted ghost pirates to Davy Jones locker...permanently. I don't care that all the stolen goods were returned. I don't care that Vallen more or less beat them at their own game and saved Danielle's life. The fact is that those-those sea rats hurt my little badger, nearly kidnapped her, and she almost drowned!

Then, to top it all off Samson and Vallen have been at each other's throats all evening acting like they're entitled to Danielle's friendship, possibly more, so I had to step in and lay down the law as the only adult in charge of a total of four teenagers! At their age, they should know better than to throw their fists at each other like a couple of toddlers fighting over the same toy! Danielle is not a toy, not a prize to be won, she's MY daughter now and they will LEARN to respect that. One way or another they will learn to respect me as her legal guardian and adoptive father once it's official. If we can just through the next few months WITHOUT incident everything will be fine...

I've already made sure Danielle's near-drowning experience is kept off the record since I don't want anyone assuming she's actually at more risk living with me than her own parents who had basically unknowingly made their daughter very ill by exposing Danielle to a highly dangerous and potentially toxic plant. True, there are risks being the daughter of a billionaire but there is certainly NO risk of neglect. Either way, I sympathize with my little badger since she did try to make sure this trip would be ghost-free if possible for her own sake as well as her friends and myself.

As for Vallen, I gave him a stern warning and told him in no uncertain terms that should he EVER aim a weapon at Danielle again losing his ghost hunting equipment will be the least of his worries. Thankfully he wasn't offended by the underlying threat and in fact seems remorseful so my plan to use his fondness of Danielle to my advantage worked beautifully. She needs more people in her life who accept her, as small as that circle is, and although they can't fight side by side as I had originally hoped for hopefully knowing that Danielle has faith in him and is grateful to Vallen for protecting the home she left behind will encourage him to continue hunting ghosts to impress her. Not entirely sure what Samson hopes to achieve but frankly the boy is too short-tempered for his own good.

Rubbing my temples gently after escorting Danielle's friends to their rooms for the evening since the ship was scheduled to make an early stop on a nearby island to make repairs and such, I took a deep breath and composed myself so I could speak with Danielle about what happened. Mind you I DID go search for her after realizing it was foolish to let her wander off completely alone, however, as soon as the ghost pirates attacked there was too much chaos and even I was having a difficult time finding an opening so I could transform into my ghost form out of sight. In fact, I never got the chance so instead, I worked alongside the captain to use his services to find Danielle once everyone else was more or less safe for the time being. A few people did get injured but thankfully that wasn't due to the ghosts, but rather their own stupidity...

From what I gather, Danielle was at the bow of the ship when the attack started and attempted to stop the captain of those ghost pirates which Vallen misunderstood at first because he had mistakenly assumed they were working together. She had tried to help Vallen since this ghost could harness the power of lightning, but after escaping the clutches of some large brute that tried to carry her off, she ended up getting struck herself and fell, stunned. Vallen rescued her from the raging sea and performed CPR to get Danielle breathing again and that's roughly when I finally made it outside to the last place left on the ship Danielle could possibly be.

The rest you already know.

At any rate, as soon as I entered the room I frowned instantly upon seeing Danielle sobbing while clutching a pillow to her face in a death grip. Vallen and I were going to have to have another serious talk if he dared to reject her after all the good she's done for him and that damned town she left behind. Concerned I stopped by the bathroom for a moment to get Danielle a drink since she's probably parched, not to mention she did swallow a lot of seawater so her throat must be a bit irritated as well. Gently touching Danielle's shoulder I told her I had brought a drink and asked her to look at me.

Prying her face away from the now tear-stained pillow, Danielle set it aside and rubbed both eyes to dry the remaining tears, sniffling before finally accepting the glass from me with a small smile. My eyebrow raised slightly because of that smile...it wasn't sad, if anything it was tired but immensely relieved. Regardless, with my hand still on her shoulder I asked earnestly, "Are you alright little badger? I know you've heard that a lot today but I need to know. Did your friends say anything to upset you?"

Shaking her head, wiping away some stray tears Danielle smiled again after draining the glass, setting it on the dresser next to the bed, and sobbed, "No, it's the opposite actually. They were so nice and encouraging and I really needed that. My friend told me that what happened with those stupid pirates wasn't my fault and...and Vallen accepted me, Vlad. He's willing to try to understand me! My parents never even gave me that chance, t-they never-"

"Shh," I hushed, pulling Danielle into my arms as a fresh wave of relieved sobs overtook her. "That's wonderful news, my dear. I was worried for a moment after Vallen admitted to me he had aimed his weapons at you before when he assumed you were working with the other ghost by mistake. Glad to see my faith in the boy wasn't wasted after all."

Finally, something's gone right for a change, I thought as I stroked Danielle's hair gently, elated that Vallen had made the wise decision of giving Danielle a fair chance after learning her secret. I was almost envious of Danielle in that regard since I had no one who accepted me for who I am apart from the ghosts in my employ who I suppose may be the closest I'll ever come to having friends I suppose.

Once Danielle finally calmed down enough, she quietly asked for another drink and told me she'd go ahead and tell me her side of the story regarding what happened when that storm hit and the ghost pirates appeared. I obliged her and listened as Danielle told me what happened from her perspective. Surprisingly that ghost, who calls himself Kaden Nightwind apparently, defended her and told Vallen personally that Danielle wasn't with them and called him out on aiming weapons at an innocent girl. He's still a pirate though and did attack both of them but kept his focus mainly on Vallen during their battle. She tried to help by freezing him but since everything was wet from the rain Danielle had a slight issue freeing herself. According to her, the last thing Danielle remembered was one of the crewmen grabbing her when she flew up to chase after Kaden and Vallen and getting struck by lightning after she bit the ghost's arm to escape, falling into the sea.

Given what Danielle told me about their initial meeting I seriously doubt Kaden struck her himself given his reluctance to 'harm a lady' so while I do intend to investigate this ghost further perhaps a warning will suffice since we aren't planning another cruise any time soon. In fact, I even offered to provide the captain of our ship with an anti-ghost security system to prevent this in the future once he was convinced such beings exist. The world at large is mostly unaware of ghosts but there are a few exceptions to the rule. Some towns embrace the fact that they're haunted and use it as a tourist trap, others even worship ghosts who embody their religious figures, and others have at least seen enough proof of their existence personally that it's impossible to deny and has become part of their folklore.

"Well, I suppose they're long gone by now so it'd be a waste of time to pursue them. I'll see what I can uncover about this pirate though in the meantime and that sword of his since there's clearly a fascinating story behind a blade that can harness lightning and remain undamaged," I explained calmly while Danielle finished her second glass of water. "As for the rest, we're going to be docking tomorrow for some maintenance after what happened so while I believe it would be best to cut our cruise short for safety reasons, not to mention to spare Miss Foley more seasickness, we won't be cutting our vacation short. I've already made reservations to stay at a hotel until we decide upon a change of venue. But there's no need to concern yourself about that now. Try to get some rest and we'll worry about packing tomorrow. We're still a fair distance from the mainland so even if we left via helicopter it would take some time for one to reach the ship."

"It's fine," Danielle insisted, groaning as she rubbed her eyes. "You know what's not fine though, how puffy and gritty my eyes feel! Those were happy tears too for once..."

With a soft chuckle, I suggested, "Well you do have ice powers so why not make a cold compress using a towel? That should help with the swelling."

"That's true, I am a literal ice pack," Danielle laughed tiredly. "Alright, I'll do that before calling it a night. And Vlad? Try to take it easy on Vallen, at least he's trying to fix his mistake so no scaring him off."

"Wouldn't dream of it little badger," I smiled, leaning over to kiss her forehead as I added a bit more somberly, "Goodnight Danielle. I promise things will be better in the morning and you did everything you could under the circumstances. So despite this little hiccup, let's enjoy the rest of our vacation to the fullest shall we?"

Smiling Danielle hugged me again and replied, "Goodnight Vlad, and thank you for not making a big deal out of all this. Like you said, there was no way we could have predicted ghost pirates. Knowing my luck I should have but you know."

Stroking her hair back as she settled into bed, I smiled again before finally leaving for the night since I was rather tired myself. Today certainly did not go as planned but no matter, at least Vallen has made it clear where he stands so as of this moment he's on probation if nothing else. And for her sake, I sincerely hope Vallen intends to treat her with as much care and respect as before despite being half-ghost. Thankfully there's no need to reveal MY secret to the boy, but even so, we'll have to keep an eye on him to see if he truly meant what he said about accepting Danielle for who she is.

That night I immediately realized my oversight when my dreams took an unexpected turn. I had forgotten to take my dose of anti-noct amidst all the chaos and 'awoke' in a frozen nightmare. The worse part is, it wasn't even Amity Park, I was inside what was left of my own castle. Similar to what Danielle had described in her vision there were ice spikes jutting out in every direction reaching towards the heavens from a focal point in the center which upon closer inspection seemed to be roughly in the direction of my laboratory on the second floor, the spikes shooting up from ground level and spreading like some sort of ice flower.

However, the most unnerving thing was the presence I felt. It was unmistakably Danielle's and yet...not. I could almost feel her eyes on the back of my head, watching me. But that's impossible. I insisted that Danielle took her dose with that second glass of water so SHE wouldn't forget to. I just never expected the same issue would befall me. So then this must be-

"It's been a long time, hasn't it...Father?" a chilling yet almost musical voice called out to me as I transformed to be on the safe side. Amused by this she chuckled and asked, "What's wrong? Aren't you happy to see me after all this time? Then again, I suppose to you no time has passed at all since you think it's all a dream. Ah, ignorance truly is bliss isn't it?"

I could hear her voice echoing all around me but she was suppressing her ghost signature so I couldn't find her. In that case, I needed to keep this...this dark reflection of Danielle talking so I pointed out, "I'm not the one playing hide and seek, my dear. If you really want to reminisce you should show yourself."

"And spoil the surprise? Now why would I do that?" she replied calmly, almost fondly. "It won't be long now until this becomes a reality one way or another so you'll get to see me in my full glory then. I must admit, it's nice to see you again, Vlad. I have so many fond memories of you before you ripped out my heart so to speak. Really I should thank you, after all, all those human emotions never did me any good so I feel much better without them..."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the swish of a cape and glittering white hair float by as Danielle's future self glided just out of sight as I teleported to that spot since this ice was the same as the current Danielle's and had properties that prevented ghosts from phasing through it. Laughing as I followed her voice around the remains of my lab she continued, "Nocturne explained this to you before didn't he? Time exists all at once in a dream which lets him see the past and the future. Well, it should please you to know I finished what you started as payback for everything he put me through and absorbed what was left of him."

Turning rather wistful, Danielle's future self suddenly released a cold puff of air against the back of my neck before resting her hands on my shoulders and leaning in to whisper in my ear, "Too bad I'll have to do the same to you."

A sharp intense cold suddenly gripped my heart and my eyes snapped open as I bolted upright, my chest heaving. It wasn't the dream that woke me with a start but an actual physical pain I suddenly felt in my chest as if my lungs were filled with frigid air. Letting instinct take over I transformed into my ghost half and used my core to radiate heat to counter it, although I had to force myself to do it gradually because there was a real risk of my body going into shock by going from an extremely low temperature to a hot one. Once the ordeal was over I swayed slightly before sitting down on the edge of the bed with a hand over my mouth, unsettled to say the least about just how real that dangerously cold sensation was. But the last thing I wish to do is worry Danielle with my vision just when she's finally found a glimmer of hope in Vallen's acceptance...

Still, what in the world was THAT? How did she- no, no it doesn't matter. I am NEVER going to let anything happen to my little badger because yes, I AM her father now in every sense of the word and under normal circumstances hearing her call me by that would put me over the moon with pure joy. Sadly though, in this case, it was used as a cruel joke since that version of Danielle was eluding to the fact that in the other future my little badger warned me about I am the one who causes her to lose her humanity. Even so, I haven't come this far to let some dark shadow of someone I love rattle me now.

Sighing heavily once my body temperature returned to normal, I immediately remedied my earlier oversight by taking today's dose of anti-noct. I doubt Nocturne was behind that nightmare but even so I couldn't afford to be so careless again. And what did she mean by absorbing Nocturne's power? Is that even possible? I know we can absorb and self-generate ecto-energy, but the idea of merging our core with another's is...unthinkable. The implications of combining two opposite forces would be dangerously unstable. Then again we are hybrids so perhaps it IS possible, although that doesn't make it less dangerous because a ghosts core is basically their soul and if you could absorb it you'd be consuming their entire being, twisting it, then there'd be a rush of memories and raw primal power based on that ghost's core element if they have one that would drive any ghost mad.

"One thing at a time Vladimir," I told myself, changing back to my human form and laying back down. "You're better than this, don't let a little nightmare break your concentration. Everything is as it should be and once this blasted vacation is over Danielle and I will find the legendary Infimap and I'll show her how to unlock her true destiny and not fear her every mistake leading to some damned self-fulfilling prophecy. We decide our fate and no one else."

Nodding to myself in closing, I closed my eyes and while I kept what I had just seen in the back of my mind, I didn't allow myself to focus on it and eventually drifted off to sleep at long last. Danielle is safe, her friends have proven at least mostly useful in cheering her up, and Vallen has chosen wisely because he would regret letting his old feelings get in the way of remaining friends with someone as incredible as my little badger for the rest of his life. I once regretted not making more obvious advances on Maddie before I learned what an awful woman she's become, but I would hate to see Vallen make the same mistake. Of course, I'm hardly expecting him to ask her to date him given that they live so far apart, but Vallen's love has clearly proven stronger than his hatred of ghosts so I'm happy for Danielle. Should he EVER make her cry tears of unhappiness, well, I did say there would be consequences for spurning our goodwill...

Vallen would do well to remember that.

Danielle's POV

For the most part, the rest of our vacation when much more smoothly once we decided to stick to land after the whole ship fiasco. By a sort of unspoken agreement, Vallen and I agreed to not talk about anything ghost-related and move on with our time together while it lasted and enjoy ourselves. I'm glad that Sam calmed down too when I insisted that we were all just friends and it'd mean a lot to me if we could get along, especially now that Vallen knows the truth about me. It took a while but they sorted out their differences for now at least and went back to some of their boyish rivalry.

Thankfully with Trish feeling better, we had a good time too even when those two went at it with their little contests like getting in line for a ride first since Vlad brought us to Universal Studios. Not that it really mattered since we got the VIP treatment. Sadly we did have to have bodyguards around so Vlad could keep up appearances and when people would ask to take pictures of Vlad he'd turn them down as often as possible while insisting he was treating his daughter and close friends to a good time to celebrate my adoption. I blushed bright red whenever he showed me off to people, and a few times I did get a few skeptical looks, but Vlad made it a point that EVERYONE knew not to be rude to me or my friends or he'd have them kicked out of the park. The scariest part is he'd threaten them with the most charming smile that sent shivers down all our spines and they didn't even have a ghost sense!

Despite all that though Vlad wasn't shy about embracing his inner child went we went on the rides and genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself as much as we were. Seeing this side of him in public was pretty cool actually and I remember how during our first day at the resort I stopped in my tracks when it suddenly hit me. I haven't done anything with my own family apart from camping ever since I was a little girl. I never had real birthday parties with friends since kids were told by their parents to avoid me which is why it's a miracle I met Sam and Trish and they've stuck with me for so long which is why I can't even remember the last time we got to do anything I wanted. The only exception was that for my brother's sixteenth birthday he convinced our parents to take us to a water park. That's the only normal trip I can remember apart from camping or going to small towns supposedly to watch our parents hunt for ghosts in old abandoned buildings which isn't exactly what I'd consider 'fun' even before I found out ghosts ARE real.

Anyways, when I told them how I felt Sam ruffled my hair and Trish gave me a side hug and said if anyone deserved a bit of normalcy in their life it was me. They were born into mostly-normal families so it was easy for them to take it for granted which why they actually enjoy the excitement I bring into their lives. Vallen agreed but didn't join in the group hug because he felt out of place so I told him to come over here before they could hog all of my attention to show Vallen that despite how things were between us before as the Red Hunter and Dani Phantom I accepted him too a long time ago.

We did a lot over the course of the next several days ranging from riding the attractions, eating at the VIP tables, to even going to this indoor skydiving place which Sam and Trish freaking loved because they got to feel what it's like to fly just like Vlad and I do with our powers and Vallen does on his hoverboard. My favorite trip as you can guess was actually going to the Kennedy Space Center. Vlad promised me he'd take me there for real but I never expected him to ACTUALLY make time to squeeze that into the very end of our adjusted vacation. It really felt like a dream come true and I excitedly shared everything with them, totally geeking out as much as I wanted for once. I got to talk to actual astronauts, do flight simulations, the works and I honestly wish we could have stayed longer.

For the first time since I left Amity Park, I felt so...human. Sure we got some special treatment because of Vlad's fame and wealth, but once the ghost pirate thing blew over the rest of our vacation felt so beautifully normal. I took pictures and videos as often as I could to Jace and even got some back showing me how his road trip was going. It looked like he was letting loose a bit too which was hilarious and back at the hotel we laughed over some of the antics he and his friends got into. But the best thing that happened to me, strangely enough, is having Vallen accepting me.

He did seem a bit put out a couple of times but that's mostly because Sam kept hogging my attention so I made it a point to make sure I spent plenty of time walking around chatting to Vallen too. I also made it clear it was ok if he wanted me to back off but if anything he wanted to spend more time with me and called dibs on riding this giant Ferris wheel with me. It was our turn in line and he loudly asked me if it was ok for just the two of us to ride since this was our last night here and despite Sam's dirty looks and argument about that being unfair to the rest of them, I agreed and we stepped into the compartment ahead of Vlad, Sam, and Trish. I could feel them watching us more than the scenery but I couldn't blame Vallen since we hadn't had any time alone since the ship.

We had a nice talk about everything and Vallen finally admitted he was worried at first about the ghost thing but after hanging out with me and seeing me so carefree he could finally see how badly I needed to get away from everything back home firsthand. He told me how my smile wasn't tired or reserved anymore and I didn't look tense all the time. I was surprised Vallen noticed any of that frankly since he didn't give a rat's ass about me before I supposedly helped his dad. That's when I came out with the truth and told him that was all Vlad's idea. The only part I did was show up at his house when they almost had to move out to help and I indirectly protected him when he first started ghost hunting. I didn't get into major details mind you but I wanted him to know I'm not some saint or something.

Back then, I was just a girl with ghost powers trying to do the right thing to help someone being pestered by a ghost dog. Vallen was surprised and wondered why Vlad would do that but I basically told him that I WAS dealing with a lot back then and was about to reach my breaking point. Things were still bad at home since we met during their college reunion which is when I admitted that that's when Vlad learned my secret which is technically true. Ever since then he'd been helping me too indirectly, understanding how...eccentric my parents are but sadly things got bad really fast when my mother brought those Blood Blossoms home. I choked up a little since it was still hard to talk about, but basically, I told Vallen that Vlad literally saved me by taking me out of that situation. I didn't know who else to turn to where my parents wouldn't find me.

A silence fell between us after that until Vallen told me how sorry he was that he never knew about any of that and couldn't believe after all that I was still worried about everyone else's feelings. He joked about me being too selfless which I get a lot, but then, just as the Ferris wheel tilted in such a way that no one else could see us as we made our descent...Vallen leaned in and kissed me. My eyes flew open in shock because it was one thing for him to accept me as a friend, but kissing me!?

I hesitated only for a few seconds before thinking to hell with it and started kissing him back, my heart racing because this was my first REAL kiss and not a fake-out-make-out like the one with Sam when we tried to hide the fact we'd been messing with my parent's ghost portal. Kissing him like this made me wonder though if the accident never happened could we have ever become this close? Or would my parent's ghost hunting have driven everyone else away? I honestly don't know but I was so fucking tired of all the what-ifs in my life. I wanted to keep living in the moment, not fearing what I might regret...

But I didn't regret our kiss because I'm the one who chose to return it even if I know we can't really be together. Vallen knew that too but admitted he wanted to be honest with his feelings too before letting them go. That was a little heartbreaking to hear but I understood. He still had a life in Amity Park and my time there is over. If I can help it, I'm never going back, at least not unless there's some way for me to reconcile with my parents someday. Let's face it though, the chances of that are even less than I thought it'd be for us to run into a crew of ghost pirates in the middle of the sea.