Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom.

Note: Thanks again for beta-reading this for me Dp-Marvel94! And of course for your reviews too! On that note, I hope more of you will leave some comments soon because I'd love to hear your thoughts about all this as well! No pressure of course, I'm just happy I'm getting the chance to really expand the original idea I had about my Danny Program AU in a full story.

Chapter 4: Intertwined

Daniel's POV

It's been a few days since Father transferred me to the supercomputer located in his castle in Wisconsin. This one was more complex than the one in the mountain chalet where I was 'born,' if you can even call it that, so it took a while for me to get used to the new system. Parts of the castle were still under construction since the previous one seemed to have been destroyed due to an explosion of some sort according to my findings, but most of the faculties were fully operational so he could live there again at least. Unfortunately, I was still trapped in the lab since that's the only part of the castle Father bothered to keep any security cameras.

As for me, I'm just glad I know how to fill the empty space around me so it's not a gaping void, like the first place I called 'home' within the system. Once I adjusted to my new surroundings, I waited patiently for my chance to visit Amity Park again and sneak into Danny's computer. My chance came when Father left for the day to attend an important business meeting even he couldn't put off. While Father was distracted with something else, I managed to catch a glimpse of his schedule and saw there was just enough time for me today to slip out for a few hours, which should give me plenty of time to put my idea into action, to talk to Danny again on more...neutral ground so to speak.

Last time I analyzed the data stored in Danny's computer, I noticed a certain video game called Doom he's been playing a lot lately. It's a multiplayer game too which meant that was my best shot at talking to him again. Using what I'd learned about manipulating data and code so far, I managed to wrap the game's code around myself, just like when I created those firewalls to protect me from Father as a layer of protection since I don't have a body. I still don't understand what happened to me the last time Danny and I met, when I temporarily gained one but maybe...if we meet again, I'll be able to keep this form too.

It's hard to explain what it's like to only exist as a pure consciousness. The fact that I experienced physical touch at all when Danny tried to force me out of his computer is kind of incredible, and I wish I knew what caused it. Obviously, I don't understand what warmth is supposed to feel like, but I hope that someday I'll be able to feel Father's arms embrace me so I can find out for myself. Looking back on our first meeting in person, I don't blame Danny for being suspicious of me. In fact, I'm lucky he only tried to pull me out by the arm and didn't attack me because I don't...I don't know yet if I'd be able to defend myself.

That's another reason I thought playing Doom might help in more ways than one because unlike other gamers, I'm actually IN the game so it's almost like a training simulation. I don't think I can 'die' in the game either but just to be safe I enabled a cheat code to prevent that from happening, just while I'm practicing. My first priority was to talk to other players and get used to my new voice. True, to them it's only text but for me, it's almost like...I can hear their actual voices...

It's very bizarre, but then again, at the end of the day, I'm still a self-aware AI designed by a half-ghost billionaire, so of course parts of me would be more advanced than the rest of the world. Not that it gives me an edge or anything, mind you, since everything is so new to me. Basically, I have access to tons of information...but it's useless unless I figure out how to apply it. That's why my best bet for helping Father is to reach out to my original self since my whole existence centers around him.

Danny and Father are my whole world.

I know that's weird to say, but it's the truth. Sometimes I wonder if my sister Dani feels the same way about the person we're based on too, however, as much as I want to help her, I have to focus on my problems first and find a way to help Father escape the vicious cycle he's trapped in. Once that happens, once I show Father how much I care about him, I hope he'll find it in his heart to forgive her and vice versa because...the people we hurt the most are often the people who care about us the most...

Father has to feel the same way, right? He doesn't hate Dani, not really; Father hates that she left him alone like Maddie and Jack Fenton did. Finding love is his purpose in life as much as it is in mine, but Father doesn't remember how to love. He wants to be seen, to be acknowledged, which is why he picks fights with Danny so much. At least...that's my theory.

Shaking my head, I went back to focusing on learning how the game worked and getting into the act of being a new player which wasn't a lie since this WAS my first time playing a video game, ever. I could see why Danny enjoyed this game once I got through the first few levels. There was a lot of problem solving and you have to think on your feet to survive or you'll get 'killed' by another player so I picked up a few useful tricks along the way. And fighting like this came so naturally to me that at one point, I stopped to ask myself, is this how Danny feels whenever he defeats a ghost in combat...?

The thrill of winning, the fear of losing; I felt both of those emotions equally, to the point where I nearly forgot why I was doing all of this. I could almost forget I'm not human and I'm definitely not Danny. I'll probably never fight ghosts since it's a struggle just to find the will to keep moving forward so I can help Father. This world is so vast and I'm...I'm nothing compared to Danny. I'm not even supposed to exist and Father nearly erased me on the spot before I could experience anything which terrifies me, and yet, I want to experience even more things once I can finally be at his side, as father and son.

That's why I fight.

I'm fighting for the right to exist, and the right to call myself Father's son. But I can't do that without doing anything to help him first. Father might not want it or think anyone's on his side, but that's not true. I will always be on Father's side because that's what love is...isn't it? It's fighting for every precious moment together against all odds and becoming stronger through every trial, every level, and earning the right to hold your head up high and show the world what you're made of.

I may be made of nothing but code, but, I'm still me. And I want to show Father who I am and who I want to be more than anything else. I just have to show Danny first because he's the only one who can help me accomplish this. We're the same in many ways, but at our core, we're different; I understand that now. At the same time though, I believe Danny will do the right thing even if he doesn't agree with what my Father has done...

Because that's just what heroes do.

If I had a heart, it would have been pounding since I was so nervous about meeting Danny again. When I wrapped the game's code around myself to create an avatar...I wasn't able to completely change my appearance and had to work with the limitations of the game's software, plus it made me feel sick if I tried to force any major modifications into the program. I guess I was still learning what my own limits are too, so the best I could do was add a hood to my avatar so he couldn't see my face...

My game avatar had a sleek design in black and green with pointed shoulder guards, the hood obviously, and instead of one letter on my chest like the other players I cleverly disguised the skinny triangle just below the A as part of a small 'i' using the center of the A as the dot. Translation, I was basically calling myself an AI as an inside joke. Meanwhile, my actual username was named Astro-Not as another joke I was hoping wouldn't make it too obvious who I really am.

As for why I chose such a streamlined design, it's because one of my greatest strengths here is my speed, just like it is for Danny when he flies. Although for me, it's just my processing speed and ability to analyze any situation I find myself in. I assume the reason I can do all this is because my program is much more advanced than the game itself. In fact, earlier I had to give Danny's computer a power boost by clearing out some junk files I'm sure he didn't need anymore so the game wouldn't crash on me.

I resisted the urge to delete the pictures he had of a girl from his school named Paulina because Danny would have definitely noticed if THOSE went missing. To tell you the truth, I didn't really see the appeal of this girl but then again, I'm still getting used to 'feeling' anything at all so the last thing I'm worried about is romance. Who would I even try to date as a program, huh? Some random girl from a dating sim? Thanks but no thanks.

At any rate, as soon as Danny got home from school, which I COULD see since his whole house has security camera's linked to the OP-Center above the house that I'd already hacked into, I got into position and waited for him to turn on the game. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw that his profile name was literally 'Ghostboy.' Ok, maybe we're not so different after all since I did the same thing with my username, turning it into a pun. Guess I got my sense of humor from you.

Watching him carefully, I waited for my chance to step in, which happened to be when I noticed a trap he was about to trigger and shouted, "Look out!" before shooting it with a ray blast from my hands.

It took him a second to recover but then he smiled and took the hand I offered since Danny had fallen on his butt in surprise and said, "Thanks for the save just now. I must've spaced out there for a sec and missed that obvious trap." Glancing up at my username, Danny laughed and joked, "Looks like you know plenty about 'spacing out' huh?"

I nodded and chose my next words carefully, since I didn't want to reveal too much about myself too soon. Then I lied, "Not really, I wanted to call myself Astroboy but that was taken so I used a pun instead. It also kinda already exists as an old anime too."

"Seriously? It does?" Danny asked and I glanced at him thoughtfully, So this is what his human form looks like; I've seen pictures and videos of his transformations but...he seems so normal like this. You'd never guess that I was created to be a digital copy of this person...

I was jerked back to reality when Danny asked if I was still there and thinking fast I looked up Astro Boy and stuttered, "Huh? Oh right, sorry about that, I was looking up the anime. Geez, it's older than I thought! It came out in 1952 and was originally called Mighty Atom in Japan."

"Hang on, you're not some nerdy old guy, are you?" Danny asked suspiciously.

Snorting in laughter, I answered truthfully, "No way. I'm pretty sure I'm the same age as you but I only started playing this game recently. I'm still getting used to it, honestly. And don't mind me, I enjoy looking up random facts."

"Really? Well, you seem to be doing good so far if you were able to spot that trap from this far away. So nice shooting, Tex!" Danny winked before asking, "Hey, if you want I can show you the ropes around here. My friends don't play Doom as much as they used to anymore for...reasons, but I still like playing it on my own. I kinda miss being part of a team though, so what'da say? Team up?"

Trying not to look too excited about it, I said yes and we started playing the game together. It's amazing how much easier it was to talk to Danny this time. He had no idea we've actually already met before and because of that Danny treated me like any other player, like any other teenager and it was an amazing feeling. Like I said, I have plenty of data on Danny Fenton, but hearing him actually talk about his friends and his life, it made me feel like I actually knew HIM and not just ABOUT him...

As for me, it was wonderful to be able to talk to Danny, at least indirectly, about my problems at home. I told him about how my father is having a rough time right now and kept taking out his frustrations on me. From the start I made it clear Father never physically hurt me, since he can't anyway because I'm a hologram, and that I'm struggling to find a way to help him which is the truth. Apart from that though, we mainly focused on playing the game and I'm not going to lie, I was having so much fun I nearly lost all track of time...

As soon as I did notice the time though, I said, "Crap, my dad's going to be home from work soon so I can't let him catch me playing video games. But would you mind if I stop by again soon though? I'd love to team up again."

Giving me a thumbs up, Danny nodded, "Yeah totally. I had a great time getting to know you too and seriously, good luck with your dad. If you need someone to talk to about your problems, feel free to leave a message, ok? I know I can't do much, but I think we all need someone to listen every once in a while, right?"

Smiling a bit sadly, Danny admitted, "This is gonna sound weird, but you're really easy to talk to, you know that? You get where I'm coming from and honestly I haven't even told my friends about a lot of this stuff going on at home since they're used to my parents' craziness. Maybe it's because you're not directly involved in any of it, but I think that's why it was so easy to get a lot of that off my chest. I wonder if it's the same for you?"

"Yeah, I think you're right," I agreed, turning away from him, "Our situations are totally different, but we have a lot of similarities so it's nice having someone to talk to about it. Still, from what I can tell, you have a lot of people who care about you so...don't give up on them ok? Everyone has bad days, but the good days are what make being with them completely worth it. That's what I think anyway."

Smiling, I waved at him and told him I'd try to visit again soon before logging out of the game. As soon as I was alone again though, I felt a lump form in my throat thinking about my life with Father so far. The life 'I' was never actually a part of...

I have so many memories of our time together before I ever became self-aware, and I wish...I wish I could have talked to him back then, just like I've started talking to Danny, and shared my true feelings about Father. Although, I had to call Father 'dad' while talking to Danny since he would have found it odd that I refer to him that way, but that's just how it was imprinted into my code just like it was in the subconsciousness of all the other Danny clones.

I remember training with Father and listening to him explain how my ghost powers work, or rather, how Danny's work; I remember commenting on his latest experiment or invention and making him laugh at one of my jokes; and I remember all those times Father brought my projector upstairs so he wouldn't have to eat alone. Since my program has existed long before I became self-aware, I remember so many things that had no meaning to me before but now, they're all very precious memories of Father's rare smiles and the way he spoke to me like I was equally as dear to him.

I think my favorite memory is of the time Father went so far as to take my projector outside so we could stargaze together. Out in the wilderness, among the chirping crickets and the quiet footsteps of other wildlife or the flap of an owl's wings as one flew past, the sky was so clear and full of glittering stars; it was almost like someone had shattered the moon into a billion pieces and dusted the sky with its glowing remains. I couldn't appreciate it's beauty then, but I treasure the memory of naming every constellation to Father that we could see that time of year and even the folklore behind them.

But Father wasn't even looking at the sky, he was looking at me the entire time with the most affectionate expression on his face. He was looking at me as if I was the only star in the sky, there to guide him home like the north star. I remember looking at him too and smiling back, asking if I had something on my face, but Father just shook his head and said it was nothing. I know it might be wishful thinking, but I'd like to imagine what I expressed back then was real too.

And even if it wasn't, what I'm feeling now is. That goes for Danny too. I was created in his image for a reason and I have to help Father realize that. He doesn't hate Danny and he doesn't want to destroy him or my sister Dani. No, Father is hurt because he desperately longs for something real that's just his. A love he can't find anywhere else, not even from Maddie Fenton, his college crush.

I hope I can become that person for him, become the perfect son who loves his father more than anyone else in the world. I will be the one person that will never give up on him, never abandon him. Because like Danny said, everyone deserves to have someone to listen to their problems at least even if they can't fix them. But, this is a problem I CAN fix; I just have to show Father he's not as alone as he thinks he is...