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

Note: Hopefully this chapter turns out ok, I redid it several times until I was satisfied but I wasn't sure what direction to take the story. Some of it feels like "Turning Point" by dealing with Dani's side of it but at the same time, she's important to Daniel so I want them to meet up soon. He already feels protective of her too and if Vlad makes a wrong move, Daniel might start to seriously doubt he's willing to do the work to be a good dad just like Sam pointed out. Vlad's doing what he can but he's still Vlad at the end of the day. That said, maybe actually realizing what a sorry state Dani's in will make him realize what's at stake here because Daniel's right, she's basically in the same position he was when he didn't know day in or day out if he was safe or if oblivion awaited him right around the corner.

Chapter 19: Miscalculation

Vlad's POV

Once Daniel confirmed that he had arrived safely at Tucker Foley's residence I set to work exploring my options on how to help my son gain a body of his own. In time, his ghost core would become strong enough for him to retain a physical form, but...it's clear to me Daniel is still questioning who he is, who his true 'self' is which I suppose is only natural. Had the prime clone survived, I wonder if he would have questioned himself this like this as well? Somehow I doubt it because I planned to assure him that he was far superior to the original Danny in every possible way.

Even now, I feel the same in that he is capable of great things.

However, as much as I wish it weren't so, I'm also the one responsible for most of his inferiority complex. All I've done since Daniel's birth is compare him to Danny -who I blamed for the loss of my son as well as Dani's betrayal- angrily rant about how it was the program's fault I was ever 'stupid' enough to try cloning a half-ghost son in the first place, and express nothing but the sheer agony it caused that they shared the same image. Since he is such a kind and loving boy, Daniel still blames himself for a lot of my pain, despises himself for not being 'real' enough or strong enough to take care of me because he wants to protect me in much the same way Danny wishes to protect his pathetic father, the rest of his family, and friends.

He also seems to blame himself for the demise of the other clones since Daniel somehow knows that I used a similar method as his original program to subliminally ensure that the clones had enough cognitive functions to know how they were supposed to behave, how to fight, and in order to have the mental capacity to follow my instructions. Daniel does not feel worthy of my love when it fact it is the opposite. Scoffing at myself since I sounded like a broken record at this point, I purged such repetitive thoughts from my mind and began compiling a detailed list of potential methods to anchor Daniel here in the real world with me.

The most obvious solution would be to give Daniel an animatronic vessel to reside in, but that's only a temporary solution. Daniel wants to be real more than anything. He wants the ability to grow, to change, to eat, to make friends his own 'age,' all of those small mundane things we take for granted. I suppose it's only natural he should feel this way since Dani is half-human unlike the rest of the clones. That's part of the reason I needed a mid-morph sample from Danny, to create a stable human-half for the prime clone. In other words, I never planned to have a son that was full ghost and yet here we are.

With the exception of Dani, the human portion of the other clones DNA did not survive the cloning process, it died out, and as a result the rest of them became full ghosts. But Daniel, he is also comprised of data and code, which automatically makes him a much more complex organism. It's true what Danny said before, he is essentially a cyborg of sorts or, for lack of a better term, a ghost in the machine. The only problem is, the machines we tested earlier were merely being used as an extension of his senses, but no matter how you put it the boy lacks a physical form and only uses the electrical currents inside my super computer as a power source in place of ectoplasmic energy.

I am many things, but even I'm not so cruel as to even consider having him overshadow another child posing as my son. The repercussions of overshadowing anyone for that long could be extremely dangerous and I was not about to test out such a theory. Believe it or not, there have been documented reports all over the world of people who have been possessed by 'demons' when in truth it was a ghost. Some ghosts became so desperate to feel alive again they were willing to rob someone of their freedom which in extreme cases has driven their hosts mad because one effect of overshadowing someone is that it leaves a hypnotic suggestion based on the ghosts intentions.

For example, when I began my conquest of the corporate world I overshadowed many businessmen and 'convinced' them to sell their companies to me or sabotages them so they didn't have a choice. Anyone with enough willpower can resist possession of course, but exiting the host usually leaves them in a daze and they can't remember much of what they were doing while overshadowed. So in theory, if someone is possessed for long enough, those impressions pile up to the point where their own memories become blurred with those of the ghost in question.

And Daniel...in a way he has the same problem. He is burdened with memories of his life as a holographic projection with no real emotions and the new memories from his recent experiences over the past several months. Daniel is having a hard time separating himself from those memories and more importantly, his strong telepathic connection to Danny...

"Daniel mentioned a thought experiment of some kind, didn't he? But which one?" I wondered aloud, recalling something Daniel mentioned in passing I didn't think much of at the time.

Shaking my head I sighed. "No matter, I'll ask him to tell me latter once the dust settles. In the meantime, hmm, judging by my calculations Daniel is going to need boosters from time to time to jump start his core's development apart from absorbing the ambient electrical energy within the system. There are times Daniel is able to solidify his ectoplasmic energy but...doing so is extremely exhausting. However, he seems to be gaining the ectoplasmic energy he needs from his exposure to Danny so...having them spend more time together should be less dangerous then taking him directly to the Ghost Zone.

"I'll have to take him there eventually since we need to create a balance between his program's needs and his ghost core's needs. Perhaps...I could adapt what I did to the robotic battle suit Jasmine wore to Daniel's situation. But instead of merely piloting it, he would become one with it. I was already planning on creating some new nanobots to regulate and monitor his vitals instead of do him harm as I threatened to do with her so until I can procure the same materials and blueprints lets start with that. I can work on a more permanent solution to our problem later."

Satisfied now that I had a plan, I began working on using the remaining nanobots from that incident to cater to Daniel for his benefit. I never could have imagined them becoming useful to me again in such a bizarre way, however, at least this was within the realm of possibility. Creating the perfect body for my son however, now that was going to be a challenge because sad to say...modern technology hasn't quite reached that level of advancement yet. But, ghost technology is an entirely different story.

Daniel's POV

"By the way, why didn't Jazz come over today?" I asked while the four of us were busy comparing notes about the files I salvaged before Father deleted them and their current ghost files as my way to help them fill in a few gaps.

"She wanted to but I convinced her to hold down the fort instead. Mom and dad are messing with a new invention and besides, it's nothing new if I come over here to visit but it'd be weird if Jazz came over all of a sudden to hang out with us. Tucker's parents might start wondering if something's up." Danny explained and his friends nodded.

Shrugging, Sam added tiredly. "Yeah, at least they care enough to worry that much about what's going on at your house. My parents are just judgmental snobs most of the time. So if anything DID happen all they'd do is day 'See? I told you those Fenton's were nothing but trouble!"

Unable to stop myself I turned and asked Danny. "Um, while we're on the subject of parents there's something I'd like to ask. Your mom, what's she like? I only knew the Maddie Program but she...wasn't a person, not really."

Shifting uncomfortably Danny laughed sheepishly. "You just had to ask, didn't you? No offense, but can we maybe save that for another time? It's kind of a touchy subject because of Vlad's school-girl crush on my mom and I don't want to make anyone vomit."

Still confused I backed off, slightly disappointed because all I really wanted to know is what it's like to have a mom. I have Vlad, but he's my Father and it's not like I'm biologically his son. If anything I'm basically adopted. I have an idea now of what it's like to have siblings, but I guess I was genuinely curious about what it's like having two parents instead of one thanks to their comments just now.

An awkward silence fell between us which was eventually broken by Tucker who stammered. "A-anyway, thanks for helping us update our ghost files dude. This is going to help a lot the next time we have to deal with one of these dead-dorks. And also, man...and I thought Technus was good at upgrading stuff! Ever since you pointed that that Trojan virus and removed it my PDA is like it's brand new! Everything runs much smoother now."

Smiling since I knew he only wanted to change the subject, I added with a sly wink to Danny. "Well...I've actually been doing this for a while. In fact, I cleaned up Danny's computer a bit too. It also more comfortable for me to play Doomed with him there when it didn't feel so...cramped. I guess got a little spoiled with how much processing power Father's supercomputer has and available ram. That reminds me!"

Turning to Sam, who I saw rolling her eyes a little at us for getting lost in our tech-talk, I asked. "You mentioned earlier you're really into mythology, right? I know Father has a ton of ancient ghost lore books scanned and archived so if you'd like maybe I can try to convince him to share some of it with-"

Danny and I both sensed it at the same time, a ghost and we gave each other a knowing nod. Sam and Tucker noticed Danny's sudden attitude change too the moment he exhaled a familiar wisp of cold air. Remembering what Father told me, I told them I'd hold down the fort while they took care of whoever that was. After that Danny transformed and lifted his friends into the air too and told me they'd be back soon. I nodded and watched them go, almost immediately feeling my heart drop since I hated how useless I was.

Sure, I helped them with a few things today which made me feel a lot better, but maybe this feeling would go away once I started working as Father's new assistant and as part of the main security system in his lab. I just wanted to feel useful, you know? Like I'm earning my keep. I can't rely on Father and Danny forever...

Sighing, I turned to go back into Tucker's computer to recharge a bit when all of a sudden my ears started ringing. Blinking, I shook my head, wondering if I was just feeling what Danny was feeling in the middle of the fight with the ghost he sensed. But there was...something else. A voice?

"Hello? Is someone there?" I asked, floating closer to the computer while gripping my head.

I tried to listen for the voice again but the ringing only grew louder. And then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Writing off the strange experience, I went inside the computer to wait patiently for the others to come back safely. But, in retrospect I really should have known better than to ignore something like that. Maybe if I had...we would have realized something was wrong a lot sooner.

Dani's POV

Panting, I glanced around the corners of the alleyway I was in to see if I had lost them. A couple of weirdos caught me trying to break into what I thought was an abandoned building to sleep for the night but it turns out it was a gang's hangout spot. I was exhausted and didn't want to have to resort to flying or transforming to scare them off so I ran like any sane person would do.

But hey, I'd rather fight a bunch of brain-dead idiots then actual dead-idiots like the ghost that chased me the other day. Guess Vlad put up a bounty for me at some point so they were looking to cash in on it. I kicked their butt of course but, man did it take a lot out of me. It feels like I'm always so tired these days whether I'm in ghost form or not or getting random dizzy spells. That's why I had to reach Danny as soon as possible. I...couldn't keep going on like this.

Several minutes passed with no sign of them so I sighed in relief and stepped out of the alley again. Running so much wasted the energy I needed to find a place to stay for the night before it got too dark. Thankfully I had some food left but I wanted to ration it as long as possible for the rest of the trip to Amity Park. I still needed to find a new map too since the old one got burned to a crisp by that ghost I mentioned.

As far as I knew I was still going in the right direction. I just had to make sure to stay clear of Wisconsin for obvious reasons. The last thing I needed was for 'dad' to catch me and rip me apart molecule by molecule. Thinking about him made my stomach do several flip flops until I realized I was about to actually get sick and leaned against the nearest wall. A horrible nauseous feeling washed over me as I tried not to hurl when-

"Hey, are you ok?" someone called from in front of me, leaning down to see if I was.

I glanced up, frowning because of course my vision was blurry too. I didn't dare answer them because if I opened my mouth I was afraid I'd really throw up, and if it was the same as last time...I wouldn't be able to explain to them why it was glowing. It was probably safe to shake my head so I was about to do that when to make matters worse I heard the voices of those gang dudes from earlier.

Glaring behind us at them, I thought bitterly 'Seriously, can this day get any worse!?'

I'm not entirely sure what happened after that except for that whoever was in front of me snatched my hand and we started to run in the opposite direction. I stumbled a few times and at some point they lifted me onto their back and we kept going. But carrying me must've slowed them down because a few minutes later we were caught.

Someone yanked me roughly off their back and I hit the ground, hard, and started seeing stars. I didn't want anyone to get hurt though so I pushed myself up and shouted. "Stop it, leave them alone!"

"Or what you little brat?" one of them scoffed and I froze.

They...they sounded like Vlad.

Noticing my face go pale, another of their buddies laughed. "Dude, look at her face! She's so pale! Did she see a ghost or just your ugly mug?"

"Shut it." The first guy replied, pulling me up by the hair. "Anyway, let's get down to business shall we? How'd you find our hideout?"

Shivering since I really hated how similar this guy sounded to Vlad, I answered shakily. "I'm telling you, I thought the place was deserted ok?! Anyone would have assumed the same thing since it looks like a glorified trash heap. If all you wanted me to do was leave then why were you chasing me?!"

"It's a matter of principle. Besides, we couldn't have you running your mouth and telling someone you saw us there. Don't you know who we are?" the third guy jeered, holding the person who rescued me hostage but it was hard to see anything.

"Does it look like I'm old enough to know anything?" I snapped, still fighting off that nauseous feeling again.

Surprising me, the second guy shrugged. "The kid's got a point. We were only scoping the place out. It might not even make a good hideout."

"Then what are you saying? We should let them go? Are you insane? What if the boss- UGH!" Unable to hold back anymore, I gagged and he abruptly let go after I lost my lunch.

Great, another good meal wasted.

"What the hell man? Why is it...glowing? What are you, some kind of freak?" the vlad-sounded guy said in disgust, trying to clean some of it off his jacket.

Deciding that I probably had no choice now, I stood up and after wiping the rest off with the back of my hand, I made my eyes glow too and smirked. "Well, actually, your friend over there guessed half right earlier. Only, it wasn't me who saw a ghost, it's you who are about to."

Putting everything I had into the bluff, I let my transformation rings appear that changed me into my ghost form right in front of their eyes. In any other situation it would have been funny seeing three grown men almost wet themselves at the sight of me, but when my vision cleared enough to see the face of the person who tried to help earlier, all I saw was their fear. It was painful, but in the end it might be better this way so I inhaled deeply and floated a few inches off the ground before saying 'boo' and like a bunch of scaredy-cats they all bolted.

All of them, except one.

I couldn't tell if they were frozen in fear too but I didn't stick around long enough to find out. Since my cover had been blown anyway I shot into the air and out of sight, resigning myself to another night without sleep. I've had good days and bad ones, but lately it feels like I've been having nothing but bad ones. That's why Danny was my only hope, he was the only one I'd be safe with.

I just had to reach him in one piece.

"Danny, please...please help me." I whispered under my breath, fighting off tears. Up until now I've been able to put on a brave face but the truth was I was getting desperate. My condition was only getting worse and I was worried about what might happen if I couldn't transform at all and defend myself. I'd be a sitting duck. Plus I had that close call the other day so, either way, I was running out of time.