A/N: Originally, this was going to be a one-shot of a few teenagers celebrating the first Guy Fawkes Day in a rather long time. But, when I wrote the first dialouge for Danny, I was hooked and wanted to get more out of the character, so, instead of 'Remembering the Forgotten", we got "Instant Replay". I'm not sure where this one is going, as it was originally a one-shot with no real plot. Even if it does get a plot, I doubt it will be too long. But who knows. I just saw the movie yesterday (for the second time) and wanted to write. I'm a little buzzed (can't hold my damn liqour) so if there are any mistakes I didn't catch, tell me.

Set in the movie-verse, since I have yet to get a hold of the comic, a year (or two)after the destruction of Parliment.

I disclaim you: I do not own V for Vendetta, it's characters, or any random quotes or songs that may be dispersed in the story. I only own the characters you do not recognize (Danny, Mark, Meggie etc.) and this story/plot. This story is for entertainment purposes only and is not making me any money for me what so ever. If it was, I certainly wouldn't be wasting my time here at the moment...I'd be buying Six Flags...


Chapter 1: Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November

"Remember, remember the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot." -V and Evey, the Freedom Fighters.

"So," Meggie began in a sing-song voice. "It's everyone's favorite holiday tomorrow. What are our plans for this year."

"I was thinking we could blow up the school," Danny muttered, biting into her sandwich. Mark snorted, grinning into his cup of soda.

"You'd need the mask, Danny," Meggie said with a sigh. Danny turned the page of her magazine.

"I already have it," the brunette said off-handedly, biting into her sandwich again, ignoring Meggie's questioning gaze. Mark shook his head and tapped the now empty foam cup on his knee before handing it to Meggie to pick apart.

"I'm serious though. We never do anything for this holiday. I feel it's very important."

"Yeah, well, so is my birthday, which, might I add, is next week," Mark pointed out. Meggie threw the cup at him.

"I believe the birthday of our freedom is more important than yours."

"She's right you know," Danny said, turning the page of her magazine yet again. There wasn't really anything interesting in it, but it gave her something to do. Mark sighed and picked the cup up from the grass. Just because they had their freedom didn't mean they wouldn't get in trouble if caught littering in the park. Meggie seemed to be in deep thought, fingering the fringe on the ripped knees of her jeans.

"They should have a dance. . .there used to be a dance for Fawkes Day, you know. . ." Meggie trailed off thinking again. Danny sighed and closed the magazine.

"Yeah? Are you suggesting they have a dance? A dance should signify the day of our freedom? Besides, just because it's Guy Fawkes Day, doesn't mean it's still only about Guy Fawkes. I mean, he didn't even accomplish his goal. And yes, I know the idea survived," Danny continued, cutting Meggie off. "But now it's about V and Evey Hammond too. . .so, if you followed any of that at all, following the old tradition of a dance just doesn't seem right."

Meggie spluttered, waving her hands about, but couldn't think of anything to counter her friend's explanation.

"I say we blow up the school," Mark said, agreeing with Danny's earlier suggestion. Danny laughed. They had freedom, but not that much freedom.

v

Danny strolled down the darkening street, her hand on the one strap of her backpack, which was rightly on her back. She usually held onto it because she walked quickly, and it bothered her when the strap slid off her shoulder and to her elbow.

'What a wonderful friday. . .dusk,' Danny thought, her head slightly inclined to look up at the pinkish tone of the sky. She had almost thought evening, but it would be an hour at most until night fell. Danny had always been careful about stupid mistakes. Those kind of mistakes were always the worst and she hated the feeling of being wrong. The result? A very precise, analytical girl. But that didn't mean she didn't indulge herself in a story or two. Her favorite? V. The entrancing and exhilerating story of V. Needless to say, she had a wonderful source.

Danny had ran into Evey Hammond in a market, when she was a few years younger, and out of curiousity had asked why Evey had shaved her head. Evey had smiled sadly and handed her money over to the cashier before answering.

"I'm afraid it's a rather long story. But in short. . .a friend did it. . .to help me," Evey had explained, her voice soft. Danny, feeling she had asked a rather personal, more personal than she had guessed anyway, question, had apologized profusely.

"Oh, no, no need to apologize. It is a bit sad to remember, but you couldn't have known."

"It was stupid of me to ask. I shouldn't have asked," Danny said bitterly, looking down at her feet.

". . .Would you like to hear the whole story? Perhaps it would help if I shared it with someone. . ." Evey ventured, hoping to cheer Danny up a bit. Evey didn't mind telling the story, not that she had ever told anyone, and found her self hoping this young girl would say yes. Danny had sighed, ran a hand through brunette locks and nodded with an 'I suppose so'. She had nowhere else to be.

So, over the next few days, Danny had been dragged, though not entirely against her will, into the world of V and everything he stood for and Evey Hammond, the girl he saved and befriended, seemingly by coincidence. She cried for Valerie and Ruth, for Evey's parents, for her brother and Deitrich. She was angry at the government, once again for what they had done. And at the end, she had cried for Evey, who lost the man she loved, V, who had died knowing he could still love.

It was as if, she, Danny, had not just been among the many who stood outside of Parliment and heard the music and seen the explosion and fireworks. Instead, Danny had been swept right into the events and scenes that Evey had seen and been through. She felt her doubt, her fear, her sadness and then her hope and determination.

"I wish I was you," Danny had whispered when the story was over. "I wish I had gotten the chance to meet him."

"Yes," Evey had said absently. "I'm sure he would have liked you. . ."

In all honesty, Danny had fallen in love with V, or at least what she thought was love and was deeply saddened by the thought that she could never meet him. The first night she had realized this, she had cried bitterly in her sleep and scolded herself for fawning over a dead man.

Needless to say, she got over her crush (somewhat at least) and would occasionally visit Evey. She was planning to do that now actually, but got a bit distracted. People were shouting, it sounded like an arguement. Danny looked around, before cautiously crossing the street and heading toward an alley. Danny felt that what she was doing was wrong, if not potentially dangerous, but she couldn't help herself. If anyone was hurt, she wanted to know that she had at least been there to witness it and could inform the proper authorities. Pressing herself against a wall that helped create the opening of the alley, she was dimly aware that night had practically fallen. She must have been walking slower than usual...

Taking a deep breath, Danny cautiously peered around the wall into the alley, where two men were fighting, or at least, arguing. It seemed one was accusing the other of something, probably involving something stupid, or a girl. Or perhaps they were a couple? It wasn't uncommon...

But the arguement seemed to have taken a turn for the worst. One man was suddenly brandishing a gun and Danny stared in horror as a struggle ensued and the gun was fired. The other man fell and Danny covered her mouth as she gasped in horror. She had never seen anyone killed before. The bullet had gone right through him. The armed man looked up, a wild look in his eyes and spotted Danny, who was staring numbly at the body bleeding on the ground.

"Hey!" The man shouted angrily, shocking Danny out of her stupor. She slowly backed away from the alley, a hand still over her mouth. The man stalked out of the alley after her and was about to grab her arm when Danny turned away from him and took off running.

She could hear the man's footfalls behind her and was in tears, wishing she was lucky like Evey and V would swoop through and save her. She shouldn't have been so curious! She should have kept walking! She could be safe at Evey's right now! Now she was running away like some escapee. Danny landed too hard on her next step and fell, her ankle twisting in the process.

Sobbing, she tried to crawl away, to at least keep some distance between them, before standing back up and limping.

"Hey!" the man shouted again, grabbing Danny forcefully by the back of the neck and turning her around, the gun pointed at her face. "What did you see?" He hissed. Danny continued sobbing and shaking and he quickly dragged her back into the alley where the other man lay still. "What did you see?"

"N-nothing, I-I won't tell anyone, p-please, just let me go home!" Danny begged. He shoved her to the ground and began pacing back and forth the gun aimed up at the sky. He was shaking his head before turning back to the unfourtanate girl.

"No, no! I can't take that chance!" He bellowed, aiming the gun at her head.

"No!" Danny shrieked. "Please! I promise! Please!" Danny was sobbing, close to hysterics as she backed away from him, bumping her head on the brick wall.

"Well, well, what ever do we have here?" A calm voice asked from the other end of the alley way.

"Get out of here," the man commanded, pointing his gun at the intruder. Danny, still sobbing, was now huddled up in fear against the wall.

'V? He's my V, yes, yes! I'm okay! No, no, don't aim it back at me, why didn't I just pass by?' Danny thought desperately as the man pointed the gun back at her, though his gaze was fixed on a man in black.

"It seems that this is an affair that fair maiden does not wish to be involved in," the man observed coldly, walking over briskly. Time seemed to slow down for Danny as he neared them.

'Guy Fawkes mask. . . .'

"It's just some loose ends that need tying," the man mummbled, his eyes still wild.

"Please, help me," Danny whispered desperately as she caught his eye. The eyes that she couldn't see. . .

The man, which Danny was almost sure was an imposter, reached underneath the cape he was wearing and produced a knife which swiftly took care of that situation. Danny scooted away from him as he approached her. He titled his head in a questioning manner before turning his gaze to the knife in his hand. He laughed, a bit sheepishly and stowed it away. Holding up his hands in a manner that said 'Nothing up my sleeve or in my hands' he walked over to Danny and stood over her.

"V?" Danny whispered hopefully.

"V indeed. . .I'm afraid I am merely a man following in said footsteps," He explained, crouching down in front of her, his arms on his thighs. "Disappointed?"

". . .Yes," Danny admitted, moving away a bit more.

"Now, now, if I had intended you any harm, wouldn't I have done so by now?"

Danny's eyes narrowed in suspicion as she discreetly, or at least she hoped it was discreet, slipped a hand into her backpack, grabbing a thick book. "I suppose so. . .why are you running around as V? I find that almost insulting. . . ."

"Ah yes, I did consider that. . ." the imposter said, tilting his head. "But what a startling turn of events, hm? That events that happened so long ago should happen again. . .no need to worry! I'm not planning to blow up any buildings," he said, holding up a hand at Danny's horrified expression.

"Now, if you trust me, which you have every right not to, would you mind telling me your name?"

"Danny," she muttered, her hand still gripping the text.

"Danny. . .Danny," He muttered as if fascinated by her name. "Short for Danielle, I presume?"

Nodding, Danny felt her grip on the book loosen. Maybe this man wasn't so bad. . .now, Danny did have a very good education. She was in her second year of college (though she still despised school) and thought her judge of character pretty good. She hoped she wasn't delusional about that. . .and she thought she was right, very much so. At least until he was suddenly reaching for her neck.

Letting out a loud yell, Danny wrenched the book from her back pack and swung it at him, knocking him in the arm. The imposter grunted, kneeling on one knee to stop himself from toppling over.

"My, quite the fire we have," he said with a weak laugh. "I wasn't intending to hurt you, but it seems that you have. . ." he trailed off, reaching out once again. Danny held her breath as his gloved hand gently brushed against her neck.

"Ow," Danny said half heartedly.

"I thought so. Your neck is bruised."

Danny felt her chest tighten at the sympathy in his voice and felt like she was going to cry. He was so much like him. . .but he was dead, that much she was sure of. . .Evey had been so sad at that part of the story.

"I'm sorry," Danny said, her voice wavering. "About the book," she added, if a bit unnessasary, raising the book slightly.

"Quite alright, my dear, a defensive reaction from a cornered animal. Quite alright. . . ."

Danny lowered her head, blushing. She had just attempted to beat up her savior. Yes, that's certainly the way to show her gratitude. But certainly, a man parading around as V couldn't be trusted right away.

"Well, Danielle," the imposter began, standing up. "May I inquire as to where you were headed?"

"W-well, I was going to a friend's house. . ." Danny began, suddenly aware that she was in close proximity of two dead bodies. She quickly stood up and stumbled into V, due to her ankle, who merely let her run into him and back away into a wall.

"Perhaps you would allow me to ensure you have a safe journey to your friend's. . .?" the imposter ventured. Danny's hands were shaking as she slumped back down to the floor.

Shock, he noted as he watched her. Slowly, he crouched down infront of her again, and with some hesitation held her hand.

"Deep breaths, Danielle," he instructed before she started hyperventilating. Danny's hand was still shaking badly, despite his firm grip and she remembered Evey's story. How she had faced her own death and been calm about it. Danny tried to capture that feeling now, feeling a bit dizzy already, and slowly, the tremors in her hands, and the rest of her body, ceased.

"Are you. . .are you really just an imposter? Tell me the truth, please. I know someone who would be very happy to know if he had somehow survived. . ." Danny asked quietly. He didn't reply, simply helped her to her feet and draped her arm over his shoulder.

"It's getting quite late, wouldn't you agree? The bells of that new clock tower have already sounded the hour twice. I'm sure your friend is worried. Now, lets be on our way, once you tell me where they live, anyway. . ." he added as an after thought. Danny spluttered. This couldn't be him. He was hardly as eloquent. . .

When she finally managed to convey the street the house was on (she didn't want to give the exact address) they had walked through the maze of alley ways and he dropped her off, disappearing with a tip of his hat and wish of a good evening. Danny ran, limping really, to Evey's home and rang the doorbell, tapping her foot in anxiety to get inside and tell her what had happened.


A/N: Yeah, all done. Obviously, this story will go through editing a lot, since ya know...one-shot inspiration. Pffft. No plot. (Insert manic laughter here.)

Chya...