Author's Note: Hmm, 300 hits…4 reviews…Thanks to all who did review, you're comments drive this story! Please don't crash!
Disclaimer: No ownage here! Check Butch Hartman
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10 years in the future
Five months after Dan's disappearance
"Okay," Danni said playfully with her hands covering her eyes, "Ready or not, here I come!" Danni said as she turned around quickly, "I hope you picked a better place this time!" Danni smiled as she started looking around Valerie's new house for the hider.
Danni crept down the long hallway and prepared for attack, "Gotcha!" She said as she turned around to find no one on the other side. Smiling, she looked around with fake puzzlement, "Hmm, I wonder where Raylyn could've gone?" She said out loud. She heard a muffled laughter coming from the living room and smiled as she headed for it.
"Could she be," she said excitingly as she walked to the coffee table, "Here!" She bent down and looked underneath only to find nothing, "Huh," Danni said, "I think she disappeared!"
The muffled laughter increased until Danni could hear it coming from the kitchen, Danni smiled, "Boy, all this seeking is making hungry," she said as she walked into the kitchen, heading for one of the counters, "I think I'll have some, cereal!" She exclaimed as she opened the cereal cabinet revealing a little girl laughing.
"Gotcha!" Danni exclaimed, taking the little girl out of the cabinet and spinning her, "Wait till your mommy hears how long it took me to find you, she'll be so happy!"
Raylyn laughed, "You couldn't find me!"
"I know!" Danni said, acting amazed, "Now," she said putting her down, "Your mom should be getting back from the grocery soon, so go clean that room before-" The sound of the door opening cut off her sentence.
"Hello?" Valerie said, walking in the house, "Where are you girls?"
Danni sighed, "Your mom gets here," she finished her sentence, her eyes widened, "We're both in trouble now." Raylyn's eyes widened, too and she nodded quickly.
Valerie came around to the kitchen, holding bags of groceries, "What are you girls up to?"
Raylyn smiled brightly, "I was practicing my hiding! It took Auntie Danni five minutes to find me!" Her bright green eyes shone with pride.
Valerie put a hand on her hips, "Really? That's really great! And when that bad ghost comes back around again, he won't even know you're here!"
Raylyn nodded, "But he won't find me cuz you and Auntie Danni beat him up! Now he's a scared!"
Danni smiled weakly at Raylyn, "Alright kiddo," she said softly, "Go up and clean that room," she tapped Raylyn in the direction of her room and Raylyn climbed the stairs up to her room.
Raylyn stopped, "Ya know, mommy, I'll be almost this many," she said holding up four fingers, "Now I can fight kid ghosts like me!"
Valerie smiled, "Not if that room's dirty!"
Raylyn growled and ran to her room leaving Valerie and Danni in the kitchen. Valerie looked at Danni, "Thanks for watching her," she said, "And for playing hide and seek, that'll teach her to hide incase trouble comes."
Danni scoffed, "Yeah once he gets back to look for us, she'll giggle in the cabinets while he's looking for her!"
Valerie put the groceries down on the counter, "Well, hopefully she'll know to be quite, besides, I don't think he's coming back," she said as she began taking the items out, "Wanna help me with these?"
Danni started putting the groceries in their places around the kitchen, "I know he isn't dead or destroyed or whatever," Danni said, "I just don't think this is safe for us to still live here, especially with Raylyn."
Valerie sighed, "Well," she said, "Remember this is her home, I found her in her destroyed home after Dan went through it."
"Yeah but she had amnesia!" Danni said, "She didn't even know where she was!"
Valerie glared, "Listen," she said, "I've always wanted a daughter, and because of that monster I didn't get my chance!"
"That doesn't mean we can't move from here!"
"She still has memories!" Valerie said, tearing up, "Her past may be destroyed, but she'll always remember, she'll always dream about it! I won't take that from her!"
Danni nodded, "And what happens when she find out?"
Valerie shrugged, "I'll tell her the truth, I'll tell her what happened," she said softly returning to the groceries, "Hopefully she'll be old enough to understand."
Danni sighed and looked down, feeling terrible, "I'm going to go lay down," she said exiting the kitchen, walking into the living room. She collapsed on the couch and closed her eyes, thinking of the past months, they were so peaceful. Too peaceful. The city had rebuilt and she and Valerie were almost finished the new ghost shield.
Danni remembered when she first heard the news of her "cousin's" death; she couldn't stop crying that day. She had hid out in the Fenton's house while Valerie and her dad lived there. They never knew she was there.
''''''''
Flashback
Danni had her knees pressed to her chest as she sat in Danny Fenton's closet. The dark was where she had to stay if she didn't want to be found. She was able to hide her ghostly track by using her power so that the house wouldn't detect her. Valerie and her dad had moved in after the Fenton's had been killed and they decided to carry on the ghost hunting business they had started. Danni watched them construct weapons and everyday she grew to fear them, it was like watching them build her death.
Danni sniffled as she remembered that she had no one that would understand her, not even her fath-no, creator, she wouldn't dare call that man her father ever again, not after what happened. Fathers don't use their daughters for selfish gain. They were supposed to care. Danni felt a tear roll down her cheek, 'I'll never be complete,' she thought, 'Family or physically.'
Danni rested her head on her knees and hugged herself tighter as she sobbed, 'I miss you,' she thought to herself. As quick as here sobs came they vanished as her ghost sense went off, "Huh?" She looked through the blinds of the closet to make sure the coast was clear before coming out. Cautiously, she walked to the window. She looked out to see if anything looked out of the ordinary, 'What was that?'
Her answer to the question came with a loud bang that shook the whole neighborhood; people came out of their homes looking at the sky in puzzlement. Danni couldn't see that far up but she saw the people screaming and running away. Danni rolled her eyes, 'Stupid ghosts,' she thought, 'They don't know when to quit!'
Danni backed away from the window and transformed. She flew through the window before the house could detect her and scanned the area for the ghost. She saw masses of people running in one direction so she looked to the opposite, only to see a green ghost ray come flying at her. Danni screamed as it hit her square in the face and she was sent flying to the ground.
Danni moaned in pain as the dust cleared and she opened her eyes to see who this assailant was, her eyes widened at the figure in front of her, "Danny?" The clouds were still making him appear blurry but she knew her cousin when she saw him.
"Danny Fenton is dead," Dark Dan said angrily forming another blast, "I killed him!"
Danni dodged the blast and retaliated with one of her own, only to have him block it, "You are Danny!" She flew from the cloud of dust to get a better look, only to find nothing, "Huh?"
She felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around, facing Dark Dan, "Boo," he whispered, grabbing her arm forcefully.
Danni's face twisted into fear, "W-what happened to you?" She asked noting his significant change in appearance.
Dark Dan only smirked, "I've seen a new light," he said as he punched her, "And Danny's seen his in the tunnel."
Danni landed in front of Fenton Works again, exhausted. Just as she landed there, Valerie and her dad came out, "What's going on!" Valerie screamed.
Dark Dan looked at Valerie and smirked, "This should be interesting," he said forming a blast.
Danni's eyes widened, "No!" Danny yelled as she jumped in front of the blast making a shield, "Ah!" she screamed as she saw the green goo forming around her feet. She let go of the shield as the blast stopped.
Valerie stared in awe, "Who are you?"
Danni took in a deep breath and glared at her "cousin", "You wanna ask questions," she said, "Or do you wanna kick some butt?"
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And that's how that little friendship started. Danni told Valerie everything about Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom. Why he kept his secret from her, what his intentions were, basically everything Valerie would want to know. Valerie was shocked at first, but now that Danny Phantom was a combination of Vlad Plasmius and Danny Phantom, they both needed each other.
Valerie's father was working on an antidote that would stabilize Danni, but he was killed later when Dan destroyed Fenton works. A few days later, he disappeared. Danni didn't trust that one bit. She didn't know what was going on. But she would find out soon. And as fate would have it, that would come sooner than she thought.
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Present
Danny phased into his room, exhausted. He threw the bag that held the Fenton weapons to the floor and collapsed on his bed. Last day of school was tomorrow and he wasn't even excited for summer like he was the year before. Danny rolled over on his back and sighed, 'This year really took a toll,' he thought.
He tried to win Valerie over again but it ended in failure. But like any guy, he refused to let go until he got it. Or her in this case. Sam and Tucker had been acting weird about it too. Sam would just sigh and look sad the whole time while Tucker would look upset with him. Just let it go. They would always say. It wouldn't work out.
Danny closed his eyes. School wasn't helping much either. Being a sophomore had a much bigger load. And Danny knew it would only get worse. Not to mention the stress of fighting ghosts everyday. He didn't really worry about that, he had Danni there to help him.
Danny closed his eyes, he just wished Sam and Tucker would talk to him more. Just for it to be like it always was. Playing video games, planning summer, eating lunch together, stuff friends do together. Now he felt it was slipping. Slipping far away.
You should do something about it.
Danny's eyes opened, 'Who said that?'
Silence. Danny sat up looking around; his ghost sense didn't go off. Danny shrugged and lay back down to go to sleep. Maybe that was all that he needed, a good night's rest. Lucky for him he enjoyed it, because the next few days would be anything but peaceful.
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St. Vincent Hospital. Green Bay, WI
10 years in the future
Danny Fenton awoke to a sound coming from outside his hospital room. They were voices. Muffled voices that sounded like they were demanding entry. He sighed and laid back down against the pillows, "Press," he said annoyed, "Aggravating little pests."
The first thing Danny awoke to before the hospital was blinding cameras, microphones, and paramedics. Police officers were pushing the press back so that the paramedics could take him to the hospital. Before Danny passed out the last question he heard was, "Do you know what happened to Vlad Masters?"
Danny could hear the press outside starting to leave as the nurse came in, "I never people could be so demanding," She said, "I mean with hospital patients."
Danny smiled as she put the food tray in front of him, "Thank you."
The nurse observed him, "You're still looking really thin," she said, "It's a miracle you survived down there!"
'For ten years? Yeah, right,' Danny thought, 'I was dead.' It had been five months s, and it took the press that long to get the right story before every station in the US heard about it.
The nurse took the remote and turned the TV on, "Here," she said, "To drown out that mess," she said as she pointed to the door. She turned on her heels to walk out and as she opened the door, he heard attempted questions that were never finished.
Danny looked at the TV and attempted to find out what had happened in the past ten years. Apparently, all that was on the news was his finding. They even had it on CNN. Danny was impressed, "I'll be damned," he said as he watched the report of his "miraculous resurrection".
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Valerie's house
Valerie spooned some of the cookie dough onto the pan to put in the oven. Raylyn had cleaned her room AND ate all of her dinner, so she deserved a special treat. Valerie licked her fingers as she set the timer on the oven. Sighing happily, she put everything in the sink and walked over to the table. She sat down and leaned back into the chair, 'Great day,' she thought, 'Everyday should be like this.'
"Valerie!" Danni cried from the living room, "You should see this!"
Valerie stood from the chair and rushed to the living room, "What is it?"
Danni answered by turning the TV louder, "In a bizarre set of events five months ago, three teenage fumbled upon the body of Daniel James Fenton. The twenty four year old male had been missing, presumably dead for ten years until he was found at the site of the destroyed Master's mansion. He was put into care at St. Vincent's Hospital in Green Bay. The date of his release is not clear yet," he paused to show images of Danny being pulled out of the lab, "Daniel was in shock when found, and there is talk of him possibly having a case of amnesia," he paused again, "This new discovery has prompted questions whether Vlad Masters is still alive as well and if he had anything to do with Daniel's disappearance. More on this story at ten, good evening." With that, the report was over, leaving Danni in awe, "I'll be damned," she said, she turned to Valerie, "What do you think of-Val?"
Valerie stared, shocked, then finally fainted.
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Note: I smell lots of drama! Woo! Dark Dan is coming up next! Beware! But…you have to review! Please!
