Five Short Pages
By: Wilona Riva
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or Sailor Moon.
Author's Note: I know this has been a long time in coming. Thanks for having patience. Next chapter will be the Cleansing. The Naru's Diary trilogy ties into this and the next chapter.
Danielle
The Reflection, Crystal Tokyo Era, Early Fall
"Daddy, when is Danielle going to wake up?"
"Soon, Momo."
The voices were coming clearer now with every passing moment. At first, it had been like she was underwater, then in boxed up room, and now clear as crystal. She curled up and turned over, only to have a strong set of hands gently turn her back to the former position.
"Are you absolutely sure, you're alright?" Valerie asked him.
"No," he answered, sighing. "Skulker wants me to rally the ghosts to play hide and seek, and I think that's ridiculous."
"Among other things," Dani pointed out.
"Yes," he admitted. Touching his forehead, he said, "Since this morning, I can feel the entire realm of ghosts in my thoughts. There are things I must do, and some of which I don't want to, but must be."
Looking sadly at both girls, he continued, "And you will both hate me for it."
"WHAT?!"
Dani's mind winced as she replayed both scenes in her head.
King Ganymede stopped in front of Valerie and Dani. Everyone began moving aside sensing something about to happen.
"Danny, I'm happy for you. Do you think I can come live with you in the Ghost Zone ?" Dani asked him cheerily.
He looked at her coldly. "You are not a true child of the Reflection. I do not know you." With those words, Dani screamed...
Dani's light blue eyes snapped, and she tried to sit up in bed, but a strong hand gently pushed her back down. "Not too fast, Dani," the male speaker said. "Let me help you."
Opening her eyes her vision was swam a bit and out of focus. She felt the bed shift slightly so she was now reclining upright. Very softly, she felt two fingers wipe the tears from her eyes. She focused on the pale hand in front of her face. Following them, she looked upwards into twin icy pools that mirrored her own, framed by wild, lavender-streaked ebony hair-a single lock was braided and interwoven with tiny hematite beads.
"D-d-d-danny?" she stuttered, voice hoarse from nonuse, as she tried to get away from her murderer.
Danny, older now, turned to the little girl peeking over the side of the bed at them. She was beautiful in a cherubic way with curly green hair held in pigtail buns. "Monica, please go get Yuki. He's closer than Mercury-hime or Tara-sama."
"Can't."
"Why not, Momo?"
"He's Travelling again."
Her father frowned. "There's something you're not telling me. Travelling when?"
"Don't you mean where, Danny?"
The five years old girl whirled on her. "Otou-san's name is not Danny. It's Ganymede. He's your daddy too, ya know. Yuki told me so."
"No, we're 'cousins'," Danielle replied. Glancing out of the corner of her eye at the older bemused version of Danny, who just shook his head. "Uh, kind of."
"We'll get into that later," Ganymede said. "Momo-chan, listen to me carefully. Go find Hoshi. Usually she knows Chiasa can be found at this time of day. Avoid your mother at all costs, and get your brother home. I really don't like you kids Travelling so much."
"Hai," Momo said, vanishing in a puff of pink smoke.
"Whoa," Danielle muttered. "She can teleport?"
"Whoa, indeed," the King of All Ghosts murmured to himself. What other secrets are these children of Time hiding from me? He turned a chair round and straddled it facing her. Folding his arms, his rested his chin on them and leaned forward.
"How about we talk?" he asked, letting her know this was not a suggestion.
" 'Kay..." She was royally scared of him, but not sure how to handle the situation. Staying calm was her best choice at this point.
Seriously, where can they be? Umino hasn't seen them, and it's my turn to watch over the Lost Ones. Rei-san's grandfather's casket has a long jagged crack, several people from America are sporting multiple spider-cracks, and...
Not going to finish the thought. He is the Endymion-sama little brother, after all, and can do whatever he wants. I'm not waiting.
Signed by my hand on the Day of the Sun,
Osaka Naru
After ten minutes of staring at each other, a wisp of blue mist curled out of Ganymede's mouth. He cleared his throat before turning around. He smiled, as the door opened to reveal two women-one human with short aqua hair and the other his Arabian Aphrodite.
"Mercury-hime, you know it is highly "discouraged"," he used air-quotes to emphasize Walker's words. "What brings you and Desiree here?"
"To check on Styx-hime," the aqua-haired woman replied, straightening her lab coat and looking down at her flipchart. "I know you're still upset about the loss of Charon, Ganymede-san..."
"Stow, Mizuno-san," the King of All Ghosts growled. "So Amser won this round. Her oldest daughter will remain Charon-hime. It's up to Setsuna to juggle the Undeworld Council. We don't know if any of our other daughters will inherit the rest of Pluto's moons."
"Shinju would be perfect as Hydra-hime," Desiree murmured. "It would at least get the menagerie out of the Eastern Wing and less ringing of mine ears from Esther."
"Delilah," Ganymede corrected.
"Our daughter by whatever name she is called," Desiree shot back at him, much to the amusement of the other two occupants. She tossed her long dark hair back and looked at him through long sooty lashes. "Love, you should go and find the Time Master. Lord Chronos has requested your presence."
"Meanwhile, we'll give Rina a crash course on the last 1,000 years and who's who," Ami added.
"Rina?" Danielle asked, a bit confused. "Who is she?"
"Chiba Rina, Styx-hime, is you," Miss Ami said, smiling. "Welcome to Crystal Tokyo, Princess."
"W-w-what?" Danielle looked at all three adults in shock. "I'm really confused. First, there was that girl who disappeared in pink smoke to said Danny was my father, when really I'm a female clone Vlad made in a 'failed' attempt to get a half-ghost son. Second, Danny called me an abomination and murdered me on his wedding day, and now, you're freaking telling me, I'm a thousand years in the future and...and..."
"You'll be spending the night with me in the guest rooms before tomorrow's Cleansing," Danny told her. "A lot has happened, and perhaps Desiree can explain the 'family situation' while I go and see what your Ojii-sama wants." He stood up and bowed to the other women.
"Ladies, I leave my daughter in your hands." He teleported away.
"Hope he focused correctly," she murmured. "Last place he wants to end up is..."
"Desiree!" an angry fiery-cherry blossomed hue Danny reappeared, giving her a reproachful look. "I know I gave Gin and Hoshi permission to redecorate, but..."
"Hush, love," his mistress said, kissing him softly. Ganymede's hairy changed to a crimson-hue. He gave her a reproachful look, then vanished again.
"Do I want to know?" Danielle asked curiously.
"Best not," Desiree said. "Now, RIna, let the doctor get your vitals. There is much for you to know, and not much time to get you ready."
"Could you call me 'Dani', please?" the half-ghost girl asked. "It's short for Danielle, my real name."
"I have your name as Ananke Rina, Styx-hime, daughter of Chiba Ganymede and Ananke Amser," the doctor told her. "I understand Japanese may be hard to grasp for you since it was not much studied in your time, but the Reflection, like most royal houses, speak a multitude of languages-English, Japanese, and Lunarian being the most common."
"The ghost language is a dead language," Desiree explained. "As such, it is a universal translator as such, otherwise, you wouldn't have understood anything Mercury-hime or Ganymde had told you. My beloved speaks High-Saturnian Lunarian, which is a sort of flowery version of Lunarian. The purest form is spoken by those who inhabit the White Moon Kingdom, and the Earth royal family."
"But why call me 'Rina'?" Danielle asked confused.
"The Underworld is divided into three kingdoms," a new voice joined them. The speaker was a tall woman with straight dark hair in a bob, dressed in a long-sleeved black dress with diamonds sewn along the collar. Her violet eyes connected with the girl's winter-hued ones.
"Saturn is the Kingdom of Death and Rebirth, Pluto is the Kingdom of Time, and the Underworld's moons are the Kingdom of Fate. The Ghost Zone is the Kingdom of Destiny-the Reflection as it was known during the Silver Millennium."
Desiree bowed to her, and the woman inclined her head in respect. "I am Tomoe Hotaru, Saturn-hime. Rina means 'white jasmine'. Your surname, Ananke, means 'fate' in Greek."
"Hotaru-mama? Desiree-mama?" a ghost girl asked poking her head in the door. "Is Rina awake?"
"Yes, Gin, come on in and meet your sister," Desiree told her.
"Speaking of sisters, how much is Ganymede's memory progressing?" Saturn-hime asked.
"He remembers his father, and still insists on Yuki by that fat oaf's stupid name," the Wishing Ghost told her. "I think he chose Rina's name on pupose; he remembers more than he is telling."
"Probably," Mercury-hime spoke up. "Now, if I can continue my examination, please?"
"Gomen nasai," Hotaru apologized. "Welcome to our family, Rina."
"I still like 'Dani' better," the ghost girl growled.
Gin gave her a sympathetic look. "I'll let the others know. Welcome, Onee-san. Desiree-mama, have you seen Otou-san?"
"Your Ojii-san summoned him a few minutes ago. Probably to retrieve your brother, who went Travelling again, this time without anyone knowing."
"Iie, Mother will not be happy," Gin muttered.
"Neither will your father," Desiree replied. "Now, both of you, out of the room. Sorry, Saturn-hime to pull rank on you, but Ganymede asked only the two of us to be in the room with Rina. It's a bit claustrophobic in here."
"I bow to your wishes, Honored One," Hotaru said, turning and ushering the younger girl out.
"As the Saturn-hime said," Desiree continue the explanation. "Once the Underworld was divided into three kingdoms -Death, Time and Fate, but now there are four kingdoms-counting the Ghost Zone-or the Reflection as it was known in ancient times long past."
Danielle felt a bit woozy. "I wish I could go back to bed and start this day over again."
"So you have wished it and so shall it be," Desiree intoned. Pink smoke surrounded them and then faded away leaving a silent half-ghost asleep on the bed. "Though I can only grant the sleeping part of your wish. Your father limited my powers to change reality, but on everything."
Mercury-hime laughed softly. "From what I read in the histories, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing."
"It was irritating, but for the best," Desiree said, sighing at the memory. "It will be evident when she awakes again, which shouldn't be much longer."
Tucking the girl back into bed, both women headed to the throne room to consult with the Saturn-hime their findings.
Twentieth Century, Earth, Amity Park, Early Fall
Yuki plastered himself against the wall of the building, his violet eyes wide with fear. Behind him, a teenage girl was squealing Phantom will save us. He couldn't henshin just yet, but he couldn't let Skulker get away with this either. This version of the Hunter wasn't the one he learned survival lessons from in the future.
Taking a deep breath, he concentrated like his mother told him to and focused on what he needed. Should he use intangibility, flight or invisibility?
"Dude, how can you stay calm in-"
"Phantom, watch out!" SLAM!
Yuki's eyes snapped opened. Unlike his sisters, he didn't have a ghost form, and could only use one of the three basic ghost powers within a 24 hours time frame. He couldn't henshin yet because he hadn't received his pen from Neo-Queen Serenity, who wanted him to have more control over his gifts-which royally sucked in his opinion.
The impact of the body slammed into the wall next to him threw him foward to his knees. Turning to see who this Phantom person was-a ghost boy about a few years older than him.
"Ghost Boy, I knew you'd save us!" the latina girl behind him cried.
"Is she always like this?" he asked the ghost.
"Complete with shrine in her locker," Phantom replied, snapping open acid-green eyes. "You're taking this calmly compared to most."
"I grew up around ghosts," Yuki said shrugging. "My father is a professional ghost hunter, and my mother is a healer." He extended his hand to help the boy to his feet.
"I'm Danny Phantom," the ghost boy introduced himself.
"Jack Fenton," Yuki said, using the American name his father saddled him with, causing the ghost to inhale sharply. "What?"
"Nothing," Danny said, before turning his attention back to the battle. "Where did Skulker go?" His eyes and senses scanning for the Hunter.
The battle that followed was intense. Yuki finally gave up the struggle and activated his intangibility gift and got the group of teenagers into the building, safely away from the walls. "Can you keep them calm and inside?" he asked the dark-skinned boy and pale girl, who reminded him of the Sol Queen.
"We can try," the boy responded. The girl stared him intensely, before nodding. Yuki smiled and then walked back through the walls.
"I knew it," Sam muttered.
"That he was part ghost? I would have assumed that's why Skulker was attacking him. I don't think he's a halfa like Danny or Vlad though. Nor a created one like Dani," Tucker said. "We'll have to do some more research. Hey, where are you going?"
"To shut Paulina up," was Sam's response. "She's been getting on my nerves since this morning.
Yuki emerged to find himself in a mini war zone amid an intense battle. Skulker was in the act of grabbing Phantom by throat when the area lit up by a noon-day Christmas sun. The rockets on his shoulders were charred and melted, and the wrist blade he'd been holding to the ghost boy's throat was violently jammed in his own.
Phantom took that moment to twist out of Skulker's grasp and quickly flew down to Yuki, as if sensing he needed protection. "You should not have come out here," he stated. "Even if you have ghost powers."
Yuki nodded. "I only have the basic three. The others are safe. I have been a unique background training that can be of help. What about you? How are you?"
Phantom's face was scratched, and there were some serious burns on his back where his jumpsuit was torn.
"He'll be fine. Ghosts have an accelerated healing rate compared to humans. You should remember that from your lessons, Prince of Saturn," an oh-too-familiar voice sternly remarked.
"Otou-san," he groaned, so low, only Phantom heard him. He turned his head. "My father."
Both boys peeked out from the pile of rubble they were hiding behind. Eyes travelling upwards, they were met by the emerald eyes of-SMACK! Phantom collapsed from the force of the blow Chiasa dealt him with her staff.
"Idiot," she told him, before squeezing the life out of him- er- hugging her little brother hard.
Ganymede cleared his throat. "As there is no time to be dealt with this nonsense, and no ripples will occur in the Stream your grandfather assures me, Yuki, you're coming to the Efiji Gardens with Momo, Rina, Chiasa and I. Your mother and I will discuss the consequences of your actions with you later this eveningtide. Momo did invite us to a tea party, and we don't want to disappoint your sister, do we?"
"Dad, I'm too old for a tea party!" Yuki and Chiasa protested in chorus.
"Not as old as I am," he reminded them with a smirk. "I promised Naru and Umino-kun to go with them today, and we are late because of Yuki's poor timing to Travel."
The Reflection, Crystal Tokyo Era, Fall
She opened blue eyes to an unfamiliar room.
"You're awake. Hi, I'm Momo," a little five years old ghost girl exclaimed from the foot of the bed. "Want to have a tea party in a graveyard? We might get to see some dead people wake up!"
"Sure," Rina said sleepily, "Why not?"