Danny P.O.V.
"You ready?" I asked Danielle, who was sitting opposite me underneath the our 'training tree,' as she dubbed it.
"Ready!" She responded eagerly. Sam was sitting on the bench which was a few feet from us, spectating. I nodded at my apprentice with a slight smile.
"OK then. Close your eyes and concentrate. Feel the energy coming directly from your core." I instructed. She nodded and took a deep breath, holding out her arm. She concentrated, her face looking strained, and a minute ball of white light appeared hovering in front of her hand. It was the size of an earring… for now.
"That's good, keep going." I encouraged her. She nodded and focussed more energy into the orb, and it grew bigger.
"This is amazing! She has a Light core!" I exclaimed to Sam telepathically, not wanting to ruin Danielle's summoning.
"What?" she asked with wide eyes.
"I thought she had a fire core!" She exclaimed. I shook my head.
"Sometimes Dark core ghosts develop cryokinesis before umbrakinesis, like me. It's the same with Light core ghosts, but they sometimes develop pyrokinesis before photokinesis." I explained. Sam's eyes widened again.
"It is incredibly rare, and only happens to the most powerful of ghosts." I told her softly. Sam looked at Danielle with a very proud smile as the orb grew. It was now about the size of an ostrich egg.
"That's perfect Dani." I told her with a smile, which she returned weakly.
"Strange, I was tired when I summoned Raven too, but not that tired." I mused to myself. I shrugged. Dani may be powerful, but not nearly as much as I am. That's probably the cause. I doubt it's that bad.
"Ok, now you need to focus on separating that energy from your core. Not just as a ball of light, but as an actual part of your core." I told her. She took one more deep breath and focussed. She gritted her teeth in strain as she went.
"You can do this Dani, I believe in you." I told her. That seemed to do it. The orb started glowing brightly. So much so that we had to look away. As the light faded Sam and I focussed our attention back on Dani, who still had her arm stretched out and her eyes shut tight. Sam and I gasped at what we saw.
"Dani, open your eyes." I told her with a wide smile.
She slowly did as I told her, and gasped with a wide smile as she looked at her arm. There, perched on her arm, was a snow white owl with bright green eyes. It was a male, and about the size of pigeon, meaning it was still growing. I guessed it to be about in early adolescence. Dani let out a happy squeal as she hugged the owl happily. Familiars are almost indestructible unless their masters are destroyed, so there was no risk of Dani crushing the owl. Sam and I laughed happily at the sight.
"Spooky!" Dani exclaimed happily as the owl perched itself on her shoulder and nuzzled the side of her head affectionately.
"Is that what you're going to name him?" Sam asked with a smile as she approached.
"Uh-huh!" Dani exclaimed happily. Sam and I chuckled at her cuteness. Despite looking 15, her mindset seemed to go back and forth between her biological age and chronological. It was quite amusing.
"Congratulations sweetie." Sam said as she kissed Dani's forehead. I smiled at the sight, and couldn't stop the blush when Sam came up to me and kissed me on the lips.
"Thank you." She said as she hugged me. I chuckled and held her close.
"I told you, I care about her a lot, and you." I whispered with my nose buried in her hair. God she smelt nice. I mentally kicked myself for my thoughts and quickly pushed them out as we parted.
"Mommy…" Dani muttered. We turned our attention to towards her, and our eyes widened in horror at what we saw. Dani was looking at us with a fearful expression, holding her hand up… It was melting with into ecto-plasm.
"DANIELLE!" Sam and I screamed in terror as she passed out.
Sam and I were sitting outside the medical room in The Far Frozen. Frostbite had Danielle in the medical room, being examined by his best doctors and scientists. Sam was leaning forward, her elbows on her knees and her face buried in her hands. I didn't need my telepathy to sense the fear and worry she was feeling. I sighed sadly and placed my hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me, her eyes red from crying. I gave her a small reassuring smile and held her close.
"She'll be OK." I whispered. She sobbed into my shoulder.
"She's all I have left of…" She trailed off, sobbing.
"Phantom?" I asked her. She looked away in what looked like shame and nodded. I sighed and held her close. I don't know how I was going to tell her who I am, but I know I will eventually. I have to.
"I get it. You lost someone you loved." I told her. She seemed shocked before she broke down again.
"I loved him… and he died…" She murmured.
"I know Sam, I know." I told her as I rubbed her back. She managed to calm down after a few minutes.
"I'm sorry…" She murmured in shame after a few moments of silence.
"For?" I asked her, my eyebrow raised in confusion. She sighed.
"I'm with you, and here I am talking about how much I loved Danny…" She said with her head down. I smiled at her gently and took her hand.
"There is no need to apologise." I told her as she turned her attention to me. I brushed some of her hair behind her ear.
"I don't want you to stop loving him or forget him. Always hold him close to your heart." I told her. She smiled and leaned into my hand as I cupped her cheek.
"As long as there's room for me." I told her. She gave a slight chuckle and released a small, happy hum as I kissed her. We looked into each other's eyes as we separated.
"I could never ask you to forget Phantom. Just don't forget me." I finished my little speech. She smiled at me and hugged me. I gave a slight smile and hugged her back.
After a few moments of silence, Frostbite came into the waiting room, gaining our attention.
"Timeless One, Dark One, you may want to see this." He said. We nodded and got up, following him to the medical room. Frostbite's name for me was the 'Timeless One,' because I'm the Apprentice of Time, and Sam is 'The Dark One,' being openly goth and all. Frostbite led us to the medical room, which just so happened to be the same one he put me in when my cryokinesis developed. Danielle was even in the same pod, wearing nothing but her bra and panties. I frowned a little at the sight, but said nothing about it.
"Is she going to be OK?" I asked quickly. Frostbite sighed sadly, that was never a good sign, and pressed a button on the terminal. A basic image of Dani appeared, showing her core in her chest, seemingly getting bigger and smaller, like a heartbeat. That wasn't supposed to happen; ghost cores don't beat, not even in Half-Ghosts.
"Her central core readings indicate immense instability. She will not last long if we cannot find a remedy." He said. Sam and I gasped in horror. Sam broke into tears and fell to her knees, I was struggling not to do the same.
"What would work as a remedy?" I asked. Frostbite went over the results of all the tests he ran on Dani.
"The ecto-dejecto that the great one used last time will not work. We need something more extreme." He said thoughtfully. I sighed in frustration.
"What happens if we don't cure her in time?" I asked. Frostbite looked away in sadness.
"We have her in a suspended animation sleep for now. It should buy us some time, but if we do not help her soon, she will become nothing more than a puddle of ecto-plasm and human blood." He said grimly. Sam looked completely mortified and broke down into my arms. I held her close, whispering reassuring words into her ear. I was NOT going to let MY Baby Girl die.
~~Timeskip~~
I growled in frustration and punched the wall, leaving a crater. I've been at this for days, and I still haven't found any kind of cure for Dani. And she was fading fast! 25% of her body weight has already become ecto-plasm and blood in the pod. I don't know how much time I have left, and I could NOT face Sam or even myself if I let Dani die.
"Dan?" A voice called, making my eyes widen, since I knew the owner of the voice. I turned and paled as I saw who was there. Sam had brought Tucker and Valerie to the Far Frozen.
"You told them?" I asked my girlfriend, who rubbed her arm and nodded. I sighed.
"Well, it's better if they know anyway." I mumbled. At least I won't have to tell them. Still doesn't help Dani though. I gave another sigh and morphed into my semi-human form. Tucker and Valerie didn't seem fazed at all.
"I'm sorry I kept this from you." I said sincerely. Tucker shook his head waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't be Man. We hunt ghosts. Can't blame you." He said with a grin, which I returned gratefully.
"Plus, you've made Sam happy again. I can give you the benefit of the doubt." Valerie said with a smile, which I again returned gratefully.
"Thanks you 2." I said.
"How's Dani?" Valerie asked. I sighed and looked down, shaking my head.
"Not good." I said simply, earning a fearful wince from Sam.
"I've ransacked every corner of my mind for something I could use. Physiology, biology, chemistry, EVERYTHING. I got nothing." I said grimly as I fell back into the chair for the terminal.
"Couldn't you ask Clockwork for help?" Tucker suggested. I shook my head.
"He's forbidden to interfere with the timeline unless an abundance of lives depend on it. If he does help, he'll be punished by the Observants. Or as I like to call them: The One-eyed Jackasses." I said, trying to lighten the mood. It worked; they all gave a slight chuckle, but it was short lived.
"What's going to happen to Dani?" Valerie asked worriedly, sending a glance at the pod that held my little girl.
"If she isn't stabilised soon, she'll melt into ecto-plasm and blood." I said simply, making Sam wince again. Sorry Love.
"And she's falling apart as we speak. Every time I think I'm close to something, she ends up worse for wear in the simulations I run on." I explained as I buried my head in my hands.
"Kinda sounds like a Jenga game." Tucker mused, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work… or did it? My head shot up as I got an idea.
"Jenga." I said with wide eyes. The others were giving me really confused looks.
"Oh. My. GOD! TUCKER YOU'RE A GENIUS!" I yelled and ran towards the door. I quickly stopped and turned to them.
"Valerie, lift the 'not getting any' ban!" I called after them and took off, taking great pleasure in the blush that appeared on Valerie's and Tucker's faces.
"FROSTBITE!" I yelled for the yeti as I flew through the Far Frozen, looking for him.
"Timeless One? What is it?" he called after me as he ran towards me.
"I have an idea to save Dani." I told him. I went over my plan with him. He took it in for a moment and looked thoughtful.
"It may work. They only problem is that we would need the Great One's ecto-plasm." He explained grimly.
"Substitute in my ecto-plasm." I told him. He looked at me with wide eyes.
"That won't work!" he exclaimed.
"The young one is a clone of the Great One's ecto-plasm and the Dark One's blood. You're ectoplasm won't help her." He explained, a little softer this time. I shook my head.
"It will work. Trust me." I said. He wanted to object, but I cut him off by holding my right hand up, forming a familiar crystal shape. He looked at me with wide eyes.
"It can't be…" he muttered in shock.
"Frostbite, later. We have to save Dani." I said sternly. Frostbite snapped out of his daze and nodded.
"Alright. Let us go." He said as we both flew towards the medical facility.
Frostbite and I walked into Dani's medical room, full of determination.
"I have an idea guys." I said before Valerie could yell at me for earlier.
"What is it?" Sam asked quickly, her voice full of worry and hope. I walked over to the terminal and pressed a few keys, showing Danielle's DNA code.
"I've learnt a lot these past few days. For example, when Danielle was cloned, only half of the DNA used was Phantom's. The other half was yours Sam." I explained. Sam's eyes widened.
"Does that mean…?" She trailed off. I nodded.
"Danielle is your daughter in every sense of the word." I said. She had tears streaming down her face.
"Does that mean she's only ¼ ghost?" Tucker asked. I shook my head.
"No. It appears that Plasmius filtered out Phantom's ecto-plasm from his blood and added Sam's blood. Her ghost half was created from pure ecto-plasm from Phantom, and her human half from Sam's blood." I continued.
"OK, so what does this have to do with saving her?" Valerie asked.
"I got the idea from Tucker saying she was like a Jenga game." I said a created a small Jenga tower of ice.
"When playing Jenga, the tower falls apart and you put it back together. That's what we're gonna do." I explained, making the tower fall over. Everybody's eyes widen.
"We're going to melt her down and put her back together. One molecule at a time." I said with my arms crossed in confidence.
"Will that really work?" Tucker asked in shock. I nodded.
"Yes, but there's a cost." I answered grimly.
"What is it? I'll do whatever it takes." Sam said with solid determination. I sighed; she is not gonna like this next part.
"Firstly, I'm gonna need some of your blood. About half a litre." I told her. She nodded and pulled up her sleeve.
"Next, well… She's gonna change." I said. They looked at me with worry.
"Not personality wise, physically. Her ghost form will more than likely change." I told them quickly.
"Why?" Sam asked. I sighed again.
"We're going to need ecto-plasm as well." I told her. Her eyes widened as she seemed to catch on to what I was saying.
"My ecto-plasm will work, but she'll no longer be Phantom's daughter." I explained. They all gasped, and Frostbite sent me a slightly confused look, but didn't press it.
"She'll become my daughter if we go through with this." I finished my explanation of my plan. They were all looking at me with wide and reluctant eyes. A few moments of tense silence passed by before Sam walked up to me. She pulled me into a tight hug.
"Please…" She all but begged as she faced me, still holding me.
"Please save my Baby Girl." She begged.
"OUR Baby Girl." She added with tears. I nodded, my eyes burning with determination.
"I will NOT let her die." I assured her.
"Frostbite, ready the procedure." I told the yeti, who nodded.
"You ready for this?" I asked Sam. She was standing next to me, my arm around her shoulders while we all stood in front of Dani's pod. Frostbite was standing next to the pod, holding 2 transfusion bags, one with blood, and one with ecto-plasm. It's easy to guess where they came from.
"No, but what choice do we have?" She asked miserably. I smiled sadly at her and tightened my grip on her.
"It'll work." I told her confidently, though inside I wasn't so sure. She smiled at me gratefully. We both took a deep breath.
"Start Frostbite." I said. Frostbite nodded and placed the transfusion bags into a compartment on the pod, which then shot the contents into the pod with Dani, staining the liquid red and green.
"Beginning degeneration process now." Frostbite said before pulling a lever.
Sam looked away and buried her face into my shoulder, unable to watch. Not that I could blame her. Electricity sparkled inside pod, surrounding Danielle. I watched as she dissolved into ecto-plasm and blood. It really was difficult to watch, but I felt that I really needed to, so I did. Slowly, but surely, the ectoplasm and blood swirled around each other, almost like a Yin and Yang symbol. Eventually, they started morphing together, glowing with a bright green light. I resisted the urge to look away and held Sam closer to me. Looking directly into the light, I witnessed as Danielle's new body formed. The process started with her feet, and continued up, the molecules coming together like magnets being drawn together. I was amazed at what I saw. I had expected her to be 15 years old, but I was amazed when I saw a 3 year old girl floating in the pod, with long black hair and a single streak of white going down the side. I smiled brightly at her. I nudged Sam, making her look up at me. Seeing my smile she quickly faced the pod, and broke into happy tears as Frostbite drained the liquid from the pod, leaving Dani in a fetal position at the bottom.
"The procedure was a success Timeless One." Frostbite said with a relieved sigh as he opened the top of the pod. Using my telekinesis, I lifted Dani's naked form out of the pod and wrapped a blanket around her.
"Sam, come meet your Baby Girl." I told my beloved as I walked over to my floating daughter, Sam following. I held Dani and cradled her, both Sam and I looking at her with pure love in our eyes as she woke up with an adorable yawn.
"Mommy? What happened?" She asked as she stretched and opened her eyes, revealing one to be amethyst and the other ocean blue.
"Quite unique, eh?" I asked Sam with a grin, who nodded with tears streaming down her face.
"Wa'ss goin on?" Dani asked sleepily.
"Shh…" I hushed.
"Go to sleep to sleep Dani. We'll talk in the morning." I told her. She seemed to accept the compromise and snuggled into the blanket as I lay her on the bed in the room. Tucker and Valerie also had relieved tears falling down their cheeks. As we all left the room, I felt Sam pounce on me, sending me to the ground, thanking me over and over again. I smiled as Tucker and Valerie laughed and held my girlfriend close.
"You are so getting some soon." I heard both Sam and Valerie mutter to myself and Tucker respectively, making us blush.
A/N: SO! What do you think? Did any of you see this coming?
Should Dani take a new name in her ghost form, or should she stay as Phantom? Tell me your thoughts!
And don't forget to vote on my poll for my next story once this one is done!
REVIEW! If thios story doesn't make 70 reviews, I'll delete it! MUHAHAHA!
Hopefully you can now forgive me for the April Fools prank.
What do you think of the title? T-Stabilized? D-Stabilized? T for Timeforge?