As you all may know, I recently posted the chapter of another story into To Live and Learn.

In case you didn't know, this error has been mended.

Please re-read the previous chapter!

It provides a detailed explanation of what I did wrong and clarification for those who were confused by my mistake.

To make up for my apology, I decided to update this chapter.

Again, please re-read the previous chapter before reading this one.

Thanks!

And, again, so, so, so sorry about the mix-up!

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11. Departing

"I've never seen this place empty before," Danielle pointed out as they walked through the corridors.

The school was silent, an unusual contrast to the usual bustle and liveliness of bodies pressing against each other as students would shuffle between classes, laughing and goofing off.

Even during class times, the halls were never completely empty. There was generally at least one other person present and, if not, one could hear sound of teachers' lectures slipping through the walls.

Now, the place was silent. The only sound was of their footsteps echoing down the hall. Danielle struggled to keep up with Lancer's long strides.

The emptiness reminded Danielle of an eerie desolate town she'd come across during on of her many travels.

She remembered it had been deceitfully named a 'ghost town,' despite the fact that there were clearly no phantoms in the area.

The name had bothered her, and eventually led her to the realization that not all humans were aware that there really were ghosts existing in a different dimension.

The emptiness and lifelessness of the decrepit town was something Danielle wasn't used to, and the brief excursion had left her feeling unsettled for some days after.

Although the school didn't unsettle her the way the ghost town had, she came to the conclusion that the school must seem creepier during the later hours of the night, and she wondered if the ancient building possessed its own ghost stories or legends, though her ghost sense hadn't alerted her of any spiritual presence.

Yet.

"No one is ever here this early." Lancer answered. He glanced over his shoulder and looked at Danielle. "Don't worry. There'll be people here soon enough."

Danielle nodded and hooked a thumb beneath the strap of her bag.

She hadn't thought to bring her new bag with her, but Lancer had advised her to do so, in the case that she ran into Phantom and got to be taken home with him immediately.

In addition, sporting the backpack would allow her to blend in with the rest of the students once they arrived.

The pair padded along the hall, pausing briefly to stop by Lancer's office to pick up some paperwork.

He led her to the second floor of the building where, after scurrying along through several halls, they finally arrived at a deserted classroom.

Danielle settled into one of the seats, wondering why on earth human youths would consign themselves to such a monotonous institution, eager to discover the answer.

"Alright, Danielle," Lancer began. "The first half of the day is going to go through very quickly. We're gonna go from first period through fourth period all at once, so classes will be shortened. Then, we're gonna have lunch and after that all the students and teachers will go to the assembly. Many of the students will be absent so don't be too disappointed if your contacts don't appear today."

"So, what do we do until then?" She inquired.

Lancer shrugged. "We wait for the students to come."

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Danielle waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

At six, students began to arrive at the school. By seven, there was a significantly large crowd of teenagers wandering around the building.

After eight, students periodically streamed in and out of the classroom.

The next three hours were long and never-ending.

Danielle sat in the back of the classroom. Having chosen to abstain from using her powers for the time being, Danielle was required to be visible to the other students.

Lancer would introduce her as a potential transfer student visiting from another school. A few people tried to speak to her, but she rejected all conversation, choosing to seclude herself as much as possible.

Lancer's lectures occasionally piqued her interest (although this didn't reveal why so many kids chose to spend all their time at school), so she'd quietly listen to the teacher, but her attention would constantly wander.

Where was Danny? What was he doing? Was there a chance he would make it to his classes? Would she run into Valerie? What if Danny never showed up? What would they do once they got reunited? Where would they go? How would they get rid of Vlad? Where would she go once her problem was solved?

Third period finally rolled around, and still no Danny.

By this point, Danielle was worried. She'd seen Lancer's roster and had learned that Danny had three of his four classes with Lancer.

His desk, along with several others, had, so far, remained empty.

Danielle could feel disappointment settling in as she glanced at the clock.

It was officially time for fourth period, and still no Danny. Students began streaming in and, for a moment, Danielle could feel despair take hold.

All hope slowly ebbed away until two familiar faces emerged from the mass of students entering the last class of the day.

A pair of unusual and striking amethyst eyes caught her anticipative gaze.

Danielle's heart skipped a beat.

Now was her chance.

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Danny groggily opened his eyes.

Sleep weighed heavily on him, making it difficult for him to rise to full consciousness.

The first thing he registered was a ceiling—white and blank.

The air smelt of antiseptic and chemicals.

His muddled mind was slowly beginning to make sense of everything.

He was in a room.

He didn't remember ever having been inside a building.

But where had he been?

He closed his eyes and re-opened them.

His memories slowly resurfaced, in spite of his semi-conscious state.

He had been out on patrol. Skulker had attacked then retreated. Danny had gone home to clean the wound. He'd talked to or, better said, argued with his clone and then had flown back outside to continue his search for Danielle.

And then? He wondered, but that was all the information his memory offered.

A sound startled him into full consciousness. The young hybrid blinked rapidly and sat up.

He was in the lab.

Maddie was putting something up into a cabinet, not yet aware of her awakened son.

His clone was sitting on the ground, cross-legged, and snuggled comfortably in a blanket cocoon, several feet away from his containment unit where he was supposed to be.

The clone gripped a mug and tentatively brought it to his lips.

His glowing green eyes snapped to Danny. Dark eyebrows flew up in surprise.

"Danny, you're awake." Maddie turned to her son.

She brushed her copper hair behind her shoulder, eyes lighting with concern.

Her hair had grown quite long, Danny noticed. Longer than she normally liked.

"It's about time," the clone muttered, taking another sip of his steaming drink.

Danny furrowed his brows at the clone.

The feel of Maddie's warm palm on his forehead startled him.

He looked up at her, wondering what she was doing.

"Just checking your temperature," she replied, though he hadn't verbalized his question.

"Wh-" Danny paused to clear his hoarse throat. "What happened?"

"You tell me." She folded her arms across her chest. "Jack was using his tracker to try to find Danielle when he found you stuck in our neighbor's tree, passed out."

"What?" Danny blinked.

"Danny," Maddie sighed. "These late night patrols have got to stop. And you need to start showing up for your meals. You may be a hero, but you're not invulnerable. Even full-blooded ghosts know they need to rest and re-energize."

"I told you," the clone jabbed between drinks.

"What..." Danny blinked. "What is he doing out of his cage?"

"Excuse me," the clone frowned. "I'm not some animal that needs to be caged."

Maddie ignored him. "I let him out of his containment cell because he needed some fresh air."

"And some hot chocolate," the clone smirked and took another sip.

"What time is it?" Danny demanded.

"Ten," Maddie replied.

"What?" Danny blinked. "I have to be at school!"

He moved to jump from his makeshift gurney, but Maddie put a hand on him, stopping him from going anywhere. "No, you don't."

Danny looked at her, befuddled.

"I called your school and told them you were sick."

"Then I need to be out looking for Danielle."

"Absolutely not." Maddie snapped, her eyes hardening. "Your father's already on it. You, sir, need to rest."

"But-"

"No buts, mister." She bit back. "You stay here and rest."

Danny frowned and folded his arms across his chest. "This sucks," he snapped.

"I'm sure it does. But your health-" she turned and jabbed a finger at the clone.

The clone's eyes widened in response. He leaned back, surprised about being brought into the conversation.

"—and his health—" she turned back to Danny, "are my biggest priority right now. So you two are gonna suck it up and rest. No heroics for you," she pointed at Danny then turned and did the same to the clone who shrank away from her frustration, "and no shenanigans from you." The woman brought her hands together in front of her chest in what appeared to be a prayer gesture. "I want a peaceful atmosphere."

She placed her hands on her hips, her withering glare alternating between the two phantoms. "Now wait right here until I finish your soups."

She turned and headed for the stairs, briefly pausing to glare at them before going up. "And you two better get along."

She pressed her lips into a thin line and exited the room, leaving the two genetic anomalies alone.

Danny sighed and flopped back onto the mattress, glaring hard at the ceiling.

He was still wallowing in his anger when the clone finally spoke up.

"You're an idiot. You don't deserve what you have."

Danny sat up and looked at his clone. The other Phantom didn't seem angry. In fact, it seemed like he was simply stating the truth of a matter.

Still, Danny took it as a personal offense. "You need to butt out of things that don't have anything to do with you."

"I'm just saying." The clone shrugged. "You're mad because you don't think she's being fair when, really, she's just doing what she does 'cuz she's worried about you."

"Yeah?" Danny countered. "Well…" He paused, trying to conjure up some retort, but—as much as he hated to admit it—the clone had a point.

He laid back down and sighed, weary.

"Your family came to talk to me." The clone continued, as if Danny really cared about what he had to say.

"Oh?"

"Your mom told me about your uncle David."

There was a moment of silence. "I know." Danny finally replied. "I overheard a little bit of your conversation the other night. I heard her talking about him." He paused. "She hardly ever talks about him."

"Your…" the clone paused and made a face, "dad did, too. Wanted to apologize for everything that happened."

The clone remained silent for a few moments. His expression softened. "Your sister talked to me, too. She made me feel a little bit better. Talked to me about...life. Death. Identity. Family. Love." He paused, momentarily. "I...I haven't been around for very long. And I probably won't be around much longer." Another pause.

This time, Danny met the clone's steady gaze.

"I don't like you, but your family...I care about them." The clone shrugged. "Well, not so much your dad, but he's alright, too, I guess." He sighed. "My point is you need to start treating them right. If I had been able to stick around longer, I would make sure they were not just safe, but happy. And you should, too."

"Look, dude-" Danny turned to glare at his clone but stopped himself from snapping. His clone's lips were deathly white, his cheeks sunk in, and the bags under his eyes seemed to have darkened.

"I..." Danny frowned. "You're right. I've been so spread thin lately, I've forgotten to take time and take care of my family." He glanced at his ashen clone and sighed. "But you shouldn't talk like that. There's still a chance you might be saved."

The clone contested. "Not likely."

"But-" Danny paused, having been interrupted by a familiar buzzing in his pocket.

He glanced at the phone and his heart immediately picked up its pace.

He snapped the phone open and thrust it onto his ear.

Sam's voice rang through the phone. "Hello? Danny?"

"Sam!" Danny blinked. "Hey, sorry I didn't call you earlier. I was gonna tell you I wasn't gonna come to scho-"

"It's okay." She cut in. "That's not why I'm calling. Jazz already told us you wouldn't be here today, but Tucker and I found something."

"What?" Danny blinked.

"Danny," Sam breathed. "We found Danielle."

For a moment, Danny was stunned.

And then a swell of joy surged from his core.

"Oh, my god! That's awesome!" Danny whooped. "Okay. I'll be right there!"

"Danny, you're not supposed to leave your-"

Danny slammed his phone shut then turned to reveal the exciting news to his clone.

He didn't even manage out a single word before his breath was cut off.

"Hey!" He flung forward.

The clone was on the floor, convulsing. His eyes had rolled to the back of his head. His mouth was open as he struggled to gasp in some air.

The mug was on the floor, its contents spilling across the floor.

Maddie appeared from behind Danny, startling him with a tone of urgency. "Danny, help me!"

She quickly gathered the clone's legs and, without another command from his mother, Danny helped.

Together they lifted the spasming clone and struggled to carry him back to his containment cell.

Danny held the clone down as his mother quickly gathered her equipment.

She strapped an oxygen mask over the clone's mouth and began tapping buttons on the machine he was hooked into.

A green puff of gas erupted in the mask, the clone inhaled it and quickly settled down.

Danny relaxed, but his mother didn't.

"Mom?" Danny looked up at her worriedly.

The woman was already setting up an IV bag and pumping some sedatives into his clone's body.

"This isn't good," his mother began worriedly. "He's deteriorating too fast. I don't know if he'll survive the night. He'll be lucky if he lives another day."

"Mom," Danny began. "Sam found Danielle. I have to go to the school. If Dani can help him-"

"Go," Danny's mom ordered. "And hurry."

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