Chapter 7

I wake up in my own room. You know, I never thought someone could develop such strong feelings for their bed. I grab one of my pillows and draw it to my chest, just being able to stop myself from smooching it.

"Oh, baby, how I've missed you!" I coo.

I hear a knock on my door.

"Danny? Everything okay in there?" Jazz stifles a giggle.

"Oh – uh – Sure! Come on in!" I stuff my pillow back underneath my head and fold my arms across my chest, staring innocently up at the ceiling.

Jazz turns the doorknob gently, and slinks over to my bed. She looks more mature than the last time I saw her. Well, I did see her in our past, courtesy of a time-stopping ghost, so I guess that explains it.

"Glad you're awake, sleepyhead," she kisses my forehead.

"Get off of me!" I take the pillow from behind my head again and attempt to whack her with it. She dodges me easily.

"Okay, okay. Fine, I'm going. But you're gonna be late for school, Danny," she gives me a smug smirk.

I feel inspired and on the spur of the moment I yell after her:

"Call me Dan!"

She freezes in the doorway. I draw my blankets up, hiding my face, barely able to contain my glee. I love messing with Jazz. It's what little brothers are supposed to do. I feel her sit down on the foot of my bed again.

"What did you say?" she asks me suspiciously.

"I said –," I pause, firing up my red hot gaze. I can't go full ghost now, she hasn't seen the new me in almost a year, the shock would give her a heart attack. Better start off slowly, "Call me – Dan," on the last word I lift my head up sharply and look deep into her aquamarine eyes, with my – uh – not so gentle, red ones.

She almost falls backwards off my bed.

"Wha - ?" She's a bit dazed, understandably. Time to try out the voice too.

"You're a bit dazed, understandably," I say with my voice smooth as silk, and sinister as – I dunno, myself?

She had recovered a little, but this time she actually does fall off of my bed. I laugh. My chuckle sounds a tad dark, but I can't help having an awesome voice.

Jazz looks groggy as she claws at my duvet, trying to pull herself up. I grab her wrist and help her back on to the mattress.

She stares at me, her gaze unfocused, and I give her my best, fanged grin. It looks as if a cloud has been lifted from her eyes and a glimmer of understanding appears in them.

"You – you're back!" she yells triumphantly.

"Tone it down a notch, will you?" I try to calm her down. But, I'm glad she remembered to – erm – remember.

"Are ya ready?" I ask her. She knows exactly what I'm talking about and nods excitedly.

"I'm GOING GHOST!" Man it felt good to say that again.

When the white rings appear and complete the transformation however, to my horror Jazz scrambles off of the bed again and cowers in a corner of my bedroom, looking up at me with complete and utter terror contorting her pretty features.

"Dan – Danny?" she whispers.

"What's wrong, Jazz?"

"It is you right?" she hides her face.

"Jazz, of course it's me. What's wrong?" I float off of the bed towards her, and lay a hand on her shoulder. She flinches away from me. What is happening?

"Sorry, Danny – I – just look in the mirror," she can't form her words properly. Jeez, I really spooked her.

I comply with her suggestion and walk over to the mirror over my dresser, still looking back at her as she looks at me. But when I see my reflection, I almost gasp myself.

My body had completely changed from the skinny, admittedly short teenager I had recognised myself to be. It had the proportions of a grown man. Or, a certain grown ghost-man to be precise. The flames that were my hair licked the air continuously and my skin was exactly the same light blue as Dan's. I had dark rings under my burnished red eyes, making me look totally like a super-villain, and not like the Danny Phantom everyone knows and loves. I towered above everything in my small bedroom, including my 'big' sister Jazz. I bare my fangs at my reflection. They had also grown longer, and sharper. I was the exact replica of my two older selves. Well, at least I now know for sure where they both disappeared to.

"Whoa," is all I can say.

"Yeah, whoa is right Danny!" my sister pipes up angrily from behind me.

I exhale in relief, at least she's not scared of me anymore. I turn to face her, sheepishly holding my hands out in a gesture of truce. The anger leaves her face, and sadness takes its place. In a way, this is worse.

"Oh, Danny," she throws her arms around my neck. I almost laugh, seeing her having to stand on tiptoe to reach me. But I don't want to ruin the moment. Ah, acceptance. Only Jazz can make it feel so natural. I fold my muscular arms around her small, fragile frame, breathing in her familiar scent. My big sister has always been charged with my safety and now, I finally feel capable of returning the favour.

She pulls back from the hug, with tears shining in her eyes.

"Danny, I'm so sorry," she battles to keep the tears from running down her cheeks. I bend down so that she can see me properly, "For what Jazz?" I ask softly.

"That you had to do this. Become this – monster," she looks earnestly from my one eye to the other. I'm a little bit irritated at this. I mean, I'm not a monster, - I never fused with Vlad Plasmius. And you can count on the fact that I never will. I mean Dan didn't even turn out to be a monster in the end.

My expression must have hardened while I was processing these thoughts, because Jazz steps back and clasps her hands together, obviously embarrassed. Good. She hurt my feelings. I scowl down at her, she needs to know that she can't say things like that anymore, because I really am Dan Phantom now. And I am no monster.

"S-sorry…Danny," she suddenly becomes very interested in the floor. My expression softens and I allow a small smile to play across my lips.

"It's okay Jazz, it was a shock for me too. But there really is nothing I can do about it. And besides," I laugh, "I have to say I kinda like the new me."

She looks worried.

"No no no no no – don't look at me like that Jazz, I'm not gonna turn evil on you. Jeez. I just mean I think I look pretty awesome!"

I face palm. Again. What kinda moron am I?

Suddenly Jazz snorts with laughter, "You should have seen your face, Danny! I really do love the fangs, though. But then, you knew that already," she winks at me.

"Now come on, little brother," I smirk at this, "there are some other people that need to be re-acquainted with you."

"What about mom and dad?" I ask in my human, teenage form again.

"Still clueless," Jazz replies, and then she adds anxiously, "but I'm thinking that we should tell them soon."

I'm about to protest, but then I realise that it will have to happen sooner or later. And I would rather show them the new, slightly sinister looking me myself, rather than have them go totally crazy trying to recapture Dan Phantom all over again.

We're on our way to school, I'm taking a moment to appreciate all of the non-chaos surrounding us. The last time I saw the town, it was totally destroyed courtesy of my ghost wail. And Dan's. I sigh, who would have thought it would have been possible to miss the guy. He was the only person, aside from Jazz, who could rescue me from the darkness within me. I know, ironic right?

"Danny?!" Jazz yells into my ear.

"Hey!" I yell back, rubbing at my burst eardrum.

"Have you heard a word I've been saying?" I hadn't.

"I'm not really in the mood for another lecture, Jazz," I sigh again.

"I wasn't lecturing you! I've been trying to catch you up on what happened in a year," she looks at me sadly.

"Oh," I say, "Right. Go ahead."

She takes a deep breath before motoring on ahead about absolutely every single detail that I've missed. I smile to myself, you just gotta love my sister's meticulousness.

I'll give you the summarised version. No one, except for Jazz, Sam and Tuck, knows about my being Danny Phantom, and only Jazz knows about the new (and improved) Dan Phantom. The explosion never happened, thanks to Dan. And the only people who had witnessed me going ghost, weren't people at all, but I'd known that already. Disgusting clones.

So it looks like my secret is safe, for now. As for the Danny Phantom in my absence, well he's been fighting crime as always. But now, I think, it's time to kick it up a notch. I smirk to myself.

The ghosts will have no idea what hit them.