A/N: Look, I'm on a roll! Another story updated this soon, it's amazing! Shows what'll happen when you have free weekends, no tests to study for, and are bolted up in your room because you lost your wallet and thus can't leave the dorm complex after seven otherwise you won't be able to get back in...
And now (again) for some shameless self-promotion, the first LDPP is posted (finally) so please check it out if you're interested!
Also, and this isn't really self-promotion, but I just wanted to let everyone know that TimStandsStill on deviantArt has drawn a wonderful picture of Kimberly (both in ghost and human form) as well as Noelle, so please check it out! It's under my favorites on my deviantArt account or you can follow this link (without the spaces) http / www . deviantart . com / deviation / 40869879 /
And again, another thank you to all my reviewers! I'm super glad to see you're enjoying this story!
Alright, lots of cool information about Danny's disappearance (hence the title) and lots of explaining, on all sides, so hope you enjoy it!
Chapter Twelve
The Night of the Disappearance
Kimberly's face paled as everyone stared at her in shock. She fell into a nearby chair, her heart pounding heavily in her chest.
How was this possible? She was Victoria Fenton? It couldn't be. She was Kimberly Elena Jordan. Her parents had the proof and had shown it to her on many occasions. This was just some big misunderstanding. It had to be. It couldn't be real.
"I-It's not possible," she breathed.
"It is. I just heard it," Danny confirmed, his eyes still wide with shock. "You're parents admitted it. They've been lying to you."
"No, that…that can't be right." They had the birth certificate, the DNA test, all the paperwork indicating that they had another child born on June 9, 2015, the year after the Fentons went missing. Her parents had the tangible proof that she was their daughter. They loved her. They'd never lie to her about something as important as this.
She tried to hold on to these thoughts, the pieces of her life, tried to take comfort in them. They were the truths of her world and they wouldn't be upset over something Danny claimed he heard.
But still, a small voice in the back of her head ate away at these stored truths, reminding her that Danny was a half ghost, and so was she. It reminded her that Danny's powers were genetic and so they'd be inherited by his offspring, which was how she could be half ghost just like him. It reminded her that she looked almost exactly identical to him. It reminded her that there were no baby pictures of her before she was two, reminded her of all the doubt she'd felt as a child and why she needed the constant reassurances that she was part of the family, reminded her of the strange connection she'd always felt to Danny Fenton.
Try as she could, she couldn't help admitting that the little voice of reason was right. It made so much more sense and it explained everything in her life. Everything seemed to fall into place and the missing holes she'd felt all her life were filled in. Suddenly her life made sense, and yet there were so many questions buzzing around in her brain, questions her parents needed to answer.
She looked over at her friends who were still in shock. In all their years of comforting her strange feelings they'd never imagined something like this would be the answer. They'd always thought that maybe her parents were just careless with the second child or Kimberly was just imagining things and was insecure because she inherited her grandparents genetics instead of her parents, but they never imagined it would be something as large as this. And yet, they too knew that it was true, just like she did. This revelation made sense of everything.
Finally she summed up her willpower and looked at Danny and Sam. They made eye contact and Kimberly knew, without a doubt, that she was their daughter. Their look confirmed her feelings. She was shocked beyond words to think that these two teens would one day be her parents. Only minutes before she had considered them friends, and now she found out they were her parents?
"Alright, I know this has got to be awkward, but we need to keep moving," Tucker stated, finally managing to find his voice and break the awkward tension.
"Tucker's right," Jacob agreed. "We've got to interrogate your parents. Obviously they know more about the disappearance since they ended up with…you," he finished awkwardly, looking at Kimberly.
"I know it's just…I need to…digest," Kimberly explained.
"Yeah, me too," Danny added while Sam nodded.
"Alright, this is something we're all just going to have to get over," Tucker remarked, taking charge. "Yes, she's your daughter and yes, they're your parents and I know it's got to be hard not to mention insanely awkward, but you guys have to pull yourselves together fast, otherwise you may not be alive in the future to appreciate the time you'd get to spend with her. Danny, Sam, Kimberly, we have to move on. Can't we just…try to forget it?"
"Forget it?" Sam asked in disbelief. "Tucker, you try finding out that your friend is in reality your daughter from the future and then tell me how successful you are at trying to forget it."
"Probably as successful as you two were when you found out you'd be getting married in the future," Tucker replied smartly.
"That…that's not the point here," Sam argued.
"Yeah, that has nothing to do with anything," Danny agreed.
"Oh yeah, you're right, because you guys already have a secret longing to be married right now so it wasn't that huge of a shock."
"What?" the two of them asked loudly, Danny's eyes glowing while Sam stared daggers.
"Look, all I'm trying to say is that you get over things. We all got over your parents crazy obsession, we all got over you having ghost powers, we all got over the…other future that's not going to happen, we all got over the two of you getting married in the future, and now we can all get over this and just move on like nothing happened. Besides, we all thought it when we first saw her go ghost and managed to forget about it."
"What?" Kimberly asked, finally finding her voice.
"I mean, oops?" Tucker tried to correct.
"Look, when we first saw you go ghost and heard that you were born with ghost powers the thought crossed our minds that you were my daughter, since ghost powers are genetically based and thus could easily get passed to you and you would be about the right age. But we just, dismissed the fact. I mean, we didn't really have any proof…"
"But why didn't you tell me?"
"Because telling you would be like confirming it. We were trying to forget about it and believe it wasn't true. Not that it was because we wouldn't want you to be our daughter if it was true, it was just to…save the awkward feelings, which I think I just increased."
"But still…" Kimberly tried to argue but knew it was useless. They had a good reason, and she probably wouldn't have believed it then anyways. She almost didn't now, and now they had proof.
"Alright, so we need to talk to Kimberly's parents," Jacob stated, trying to change the topic. The less they talked about it, the less awkward it would be. Tucker was right, they just needed to try to move on. "How should we go about this? We know that last time it didn't work out very well and they didn't give us any answers and I don't think it would be wise for you to just go in there and demand why they didn't tell you that you were adopted. What we need is a—" Jacob started to say but was interrupted by Kimberly's parents turning the corner and facing them, both of them looking disheveled from their conversation in the parlor.
"—plan," Jacob finished lamely as the group of teens stared at the two adults.
The Jordans stared at the group, their eyes wide, not believing what they were seeing. They saw their daughter and her two friends and three other people, three people they recognized from their college years, and two of those people they never thought they'd see again.
"H-how?" Mr. Jordan managed to stutter before his speech failed him again.
Danny sighed and took a step forward. This was one way to get the information they needed. "Look, I know, you guys are shocked to see me. That's been happening to me a lot today. I know you know who I am, and I know you know I'm Danny Phantom, so then you should understand when I say that Clockwork sent me from the past to find myself."
"B-but…" Mrs. Jordan stammered.
"But how did we end up with your daughter and her friends?" Danny finished. "Well, I fell through the roof early this morning and fell down the stairs of your house because that's where Clockwork decided I should land. They found me, figured everything out while supposedly walking me to my house, and decided to help me figure out exactly what happened to myself."
"But see, we're kinda stuck on something," Sam stated, looking intently at the Jordans "something that we think you know the answer to."
"And it has to do with the night we disappeared. We know we visited you that night. What did we tell you?"
"Ho-how do you know about that?" Mr. Jordan asked.
"Well, I was sort of spying on you after Kimberly left," Danny admitted.
"And…" Mr. Jordan asked, looking now at Kimberly.
"He…he told me…everything you said," Kimberly stated, finally looking up at her parents, tears in her eyes.
"Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry!" Mrs. Jordan wailed as she rushed towards Kimberly and wrapped her arms around her.
"Can we…continue this in the parlor?" Mr. Jordan asked as he led them in, heading straight to the bar and pouring himself another drink. The others took spots on the couches and armchairs, Mrs. Jordan sitting next to Kimberly and holding her, trying to comfort her.
Mr. Jordan put the empty glass down, poured another one, and walked in front of the fireplace, glass in hand. He stopped in front of the fireplace and looked at everyone present. "Look, all this wasn't our idea. We did this as a favor for a very old and close friend who desperately needed our help."
"What happened?" Danny asked.
Mr. Jordan sighed. "The night of the fourteenth we heard a knock at the door, late at night. Fortunately our butler didn't hear anything else things would have been much more complicated, but Alicia and I woke up and headed to the door…"
"Who could possibly be knocking at our door this early?" George asked as he hurried down the stairs and to the door.
"I don't know, but from the frequency of the knocks it sounds urgent," Alicia replied.
They reached the door and looked at the screen showing the porch, but there was no one there. George shrugged and opened the door cautiously, but still there was no one there.
"George, it's me Danny. Let us in."
The Jordans stepped away from the door, waiting a few seconds before closing it. After the door shut the Fenton family turned visible, looking haggard and frightened. Danny was bleeding from many cuts and burns while Sam was clutching baby Victoria.
"Danny, what's going on?" George asked, concerned. While he was used to seeing Danny injured, that was only during his college days. Now that the ghosts were all gone, there was no reason for him to be injured like this at all.
"We don't have much time, but there's a ghost after us. It's minions attacked us in our house and we barely just escaped. We came here because we knew we could trust you."
"Of course. We've got plenty of extra rooms to hide you in."
"No, we don't need to be hidden. It's not safe for you. He'll still be able to find us. We're going to run from him, but we can't take Victoria with us."
"We need you to watch her," Sam stated. "It's too dangerous for her out there and Danny and I will be hard pressed as it is. We don't even know if we'll make it through, but we want Victoria to be safe. Please, will you care for her, treat her as your own?"
"But—"
"No buts. We've known this was coming for awhile and we knew that this was the necessary route. Please, you have to take her," Danny begged, tears falling from his eyes as Sam held her precious baby out to her new parents, tears pouring from her eyes as well.
"Yes, yes, of course," Alicia agreed, taking the baby in her arms.
"Danny, are you sure about this?" George asked.
"Yeah. This needs to be done. And please, don't ask any questions. We need to leave quickly but there are some things you need to know. First, promise me that no matter what you won't tell anyone what happened here tonight, including Victoria. No one must know, for their own safety. Promise me."
"I promise," George replied.
"I promise," Alicia repeated.
"Also, you should probably know that there's a high possibility that she may inherit my ghost powers. If she does, just promise that you'll be as accepting of her as you are of me, and if you do notice anything, don't force it out of her, let her tell you when she's ready."
"Of course."
"And finally, keep Victoria hidden and when the time seems right, you have to get out of here. Go somewhere far away and don't return for a long time. And make sure you get fake papers and such for her, and change her name. No one must ever be allowed to make the connection between us. Understand?"
The Jordans nodded their heads, the more Danny said the more worried they felt for him. There was definitely something wrong.
"You don't think you'll be coming back, do you?" George asked, fearing the answer.
"Of course we will. We'll find a way to defeat him, but it's going to take awhile. But we'll be back, trust me. Until then, take care, and be there for my parents, and Jazz, and Tucker."
"And take lots of pictures of Victoria. I want to see her grow up when I get back," Sam requested while the Jordans nodded their heads, tears flowing from their eyes now as well.
They all exchanged hugs, Danny and Sam giving their final farewell to their only child. Then Danny went ghost, grabbed Sam, and turned invisible, flying out of the house and into the night.
"After that we hid Victoria in our bedroom and after Danny's disappearance came to the attention of the news, which didn't take long given the state of their house, we fired all the staff, proclaiming that we were too depressed to bother with them so we could keep Victoria hidden. Then, a year later, after they were officially pronounced dead, we figured it was time to leave and fled to England where we feigned Alicia's pregnancy and pretended that she went into labor, getting fake certificates for Victoria, who we then named Kimberly."
The room was silent, everyone's faces streaked with tears from the story.
"So, this whole time, I've been adopted?" Kimberly asked as the woman she thought was her mother cradled her in her arms. Her real mother sat across the room from her, and was the same age.
"We're so sorry about this Kimberly" the man she knew as her father apologized. "We wanted to tell you, believe me, but your life and Danny's life were at stake, and we knew we couldn't. If Danny told you everything he overheard in here, you'll know that we've been constantly fighting with ourselves over whether to tell you or not."
"I know, it's just…hard," Kimberly replied.
"But you know this doesn't mean that we love you any less, right? We always have and always will consider you our daughter," her mother comforted.
Kimberly only nodded her head in response, snuggling closer to her mother.
"Look, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just need to know if I ever wrote you a letter, mostly likely from the year we disappeared," Danny stated.
"No, we never received anything," Mr. Jordan replied "save the late night visit of course. Why do you ask?"
"We found a note in my house written to my parents and found more from Lancer and Valerie. They all contain hidden clues as to what happened."
"What have you found out?"
"Not much actually," Sam answered. "Just a lot of clues that really don't make sense, and a name of the ghost responsible."
"What is it?" Mr. Jordan asked, wanting to know the name of the ghost that caused his friend so much pain.
"Manipulator," Danny answered. "Ring any bells?" They shook their heads. "Didn't think so. Valerie hadn't heard of him either."
"We were just on our way to Wisconsin, to see if Mr. Masters knows anything," Kimberly finally spoke up meekly.
"You know about Vlad too?" Mrs. Jordan asked her daughter.
"I told 'em," Danny explained.
"He won't like that."
"Eh, he never does."
"Yeah, but you guys have a truce."
"You mean an official one? Wow, he finally got around to it. But fortunately for me, it technically doesn't count since in my timeframe, we don't have one."
"What happened to Vlad?" Sam asked. "Kimberly told us he's still around, but that Plasmius was defeated."
"Well, in a sense, that is true," Mr. Jordan answered, filling up his once again empty glass at the bar. "Vlad just got old, and while Plasmius was still powerful, Vlad was just tired. He just decided to retire from the ghost business, having come to terms that he'd never be able to marry your mother or harm your father or have you as an apprentice. So he just stays at home in Wisconsin minding his own business now."
"Wow, that's just…weird."
"How did Vlad agree to the story that Plasmius was 'defeated'?" Danny asked.
"He didn't," the both answered.
"You did it without his permission, but he'd already agreed to retire, so there was really nothing he could do about it," Mr. Jordan elaborated.
"So you're going to Wisconsin?"
"Yeah."
"When do you think you're going?"
"We were, um, actually leaving tonight," Kimberly replied.
"Wait, we?" Mr. Jordan asked as he stopped pacing in front of the fireplace, staring at them.
"Oh, um yeah, we were going to kinda…sneak out of the house," she explained nervously.
"You were going to sneak out and fly off to Wisconsin?"
"Umm…yes?"
He turned to face Jacob and Noelle. "And your parents think you're sleeping over here when in reality you're heading to Wisconsin?"
"Of course. They never would have let us come over if they knew that's what we were doing," Jacob answered, wincing as Noelle stepped on his foot.
"I don't like this."
"Father, please," Kimberly begged, standing up.
"If something happens to them their parents are going to leave us responsible."
"Then pretend you don't know about it. You've lied for Danny before, what makes this time any different?"
"Because this time I'm basically agreeing to letting you and your friends enter into danger!"
"We're just going to Wisconsin, it's not like we're going to be in much trouble doing that," Kimberly retorted. They were making too big of a deal out of this. They needed to go to Wisconsin, why couldn't they see that?
"And then what after Wisconsin? Eventually the clues will lead you to the ghost responsible, and if Danny couldn't even handle him I'm not going to let you get anywhere near him."
"I don't care. We're going."
"It's too dangerous Kimberly," Mrs. Jordan begged, standing and putting her arms around Kimberly, who simply wriggled out and walked towards Danny.
"Again, I don't care."
"What're you going to do, fight the ghost with him?" Mr. Jordan asked.
"If I have to, then yes! He's my father, I've got to help him!" she answered resolutely, her voice slipping into a British accent as her eyes flashing green. "That Clockwork guy, he sent Danny into our house for a reason, so he could meet me, because he knew I'd be able to help."
"Sweetheart, there's nothing you'd be able to do, even if you did happen to inherit some of his ghost powers."
"Some of? No, I got all of them," she responded as she went ghost, her parents looking shocked as their suspicions were confirmed.
"Ho-how long?" Mrs. Jordan asked.
"As long as I can remember. Sylvia even remembers seeing me fall through the cradle a few times. The point is I've had fifteen years of-"
"Sixteen," Mr. Jordan interrupted.
"What?"
"Sixteen. You're actually…a year older."
"Oh, wonderful. Fine, then I've had sixteen years of practice. The point is, I can help, and I want to help, and honestly, there's nothing you can really do to stop me. My friends and I are going to Wisconsin with Danny, Sam, and Tucker and nothing you say will change my mind."
Mrs. Jordan walked over to the fireplace, resting her elbow on the mantle, her hand on her head while Mr. Jordan poured himself his fifth drink of the night. Kimberly remained staring at them, not faltering in her gaze. She wanted to go, she had to go, for Danny.
"Look, Mr. Jordan, if it makes you feel better, I promise she won't get involved with the ghost," Danny promised.
"What?" Kimberly asked in outrage, looking at Danny like he'd betrayed her.
"I'd like your help," Danny added "but if your…parents…won't let you go because they're scared, I'd rather you not fight than not be able to go at all. I really could use your help piecing everything together."
"No, no, she's right," Mr. Jordan gave in. "You'll need all the help you can get, and it wouldn't be right to leave her out. She's just like you, full of spirit and energy and with a slight hero complex to boot. Besides, if Clockwork did drop you in here, it is because you're going to need her help, and after all this time, I've learned to trust him."
Kimberly's face lit up as she ran over and hugged her mom and dad. "Thank you Father, Mother!"
"Your welcome dear," he replied. "Well, Wisconsin's a long ways away, and you three should probably head out.
"And don't worry, I'll find some way to cover for the two of you in case you're not back soon," Mrs. Jordan assured to Jacob and Noelle.
"We'll be expecting you back here soon, and with two additional people in tow."
"Don't worry, we will," Danny promised, nodding his head in farewell as he went ghost, grabbing Tucker and Sam and flying through the roof. Kimberly gave her parents a final nod farewell before grabbing her two friends and flying out the roof as well, towards Wisconsin and hopefully towards more answers.
A/N: Woot for more information! Vlad's up next! I've been looking forward to this chapter for awhile...
And...I gotta go...I've got five minutes to get to class...