Part 10: Preparations

Jinx and Draco were at the ice rink in the mall. They were both in their civvies. Jinx was on the ice and trying to convince her boyfriend to do the same. Draco was looking at the ice warily.

"Come on, baby," Jinx coaxed him, "Just put one foot in front of the other."

"I can't…Jinxy-chan." Draco was already in ice skates and standing on the outside of the rink, holding on the railing to maintain his balance. It seemed that because of his fire powers, Draco had a habit of melting through ice, even in ice skates. This meant that Draco had never gone ice skating, ever. After gaining his ice powers, however, he didn't suffer from that weakness anymore. Now, Jinx was going to teach him how to ice skate.

"Just take my hands, baby," she assured him, "I won't let go, promise."

"Okay…" Draco said hesitantly as he reached out and took hold of his girlfriend's hands and she pulled him over to the ice, gliding them over the surface.

"See," she smiled at him. "Not so bad, is it?"

"You're right." He smiled

"Okay…" she pulled him further and he followed, still holding onto her hands. "I'm gonna let go now."

"Let go?" Draco panicked, "Wait! Jinxy-chan!" She let go and the boy slipped and fell flat on his face. "Ow…"

"Ryuki!" she kneeled down and helped him up. "Sorry. I just thought you had good balance or something."

Meanwhile, another couple was also at the ice rink. They were Rose 'Ravager III/ZK Aqua' Wilson and Neko Katherine 'Kat/ZK Copycat' Hasuma. Rose was already on the ice and Kat was a little bit reluctant to step onto the ice, she was holding the railings like her life depended on it.

"I don't think I can do it, Rose," Kat whimpered as she stared at the ice warily.

"Relax, Kat," she offered her hand, "Here, take my hand and I'll glide you over." She smiled, "Trust me."

Kat gulped and took hold of her girlfriend's hand. Rose pulled her and glided her over the ice, nice and slow. "Not too fast," Kat pleaded. "Okay?"

"Okay," Rose smiled tenderly as she helped Kat to glide over the ice.

"Say, this isn't so bad," Kat realized.

"Okay, then I'll let you go," Rose started to loosen her hold.

"It's slippery but nice and- (sudden pause) Wait, let me go?" Kat panicked, "Wait! Rosey-chan!" Rose had let go and now Kat had lost her balance, waving her arms around and sliding across the ice, fast. "HELP ME!"

"KITTY-KAT!"

Jinx had helped her boyfriend up and Ryuki was trying to maintain his balance. Jinx instructed him, "Just try to keep yourself balanced. Find your centre."

Ryuki's knees were bent and his stance was a bit shaky. "Okay…" he was then rammed down by a black and blue blur.

"RYUKI!" Jinx exclaimed.

Kat lifted her head and realized who she had hit, "Oh, it's you."

"Hey sis," Draco raised his head. "How are you?"

"Hey bro," Kat greeted back, "I'm fine."

"I can't feel my legs," Draco moaned.

"I think I'm lying on them…I can't feel my hands…" Kat groaned.

"They're under me…I think," Draco groaned in pain. "I wanna lie down here."

"Can I join you? It's less painful…Sides, I'm too numb to feel anything…"

As Jinx and Rose glided towards their significant others, a thought occurred to the young dragon Knights: 'Wonder how Kori, Rachel, Tim and Ichijyo are doing with the mission?'

( Amity Park)

It was 6 pm in America's most haunted town. While Danny and his friends were planning the stakeout mission to nab the Red-X suit and whoever was wearing it, another halfa had plans as well, and it wasn't Vlad this time.

Danielle "Danni" Fenton was in her room and sitting in front of her mirror brushing her hair. Why, you may ask? Well, apparently, she had plans with a certain makeup artist dressed in black and white. Danni sighed as she picked up a framed picture of her and Devlin together. She remembered on how they first met.

(Flashback to several months previously)

Danni Phantom, Danni's ghost alter ego had been doing what her 'cousin' Danny had been doing with his powers. She's been traveling America, doing good deeds with her powers while trying to avoid any negative publicity. So far, she had not deteriorated into ectoplasmic goo. She had been lucky as she was careful enough to use only tiny bits of her powers. She had been lucky so far…but her luck was about to run out.

Danni was flying over Coney Island when she felt a pain in her guy. She then felt a tingling sensation and she saw that her hand was melting. She panicked and suddenly felt weak. She started plummeting towards earth, morphing back to her human form before crashing into a dumpster. She dug herself out and groaned in pain. She wouldn't deteriorate in human form, but it was only a matter of time before…before she died.

She cursed her own stupidity. If she had only stayed with Danny and his family…but then what would she do? Danny's parents were ghost hunters and clone or not, would not hesitate to blast her and Vlad wouldn't take her back even if she begged, not like she would beg. The guy was a jerk. However, anything was better than dying young…she maybe physically 13 years old but she was actually a year and a month old. She was also cold and hungry. She had been eating at homeless shelters when she stopped at several cities and small towns. However, what she needed couldn't be provided without a price. Could her luck get any worse?

"Are you alright?" said a kind voice as she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She turned and her blue eyes widened as a blush ran over her face.

Looking back at her was a boy, probably a few months older than her. He was dressed in a white shirt with black pants. His hair was jet black and short, except for his bangs that covered the right side of his face, obscuring his features and showing off a single eye. His single eye was the color of sapphire and she found herself lost in it. She didn't even realize that he was still talking to her.

"Miss, are you alright?" he asked again. "You seem spaced out." His voice held a sort of a British accent.

"I'm fine," Danni shivered. The boy looked at her with concern.

"You seem cold and hungry," he sniffed her, "And in dire need of a bath."

Danni mumbled, "Tell me something I don't know." He then grabbed her hand.

"Come with me. Maybe I can help." He began dragging her to a car.

"Hey! Wait!" she pulled her hand away, "Let go!" she looked at him sternly. Despite the fact that he was cute, she was still going to give him a piece of her mind. "Alright, buster! You can't just drag a girl around!"

The boy apologized, "Oh, pardon my manners." He extended his hand, "My name is Kyoichiro Devlin Amakusa-Akuma." He smiled. "But my friends call me Devlin."

Danni quirked an eyebrow, "They call you by your middle name?"

"My first name is a little difficult to pronounce," he admitted.

Danni rolled her eyes and took his hand, "Danielle, but my friends call me Danni."

Devlin looked at her and he then immediately found himself blushing. Danni blushed as well before they pulled their hands away. Devlin coughed, "Well then, Danielle was it?" she nodded. "Would you like to come with me?"

Danni pondered her options. She could possibly get good food, a bath, a soft bed and finally some new clothes that she wouldn't have to get from donation boxes. She gave him a nod. "Sure." He smiled at her.

"Master Devlin!" called an elderly looking man in a black suit and tie. "I have been looking everywhere for you. You shouldn't have wandered off like that."

"My apologies Walter," Devlin said to the butler. He then said, "Walter, could we take Danielle to the hotel with us? I just met her and she seems to be in need of help." Walter smiled at his young master's selflessness and generosity and nodded.

"I shall go fetch the car, Master Devlin," Walter bowed before going towards the car. Danni blinked.

"Master Devlin?" Danni asked. Devlin nodded.

"Uh hum!" Devlin nodded. "My family owns a company called Smart Brain Corporation, one of the premier technologies companies in the world." Danni was impressed. Devlin then took her hand. "Shall we?"

"Sure." As they were headed for the car, Danni's ghost sense went off. This did not go unnoticed by Devlin.

"What was that?" he asked. He was referring to the blue wisp coming out of Danni's mouth.

Danni didn't know what to say before a ghost that looked like a big humanoid crocodile landed between them and smacked Devlin away with its tail.

"Master Devlin!" Walter shouted in distress, seeing his young ward in danger. Danni felt enraged. Her new friend had just gotten hurt by a ghost.

"Hey Freako! Check me out!" Danni shouted, "I'M GOING GHOST!" the white energy ring formed around her waist before splitting in two. One ring swept up her body while the other swept down. Her clothes changed into a two piece midriff baring suit of black and white coloring and a white DP emblem on her chest. Her hair changed to snow white as her eyes glowed neon green. Devlin and Walter's eyes widened with shock.

Danni flew into battle and punched the ghost gator across the jaw. The thing retaliated and snapped with its jaw. Danni went intangible before she was snapped in half. Becoming tangible again, she powered up an ecto-blast. "Here!" she sent the blast at the creature, but it ducked. "Oh no!" she felt herself getting dizzy and weak. "Not again…" she dropped down, but was caught by Walter before she hit the ground. Her eyes cracked open slightly. "What…?"

"Walter! Get her to safety!" Devlin commanded before pulling out some vials from his pockets and holding them between his fingers. His arms were crossed. "I'll take care of this!" Walter nodded and took Danni to safety.

Danni was about to tell the boy to run because it was dangerous, but was shocked to see the boy display great agility and reflexes while dodging the ghost gator's claws. He jumped up almost fifteen feet into the air and threw the vials at the ghost. They shattered upon contact. Danni then watched as the ghost melted into a puddle of green ectoplasm before seeping into the ground. Devlin dusted his clothes off and went to Walter and Danni.

"Are you alright, Danielle?" Devlin said worriedly. He then saw Danni's melting hand and knew what to do. "Walter, put Danielle down and fetch my potions making kit, fast!" Walter obediently obliged and did as told. Devlin stroked Danni's hair tenderly and said to her, "Don't worry, Danielle…everything will be just fine." The next few minutes were all a blank to her as she passed out from exhaustion.

When Danni woke up, she found herself in a suite of a 5 Star Hotel. She was in bed and wearing one of the bathrobes. Devlin walked in, pushing a tray of food to her. He smiled.

"You're awake. I was afraid you wouldn't make it," he said sincerely.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You're in one of the suites in the Plaza Hotel," he told her.

"What happened?" she asked him, feeling a little suspicious. He handed her a plate of muffins and sat down on the bed.

"You're a hybrid, aren't you?" he asked. Danni's eyes widened in panic. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"How did you know?" she asked.

"While I was making the potion to help you, I took some of your hair and when I plucked it, it turned black. I analyzed it and found that it had human and ghost DNA."

Danni confessed, "Yeah…I'm a hybrid. Half ghost, half human." She was afraid he would reject him, but he smiled instead.

"That's amazing! Another hybrid like me!" he blurted out without realizing it. She blinked at him, "I mean…Oh snap!"

Danni looked down at the robe she was wearing and realized that she was clean. She blushed and glared at Devlin, ready to blast him if he gave her the wrong answer.

"I know what you're thinking, Danielle, and no," he said to her, "Neither I nor Walter took off your clothes. It was my maid Miriam who did so. She also gave you a bath." Danni looked him in the eye and from the looks of it, he was telling the truth.

"Where are Walter and Miriam?" she asked, noticing that no one else was around.

Devlin answered, "They both went out to get you some clean clothes." Danni cringed. "Don't worry, Danielle, they won't get you any frilly dresses or that sort."

Danni looked at him curiously. He answered before she could ask, "From what she saw you wearing, Miriam knew what to buy."

"You're annoying, y'know?' she said to him half annoyed and half jokingly. She took a muffin and munched on it. He shrugged.

"Because I answered your questions before you asked?" She nodded. He chuckled. "I do that a lot it seems."

Danni then remembered what he had said, "So, you're a hybrid too?" Devlin froze and looked away.

"I don't wish to talk about it."

"It can't be so bad."

"It is, trust me."

"I'm half ghost."

Devlin sighed and looked at her. "Alright, but please promise not to scream, alright?" Danni smiled.

"I promise."

Devlin took in a deep breath. He couldn't believe that he was going to reveal his secret to a girl he just met. Maybe it was because he felt that she was a kindred spirit or something. She was really cute and…he concentrated and changed. His black hair changed color to bright silver, his ears became longer and pointed and his eye became red. His skin became a little paler and he had sharp fangs. Danni looked at him in shock as he looked ashamed. He told her, "I'm a Dhampir…a half human and half vampire half breed." He turned back to normal. Seeing Danni's shocked expression, he thought he had scared her. However, she wasn't the least bit afraid as she smiled widely.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" she exclaimed. He looked at her strangely.

"You don't think I'm a freak?"

"No way! You look cool like that. I like the silver hair!" Neither of them realized that they were looking at each other for a very long time. For some reason, Danni was starting to like, like Devlin. And Devlin…he was starting to feel the same way. They blushed and looked away. Devlin was ready to reach for a muffin, but ended up touching Danni's hand. Panicking, he pulled away and fell back off the bed. "Are you alright?"

"Dandy," he replied lamely before picking himself up. "So, you have a family?' he asked. Danni froze and looked down at her hands.

"No…I don't."

Devlin looked at her sympathetically before taking her hand. She looked at him with shock. "I have an idea! Why don't you come with us? You see, we're traveling around America to see the sights. What do you say?" Danni was shocked.

"I don't know…" was all she could say. "What about your parents?"

"I'm actually traveling with Walter and Miriam. My mum and dad wouldn't allow me to travel alone." He added under his breath, "Unlike my older brother and sister." Before he continued out loud, "So Walter and Miriam are accompanying me as my guardians." That made sense to Danni…a bit.

Danni then asked, "So, how did you save me? You said something about potions, right?"

Out of nowhere, Devlin pulled a wooden box out of his back. He opened it and to Danni's surprise there were small bottles and vials of multicolored liquid kept in slots within the box's interior. "I have another secret, Danielle…I come from a family of magic users."

Danni looked at him skeptically, "Magic? As in real magic like witches and wizards?"

Devlin nodded. "Pretty much. Of course I'm a potions master in training. I'm not a spell caster."

"What's the difference?"

"A spell caster uses hexes, curses and incantations and must speak them out verbally," Devlin began before pulling out one of the vials from the box. "I, however, prefer potions; pre-made and ready to use for any and all occasions."

Danni looked at the labeled bottles and vials. There was one labeled 'Paralysis Potion', another one labeled 'Transformation Potion' and even one labeled 'Love Potion'. He closed the box and locked it with a key.

"So, that's how you cured me?" Danni asked.

"I had to work quick though," Devlin admitted. "You were melting pretty quick. Luckily I found you when I did. Or else…" he trailed off, not wanting to think about the worse that could've happened. Danni didn't want to think about it too. He continued, "So…you want to come with us?"

Danni pondered. He was very nice and…maybe she could get to know him a bit. He was kinda cute. She smiled at him and nodded. "Sure, okay." Devlin smiled.

"Oh, that's great! I hope we become really good friends."

(End Flashback)

And they did really become good friends. For several months, the 4 of them traveled together, seeing the sights and fighting the occasional bad guy and evil ghosts that they encountered in each city. Overtime, they had grown closer…A few months later Devlin had admitted that he liked her. She also told him that she liked him too. That first kiss had been magical (no pun intended) and unforgettable for her.

When September came, Danni told Devlin to take her to Amity Park for a long overdue family reunion. When she met the Fentons and told them who she really was, while being backed up by Danny, they welcomed her with open arms and even went so far as adopt her. She had a family now, despite them being weird and ghost hunters. At least she had a family now…a real family.

But what about Devlin? Was he going to leave as well? The thought saddened and scared her. She really did like Devlin and she knew he liked her. However, he had told her that he lived the life of a wanderer. He did say that he would always be close.

He did stay close.

On her first day of school, to her surprise, there was Devlin, surrounded by girls and carrying makeup in a guitar case. He was doing makeup for the girls and telling them how lovely they were, like he had told her. She felt betrayed, but when he saw her, he went to her and kissed her on the lips, ever so slightly. He then told her that he had moved to Amity Park because he wanted to be with her. Danni, overwhelmed with happiness, kissed him back, right before they had detention together for excessive PDA.

Danni laughed at the memory, but remembered the way Danny had been glaring at Devlin the whole time. Danni had heard that Danny could be a little overprotective of his siblings, as evident from the story Sam and Tucker told her about when Johnny 13 tried to use Jazz as a body for his girlfriend Kitty. She didn't think that it would be so bad.

She was wrong.

One night, she didn't remember when but she did remember what happened, Devlin had snuck into her room by climbing through her window. He also had a guitar with him. He then serenaded her with a love song that complimented her beauty. She swooned when he handed her the flowers…right before Danny slammed the door open, holding the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick (a baseball bat with the name 'Fenton' on it). Devlin was quick enough to give Danni a kiss before making his escape by throwing a potion vial that created a smokescreen. They did go on dates, which went undisturbed by Danny, but when he came to visit her late at night, Danny was always there with the Anti-Creep Stick and Devlin would always make an escape after stealing a kiss; he was romantic and mysterious that way. She was infuriated and embarrassed by Danny's behavior, which he defended by saying he was only looking out for her. That was true, but did he have to threaten Devlin with a baseball bat?

Well, this sparked a lot of animosity between Danny and Devlin. Devlin would always booby trap Danny with his potions and Danny would retaliate with his ghost powers. It was immature, despite why they were doing it. They couldn't seem to get along. Oh well, no time to worry about that. She had a date to get ready for.

She heard the doorbell ringing. He was here!

To Be Continued…

A little fluff and into the mind of a female halfa. She must really like Devlin, huh?