Timeline: Amity Park, Present day, a few weeks after Phantom Planet
Part 7:
Danny felt his head start to gravitate toward his desk. Man… I don't know how much more of this I can take.
"Daniel, are you with us?" Mr. Lancer's slightly monotone and sarcastic voice barely registered in Danny's ears.
Before he could offer a reply, he felt a chill run through him, and his breath escaped in a wisp of blue vapor.
"Uh… actually, I think I need some air…" Danny replied distractedly, already turning in the general direction of the ghost.
Mr. Lancer sighed. "Oh, I see. Well, go take care of that ghost… anything if it prevents you from falling asleep again." Turning back to the board, the teacher left his student to run out of the room.
Danny just rubbed the back of his neck, forgetting momentarily that everyone knew his secret now.
"GOING GHOST!" He cried as he threw his fists in the air and felt the power surge, as he became his ghostly double.
He flew outside, and ran straight into a young woman, floating in a bored position.
"Who-?"
"About time you got here. Come on, we need to chat." With that, the girl flew off and, curious, Danny flew off as well, following close behind her.
"Hey! Hold on a minute!" Danny raced ahead and cut off the girl's flight path. "Who are you?"
"As I said, we need to talk, but not here…" With that, Danni flew off again, leaving a confused Danny to follow her.
Eventually, the two reached an old section of housing and construction that had never been finished, due to Undergrowth's appearance a while back. No one resided there now, and it would be awhile before Tucker could get anyone on the restoration of the site. It was a perfect place for two half-ghosts to talk.
Landing, Danni turned to face Danny. "So, you really don't recognize me?" the girl sounded slightly hurt.
"Uh, I don't think so…" But even as Danny said the words, something clicked, some familiar part of his memory, triggered by the girl's appearance. She kind of looked like…
"DANI?" Danny's voice came out louder than he intended, but he couldn't help it: Dani really looked… well, attractive, all grown up.
"Yep!" Danni grinned, giggling at his reaction. "Actually, I'm the future Danni, but you probably already knew that. After all, she's still just a child in this time…"
"Wait, future? You mean…"
"Yup, sort of like your future self from awhile back."
Danny's mouth hung open in shock. "So then, you must know Clockwork! But wait, what are you doing here?"
"I do know him, and, as a matter of fact, I need your help."
"My help? What do you need my help for?"
"You know better than anyone that the future isn't set in stone, and that's what happened to your evil self. He still exists, though he is outside of time now that he is in Clockwork's custody. However, that future still exists as a possibility, as does mine. I come from a separate future."
"What do you mean? You're really not making any sense." Danny crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"I mean that the future is constantly shifting, results of the choices people make. And you, or should I say, your sister influenced you to make a choice that will eliminate the possibility of another future, the one in which I live."
"So… I still don't think I understand. And what do are you talking about, my sister influenced me? To do what?"
"Remember that Disasteroid incident? Well, your jet came flying through the portal, and everyone believed you were still in it. When it crashed into the mountain nearby, everyone thought you'd died. So when your family was huddling together, glad to be together, Jazz revealed that you weren't actually with them. That's why she knew that your parents knew your secret."
"Uh… Ok, but what does this have to do with the future?"
"Well, after that, you still hid who you were from them, until Jazz told you that they already knew. Then, you revealed yourself to the general public, and now your secret is out."
"Yeah, thanks for the summary. Your point?" Danny was getting slightly annoyed, and knew Lancer would have his head for being gone so long, ghost hero or not.
"My point is did you actually want to tell anyone? Did you really want anyone to know your secret? Would you have continued to hide it if you had the choice?"
Danny just stared at the ghost girl floating in front of him, his mouth hanging open ridiculously.
"Well… I… I guess it's fine… I mean, it's not like anyone is treating me badly."
"But did you want anyone else to know? If you could change the situation, would you?"
Danny thought about it for a moment. Everyone had been so nice to him, since he'd saved the world and all. Having everyone know his secret hadn't been so bad lately, and he'd finally gotten Dash to stop wailing on him all the time.
"I… I don't know. My life certainly isn't bad since I let everyone know. In fact, it's gotten better! Just what are you trying to do, anyway?" Danny took up a fighting stance as he hovered, glaring at the older Dani.
"Hey, I just wanted to know!" Dani held up her hands in surrender. "Because that choice… well, I won't exist if this keeps up."
Danny straightened. "What do you mean? Are you trying to make me choose differently, just so you can save yourself? That's pretty selfish, if you ask me."
Danni sighed, then looked him in the eyes. "I know it must seem that way, but I wanted to know if you felt influenced to make the decision you did. What other choice did you have after that?"
Danny just continued to stare at her, so the girl continued.
"I know what will happen in the future, and I know it seems great right now… but did you think about the consequences it might have? But enough. If you feel it was your own choice, then I can't blame you for that. I suppose I've said too much already, but if you need to talk again, I'll be in the ghost zone, in Clockwork's tower."
"How do you know Clockwork anyway?"
"I'm his apprentice. Didn't you ever wonder where I went flying off to after you and Valerie saved me from Vlad?"
Danny was about to respond when he heard the bell ring over at the school.
"Aw man! Now I missed the rest of Lancer's class! And I'm probably going to be late for my next one!"
Danni giggled. "Well, I suppose I'd better let you get on with your life." Her smile faded and she became serious. "Just consider the life you have, and its consequences."
Danny turned to look back at the ghost girl, but she was gone.
"…Well that was weird. But I guess it'll have to wait." With Danni's words still ringing in his ears, Danny flew back to confront his school life, and his teacher.