Chapter Sixty-Eight: Dani
"Phantom, where is Daniel?" Vlad asked, looking up from his newspaper.
"Hm? The roof again." Dan said, glancing up from The History of the Ghost Zone. "You know how much he likes it."
"Yes, well, hopefully he doesn't fall." Vlad sighed, lowering the paper and folding it. "I might have Plasmius go check on him."
"He'll be fine." Dan assured him. What he didn't tell Vlad was that Danny wasn't on the roof, but about twenty miles above it. As soon as he regained his full ghost form and was no longer just a shadow ghost, he had been slipping away to fly high in the sky.
The wind whipped by and through his black hair as Danny flew in circles high above anyone's view. He saw a plane coming and went invisible, ducking lower so he wouldn't have to go intangible as well. The plane passed by without incident and he returned to flying figure-eights in the sky.
He never felt at as much peace as when he was flying. Far from bullies, from the pressures of teenage life, he had found Danny Phantom to be a form of freedom for him and relished every time he took the form of his twin. Even when things were peaceful, he would change into Danny Phantom just so he could enjoy the freedom of the skies.
He closed his eyes and made swimming strokes, enjoying his solitude and peace. Suddenly, something was slamming into him and he heard a voice cry out as he spun out of control. "Whoa!" He cringed and curled up, regaining control of himself. Then he opened his eyes and raised his head. "What…Dani?"
"Danny?" She breathed. "I heard you were dead!"
He gestured to himself. "Uh, yeah. How else could I fly around without being Danny Phantom?"
She frowned. "Yeah, but I never knew you were a ghost." She flew around him, looking him over.
"Well, if I'm dead than it makes sense that I'm a ghost." He shrugged. "How have you been, Dani?"
"Well, after our last meeting I just kind of hung around. I made a small home in the Ghost Zone, but that place is sooo creepy. It found that it helped me stabilize my…well, your DNA. I didn't really talk to anyone, and after I felt stable enough I left and started to sleep in abandoned houses out here. I think I scared someone last Halloween." She frowned. "Anyways, I've been mostly avoiding Plasmius because he still wants to tear me apart. Y'know, after I betrayed him and all."
"Has he been looking for you? Even now?" Danny frowned.
"Well, he shot at me just last week, so…" Dani giggled a bit. "It's just like Skulker for you, Danny!"
Last week? Just last week? Danny felt rage bubble up and his blue eyes flashed green.
"Uhm…Danny?" Dani looked concerned. "You okay?"
"I'm fine, fine." He said, shaking his head. "I just found out that he's been trying to kill you this whole time and I never knew, that's all. To think I thought he'd changed…"
"Wait, have you been living with Plasmius?" She blinked. "Why would you do that? He's…he's a fruit-loop!"
"Because he really had nowhere else to go." They heard Plasmius say. Danny gasped and moved in front of her, turning to Plasmius. "Hello, Danielle. Fancy meeting you here."
Dani cringed, hiding behind Danny. Danny smiled reassuringly at her, then glared at Plasmius. "Plasmius, why can't you leave her alone? She's just trying to live a normal life!"
"At the moment, I doubt I am her biggest concern." Plasmius said dryly. "If she goes to Amity Park and your parents see her and recognize her as looking like you, what do you think your father will do? Or if the Guys in White spot her?"
Danny blinked, then paled. "Oh…"
"Honestly, I didn't come up here for her. I came up here because Phantom let it slip to me where you were while we were being passionate." Plasmius said calmly. "Come, we're going home." He extended a hand.
"…Wait." Danny pursed his lips. "Everyone deserves a second chance, Plasmius. Give Dani this chance. Let her live with us—"
"What?!" Dani shrieked.
"—she's stabilized herself and no doubt needs a stable home. Where better a home than where Phantom and I are living?" Danny continued, like she hadn't interjected. "And if she needs lessons, I'm sure Dark would be willing to take on a third student. And Ghostwriter, too!"
"I think you're testing the limits of their patience with just you two, but…" Plasmius sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Very well. I will…stop hunting her down and if she wishes it than she may stay with us."
Danny smiled, then blinked as Dani grabbed his shirt and pulled him away from Plasmius. "Uh—wha—we'll be right back!"
"What are you doing?" Dani hissed, turning to face him. Her hand was still balled up in his shirt. "Why would you do that?"
"Because you're our little sister, Dani." Danny said softly. "There's so much you don't know about us, but you will. And Vlad and Plasmius are really very nice, and even Dark can be gentle when he wants to be. And as long as you don't use improper English or interrupt him, Ghostwriter's really nice, too."
'Speak for yourself.' He heard in his head.
Dani pursed her lips. "I know…that Vlad can be nice. He was nice to me, until I betrayed him to work with you. Why…why would you ever live with him?"
"I was…" Danny faltered. "I was killed by events connected to my father. Phantom came to him…and when I was a shadow ghost Phantom brought me here from the Ghost Zone."
"What's a shadow ghost?" Dani asked.
"I'll tell you later. So, will you come with us?" Danny gently eased her hand off his shirt and took her hand in his.
She sighed, brushing her bangs out of her face with her free hand. "Well…I'll give it a probation period."
Danny smiled brightly. "Thank you, Dani. You won't regret it!" He flew off to tell Plasmius the good news.
"I already am." She mumbled before flying after him.
"This house is mostly populated by ghosts now!" The maid cried when she saw Dani's ghost form. "I don't—I never signed up to clean a haunted house!" She ran into a room and shut herself in.
"What's her problem?" Dani asked, looking at Danny and Dan. They shrugged; identical grins on their faces. "Well, whatever. So, tell me about this…'Dark'. I've heard of 'Ghostwriter'."
"Well…" Danny looked like he wasn't sure how to put it.
"Tell you what," Dan suggested. "We'll bring you to meet him tomorrow."
"Okay." She raised an eyebrow.
"I've had a maid prepare your old room." Vlad said, entering the room. "I'm afraid that we'll have to get new clothes for you, you've grown out of the ones you wore when you were twelve."
Dani stiffened up when he entered, but at seeing Dan's relaxed expression she tried to relax. "Uhm…thanks, Vlad."
He looked her over silently. She resembled a 14-year-old Danny Phantom so much that it was almost painful to look at her, her green eyes sparking with resentment. And who could blame her? He had created her to throw her away and used her until she no longer proved useful.
There was a tense silence, and then a ringing phone broke it and Dan pulled it out. "Oh, it's Valerie." He left the hall, answering it.
"You wanna play a video game?" Danny asked her, turning to her with a smile. "Oh, and you might wanna go human form. The maids are kind of…"
"Skittish?" Dani pointed at the locked door. "I noticed." She changed into her human form, a black-haired girl with blue eyes, a blue hoodie and dark-pink pants. On her feet were sneakers that looked really worn out, and there was dirt on her clothes. "Sure, let's go play a game." She glanced at the bracelet that Danny and Dan both wore, wondering how they had managed to duplicate the half-form shift ability.
The next day, she was brought into the Ghost Zone by Plasmius, the other two sporting backpacks while she had a book-bag she was told was Danny's before. "We'll get you a backpack this weekend." Vlad promised her as he handed it to her. "You'll just need it for Ghostwriter's homework. Plasmius has already talked to him, and he's agreed to teach you."
"What about Dark? Do I need this for him?" She'd asked.
"No. In fact, you'll be leaving it outside the classroom." Vlad had replied.
As she set down outside Clockwork's tower with the others, she marveled at the gears it was comprised of. Then they entered and her jaw dropped.
Leaning against a wall was what looked like a much older Danny Phantom, complete with the iconic D on his chest. His hair was fire, but for some reason the wall wasn't catching fire. And he was big, intimidatingly big.
"What, are you guys multiplying now?" Dark asked, raising an eyebrow. "Where did the girl come from?"
"She's a clone that Vlad made." Dan explained. "But, she's just as good as Danny and I am!"
"She's Danielle." Danny explained. "Danielle, this is Dark."
"Call me 'Dani'." She walked over and held out a hand.
He eyed the hand like it was something unpleasant and sighed, looking at Dan. "Alright, I know what you want. I'm being entirely too nice to you, kid, so you better actually go through with your goal in the end or I'll whoop your ass." He opened the door. "Get in, brats."
They entered, Dani looking at Dark like he was something absolutely fascinating. He looked annoyed by her staring and turned to her. "Alright, what can you do?"
"Well, anything Danny Phantom can." She said proudly.
"Ugh…fine." He looked at the other two. "Fight her. Let's see how well she can hold up against the two of you."
"This is new." Dan remarked. "But, hey, I'll do it." He looked at Danny. "What do you think?"
"Let's show her the healing trick first." Danny suggested. "It's not fair if we heal and she doesn't."
"Go ahead, then." Dark gestured to Danny. "You have the floor."
Danny nodded and approached her. "Alright, Dani. Start up your ecto-blasts." He started to do the same, Dani following suit. "Now, put them together."
"Together?" She blinked.
"Like this." He clapped his hands together, then pulled them apart to reveal a ball. "See?"
She nodded, doing the same. "Alright. What now?"
"Wait for it to grow. The ecto-energy is attracted to it and will grow it on its own. You can dodge while doing this, and once it's about the size of your head, you push it into your chest. Like this." He pushed the ball he was holding into his chest. "Mine was smaller, but I wanted to demonstrate."
"So…like this?" Dani pushed her ball into her chest and let out a cry of surprise. "I-It feels so weird!"
Dark nodded. "Alright, tutorial over. I'll be over here, let's see how you do."
Danny stepped back and then looked at Dan, smiling. 'We'll win.'
'We always do.' Dan replied; their mind-connection was sure to be an advantage.
"Get flying, already!" Dark snapped.
Danny and Dan flew up into the air, Dani following after them. Danny fired blasts from behind Dan while Dan formed a shield ball to protect them. She fired on them again and again, the blasts bouncing off the shield. Dark formed a shield around himself to avoid stray shots and observed from a safe distance.
"Can you clone?" He asked her.
"Just one." She admitted.
"Do it." He nodded. "I want to see all you know."
She nodded, focusing and splitting into two. Then she and her clone continued to fire on the shield.
"Danny, leave the shield!" Dark ordered.
Danny nodded and flew out of the shield, weaving around Dani's blasts as he formed an ecto-ball. He hadn't been hurt yet, so Dark knew that he was about to attack and smirked. How would she react to the healing move she was just taught being used as a powerful attack?
Danny stopped short suddenly and then fired at the ecto-ball at her, the blast knocking her and her clone against the wall, the clone vanishing. She groaned in pain and then yelped, dodging blasts from Dan's attacks. He'd dropped the shield and summoned clones to attack her along with him.
She was getting winded, and when she was hit by the next ball-blast, she hit the wall again and fell to her knees on the floor, phasing into her human form.
"Enough!" Dark called, then walked over to her. "You need a lot of training. That wasn't even all they can do."
She looked up at him, eyes shaking, then bowed her head respectfully. "Please teach ne, Master Dark!"
Danny and Dan lowered behind Dark, the clones pulled back into Dan and an ecto-ball in Danny's hands. Danny moved past Dark and knelt next to Dani, pushing the ball into her chest. Nodding, Dark walked away a bit and then turned to them with a grin. "Let's start the lessons, then!"
Dani got up, her power restored, and changed into her ghost form. "I'm ready!"
"Are you?" Dan asked quietly as he went to another area of the room, Danny going to his own area.
Dani soon found she was grossly outmatched, and her basic lessons in comparison to theirs…she gasped and curled up as Dan let out another howl at Dark, ecto-waves filling the air and causing the ground and walls to shake. Danny was battling clones of Dark, and seemed to be having some trouble until he suddenly shot out a blast from his own body and sent the clones away from him. Both Danny and Dan looked winded after they did this, but she noticed them flying around to avoid being hit by blasts from their teacher and his clones so clearly they can't be THAT winded…
"Build up ecto-energy…right." Dani breathed, looking at the ball forming in her hands. "Ghost power is strengthened by ecto-energy…"
Clearly, she had a long time to go before she could be up to par with Danny Phantom again.