Disclaimer: I own nothing from Danny Phantom
Note: Originally I was going to update another chapter of "Lost Soul" but I kept getting interrupted whenever I was working on it or ran out of time to since we've been doing a ton of spring cleaning this past week so instead I'm going to crank out another chapter for this one instead. In the previous version of this story I had this whole talent show scene along with a few others that honestly feel more like filler looking back on it which is why I'm just going to go ahead and scrap a bunch of that to focus on exploring the newer ideas I have in mind for this rewritten version.
One thing to note here as far as the timeline is concerned is that most of the events of the previous story,"Haunted Soul," took place during season 1 of the show. And this one takes place somewhere around the first couple of episodes of season 2 leading up to an entirely alternate version of the episode"Reign Storm" where Vlad's about to do a very bad thing just so he can overthrow the Ghost King to protect Danielle long term. Too bad he's totally going about this the wrong way as usual. But hey, what else is new when it comes to our favorite fruitloop?
Chapter 13: Premonition
Danielle's POV
You ever have one of those nights when you're so tired you can't sleep? Well, that's what happened to me one night out of the blue despite having captured a ton of ghosts before finally heading to bed, feeling pretty worn out. For hours I tried to settle down and get some sleep, but I just couldn't wind down. Stared blankly up at the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling of my bedroom I slowly lifted my hand up to mindlessly make up some imaginary constellations by tracing them with my finger. In other words, I was counting stars like you might count sheep to lull yourself to sleep out of sheer boredom.
Eventually my plan worked and my vision started to fade as the fake stars gave way to real ones and I found myself dreaming about flying in a vast empty space filled with nothing but stars darting around me like fireflies. It was a beautiful sight honestly, almost like I was right next to a bunch of little wishing stars and seeing them helped cheer me up a little. Then again, I think I've mentioned it before how looking at the stars often has that effect on me so I smiled to myself and curiously followed the brightest star in the bunch until it led me to, well, the best way I can describe it was like a waterfall of stars as if hundreds of them were cascading down and shooting up sparks onto the ground which I couldn't even see...
Curious, I decided to take a closer look I landed on from what I could tell was a black obsidian surface where the white-hot fragments of shimmering light kept falling at my feet, fading away like dying embers a few seconds later. And the sound the shattering stars made was really pretty too, like the soft tinkle of wind chimes. Then I suddenly heard a completely different sound that stood out from the rest. It was the sound of something metal falling to the ground, something small, round, and glowing a bright ghostly green. I barely caught it in time before it rolled out of sight, but before I could lift it up higher to take a closer look at it-
I woke up.
Vlad's POV
Meanwhile, that same night...
After a rather long and grueling day dealing with more than a few incompetent simpletons who clearly didn't know the first thing about how to handle a fight with real ghosts, I had the strangest dream. I was dreaming about Danielle or rather it felt like I was seeing the memory of a dream that wasn't my own. Not at first at any rate...
We were surrounded by nothing but an unbroken blackness except for the ghostly glow of our bodies and mysterious waterfall made of shooting stars that appeared to be the only other source of light apart from ourselves. Or perhaps they looked more like sparks illuminating the darkness. The falling stars made a very distinct sound too as they collided with the ground at our feet, almost like a glass harp, but eventually, a crisp blue light separated itself from the rest and began rolling into the distance.
Soon after that both Danielle and the stars slowly faded from sight as I peered down at the small object as it rolled around in a few more circles before settling to a stop at my feet. It was a ring, a very simple one at that when I picked it up to examine it more closely. Glinting between my fingers was a delicate silver band decorated with a small crescent moon at one end that eventually looped around to an open gap between it and the moonstone setting at the center of the ring that seemed to shimmer with its own light from within. But what surprised me most is when I noticed there was a name engraved in it as well.
To be more precise, it was Danielle's name.
But what was something like this doing in my dream...? What could it mean?
Seconds later the ring burst into toxic green flames and I dropped it with a pained hiss as it seared my fingertips. This time though, it didn't land on the ground. It was snatched right out of the air by an armored fist that reached forward out of the shadows and the green flame trailed up his arm to form a crown on their head. It was unmistakably the Crown of Fire I planned to take from Pariah Dark himself. And that was precisely who was standing before me.
His heavy boots left molten red footprints in their wake with every step closer he took and soon after Pariah fully stepped out of the shadows, putting the ring on which made his aura flare brightly and I was blasted backwards as a result. However, I knew this couldn't be the real Ghost King since I knew for a fact he was still currently trapped in a dreamless sleep, meaning he could not use his power to send messages to his servants through visions or other such telepathic messages the same way I did when I briefly overshadowed Danielle's dreams to talk to her while her voice was in the possession of the Banshee.
A cruel sneer formed on his lips when Pariah closed the distance between us and effortlessly pinned me down with his boot. But what was even more shocking to me was the first words he spoke to me. "How pathetic. Surely you must realize that you cannot covet power AND keep the ones you love from getting involved in our conflict. Love is nothing but a weakness and if you truly desired my power you would be more than willing to destroy everything and everyone that stands in your way without so much as a second thought. Yet still you hesitate...?"
Kneeling down closer to me, he laughed in my face and continued. "You say you would do anything to make sure that child won't be taken away from you again and claim you will destroy any foe, commit any crime or sin, but tell me, mortal, just how much are you actually willing to sacrifice? Rest assured that if you do not stop this foolishness now, the flames of ambition will consume you. And in her eyes you will have become nothing but another enemy she must defeat to protect the meaningless lives of countless innocents.
"There can be only one Ghost King. That glory cannot be shared with another, only claimed because that is the true nature of these powerful relics. And those who deign to wear it must make the ultimate sacrifice in exchange for claiming that title. But are you willing to pay that price even when you know what you plan to do goes against everything that girl stands for?"
"Silence! I would pay any price if it means I'll finally be able to keep Danielle safe! Now begone! I won't fall for any of your pointless mind tricks!" I shouted with a vicious snarl, struggling to free myself from beneath the crushing weight of his boot. "You can't stop me, no one can!"
"You're right, I cannot stop you." He chuckled, suddenly clasping both hands around my throat and then to my astonishment Pariah suddenly transformed into a dark reflection of my ghost half who gleefully tightened his grip until I started seeing stars again for an entirely different reason. I could barely make out what my shadow-self said to me save for these parting words which he breathed darkly right against my ear. "Only you can stop yourself from making the worst mistake of your life that could cost you everything. But what do you fear most, I wonder? Losing her? Or losing yourself again...?"
My eyes snapped open at the exact moment darkness overtook me and I sat up with a sharp jolt as the dream abruptly ended. Pinching the bridge of my nose once my heart settled down I glanced at the clock and saw that it was still fairly early in the morning so I might as well get up. As I was getting ready I found myself wondering what that dream was about or if it meant anything at all, but at the same time I thought it was pointless to let it concern me at this point. I had more important things to focus my attention on such as making sure Danielle's birthday is a pleasant one since that day was rapidly approaching.
I made it a point to hold off on putting the rest of my plan into action until long after its over because I do not want to ruin such a special day, not after Jack and Maddie have ruined far too many of them over the years for my liking. Sometimes it infuriates me to no end I couldn't spoil my little badger like this more often, but understandably I haven't been a part of her life for very long so spending so much on gifts could be seen as a ploy to buy Danielle's admiration. I've been restraining myself in order not to cause her too much discomfort since Danielle isn't used to being doted upon like this, but hopefully, she'll overlook that this once since its not every day such an extraordinary young lady turns 17...
Besides which a few of the gifts I intended on giving Danielle had another intended purpose for what's to come which will hopefully help her in certain...unexpected situations. Not only that, but since her friends and their families have been invited to the party I'm hosting for Danielle's birthday I'll have another chance to persuade Vallen to perhaps focus less on hunting random ghosts and more on acting as her knight in shining armor as it were. I suppose Samson feels much the same way but apart from his somewhat impressive knowledge of myths, legends, and so on, he doesn't have the luxury of being able to move about freely since his parents are for lack of a better word, overbearing in their own right.
I may be the richest man in the world but even I cannon stand some of the stuck up people I've met over the years for one reason or another. Some I had little choice but to put up with for the sake of a lucrative business arrangement while others I'd happily drain of every penny they own if they ever overstepped their position in our business relationships or I grew weary of putting up with their nonsense. Samson's parents unfortunately come from old family money which in my option is nothing short of insufferable since they have not had to work to get where they are a day in their lives and it clearly shows.
Technically one could say the same of Jack and Maddie since his family comes from a long line of ghost hunters and hers has an impressive military and scientific background so between the two of them, they can fund most of their projects fairly easily. As for Samson's parents, I only met them once when word got out about the current work being done at Axion Labs for the development of publicly available anti-ghost security systems. Not to mention that our first successful product was donated to Casper High as an act of good will, which by the way should be installed there fairly soon.
They prattled on about how generous I was and all that, although I'll admit I did get a good chuckle out of our shared sentiment regarding Jack's incompetence to make something similar to the ghost shield they have installed at Fenton Works on a grander scale. With that said however, Jack and Maddie may soon get the chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of the public because to their credit I know for a fact the Fenton family is always prepared for a mass invasion of ghosts. So needless to say, I am in fact counting on Jack's usual paranoia to 'save the day' since everyone in Amity Park should come scrambling to them for safety given the fact that the Casper High ghost shield won't be fully installed once I set my plan into motion and the new one here at Axion is still in the process of being tested, meaning it has limited range.
Obviously I suppose I could have gone through the trouble of making them both fully operational long before such a crisis has the chance to strike their fair town, but as I said before, part of the reason I'm refraining from doing so is to avoid the risk of Danielle discovering I'm the one behind Pariah Dark's escape and subsequent raid on Amity Park. For my purposes I need to keep her in the dark as long as humanly possible. Preferably until it's all over so that my taking on the role of Ghost King is seen more as a 'noble sacrifice for the greater good' than just another plot to obtain more power and influence over the inhabitants of the Ghost Zone.
And that is precisely why I chose to ignore the ominous warning from my dream. Well, that and the simple fact that I do not take kindly to my life or Danielle's being threatened. The last time I waited to make good on my promise to deliver a swift retribution to anyone who does Danielle almost lost her mind, her memories, her freedom, everything that makes her the special girl she is. And more recently, the second I took my eyes off her Danielle almost lost her voice for good after it was stolen from her in broad daylight!
I cannot let this vicious cycle continue. All of this has taught me that I can no longer afford to play 'nice' with my enemies. No...I must show them all that if they EVER cross me again, I'll do something far worse than what I did to Freakshow and the aforementioned Banshee. With the far-reaching authority I will gain as the new Ghost King I'll have the power to effortlessly crush the next ghost who so much as looks at us the slightest hint of contempt and they will suffer a fate worse than death. Because the way I see it, anyone who dares endanger the life of my little badger deserves no less than the capital punishment...
Total annihilation.
Danielle's POV
"Vlad wasn't kidding when he said he was going to be busy for a while. It's already Friday and I still haven't heard back from him." I sighed, glancing at my phone sitting on the counter in the bathroom while drying off my hair after taking a nice refreshing shower feeling a bit disappointed. On the one hand it felt good to finally find the time to hang out with Sam and Trish again , but the later it got in the week, the more I started to worry Vlad might miss my birthday...
And the cruel irony of that statement is how Vlad even convinced my parents to let him host a small party at his mansion to celebrate, which of course dad happily accepted since it gave him an excuse to see more of his best friend too. Mom didn't seem too thrilled about it at first until Vlad pointed out how honestly this was the least they could do for me since almost all of my birthday's prior to this one have either ended in disaster or they forgot it completely and had to throw something together at the last minute. That guilt trip definitely changed mom's tune, especially since the two of them have been feeling guilty for not protecting me very well this year from that crazy ringleader and ghosts in general.
I doubt they'll change overnight, but hey, at least its a start.
Anyways, right when I was about to head out to meet Sam and Trish at the movie theater I jerked in surprise when my phone rang and as soon as I saw Vlad's name I immediately answered it, excited to finally hear back from him after what felt like ages. "Vlad, hey! Long time no see fruitloop. What's up?"
Laughing in response Vlad replied. "Yes, it has been a while hasn't it? And that is precisely why I'm calling you, my dear. Do you have some free time today? I have an early birthday present for you."
"Oh reeeeally? Now who could have seen that coming?" I teased, sitting down on the edge of my bed to put on my shoes. "Well it looks like you're in luck because it just so happens I don't have anything else planned today besides catching a movie with my friends because it's the last day they're showing it in theaters. So if you don't mind waiting a couple of hours I can head over as soon as the credits start rolling."
"That sounds perfect. In that case I'll see you soon little badger. Enjoy your movie." He answered happily, clearly pleased with himself for catching me at a good time and then we said our goodbyes.
I've been doing a lot better at not letting myself get too psyched out whenever I have a good day and assume it's all going to get ruined somehow but I think a part of that is thanks to Vlad's efforts to make things better whenever they do. It feels like I finally have people in my life I can count on so I'm not in this all by myself anymore. I feel the same way about Vallen because he's been trying really hard to get along with Sam and Trish recently. We even invited him to go to the movies with us but sadly Vallen said he had other plans with his dad.
Sometimes...I can't help but feel like Vlad's become a lot like a second dad to me after all despite the rocky start we had. Obviously Vlad'll never be able to replace my dad, but whenever I'm feeling down or overwhelmed my first thought is to go to Vlad because I know I can. I don't have to hide how I'm feeling, who I am, what I'm dealing with, or anything. With Vlad I know I can be myself which is such a huge relief. From time to time I still have my doubts whenever I see the darker side of Vlad make an appearance but for the most part I understand that he's got my best interests at heart. And unlike my parents, he puts action behind his words and keeps his promises.
I'll probably never say any of this directly to his face since it would inflate Vlad's ego too much, but I really look up to him. This past year has been full of unexpected twists and turns and he's been there for me through most of it once we smoothed things out in our relationship. I've grown a lot since then too and actually enjoy learning more about what I'm capable of. Being half-ghost isn't just about fighting ghosts anymore to protect myself and the people around me, its become so much more than that. Hopefully I won't have to keep doing this forever either once Vlad finishes making those new ghost shields available to everyone so it's not on my shoulders anymore to-
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when someone drove up next to me while I was walking to the theater, rolled down their window, and a familiar voice sneered. "Hey Fenturd, what happened to your loser friends? Did they finally ditch you?"
Glancing over at Diana driving slowly next to me I shrugged and kept walking. "For your information I'm on my way to meet up with them now and the rest is none of your god-damn business."
"Ugh whatever, it's not like I care. Anyways, since you're here all by your lonesome I've got a question for you. What's with Vallen lately? He's been acting super fucking weird since you started getting all friendly with him so I bet your weirdness is rubbing off on him." Then Diana crinkled her nose in disgust as if she had just stepped into a pile of dog shit or something.
Finally stopping I snorted. "Last I checked YOU'RE the one who almost kicked him to the curb when things got tough for Vallen for a little while because of some ghost dog so yeah, why DO you care? Vallen can be friends with whoever he wants to. Still, I guess you're not totally wrong since he does seem to have a lot on his mind right now. Any ideas what it could be?"
"Beats me. Anyways, let's cut to the chase. Do me a favor and keep your ghost shit away from Vallen. I don't want you dragging him down when he still has a good chance of making something of himself after we graduate. As for you and your psycho family, you'll be lucky to make it to graduation day alive because everyone in town knows it's only a matter of time before-?!" Diana replied until she unexpectedly bumped right into the rear end of a parked car, setting off the alarm.
I took that as my chance to get the hell out of there before anyone came running out to see what the problem was but I smiled smugly when I our eyes met for a split second before Diana hastily parked and frantically checked her car for any signs of damage to it. Diana couldn't care less about whoever owned the other car she rammed into since we both knew that her dad would buy her a new one even if the damage was easy to fix though so in my opinion worrying over it was kinda pointless. But out of fear of getting caught with a hit and run penalty Diana got back into her car and drove off as fast as she could, forgetting all about me.
Brushing off the whole thing I kept on walking, actually whistling to myself since it felt good to tell Diana off for being such a hypocrite. They might be on better terms now since Vallen's dad has a stable job again, but Diana and her friends did sort of 'ghost' him for a while when things weren't looking so great. I guess that's why I really appreciate all the work he's put in recently to get along with Sam and Trish. He's trying so hard to become more than just one of our former bullies, but a real friend.
Sometimes I really wish we didn't have to keep so many secrets from each other. I wish I could tell him the truth about how I have ghost powers and he could tell me he's the Red Hunter. Then maybe we could work together to keep everyone safe just like I do with Sam and Trish. Don't get me wrong, they've done a great job helping me, but one of these days one or both of them might end up getting seriously hurt and I don't know if I'll be able to handle that level of guilt. I mean, they don't have any protective gear like Vallen and my parents or supernatural endurance like I do...
One way or another though I know something needs to change. And it needs to chance fast if I'm ever going to feel confident enough that they'll be safe even when I'm not around. As much as I wish I could, I know can't swoop in to save the day all the time, not unless I learn to teleport or something since I'm only one person and Vlad already made it clear he's not going to go out of his way to do anything beyond what he's already working on right now to protect Amity Park. But until then I'll just have to focus on the things I can do. And for today that means treating my friends to a hopefully ghost-free time at the movies.
Well, besides yours truly of course!
