Chapter Text
"I beg you... Please."
In the dark room, in a hidden corner, Talia desperately begged a woman. Beside her feet were two baskets, inside were two newborn babies still sleeping soundly, unaware of how desperate their mother was.
"No Talia. It's too dangerous, you could die!"
The woman took off her black mask, revealing red hair. She grabbed Talia's hand tightly, kneeling down beside her.
"Maddiel... If you care about me, then please." Talia was desperate, her weak shoulders shaking. She had never been more desperate than she was right now. Her face was wet, looking straight at Maddiel. "You're the only one I can trust. Only you can do this. If you don't do it, they'll..."
Talia felt her lungs burn every time she breathed, her hands had never shaken like they did right now. She was desperate and scared, what she was doing was entrusted to the only person she could trust in the League of Assassins. The people here followed her for power, unlike Maddiel, who listened to her out of deep respect in her heart. Talia not only considered Maddiel her devoted servant, but also her only friend.
"Talia... I can't. He'll kill you. I can't..." Maddiel shook her head, shaking and squeezing Talia's hand.
"But if you don't, I'll die too! Along with them! Maddiel... Please... Save them." Talia snapped but then her voice softened, she begged her only friend. "Please... Save them...like the way you save me..."
Maddiel bit her lip, she looked at the two children in the bamboo basket, then looked at Talia who was crying in despair. She reached out to wipe Talia's tears, she picked up a bamboo basket, and wrapped it in a blanket.
"I will do it. But... Talia, please be safe." Maddiel took Talia's hand, pulling her up. She choked up and said.
"Thank you... Promise me..."
"I promise, Talia. I promise with all of my life." With that, Maddiel cut off her long hair, she knelt down on one knee, and held the dagger she had just cut off her hair up to Talia.
Talia picked up the dagger, looked at the child in the basket one last time, and handed it to Maddiel.
"Be safe, my friend."
"I will."
Under terrible snowstorm, Maddiel used all the strength and skills she had accumulated over the years to escape the pursuit of the League of Assassins. Her breathing was rapid, her lungs were about to freeze because of the terrible cold of the snowy mountain.
"Over there. Capture her."
Maddiel hid in the tree, she hugged the bamboo basket tightly in her arms, silently watching the people chasing her being tricked into running in another direction. When they were far away, Maddiel jumped down from the tree, she gently lifted the blanket on the bamboo basket, looking at the child sleeping soundly inside.
"Oh Talia, what should I do with this child." She exclaimed tiredly. She grabbed the child's small hand, smiling.
Oh god...How tiny he is, Maddiel fear she could hurt this boy.
She took off her mask, looking into the distance "I will take you to safety.."
"I promised your mother, Danal."
***
Knock...Knock...
"Oh Daniel! Wake up and shine, baby."
The door banged, Danny groaned, pulling the covers over his head. He didn't care if today was a special day for his family, or anyone, or anything. He wanted to rest.
All the week, Danny have his duty in King role, do a bunch of paper work, listen many complaints, etc. In the night Damny had to fight some random ghost or the fruitloop Vlad and his crazzy plans, in the middle of the night. Then he studied for test until three in the morning. So no, Danny refused to wake up early today.
Suddenly his covers were pulled away, Danny was startled awake. He looked at his mother, Maddie smiled brightly and opened all the curtains in his bedroom.
"Give me a reason to get out of bed at seven in the morning." Danny looked at the clock, bored.
Maddie shook the covers off, happily hugging Danny "Because today is your birthday, little Star."
Danny's face darkened, he looked at the sheets on the table, holding his forehead. How could he forget that it was his own birthday?
He covered his face and cried out, "Ugh... I forgot."
"If I were you, I would forget too. Being a student is hard, right?" Maddie kissed Danny's cheek, smiling playfully at her son.
Danny smiled awkwardly, pursed his lips and said nothing, watching his mother leave the room with a humming sound. He couldn't say that he forgot because he was busy with his royal duties in the infinite. Besides, he was the damn Ghost King. He had a hundred things to do, how could he remember his own birthday. Danny felt guilty for lying to his mother but damn... He couldn't say, Mom, I'm the Ghost King, I rule the entire Infinite Realm.
His mother would freak out.
"I need a vacation." Danny groaned.
He went downstairs and saw his mother's signature pancakes with berry jam on the kitchen table. His mom rarely made pancakes because his dad, Jack, ate them without restraint and got fat from sugar. God, Danny remembered when his mom put his dad on a diet, he definitely didn't want that for himself.
"Happy birthday, Danny." Jazz walked into the kitchen, patting Danny's head as he ate the pancakes. "Here's to you."Danny was chewing on a cake, he took the gift box Jazz gave him, happily hugged her. It was the latest planetary dictionary published this year, limited edition.
"I like it very much. Thank you, Jazz."
"I knew you would like it." Jazz hugged Danny.
They sat next to each other to eat breakfast. At this time, Maddie and Jack appeared, as usual, Danny's parents would appear with new weapons and accidentally almost exposed his identity. And... Jazz found a reason to put away that new ghost-catching weapon.
"What's new, Mom, Dad?" Danny asked blandly, he glanced at Jazz, but this time there was something strange.
Neither Danny nor Jazz saw their parents eagerly cheering for the new weapon. Danny turned his head to look, confused, he saw his parents standing with their backs to them and whispering something.
Then his mother left in a hurry and his father... He looked very serious.
Danny stood up and walked over to his parents. And like every day, the kitchen with his parents' invention was right in his path. Danny stepped on the plasma gun and fell. Surprisingly, Danny didn't feel any pain, but instead felt soft. He looked up at his mother and stood up in amazement.
"You should have been more careful, honey." He stood there speechless, letting his mother brush the dust off him.
His mother was ten feet away, how could she...Danny thought he was hallucinating because there was no way his mother could have gotten up so quickly and without making a sound. He look at Jazz, but her face...Danny hard to say anything.
"I will take you two to school." Jack said, pulling Danny and Jazz away in a very hurry.
On the way, both Danny and Jazz did not dare to say anything because. One, Jack was driving very crazy, meaning that normally their father drove crazy but today was especially dangerous. Two, they felt that there was some secret that their parents were hiding.
"Love you two!" They was drop at school and not died.
Jazz glanced at Danny, they stood in a corner. Well actually Jazz pull Danny in the coner.
"I think our parents are strange today. Like supper strange, you saw that did you?" Jazz said.
Danny thought back to his mother's actions today, she looked very hurried and... Worried. Except for ghosts and his and Jazz's safety, there was nothing that worried his mother, at least that's what Danny knew about his mother. Not mentions about how quickly she catch he fall. Danny knew his mother was good at fighting, but only against ghosts that escaped through the gate. He had never seen her with such incredible speed before, though, something about her was strange.
"No Danny. We're not spy our parents." Jazz knew Danny's look right now, she knew her troublemaking brother too well. So she immediately refused.
"I didn't say we had to spy. Did you forget who I am?" Danny smirked. Jazz helplessly held her forehead and cried out " I hate your role!"
The interesting thing about being the Ghost King was being able to secretly eavesdrop on everything without being detected. Danny learned this trick from the fruitloop Vlad, although he didn't like Vlad but he had some really useful tricks. But Danny still hated him because of Vkad's crazy obsession with his mother.
Danny sat in a corner of the library, next to him were Sam and Tucker. He drew a summoning circle.
"Danny, this is a very bad idea." Tucker said. But Danny didn't listen, he even said "Please Tucker, aren't you curious about what your parents are hiding?"
"Well that... A little. Okay, a lot." Tucker said helplessly, Danny smirked.
Sam had been silent all along and read her book, watching Danny and Tucker antics with the summoned little ghost. She closed the book and hit them on the head.
" Ouch!" Both of them holding head and shouted.
"Tucker. Danny. If you two are going to spy on parents, do it quickly." Sam said and threw the book into her bag "And let me join in."
The three teenagers whispered to each other in the library, occasionally laughing out loud when the little ghost told them some thing they follow of some people.
Sam had wanted to know beautiful Paulina's secret and it turned out she was obsessed with Phantom. Or Tucker wanted to know what the PE teacher did after torturing students in class, and surprisingly he sat watching a romantic movie and cried. They burst out laughing.
Of course the main purpose was still the same, Danny had the little ghost follow his parents.
"Jack, this is serious. It would be dangerous for Danny if they came here! I don't want Talia in danger." Danny heard his mother's voice, and his mother was very worried.
"Who is Talia?" Tucker and Sam leaned over to ask Danny, even though it was Danny's first time hearing this person, he shrugged.
"But Maddie, we can't stop them. You know how him danger for Danal." Danny's father's voice rang out.
It all things get more confusing. Why for Danny?
"Maddiel? Danal?" Sam looked at Danny, confused. "I thought your mother's name was Maddie and you were Daniel?"
Danny nodded. "Well yeah... At least I think so. I have never seen my birth certificate." He shrugged again, confused.
"I don't know, Jack. I'm... scared. I feel so bad for keeping it all hidden for so many years. I want him to live." Danny heard his mother cry. "I want to make it right. Danal needs to know about Talia."
Know what? Danny was confused.
"I don't know. Telling him about his real mother, not very wise." Danny was silent, stunned by what his father said.
What is his?
Suddenly Sam reached out to erase the summoning circle, making Tucker surprised and don't understand, he went to say something but his mouth was covered by Sam. They both looked at Danny sitting there, stunned.
"Danny...Dude, are you okay?" Tucker hesitated to call Danny but he didn't answer him "Danny..."
"I...Need some space." Danny stood up and ran away.
He ignored Sam and Tucker stopping him. Danny ran to the park and stood there for a while, he sat on a bench, his mind was in turmoil.
His real mother? Why did he have another? So he was adopted all this time?
Danny didn't understand. Why did his parents hide this from him?
Danny's chest tightened, uncomfortable as if he wanted to pull it out, he immediately transformed and opened the gate to the infinite. He stood on a deserted cliff and jetted up, the energy from his screams causing the other cliffs to shatter. He fell to his knees and cried.
"My little king, what has made you cry?" A voice suddenly sounded from behind Danny. He jerked back. "Clockwork..."
Clockwork walked over to him, gently stroking his head. Danny wiped his eyes. "I...I just found out something I shouldn't have." He said.
"That you are Fenton's adopted son?"
Danny looked at Clockwork in surprise, he wanted to say something but he couldn't make any sound. Clockwork gave Danny a necklace.
"I'm not supposed to interfere with the world of living but... My king, your destiny is not here but somewhere far away."
Danny picked up the necklace and looked at it, he was surprised to see the picture inside pendant. It was his mother and another woman, both of them looked very close. The eyes... Oh Danny felt his lungs burning with every breath. That woman's eyes were exactly like his.
He held the necklace tightly in his hand.
Danny returned home when it was almost dark. He had been in the Infinite Realm all day today, he knew he shouldn't have suddenly disappeared like that but oh god... He couldn't think of anything else. Standing in front of house, he felt worried. Actually, he was always worried because his parents were always obsessed with ghosts, he was worried that they would know he was the Ghost King. But now Danny was worried about something else.
"Mom... Dad... I'm home."
"Danny! Where have you been!" He was surprised when his mother ran over and hugged him, her voice worried "Do you know that I've been trying to call you since school ended?"
He looked at his mother in surprise, Danny had never seen her act like this before. He pursed his lips, trying to smile "I'm fine, Mom. I was just playing." He lied.
Maddie relaxed, she looked at Danny, not seeing anything unusual, she sat down tiredly on the chair. She was almost crazy because she didn't see Danny come back at the usual time, she was worried that he was attacked.
"Mom... Who is Talia?" Danny suddenly asked.
The question was like a bomb exploding strongly. Maddie was closing her eyes to meditate when she suddenly opened her eyes, looking at Danny in shock. She saw a familiar necklace on his hand. Maddie told herself it was just a coincidence and she was delusional. But the truth still slapped her in the face.
"Is your real name Maddiel? And who is Talia?" Danny stood there and asked her coldly.
"How can you..." Maddie asked with a trembling voice, but Danny shouted "Answer me! Who is that?"
"Danny...What are you talking about, my name is Maddie." She still tried to deny what Danny said. It made him feel bad because he was being lied to.
Why did his mother hide it from him?
"Mom...Am I your real child?" Danny asked coldly. Maddie could barely smile anymore, her smile was shaking "Of course I am, honey. You are my child, how could you..."
"Stop lying! I already know, tell me the truth!" Danny shook Maddie's hand away, angrily shouting.
Maddie looked at Danny in horror as he shook her hand away, he had never done that to her before. She had never been treated like this by Danny. Danny's attitude was never like that, her sweet boy...she was afraid.
"Danny..." Maddie looked at Danny, his eyes made her breathless. Those eyes... Even if she died, Maddie could never forget those eyes.
Talia... Talia's sharp eyes. Danny inherited them.
Maddie collapsed to the ground, tears flowing uncontrollably. Her heart was always filled with guilt and shame, she felt sorry for Danny for what she had done all these years. Her voice trembled, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Talia's child.
"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have..." Danny stood watching his mother cry on the floor, feeling his body go cold. He could barely breathe, he was angry but also in pain.
For past fourteen years, Danny thought this was his family. But it was all a lie from his mother, even her name was a made-up lie.
"Mom. Danny. What are you two doing?" Jazz heard the noise, she and Jack ran up to see. Surprised by the scene before their eyes.
She stood there hesitantly watching her mother being held up by her father, she looked at Danny again "What are you doing?" She asked Danny but in return he was silent towards her.
"Mom, tell me the whole truth." Danny looked at Maddie, he said coldly.
Maddie looked at Jack, tremblingly looking at Danny "You...You was originally Talia's son. A person I...respected very much."
"Talia al Ghul is the name of your biological mother, Danny. Your real name is Danal. Talia and I had a very close relationship, we grew up together, fought together. Until one day..." Maddie choked " Talia gave birth to twins, she desperately came to me and begged me to take one of the two children away."
Danny was stunned when he heard his mother's words. He staggered into the doorway, not believing what he had just heard. He had a twin brother?
"I never wanted to take you away from Talia or your twin brother Danny! Please... please listen to me. Talia... She was so broken and I..." Maddie collapsed, trying to speak "I just wanted her to live and her children to live! Danny, you have to understand."
Danny was furious and... Helpless. He shouted "So you've been lying to me all these years? Stuffing those lies into me?"
"No Danny! I don't... I... I just want you to live, like I promised withTalia..." Maddie reached out to grab Danny but he pushed her away, she sobbed in despair.
Jack couldn't bear to see Maddie crying anymore, he looked straight at Danny "Danny, stop. Your mom..."
"You know too, right?" Danny interrupted him, gritting his teeth and hissing out each word. Jack felt guilty, he nodded, Danny painfully stepped back and looked at the people he once called his mom and dad.
"Ha... Both of you..." Danny turned and ran out of the house, Jazz worriedly chased after him "Danny! Wait!" But she completely lost sight of him.