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Dani squinted at the pair across the street.
The boy over there looked like Danny. He talked like Danny. But she didn’t think he was Danny.
Her biggest clue was the fact that he was willingly standing next to Vlad Masters in public. Like he was forced to be there.
Was he Vlad’s latest clone? Did he finally perfect it? Did he get the perfect clone?
Something seemed off about this one, though. He didn’t seem like Danny. This kid looked like he wanted to punch Vlad in the face. Not that Danny didn’t want to punch him in the face, but this kid looked like he would do it in broad daylight in their human forms.
He glanced in her direction and she ducked down. He had to be a clone.
Was Vlad keeping him prisoner? Did he brainwash this clone? The man was a fruit loop and she needed to do something. She’d save that clone. She just had to figure out a plan.
She looked back up and saw that Vlad and the new clone had disappeared. She looked both ways down the street but they must’ve continued on their way in the time she was hiding.
First things first. She would go talk to Danny and tell him that Vlad was still cloning him.
And then they were going to save that clone.
~~~~~~~
Dan groaned. He hated when Vlad made him go out. He wanted to brood in his room but Vlad insisted he get used to normal, not apocalyptic life again. That eventually he’d have to go to school to keep playing his part as Vlad’s son.
Dan scoffed. Vlad’s son. How did he end up here?
“How long do we have to stay?” Dan looked up at him and stared at the back of his head. Vlad looked down at him.
“You need to start making connections and getting reacquainted with the people in this timeline. I know it’ll be jarring but that’s why we’re doing it on our own terms.”
“Your terms.“ Dan crossed his arms. “If I had any choice I wouldn’t be here at all.”
Vlad scowled. “You’ll see them sooner or later. Better to get it done now rather than being surprised by it at an inopportune moment.”
“Or we could move far away and we wouldn’t have to see any of these people ever again.”
Vlad frowned at him and continued walking down the street. Dan grumbled.
Why did they have to go see his family? Danny was one thing. He was Danny. So it was really just seeing himself. He had never died. Well. He guessed that part was complicated. When the others died they were gone. They never came back as ghosts.
Dan looked up and he almost stopped walking. Fentonworks was standing down the street. Still standing. It wasn’t a pile of rubble or surrounded by decaying buildings. It still stood in all of its hideous glory.
Vlad led them up the stairs to the door and he knocked on it. His heart rate jumped when he heard the sound of his mom’s- Maddie’s- voice on the other side of the door.
“Coming!”
The door opened and all Dan could do was stare at the two on the other side. Jack and Maddie looked at them and Maddie gave Vlad and Dan a smile.
“Hello, Vlad.”
“Ah! Maddie! Jack! I’m here to introduce you to the boy I’m fostering to adopt!”
“Oh wow, Vlad.” Maddie smiled at him. She tried peeking around Vlad to catch a glimpse at Dan. Dan grimaced and took a step behind Vlad. “He seems shy.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that. He’s got a bite to him.”
Jack pulled the door open the rest of the way and gestured for them to come in. Dan followed behind Vlad and kept his gaze to the ground. Even just the sight of the carpet was bringing back memories Dan had been long trying to forget.
“What’s the boy’s name?” Jack asked. Dan looked up at him. Jack was beaming at him, the biggest smile on his face. He couldn’t remember the last time his dad- Danny’s dad- smiled at him before-
“Dan. He prefers Dan.”
“How coincidental!” Maddie exclaimed. “He reminds me of Danny.”
Dan grimaced again. Of course he did.
“Where is the little badger anyways? And Jazz?”
“Danny’s hanging out in his room upstairs. His friends came over. Jazz went to the library so I’m not sure when she’ll be back.”
Vlad looked down at Dan and he wanted to punch the man in the face. “Would you like to meet Danny and his friends?”
Dan rolled his eyes and started walking towards the stairs. Vlad chuckled and followed after him.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Let me show you the way!”
He supposed it’d be weird for him to walk around in a house that he’s supposedly never been in before to find kids he’s supposedly never met before. He shouldn’t know where Danny’s room was. So it made sense why Vlad was still playing the part.
But Dan still knew everything by heart. Even though he’d tried so hard to forget everything, everyone, it all came rushing back once he was actually faced with them.
Vlad walked ahead of Dan but let him open Danny’s bedroom door himself. The door swung open and based on Danny, Sam, and Tucker’s expressions he was not what they were expecting to see on the other side.
“You’re gonna catch flies.”
They shut their mouths and Danny coughed.
“Sorry. I didn’t know you two were coming over today.”
Dan looked between Sam and Tucker. They looked the same as he remembered them.
“Yeah. Vlad sprung it on me too.”
They were living ghosts. They were his friends and family but not. They weren’t his. They were Danny’s. And now he’d have to see them. And remember.
He turned to Vlad. “Have we been here long enough? Can we leave?”
Vlad scowled. “We only just got here. Do your best to make friends while I go chat with Maddie and Jack.”
Dan grumbled as Vlad walked away from them. Dan slammed the door shut behind him.
“I don’t want to make friends with them.” He grumbled under his breath.
This time it was Tucker’s turn to cough. “So. How is normal life going?”
“There’s ghosts everywhere.”
The three of them looked between each other. “Wasn’t that normal for you before? Weren't there ghosts in your Amity Park too?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
The three of them exchanged another uncomfortable look between them. He could tell they didn’t know what to say to him. That was fair. He did try to kill them.
He was about to ask them what game they were playing when a girl popped her head through Danny’s bedroom wall. His eyes widened.
She looked like them.
“Danny!” She floated the rest of the way through the wall. “Vlad’s got another clone of you! We have to help him escape!”
“Woah! Dani! Where did you come from?” Danny asked her.
“I saw them on some street earlier!” Dani exclaimed. “He really looked like he didn’t want to be there! Vlad must be up to something again!”
Danny barked out a laugh. “No, he just hates the fruit loop.”
Dani gave him a confused look. “What? Have you met him already?”
Danny pointed at where Dan still stood in the middle of the room. She jumped in midair.
“Oh.” She chuckled nervously. “Hi.”
“Who are you?” This girl didn’t exist in his timeline. He’d never met her before.
“This is Dani, with an I.” Dan rolled his eyes. How original. “She’s a clone made by Vlad.”
“If she’s a clone how is she a girl?” Danny just shrugged in response.
“So who are you?” Dani floated up to him. “Are you a clone too?”
Dan shook his head. “I’m an evil fusion of the fruit loop’s and Phantom’s ghost halves from the future. Well, it’s no longer the future.”
“He exists outside the time stream.” Danny said. “When everything went down with Clockwork his form started destabilizing so they put him in a clone’s body.”
“Oh.” She floated closer to look at Dan. He leaned away from her. “So you’re staying with Vlad now? And he’s cool about it?”
Dan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “There’s nothing cool about Vlad. He was assigned to monitor me by Clockwork but I guess he’s taking the dad thing seriously.”
He watched her slump, almost unnoticeably.
“That’s cool that he actually cares though.” She smiled at him. “Wish I’d had that.”
Dan frowned and opened his mouth to ask her a question but then Vlad’s voice could be heard outside the door.
“Daniel, your mother wants to know if we-“
The doorknob twisted and Vlad opened the door.
Dani and Vlad both stared at each other, Vlad’s hand was still on the door knob. Dani floated away from him.
“Wait!” Vlad finally reached a hand out to her. “Danielle, please.”
Dani paused. She looked at Danny. He nodded.
“Hear him out.”
Vlad pushed the door closed behind him softly and turned to face Dani again. He looked at her sadly.
“Danielle, I am so sorry for everything that happened between us.” The words shocked Dan. “I was only using my power to chase after things I wanted that were out of my control. I was after Daniel- the perfect clone. But if I had stopped to see what was right in front of me- If I had chosen to give up on a fruitless battle, we could have had a much better relationship.”
Vlad looked at Dan. “This one gave me another chance. He made me realize that the problem wasn’t what I was chasing, but that it was myself. I’m looking to mend my misgivings with those I’ve wronged. Can I mend things with you too?”
Vlad’s on the path to mending things. If Vlad could make an effort, could Dan be able to build relationships with those he once lost?
Dani floated closer to Vlad but she didn’t get too close. She looked at him, as if studying him. Like she was trying to figure out if what he was saying was genuine.
“I can’t pretend like any of that stuff never happened.” Dani looked at her hands while she fiddled with her fingers. “But can we start over? Can we be a real family?”
She looked at Dan. He knew the question was for him too.
Vlad smiled at her softly. “Absolutely.”
He reached out to hug her but she stopped him with a handshake.
“We’ll build up to it.”
~~~~~~~
“I can’t wait to see Danny!”
Dani bounced around on the sidewalk next to them while they walked down the street. Dan didn’t know how she always had so much energy.
“This will also be my first time meeting Danny’s parents properly! I’ve only ever overshadowed them before!”
Dan rolled his eyes and mussed up Dani’s hair. “Danny’s parents are embarrassing.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “That’s because they’re your parents. I think they’re cool. They seem fun!”
“Wait until they embarrass you in public.”
“That’ll be pretty hard to do since they’re not my parents.”
Vlad chuckled and Dan looked at him just in time to see him rolling his eyes fondly. “Who would’ve thought the two of you would have gotten along so well.”
Dan frowned at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Vlad turned and saw the expression on Dan’s face. “No! It’s good! She just seems to have brought a little more light to your life. I know she’s brought more to mine.”
Fentonworks came quickly and Vlad walked them up to the front door, much like the last time they’d been here. But this time he didn’t feel so alone.
Vlad knocked on the door and Maddie opened her. She smiled at him and Dan noticed that it was no longer strained like it was in his memories.
“Hi, Vlad! Dan!” She looked behind him and her eyes widened when they landed on Dani. “Who’s that?”
“This is Dani, Dan’s sister.”
“Oh! Their names are so similar!” Maddie looked between Dani and Dan.
“Our parents weren’t very original.” Dan said deadpan.
“Aw, that’s a shame. I’m happy to hear the two of you were reunited!”
Dan looked at Dani. She’s the only relationship he had that wasn’t a reunion and for that he’d be forever grateful. She was unique to this timeline, someone he’d never lost, and someone he hoped to never lose.
Even if Dan had to be surrounded by living ghosts, at least he’s got one person who wasn’t one. Well, she was a ghost. But she wasn’t his ghost.
She was his sister.