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Kindred Spirits	By : RedelliaValentinos Category: +1 through F > Danny Phantom Views: 206 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, I don't own any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from writing this story, I write this purely for the enjoyment of writing. It's just me and a keyboard and my wild brain.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
"I don't understand," Jasmine says as they re-enter the kitchen, "what do you mean he's half dead?"
Vlad pours her another cup of hot cocoa while she sits at the island. He glances at the tin and scowls at how low it's gotten. She's single-handedly gone through most of it. "Simply put, he is caught between this world and the other. He is both dead and alive. In a sense, he's a walking, breathing purgatory."
"How?!"
Vlad sits down across from her and thinks. There's no easy way to explain, in layman's terms, at least, the concept of the Fates. Certainly not without insulting her intelligence. And the girl has proven herself to be highly intelligent, just like her mother. After a moment, he decides that their words might make more sense to her.
"I'll try to recite as best as I can. Keep in mind, Daniel will have gotten the same speech, and then we'll address the meaning."
Jasmine looks wary, but nods and sits at attention.
"All existence is determined by choice and by chance. Who you choose to be, your personality, the paths you take in life, all that makes you who you are is decided by choice. Therefore, when and where you go is decided purely by chance. Quite literally, my dear, just like the Super Bowl, it all comes down to a coin toss."
The redhead falters. "I'm sorry...What?"
Vlad shrugs. "It's a coin toss."
"Are you serious?" She's asking because she doesn't believe it. He nods. A half hearted and almost hysterical laugh slips out as she leans back in her seat. She looks up towards the ceiling. "Life is just..."
"A coin toss. Yes. It's a rather disheartening truth, but one that everyone learns eventually. Just like drawing straws, it's an absolutely ancient tradition. But it has been found to be the most unbiased means of decision. Just two sides, nice and simple."
Jasmine blinks. "But," she looks back at him, "coins have three sides."
Vlad wants to smile for a moment. Oh, hell, who's he kidding. He does smile. Because she's just picked up on the only flaw that even the Fates couldn't account for, and nearly right away. "Clever girl. You've just answered your question."
"The Fates flipped a coin for Danny and it landed on its edge."
"And it can only be flipped once."
"And that's why Danny is stuck in the middle."
Vlad gives a sorrowful nod. "Your soul takes the shape of a coin. The embodiment of chance. Heads or tails, life or death. Upon being flipped, once the decision is made, the soul is either returned to its owner or sent on its way. The coin the Fates have tossed for Daniel will remain in the void, untouched, for all eternity, because the final decision is that no decision can be made."
"So now he doesn't have a soul?"
Vlad sighs. "Yes and no. His soul is outside of his body, as it would be in a normally deceased individual. But, it's not gone, it's just been left in the void. Because he exists on both plains, the fact that he is technically dead means it cannot be returned. But, he is also technically alive. So it cannot move on, either. It is intangible to both him and the Fates. They can't move it and he can't claim it."
It's a lot to take in. The logic is there, she guesses. Jasmine takes a sip of her cocoa, which has cooled slightly. She grunts faintly at the reduction of heat. Vlad takes her cup.
"What does this mean for him, physically?"
Vlad looks her in the eyes. "Tell me, child. What do you call a person who has died, and yet, remains in the living realm?"
She focuses on his. "Well, I guess...I'd call them a ghost."
"Very good." He holds her mug up in his hand, nearly by his fingertips...and a bright pink flame crackles to life in his palm. Within moments, steam rises from the vessel's contents and he sets it back down on the table in front of her. Her bright blue eyes are nearly the size of dinnerplates as she watches the steam rise.
"Daniel will maintain most of his humanity, but there is now a part of him that is no longer human. He now has abilities that humans only dream of. He will continue to grow, for a few years. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he stopped growing in height by the time he's eighteen, as his death was far more instantaneous than mine. These changes began the moment of the accident, and these changes are part of why he has been unconscious for so long. But ultimately, he will outlive you and your children, your grandchildren, their children, and so forth. Once he's done growing, he's done aging. Time will become irrelevant."
His words are breaking her, syllable by syllable. And she feels her heart clench and stutter in her chest. He stands up and takes a box of tissues from the counter and places it in front of her. She snatches one instantly to swipe at the fresh tears sliding down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry to say this, but he may even sever his ties with human society in a few decades. Mentally, it may be too much of a strain to stay connected. I started dying twenty years ago. The process was slow and miserable. The pain and stress took what little color I had left in my hair after the accident. I stopped aging by my 30th birthday."
She grabs another tissue.
"I severed most of my ties with relative ease. I maintain some for financial reasons. But I didn't have anyone in my life that cared enough to look in on me. So, there was no one to miss me. It's quite apparent that Daniel does have people who care about him, or you wouldn't be here. And watching his friends and family grow old around him may break him."
"Stop," she whispers, "j-just...just shut up." She doesn't want to imagine any of it. But now all the redhead can think about is her brother waking up one day and wondering where everyone has gone. Because there's a possibility that day will come. She's seeing walls of photos, of places and people and memories that both have been and will be, and there may come a time when he forgets it all and stares at the walls in confusion. She hiccups into another tissue as she sees him standing in an overgrown field, alone, with only traces of a city poking through grass and trees. The fields brown and die, ice over, melt, grow, brown, die, ice over, again and again, over and over until the sun burns out. And he's left in the dark. Alone.
"You asked the question. This is the answer."
He knows he's coming off as being insensitive. But he also knows what she's feeling, can guess what she's imagining. Because he imagined it happening to himself. He's already gone through this crisis. Some might think it a tad harsh to put her through the other side of it, as she'll never experience it herself. It's a brutal thought, to know that in time, you may be forgotten and left behind. That someone you care so deeply for might one day look at your face and not recognize you. He'll have to watch the boy endure the same realizations as it is. But the sooner she cries it out, the sooner she'll swallow it down and accept it.
He leaves her in the kitchen like that. As stoic as he can be, Vlad is capable of empathy, and sometimes cares too much. Jasmine is an emotional young woman, and she's drained him of what little energy he had left.
- 9
- 10
- 11
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Kindred Spirits