Author's Note: I received inspiration for this story from Ray Lynch's New Age music "Celestial Soda Pop", hence the name of this story because I'm unoriginal like that. You've probably heard the music somewhere before even if you don't recognize the title.

To be honest, I don't really like Danielle. So, I thought, what better way is there to improve my writing skills than writing about a character I don't like? (Well, lots of ways, actually...) So, here it is.

Celestial Soda Pop

Danielle soared over the town, her white hair flying behind her. Below her, the scene of Amity Park stretched out in all directions.

She studied the people of the town. Either none of them noticed her or none of them cared. They went on, replaying the previous day and all the days before it. Nothing ever changed. Everyday was the same for them.

Why don't they notice me? she wondered. Do they only see what they want to see, what they care to see?

She was struck by the reality of the people, that they were all very real with their own minds and their own lives. Each individual had a different thought going through his mind. They interacted with each other, talked to each other, ignored each other. While one went about his own tasks, someone else was doing something completely different. Two people could be close enough to touch one another in one instant, but in the next, they had passed by each other, possibly to never be that close again. Two people who could've been the perfect match never saw each other again.

And they don't even care, thought Danielle. They just go on. She slowed down her speed. Someone looked up at her, but he only caught a glimpse of her before she willed herself to become invisible.

They're real, though. That's the amazing thing. She lowered her eyes and sighed. And what am I? A copy? What is the point of my existence? She saw a little girl walking between her parents, tightly grasping their hands. A surge of sadness and jealousy swept through her. I don't even have a family. . . .

She spotted three teenagers exiting one of the smaller malls of Amity Park. She recognized them instantly. Sam, Tucker, and . . .

Her heart swelled at the sight of him. Danny considered her family.

She landed behind a nearby tree, reverted to her human form, and stepped out.

"Hey, Danny!" she called. The boy and his friends turned around as she approached. They had immediately gone to the mall after school and still had their backpacks.

"Danielle?" Danny was dazed. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just, you know! Checking up on you!" replied Danielle. She grinned up at him.

"Oh," said Danny. He wasn't sure what he should say. He hadn't seen the younger girl in a while. "Well, um, I'm doing fine. How are you?"

"Great, just great," said Danielle.

"What have you been doing?" asked Sam. "You left, and we never knew what happened to you. Where did you go?"

"I've been around." Danielle shrugged.

"Around where?" asked Tucker.

"You know, just around." Danielle adjusted her cap so that it was in a more comfortable position on her head. She didn't want to admit that she had just been flying around aimlessly, looking for meaning in her seemingly pointless life.

Danny caught the look on her face and the hollow quality of her voice. He wondered if maybe she was lonely. She was so young; how well could she go through life on her own?

"Well, Danielle, you know you're always welcome to stay with me," said Danny, trying to sound casual. "You know, if you ever get bored or whatever of just . . . being around."

"Really?" Danny regretted the eagerness in her tone and blushed.

"Sure," said Danny. "That's what family's for, right?"

Danielle wanted to hug him, but smiled broadly instead. "Yeah, family."

Tucker looked the girl over. He hadn't really had the chance to before. "You do look a lot like Danny. It's uncanny."

Danielle blinked in astonishment before turning away. "Of course. I'm just his copy." Her voice shook slightly.

Danny and Sam glared at Tucker. Sam jabbed him in the ribs while Danny put a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "You're not my copy, Danielle. You're only you."

Danielle looked down at the ground and smiled. She appreciated the words, but she knew they weren't true. It was strange. It almost felt like the whole ordeal with her 'father' had never happened, as if they had always been relatives.

Sam and Tucker were looking at her. She suddenly realized that she might've been interfering with their afternoon together. They were older than her. They certainly didn't want her around. She brought her eyes back up to meet Danny's. "Well, I guess I'll go and let you guys get back to whatever you were doing."

Sam and Tucker nodded slightly in agreement, but Danny recognized the longing in her words. He turned to his other friends and discreetly jerked his head in Danielle's direction, his eyebrows raised. Tucker was confused, but Sam knew what he meant: We should let Danielle hang out with us.

Sam whispered the meaning to Tucker. Both teenagers rolled their eyes, then shrugged their indifference. They body language communicated: Okay, whatever.

Danny narrowed his eyes at his two friends. He knew they weren't too thrilled with the idea, but he hoped they would at least pretend to enjoy the younger girl's company.

The exchange of silent words between the three teenagers happened so quickly that Danielle didn't have time to decipher it. Suddenly, Danny was saying, "Danielle, you can hang out with us. You don't have to go just yet."

"Really?" Danielle tried to hide her excitement. "Are you sure? I don't want to be a nuisance. I'm so much younger than you guys."

"Hey, we'd love having you around," replied Danny. "You're a cool kid."

Danielle followed the three teenagers. She had to walk at a rapid pace to keep up with them since her legs were much shorter than theirs. Danny silently communicated to Sam and Tucker that they needed to walk slower. Sam and Tucker slowed down, but not before glaring at the boy. Danny shot them a warning look, causing the two to look away.

Danielle could sense the tension and wondered why she had even bothered. Danny doesn't really want to be with me. He just feels sorry for me.

Part of her wanted to fly away, to escape this awkward situation, but the rest of her wanted to stay with the one person who made her feel like a real individual and not a mistake or imperfection.

-DP-

Danielle knew that Sam and Tucker didn't want her there.

The four of them were sitting in a booth near the door of Nasty Burger. Danielle was next to Danny while Sam and Tucker sat across from them. They tried to act natural, as if they were okay with everything in the world, but she could see the truth behind their cheerful facades.

She knew it wasn't that they didn't like her. She knew that even though she was basically Danny in a younger, female form, she still wasn't one of them. She knew that she could never be.

She was absently fidgeting, placing her hands in her lap, folding her arms, swinging her legs, drumming her fingers on the table. The ice in her soda was melting, but she didn't notice. She caught Tucker and Sam sighing and shaking their heads, casting looks of annoyance at each other. She knew what they were thinking: Why do we have to baby-sit on such a perfect day?

Now that I think about it, I don't even know them. . . . Danielle frowned. I've never really actually talked to them, met them. She saw them before. She remembered that they had come to Danny's rescue when he needed them. She saw them before she left. Since they know Danny, they sort of know me, I guess. So, if they like being with Danny, why don't they like being with me?

Danny noticed her discomfort. "So, what have you been up to, Danielle?"

Danielle shrugged. "Nothing much."

"Sounds boring," said Sam in her pleasant Goth way.

Danny ignored his friend. "Nothing much? Have you just been aimlessly flying around?"

Danielle smiled secretively. "Maybe . . ." She had stopped in various places, breathing in the air of different sights. She had even made a couple of friends at playgrounds that she visited. Still, her life seemed empty. She couldn't go to school like most children; how could she possibly enroll without parents? She had to find her own places to sleep every night, her own food. She wished she had a parent, someone to take care of her. Her former father was wonderful to her, but she knew that he didn't really love her, didn't really care about her. Still, even the false love she had felt before was better than the loneliness she felt now.

"Hey, why don't we go to the park or something?" suggested Danny.

"My parents are expecting me home soon," said Sam.

"I have homework," said Tucker.

Danny frowned at them. He knew they wanted to be free to talk about whatever they wanted, to do whatever they wanted without being tied down by the younger girl, but didn't they realize that she needed them?

"Well, okay. Danielle and I will go by ourselves," said Danny, standing.

Danielle was shocked. He would sacrifice his time just to be with her?

"Bye, Danielle. See you at school tomorrow, Danny," called Sam and Tucker. They waved and left through the double doors. Danny and Danielle were alone.

"I'm sorry, Danny," said Danielle quietly.

Danny threw their sodas away. "Sorry for what?"

"I know that you wanted to be with your friends. I shouldn't have interfered," replied Danielle, looking down at the floor. "Your friends left because of me."

Danny smiled amicably. "Danielle, I enjoy being with you. Don't worry about it." He decided to talk to his friends about this later. . . .

They walked together and headed to the park. Danny walked slower than normal so that Danielle wouldn't have trouble keeping up with him.

They shared the same interests, so it was easy for them to converse. Danny marveled at how easy it was talk to her, how comfortable he felt around her even though he hadn't known her for very long. She was truly a smaller, female version of him. . . .

No, she's not, he mentally scolded himself. We're two different people that happen to be a lot alike.

Danielle was glad to talk to someone that seemed to understand her, someone who also had ghost powers and had to deal with trying to fit in. The only difference was that he was real; he had real parents, real people that loved him, a real life.

They sat down together on a bench. Danny set his backpack down on the ground and leaned it against one of the bench's legs. Danielle started to cry.

It startled Danny. For a few stunned moments, all he could do was watch her, not sure what to do or what to say. He was never the best at comforting people, but he knew he couldn't just sit there and observe.

"Danielle, what's wrong?" he asked tentatively. Should he hug her or something? Girls were so much better at this. . . .

Danielle shook her head. "It's nothing, really. I just wish I could be like other kids. I want a family." She leaned against him. "They found me once. They asked where my parents were. I said I didn't have any. They put me in an orphanage, but I couldn't stay there for very long. All of those kids that really lost their parents . . . I didn't belong there. I don't have real parents to begin with. I didn't lose my father, I left him. I'm just a ghost, a shadow." She paused. "Your shadow."

"Stop thinking that!" cried Danny. He couldn't stand the tone of despair in her voice. "Danielle, you have to stop this!" He grabbed her shoulders. "I wish I could get my parents to take you in, but there's no way I could explain to them that you're my—" He almost said it, but he stopped himself. "I could never explain you. They wouldn't understand. But, you deserve a family. We can find you one, Danielle. We can."

Danielle just blinked. Danny went on, "Just stay with me for now, okay? You could probably sleep in Jazz's room—she'll understand, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to stay in my room—and we'll figure something out, okay?"

Danielle could feel a horrible pressure behind her eyes. More tears, but these had more meaning than the childish ones she had been crying before. She embraced the boy. "Okay," she whispered.

Danny didn't return the hug, but he didn't try to get away. He wasn't sure what to do. He had never had much experience with little girls. Her arms wrapped around his waist in a childlike bear hug, her head against his chest. Finally, she let him go, blushing furiously.

If only we weren't related. . . . she thought to herself.

The color drained from her face. Her eyes diverged as she looked away from Danny and stared up at the sky.

No, I didn't just think that. . . . She tried to push the thought away, but it kept resurfacing.

Danny frowned. "Danielle? You're looking kind of pale. . . ." He tried to follow her gaze. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh!" Danielle refocused her eyes and blurted out the first thing she saw. "The moon."

"The moon?" Danny gave her a quizzical look. "In the afternoon?"

"Yeah, you can see the moon in the daytime sometimes," said Danielle.

Danny searched the sky until he found the faint, white shape of the moon. "Oh, yeah." He raised his brows and shook his head. "Yeah, I knew that. Sorry, I just totally blanked there."

"Do you know why we can see the moon in the day?" asked Danielle with wide eyes, smiling and leaning forward with eagerness as if she wanted to share a big secret.

Danny searched his mind. He remembered his science teacher mentioning something about it—or maybe his parents? He furrowed his brow. Finally, he gave up and shrugged. "No, I don't know."

Danielle's grin broadened. "Well, the surface of the moon is reflective, so when we look at it, we see the light of the sun reflecting off it. It's so big and brightly lit that we can see it during the day as well sometimes," said Danielle proudly, like a child that delighted in the fact that she knew something an older person didn't know.

Danny smiled at the luster in her tone, the simple joy in her expression. "Wow, that's really interesting. Where'd you learn that?"

"Dad told me," said Danielle.

An awkward silence followed. Danielle looked away and kicked her legs that didn't quite reach to the ground back and forth, alternatively. An elderly couple walked by and smiled deferentially at the two. Danny shyly returned the smile.

"He's not my dad," Danielle said quietly but firmly. "I don't know why I said that."

Danny sighed and decided to change the subject. "Danielle, have you had to use your powers at all?"

Danielle didn't look at him. "Just a little. Nothing too big. Just when I see ghosts bothering other people."

Danny nodded in subconscious approval. Secretly, he was worried about her. He knew that she wasn't very stable, that her ectoplasmic system would collapse if she tried to do more than she could handle.

Danielle smiled despite herself. She knew then and there that he truly cared about her.

They sat together and didn't say anything else for awhile. Danielle leaned her head against his upper arm. She had been flying all day, and she was suddenly very tired.

Danny took notice of this. "Danielle, you ready to go?"

The younger girl was about to give a listless reply when a blast of energy took out one of the bench's legs. The bench leaned in the direction of its missing leg, causing Danny and Danielle to slide off and land hard on the ground.

"What the—?" Danny looked up to see a ghost with luminescent green eyes and flaming hair wearing an armored ecto-skeleton.

The ghost smirked. "There you are, whelp."

Danny jumped to his feet. "Skulker," he said simply, without emotion. His irritation was only visible in his eyes.

Out of fright, Danielle stayed behind Danny and grabbed his arm. "Who's that?"

"No one," said Danny. "Just stay back. This will only take a second."

He only took his eyes off the ghost long enough to give Danielle a reassuring glance, but it was enough time for Skulker to grab him around the neck and slam him against a tree, keeping him about half a meter off the ground. Danny gasped with the force, a sudden paralysis taking control of his diaphragm.

He tried to collect his thoughts, tried to concentrate on transforming into his ghostly alter-ego, but Skulker's hold on him was tight and unfaltering. Danny couldn't breathe, couldn't get his cells to obey his mind. He grabbed Skulker's fist and tried in vain to release the grasp.

Danielle stared in horror at the scene, frozen where she stood with fear. In the shocked state she was in, she couldn't think or move. She had no idea what to do. Why wasn't Danny going ghost? Why wasn't he fighting that other ghost off?

Why am I not doing anything? she snapped at herself in aggravated response to her questions. Danny needed her help. She could see the strain in his expression, the color slowly darkening in his face. No one was watching. No one was around. Even if they were, they probably wouldn't notice since they seemed to only see what they wanted to see. She shut her eyes tightly and willed herself to change.

She sucked in a deep breath and reopened her eyes. Danny was still struggling. Skulker's expression of malice and sadistic delight hadn't changed.

She firmly ground her boots into the ground. She raised her hands, palms up. She created a small ball of ectoplasmic energy. She only wanted to distract Skulker, to give Danny the proper chance to transform. She knew that she couldn't bring on anything too big, or she'd . . .

I would die, she thought. It shocked her for a moment. She had never put it so simply before. She had always known it, but she managed to avoid the word, to make it seem not as terrible, but there it was, abrupt and true.

She sent the blast at the armored ghost's head, yelling a little to get his attention. Skulker, as if on cue, turned and received the blast head-on. His grip relaxed a little, and Danny took in a breath. He still didn't have the strength or attention to transform, and before he recognized what had just happened, Skulker had him again.

Danielle blinked. The attack seemed to only surprise him, not hurt him at all.

"I know who you are," said Skulker, his eyes moving to look at her in a casual manner. He was grinning. "I remember him talking about you . . ."

He knew her father? Danielle narrowed her eyes. "Let him go!" she screamed.

Danny tried to put his weight on the tree. His shoes scraped the surface but couldn't get a hold. It was horribly uncomfortable to have nothing to stand on, and it didn't help that he couldn't breathe.

He knew Danielle had transformed. He knew that she was trying to help him. He hoped she wouldn't go too far. I have to change! I have to change! his mind screamed, but his body was too strained to perform the task.

Danielle felt the tears springing to her eyes. She was only a child; what could she do?

I can do a lot. She glared at Skulker. I can save Danny, the only person who really seems to care about me. She held out her hands and inwardly summoned a large, glowing ball of green energy.

It started in her head, but it quickly moved to her stomach. She felt her insides shift, her temperature rising. It felt as if something acidic was running through her veins, something corrosive and destructive. She ignored the pain; she only focused on creating the energy.

Keep going! Keep going! Don't stop! She held the ball and was about send it at Skulker, but she found that she didn't have the strength. Her legs were shaking, her eyes were watering, her head and chest were pounding. She could feel herself slowly falling apart, gradually fading and melting. She gasped and let the energy die away. She fell to her hands and knees, feeling the return of her body, the cooling and the reforming. The uncontrollable tears ran down her cheeks. She couldn't save him. She had failed him.

Danny sensed Danielle's distress. He opened his eyes slightly and saw her on the ground. She looked like she was in a terrible state. He couldn't let this happen. He couldn't let Skulker win.

Using every ounce of strength he could muster, he willed his body to become intangible and felt himself slip out of Skulker's grasp and fall through the tree to the opposite side. He gasped and coughed, but he still didn't have time to transform. Skulker slashed the tree in half. Danny rolled away before the trunk could fall on him. Skulker advanced, but Danny quickly dodged his assault by jumping up and sprinting to his backpack. He grabbed his thermos from a pocket in the bag, aimed it at Skulker, and pressed the button.

Skulker let out a small shriek as he spiraled into the container. Danny promptly capped the thermos. He sighed in relief and clutched his chest. He still felt winded. He didn't know where he had gotten the strength to suddenly move that fast—adrenaline, maybe?—but he was grateful for it.

He wearily looked at Danielle, who was still in her ghost form and sobbing into her hands nearby. He moaned, slung his bag on his back, and walked over to her. "Danielle, are you okay?"

Danielle nodded. "Of course I'm okay. Of course. It's you—" She burst into more tears.

Danny's head was still spinning as he knelt down beside her. He voice was raspy and low. "Danielle, it's okay. Really. Let's just go to my house now."

"I couldn't do it!" she cried. "I tried to save you, b-but it hurt! It hurt so much!" She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. "I'm so sorry!"

Danny instinctively wrapped his arms around her, his eyes blank and unfocused. He couldn't help but think that this was his fault. If he had just transformed in the first place, as soon as he saw Skulker, this wouldn't have happened. Danielle wouldn't have needed to transform, to risk using her powers, to feel the horrible guilt she was feeling now.

"I can't do anything," she whispered. "What's the point? What's the point in my being half-ghost?"

Danny said without really thinking, "If you were stabilized . . ."

Danielle's tears stopped. "Stabilized . . . ? But how . . . ?" Her voice was shaking.

"Maybe my parents—" He stopped. "No. No, they wouldn't understand . . . but maybe . . . ? No . . ."

"What?" asked Danielle. She lifted her head and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Well, I'm kind of thinking Vlad would probably be the only one who could stabilize you, but he can't really be trusted, especially since, well, you know . . ." He growled.

"Danny?" Danielle pulled away from him. His eyes were glazed over with deep thought. "Danny?" she said again.

He snapped back to attention. "Oh, sorry." He stood. "We'll think of something. Me, Sam, Tucker, Jazz . . . we can always think of something." He could breathe normally again. He inhaled and exhaled with tranquil relief.

Danielle felt her face redden. She stood as well.

Danny yawned. "I'm exhausted. How 'bout we fly home?"

"Fly?" Danielle wasn't sure if he was serious.

"Yeah, why not?" He smiled, glanced around, and transformed. He hovered into the air. "Come on!"

Danielle happily joined him by his side in the air. Together, they flew over the town. No one noticed them. No one cared.

"They only see what they want to see," muttered Danny. The comment was more than a simple statement. There was contempt and sadness hidden in there somewhere. Most of the people of the town didn't want to think that he was only trying to do what was right, that he just wanted to make good use of his powers. They just wanted someone to blame for things that went wrong.

Danielle grinned at him with admiration and appreciation. It was nice to have someone that truly understood her.

The End! I don't know how this made you feel, or how it was supposed to make you feel. Or maybe you didn't even read it and just happened to scroll down to the bottom of this page. Anyway, it ended up being totally different from what I had originally planned. (Danielle was supposed to die, but she didn't for some reason.) That always seems to happen with my stories, though. There are no plans to continue it, sorry. I don't really have any more ideas. I don't know how they would stabilize Danielle. I mean, I could figure something out, I guess, but it's not something I'm going to give too much thought to, so no. Sorry again.

Hmm, I feel like I should clarify some things.

1. In the show, when Danielle comes back, I'm sure that Sam and Tucker aren't going to act like that around her. I was just thinking that, well, it's kind of like when you want to hang out with your best friend for the day, and your best friend says, "Great, sure." You meet up somewhere. Your best friend has brought his younger sister along. He says, "Yeah, she can't stay home alone since my mom's out, so we have to take her." That would annoy you, wouldn't it? That was the situation they were in.

2. True, Danielle is not one to cry or angst so much, but I was just considering the fact that she's young and that she's been on her own for a while. I would imagine that she'd be sad, that she'd want someone to take care of her. Children, in general, don't like to be alone, after all. I'm sure they won't mention this in the show, but this is just what I think.

3. Danielle's not really in love with Danny. It was just an odd moment for her. She's actually repulsed by the idea.

4. She's so two-dimensional that at this time, it's hard to decide what she'd do in certain situations. I was just playing off her emotions she might've felt after being alone for so long and being betrayed by her creator.

5. I call her Danielle instead of Dani because it's just easier to keep Danny and his cousin "separated." A rule of writing is to have the names of the main characters not be too close (often, they shouldn't even start with the same letter), and in this case, their nicknames are exactly the same. If I used "Dani" instead, there'd be problem because, well, what if someone wanted to read this story out loud to someone else?

6. No, she wasn't originally going to die because I don't like her. It was because of the way that the music "Celestial Soda Pop" ends.