Only Half

Seams

It's not fair... thought the clone, as he found himself pacing back and forth within one of the innumerable rooms of Vlad Masters's mansion. Daniel, the apparently fake one, was tired of being second rate. He was tired of being scolded for every small thing he did wrong. Why couldn't he have a life like the original Danny? He had everything perfect, handed to him on a silver platter! Okay... Maybe not everything, but the point still stood. Why were others blessed with miracles when he was thrown to the back of the world, not treated the way he knew he should be. Had he been the real Danny, yeah there would have been arguments between his father and himself, but Vlad would have been kinder... More... Fatherly. Now? He was like a whip, ready to punish the clone for every turn out of line. And he was becoming sick of it. All be ever wanted was to stay on that line. But sometimes one began to lose their balance. Just like a tightrope can only remain so steady before the weight of your movements caused it to snap. And that's if you had proper balance to begin with, which Daniel did not. He was born unstable.

Locking his fingers through one another behind his head, Daniel couldn't help but struggle with his emotions. He brought his fingers through his hair and was surprised to find a strand of red left still in his sweaty palms. But... That was his hair. His hair was supposed to be black right now. Father- Vlad, had told him there may be a few mishaps here and there in terms of appearance, but... Red hair?

The clone walked slowly, almost hesitantly, to the mirror across the room. As he studied his appearance, Daniel couldn't help but gape. His skin seemed paler than usual, and his eyes were such a murky shade of teal now that they seemed almost black. Red the color of blood rimmed his irises. The crimson shade also marred the roots of his hair, as the teenager bowed his head towards the mirror in order to get a better look at it. The gray strands of hair he had assumed were just an issue of his ghost and human form interchanging with each other had turned into that sleek hue of red as well, and by now Daniel couldn't help but wonder if he was indeed falling apart like so many of the clones Vlad had tried to create before him. But he was supposed to be successful! And he was supposed to be victorious alongside his father.

And yet... Even that feeling seemed to be ebbing away. The "fake" Daniel suddenly felt himself calling into question everything Vlad had ever told him. And he wondered, vaguely, how it was that the original Danny and his friends were so close. That he would be willing to put his life on the line (quite literally) to save them. And then a final thought occurred to him, as he sat upon the bed in the center of the room which he was now beginning to think was a prison: What was happening to him? What was he becoming?

-------------------------

At about the same time, the original Danny found himself struggling. But it wasn't because of an identity crisis. He'd had one of those before, and it was no picnic in the park. This was a much worse fate to be experiencing.

He'd passed out on his bed, not even able to keep up the strength to maintain his ghost half whilst climbing through the window. Jazz, Sam, and Tucker had followed his lead as quick as their feet could carry them through the front door. Jazz had ignored her mother's concerned question on whether or not everything was alright, only bothering to mutter something about her stress involving an exam later that week as a pathetic excuse. Upon bursting through the door to Danny's room, Jazz had immediately blanched at the state of him. She found herself running straight across to the bathroom down the hall, grabbing a wet towel in her wake.

Sam's eyebrows knit together in confusion. She'd only gotten bits and pieces of the full story, and she doubted either Jazz or Danny were in right states to explain every detail at right now. But for now, she knew enough. Danny was in a limbo. He'd be stuck in between his nightmares and reality forever, unless they figured a way out of it. And though Sam thought she knew the solution, without Danny there to help, it was going to be a dangerous feat at best.