I don't own Danny Phantom

It was simple enough, what he had to do. Go back, say what needed to be said and return home to, hopefully, a better future. Simple. Though Danny knew that this was going to be far from simple. After all, it had been eleven years since he'd seen his archenemy and he wasn't exactly looking forwards to this little blast from the past.

But ultimately, he had to do it. Everyone deserved a second chance, even that crazed up fruit-loop. It was two nights before his 25th birthday that Clockwork showed up. Surprisingly, it had been his suggestion in the first place, but Danny still had a choice,

He just hoped that he hadn't made the wrong one.

His parents, of course, had been very reluctant to let him leave, telling him that it was a waste of time- Vlad would never change. But they couldn't change Danny's mind. Once realizing this, his parents sighed and wished him luck… before handing him about a million ecto-weapons, "Just in case."

"But what about your future self?" Tucker had asked. "Didn't he come to be because of Vlad?" What if by going back that happens again?"

"I'll be careful." Was Danny's response. "Besides, if Clockwork saw that as a possibility he wouldn't have given me this option in the first place." Tucker still seemed unsure but didn't argue any further.

As for Jazz, she had just smiled, kissed him on the forehead (she had to stand on her toes to reach) and told him that she was proud of him.

It was Sam who he had a hard time convincing. "Danny, what the heck are you thinking? Vlad was your enemy! Don't you remember everything he did to you? He used to beat you up all the time! Not to mention wanting to kill your Dad and marry your Mom. He tried to clone you- he did clone you! And he almost destroyed the entire planet! Or did you just forget all that?"

"Of course I haven't forgotten Sam." Danny had replied, "And believe me it's going to be hard not to punch him in the face when I see him but… He can change. I've seen it first hand in that alternate future. Just imagine if we hadn't been enemies; If he had trained me without asking me to renounce my dad. Like it or not I could have used his help. I still haven't figured out teleportation." He'd added dejectedly. "Look this doesn't mean I've forgiven him; it just means that I'm willing to give him a second chance." Sam had sighed.

"Okay. I'm sorry, Danny. Just… be careful." Danny smirked.

"Always am."

So now here he was, standing in front of Vlad's old Mansion in Wisconsin, hands in pockets, with Clockwork's time medallion around his neck. Eleven years into the past.

It smelled like cheese. Cheese and freshly cut grass.

Danny looked up at the large wooden door, hand raised to knock. It was strange, being here. The afternoon sun was setting, casting an orange light on the green and gold exterior of the castle. Nearby a cricket chirped but other than that there was no noise. It was almost… peaceful.

The sound of the door being opened brought Danny out of his trance, and he could only stare in shock as Vlad Masters, dressed in his usual black suit with silver hair pulled back in a ponytail, looked him up and down.

"What do you want?" The man snapped. Danny couldn't speak- his throat had dried up. Fear clenched at his heart but he quickly shoved it away; after all, he'd fought more terrifying beings than Vlad Masters. And he was no longer fourteen, so why should he be scared.

… Or maybe it was shock. Seeing your old enemy who had died out in space, standing at the doorstep of his mansion that had long since been destroyed… it was pretty surprising, to say the least. Yet here he was, giving Danny the most annoyed look Vlad Masters could give and-

Wait. Was he talking? Crud. Danny quickly shook himself back into reality, managing to catch the last few words. "-And what you are doing on my property." Danny blinked. He should have planned this out more.

"Uh… Vlad Masters?" Vlad raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," He hissed, in a voice that cleared stated he was getting tired of this conversation, "Who are you?" Danny stood up straighter.

"My name is Danny." He answered proudly, "Danny Fenton." For a second something flickered across the older man's eyes (surprise? Anger?) before being quickly replaced with a look of indifference.

"Hmm," He said, straightening out his suit, "Common name." Danny smiled; this was too fun.

"Maybe." He replied with mock thoughtfulness, "But there's only one of me, Fruit-loop." Vlad's eyes widened and he stumbled back a bit.

"Wait…" He mumbled, "How?" Using Vlad's confusion to his advantage, Danny sidestepped him and entered the large house.

"Yeesh." He said, looking around him, "I forgot how much green and gold you had in here. It's so gloomy." Vlad slammed the door shut, the echo rebounded around them causing the walls to shake. Danny turned around to face him. Explanation time.

"I'm from the future." Danny said. He watched impatiently for Vlad's reaction; which came in the form of a raised eyebrow and bitter chuckle.

"The future, hmm?" He asked taking a short stride towards him. "Prove it." Danny rolled his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips.

"I'm offended you don't recognize me, Cheese-head." Danny said in mock hurt. He lifted up the time piece around his neck. "Here's your proof." He said. Vlad stepped closer and Danny had to resist the urge to step back.

Vlad picked up the medallion, twirling it between his fingers and inspecting every inch of it. When he was done his eyes wandered back to Danny's face. "Why did you come here?" He asked suspiciously. He stepped back, crossing his arms. "It must have been something important if you were willing to change the time stream." *

Danny didn't respond, keeping his eyes fixed on the many packers memorabilia around them. Vlad continued. "Let's see…" He tapped his chin in thought. "Last I saw you, you overshadowed your idiot father at that stupid college reunion. So tell me, son, what happens next?" Danny's fists clenched at the name.

"Well, I'm still not your son." He replied, not thinking before he spoke. "Not to mention you totally blew any chance you had with my Mom. Oh, and you also failed to kill my Dad and managed to turn the entire Earth and Ghost zone against you, so, congratulations." Vlad's eyes flashed red and Danny regretted saying anything at all. Vlad continued to glare at him for a minute before his eyes returned to their normal hue and he began walking down the hallway as if nothing had happened. Danny watched him go, confused, before cautiously following.

He was tense, preparing to rip off Clockwork's time piece if needed and return to his own time. His eyes stayed on Vlad as they glided down the hall in silence. Not long after, Vlad spoke again.

"You never answered my question." He said without breaking stride. Danny frowned, trying to remember what it was. He didn't have to think long. "Why are you here." Vlad abruptly stopped walking and turned to face him. "Was it to gloat, perhaps? Or maybe to kill me off now." Danny shook his head.

"No it's not like that." He said, "Well, okay maybe the gloating part did feel good but that's not the reason I'm here."

"Then why are you here?" Vlad was becoming impatient.

"That's… complicated. Well, not really but…uh…" Danny ran a hand through his tangled black hair. Maybe he should have rehearsed this. It felt… weird, talking to Vlad again. He thought this would be a simple get in- get out situation, but this was seeming a lot more difficult the longer he was here.

Danny thought about telling Vlad everything that happened/will happen (though he kind of already did. Way to go, Fenton.") but Clockwork had never specified how much he could tell Vlad without destroying the future. He just popped in to Danny's life one day and asked him if he wanted to give Vlad a second chance and maybe turn him into a good guy or something. He had put it better than that but that was the gist of it. He never told Danny how he was supposed to accomplish this.

Danny sighed. If he screwed up too badly, Clockwork could always intervene, right? So what was the worst that could happen?

Vlad was leaning against a wall, watching Danny's inter-turmoil with an amused smile. "Okay." Danny started with a nod of his head. "So in the future you do a lot of messed up stuff like using me to defeat the Ghost King and putting a million-dollar bounty on my head and hitting on my mom and even cloning me." He took a deep breath. "but then one day you take it too far and decide to send an asteroid towards the Earth."

Vlad was staring at him with disbelieving eyes, but Danny didn't stop there. "I guess you wanted to rule the world or some such nonsense." Danny waved it away like it was nothing. "But then you failed to turn the asteroid intangible and- "Vlad cut him off.

"So the Earth was destroyed?" He asked, "Is that why you came back here- to stop that from happening?" Despite his nonchalant tone, Vlad seemed tense.

"No, no." Danny assured him. "I got help from some other ghosts and we turned the earth intangible but that's not the point. The point is you ended up stranded in space and... I guess I just..." Oh, great, not again. Line, please?

Vlad suddenly stood up from the wall and placed a comforting hand on Danny's shoulder. Danny winced at the unexpected contact and looked up at Vlad, confused. "I have to say, Daniel," Vlad said, the smile never leaving his face. "I'm surprised." Danny frowned; It couldn't be this easy, could it? "You are still so naïve." Vlad sent a hot ectoblast into Danny's shoulder. Danny cried out in pain as his body slammed into the wall. He quickly jumped to his feet and into a battle stance.

Of course it wouldn't be that simple- this was Vlad!

Vlad laughed, quickly transforming into Plasmius. Danny looked up at him wearily. Old fear crept into his stomach. Even after eleven years, this man still creeped him out.

Vlad took a menacing step forwards, the smirk never leaving his face. "After all these years…" He laughed, "I'm still a step ahead of you."

"What do you mean?" Danny asked wearily.

"Isn't it obvious?" Vlad sneered, "You're giving me all the information I need to beat you." He took a menacing step forwards. "And this time around, I won't fail." Plasmius sent an ecto-blast in Danny's direction. Danny dodged this by going ghost and turning intangible.

Plasmius actually looked impressed, taking in Danny's new suit and flaming white hair. "Well, it certainly is an improvement." He commented. Danny responded with a green ecto-blast. It hit Plasmius's shoulder and send him backwards a few steps.

Plasmius brushed it off and let out a soft chuckle. "It's odd," He said. "I barely know a thing about you and yet you seem to know everything about me." Danny grinned, preparing another blast.

"Yeah, and that gives me the upper hand." He sent the blast towards Plasmius… but the man blocked it with his shield. Vlad threw a punch, nearly hitting Danny's jaw.

"It's good to see that your skills have improved as well, my boy." He remarked. "It really was too easy to take you out at the reunion." Danny dodged a second punch by jumping to the left, then kicked Vlad in the shin. Vlad growled before splitting himself into four.

"Have you learned this one yet?" He asked in an amused tone. Dodging the blasts coming his way, Danny duplicated himself.

"Yup, and no thanks to you, Cheese-head." Even though, technically it was Plasmius who inspired the idea. The four Danny's all created ecto-blasts before forcing them together to make one large blast and sending it in the older half ghost's direction.

Vlad landed a few yards away, stunned. All his clones had molded back into one. Danny smirked, stepping towards his old enemy and fusing back into one.

"If you liked that one," He said, taking a deep breath. "Then you're going to love this." Just as the waves of a Ghostly Whale started out of Danny's mouth, Vlad teleported. Danny stopped.

"Dang it." Danny said, taking in his surroundings. Paintings had fallen off of walls and the doors in the hallway were cracked. Ecto-blast burns imprinted the walls. Danny hung his head.

What was he doing? He was supposed to be giving Vlad a second chance, not fighting with him! "Maybe they were right." Danny muttered, speaking of his family. "Maybe he will never change." Danny reached up, grabbing the medallion in his hands. He might as well take it off and face Clockwork. He screwed up. Big time. So much for second chances.

Just as Danny was about to rip off the time piece, he felt a hand grip his shoulder. Searing hot pain coursed through his body. Danny tried to focus on getting away, turning intangible, anything, but the pain was preventing him from even thinking straight.

All he could think was; Crud, crud, crud, crud, crud! Another hand pulled Danny's free arm behind his back. Danny screamed as more electricity flowed through his veins. Black spots danced across his vision and Danny mentally berated himself for letting his guard down. Just before his world darkened completely he heard Vlad chuckle and say; "Sleep tight, Little Badger."

Danny came to slowly. The first thing that registered in his groggy mind was the sound of machines beeping and whirring around him. Danny groaned; he felt awful. He had a massive headache and his arm and shoulder were sore.

What happened? The last thing he remembered was… wasn't it his birthday? Wait... something was wrong. "Oh good, you're waking up." Danny froze. He knew that voice!

blue eyes flew open and he threw himself into a standing position. Well, he tried. He just ended up back where he started; tied to an examination table. Danny groaned.

Plasmius laughed. "Did you have a good nap?" Danny grimaced as everything came flooding back to him. He looked solemnly around Vlad's lab. He'd almost forgotten how much he hated this place.

"Definitely haven't missed this." He said, pulling at the cuffs around his wrists. "Seriously, dude, you need a new hobby." Vlad ignored this.

"Tell me Daniel, how old are you." He asked, curious.

"It's Danny. Danny. Why is that so hard for you to get?" Why did Vlad care anyway?

"Answer the question." Danny sighed, leaning his head back against the table.

"Twenty- five today." He muttered, before quickly turning to Vlad. "Wait, it is the same day, right?" The man rolled his eyes.

"Relax, it's only a quarter after eight." He said, glancing at his watch. He quickly changed the subject. "So it's your birthday, hmm?" Danny nodded faintly.

"Yeah, but we're really celebrating it on Saturday since Sam has to work."

"Sam?" Plasmius asked. Danny jolted. Why the heck was he talking to Vlad like they were old pals? He should be trying to find a way out of this mess…

Then again, did he really want to give up so easily? Danny took a deep breath.

"Uh, she's my girlfriend; fiancée actually." He smiled briefly. Vlad's eyes widened.

"Really?" He said, putting a hand on his chin. "How interesting…" He slowly paced the room, putting his hands behind his back. "You may not believe this, Daniel, but I am a busy man, and I don't have the time or patience to listen to you ramble on about your life, so you have five minutes to explain why you came here before I send you back." He glanced at Clockwork's necklace. "Understood?" Danny rolled his eyes.

"Yup I get it, you're an old man and you need your sleep. I understand." Vlad's eyes flashed a darker red.

"You're wasting time." He said through gritted teeth. Danny smiled, briefly, before diving in.

"Okay, listen," He started, "Like I said, in the future you end up dying out in space after messing up a lot, and… I don't know, it was just weird. Being the only half ghost out there. Well, there was another one but she… died not too long ago." Danny's face hardened at the memory… he was still going to get Skulker back for that.* He ignored the confused look Plasmius was sending his way and continued.

"This isn't the first time I've time traveled, Plasmius. It was some horrible alternate timeline but I actually talked to you. You had changed- realized what a fool you were." Vlad glared at him but Danny ignored it. "You even forgave my dad. So, my point is- I'm giving you a second chance. We don't have to be enemies, Vlad. You have that option. Okay so maybe you're upset about the accident it college but believe it or not, my parents are still your friends. And, believe me, my Dad feels terrible for what he did to you.

"So, you can either continue being stubborn and end up bitter and alone on some space rock for the rest of your life, or you can just accept that this is your life now and move on. So what's it going to be, Vlad?"

Vlad was quiet for a while, staring down at Danny with a hand over his chin. Then he moved, reaching down and holding the time medallion in his hands. Danny watched him impatiently.

"What if I choose neither?" Vlad asked, rubbing a thumb across the CW. "What if I use this information to create myself a better future? One where I get everything I want." Danny shook his head.

"Not an option; Clockwork would stop you before that happened." Vlad hummed, twirling the necklace in his hands. "Come on, Vlad." Danny said with a frustrated sigh. "What do you say?" Vlad gave him an annoyed scowl.

"I'll think about it." And with that he ripped the time medallion from Danny's neck, sending Danny back to his own time.

You get to decide how this ends! I tried to stick to one ending but I really couldn't choose. (Ironic, I know.)

Option One: Danny returns to find that Vlad took his deal and everyone's lives are better for it.

Option Two: Danny returns to find everything the way it was but feels a sense of peace having spoken to Vlad one last time.

*headcanon that Vlad knows about Clockwork

*Yeah, I killed Danielle. Sorry.