One in the Same

Summary- It's been one year since the events of "Phantom Planet" And Danny is starting to have horrible nightmares about his evil future-self roaming free, and the world he loves in total ruin. But are these nightmares simply dreams? Or are they a glimpse into the future?

Find out in this jaw dropping sequel where we learn nothing is what it seems!

Disclaimers: I do not own Danny Phantom

Author's Notes: Okay guys Please pay attention to the time frame of each chapter, this is very important because we will be exploring the past, present, and future in the story so please pay attention, or else you might get totally lost! The time frame will be in () at the beginning of each chapter.

Now with that aside, I've got a lot to explain in this book like how is Dark Dan half human again, and why is he out of his prison! And why he's so willing to help Clockwork fix the new future. This part of the story will be explained through flash to the past.

Also I kind of promised to make Dani, Danny's clone a real member of the Fenton family to one of my readers, and I also have to paint a picture of this new evil future that our hero's somehow have to stop without Clockwork's help!

So you can imagine why this book is two months late. Yes, it was already written, but as I was rereading, and editing it I found a lot of hole in the story that I had to fix, so without further delay here we go!

As Always I thank you for reading and ask that you please review, your opinions are always a big help, and are greatly appreciated.

Chapter 1: Prologue

(3 week after the Original Episode: The Ultimate Enemy)

Darkness…

He had come to know it well.

Confinement,

He had come to loath its tightening grip almost like a snake slowly suffocating its prey.

Anger,

It was like a liquid fire running through his veins, an unstoppable force that was building up within him, more and more each day.

Revenge!

A solemn vow of what was yet to come.

Fear,

A hidden truth he dare not admit to.

But what could he possibly be afraid of?

One word…

Change,

He was changing. At first he wasn't sure how this could be since he existed outside of time and space, but it was true, and it wasn't hard to guess why! The longer he stayed in this thermos, the longer his present self-continued to live his life, and the longer that life went on uninterrupted by his evil, the more Dark Dan could feel himself slowly changing.

It started with his ghostly form, Since Danny never cheated on the test, his family never died, so Vlad never separated his ghost half from his human half. This meant that Dark Dan was no longer full ghost! Instead he went to back being an older version of his half ghost self. After that his emotions became harder to hide.

He could feel his love for the world slowly returning, he was becoming weak, and it made him sick!

'I have to get out of here.' He thought, 'Before I am ruined completely.'

He lashes out at the walls of his prison and the Fenton Thermos bends at the force of the mighty blow, but it does not break. For a moment the feeling of fear returns, but it's a new kind of fear, the fear of being alone with his past, the fear of reliving what he always relived in the dark.

Losing them….

Suddenly his eyes glow red.

'No I will not go there.' He swore. 'I will not be reduced to a broken shell of a man crying over the loss of the ones he loved.'

But that is what he was doing.

With each passing day, his present-self lived on, making new memories that were softening Dark Dan's once harden heart. If this continued for much longer he would no longer be the tyrant that was once feared by humans and ghost alike.

No, he would become that weakling all over again.

'No! NEVER AGAIN!'

With a new found determination filling him, he striked the Fenton Thermos again, and again, and with each blow he could feel it getting closer to breaking. Finally, with a loud hiss, a huge crack appear on the side. The crack broke open, allowing a greenish mist to escape.

Clockwork made no move to stop it as this green mist started to form into the thing of Danny's nightmares, evil incarnate, and dark future-self: Dark Dan.

Dark Dan caught a glimpse of his reflection in the glass of a nearby window.

He looked the same.

"Strange." He said out loud. "I was sure I would no longer have Vlad's features since we never fused." But he did. His pale green skin, blood red eyes, fangs, white fiery hair, and goatee was still there.

Why was this?

Was it possible that his evil future existed after all?

Or was he still slowly converting?

Was he even changing at all or was it his imagination?

There was only one way to find out!

Dark Dan focused, and felt his heart dropped as he changed into human form.

He dared to look himself over in the glass.

"It is as bad as I feared." He realized as he took in his human features, revealing a man in a black shirt, and blue jeans with his long black hair in a ponytail and a matching goatee.

But his red eye and fangs still remained, he hissed and his forked tongue greeted him.

"So Vlad is still there." He whispered. "But how? Why?"

"Perhaps I can help…"

Dark Dan, change back into his ghost form, and turned around to face an old ghost with a staff. "Clockwork what's the meaning of this!"

"You're changing." Clockwork mused. "Just because you exist outside of the timeline does not mean you do not change with it."

"But Vlad is still here!" Dark Dan hissed. "Why!"

"You're upset? I thought you would be thrilled to still have him about." Clockwork teased.

"Fine don't tell me what I want to hear!" Dark Dan snapped as he grabbed a time medallion from the wall, and puts it on. "It doesn't matter anyways, because I'm going to get my future back, and you can't stop me."

"No your right I can't." The time wizard seem to agree. "Go ahead, take it." He offers Dark Dan his staff.

Dark Dan is taken aback, but he recovers quickly. "This is another test, you're trying to trick me!" he accused.

Clockwork sneered openly. "Oh I don't need to trick you, or lecture you, or even try to change you." He told the evil phantom.

"And why not?" Dark Dan snapped.

"Because you're going to do it for me!" Clockwork told him. "Or more importantly your younger-self will."

"Not if I stop him!" Dark Dan vowed snatching the staff from the old ghost, "Now take me back to September 8th, the day of the CAT test!" Dark Dan waved the Staff at the future rift, but nothing happened. "What?" Dark Dan was confused. "Stupid staff take me back to three weeks ago now!" He waved it again.

Nothing!

Clockwork could not help, but chuckle.

Dark Dan growls, glaring at him. "Tell me how to work this thing you old crow."

"You're already doing it correctly." Clockwork assured him.

"Then why isn't it working?!" Dark Dan demanded.

"Because the council has declared that time period banned." Clockwork explained. "No one can travel back to that day. Not even me."

"You did this!" Dark Dan yelled. "You did this so I wouldn't be able to go back!"

"They did, yes." Clockwork told him. "It is in the best interest of both realms that that day stays untouched."

"You think that'll stop me!" Dark Dan hissed. "I'll-"

"What?" Clockwork interrupted. "Kill your present self? That won't work." He reasoned. "Cause you'll destroy yourself along with him."

"Then I'll recreate the events that cause it!" Dark Dan argued.

"That won't work either." Clockwork mused. "The Nasty sauce has been removed, the newly built restaurant won't blow up."

Dark Dan grabbed the old ghost by the cloak, and banged him against the wall. "Then I'll bring it back."

"Can't it was taken away on the same day of the test." Clockwork mused. "A day you can't go back to because it's banned."

"Then I'll-"

"Kill them yourself?" Clockwork interrupted. "Oh yes, seeing his evil-self kill his love one will defiantly want him to become you."

"Shut up old fool." Dark Dan growled.

"Am I the fool?" Clockwork asked. "Or are you?"

Dark Dan growled, but said nothing.

"There is nothing you can do." Clockwork mused. "You're stuck here with me. You can't change the past, and meddling with the present will do you no go."

Dark Dan smiled as he got an idea. "Maybe I can't meddle with the past or the present, but there is a third option." He waved the staff towards the future rift. "Send me ten years into the future!"

Clockwork didn't even flinch as Dark Dan was sucked into the future rift leaving the time staff behind.

"Have you lost your mind?" Melk hissed as he and the council appeared around him.

Clockwork bend down and retrieved his staff. "Trust me I know what I am doing."

"But he can cause as much trouble there as he could in the past." Klem insisted.

"No, he can't." Clockwork assured him.

"And why not!" Melk asked, looking fearful.

"Because the future is still a desolate wasteland." Clockwork said simply.

"Are you saying nothing has changed?" Melk asked fearfully.

"Oh no something has changed." Clockwork assured them.

"We don't understand." A third observer spoke, looking identical to the other two.

"I told you, killing him would not change the future, and changing his mind did not change the future either." Clockwork explained. "If fate wants the future to be a desolate waste land then it will simply chose another to take his place."

"So there's another monster for us to be worried about." The third asked.

"Yes." Clockwork answered simply.

"Dark Dan will defeat him though." Melk said hopefully.

"No." Clockwork mused.

"No?" The third hissed. "And you find this amusing, if his evil-self cannot do it! What makes you think his good-self can?"

"He can't." Clockwork answered.

"Then you have doomed us all." Klem cried. "You meddled with the future."

"No you meddled." Clockwork corrected. "You caused this when you forced me to alter moments throughout history. I fixed it with Daniel." Clockwork said. "Now that we have our hero back we stand a fighting chance, this new threat would have cross paths with Dark Dan sooner or later in the old future, and Dan would have lost."

"What good does that do us if he can't stop this new threat!" a fourth observer asked.

"Yet." Clockwork corrected him.

"What?" the observers asked as a whole.

"Daniel cannot stop him, because he does not have the means, not yet, but he will." Clockwork assured them. "Now let me do my job while I still have time."

The observers seem to hesitate for a moment, but soon obey leaving Clockwork alone to watch the future rift.

"Careful Daniel..." he warned. "This may look like the future you know, but it is worse, far worse than you could ever imagine."

Chapter One: END!