Chapter 13:

Surprisingly, it was taking forever for Danny to be sent in oblivion. He felt like he had been standing there for hours, even though it was only a couple minutes. He sighed and mentally said goodbye to everyone he could think of. Tucker, Sam, Jazz, Frostbite, Clockwork, heck even his Mom and Dad, even though they were right in front of him. Maybe he was saying goodbye to his old parents… the ones that didn't want to kill him.

Wait, maybe that's how he could get out of here! He could tell them something they would never expect to hear, thereby confusing them long enough to make his escape. Danny opened his eyes, dropped his "welcoming of fate" stance, and saw the last adjustment being made to the controls by his Mom. Jack was hovering behind her supervising. Maddie had her hand hovering over the red button that would activate the machine that would end his life - permanently. Somehow, however, she couldn't quite get herself to push it. She looked over her shoulder at Jack for support, but he just shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, 'It's your choice.'

So, instead, she looked up at the being she intended to kill…again. He was still floating there, his eyes locked on hers. Then he said it,

"I'm sorry."

It had the right effect, but with some unseen consequences. Maddie's hand was just above the button that would end him, so when he said that, her hand dropped in shock.

Right on the button.

No sooner than he could blink, multiple rays - the same color as the boy's radioactive green eyes - started converging into one and moving toward him.

Everything was moving in slow motion for Dani. She saw her cousin open his eyes, then say something that couldn't be heard from where she was. Then, the next thing she knew, there was a single ray coming out of several of the ghost guns on top of the Speeder. Her adrenaline picked up and she picked up her pace, flying faster than she ever had before.

Moments later, she rammed into her unsuspecting cousin, the impact moving them both out of the line of fire. Milliseconds after the impact, there was the unmistakable sound of an explosion, and they were flung into the air from the heat. They tumbled around for a while, it was when Dani was propelled into Danny was when they finally stopped moving. They collapsed in a heap, exhausted.

"You are an idiot," she told him getting up and hovering beside him. Danny just smiled and took a deep intake a breath, which resulted in a weak cough. He then cracked open his eyelids and looked at his clone, who just saved his life.

"I think you broke my rib." Was all he told her, before closing his eyes again.

"Really?! I just saved your life!" She yelled at him, then sighed. It was no use, he was passed out. She had to give him credit for not changing back into Fenton though. He really was getting more control over his ghost half. He could even make a duplicate, and keep it up for at least a day, providing he didn't deplete his energy. Dani, however, still had work to do.

She grabbed her cousin and dragged him through the Zone for the second time. She saw Frostbite and the army over in the distance. She flew with as much energy she could muster. Now that her adrenaline was gone, she was exhausted. Dani flew the last couple of yards over to Frostbite, who looked very relieved to see them both still in one piece.

One of the soldiers took Danny from her, and she nodded her thanks. She then turned to Frostbite who had started speaking to her.

"After you pushed the Great One out of the line of fire, we moved in to attack. But once they saw us, they vanished."

"It's okay…" The girl halfa choked out before collapsing into a heap herself.

Frostbite looked at her and said. "We can discuss this later." He chuckled and started off. Another soldier picked Dani up, and they started their journey back to the Far Frozen.

The whole way there she drifted in and out of consciousness, but the whole time she felt like they were being followed.

Sam had been talking to Jazz for about an hour, and they hadn't really come up with any good plans. So, they decided they would meet tomorrow, and see if anything came to them overnight.

The two girls were just getting up to leave the lab when a dark laugh filled the room. They quickly turned around to see a figure emerging from the shadows.

"Well, well. If it isn't the two girls that mattered most to me. It seems like such a long time ago." Said the deep voice, looking between the two. Jazz's jaw dropped and Sam's eyes widened. "What, did you not expect me to come and visit my old home?" Jazz shook her head, but it was Sam who spoke.

"What are you really doing here Dan? I know you didn't come here for old time's sake." She accused, glaring at her best friend's jerky older self, and sworn enemy.

"Oh Sam, you don't know that. Maybe I came here to remember my bossy older sister, or my know-it-all mother, or my idiot father."

"I am not bossy!" Jazz defended, and Dan just glared at her.

Sam replied to Dan's comment as if Jazz had never said anything. "Your idiot father? Now you're starting to sound like Vlad."

"Well, I am Vlad. In a way, at least," he retorted. Sam had never really thought much of that. Sure, Vlad was powerful, - annoying, but powerful - but so was Danny, and he hadn't even reached his full potential at 16. So, when you thought about it, Dan was extremely powerful. The very thought of what he could potentially unleash sent shivers down her spine. It was a miracle that Danny was able to beat him the first time, and Clockwork was that miracle. How on Earth was he going to beat him again without his help?

Dan smiled as if reading Sam's thoughts. "But you are right Sam. I'm here because I'm curious. Curious to see how exactly you are going to accomplish helping Danny." Dan was now walking around the lab looking disgustedly at all the weapons. Sam's hard expression turned into a glare.

"How long have you been lurking in the shadows?" She asked, arms crossed.

"I wouldn't use the word lurking, but if it makes you feel better, I've been following you since you were halfway to Tucker's house." He answered, nonchalantly.

"Okay, that's just creepy," Jazz interjected. Dan just shrugged his shoulders and stopped in front of the portal.

"No, not really. I just checking in on an old friend." He said sarcastically, then laughed darkly. "Actually, terrorizing this town gets boring when no one is running around in a panic, screaming as if their lives depended on it – which, let's be honest, it kind of does. My point is, everyone, is inside, "safe" from the evil Danny Phantom."

He spit the name "Danny," as if it was a disease. He still hated the name and always would. It seemed like such a weak name to him.

"But there, has to be a reason for coming here." Sam persisted, wanting the evil Phantom to confess.

"There is definitely a reason. I just haven't decided if I want to tell you yet," he replied, still looking at the portal. Jazz, meanwhile, was getting a little anxious. Why would Dan tell them anything, and why did she get an uneasy feeling with him staring at the portal? She figured he knew that her brother - the younger version of him - was somewhere inside. And no matter how many questions Sam asked, not all of them would be answered. He could tell as many lies and withhold as many secrets as he wanted to.

"You know, this lab brings back a lot of… unwanted memories." Dan suddenly said turning around to face Jazz and Sam. They just looked back at him curiously. In an answer Dan just laughed; he seemed to be doing that a lot lately. " You know, I still want to kill you." He said instead, and the girls took an involuntary step back. "Except by a different strategy." He cracked a wicked grin, but you don't have to worry too much about that. Well, not yet, at least." With that last statement still fresh in their mind's, Dan vanished. Leaving them even more confused than they had ever been before.

After being shot at, thrown into the Ghost Zone, then flying through the Zone to get to his portal, Vlad was worn out, to say the least. To think, Jack Fenton actually hit him accurately, and now that he knows the truth about him, he won't hesitate to open fire again. How had things come to this? Just two short days ago everything had been normal. Now, Jack and Maddie - sweet Maddie - knew that he was half ghost. Now, if he ever wanted Maddie for himself, he'd have to take…extreme measures, to say the least. Providing that Daniel's evil self stayed true to his word.

Vlad was now in his office at Amity Park City Hall stroking Maddie's fur. The cat was purring softly, it was the only sound to accompany the billionaire's thoughts. After he had arrived in his lab, he had shut the portal, then grabbed the cat for company, because frankly, Dan was horrible company.

Vlad shook his head, Dan was so much different from the Daniel in this timeline. The first time he had heard about Daniel's evil self, he couldn't believe it. He just couldn't fathom a time when he didn't have his ghost half and Daniel was a full ghost. An evil full ghost, that is. Evil was his thing, and the billionaire was starting to regret even partnering up with him. The strange thing was that from the things he heard about Dan before he met him made him seem like an all-around, pure evil ghost. But there was something different about him now, but Vlad couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The evil halfa was broken out of his thoughts by the second evil entity. Dan materialized through the floor and stood in front of Plasmius' desk.

"I know where they went." He told him simply, glancing at the cat. She didn't like Dan very much and attacked him the first time she saw him. He would have disposed of her right then if Vlad hadn't intervened.

"Well, where are they?" Vlad asked him, growing impatient with the way he didn't explain things unless you asked. Unless it was about him, then he wouldn't shut up. He must have gotten that from Daniel.

"Where do you think? What's the one place the could have ever hoped to escape to?" He questioned, walking around the room. Vlad's eyes widened in realization.

"Of course," he muttered, and stood up. Maddie, expecting it this time had jumped up onto the desk before gravity could pull her to the floor. "Why didn't we realize it sooner?"

"Why didn't you realize it sooner. You're the genius, I didn't make it through High School. Even if I would have, I wouldn't have passed with the highest grades. Then again, I might have," he smiled, "because I would have scared off all my classmates, and perhaps my teacher's come to think of it."

Vlad sighed and shook his head inwardly. He always had to mention how evil he was. And people called Vlad Masters narcissistic, he suppressed an eye roll at his thoughts. Aloud he said, "Well I suppose we should go get them then."

"Okay, maybe I am the smart one here."

"And why is that?" Plasmius asked.

"Because there is no way they are going to come peacefully. In fact, that's probably why they're there; to prepare for a fight. Point is, we need a plan, and I have just the thing." Dan told him, a wicked smirk adorning his face.

Vlad just raised his eyebrows, arms crossed. "Do tell," was all he said.

Dan, still wearing his evil grin, walked up to Plasmius. "Here's what we're going to do…." he said and proceeded to tell him the plan.

Edited and Revised 7/22/19