Danny burst through the ghost portal, his eyes searching for any signs that the ghosts had come through it. Upon finding nothing, he turned around and shut the portal, locking it up tight, before he took a step back to breathe, and process everything that had just happened to him.

Clockwork, his mentor and friend, had been overwhelmed by Dan, and was now an insane ghost who wanted to make Danny his evil apprentice. He was also planning to destroy Amity Park, and probably the entire world, in at least a few hours. "Oh man, what am I gonna do…?"

"Danny, are you down there?" Looking up, Danny watched his friends come down the steps and into the lab. Sam spoke first. "What happened? You were gone for hours!"

"Guys, we have a really bad problem." Danny started, eyes glancing towards the portal every so often, before he started to explain the situation while preparing some weaponry.


"So," Dark started, tail wrapped around the neck of the ghost king from an alternate timeline. "I will ask you once more. All you have to do is say yes, and I might not demonstrate the process of killing a ghost on you as I did with your minions. Now, would you, kindly, hand over the crown and the ring?"

When the king refused to speak, Dark sighed tiredly. "I figured you would act like this, but I was hoping you'd be a rarity and surprise me. I suppose it's not to be."

Raising his staff, which was now glowing green with the ectoplasm of the king's minions covering it, the dark time master slammed it into Pariah's chest, hearing him grunt as he tried to remove it, clearly wanting to scream, but refusing. Shaking his head, Dark ran his energy through the device, making it engulf the king, and cause him to wriggle in pain and finally cry out in agony. Leaning over his staff, Dark looked down at him with a small smile on his face.

"Don't worry, your majesty. Every ounce of ecto-energy being ripped from your body will be put to good use. Firstly, I think I should test it on some of the Observants who attempt to defy me. After that, perhaps I'll take out the Pariah from the timeline I dwell in. Add more power to my being… Then the Fenton family will suffer. Except Daniel of course. Being more powerful than all other ghosts, mind myself of course, he's far too useful." Dark then chuckled. "You know that, don't you? He did defeat you here as well."

Ectoplasm leaked from the corner of the dying king's mouth, as his energy was being pulled into the staff by Dark's energy. "He… never defeated me…"

Dark smirked. "As nice as it would be to die with that thought, it's wrong. After all, I'm a third Daniel. Not only that, but also Vlad and Clockwork. My, you've been defeated by a lot of people today, haven't you? But don't worry… you won't be living with that defeat much longer."

Removing his staff, as well as the ghost king's last remaining drops of energy, Dark watched him turn to goo and dissipate into the ghost zone, before he picked up his prizes. The Crown of Fire, and the Ring of Rage. Turning them intangible, he shoved them into his chest and fused them with his being, screaming in agony as pain briefly consumed him. He then removed his hand, now covered in some of his own ectoplasm.

He smiled with fondness at his hand, as a memory managed to make it's way to the forefront of his mind for a moment, past the madness, sadism, and vengefulness of his other thoughts and omniscient. "Intangible and unreachable…"

The fire that was Dark's hair roared, as his eyes shined bright red with power. He smiled wickedly, his serpent tongue tasting the ectoplasm on his fingers. The flames that engulfed the keep around him casted long shadows on the ground, and rubble lied at his feet, as he relished in the power gifted to him from the destruction. Then he stopped, and glanced at his staff.

"Hmm…" Dark wiped away some of the ectoplasm on the clock face of his staff to see the time of dimension he was focused on taking care of. "I'll give him an hour longer to see what he can come up with, why not?"

The clock face morphed into a mini screen, showing the boy and his friends gathering ghost weapons into a duffel bag, each one nervous, but none more than Danny. Chuckling, Dark whispered into his staff like a microphone. "I've given you the gift of time, Daniel. Make it count."


Danny shivered, dread weighing far heavier on his shoulders now. "Guys, something tells me we don't have much time. Sam, head up to the Ops center, and let me know if any ghosts appear with the Fenton Phones, and be careful."

"Got it." Taking the set of Fenton Phones from Danny, Sam jogged up the steps and out of the basement.

"Tucker, I need you to distract my parents. Ask them about ghosts or something, just keep them out of the lab, and out of harm's way, and yourself too." Tucker nodded, running upstairs as well, leaving Danny to watch the ghost portal. And as he was doing so, he remembered a very important detail. "Vlad's portal! What am I gonna-"

Danny cut himself off, and looked at the phone on one of the work tables. He inwardly cringed at the thought of telling Vlad anything about this, especially Dan, but he needed all of the help he could get. After all, not just his future was on the line here.

Dialing the man's number, Danny hoped that the man was available, especially since he hadn't been able to get ahold of the older halfa before. "Mayor's office, how may I help you?"

"Ah, is Vlad there? It's Danny." Danny asked, nervously messing with the phone cord.

"The mayor's currently very busy. Can I take a message?" The secretary asked, clearly bored and uncaring as to whatever Danny's situation was.

"Just tell him it's really important, please! Mention me!" The woman on the other end sighed, and clacking was heard on a keyboard, followed by her muffled voice. Then the line was cut, and Danny heard Vlad's voice.

"Daniel, this is a very bad time-" The man was cut off.

"Vlad, listen to me! We're all in grave danger! I need you to turn off your portal, lock it, and make sure nothing comes out, got it? The entire world depends on nothing leaving the ghost zone!" Danny said, frantically glancing between the phone in his hands and his ghost portal.

"My portal's always locked when I'm away. Calm down, and explain to me what's going on." Vlad said, keeping calm so that Danny would do the same.

"Agh, okay!" Danny said, launching into as quick an explanation of his evil future self, Clockwork, and Dark as he could while being as brief about Dan as possible. A silence then followed, before Danny spoke up. "V-Vlad?"

"I'll see what I can do, Daniel… Be careful." Danny stared at the phone, shocked at what Vlad had said. That was… easier than he thought it would be.

"Right, thanks Vlad." With that, Danny hung up and breathed deeply.

The only, permanent, portals between the ghost zone and Earth were now under lockdown, which should at least buy the young halfa a little more time. He could only hope that they were prepared enough for this. But, just in case, he continued to work on some of the projects in his parents' lab while glancing at the photograph beside him. He wouldn't lose, he concluded as he stared at the still image of his parents and sister, alongside him, in the picture frame. He wouldn't lose because he promised, and he had something to fight for.

The future of his family.