Hey, Specter14 here! This is an original chapter/episode, slightly based off Memory Blank. I had fun with it. I also ended up making some fanart of sorts, just to help me visualize the different appearances (you'll find out soon enough).
They're on my new Deviantart page, PhantomS14, so go ahead and type phantoms14 . deviantart . com (without the spaces) and you can go see it!
I apologize for the cringy artwork... xDDD But I suppose it's better than nothing. You can go take a look now, or do it once you get to that part, or not at all if you just want to let your own imagination paint the picture. Whatever you'd like.
Anyway, reviews! :D
To Invader Johnny: Haha yes, I totally should have said that last chapter… Thanks for reviewing and hope you like this one!
To Sockenmonster01: Yeah, I did too… I'm such a mean author, lol. I love those moments, and I hope to write about more soon! Certainly at TUE, I was already planning that even… Just a few chapters from now! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
To Lightning Streak: Thanks so much! Wow, I didn't expect you to be reading this crappy first fanfic! Thanks so much for reviewing; it means a lot to me! Hope you don't cringe too much (lol) and enjoy this chapter too!
To memmek10k: Thank you, and thanks for reading and reviewing!
To AwesomeAuthor13: Wow thanks! I honestly thought last chapter was kinda bad compared to the others, lol. Thanks for reading and reviewing and please enjoy this chapter too!
To KaliAnn: Wow, thanks so much! I didn't actually mean to do that, at least the way I did, but I'm glad you liked it! More about that will come later in the series, I'm sure. Thanks for R&Ring!
To Brenne: Haha yep, Freakshow's gonna get it if he messes with Vlad's Little Badger… Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, and I hope you like this chapter too!
To Rocky Rooster: Yeah, that's true. I guess it was getting pretty forced… Thanks so much for your feedback! I'm sure more original stuff would be more exciting to read than writing similar to the episodes. Thanks again for R&Ring, and I really appreciate you saying that. Wasn't negative at all, if it helps me become a better author!
To DannyPhantomPhantom: Hahaha, yeah, I wonder what Val's up to… Can't be anything good… And I assure you, Vlad will get a cat soon! :D Ahhh, I can't wait to write that part… And true, OOC is bound to happen in a fic like this… Now I'll go prepare the torture chamber… I just need a chair with arm and leg restraints, and a TV with MLP playing. xDDDD That'll give him what he deserves… Thanks so much for reading and reviewing every chapter! x3
To nathan-x: Thank you, I'm glad you like it so much! And about that… I wasn't planning for that to be the case, because Jack and Maddie are supposed to be married… So with that idea, either Maddie cheated or a ghost did it. Of course the ghost thing could work too, lol. Thanks for reviewing! I may write that in a one-shot series in the near future, of storylines I don't want included with this fic, like reveal scenarios and other things like that. Watch out for it, and I hope you like this chapter!
Thanks to DragonNOOB, memmek10k, tobi1989, NicNack4U, Kokuyoseki no ketsueki, WanderingTales, Owlites, and lexi1220 for favoriting or following before this chapter!
Special thanks to DragonNOOB for favoriting and following me as an author! That makes 5! Growing slowly but steadily… Thanks so much! :) :)
After that huge authors note, here's the chapter! Don't forget to look at the linked fanart on my profile, if you want. It'll (probably) do more help than harm… But look at your own risk! xD
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the show Danny Phantom, but I guess I own my older and younger versions of them… And I own the main plot.
Switched Perspective
A beam of sunlight shone over his closed eyes. With a mumble, he turned his head into his pillow and snuggled further into the fluffy warmth. What seemed like only a few seconds later, a soft beeping noise cut through the comfortable silence.
Vlad buried his face further into the pillow and tried to ignore the annoying sound, which was steadily getting louder and louder. Finally he slammed a hand over to where the beeping was coming from, knocking the alarm clock down with a crash.
"Vlad, wake up!" He heard a feminine voice through the door. "We're going to be late for school! I'm leaving without you if you aren't ready in the next 15 minutes!"
"Wha?" Vlad blearily opened his eyes and yawned. He stumbled out of bed, rubbing his eyes and almost tripping over his own feet. He felt... shorter, and more awkward than usual... With a surprised yelp, he steadied himself against the door that he heard the voice come from. He turned around and surveyed the space in front of him.
He recognized the room, but it looked... different...
A few posters were scattered across the dark green walls, each advertising a band or what looked like blueprints for model buildings and cars (Vlad had wanted to be an architect when he was younger, but that had changed as he grew older). A half-made twin-sized bed with green covers extended from the left wall to the middle of the room, and a white nightstand sat beside it. A broken alarm clock was hanging down from it by the chord. A desk covered in papers and writing utensils was against the far wall.
He was startled out of his thoughts when someone banged on the door he was leaning on.
"Ahh, what is it?!" He snapped, then gasped silently when he heard his own voice... He didn't remember his voice being that high...
"Are you up yet? Can I come in or-" It was the same girl as before.
"W-wait, don't come in! I'm... naked..." He blushed at that terrible excuse, but it was the only thing he could think of at the moment.
"O-kay... V, just get some clothes on and come down for breakfast..." The girl said in embarrassment, and then left the door again.
A few minutes later, Vlad rushed out of the room with some clean clothes on and a blue backpack he had found by his bed. He opened doors in the hall until he found a bathroom, which he stepped into and closed the door. He stared at his reflection.
A mop of spiky, shiny raven hair hanging in front of his dark blue eyes, and reaching his shoulders in the back. No beard and a more rounded chin. A simple, forest green T-shirt and dark blue jeans. Short and thin frame. Dumbfounded expression.
Yep... Vlad was a teenager.
He almost screamed, but managed to catch himself before he did.
His eyes widened in horror as he remembered what had happened...
"Look Vlad!" Three Danny Phantoms shouted. "I made two duplicates, instead of just one!"
Vlad turned around in surprise and watched Danny close his eyes and try to mentally command the duplicates. The boy had just learned how to make a duplicate a few weeks before, and now he had already been able to make another.
"Wow, Daniel, nice job!" He called, making the original ghost boy grin. His duplicates flew off in separate directions. One shot at targets, and the other flew around the room at top speed. So, the halfa had mastered telepathy with them, too.
Vlad sighed to himself. "Sometimes I wish I was more like you, Little Badger..."
"Your wish is my command..."
Vlad blinked out of his flashback, scowling when he realized what had happened. He felt numb as he realized what house he was in.
He held his breath and listened into the muffled conversation from downstairs.
"-told Vlad to come down... He seemed to act weirder than normal this morning."
"Oh sweetie, he's just a teenage boy. Try not to be so hard on him."
"No need, Maddie. Fenton men can handle anything!"
The back of Vlad's head hit the tile floor, and everything faded to black.
With a groan, he blinked open his eyes to see blurry shapes. After his eyes adjusted, the last three people he wanted to see were huddled around him, looking down in worry.
"Are you okay, honey? We heard a loud thud and came running... I guess it's a good thing we did." Maddie was knelt down beside him, rubbing his back.
"Mom, can you write us a note? We're surely going to be late to school... If Vlad is even going, now." Jazz muttered, but also looked concerned for her "brother".
"Come on V-man, you're fine! No fall can stop a Fenton from doing what needs to be done, am I right?" Jack grinned and pulled his "son" up off the floor. "Now let's get you some breakfast before scho-"
"N-no, I'm fine. I don't need anything, let's just go. Now." Vlad pulled his arm out of Jack's firm grip and ran downstairs. He heard Jasmine shouting for him to slow down, but he ignored it and went out the front door.
He stopped at the driveway, panting and holding a hand to his forehead. This is officially the strangest thing that has ever happened to me... He thought to himself, still in a state of shock.
He heard the sound of a car door opening, and saw that Jazz had just gotten into the normal car in the driveway, which was parked beside the Fenton RV.
Vlad hopped in and shut the door, looking down at his green and white tennis shoes and unsure of what to say to his "sister".
"Is something wrong V?" Jazz asked as she pulled out of the driveway. "You seem so off today..."
Vlad opened his mouth and closed it again, debating whether to tell Jazz about what was happening. Would it mess up everything if anyone but himself knew? Would the girl even believe him?
Before he knew it, they were at the school. The orange-haired girl pulled into an open space and parked. She didn't get out of the car, though, and Vlad knew it was because she was waiting for an answer.
"I-I'm fine. I've just got stuff to figure out, is all." He internally flinched at his teenage voice, which sounded higher than he remembered it being.
"You know you can always talk to me, right V?" Jazz ruffled his hair and got out of the car. "I'm your older sister, not the school guidance counselor!" He followed her out of the car and into the school, what used to be Danny's school...
"I'll remember that." Vlad told the girl with a faked smile, as they parted ways to their separate classes. He looked at his school schedule sheet, which was from more than a month ago, to get to the right classroom. He had no idea how he would make it through the day... Or what he was going to do to change everything back to normal.
He froze in the hallway, eyes widening. He just realized... What about his ghost powers? And more importantly, Danny?
Vlad looked in all directions, and seeing no one, he tried to phase his hand through a nearby locker.
His attempt just gave him bruised knuckles, and a sinking feeling.
He continued walking to his classroom, which was just down the hall, according to the room numbers and the crumpled paper in his hands. About Danny... Vlad didn't know if he had replaced the boy altogether, or if they had switched places with each other... Either way, the situation was worse than Vlad had realized.
Vlad wondered with slight amusement if Danny was now a lonely billionaire living in Wisconsin... Oh, the irony, if that was true.
When Vlad went into the classroom, he observed a bald, overweight man in the front, giving a lecture about something. Everyone stared at Vlad when he opened the door.
"Ah, Mr. Fenton. I was wondering if you'd show up or not." He took the parent note from Vlad and motioned him to the only empty seat. "Now get to your seat. We had just started a very intriguing conversation about Hansel and Gretel-"
While walking through a row between desks, Vlad was tripped by a large, blond boy, who snickered along with the Asian boy next to him. The former billionaire glared and continued to his seat.
"Why were you late?" A whisper reached his ear, causing him to look to the left. Ironically, Sam Manson was sitting there and frowning at him worriedly. Vlad whipped his head to the right and saw Tucker Foley looking at him with a similar expression.
So Samantha and Tucker are my friends, now, hm? Vlad thought with both amusement and dread.
"I'll tell you later..." Vlad whispered back and looked forward at the teacher. He would have to figure out what to do after school ended for the day.
It was the end of the school day, and Vlad had completely forgotten what a drag school was. The day felt like it was going to go on forever.
He was walking out if the front doors with Sam and Tuck by his sides. He still didn't know if he should tell them anything about what had happened or not.
On one hand, they had been especially helpful to Danny, when he fought ghosts. On the other, Vlad didn't even have ghost powers yet, and he would have to explain just about everything to them about the Ghost Zone, halfas, and what he did to mess up reality.
He wasn't looking forward to that. At all.
He sighed and shook his head as he decided to bring them along. He figured the more people he had on his side, the better.
"Uh, Vlad, why such a serious face?" Tuck asked. "Dash actually didn't bother us that much today, and the teachers weren't as crabby as usual! I think that calls for a celebration!" He grinned.
Sam rolled her eyes. "If by "celebration", you mean going to the Nasty Burger to eat some more dead animals, then we have one every school day."
Vlad stifled a chuckle and turned toward his "house" FentonWorks. "Actually, I have something else planned." He opened the door to the house and let out a sigh of relief when he realized that none of the Fentons were home. Well, except him, but referring to himself as a Fenton was the last thing he wanted to do.
He opened the door to the lab and ran down, the lights blinking on automatically. He looked to the wall in front of him, which held the never-before-used Ghost Portal.
He looked back and saw that his two "friends" had followed him down the stairs, and were staring at him in confusion.
"Um, is something wrong Vlad?" Sam asked. "You've been acting really weird today... And now you bring us down to your parents' lab, which you haven't been at all interested in before now."
"Yeah dude, what she said."
"Just hold on. I'll explain after I get this over with..." Vlad blew out a breath of air and stepped toward his fate.
He tried to remember what Danny had done... He vaguely remembered the boy saying at one point, something about an on button being on the inside.
Vlad went into the portal and stepped carefully over wires and sparking areas. He caught a glimpse of a panel on his left, and looked over to it to see a green and red button beside each other.
"Hold on, Vlad! What the heck are you doing?!" Sam shouted in confusion and surprise.
"Get outta there, you don't know what could happen!" Tuck yelled, reluctant to follow the other boy.
"I know what I'm doing!" Vlad snapped and slammed a hand down on the green button. Everything lit up around him, blinding him with white light, and a humming noise shook the portal's metal walls. All of the sudden, energy hit him all over, running over and around and through his body. It felt as if he was getting swallowed by fire and frozen by ice and dropped into a pit of acid, all at the same time. A scream was forced from his throat, but he couldn't even hear it over the roar of the portal powering up.
He couldn't tell if the immense, incredible pain lasted for seconds or hours.
Numb and deaf, he felt himself jolt as he hit the metal ground. He felt the familiar hot feeling through his body, which signified that his warm ghost core was back.
Vlad was a halfa again.
After experiencing what Danny had in that portal, the striking, splitting, never-ending electricity and ectoplasm being fused to his very bones and DNA, Vlad suddenly felt grateful for the way he had gotten his powers, in another life.
He floated upright, and out of the hole in the wall, into the view of the two other teenagers down there with him. Their horrified expressions assured him further that it had worked.
Vlad propelled himself toward a panel of shiny metal on the wall. He studied his new reflection.
White hair seemed to spike up in a similar hairstyle to him as Vlad Plasmius. He didn't have green skin like his other ghost form, but the same shade that he had as a human. His clothes had changed into a red T-shirt and white jeans, as well as black and red tennis shoes. Only his irises glowed red; his eyes still were mostly white, like in his human form.
Scarred for life from his disheveled teenage ghost form, Vlad turned around to face his dumbfounded "friends," who stared at the white-haired ghost.
He rolled his eyes and started testing out his powers. Soon he found that he didn't have control over any of them, much to his annoyance.
"So this is what it's like..." He grumbled as he tried and failed to power up an ecto-blast.
"V-Vlad..." Sam almost whispered to her friend. "A-Are you... a ghost?!"
"Half-ghost actually." The former billionaire replied. "Believe me, explaining much more would just make you even more confused."
The two humans looked at each other and then back at him.
"Alright," Vlad clapped his hands together, still floating a few feet off the ground. "Who wants to go find Danny, who may or may not be a lonely billionaire living in Wisconsin?"
Sam and Tucker stared even more.
"Just come on!" Vlad picked both of them up, one in each arm. He started for the portal, which was lit up with green swirls.
"Vladimir Fenton, are you crazy?!" Sam snapped, struggling to get down from his hold. Vlad rolled his eyes at his (false) full name. "First you shock yourself to death in your parents' ghost portal, and then you want to take us into the portal when you don't even know what could-"
"Don't tell me I don't know what's in the Ghost Zone! I've been traveling in there for the better part of 20 years now, girl!" He snapped, not caring that he was the same age as her in his current body. "So don't tell me what I can and can't do!"
"Who are you?!" Tucker asked in surprise and confusion. "And what have you done with our friend?!"
"Hate to break it to you, Tucker," Vlad smirked, "but your friend was never meant to be your friend... At least in this way. Your real friend is most likely a middle-aged man in Wisconsin... Okay before you comment-" He said, seeing that both of the teenagers in front of him looked even more shocked than before, and got ready to explain. "This is a true story. I'm really a 48-year-old billionaire, Vlad Masters, who lives in Wisconsin. I'm also a half-ghost hybrid, Vlad Plasmius. Danny Fenton, who is your friend in my timeline, and is also a half-ghost, Danny Phantom, and me switched places... So I need to go find him to set things right, or else I could be stuck like this forever!"
After a few seconds of silence, Tucker started laughing so much he fell onto the floor. Vlad's hands lit up with pink ecto-energy.
"I'm telling the truth!"
"Yeah I don't doubt that; no one could think up a story that crazy." He wiped a tear from his laughing spell. "It's just so funny thinking that an old man got stuck in your body, you know?"
"Just be quiet boy." Vlad muttered. "Are you coming with me or not?"
"I don't see why not."
"Tucker!"
"Sam, he obviously needs our help. Plus, couldn't time really get messed up if he stays like that?"
"But we know nothing about fighting ghosts!"
Vlad intervened the argument, "You won't be fighting any ghosts, we'll just be persuading Danny to not fight us, and then to help us fix this."
Vlad flew through the Ghost Zone with Sam and Tucker in his arms. He couldn't go very fast, and he had nowhere near as much control over his powers as before, but it was better than nothing.
The ghost boy flew to where his portal normally was, and luckily, it was still there, in the same exact place.
So Danny really is like me, now... Vlad thought and hoped that older Danny would take him seriously.
Vlad entered the lab, which was surprisingly similar to his own. He took a deep breath before going further into the house. He phased up through the ceiling.
A figure approached as soon as they emerged up.
"Who are you?" A deep, threatening voice questioned, and green energy lit up around the figure's clenched fists.
Vlad set the two humans down and moved protectively in front of them. "My name is Vlad Masters... well, Vlad Fenton currently... I made a stupid wish, and Desiree granted it in the worst way possible, like she always does." He rolled his eyes. "We ended up switching places, Danny."
The figure stepped into the light, a menacing look on his face. It was Danny, but it wasn't. He was taller and more buff, and had dark grey hair, with some white mixed in on top. His face was framed with sideburns and a small grey goatee. He wore a dark grey suit and blue tie, and studied the trio with ice blue, calculating eyes.
"And why should I trust you?" He growled, advancing further. "You're just some ghost kid."
Vlad transformed into a human and then back into a ghost, with the pitch black rings. Danny stared in shock at the action, and the cockiness it was done with.
The man's eyes flared in anger and he transformed himself with white, icey hoops moving up and down his form. Ice blue eyes turned to radioactive green. The suit and tie changed into a skintight, black and white suit accompanied with white knee-high boots with black and green designs. A green belt hung around his waist, with a black DP symbol over a white circle as the clasp. A green and white cape fluttered behind him with an imaginary breeze. Dark grey hair with white at the tips changed to the opposite: mostly white that slowly turned into black closer to the top of his head.
He bared his fangs and lit his hands up with energy. "Get out of my house, you crazed up Fruitloop!" Vlad rolled his eyes at the ironic name.
"You've got to believe me, I swear I'm-" Vlad was cut off by Danny's fist around his throat. With a surprised grunt, he found himself slammed against the wall with a ticked off ghost glowering at him.
Vlad saw movement in the corner of his eye, and heard Sam yell, "Let go of him!" The angry halfa blatantly ignored the Goth girl's shout and threw Vlad across the room, shooting bright green ecto-blasts at him as he fell.
Vlad tried to go intangible, but couldn't control that power at all when he needed it. He attempted to send back pink ghost rays of his own, but missed by several feet each time.
"Stupid powers..." He grumbled to himself as he dodged Danny's next attacks.
He had imagined this going much better in his head...
All of the sudden, he felt himself being picked up and phased through the floor. He was thrown down onto the floor beside the portal.
"Get lost. I have better things to do than participate in practical jokes." Danny said threateningly. Sam and Tucker were thrown down next to Vlad.
"It's not a practical joke!" Vlad shouted, his eyes glowing in rage. He stormed up in front of Danny, who looked surprised at the outbreak. "And the worst thing is, I could see myself doing the same thing you are! I know how you feel! I was once in your shoes, refusing to listen to anyone and wanting to be alone, for more than 20 years... But then I met Danny, who you're supposed to be. The most sarcastic, optimistic, selfless 14 year old boy who has ever existed, I'm sure of it." Vlad took a slow breath, and let it out. Danny was shocked into silence, touching his feet onto the ground and letting his built up green energy dissipate. "And I messed it all up. It's not meant to be this way... I have to fix this, no matter how much you refuse to listen. I'll do it on my own if I have to... But I'd like your help, if you're willing to give it."
His rant was followed by an awkward silence. Vlad felt the eyes of the others on him, but he didn't care. He did what he had to do, to fix reality.
After a few more seconds, Danny's quiet, low voice could be heard. "We can just find Desiree and make another wish... I think that'll do the trick."
Vlad blinked, then slapped his forehead. "Why didn't I think of that? I could have just gone to her without any of the trouble of coming over here..."
Danny chuckled a little at the other half-ghost's misfortune and led the way into the ghostly green dimension waiting in front of them.
For the next few minutes, Vlad and Danny were flying though the Ghost Zone, on the way to Desiree's lair (they had left behind Sam and Tucker because they weren't really needed to finish the job).
As soon as they were within 20 feet of the Arabic-style house, Desiree came out with a flick of her cyan blue ghost tail.
She smiled mysteriously at the two halfas "What brings you two to my domain, hmm? The desire for fame, fortune, power-"
"I wish I was Vlad Masters again, and Danny was Danny Fenton, and nothing was different than when I first made the wish."
She sighed in disappointment, seeing no way to grant it in an unforeseen way. "You're no fun. But, your wish is my command..." She snapped her fingers, and a white light lit up everywhere, blinding Vlad as the wish was reversed.
When Vlad blinked his eyes open, he heard blasts from across the room. He turned his head to see Danny's three forms still training.
The billionaire let out a sigh of relief as he realized he was in his own body again. Well, his normal middle-aged ghost form, Vlad Plasmius.
From the looks of it, no time had passed since he had gone, but it actually felt like more than 12 hours since Vlad was in the training room with his student. The halfa didn't know that Desiree had power over time, or at least enough to freeze a timeline for that long.
As he watched the ghost boy in front of him, Vlad smiled to himself. He was very proud of Danny, and nothing could change that. Now he had experienced similar situations as the boy, including being inside the dreadful portal and fighting a much more powerful enemy with few powers and little control over them. It made the older halfa realize how tough Danny had it, at least at first.
Of course, Vlad was also scarred for life from seeing their roles switched, and his former crush Maddie being his mother... He figured he would never see the ghost hunter the same after that... and not in a good way…
But at the end of the day, Vlad was glad it had happened. He no longer felt jealousy or resentment towards the younger boy across the room; they both had their shortcomings and advantages over each other, and Vlad was fine with that.
Hm… So, I really don't know what the response to that will be… xDDD There's only one way to find out, though. The review button is right down there, waiting for you to click it…
Also, if you didn't read it in one of the review responses, I may start a one-shot series that goes with this fic, with reveal ideas and other things I don't want to actually add to the actual story. Look out for it! I already have a few ideas. If you have any of your own, feel free to leave them in a review!
EDIT: About the ghost cores, and why I kept Vlad's as fire and Danny's as ice, is because I figure that the fire and ice thing wasn't random. Like, Danny, however old he may be or what position he's in, would have an ice core. I think of it as a part of them, that can't be changed or tampered with, you know? Just my few cents on that.
Anyway see y'all next chapter! :)