Chapter 28: A Double-Edged Ringer

After everything that happened, Danny figured it best to arrive early at their meeting spot. It meant giving him time to scope out the place for threats, as well as letting loose some steam flying around. Once everything was clear he'd settled down in the food hall, letting the others know he had arrived. They responded immediately, obviously excited knowing they were about to get some well-deserved answers to his weirdness.

Amity Park's shopping mall was busy for a normal Saturday- or more so than he remembered. Where he sat Danny watched shoppers around him with mild interest. Yet he was uneasy too. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but Danny thought there were odd things that were... different. Leaving home in the early morning air, he swore he'd spotted a pair of soaring owls in the corner of his vision. But he brushed that off as normal owls retreating from the dawn. Then at the mall itself, strange details about it caught his eye. He spotted customers wearing things that reminded him of the robes worn at Hogwarts. Even across from him, Danny was convinced the newspaper a guy was reading had a flicker of movement from its images. But every time he blinked they seemed to still.

Danny shook his head with a sigh, slumping against the table. This was stupid. The only reason he was seeing these things was that Hogwarts was fresh in his memory. It was just his mind playing tricks on him after spending almost a year surrounded by magic.

Yet he knew that wasn't true. A whole new world that had existed right under his nose had finally opened. While it might only be tricks, deep down he suspected they were there. Now he was aware of the magical world, it had begun to appear before him. And right now, Danny didn't want to think of the ramifications of knowing that world would have on his already freaky life.

Closing his eyes to block out any more stuff he waited, surprised that he could lower his guard at all. Weirdly ever since fighting with Plasmius, none of his other annoying enemies had appeared. No Box Ghost, no Skulker. Not even the odd blob of ectoplasmic goo drifting mindlessly through the streets. Danny couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to sleep throughout the night without being ambushed. While probably another strange effect of this new timeline, he knew it might be important to check that out later.

"Danny! Over here!" At the sound of Tucker's voice he grinned, opening his eyes to spot his friends weaving towards him through the web of tables. They joined him quickly and cut to the chase at once, huddling close to muffle their conversation. " So what's going on?"

Sighing Danny pulled himself upright, his grin slipping. " Well… it's a lot. And to explain it all I think it might take a few hours. And that's my simple version."

Tucker nodded slowly, standing again. " I'll get the supplies then. My turn." Fishing for his wallet he dashed to get drinks. They watched him get in line until Danny couldn't help but turn his stare to Sam. He hadn't seen them in so long. But being back made his memory of missing them return tenfold. Like he knew it would after his time travel, Sam was the same as he remembered. The only true difference was that she was wearing her darkest black lipstick and nail polish today, hinting at another fiery argument with her mother over dress codes. Sam caught his staring and frowned.

"Are you sure you're okay? Plasmius didn't beat you up too badly this time, did he?"

"What? No… I'm already healed up from that." He shrugged and looked away, immediately noticing her lips thin.

" You're in big trouble, you know that? We freaked when you didn't answer your phone last night. I was almost desperate enough to call your home line. Why did you turn it off? Didn't you want to talk to us at all?"

Wincing Danny rubbed the back of his neck. " Sorry… it's wasn't- it died and I just forgot to charge it when I got home. But I wasn't avoiding you on purpose, Sam! Just… distracted with stuff."

Sam's eyebrow curled with interest, wanting him to continue. But he decided to wait until Tucker returned. He arrived back with a grin, setting the tray of sodas down. After a quick sip and resettling, Danny knew it was time to talk.

"So- you guys know I've been acting… strange since yesterday. There's a good reason for that. And I was going to tell you about it- I never planned on hiding it! But I just… wanted to figure out if everything hadn't exploded before I did. Just… let me explain most of it first before any big questions, okay?"

Waiting for both their nods he took a deep drink to clear his throat, then began. " Okay. So… Yesterday I was visited by Clockwork again-"

"-Clockwork?!" His name triggered the reaction Danny expected. After all, to them, it was still only four days since meeting Clockwork under unfavourable circumstances.

"Yeah. You both wouldn't know because he froze time. But he came to me with a problem that he wanted help fixing." He paused then, collecting his thoughts. This was going to be the hardest bit for them to wrap their heads around. " He told me that the timeline was on the verge of…. collapsing, I guess. That the world was falling into ruin again- but this time not due to me, thankfully. But he said if this new timeline change happened, my parents would be killed and Phantom… Me, wouldn't exist anymore because I never would have been born in the first place."

"Woah." Tucker had all but forgotten his drink hovering in his hand. " That's one hell of a problem…"

Sam's gaze narrowed, " So I'm guessing you helped fix the timeline back. But that doesn't explain why you were acting like a completely different person yesterday."

"I'm getting there Sam. See, Clockwork then explained another… huge detail. And… it's going to sound utterly stupid, but witches and wizards are real. And I mean, really real."

For a moment they were silent, till Sam burst into laughter. Even Tucker looked amused at his reveal of this bizarre fact. " Come on! You can't be serious Danny? Ghosts were a strange enough concept to believe in the beginning. But do you hear what you just said?"

But at the sight of Danny's humourless expression their smiles faded. He nodded sombrely, rolling the bottom of the soda around the table. "Magic… it's all real. Just like how the Ghost Zone was hidden before my portal opened, there's a whole other world hidden in plain sight around us. People that can cast spells, and other things… Other creatures exist besides ghosts. I've met some. Even after coming back to Amity Park… I think I'm starting to see pieces of that world here. Like, I'm finally aware of it, so I can see it."

Tucker and Sam shared a look before their worry returned. " What do you mean by… coming back? You've been away?"

Nodding Danny couldn't stop a chuckle from bursting out. " For you, nothing's changed with me these twenty-four hours. But to me, I've been on the other side of the world. Twenty years in the past for nine whole months."

Like with Jazz the news stunned them, both their jaws slacking as the full meaning of what he said hit. While Sam covered her mouth as she processed the information, Tucker almost sent his soda crashing to the floor. " You're… joking, right? H-how… Why!? Why would Clockwork even ask you to do that!? I get trying to fix the timeline, but that's extreme."

Before he could answer Sam lowered her hand, quickly gasping. "That explains why you've been so strange so suddenly…" Looking at him her eyes widened in horror. " You've been gone from us for almost a whole year… No wonder you were so happy to see us!"

Danny couldn't help a rueful smile creeping onto his mouth. Putting it like that did make his time at Hogwarts seem so long when now it felt like a blur. Tucker suddenly jolted, whipping out his PDA and madly typing on the keys. " So we're in November… and then nine… add that- Yes! I knew it!" Sitting upright he stared at Danny in awe. " You do realise that you're now sixteen, right Danny?"

"WHAT!?" That news took him completely off guard, his loud voice causing a few curious looks from those sitting around them. Immediately he calmed down to lose their focus on their table. "That's… impossible."

"No, it's completely possible. If you add the time away from today then you were definitely gone past your birthday. And… Well, you're right. Technically here, right now you're still fifteen legally. But adding that time up, you're also technically sixteen too."

Danny sank into his chair, hand digging into his head. He didn't think of that. He'd completely forgotten about his own birthday entirely. It wasn't important when trying to stop Harry from being murdered. Then… he hadn't thought about the passing of time that much either. Danny had thought once Clockwork sent him back none of that time mattered anymore. But… Tucker was right, his increase in height proved that theory.

Sam thudded her palms on the table to grab their attention. "Tucker! I think the least important issue here is how old Danny is. The most important thing is why the hell he was sent into the past in the first place!"

Slowly breaking out of those depressing thoughts Danny nodded, collecting his story again. "…Clockwork told me this wizard, this evil guy name Voldemort was trying to resurrect himself back to life. He's… well, he's a serious bad guy. Murdering, evil gangs with creepy members, wanting to take over the world. That kind. But… in the past, he was stopped by another wizard, a kid named Harry. They… have a complicated history, what with Voldemort killing Harry's parents as a baby. Twenty years ago Harry stopped him from getting the stone that could revive him. But…"

He paused seeing his friend's nervous looks, not liking this information one bit. Drinking to clear his throat, Danny went on. "Something happened to the timeline. Changed it. Instead of Harry beating him Voldemort got the stone, killed Harry and resurrected himself. Then he started a world war to take over, which meant total world destruction on the level of my future self kind. And… in that war was where my parents would get killed."

"But… why send you? I'm not saying that to be rude, but why?" Sam didn't bother hiding her fury. Danny shrugged at first, then laughed when he remembered what Clockwork had said.

"Because I'm half ghost? See, the place I got sent to was where that stone was hidden. Which happened to annoyingly be a magic school in England- or Scotland, I guess. Hogwarts. Clockwork knew the place would be full of students and I would be able to blend into the setting better… And, I think that there was the issue with the problem itself that made him want to send me there."

"What do you mean?"

"With the ones that corrupted the timeline. The reason time was changed in the first place was that someone else changed it. Someone else had the power to change the timeline which caused Harry to die. And that was Luna, or… really Lucrezia and Tam."

"There are others out there with time powers?" Tucker whispered, but Sam scowled, thinking of something else.

"Why would Clockwork send you? Just you Danny? It doesn't make sense that he'd send only you back in time to fix something so… huge. Why wouldn't he just do it himself? Or… why send the guy that only a few days ago he and the Observants were saying was a threat to all of time? Something doesn't add up here Danny. I don't like this…"

Danny was about to respond but stopped when he didn't have an answer. She was right. Sure, he blended into Hogwarts easier and had powers to stop whatever happened. But that was a question he hadn't dwelled into; why had Clockwork only sent him and not his friends also? It wouldn't have mattered how many of them went, time wouldn't have been destroyed when none of them existed then, right?

"I… don't know that. But there's a lot more that I need to explain to you both. There's…Oh no."

In the corner of Danny's eye, he spotted the last thing he needed today. The others turned to see and then groaned too at the sight. Stalking into the food hall was Dash Baxter and his jock lackeys. Worse was that Pauline and her group were also with them, two of the biggest bully clubs in Casper High. Dash had immediately spotted them at their table, a sneer appearing as he bent to whisper into Pauline's ear. She looked over to them, a sly smile twisting her glossy lips. It meant trouble was coming their way, and with the girls there Dash wouldn't be able to help himself make a show of the geeks

"Let's move," Sam muttered and they nodded, rising to leave. Danny wasn't in the mood for Dash's stupid tricks today, knowing that how he felt it would likely end up in a fight. Abandoning their drinks they retreated towards the exit, keeping an eye out if they'd followed. Thankfully it seemed the popular group was too lazy to chase after them today, allowing them to slow down.

Tucker pulled out his device again, checking something. "Let's head over to Nasty Burger. Looks like that place isn't too busy. And by the sounds of it, we might need more than drinks to sustain us today."

Sighing Danny nodded, he hadn't even begun to explain the worst. But recalling that his gaze fell onto Sam, remembering something important he wanted to ask. Catching his questioning stare Sam rolled her eyes. " Don't worry. I sadly haven't thrown it in the bin yet. I've still got him if you're worried about-"

Suddenly his ghost sense exploded from his mouth. They all lurched to a stop, Danny momentarily stunned at the feeling. Quickly they searched around the mall, both for the ghost in question and if anyone had seen him spewing mist. But nothing seemed to change. Swallowing Danny gently reached out, not liking what he felt. Whoever this ghost was, it was strong and felt strange to him. Yet the mall had no signs of panic or screaming civilians. No sounds of a vengeful ghost beginning to destroy the place either. But there was a spook here. And Danny couldn't help the flicker of excitement to be ghost hunting again.

Together they nodded, moving into a routine habit whenever they knew a ghost was about. Tucker took out his own Fenton Thermos, handing it to Danny. Sam pulled out her small lipstick blaster, prepping it for action. Seeing that there was still the odd person milling around the mall, Danny started moving towards the restrooms, hoping to find a private area to transform without the risk of busting his secret. Beside him his friends matched his pace, scouting the ceiling for any odd appearances.

Rounding the corner he picked up speed to the waiting passageway- and immediately bumped hard into someone. At impact he was roughly pushed aside by an arm, almost sending Danny tumbling to the floor. Catching his wobbly footing he whipped around to send a glare at the guy - but abruptly froze as an icy chill shivered down his spine. Already his pusher was strolling casually away, hands tucked deep in pant pockets without a word to him. But Danny stared frozen at the guy's retreating. No way, it couldn't be…

His friends quickly re-joined him, Sam scowling. "What a jerk! Didn't even say sorry-"

"-That was a ghost." The moment Danny said it he knew he was right. The moment they made contact the chill of another ghost core was unmistakable. Beside him the others tensed, following his gaze to the non-ghostly, normal-looking guy.

"You… sure about that?"

Nodding Danny forgot all about the restroom plan and began to follow, hearing his friend's sharp inhale of surprise. As he weaved through the crowd he was surprised by the sweat building on his skin, this sudden fear that was tightening in his stomach. There was something about that guy that was familiar… but he couldn't quite place it. Running through all his enemies was coming up blank too. As they moved back the way they came Danny saw no one react to him passing by. The ghost looked completely human, just as Spectra could appear. But since his life lately had been filled with unbelievable things, Danny was open to any other random weirdness.

Their strange spook was heading out of the mall, Danny realising he was moving towards the quieter side exit. That side led to the less-used part of the parking lot which was a spot he had transformed a few times due to the lack of cameras. The narrow, angled hallway was perfect for an ambush and Danny quickly fell back to whisper to Tucker, handing back the Fenton thermos.

" You go and cut him off from the other side with the thermos. We'll corner him in the hallway to keep him busy."

Tucker nodded grimly, dashing off to make their ambush plan work in time. He and Sam kept their pace steady, both of them starting to prepare for the battle that might be coming. He knew there was something off about this… a little voice in his mind telling him this probably was a trap. So Danny readied his rings to summon for the first sign of danger.

They had branched off now from the shops, heading to where the hallway started. Their target unhurriedly disappeared around the corner, now out of sight. Swiftly he and Sam sped to catch up - only to find that their ambush corridor was empty.

Jogging down to the middle Danny paused to strengthen his ghost sense, hoping to catch any signs of an invisible spook. Sam raised her cylinder blaster higher, peering down the hallway.

"Invisible?"

"I'm not… sure about that…" Frowning Danny strengthened his senses. He was certain he could still sense him in the area, but he couldn't quite pinpoint the exact spot-

Without warning a firm grip grasped his and Sam's shoulders, rooting them in place with a jolt. " Relax. I'm just here to talk, alright?"

Danny felt his mouth go dry, panic coursing through his entire body. For the small gasp from Sam, he knew she recognise that voice too. For they both knew that voice very well, a voice that had haunted him all those months ago. There was no way he could ever forget that voice again.

It was the voice of his different future, the one that almost destroyed his entire life a second time.

Swiftly Danny phased out of the grip, going ghost in a flash. Sam moved into action just as quickly, raising the weapon high in defence. Behind them the ghost raised its hands in a lame attempt at peace, calmly watching the two of them silently.

Danny took that moment to study him. He was certain that he felt like a ghost. But… he looked nothing like one. He was far older, though how older he had no clue. Dark hair had grown out long to cover half of his face, and shadowed eyes made him look exhausted. Now closer, Danny realised what he was wearing was stranger than first appeared. He was dressed almost formally; his plain dress shirt and straight heavy pants would have passed as normal, except that it looked like he'd been caught in a dust storm. The fabric was creased and torn, mud flecked in random spots. And that was ignoring the suspicious dark stains on his cuffs that Danny didn't want to think about. But despite the differences, the height looming over them those blue, intense eyes were too familiar.

Sam pointed the blaster dead at his chest. "How… how the hell did you break out!?"

"Huh?" His stare locked onto Sam, making her uncomfortable under the gaze. Abruptly he blinked, the stare broken as he cringed, rubbing the back of his neck in a very familiar way. " Ah… Right. You think I'm Him… Didn't think of that…"

Though Danny kept his guard up, he lowered his palms. While his voice sounded like his evil future, the tone wasn't the same. Less… well, evil sounding. Still, there was suspicion about who this guy was, and what on earth was going on.

Chuckling he dropped his surrendering hands, giving them both a nervous smile. " Don't worry. I'm sure that our evil future is still trapped within Clockwork's lair. I know… this looks bad, and- this must be quite confusing considering, ah… But I'm not Him. I'm friendly."

"Saying we're confused is an understatement of the century." Danny scowled, lifting his hands again. " Who are you?"

"Well, I'm-" He stopped when there was a furious slapping of shoes on tiles. Twisting around Tucker appeared at the other end of the hall, thermos held high at the ready. He froze spotting them standing together, not in the middle of a heated battle.

"Err, do we need the thermos anymore or are we in the clear?"

Danny sighed, returning his attention to their new issue. " Depends what this guy says."

It caused a small laugh from the stranger, his smile softening his tired gaze. " Basically I'm you, Danny. I'm you from a different time. Not this timeline."

Behind Tucker gasped, Sam inhaling sharply. Despite being presented with another version of himself -one that might not want to kill his entire family, Danny found himself not as flabbergasted as he thought he would be. The guy saw that, amused at his scowl. Tilting his head to the side he listened, drawing the sounds of echoing voices back to them. And reminded them all that there were still people about.

"Why don't we… move somewhere more private? I think there are some things I need to explain. Maybe… the park?"

Danny debated their options, deciding that for now he'd play along. Shifting back to normal he nodded, gesturing for him to go first. Thankfully he didn't argue, taking the lead. Danny and Sam followed and joined a stunned Tucker, who kept pointing between the two Dannys in the hope he'd fill him in. Yet as they made their way across the parking lot Danny didn't speak, highly suspicious. Was it really him? Or was this a trap on a magical level? It was clear from Sam's frown she too was thinking along those same lines.

Once they had made it to the park's spacious open grasslands, their leader guided them off the path. He headed over to an undisturbed, hidden patch. The voices of the people milling about the garden faded from them as they moved deeper into the foliage, the trees and bushes acting as a natural shield from prying eyes.

"Here should do." He muttered as they stopped in a small clearing between the trees. Danny moved a little away, his friends following him as they secretly reached for their weapons.

"And why is this the spot?"

Before answering he searched the sky, taking extra time to peer through the gaps. "There's… I mustn't be seen with you. If at all, honestly. And… I don't exactly know if someone's watching you yet."

Danny felt like the air had dropped in temperature, nerves rising at the thought they were being watched. Beside him Sam pulled out the lipstick blaster again, aiming it up.

" You better start talking fast. Who are you - who are you really? And what do you want with us?"

With a deep sigh, they were surprised when he slumped to the ground, yawning as his tiredness returned. Running a hand through his hair he seemed to debate something, grumpy at whatever it was. " I can't explain much. You know - timelines. Things are at risk of breaking if I speak too much about… things. As it is… talking to you might be enough to destroy it forever. But I've decided to take that gamble." Reaching into his pocket he started tugging a small bag out of it. " But what I can say I'll say quickly as we don't have much time left. Danny-" That familiar intense gaze locked onto him again. " -This is extremely important for you to remember. Tomorrow, around noon Tam and Lucrezia will arrive here at Amity Park. And… to be blunt they're coming after you."

Despite the unease, Danny rolled his eyes. "What's new? I'm not surprised they would want to get revenge for me destroying their plans. But… What I want to know is how you're here. How did you get here? Did Clockwork send you?"

"Not… quite." Wincing this older Danny dug his hand into his collar, pulling out a pendant on a chain. At once Danny was reminded of a Time medallion. Yet this one was far smaller, shaped as a tiny hourglass encased in a cradle of gold. " This is one of Clockwork's older Time medallions, a… Time Turner, I think magic folk call it." Holding it up higher they noticed that it had a strange, pearly glow to it. " Normally… this guy would only go five hours throughout time. But… this has been enchanted to increase it. One more travel and… it's out of time, forever. So it has enough to come here and then send me back to my time."

Any thoughts he was lying disappeared at the sight of the medallion. Its appearance did explain a lot about how he ended up here. But…

"-What is my time? Right? It's all over your faces." Smirking at their shock he sighed again, tucking the pendant back in its hiding spot. "Basically… I'm a Danny that remained at Hogwarts. One that didn't come back to Amity Park after the time event was fixed. So… You could say I'm from a different timeline altogether." He paused, staring at Sam and Tucker. " Do… you two know about Hogwarts yet?"

"We were right in the middle of that," Tucker answered, not looking happy with any of this.

"Right. Um… Well, Danny, you understand me. Don't you?"

"Sort of." In truth, understanding wasn't the important part here. Danny couldn't believe in a million years he would have decided not to return home and stay trapped in the past. No amount of magical wonder would have kept him there. That sounded insane to him, that he would willingly never return, in any timeline. His doubts returned at once, guarded at the thought that this was a trap. His change in opinion must have read across his face as the guy cringed, pulling out the tiny bag entirely. Cupping it in his hand, they all watched him carefully now. Worried that the beaded bag was some kind of weapon.

"I… I know that it sounds… implausible. But, truly it's what happened in my timeline. Why I'm here is that I learned about Tam and Lucrezia's plot to come to this moment and attempt to get to you tomorrow. And… I have come here to end their meddling with time for good."

"So that's why you're here, to try and stop them, huh? Well, if you wanted to borrow a Fenton Thermos you should have asked sooner… Or stolen one without me forever being haunted by the fact there's another me running around."

"A Fenton Thermos? Why would I- Oh! No. I'm not doing that." Pulling the cords of the bag his expression fell, opening it. " I need to kill them, not trap them."

"What!?" They all spoke together, Danny wondering whether he'd heard wrong. Before he could begin to ask for clarity, they all got their second shock. The guy reached his hand into the open bag and then his entire arm sank into it, the bag rising to his shoulder. It look utterly bizarre, their jaws dropping as he scowled, drawing his head closer to the entrance to peer inside.

"Where was it again? That- no that's the painting… Ah! There it is!" To their awe, his arm reappeared as he withdrew it out of the tiny bag-

- and then pulled a long sword from within it.

There was no way such an item could come from a bag that small. But as the pouch fell into his lap the guy held the gleaming silver sword high, ruby gemstones glinting in the sunlight. " This- Is what I need to use to destroy them. You know Danny those two won't stop until the whole timeline is in ruins. And… this needs to end. Permanently. This sword is one of the few things that can make that happen."

They all stared at the awesome blade before them, looking like it had come from a medieval fairy tale. Tucker couldn't help but move closer to study the weapon, eyes lighting up behind his glasses. "Wow, what metal is that even made of-"

"-Don't even think about it." Swiftly he tilted the sword away from Tucker's curious hand, resting the flat of the blade lightly on his shoulder. " One tiny, pinprick cut from this and you'll be dead in seconds. This thing is imbued with Basilisk's venom. Highly lethal."

Tucker quickly withdrew his hand with a yelp, retreating to them. Danny immediately didn't feel comfortable about the casual way this discussion was heading. "Where did you get that?"

"Borrowed it from- from a friend. It's hopefully only a short-term loan." Ignoring their questioning frowns he twisted the sword's point towards the ground, digging it into the dirt. " If I use this to pierce their cores, they'll both be destroyed for good. And have no chance of reforming again. Once I've dealt with those two and the timeline is stable, I'll return. And you won't have to worry about them meddling with you anymore Danny. But in saying that…" Slowly he hovered the sword over the open pouch, dropping it. As it disappeared into the impossible space, an almighty clang! echoed from within. " You three need to stay away and let me do my work without getting in the way. Which is why I'm talking to you all. So that you know I'm around."

Sam scowled, hands settling on her hips. "Is that a threat?"

"No. The opposite, Sam." Pulling the cord back he rose to his feet. " You know Danny how… tricky those two are. The advantage of remembering is Lucrezia's greatest power, she and Tam use that to perfection in their schemes. The last thing I need is you rushing off and getting in the middle of our fighting tomorrow. Especially if I'm swinging a sword that could end you in mere moments. Instead… be happy for this small… vacation."

Danny frowned, and his confusion made the guy grin. " Really? Surely you've noticed the lack of ghosts around? I thought after everything you might like a break to settle back in, so I've been chasing the ghosts away. Enjoy it. It won't last forever."

That news surprised him, suddenly understanding why Amity Park was oddly quiet from its usual haunters. So this was the cause of his first solid sleep in months here. Yet knowing that didn't make him happy. However, he didn't seem bothered by the unease in their expressions, returning the bag to his pocket. " So, you get a break from ghost hunting and I get to deal with this mess. Then I leave and you never see me again. But!-" Abruptly he jabbed his finger towards them, eyes flashing green. " Stay. Away. From. The Mall. Don't go there tomorrow, no matter what. And I mean that seriously. You don't want to go there, Danny."

None of them answered, stunned at the sudden change. Danny shivered, feeling the air around them plummet to freezing levels. Before them he watched their reaction, then as quickly as it came the heavy mood vanished. " Just… trust what I say, alright?"

"What do-" But he didn't wait to hear what Sam was about to ask. With a loud crack! and with a puff of emerald smoke, he was gone.

They waited, frozen to see if anything else would happen. When nothing did Tucker rounded on them. "Is anyone else here utterly freaking out! Or is that just me?"

Danny didn't answer, watching the last of the smoke fade. He had teleported. And more importantly, use a ghost power that strong while in his normal form. Immediately he felt a wave of unease in his gut, sensing that now an even bigger issue had risen its head up. Tam had said he was good at casting illusions. What if this was just another trap like he'd dealt with at Hogwarts?

It took him a while to notice that his friends had fallen silent, staring at him with unreadable expressions. Danny instantly felt his ears burn under their intense gaze, rubbing his neck to relax the tension. "What?"

"What do you mean WHAT!?" Sam rounded on him, throwing her hand high into the air. " What the hell is going on Danny!? First, we freak out about how weird you've been and the next we learn you travelled back in time. Then… THAT happened!?"

"Shh!" Danny quickly tried to get her to lower her voice, fearing that someone might investigate and overhear. " I'm equally confused about that Sam, but keep it down!"

Tucker clicked the thermos back onto his belt, eyeing the spot that he'd disappeared from. " Wonder if that was another you? Or it could be a new ghost trying to fool us... Or maybe it's Bertrand and Spectra up to more depressing tricks again?"

"No… I'm thinking that this is trickier than those two. That bag he had got's magic written all over it." Seeing Sam's demanding glare he sighed. " A lot happened at Hogwarts. But…the quick short version is that I arrived at Hogwarts in the past, and spent that time protecting Harry from the Shade. Voldemort. And also stop the ones that wanted to destroy time with the help of the Headmaster and some teachers. Then I bumped into a younger Vlad who had no idea yet how to control his powers. Together we stopped the timeline from collapsing in on itself, saved Harry and stopped Voldemort and his host from getting the stone. Then after all that happened Clockwork returned me here-"

"Whoa, hold up," Tucker quickly cut him off with a raised hand. " Vlad. Helped you? There's no way we're talking about the same half ghost that beats you up all the time?"

"Yeah. The same one." He caught himself mid-way from rubbing his neck, nervous at suddenly acting like the other guy. " That's… why last night I didn't understand why he was so angry with me. I thought that the future might change so that we became allies. Instead, he still hates me -which I understand he would be mad about me leaving him at Hogwarts without a word… then showing up twenty years later the same - Ah man, that does make me sound like a jerk the more I think about it." Danny cringed into his palm at the mess he'd caused. Why didn't he explain to Vlad back then that he was from the future? That way he would have understood everything and stopped this happening now.

When he finally opened his eyes again, both his friends were in deep thought. Sam was chewing her lip, staring at the ground. Stumbling over to a tree Tucker flopped down against it, resting his chin on his hand.

"This is a lot to take in Dude. I think I'm understanding what's going on. But at the same time, this is crazy! Magic, alternative versions, evil shades… time travelling literally two decades into the past… I was still trying to recover from the trauma of your evil future! That was freaky enough without… this thrown into the pile!"

" But it makes sense." Sam started to pace and nodded as she went. " Why Plasmius was always saying weird things. Talking about stuff we thought was just him going senile. Why would he have a personal grudge against you for no reason? Because you met years ago! Worked together at one point. It totally makes sense now why he hates you!" Twisting on her boots she paused. "What doesn't make sense is if you're back and time is fixed; why on earth is there suddenly that other Danny here?"

Tucker shrugged. " When has anything related to time made sense? Maybe it's like when we meant Danny's future through Clockwork's portal. He moved from one timeline to another."

"But that's impossible! Don't you guys see! Let's think about this carefully." Rounding on Danny she suddenly became animated. " That guy claims he's from an alternate timeline where you stayed in the past. But that has to be a lie! It can't be right."

"Why can't it be?" Danny madly was trying to work out what she'd seen. Different lines did exist as Harry once had died beneath the school. But Sam shook her head.

" Because back then we travelled into the future! The future! We didn't go into an alternative timeline because our future was still going to turn into that! It only changed because you returned to now a.k.a - the past - and stopped the creation of your evil future. That means that guy we just saw had to be YOU Danny - a future you who's travelled from the future into the past to stop something from happening tomorrow."

Danny inhaled sharply, her theory hitting him at once. " Like how I moved back into the past to stop Harry from being killed. You're saying that guy is actually me, doing the same thing I did yesterday?"

"The exact same thing! It's the only reason that makes sense!"

But if that is true." Tucker cut in, "Then why is he lying about it? If Danny… No wait, that's too confusing - Danny two? No that sounds weird. How about Daniel?"

Danny cringed at that. If that was him, calling himself his full name was strange. " That's heading into Plasmius territory there…"

Sam groaned, punching Danny in the shoulder. "Are you boys serious!? It doesn't matter what- Ugh- Fine! Let's just… let's just call him Dan, Okay? We have Danny here, then Dan - that's easy right?" When that didn't get shot down she rolled her eyes. " You were saying, Tucker?"

"Err, right. Well, if… Dan was lying about being from the future, then why? Wouldn't it make more sense to tell Danny he is from the future so that Danny know's that he's going to have to do the same thing later on?"

"Time's tricky to just play with. Maybe there are risks we don't know about…" Frowning Danny thought about Clockwork and the effects of this new future. " If he's really from the future, then Dan likely wouldn't want me to know all the details in case that changes the outcome. He would know everything that happens, so… telling me everything might cause something different to occur. Which might change his own future…" Sighing he smiled at them both. " Man, I missed you guys so much…"

He saw both of them flush with embarrassment, though Sam quickly waved that aside. "This isn't the time to get sentimental on us Danny. This is a massive problem, I don't…something's off about that guy. I've got a bad feeling about this."

That he had to agree with. Something was strange about this all. And if that was his future, then what had happened to cause this in the first place? Peering up into the trees Danny steeled himself, knowing that they were rushing things too quickly. "In any case, I need to fill you in on all the details. Maybe you two will see something I'm missing. But… we also need more information. And other than Dan, there's one guy that I do know we need to talk to for answers."

Tucker jumped up to grip his shoulder, suddenly looking ill. "Let me remind you that guy will likely want to kill us. Or at least kill me."

Humming Danny pondered their options, a plan forming. " Right. Then… Since Plasmius will probably be beyond furious, we'll level the playing field. We can't do it today since my parents are stuck in the lab… Sam, you bring the thermos to my house tomorrow and we'll meet up there. My parents always go ghost hunting on Sunday mornings, so that will give us enough time to use the Fenton Ectotainer. Inside that, he can't attack us through the anti-ghost shields. Then once he calms down we'll let him out. And if he's still as stubborn as I remember him to be… we'll just lock him back up and move on to a plan B."

Instantly Tucker relaxed, both nodding in agreement. Danny knew that he needed to talk to the half ghost soon. If there was more going on, then he had a suspicion he was the one that might know.

Sam glared up once more at the sky. " Come on, you've got to fill us in with everything. Not a single detail missing. Let's get moving before anything weirder happens."

Together they strolled back out into the open and returned on their journey to Nasty Burger. Right now, Danny was going to put a pin in this new development. His promises needed to be kept, after all. And then once they knew what was happening, they could solve this problem like they always did; together.

AN: I'm back to posting weekly again! - I would say more about this chapter or the last one, but I know I'd probably spoil something accidentally. Though I'm super excited for the next two! See you next week!