The Ghost Brother

Chapter 27: Dark Futures Part 3

Another REALLY long chapter! Enjoy!

Third Person POV

At first, all he could see was white. There was a sense of weightlessness to him, as if he wasn't even there. Is this what dying felt like? Before he could ponder further the questions racing through his mind, Danny Phantom found himself falling through the air and landing in front of a still standing Fenton Works, the metallic Ghost Gauntlets landing in a heap beside him. Danny groaned and clutched his head as he pushed himself up onto his knees. He looked up at the large building and a smile broke across his face. "Yes!" He cried, leaping into the air and pumping his fist, "We did it Vlad! It worked!"

Vlad.

Danny's celebrations were cut short as he remembered what he had promised the Vlad he met in the future. How he had to hate the man for the monster he was. It wasn't fair, maybe he could still try and-

A loud scream coming from the direction of the local Nasty Burger cut through Danny's thoughts. It was a familiar scream. Danny's eyes widened as he realized the scream belonged to his older sister, Jazz Fenton. Scooping up the Ghost Gauntlets beside him, Danny phased into Fenton Works and snatched a Fenton Thermos and Fenton Specter Deflector from the lab, stuffing them into a backpack. He then flew as fast as he could towards the Nasty Burger to stop his evil self and save his friends and family. Oh, and Mr. Lancer!

He knew that his older self could sense him so Danny would have to stay far away from his older self until the moment of attack. Then he'd have to go in fast and hit hard. The teen decided that sticking to the skies would be his best bet until he could face off with Dan. The Nasty Burger came into sight and Danny watched as Jazz was thrown against the large Nasty Sauce container where his friends and family were already tied. Dan laughed as his hands began to glow with green energy.

Danny smirked and before he even knew what he was doing he was charging towards Dan. "Hey old man!" He shouted. Dan turned his head to see who had just insulted him and his eyes widened as Danny's speeding form came into focus. "Ready for a blast from your past?" Danny slammed into Dan sending the older ghost flying through the air and several blocks away. The young halfa flew over to his bound friends and family. "Don't worry." He told them, "I won't turn into that. Ever. I promise." The teen then looked over to his teacher who appeared to be in a mix between fear and utter confusion. "I guess this sort of explains my periodic absences, huh?" He joked.

A rope of green ectoenergy suddenly caught Danny around the waist. The teen was yanked away from the bound humans to face his scowling evil self once again. Dan reeled him in to seize him by the collar. "What are you gonna do? Waste me?" Danny questioned angrily, "What happens to you then?"   

Dan's scowl turned into a large fanged smile. He began to laugh, the sound echoing through the air. "You don't get it, do you?" He shouted. "I'm still here. I still exist. That means you still turn into me." He drew back his fist and cracked the teen across the jaw, sending him flying into a lightpost and knocking the bag off his shoulders. "I don't have to waste you," Dan said as he floated over to his dazed younger self, "I just have to run out the clock until your entire life falls apart." Dan dove at Danny, hands outstretched.

The teen noticed him coming and grabbed his fallen bag, phasing into the ground. Dan struck the lightpost instead, breaking it in two. The evil ghost spun around, looking for the teen as said teen phased out of the ground. "Maybe if you'd remembered more about your family, you'd have remembered the Specter Deflector!" Danny shouted as he held the belt-like device in his hands and flew at Dan. He managed to snap it around the older ghost's waist before Dan could turn and attack him. Dan screamed in pain as bolts of electricity shot through his body. "Or the Ghost Gauntlets!" Danny added as he hauled back and struck Dan in the face, sending the older ghost into a nearby oil truck. Dan looked around nervously at the very flammable oil he was now lying in and moments later the entire truck went up in a blue explosion.