Rating bumped up to T for blood and just Dan in general.

I don't own Danny Phantom.

The group slowly turned around to face the speaker. Everyone gasped when they saw who it was.

Danny Fenton sat sideways on the throne, his legs draped over one of the arms. He was holding and examining a dagger. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz gasped when they recognized the familiar torn cape and jumpsuit he was wearing… a cape and jumpsuit that reminded the rest of the group of Danny Phantom.

Danny grinned. "Wouldn't you guys agree?" He poked his finger on the dagger. A single drop of ectoplasm fell onto the DP symbol on his chest before one of his black gloves fixed itself over the cut.

The group glanced at each other but no one said anything.

Danny looked at them and glared. He leapt off the throne and dusted off his jumpsuit before walking up to Dash.

Dash stared confused at his classmate before Danny shoved his face in his and growled. Dash's eyes widened.

"Wouldn't you agree, Dash?" Danny hissed.

Dash was too paralyzed in fear at the blood red eyes staring at him to say anything.

"Danny" clenched the dagger in his hand and was about to repeat what he said when someone interrupted him.

"Leave him alone!"

"Danny" grinned and glanced behind him. "If it isn't Miss Valerie Gray!"

He spun around and grinned at her.

"What has…" Valerie trailed off when she noticed the red eyes staring at her. "…Gotten into you…"

"Danny" chuckled and placed the dagger under her chin. It didn't harm her due to her suit. He forced her to look him in the eyes and grinned insanely. "Nothing to worry your pretty little head about, Red."

"You're—you're not Danny, are you?" Valerie asked, hesitantly.

"Danny" smirked and removed the dagger from under her chin. "I used to be. Not anymore."

"Wait a second," Paulina said.

"Danny" turned around and looked at her with a questioning look.

"Danny—the real Danny—said that he was afraid of who he could become," Paulina continued. "Did he—did he mean you?"

"Danny" smiled insanely again. "Good to see that blast from the past remembers me!" He laughed. "Too bad you guys won't have a future like he does."

It took them a second to realize what they meant.

"Danny" laughed at the scared looks on their faces and spun around to walk back towards the throne.

Dash looked around quickly, not wanting to die yet. He grabbed a sword and ran up to "Danny".

"Dash!" Sam yelled, running forward. "Don't!"

Dash didn't listen to her and raised the sword above his head. He cried out and stabbed the sword into "Danny"'s skull.

The room went silent for a second. Nobody moved, including "Danny". It was so silent that everyone could hear a drop of what they presumed was blood hit the stone floor.

"Danny" clenched his hands into fists and turned around slowly and silently. He looked absolutely mad. Everyone's eyes widened when they saw that the liquid dripping down his face from the wound on his head was not blood.

It was ectoplasm.

"Nice try," "Danny" said with an insane grin. He reached out and removed the sword from his head. "That's not going to work."

Dash took a step backwards in fear and nervousness. "What are you?"

"What I am doesn't matter, Baxter," "Danny" said, walking forward. The sound of his white boots stepping on the stone floor echoed around the maze. He twirled the ectoplasm-stained sword in his right hand and hid the other hand behind his back. "Who I am does."

The class and Danielle glanced at each other.

"You can call me…" "Danny" took a few more steps until he had cornered them. He grinned and chuckled before saying a name that even most ghosts in the Ghost Zone feared.

"…Dan."

….

Sam winced as Dan tied the ectorope that she was currently being tied up with too tight.

Dan seemed to notice her flinch and grinned.

He looked around at the others who were all in the same predicament as Sam. Some stared at him with looks of confusion, others with looks of fear, and others (to be more specific Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and Danielle) with looks of anger.

He smirked and turned around about to start walking away when Danielle spoke up.

"Where's the real Danny?" she asked.

Dan glanced back at her. "How did I know it would be you who would ask that question? You're actually pretty intelligent…" He pretended to look at his nails through his gloves. "…For a clone."

"CLONE?" everyone except Sam, Tuck, and Jazz yelled.

Dani glanced at the ground sadly for a second before looking back up at Dan. "Tell me where Danny is."

Dan was suddenly in front of her, his face inches away from her's. She narrowed her blue eyes as she stared into his red ones.

Realizing that she wasn't half as afraid of him as the humans in the area were, Dan growled and walked over to one of the walls. He slammed his fist against it and it slid open.

Danny—the real Danny—was kneeling there. There was blood dripping from his nose and he was tied up and gagged with ectorope.

He looked up at Dan and narrowed his eyes.

"I surprised him when he went looking for ecto-dejecto and knocked him unconscious before taking his place," Dan said, kneeling down to be at eye level with his past self. "He, unfortunately, woke up and I had to leave for a bit to knock him unconscious again and bring him to Nocturne." He removed the ectorope that was gagging Danny. "That's why I missed Valerie's fear."

"I'm going… to kill you," Danny said, bravely.

"Already dead," Dan whispered back. He got up and glared at everyone in the room.

"You won't kill them," Danielle hissed.

"Don't doubt me, clone," Dan snapped back. He took a breath that he didn't need and spoke again. "I have to go talk to Nocturne. Do me a favor and be a good group of captives."

He spun around, cape flying and walked out of the clearing, leaving everyone confused and surprised at the same time.

….

Nocturne was waiting impatiently when Dan arrived.

"Phantom," Nocturne greeted.

"Nocturne," Dan said back. "I have them tied up. All of them."

"Good," the dream ghost responded. "I can't wait to see them dead. Especially the ghost child."

"Which one?" Dan asked. "The clone or my past self?"

"Your past self of course. The clone has done very little to anger me. Your past self seems to be getting in the way of all my plans," Nocturne answered, observing a blood blossom on a bush.

"Yeah," Dan agreed. He clenched his hands into fists. "He seems to have a habit of doing that to people. Mostly ghosts like us."

"Indeed." The other ghost nodded.

"Can I just say something?" the futuristic ghost asked.

Nocturne turned to him, confused.

"There's something I want to correct in your plan."

Before Nocturne could respond, Dan slammed his hand into the ghost's gut. Electricity spread through Nocturne and all he managed to do was let out a scream before his eyes closed and he fell to the ground unconscious.

"I need Danny alive, the others I could care less about," Dan said, clenching his smoking hand into a fist.

He stepped over the still smoking ghost. "And I work alone, Nocturne."

Dan grinned, revealing a pair of nasty looking fangs.