Fifteen-year-old Danny Fenton walked sluggishly into the bathroom. He blinked into the mirror, his sky blue eyes staring back at him sleepily. "Morning, Danny!" Jazz called. "Danny, you need to get ready for school! Oh, and you should know that…"

"Morning, Daniel."

Danny whirled around, frowning. "Plasmius! I'm going-"

"Danny!"

Danny hesitated as Jack Fenton came bumbling up the stairs. "Isn't this great? Mayor Vlad came to see us this morning!"

"Dad…" Danny said carefully, "But Vlad is-"

"Ah, Jack, did you ever notice how similar they look?" Vlad asked.

"Who?"

"Daniel and the ghost boy."

"Wh-but they-" Danny stammered. They already know I'm half-ghost. They already know Vlad is, too! He tried to take over the world! What's going on?

It had been four months since Danny and the ghosts of the Ghost Zone had stopped the asteroid that would've destroyed them from hitting Earth. Since then, Danny had become a national hero, and nearly everyone knew his secret. "I don't see the resemblance!" Jazz interrupted quickly, her toothbrush in hand.

You'd have to be an idiot to not…

"Are you kidding, Vlad? Danny looks nothing like Danny Phantom!"

"What are you doing here?" Danny asked.

"Why, can't an old friend stop by to visit the Fentons, Daniel?" Vlad asked, ruffling Danny's hair.

"Danny, don't you need to get ready for school?" Jazz asked.

"Actually, I'd like to ask Vlad something."

"Jack! Breakfast!" Maddie called from downstairs.

"Breakfast!" Jack exclaimed, running down the stairs.

"I'm going ghost!" Danny called, as soon as Jack was out of sight.

"I'll cover for you," Jazz said, racing downstairs.

"Why don't they remember?"

"Remember what, Daniel?"

Vlad grinned before changing into his ghost form. "Why don't they remember I'm Danny Phantom?" Danny asked. "Why don't they remember who you are?"

"They shouldn't know unless you told them," Vlad said, "And for your sake, I very much hope you didn't."

Danny glared at him. "You must've done something."

Vlad laughed and aimed an ecotblast at Danny. Danny dodged and frowned. "What's going on up there?" Jack yelled.

Danny hesitated and turned back into his human self. "Don't you need to get to school, Daniel?" Vlad taunted.

"This isn't finished," Danny muttered.

"Oh, I quite agree."

***

Danny approached Casper High, sighing deeply. It was a cool morning- with the still lingering presence of winter. He spotted his friend, Tucker, and waved. "Danny!" Tucker called.

"Where's Sam?"

Tucker frowned. "Are you okay, man?"

"What?" Danny asked. "Where's Sam?"

"We're still looking."

"What do you mean you're looking?" Danny asked.

Tucker sighed and shook his head. "Have you been getting sleep?"

"Yes, I'm fine! Where is Sam?"

Tucker looked at him doubtfully. "Danny, Sam has been missing for nearly a month now."

"What? She- she…how?"

"We don't know," Tucker replied. "We're looking. See, we have flyers."

Tucker held out a flyer, and Danny stared in disbelief at the paper. An incredibly grouchy-looking Sam wore a fluffy pink dress and tiara, her black hair in its normal ponytail. "But…what's going on? Tucker, do you know I'm…Danny Phantom?"

"Well, duh! Seriously, man, what's wrong?"

"I don't know! I woke up this morning, and Vlad was in my house…and my parents didn't remember I was Danny Phantom…and…"

"When did you tell them?"

"They saw," Danny said, "After the asteroid. Don't you remember?"

"What asteroid?"

"The one that…never mind."

Danny sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, we're going to be late," Tucker muttered.

Danny shook his head. "No…I have to get to Clockwork. He might know why time is so messed up."

"Danny, if you miss first period-"

"No time, Tuck," Danny said, turning into Danny Phantom.

Danny shot into the air, flying as fast as he could home.

***

"Clockwork! Clockwork?"

Danny stepped into Clockwork's lair, but the ghost was nowhere to be seen. "Clockwork!"

The ghost boy nearly tripped and looked down at his feet. "A time medallion?"

He placed the medallion around his neck and continued floating through the lair. "Clockwork!"

Another object caught his eye, dented and broken on the floor. Danny frowned and knelt before the object. The Fenton Thermos?

Danny felt a shiver run down his spine. A broken Fenton Thermos. What could that mean? Nothing had escaped the Fenton Thermos- not without being released by someone else, and Clockwork certainly wouldn't have released…him. Did that mean Clockwork was…? Danny dropped the thermos and continued walking through the lair. "Danny!"

He jumped and found himself staring into a pair of bright, green eyes. "Come on, Sam!" he called.

Danny carefully reached forward, then chuckled. It's like a ghost T.V., he thought. With me?

Sam smiled, leaning up to kiss him. Both the T.V. Danny and the real Danny blushed. "Cute, isn't it?"

"Clockwork! I wondered-"

Danny turned around and saw himself again- in another screen- standing beside Clockwork. "Yes," the not-quite-real Danny said.

"Okay, on the scale of creepy and weird, this is about an eight," Danny muttered.

Another screen popped up, showing him and Vlad. "Okay, now it's definitely a ten."

Danny stepped away, watching as more screens appeared around him. "What's going on?" he muttered.

Another screen appeared, and Clockwork stared right at him. "Danny Phantom."

Clockwork stepped out of the screen and shook his head. "We seem to have a slight problem. Don't you agree?"

"Clockwork, what's going on?" Danny asked. "The time line is…screwed up."

"I couldn't agree more."

Clockwork looked at him curiously and shook his head. "It seems your evil self is causing some trouble."

"How? He- he escaped the Fenton Thermos! Does he have Sam? Where is she?"

Clockwork snapped, and another screen hovered closer to them. Danny saw himself- his darker self and Sam. "Sam…" he whispered. "Oh no, Sam!"

"They can't hear you, you know," Clockwork said.

"I have to save her!"

"I know. Unfortunately…I don't exist anymore."

Danny's eyes widened. "He- he killed you? But you're a ghost! How can you kill a ghost?"

"It's the Ghost Zone. Ghosts can be killed here."

"Oh no…" Danny muttered.

"He has my staff, too, so he can control and alter time."

Danny stared at the screen in disbelief as Sam screamed. "But… but he's me! I wouldn't hurt Sam…"

"You with your human side wouldn't."

"How- how do I save her? How do I get there?"

Clockwork sighed. "It's in the future, of course. I want you to take…this."

The ghost held up a round, green crystal, surrounded by silver swirls. "What is it?" Danny asked.

"There is an object discovered in the future called the Mirror of Truth. It lets you see your true self, among other things. This fragment of it will help you travel through time."

"How do I use it?"

Clockwork nodded toward the screens. "Just step through one. It'll take you there. Whatever you do, don't let go of it."

"What if I drop it?"

Clockwork sighed. "Hold out your wrist."

Danny did, and the fragment became of twisted silver bracelet with a gleaming emerald gem. "Remember, Danny. If you take it off, you're no longer safe. If you have that fragment, it guarantees that somehow, you'll find that mirror. Don't take it off."

"Right."

"All right, Danny. Good luck."

Danny nodded and stared at the screens. Sam screamed as Dan slammed her backwards into a wall. "Let me go!"

Then, Danny stepped forward and phased through the screen.