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swiggity-swexual-i-am-asexual · 2 years

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The way I see the Dan thing is that CW saw many timelines where Danny slowly slips into bad habbits by loosing his integrity, not talking to Jazz, drifting from his family and other stuff. But he's too Bound to Rules to interfere directly so he engeneers a sacrificial timeline that lets him steer things to the better by influencing Danny, Jazz and Lancer. So he meddles to make Dan something Danny would strongly want to avoid becoming but could still defeat.

^^^

It’s something that’s only really occurred to me kinda recently. But yeah, Clockwork is probably more involved with Dan existing than we see.

I’ve mentioned it in tags, but a theory I have is that Clockwork more or less created Dan so that the Danny we follow ends up being, well, more heroic! I’m not saying the events that would lead up to Dan’s existence wouldn’t happen without interference, but it makes more sense if they only got that escalated because there WAS time shenanigans.

It’s been a bit since I’ve seen TUE, so I might get some details wrong, but. In basics—Dan (Dark Danny, but for sake of ease we’re calling him Dan) exists because of the following factors: he cheats on a Very Importanf Test; Lancer organizes a meeting with Maddie and Jack at, of all places, the Nasty Burger; Jazz, Sam, and Tucker are also there, I think to defend him?; there’s an explosion caused by sauce vat getting too hot; they literally all die, deader than Danny; Danny goes into Vlad’s custody; Danny convinces Vlad to take out his emotions or kill them down by taking out his ghost half (which is my best interpretation of how exactly they thought it would works-fun fact, this is probably why there’s so many theories and headcanons about ghosts feeling things more strongly in fanon, cause I honestly don’t know what else they expected would happen if they WEREN’T aiming to separate his ghost half); the ghost, now called Dan, kills off the human half, takes out VLAD’S ghost half, and absorbs it, not necessarily in that exact order but yeah; Dan devastates the world in a little under ten years.

Now, cheating on the CAT? Requires the answer sheet that Danny only gets because he’s fighting one of the villains Clockwork sent back. It could’ve happened anyways—but it didn’t. We don’t see how else he could have gotten them. We also don’t see how else that explosive vat gets that close to a heat source.

I don’t know WHY Lancer would choose a fast food chain restaurant. Maybe it’s because he wants to help and see if he can get Danny a retest, or help, or what have you, rather than, idk, expelled, and so meeting officially at school wouldn’t work. Point is, he chooses there. If I recall, I think that bit of exposition came from Vlad? Who wasn’t even THERE. And Danny? He’s used to lying. We can’t actually say if that’s the full truth. I’m not sure why Vlad wouldn’t be told the truth, later, even if Danny gave a different story to the police—or it’s close enough that Danny wouldn’t feel like bothering.

Keep in mind, all those major parts? Danny getting the answers, the meeting, the explosion? All happen. The only reason they don’t die is because Clockwork saves them.

An interesting thing is that Dan takes Danny’s place to ensure he cheats, to ensure this happens.

Which… why? Even if Danny now knows, thanks to inexplicably alive Vlad in the future, why is Dan so persistent that it HAS to go like this? To ensure he exists?

I think it’s cause THAT’S what happened the first time. Dan does what he does, knows who Clockwork is, recognizes the time medallions, because this is LITERALLY what happens. Dan believes he’s inevitable, that he’s in a stable time loop, because Clockwork was interfering the FIRST time. It’s possible that Dan, back when he was Danny, knew he became a villain. And maybe, in some timelines, he becomes a tragic hero. There’s a whole bunch of fanfic where this happens. Particularly crossovers. But in Dan’s, he decides to stop fighting it. Fighting it caused the mess, right? Might as WELL embrace it.

So he convinces Vlad, doesn’t tell him the whole truth, gets separated into parts, kills his human half, absorbs Vlad’s ghost half, and leaves Vlad alone. Because he knows that he meets Vlad in the future. And so he needs to be left alone, so that the loop continues. He knows he needs to develop that ability to warp into other versions of himself, so he does it. He knows he gets a ghostly wail—possibly already developed it, but lost it when he first got separated into a full ghost—eventually, so he’ll be patient. He knows he’ll get a round two, and better yet, he’s seen the script. He knows what to say, what to do, and knows what Danny is going to say and going to do.

And it all goes… pretty much according to plan. Even Danny getting the wail early can be brushed aside or accounted for—Dan might’ve forgotten, between all the murders and destruction, lost some ability when he lost his human half. Maybe it’s just a slight variation, but everything else is still happening.

The major difference? For Danny, Clockwork saved everyone.

For Dan, he didn’t.

It’s a story about timelines. We’ve seen alternate timelines, things effected by time travel, how even if it’s sucks there IS a way things are supposed to go. It’s entirely possible that Dan IS from a stable time loop. He might even have his OWN version of a Dan stuck in a thermos that Clockwork takes.

This explains Dan’s motives, more or less. These qualities, of being sure he’s a villain because he’s seen it, would also make him good at being a sort of… time enforcer? Danny did a couple of time travel stints, but didn’t seem to care much for it. Dan would understand necessary things might be unpleasant for a stable future.

But why would Clockwork even BOTHER? Because in Dan’s timeline, the timeline I propose above, then Clockwork is the whole REASON this happens. Heck, Dan might even be trying to destroy Earth, cause that would destroy the Ghost Zone, which would probably destroy Clockwork.

Simply put? Basically, your idea above, anon. Danny is a heroic character, but as much as fanon likes to push aside some of his… less desirable traits, some of which CAN be attributed to canon bad/weird writing as well as the time in came out at, Danny does have faults. He has flaws. And those can be pushed. Danny hears constantly that he was a villain, especially at the start. His grades suffer, his goals suffer, his relationships with EVERYONE suffer. That has to take a toll. There’s probably quite a few timelines where he turns bad all on his own. There’s probably even more where something or someone does take him out. There’s some where him never facing himself caused him to not develop more heroic qualities or abilities or something. Despite everything, he’s an optimist of sorts. It might not be perfect, but if he tries, it’ll work out for him, something that’s kinda developed and proven because he’s a protagonist in a kid’s cartoon. A true loss would effect him greatly.

Dan is the epitome of all the ways Danny’s stress would elevate any loss that shattered his optimist that he ended up with.

Danny is the epitome of having to LITERALLY face the worst version of yourself, and somehow both lose AND still win. He’s a hero who literally defeated himself at his worst and most powerful.

And that, THAT is the kind of hero Clockwork wants…. For whatever reason Clockwork wants a hero like that. We don’t even know if this is their ‘prime’ timeline. It’s just the one we see. This could very well be the ONLY timeline where Danny stays a full hero character. We do not know.

TLDR; I like Clockwork, but he’s a little sus and probably engineered Dan’s entire existence to the point that DAN HIMSELF is compliant in his own ruining of his younger self, and there’s now at least a split timeline between Timeline Where Clockwork Saved Danny’s Support Network and the timeline where he DIDN’T.

#danny phantom #ask me anything #I probably got a theory breaking detail wrong due to not wanting to rewatch the episode #so feel free to tear me to shreds #I can stitch it back together if I did lol #the ultimate enemy #clockwork #dan phantom

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sora-kinomoto · 3 years

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Okay. I’ve been trying to restrain myself with this one but I love my boy too much not to do it.

Danny Phantom Wandavision AU

Yes of COURSE Danny is Wanda.

It’s a Danny in a timeline where Clockwork doesn’t save his loved ones. Where Danny has to live with that grief. He’s sent off to Vlad’s but runs away when the man lets his guard down. He finds his way back to Fentonworks, where he finds a lot of the stuff inside packed up and a for sale sign out front. He wanders downstairs to see the portal is still on and the lab untouched.

It is here that he lets his powers loose. What he makes is sort of reminiscent to how Sidney’s mirror lair works, but with more control on Danny’s part and a sitcom through the ages set up. He constructs shades of his loved ones and blankets the entirety of Fentonworks. But only Fentonworks. He more or less unintentionally claims his home as his lair. And the ghosts of the zone’s appearances become significantly lessened as a result.

The show broadcasts all over Amity Park. The title is Fentonphantom. And the way it’s shown still runs with the illusion that Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom are two separate people. Still keeping the secret in the show a secret to the audience. Danny Phantom is treated as a Deus ex Machina and Danny Fenton is the main character.

The GiW come to investigate. Vlad rushes over on his own, concerned about Danny. And the Red Huntress investigates as well. Valerie and the GiW conclude, partially based on the evidence and partially via their own biases, that Phantom kidnapped Danny Fenton and is currently exploiting his recent loss to deceive him for some nefarious purpose. The Red Huntress convinces the GiW to let her go in, they agree as it will cost them less resources to allow her to do so.

So she goes in, with Vlad following behind. The two of them filling in the roles of Monica and Agatha. Valerie tries to hunt Phantom and ‘snap Danny out of it’ while Vlad slips into Danny’s lair and tries to blend in to see what he can do. While also attempting to resist getting too pulled in.

Eventually Valerie majorly slips and Danny loses his temper, revealing that he’s the one doing it but not that he’s Phantom. He doesn’t even really acknowledge Phantom while blowing up in her. He tosses her out, where she reveals to the GiW that it’s Fenton not Phantom.

The GiW also plan to gain control of Fentonworks, so as to proceed with their own plans with the Fenton’s works—like the Portal. So finding out that this is Danny’s doing only benefits them. Danny is now a danger to society and needs to be dealt with. In removing Danny, they will have the ability to take the Fenton’s inventions for the GiW. So they start sending in more agents and weapons.

When Valerie realizes they’re attacking Danny Fenton, she protests vehemently only for the GiW to ignore and talk down to her. Danny, upon being attacked and intruded upon a fair number of times, storms out and tosses everything back at them.

“This is your only warning.” Danny says to them, ignoring Val trying to get his attention.

Then he spins on his heel and returns to his home.

The GiW don’t listen to the warning and continue their maneuvers on Fentonworks. Danny extends his territory to all of Amity Park Valerie escapes with her father and half of the GiW agents get way—half getting stuck. Danny exerts his influence on all of the people he grabbed and goes back to his regularly scheduled program.

Val and the GiW all go back in when the sitcom reaches a more modern day. And eventually it is Val who talks Danny down, after he ends up revealing to her that he is also Danny Phantom. Vlad ends up being the one holding off the GiW, with some helps of Danny’s ghostly allies. Valerie convinces Danny to limit controlling his lair’s reality to Fentonworks and to undo his shades. Danny accepts this with some difficulty and lets Amity go. But doesn’t unmark Amity Park as his lair.

They kick the GiW out and Vlad buys Fentonworks and lets Danny stay there under the condition that he doesn’t lock himself up in there and visits/talks to Vlad. Valerie visits Danny often.

#danny phantom #wandavision spoilers #wandavision au #wandavision #danny phantom au

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flutteringdreams-matw · 3 years

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Out of Time (8)

First/Last

Read on AO3

Word Count: 4108

Previously: "Dan Phantom grew up to be one of the worst ghosts in the history of the Ghost Zone; he destroyed the world, and the ghost zone, multiple times over. In meeting you, he inadvertently created the one ghost powerful enough to stop him. He would have continued to raze the world if I hadn't saved your family, leaving no one left to stop him." Clockwork's smile fell, and dread started to pool in Danny's stomach again. "This paradox is the best shot of defeating him once and for all."

Danny nodded, feeling the crushing weight of his powers and responsibility. "Three outcomes?" he asked, bringing it back to Clockwork's original conversation.

"Three outcomes," Clockwork confirmed, frowning.

"One favourable," Danny finished, closing his eyes. Silence descended on the pair for a few minutes, Clockwork watching Danny's body stiffen as he slowly realized what that meant. "Clockwork," he said eventually in a small voice, looking up at the Time Master. "I'm not… I don't… survive this…. do I?"

Now: Danny meets with Valerie, Dani and Vlad.

Link to the next chapter will be in the replies once posted. As always - please let me know what you think!

---

"Okay, spill," Tucker said, glancing at Sam from the corner of his eye as he worked at the console. The girl in question looked at Tucker with wide eyes. "You've been mopey and distant ever since you came down here. Something must have happened." Sam sent him a weak glare of annoyance. Tucker chuckled quietly as he continued to type in code at the computer. He paused, looking at the screen in thought as he pulled up the shield schematics.

"Any luck?" Sam asked, breaking her silence.

Tucker sighed. "Kind of – I think we have the energy to create a shield of this size, but separating Danny's ecto-signature from his jerky self is difficult. I thought if we just used the sig from the booo-merang, it would be enough, but using that will either keep Danny out of the town or allow Dan to manipulate his way into it." He put his hands under his glasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I mean, it would help if we could get Plasmius' ecto-signature and try and figure out ratios, but something tells me that's an even worse idea at the moment. The only good thing about all this is we know that they have different ecto-signatures. We still have no idea why or how… but the fact they do means we can figure this out." Tucker swivelled his chair to face his best friend beside him. "Now, what's eating you? I could use the break and your presence is dampening my mood."

Sam sent the boy another glare, but sighed as she realized he wasn't going to let this go. "I was upstairs looking at some photos, ran into Danny…" she said, blushing slightly at the memory.

Tucker sat straighter in seat, eyes gleaming with excitement as Sam shifted uncomfortably. "Wait – you told him!?" Tucker exclaimed, gathering a few strange looks from the ghosts in the basement.

"No!" Sam yelped back, her face completely pink from embarrassment. "And would you keep it down?!"

Tucker held up his hands as an apology and gestured for her to continue. "So what happened?"

Sam sighed. "We were talking, next thing I knew he was bringing up Nocturn and…" she trailed off, suddenly crestfallen. "I stopped him before he said anything he was going to regret."

Tucker blinked, mouth opening and closing from the cluelessness of both of his friends. "Let me get this straight… Danny, our Danny, the most clueless idiot on the planet when it comes to his own feelings, was about to tell you how he felt about you and you stopped him?!"

"Of course I did!" she shot back. "He has no idea what he's feeling right now with all of that time energy and the visions going through his head. Didn't you hear what Mrs. Fenton said? He's reliving parts of a timeline where we all died, Tucker. I don't want –"

"To get your hopes up," Tucker finished, pointing a finger at the girl. "Sam, all three of us know how you and Danny feel about each other. I've known longer than probably both of you even realized it. You've been doing this dance for almost two years. If he's finally coming to his senses, regardless of whatever is happening, I think you should be jumping for joy. Or whatever Goths do when they're happy."

Sam sat silent for second before sighing. "I asked him why now," she admitted quietly. "He said he wasn't afraid anymore." Tucker made some excited gestures in victory as she continued. "If Clockwork hadn't interrupted, I'm fairly certain he would have said something."

Tucker watched as Sam looked down, lost in thought. "Sam," he said kindly. "Do you want things to change?" Violet eyes met teal ones as Tucker pressed on. "Danny just told you he's not afraid anymore… so what are you afraid of?"

"Of him not coming back," she said softly, looking away. Tucker's eyes widened as the words tumbled out of her mouth. "He's choosing this moment, the one where he's about to face off a big enemy, to tell me. Why would he do that if he didn't think he'd make it?"

Tucker sighed, annoyed. "You idiot." Sam's head whirled back to her best friend at the insult. Tucker's face was serious, but his eyes sparkled with amusement. "The both of you. Sam – he knows what's at stake. Danny's not trying telling you to fulfill some stupid self-sacrifice ritual. He's trying to tell you to make sure he comes back. Sure he has a bazillion reasons but there's only one person that gives him the hope to fight through anything. He wants someone to fight for."

Sam stared at Tucker as his words sunk in. Tucker sighed as he turned his chair back to the screen in front of him. "Besides, if anything goes down, we're going out there to save his ass. The both of us - not just you lovebird. He's my best friend, I'm not going to let him lose to some jerkface. So stop being a Negative Nancy, go upstairs and tell our clueless Ghost Boy you like him."

Sam smiled, feeling more confident than she felt in a long time. "Thanks," she said quietly. Tucker smiled, not looking away from the screen and waved her off. She stood up, walked a few steps towards the staircase before stopping. She turned back to Tucker with an eyebrow raised. "Did you just say 'Negative Nancy?' What are you… 80?"

Tucker grimaced. "Shut up," he said, embarrassed. "I said what I said."

Sam chuckled a bit, turning, and came face to face with Clockwork. "Whoa!" she said, taking a few steps back. Tucker looked up at the pair, turning to face the mysterious time ghost with a small frown. "Clockwork! Is Danny still upstairs?"

Clockwork's red eyes looked over the human carefully, his face emotionless as ever as he floated toward the ground. "No," he said simply. Suddenly, he sighed. "I'm being summoned," he said, a hint of disdain and promptly vanished.

Sam and Tucker looked at each other in confusion as the world continued around them.

:-=-:

Green light illuminated Danny's face as he flew through Amity Park. He sighed, looking down toward the town; it had taken a lot for his parents to convince Vlad that the town was in danger and had agreed to up security. Now to add some more he thought as he continued to fly into the outskirts of Amity and into Elmerton, just under the shield.

There are only three possible outcomes here – only one of them is favourable.

Danny frowned as Clockwork's words came across his mind once again. It wasn't like he expected anything different; he knew that this battle would be difficult. He was literally his own worst enemy – powers, strategies everything. Well, almost everything. He shivered slightly as he remembered the coldness of Dan's voice threatening him. If there were three outcomes there had to be one of Dan winning. The jerk could take him out; in fact, he almost did a couple times already. There was also a possibility of him defeating Dan �� though with the shield around the town and time energy attacking his core, that was looking pretty slim. Resignation filled the teen as he mulled over the last possible option before he shook his head; right now he had to focus.

Green eyes scanned the apartments below as he attempted to find the right building. Valerie's apartment should be around here somewhere. Danny landed onto the roof of the nearest building, crossing his arms in thought as he tried to remember her address. Without warning, blue sparks of energy coursed through him. Surprised, Danny let out a sharp groan of pain as he fell onto his knees, curling into himself. "Really?" he asked, annoyed as more time energy moved through his body.

The last time he had seen Valerie was the funeral. Why did she get to be so free? Why was it his burden? The hunter would pay; If his family was gone, maybe hers should follow.

Danny gasped as the vision left him, feeling ill as he tried to let the vision pass. He breathed hard, putting one hand out to steady himself as he felt more electricity come to the surface. "Not now," he said, pushing back against it. His core responded, flaring slightly as the energy started to dissipate. A few minutes later and Danny was left panting on the rooftop. "Still… not loving this," he grunted, finally regaining his bearings.

A whine of an ecto-gun from his right made him stiffen on instinct before he sighed heavily. His body relaxed slightly, feeling slightly more in control as he still knelt on the rooftop. "Hello Valerie," he said softly, not looking in her direction.

"Phantom," Valerie replied curtly, as she stopped the charging weapon. She floated in full ghost hunting gear, the red and black sled bobbing up and down in the wind. She put the gun in her holster, flying down to the rooftop and retracted her sled. The ghost in front of her still held his position on the ground, making her frown in confusion. "We've been looking for you."

Danny's head whipped up, looking at her through tired, confused eyes. "We?" he asked.

Valerie crossed her arms and cocked her hip. "Yo kid!" she yelled. "I found him!"

A grey and black blur flew upward toward them, landing next to Valerie gracefully. "Danny!" Danielle yelled, running over to her cousin quickly. "You're okay!" She threw her arms around the stunned boy in a large hug.

"Dani!" Danny exclaimed, standing slowly as the girl released him from the hug. Danny frowned worriedly as he looked between Danielle and Valerie. "What are you doing here? Are you okay?"

Valerie rolled her eyes, annoyed. "She's fine, I didn't hurt her," Valerie told him evenly. Dani frowned as she looked between the hunter and her cousin. "She got stuck here when you put up this stupid shield. She's staying at my place to avoid Plasmius."

Danny's eyes widened slightly, still frowning as he looked Danielle over. "How long have you been here?"

Danielle shrugged. "Almost a week," she said nonchalantly. Before Danny could protest, she pressed on. "Are you okay? We saw your fight on the T.V. yesterday. Who was that ghost? Why did you put the shield up? Who were the ghosts that helped you?"

Danny sighed tiredly, crossing his arms. He looked over at Valerie, who was surprisingly content to observe them. "I've been better," he told them cryptically. Valerie shifted and Danny saw her eyes move up and down, assessing him for any lies he may tell. "Had another run in with him last night too." Danny put a hand on Danielle's shoulder. "I'm glad you're here – honestly we could use the extra fire power." The younger girl beamed at him.

"Who's attacking the town?" Valerie asked bluntly, causing both ghosts to turn back to her.

Danny's face darkened. "A really long story," he replied. He caught Valerie's eye as the two teens stared at each other. Danny broke their gaze first, staring up at the shield. "He'll attack again tomorrow and I don't think this shield will last much longer."

Both Valerie and Danielle looked at him worriedly. "Danny, what are you talking about?" Danielle asked, confused. "The shield's been up for days! There's no way it'll break that easy."

Danny ignored her, looking directly at Valerie. "I need your help," he admitted. Valerie looked at him questioningly. "This ghost is something you have never faced before and will not hesitate to take out the town. If my shield goes, for whatever reason, I need you to protect it."

"I always protect the town," Valerie replied with a huff, looking away. Danielle looked at her quizzically, remaining silent as she looked between Danny and her new friend.

Danny sighed. "Valerie," he started, getting her attention again. "Regardless of what you think I am, Dan is much, much worse."

Valerie laughed. "Dan?" she asked. "Really? There are more of you named Danny Phantom?"

"Hey!" Danielle exclaimed indignantly. "I didn't ask for this name! Besides, I like it!"

Danny brought a gloved hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying not to lose his temper. "We don't have time for this," he told her urgently. His hand hands flew outward, moving quickly as he tried to press on. "If my shield goes down tomorrow, take whatever weapons you have, and defend Amity Park. You need to destroy him; take him down with whatever means necessary."

Danielle gasped as Valerie looked at him with wide eyes. Phantom never destroyed a ghost in a fight – Valerie had been stopped by him multiple times for trying to do just that. The fact that he was here, almost begging her to do just that was a testament of how desperate he must be. They were silent for a long time, Danny's words weighing heavily. The ghost boy looked away from the two teens in front of him, while all three tried to figure out what to say next. It was Valerie who broke the silence.

"Where will you be?"

Danny laughed darkly at the question. "It doesn't really matter where I'll be," he said bitterly. "If that shield goes down, it means I failed."

Both girls gasped at his tone. "Danny, no!" Danielle cried, grabbing him around the middle. Danny looked at her, surprised. "Let me go with you!"

Danny smiled gently at his cousin and knelt beside her. "It'll be okay," he said reassuringly, hugging her back. "I need you here – Amity Park needs one Phantom that can kick ghost butt." He heard her laugh into his shoulder. Pulling away, he put his hands on her shoulders. "The Fentons are working on a shield to keep Dan out; you should be safe because they have your exact ecto-signature from the last time you were here. If my shield goes down, their shield will go up. I'm not alone in this." He looked at Valerie once more before looking to his young counterpart. "Stick with Valerie. She'll protect you."

Danny stood again, patting Danielle on the shoulder affectionately. Green met green as Danny locked eyes with Valerie once again, the latter finally realizing the gravity of the situation. "Hey Dani," she called. "Can you give us a minute?" Danielle glanced at both older teens apprehensively, Danny giving her a small nod of approval before she agreed.

Valerie waited until she felt Dani was far enough away before she addressed the boy in front of her. "You were right," she said directly. Danny's eyebrows rose in confusion. "About Vlad – I went back after I released you that night… he really is Plasmius huh?"

Danny observed Valerie carefully before letting out a long breath. He didn't look her in the eye. "Does he know?"

Valerie shook her head. "If he does, he hasn't come after me," she told him. Danny's shoulders relaxed slightly but said nothing. "You've worked with Plasmius before, haven't you?" Danny nodded. "Are you going to him next?"

Danny's arm found the back of his neck awkwardly. "Unfortunately," he said. "Vlad might be an insane mastermind, but he is mayor of the town and powerful to boot. The Fentons have already reached out to create a security plan – I'm headed there to ask him to defend the town too. I doubt he would give up a chance to be the 'Saviour of Amity Park.'"

Valerie took off her helmet, her long hair dropping to her waist as she regarded the ghost in front of her. Neither teen spoke for a few moments, just staring at each other from across the rooftop. "I've seen that look in your eye before," she said softly. Danny looked at her, confused. "During the Ghost King attack - you took my mask off in front of my Dad. Back then, I thought you wanted me out of the way to trick the town. I went looking for you afterwards, to kick your ghost butt back to the Ghost Zone… but you were gone for almost a week afterwards." The two teens locked eyes again. "You're going to face this…Dan, aren't you? Just like the Ghost King." Valerie shifted her tone into an accusation. "You're not here for another team up, you're here in case that ghost wastes you."

They stood in silence for a few minutes after that, before Danny wordlessly nodded. The dark skinned girl was taken aback by his honesty, how much older and tired he looked in that moment. He was injured, almost begging for her help. Snow white hair moved softly in the wind, making his green eyes spark with determination through whatever he must be going through. He was the reason she became a ghost hunter and vowed to destroy... willing to risk his afterlife for a town of humans. She didn't understand –couldn't understand - but regarded him with determined eyes anyway.

"Okay Phantom," she assured. "I'll protect Amity Park and Dani from anyone who wants to hurt them. If that shield goes down, I'll go after this Dan with whatever I got."

Danny's entire body relaxed as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Valerie observed him carefully as he masked any uncertainty he must feel in her presence. "Be ready," he told her before teleporting away.

Valerie stood tall as she scanned the shield around the town. The mantle was passed – all she had to do was wait. It wasn't until Danielle came back to the rooftop and asked her what's wrong that she realised she was crying.

:-=-:

Clockwork sighed heavily as he watched many Observants fly off in different directions. He moved slowly, hovering feebly as he made his way inside of the Observant Tribunal Headquarters. As he entered, many more Observants flew about, often yelling about the 'end of the world.'

"Clockwork! There you are!"

The Time Master sighed again as an Observant came into view. The large eyeball seemed to be more accentuated by the deep black collar of his robe. Clockwork kept his staff on the ground, holding himself in place as the Observant came toward him.

"Is there any news?" the Observant asked desperately.

"As I have told you the previous seven times you've summoned me here – no," Clockwork replied firmly. "There has been no change to the time stream, nor the events that are to come."

"Are you sure Clockwork?"

Clockwork scoffed irritably. "If I could see past a paradox, believe me, I would have told you by now." He gestured to his appearance. "Or at least make myself younger – these trips are becoming tiresome."

The Obersvant's eye narrowed. "Your powers are fading – just like ours." When Clockwork didn't respond, the Observant continued. "So this is truly the end of time? The boy will lose and Dan Phantom will rule the world once more?"

Red eyes rolled in exasperation. "How are you so sure he'll lose?" Clockwork asked, ignoring the question. "He's beaten him before."

"Because of your interference!" the Observant snapped. "Even you can't stop a paradox Clockwork! Once these two face off, your powers will be locked until it is all over."

Clockwork turned his back toward the Observant. "I know my role during a paradox," Clockwork said dangerously. "The next twenty four hours will determine the pathways to the future. Will the Observants face the future head on or run away like the cowards they are?" Clockwork looked up at the Observants flying frantically in every direction. "How many times have you all asked me to intervene to save the timeline? How many times I've refused? You have no right to lecture me when I only interfered because the Observants asked." Clockwork pressed a button on his staff, engulfing him in a blue light. "I will be there when Time recovers, as I have been for centuries – regardless of what happens in this paradox."

The Observant scoffed at Clockwork's tone. "Your fondness of the boy has clouded your judgement," he accused.

Clockwork's red eyes narrowed as he looked back toward the Observant. "My fondness has done nothing," he replied coldly. "Danny Phantom will face his future self once more and once it is all over, I will return to my duty as the Master of Time, regardless of the outcome. You, however, will continue to be blinded by your fear and hatred." Clockwork looked up at the frantic ghosts one last time in disdain before he disappeared.

:-=-:

Dan's eyes were closed as he felt more shadows appear in front of Amity Park. His army was growing, made more powerful by his undeniable rage he felt for his younger self. How has the boy scraped by so easily, Dan thought angrily, eyes opening as he flew upward. He could see the shadows at the shield, ready to attack once he gave the signal.

The boy still had twelve hours left before they attacked. He observed the shield calculatingly, trying to find a weak point to destroy any pitiful resistance that the humans of Amity Park would attempt.

Danny will rue the day he locked me in that infernal thermos.

:-=-:

As he touched down in the Mayor's office, Danny grabbed hold of the closest solid object he could find and doubled over, gasping. His vision swam slightly, vaguely seeing a mass of ghosts attacking the shield as he tried to desperately focus on the task at hand. He felt the sparks of electricity run through his body again, grimacing at the now common event.

"It's about time, Daniel," the annoyed voice of Vlad Masters brought him into focus. Vlad turned at his desk, glaring at the young ghost. "Now, care to tell me what the hell is going on?" Danny said nothing, not quite catching his breath. He fell onto his knees, transforming back into Danny Fenton in the process. Vlad's face shifted from annoyed to concerned quickly, standing up slowly as he regarded the boy in front of him. Danny blinked rapidly, shaking his head as if he was trying to focus, panting from exertion. Vlad could sense the exhaustion the boy felt from where he stood, and sighed heavily. The man walked over to the wall and turning his hand intangible, he stuck it through, pressing a button. In an instant, the wall parted, revealing a steel blue safe. Vlad opened it and pulled out a small black pouch with Phantom's logo on it.

Finally making his way over to the teen, Vlad knelt in front of Danny. "Here," he said gently, helping the boy into the armchair that he was currently gripping for dear life. Once seated, Danny deflated slightly, finally starting to calm down.

"Vlad?" Danny asked, confused.

Vlad frowned as he watched Danny closely; the young half-ghost's breathing finally became normal, but was still quite weary. "Daniel," Vlad said softly. "You've had the shield up for four days now. It's exhausting your core; if you keep this up –"

"I know," Danny said, cutting him off. "But I need to keep them out."

Vlad's frown deepened at the boy's insistence. "What's going on?" Vlad pressed again.

Danny sighed heavily. "Apart from an evil version of me from the future trying to kill everyone I care about and the end of time?"

Vlad blinked, nonplussed, before regaining his thoughts. "You mean to tell me that the evil ghost that's been causing havoc both here and the ghost zone is you? Goody two-shoes Danny Phantom?" he asked incredulously.

"It's a long story," Danny replied ominously, looking away. "A lot had happened."

"Really? Did someone steal your thermos?" Vlad asked sarcastically.

Danny's head whipped forward and glared at the man in annoyance. "More like an explosion killed my friends and family, got sent to live with my cheesehead arch-enemy, asked you to rip out my ghost half who went crazy and merged with your ghost half and destroyed the world," he told the older man darkly.

Vlad blinked as the boy's words sank in, leaving a small silence in its wake. "And you know this how exactly?"

"Clockwork."

"The Master of Time?" Vlad asked incredulously. "You do get around, don't you."

Danny ignored him. "I stopped him once," he continued. "In an alternate timeline. But he exists out of the time stream-"

"Creating a paradox?" Vlad surmised. Danny nodded. "How far in the future are we talking here?"

"10 years."

"Meaning he also had my powers for 30 years," Vlad mused. He looked at his rival young again, noting how rigid the boy was in front of him. "How did you beat him last time?"

Danny looked away slightly, avoiding the question. "Vlad…" the younger half ghost gripped the arms of the chair harshly. "If the shield goes down… I need you to protect the town."

"Daniel?" Vlad was worried at the sudden shift in tone. Steely blue eyes watched as Danny shifted tiredly, grimacing at some unseen force wracked his small frame.

"Promise me," Danny said, looking at the older hybrid desperately. "He'll go after my parents, Jazz, Sam, Tucker. If I'm not strong enough-"

"Not strong enough? Daniel what on earth-" Vlad stopped, wide eyed as he realized what this was. "Daniel, no - I don't care what infernal complex you may have, but facing that ghost the way you are now? That's suicide."

"It's the only way," Danny said softly, shaking his head. Vlad scoffed at his tone. "Vlad, he basically has my ecto-signature. There can't be two of us in one time stream. The only way time can move forward again is if I face him."

"Alone?" Vlad sneered. "Contrary to what you believe little badger, the world does not rest on your shoulders."

"Vlad," Danny started, letting out a large breath. "He has an army – look at me. You and I both know I have no chance alone. Mom and Dad have a plan, so all I need to figure out is to get past to face him - just to make the time lines restart. When that happens, hopefully we'll figure out how to destroy him once and for all."

Vlad raised an eyebrow, questioningly. "We? Are you asking for my help?"

"Dammit Plasmius!" Danny exclaimed, stunning the billionaire at the outburst. Vlad took a few steps back at the sudden volume. "You think I want this? You think I like knowing there's an evil version of me waiting to destroy my friends and family and me? You think I wanted to come here today to beg you to save my family?" Danny's eyes lit up green in frustration. "Fine! I'm begging you, please: When my shield falls; protect my family and friends okay? Happy?! Do what you can to destroy him. You hear me? Whatever it takes."

They sat in stunned silence for a few moments, Danny's chest heaving from his outburst as he started to calm down.

Vlad recovered first, swallowing slightly.

"You said when," he said quietly. Danny looked away from the man. "Danny, you said when your shield falls. Not if." Danny stayed quiet, confirming Vlad's suspicions. The white haired man sighed, resigned to the boy's decision. "You have my word."

Danny deflated, nodding in acceptance. A heavy silence enveloped the room, neither half-ghost speaking. Vlad moved tentatively toward Danny, kneeling next to the boy once more. "Here," Vlad told him. He offered the small pouch he took from the safe to the teen. "I had these created after our run in with the Ghost King."

"What are they?"

"I call them Ecto-Enhancers," Vlad explained. "Think of them like an energy drink." He unzipped them and showed the teen three syringes, all glowing neon green. "They'll give your powers a bit of an extra boost when you're exhausted or hurt. It'll give your body a chance to recover if you're using a lot of energy. Only use them for extreme circumstances; use one every few hours." Danny nodded, taking the pouch. Vlad stood up, turning his back to the teen. Silence descended on the pair once more for a few minutes before Vlad broke it. "Daniel…" he started, before sighing, shaking his head. "Are you sure about this? Facing him?"

"Not like I have a choice," Danny mumbled. Vlad heard the teen grunt behind him. He turned to see to boy standing. "I should get going. Thanks for the Ecto-Enhancers."

"Danny wait," Vlad said, stopping the younger halfa in his tracks. They stared at each other for a second, neither speaking. There was so much Vlad wanted to say to the boy; they were so similar and yet so different. Eventually, Vlad broke the silence with a sigh. "Be careful."

A look of confusion washed across Danny's face briefly before it changed into a sad, guarded mask. Vlad saw it now; Danny's reserved acceptance of his fate, the understanding that he'll probably never make it out of whatever disaster awaits him. A small nod was all Vlad got as Danny transformed and flew out of the office.

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wygolvillage · 3 years

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been thinking about how i would make a remake/reimagining of simons quest. long post ahead. might be a little stupid since im no game designer or writer or anything lol

random gameplay stuff

it would be metroidvania style, but not all in the castle. imagine it like ooe but the map is interconnected.

i would keep the day/night cycle but it would be less obnoxious of course... probably there would be a little clock on the HUD showing what time it is and how close you are to nightfall. villagers would go inside during the night, but you can still enter churches. churches are your most reliable healing method since save rooms would be pretty sparse in the rest of the world map, and saving at the churches also allows you to skip straight to morning or nightfall if you so desire. being stuck in the middle of the woods during night can be disastrous if the player is ill-prepared since monsters grow stronger then.

there would still be puzzles to figure out and complete, and it would still be a bit cryptic (not to the degree of the original of course), but there is a supporting character i would put in who you can ask for hints at any time, and hers are a lot more straightforward (more on her later). important items are gained through quests rather than bought with hearts, but drop rates would be VERY forgiving since it’s required. like, a villager promises to give you the red crystal if you can get him some fish meat from a merman, which would have about a 40% drop rate... i kind of wanted to preserve the sense of fighting monsters to forage for materials the original has without making the game a total grindfest :P

additionally, materials dropped from monsters can be used to craft food items after simon teams up with the aforementioned supporting character. like i said before, save rooms wouldn’t be super common so it would be implemented as a way to heal yourself when you’re away from town.

the bosses would be decently difficult to compensate with there being very few of them- a true challenge, but they can be beaten with both playable characters if the player is skilled enough

the plot would be expanded upon as well so lemme give a little summary

it begins in simons house where he wakes up having trouble breathing. he’s been struggling with some physical illness ever since battling dracula years prior, especially a nasty bite on his arm he sustained during the fight, and that arm has been turning a pretty nasty shade of grey, like its wasting away. he goes outside to a graveyard near a local church to try and get some fresh air, but it is largely unhelpful. suddenly, he spots an old woman standing at one of the graves. he looks over at him and says mysteriously “ah... must be a horrible night for a curse.” simon is like “what do you mean?!” the old woman tells him to “resurrect him and destroy what remains, or nothing will remain of you”. she then disappears into thin air, implying she’s a ghost or something equally spooky. simon is like “destroy what remains... dracula’s remains?!”

the game starts properly in the graveyard and surrounding forest as simon heads in a fairly straight path towards the town of jova, where he meets a woman a few years younger than him named agnes. agnes’ parents were killed by dracula’s forces when he was resurrected back then, and she admires simon greatly for defeating the dark lord (shes also implied to be a descendant of grant danasty!). she decides to accompany him on his quest after hearing about his curse. he asks the head priest of the town if he knows about dracula’s remains, and the priest tells him that he heard of some of dracula’s followers placing some of dracula’s body parts in their strongholds to worship, and points him to the direction of the first stronghold and hands him a stake. he also warns them that bringing all of his remains together can resurrect the dark lord and it holds a remarkable corrupting power.

simon and agnes then become a character swapping duo (just like portrait of ruin hehehe). agnes is low on defense but can deal plenty of damage at a close range, and her signature weapon is the golden knife. she’s fast as well, whereas simon is more of a slow, defensive character who is best at keeping distance between himself and the enemy. agnes is smart, but impulsive and stubborn, and doesn’t like being told that she’s wrong. simon is a stoic but kind individual who tends to keep to himself. their personalities occasionally cause conflict between them during the adventure, but they eventually grow to become really good friends.

eventually they reach berkeley mansion, the first of the strongholds, and its aesthetic is very much “dark evil church”. there are the usual skeletons and bats and stuff, but some of the dracula followers are regular enemies as well. the first boss is a human who has dedicated his life to following dracula (specifically to contrast against the priest dude who gave simon the stake and directions) who uses magic attacks and stuff. beating him earns simon dracula’s rib, which functions suprisingly well as a shield (which becomes important later).

the adventure continues on like this, going from town to mansion to town, with simons curse becoming more and more hindering to him (from a story perspective not a gameplay one. simon wont become worse to play as because that would be lame as hell). they go to the other mansions, with the bosses being carmilla (guarding the nail of vlad, in a mansion thats very much a vampires lair), olrox (guarding the eyeball, in a massive dining hall themed mansion) death (guarding vlads ring in a Spooky Clockwork Skeleton Mansion with slogras and gaibons and all the usual death stuff), and in the final mansion... there is no boss. just as simon is about to grab the heart, agnes stops him.

Agnes: You told me you were going to destroy the remains, weren’t you?

Simon: Of... Of course, Agnes. Why do you ask?

Agnes: Why haven’t you?

Simon: ...

Agnes: We have almost all of them. You remember what the priest said, right? That bringing them together can resurrect Dracula.

Simon: Well... I haven’t exactly been truthful, Agnes. The old woman who sent me on this quest didn’t tell me just to destroy his remains...

Agnes: So you’ve been intending to resurrect the Dark Lord this whole time? For your own selfish gain?

Simon: This curse will kill me if I don’t.

Agnes: ...So it’s true, then. You’re willing to risk the lives of thousands just to save your own skin. Lives like my parents’... Lives like mine.

Simon: I...

Agnes: There’s no need to explain yourself, oh great hero, Simon Belmont. (Scoffs) If you care more for yourself than anyone else, strike me down now!

surprise! simon has to fight against his best friend! tbh i would be pissed at him too lmao. and it’s a tough fight, as agnes can deal a ton of damage and is hard to dodge. killing her like any other boss will give you the bad ending, where simon realizes she was right and lets himself succumb to the curse out of guilt for her death. the way to the good ending is to use dracula’s rib as a shield (i told you it would be important!) or dodge/survive her attacks until she tires out (the shield is the best method though), and realizes simon doesn’t want to hurt her. they have a touching emotional moment and simon assures her that he beat dracula before and can do it again, but he will need her help. agnes nods, and they head to the ruins of dracula’s old castle, which is totally empty. there’s no music, while the rest of the game has been filled with catchy tunes, here there’s only ambient noise.

they reach the throne room and place drac’s remains on a pedestal, where they begin to glow with dark energy. blood is dripping down the walls and stuff, and the count is returning to the mortal plane as thunder booms in the background. simon begins to doubt himself. if he loses now, the world will be plunged into darkness, and it will all be his fault. but... agnes has his back, despite everything. they fight dracula together, and though it’s tough with simon’s weakened body, they eventually prevail, as simon drives the stake into his heart, the curse finally lifted.

the game ends with agnes and simon returning to jova. agnes admits that she’s still upset with simon for lying to her, but she would be even more upset if he died slowly because of her. simon sighs, stating that there was no easy solution to the situation they were in, and asks for forgiveness for breaking her trust and risking so much for his own desires. agnes says maybe one day she will forgive him completely, and she still considers him a friend, but she needs some time to herself. simon nods, and they go their separate ways.

SO YEAH idk if this is even good but i hope u at least enjoyed reading it. maybe ill make designs for this version of simon, and for agnes too ofc :D

...yeah, not exactly the happiest ending, but i always found it kind of weird that simon was so willing to resurrect the count to save himself from the curse, so that’s the main conflict i decided to add to the story. its not the sort of conflict that can be easily resolved. theres no easy answer... agnes was right about simon risking other peoples lives being wrong, but she was also wrong to insist that he just give up and let the curse kill him instead. its Complicated idk... Castlevania II: Simon’s Trolley Problem

edit: actually i decided there would be two "true endings" after using the shield in the agnes fight. the one i described, and a second one where they decide against resurrecting dracula and simon lives out the short rest of his days with agnes until he dies of the curse. both endings are considered equally canon and valid

#Castlevania #castlevania ii simon's quest #simon's quest #simon belmont

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