The Others
A Danny Phantom Fanfiction by Annab3ll3 L33
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Prologue
"If this is the best of all possible worlds...what then are the others?"-Francois Voltaire
Have you ever considered how horrible things could be? Or how lucky you are to even be alive? There are thousands of eggs in a female's body, and each of them are different. What if all of your family died instantly, and you were left with a horrible foster family? Or if you were the only person on the face of the Earth that was happy? Imagine being around thousands of people, but they all looked completely hopeless, like they were always considering suicide. Maybe the person you thought was your friend was really plotting to kill you. Imagine how hard that would be on you. Some people have it much worse off then you, and when you are the most miserable person on the face of the planet, most likely you will not be for long.
Admittedly, this is a depressing thought, and it was not very tactical for me to bring it up at the beginning of a story. It is probably not much of a hook.
Moving on.
There are multiple names for me, but I prefer only one. I am Clockwork, the Master of Time. In ancient history, I was one of the beings released from Pandora's Box. Time, the thing that kills kings, ruins towns, and crumbles high mountains down, as Tolkien so colorfully put it in "The Hobbit".
One year ago, a young boy, named Daniel "Danny" Fenton, was put in my charge. I had saved his family, thus setting the timeline on a different path. But I am not supposed to interfere, and because I did, he and his future became my responsibility.
But it was for the best. If that timeline had continued, the world would be a different place, and definitely not a better one. Death, destruction, famine, drought, the whole nine yards. Maybe three hundred people would live. At the best. All in a period of ten years.
A single person brought that on. And he was not old enough to understand the domino effects that he could set off. Now he knows, but it is hard to resist.
Perhaps I can put it in perspective. Imagine that there is a box in front of you. You have been told nothing about it. It says "Danger. Do not open."
You are alone in a small empty room with the box. You can not leave the room. You can not look out a window, for there are none. Of course, you are curious. Very curious. You will wonder what is inside of the box, and what about it is dangerous. Perhaps you know the general gist of the tale of Pandora, who was given a box and told to never open it. She did, and all spiritual evils were freed.
Would you be able to ignore the box? Be honest.
Setting off the dominoes is like being in the room with the box. It is like you must.
It is like it is fate.
But fate is parallel with time. It is only a matter of time before your fate is decided. Your fate can change. And time is what changes it. A little bump on the timeline can send it spinning off from the best to the worst, or vice versa.
You will die from old age, have three children, and be rich. Cue the bump. You will commit suicide because all eleven of your children despise you.
Things can change that quickly. Currently the young Fenton's fate is to die of—wait, to—ah, never mind. His is one of the most topsy-turvy fates that I have ever seen. And I assure you, I have seen a fair many.
I think I've lectured you on fate long enough. The young Fenton is the subject. Right now, he is sleeping. Time out.
He is curled up into a ball, as his blanket has fallen onto the floor. One of his arms is wrapped in bandages, and there is a deep cut on his cheek. Skulktech 4.5 has proven to be a challenge. He looks very innocent. Time in.
He quickly sits up with a whimper. One must wonder what has caused this. Let us see.
A limp body seems to be floating slightly above the ground. A young woman has hanged herself. Slowly she rocks back and forth with the slight wind that is blowing in through the open attic window. A boy is huddled in the corner. Tears are pouring down his face. He lets out a wail of anguish, and the window slams shut against his paranormal onslaught. The glass panes shatter, and moonlight twinkles around the shards. A few knick knacks float up, before falling to the ground with a loud clatter. A gust of wind billows in, causing the body to swing back and forth more quickly. The body swings to face the boy, and empty violet eyes shine in the moonlight. The boy reaches for the shotgun on the dusty dresser next to him. He puts it to his head, moans the word "Sam", and pulls the trigger.
This is an event that was prevented only three days ago. Samantha had the rope ready. She is currently hospitalized. Jasmine, Daniel's sister, had to literally drag him out of the hospital.
But what if she had been successful? What if Daniel had followed her? Would it be the end? Would Daniel's other friend, Tucker, tell the remaining Fentons about Daniel's secret? What would Samantha's parents do? There are so many questions that we will never know the answers to, as the events that would spark these questions were prevented.
What if they weren't?
How would the dream have continued?
Let me assure you, it would not have been pretty. The ghosts that Daniel had been holding back would swarm the moment they heard the news. Maddie, Jack, and Jazz Fenton would not be able to hold them back. They would be killed first. The new couple, Tucker Foley and Valerie Grey would be killed next. In a last-ditch effort, Vladimir Masters would come. He and the Guys in White would make little headway against the powerful onslaught before they would be killed.
Everyone who would stand up to them would be killed.
Depressing? Well, that is how most of the timelines that have Daniel factored into them wind up. And it is my duty to prevent these sorts of things from coming to happen.
What if I failed?
Of course, I never shall, but what if? Without anybody to keep the timeline in check, and on a straight path that eventually benefits the world, it would stray into a world of darkness that has not been seen since the days of Pariah Dark.
But of course, you do not know what those days were like. You are human, and would not still be alive had you been there. I can not put into perspective how horrible those days were. And unless you know Ghostwriter, and convinced him to let you have a ghost history book, you would not understand many of the figures in that particular instance. Everybody felt like the most tortured soul in all dimensions. More familiar characters would make it far more comprehensible.
If you are reading this, obviously you are aware of the Fentons and all of the other people that I have previously mentioned. Perhaps you are familiar with them. Telling the stories of what almost came to pass and what could in the future will put how horrible things were into perspective.
But be warned. The contents of these stories may include deadly rampages, broken hearts, destroyed minds and souls, blood, dark plots, rages, sex, and generally the sort of things that make this for mature people only.
And be warned for this as well. The majority of these tales end in murder, suicide, death, or perhaps all three.
And often, even worse.