Time has no meaning in here. Especially if I am I where I think I am. Clockwork's lair. That meddlesome fool. He cannot contain me forever. Once I get out of here, I'll destroy him and take his staff.
Then I'm going to kill Danny Fenton. Ha ha. Yes, I fully intend on killing my younger self. Though, not after I've destroyed everything that has meaning to him.
His parents, his sister, his friends, his town, and even the Ghost Zone will not escape my wrath. They will all perish and when the time is right, so will Danny Fenton.
And I'm not afraid of destroying myself when I kill Danny. Ha. You think I would let a thing like that hold me back now? I heard the Observants. I exist outside of time now. Which probably means that I could kill either part of my other selves and still exist. But I don't care if it destroys me or not.
That's right. I don't care. I was born of tragedy and despair; I care not for my own existence. I will ruin the rest of existence, whatever the cost.
"I see the vessel is still holding him," said a Cyclops-like Observant. The thermos was dented and bent out of shape from the fighting spirit inside.
"Yes," said Clockwork, floating over to the thermos and picking it up. "Though, I will need to contain him another way. Eventually, it will break." He placed it back down and floated out of the room, the Observants following him.
"He can hear in there, so we do not want to discuss anything around it," Clockwork said, his form turning into the aged ghost.
"What are you going to do about it?" asked the other Observant.
Clockwork gave them an enigmatic smile as he turned into a child, "I am going to take care of the problem." He pressed a button on his staff. The fabric of space shifted removing the three of them from Clockwork's home. The Observants found themselves where they usually spent time doing what they always so, observing. Clockwork appeared in a familiar basement filled all sorts of contraptions with 'Fenton' written on them.
The basement was cleaner and more organized than it had been in the past. Frozen in time, Clockwork could see a tall, black-haired young man bent over a table working on something. "Time in," he said, pressing another button. The world went from pause to play.
The young man stiffened as he sensed the ghost's presence. He turned around quickly and relaxed when he saw that it was Clockwork.
"Uh, hi, Clockwork," an older Danny said, a curious look on his face. "I'm guessing this isn't a social visit."
The ghost smiled, "Correct. But I believe you are already in the process of fixing things."
Danny looked back at the worktable. On it was what looked like a bunch of Frisbees. One of them was open and a screwdriver lay next to it. "The containment unit for really powerful ghosts? Why?"
Clockwork gave him a measuring look, "I believe you might already know why."
Danny flushed faintly and began to fiddle with a magnifying glass he held. "Yeah, I might know."
"Your… alternate's containment is breaking down," Clockwork said, getting to the point. Danny flinched.
"I was afraid of that. Umm, how long do you think it will be?" Danny asked.
Clockwork put a comforting hand on Danny's shoulder, "Not for some time yet. Three years more or less."
Danny relaxed a little, "I guess that means I have time to get this working then."
"Then I will return when it is done," the ghost said. A moment later, he was gone. Danny stared at the empty space for a moment before he shook his head and leaned back over his work. When else would he have time and access to his parents' equipment without them being around? He was glad they had taken up on his and Jazz's suggestion of a second honeymoon, even though that meant they were traipsing across Europe and Egypt to visit the most haunted places on Earth.
HA HA HA! It's breaking! I see the cracks. I see the light! See the light? HA! I amuse myself. Oh, this is so much better than any light at the end of the tunnel or moment of clarity. This is when I can kill and destroy. Hope you are prepared Clockwork because that will make your last moments even more satisfying. To see you find all your plans fail. That will be one of the best things ever.
Just a little more. Ah! There! Time to go. What's this? A barrier? Argggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Curse you, Clockwork! I will get you one day. One day, I will get you.
Danny winced at the language coming from his alternate self in the other room. "I don't think I know that many cuss words. Or that creative of ones."
"You didn't have to come," Clockwork said.
Danny shook his head, "I had to be here now. Just for my piece of mind. To know if it really works."
Clockwork smiled, "It will work better than the coffin that holds Pariah Dark. I think that it was a stroke of genius use the energy of the Ghost Zone and your alternate to power it and maintain its form."
Danny rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit left over from his younger days, "Heh, well, I wish I could claim the idea was mine alone. Tucker helped a lot. Though, I kind of got the idea from Skulker of all ghosts and Plasmius."
"You've always been resourceful," Clockwork observed.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Danny said, looking at the room that contained the dark version of himself.
"Do not worry about him. When he lost his humanity, he lost that edge, while retaining the ruthlessness and not giving up attitude that is Plasmius and you. In other words, he lost something he needed."
"Don't worry about him, Danny. You won't turn into him and you have a good future ahead of you."
Danny gave him a lopsided grin and laughed, "You would know, wouldn't you?" Clockwork joined in his laughing as he sent Danny back home.