My hand slipped for a week straight. That and I really didn't want to write my essay.

So, as some of you know, I have this thing I call my Timeline Theory. I use this to connect all my Danny Phantom stories, since they take place on a bunch of different Timelines. The Timelines were caused during the Time War, which was caused by the fall of Pariah Dark. So basically, Pariah went crazy and caused a war. Before all this, when he was still sane, there was only one Timeline- this is known as Original.

Now, this area had a lot of stuff happen in it. For context reasons, I'll tell you that the previous Master of Time, Father Time, wouldn't train Clockwork because he didn't him. This led to Clockwork being trained by Pariah and Fright Knight, who though knew how to fight they had about half a clue as to how time-based powers worked. Clockwork had a friend named Tardis at this point in time, so they gave her a bit of training as well. Pariah also had a wife, Mary, who I already explained on Tumblr and there's a link on my profile if you want to read me talking about her.

So, yeah. I think that's all the background you need. As a rule of thumb when I'm writing in this area of my Timeline Theory, if the character is an OC they probably die during the Time War. But still, I'll give you a quick summery of the few who are important for this part;

Time Twister: The guy who was supposed to be the next Master of Time. Clockwork and him have the exact same power set and are frenemies of sorts. Time Twister refuses to admit that the other apprentices- Cronius, Elijah, Ophelia, and Castalia- are horrible people. Same with Father Time. My best friend LoveWritingStories created him.

Raine: Technically one of Pariah's maids, though she also functions as a nanny to his children. She's the same physical age as Clockwork is. Raine typically acts cold and disconnected from everyone around her, claiming she just doesn't care. Her 'mom' is another maid.

Mary: Pariah wife. His children are actually her's; he just sort of adopted them. She loves her husband, but isn't afraid to tell him when she thinks he's doing something stupid. Which, to be honest, is most of the time.

And uh, yeah. Hello to everyone who didn't leave instead of reading that? Yeah. Enjoy.

Fishy

Clockwork floated back from the large towers of rocks he'd managed to create. It resembled a castle, almost. It was definitely extravagant and he was extremely proud of it. Building this had taken days, and it was a miracle the tower hadn't fallen in on itself yet. This was by far the most amazing thing he'd ever created.

Well, time to blow it up.

Coating the tiny pebbles he held in his hands in unstable ectoplasm, he threw them forwards. They burst into blasts of green, and the rock towers exploded outward. Clockwork calmly raised a violet shield to protect him from the blast, smiling as the land around the Time Tower was covered in a thick layer of fine rock-dust.

Clockwork smirked, "Have fun training in this, Time Twister." He teleported, ending up back in his room. It was plain, with little more than a bed in it. One day, he decided, I'm going to make this even fancier than all of the others' combined.

"Hey, Clockwork!" He'd only been there for a second before Time Twister had entered his room, a bucket in his hands. Clockwork quickly turned around, facing the brown-haired ghost.

"Why are you in my room?"

"Because you just blew something up in the courtyard," He ignored Clockwork's sudden horror, "And I want to know what it was."

Clockwork swallowed, "I- I didn't do anything. Nope, nothing. I've been here this whole time."

"Convincing," Time Twister replied, setting the bucket down. He changed his physical age, becoming younger so he matched Clockwork's form. "Whatever it was, you'd better clean it up. Father Time is not going to be happy."

"What's the worst he'll do? Try to kill me again? Not train me?" Clockwork crossed his arms, "Oh, wait."

Time Twister sighed, running a hand down his face. "Look, when I'm Master of Time I'll make sure you get some training, okay?"

"Sure you will Twister," Clockwork said, choosing not to comment on how he'd ignored the more violent of the events. "You totally won't be busy being the Observants' little dog or anything." He ignored the glare that earned him, "I'll stick to training with Pariah and Fright Knight, thanks."

Time Twister stepped back, "You should be training with us."

"Yeah, probably." Clockwork shrugged, "But unlike you, I'm not too good at doing the bidding of everyone else. I guess that's why I won't be the next Master of Time and you will."

"Are you done?" When Clockwork didn't reply, Time Twister continued. "Honestly, you're so bad tempered today. Did Cronius push you down the stairs again?"

"It was Elijah, it wasn't the stairs, and that's not the point."

"Really? Elijah?" Time Twister frowned, "You could've just said that something distracted you and you forgot how to fly, the truth is much more believable than that stupid lie about Elijah. You're just jealous because he likes Tardis."

"No! I hate him because he's a violent little-"

"That's how he shows affection!"

"Pushing people out windows is not a form of affection!"

Time Twister stopped, "You fell out a window and are trying to blame it on Elijah?"

Clockwork nearly screamed, "No! You absolute-" He stopped, trying to calm himself. Pariah would not be happy if he did something stupid and made a fool of himself. "You're just doing this to annoy me now, aren't you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not trying to annoy you." He motioned to the bucket, "I need your help with something. Cronius and I found this and well, he kind of dared me to do something…"

Clockwork made a face, "Ew."

"Not like that!" Time Twister huffed, "Look, it's a bucket of fish okay? And I have to-"

"Fish?" Clockwork cut him off, quickly moving to Time Twister's side. "Live fish? Can I have them?!"

"No!" Time Twister shoved him back, "Fish corpses." He ignored Clockwork's horror, "And we're going to throw them at Mary."

Clockwork blinked twice, glancing at the bucket of fish corpses. "Do you have a death wish? Let's throw fish- something she absolutely hates because she thinks they look weird- at the Ghost Queen?! She already doesn't really like me!"

"No one does," Time Twister replied evenly, not noticing that his words had a similar reaction as striking Clockwork would have. "Come on, just help me! I can't do this alone, and you know how to get around the keep better than anyone else."

"So does Tardis," Clockwork said, spectral tail flicking back and forth. "Why don't you go ask her?"

"The girls are doing something with Father Time and I really don't want to interrupt them. Look, just help me with the fish thing, okay? I'll train you if you do!"

Clockwork raised an eyebrow, "Train me to do what?"

"How to… manipulate the time stream so you can see the different paths!" He smiled, "So are you in?"

Ignoring his gut feeling telling him this was a very bad idea, Clockwork smiled back. "Deal."

.-.-.-.-.-.

"If we end up having our ectoplasm used as paint, I'm going to blame you."

"I thought you were supposed to be the optimistic one," Time Twister replied, floating the bucket of fish beside him. "Where are those barriers Pariah said he'd be making? I can't see them."

"That's the point," Clockwork rolled his eyes, "If you could see them, you'd be able to get through them. When you can't find them, you can't… oh, I don't know, throw fish at his wife."

"Clockwork, you agreed to help me-"

"No, I agreed to being able to figure out how to do one of the first things everyone but me was taught." He crossed his arms, staring at the Keep. "The fact that I have to throw fish corpses at someone is the part I'm not looking forward to and probably will still regret in a thousand years."

"Clockwork, let's be honest. You'll probably be destroyed in a thousand years so it won't matter." He ignored the rude gesture Clockwork made towards him. "So. How do we get in?"

"Well, you get in by putting one foot in front of the other and moving across the ground until you reach the door. And then you reach out a hand and push it open." Clockwork smiled, ignoring Time Twister's annoyed expression. "However, if you're talking about the barriers… then do exactly what I just said. They aren't up right now, and even if they were he set them up so you could pass through them."

Time Twister seemed thrown off, and it was a few long moments before he spoke again. "Why?"

"Because he trusts you," Clockwork answered, "And just in case it wasn't clear, throwing fish at his wife is probably a violation of that trust."

"Probably? Oh, I'm fine then." He rolled his shoulders back, "Well, let's go. Lead on."

With a sigh, Clockwork moved forwards into the dark red lair. It was more of a home to him than the Time Tower had ever been, and entering it like this just seemed wrong. Pariah trusted him, but being able to manipulate the Timeline so he could see the different parts… everyone could do that! Even the Observants could! It was only him and the girls who couldn't, since Father Time refused to train them. Clockwork could still remember the fit Tardis had pitched when she'd learned that, and smiled faintly at the memory.

"Are you thinking about Tardis?" Time Twister teased, making a kissy face.

"N-no!" Clockwork replied, face flushing. "Shut up or I'll go find Raine."

Time Twister rolled his eyes at the mention of Pariah's youngest maid. "Yeah, right. She scares you."

"No she doesn't!"

"Hello."

Clockwork pretty much jumped back in shock, bumping into Time Twister. "Raine! Don't sneak up on me!"

The blue-skinned ghost blew a stray strand of black hair out of her face. "No. Who's your buddy? Or did Tardis decide to cut her hair and opt for her brother's clothes instead of her own?"

Clockwork was silent for a moment, "Raine, you know who Time Twister is."

Time Twister hid the bucket of fish behind himself, "Hello. I've heard many wonderful things about y-"

"Don't lie to me, no you haven't." Raine cut him off, staring at the bucket of fish. "Clockwork, why are you near him? He's going to take over for Father Time. I've heard the stories about what that man did from Fright Knight- him and anyone he trains is dangerous."

"Hey, he's not that bad!" Time Twister spoke up, "Sure, almost murdering Clockwork so Pariah would stop trying to be royalty was not his brightest move-"

"Almost?" Raine scoffed, "Turning a small child into a puddle of ectoplasm isn't in the category of 'almost.'"

"Can you both stop talking about the time I almost died?!" Clockwork snapped, digging his fingernails into the fabric of his gloves. He moved his head, hoping it would pull up the hood he always wore before it slipped. The incident Raine and Twister spoke of had left a green handprint where he'd been grabbed, and Clockwork preferred if it stayed hidden.

"Why? It's relevant to our current situation," Raine's gaze swept over the two of them, before focusing on the bucket Time Twister had tried to hide. "Are there blood blossoms in there?"

"No!" Both of the boys replied, Clockwork digging his nails deeper into his palms.

"It's full of fish corpses," Clockwork added on, ignoring Time Twister's motions for him to stop. "We're going to throw them at Mary so that Timey here will train me. We'll pick them up afterwards, so you and your mom won't have to." He reached through the bucket, pulling out one of the fish and throwing it at Pariah's maid. She almost didn't catch it. "There, a bribe. Now go away and don't tell anyone we're here so that we can get this over with and go home."

Raine stared at the fish for a moment before turning on her heels and starting to walk away. "If I have to clean anything up I'm telling my mom about everything. Keep it tidy, boys- and don't let the children see. Having to deal with those two trying to be you is the last thing I need."

Both of the boys were silent for a few minutes after she left. "You called me Timey."

"Would you rather I called you Twisty Tie?" Rolling his eyes, Clockwork motioned for Time Twister to follow. "She won't sell us out until after you've done your thing."

"Until we've done our thing," Time Twister replied, moving after Clockwork. "You're in this too, whether you like it or-"

Clockwork slammed a hand over Time Twister's mouth, quickly pulling him back and turning the both invisible. Pariah's wife, Queen Mary, looked over where they both of them floated. She stared at where they were for a moment longer before leaning against a wall, massaging the sides of her head.

Flashing Clockwork a thankful smile, Time Twister reached toward his neck with his free hand. He clasped it around the small white and black rock he had hung around his neck. At least, they were pretty sure it was a rock. To be honest, Clockwork wasn't entirely sure what it was. Time Twister channeled his power into it, and Clockwork felt the familiar thick feeling of frozen time. Though he was safe, Mary was not- only anyone who was a Time Manipulator, Time Master, or an Observant would be safe from the effects of it. They'd likely be able to reverse it as well.

"You really need to teach me how to do that without saying anything," Clockwork said, looking hopefully at Time Twister.

The two returned to the visible plane, and Time Twister rolled his eyes. "Why? When are you ever going to need it?"

"I-" Clockwork frowned, "Whatever. So what's your master plan now? Pelt her with fish while she's frozen in time?"

Time Twister stared at him for a moment, "You really think I'd do something that bland? No, it's cheating and stupid- if I'm doing this I'm doing it right."

"What's wrong with cheating?" Clockwork asked, "As long as you do what you were trying to do, does it matter how you got there?"

There was a pause as Time Twister made some sort of stringy substance from green ectoplasm. "Yes, it does. Now," He held up the structure he'd made. "Make some of these and line it with fish, like so." He nodded towards the bucket, telekinetically lining the string with a row of fish. "Then stick it somewhere," He put his on a wall, dusting his hands off. "It'll launch when we unfreeze time. And that Dil is my master plan."

Clockwork copied the ectoplasm string, glaring at Time Twister. "Don't call me that."

"Don't call me Timey then." Time Twister replied, making another fish string. "Or Twisty Tie, or whatever other nickname of the week you and Tardis can think of."

Clockwork reached into the bucket, sticking fish to his string. Time Twister finished his second and moved onto his third. "Peppermint Twist?"

Time Twister stared at Clockwork for a few moments, "…Do you even know what that is?"

"Do you?"

"You're the one who said it."

"So?" Clockwork shrugged, going back to his fish string. "I make stuff up sometimes. That just sounded like it was real- like a drink, or a dessert."

"Well, I've never heard of it." Time Twister said, emptying a third of the bucket's contents onto one extremely long string. "You really need to stop making stuff up. Nobody's going to like you if you don't."

"Nobody likes me already," Clockwork pointed out. "Except for Tardis, Pariah, and his kids, nobody really likes me."

"Why would his kids like you?" Time Twister asked, "Didn't you lock his son in a room without a floor one time?"

"That was once an irrelevant."

"Didn't he draw a mural of you dying on the roof, too?"

"It was once and irrelevant!"

Time Twister slapped his string onto a wall, grabbing Clockwork's and putting it up too. "Don't be so fussy. I was only teasing, you don't need to overreact."

Clockwork groaned, moving away from the other ghost. "I would argue with you, but it might turn me stupid."

"Stupidity doesn't go from one ghost to the next," Time Twister said. "Father Time would've told me if there was anyone with that power set, and Pariah would've told you."

"Yeah, sure, because he totally tells me things." Clockwork muttered, starting on another string. "Always has, always will!"

"Are you still mad about that?" Time Twister rolled his eyes, "He was trying to protect you. Can't you let it go?"

"Uh, no." Giving up with doing it the way he had been, Clockwork dumped the remainder of the fish onto his string. "I have a right to know when someone- especially someone I have to live with- wants me dead. So I'm going to keep being upset about that, because I still hate how he didn't tell me you keep defending everyone!" He threw the string at a wall, watching as one end stuck and the other slowly trailed down.

"Stop overreacting, seriously." Time Twister said, looking proudly at the walls. "Well, this is it-"

"To be honest," A voice spoke up, time starting up again a breath before it did so. Both boys looked back to see Raine, hiding just out of Mary's sight. "I think he has every right to be upset."

"What the absolute-" Mary's voice was cut off as the strings activated, flinging fish after fish at her. She screamed, and Clockwork felt Time Twister pull him to the ground. There were a few long moments before either of them raised their heads.

Mary had caught most of the fish, turning them into a cloud coated with red energy. A few were stuck in her hair, one sat on her shoulder, and she looked furious. Pariah's wife raised her hands, red energy coating them. The cloud of fish took the shape of a larger fish, and Mary glared at the two ghosts she could see.

"If you value your continued existence," The fish-cloud seemed to speak in sync with Mary, their voices echoing along the hallway. "You will run."

"Like I said," Raine's voice was barely above a whisper, and she still stayed out of Mary's sight. "I'm not cleaning that up. And 'that' includes your remains." She kicked the fish Clockwork had given her across the floor, "So don't die."

Clockwork stared at the fish for a second, an absolutely ridiculous idea forming in his mind. But it could work. Maybe.

It's worth a shot.

Grabbing the fish, Clockwork threw it as hard as he could. He hit Mary between the eyes, throwing off her concentration. The fish-cloud collapsed, falling on top of her.

"Holy-" Time Twister cut himself off, eyes wide and jaw dropped. "Clockwork! You just-"

Clockwork interrupted him, nearly shivering with fear as Time Twister teleported them both outside. "I am so dead."

Well duh, of course you're dead Clockwork. You're a ghost- oh wait, you meant that Mary's going to destroy you for that.

Yeah you're kind of extra dead then.

There'll be a Part 2 up at some point soon. Maybe. Probably. We hope.

Until then, thoughts?