Chapter 01: Prologue

Amity Park: Fenton Works

6:00 P.M

"All right, time to finish this..."

These words had just left the raven-haired youth known as Danny Fenton's mouth as he contemplated the ornate gauntlet that adorned his right arm. The Reality Gauntlet, which he just acquired from the former owner of Circus Gothica, Frederick Isak Showenhower (Freakshow for short), was an ancient artifact of terrifying power that allowed its wielder to alter the very fabric of space at his/her leisure using a set of 4 gems.

As soon as he finished talking, two rings of energy passed through him as he assumed his ghost form, known throughout Amity Park, as the ghost boy Danny Phantom. As he flew into the sky, he could only think of the gauntlet with nothing but loathing.

How could he not, though? The wretched thing had nearly taken his family and friends, along with his friends' families as well, from him. Something so dangerous should have never been created and he was going to correct that right now.

Once Danny reached an adequate altitude, he flung the gauntlet in the air and unleashed his signature green ecto-ray, which immediately shattered the Reality Gauntlet into pieces. Relief and a sense of accomplishment washed over him as he shielded his head from the debris and flew away, ignoring his father's threats while dodging the shots from his Ecto-Gun and flying away into the horizon.

( Play song: Mortal Sin from Fullmetal Alchemist: brotherhood )

However Danny and his friends Tucker and Sam didn't notice that, instead of clearing up, the smoke resulting from the Gauntlet's destruction wasn't clearing up. Instead it began whirling in the air, getting darker and thicker. The shards of the gems of life, form and fantasy, along with the power source levitated into the small vortex of black smoke, melting inside it. The vortex turned into a sphere before darting towards the Amity Park Cathedral as a beam of pitch-black ectoplasm.


Ghost Zone: Time's Keep

2 months Later

(Play song: Sealed Sanctuary from Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters Coliseum)

"That shall be all for today, Make sure to check on the Gauntlet before ending your duties for the day. Also, take the Thermos with you, just in case."

A Ghost with its head shaped like an eye, an Observant, stated with no small amount of authority and arrogance.

"Understood." Answered an elderly ghost wearing a purple hood and carrying a staff with a clock at its head before turning into a child version of itself.

Dealing with the Observants, in the Master of Time, Clockwork's mind, was exhausting. Despite being the order in the Ghost Zone and being the only ghosts beside himself to have foresight, they never lifted a finger in its defense, instead having him do all the work of containing any potential threats to both worlds before they caused any irreversible damage.

He once had help on his duty, his counterpart, The Weaver of Space, was the one to "dispose" of the potential threats, who Clockwork was in charge of pinpointing, doing it with no small amount of efficiency. Unfortunately, he had a short temper regarding the "Sodding Eyeballs", as he nicknamed the Observants, and for trying to overthrow them, was sentenced to imprisonment inside a gauntlet for all of eternity.

" You know Clockwork, i still wonder why do you put up with those weaklings. If it were me, i'd have already turned them into ectoplasmic goo and be done with it" A mocking voice echoed through the keep. Normally it would have terrified anything that came to hear it, but Clockwork had already grown used to it in the last thirteen months.

The taunting reply came from a worn Thermos which stood inside a cell of the keep. Inside it was one of the many future versions of Danny Phantom, this one in particular had nearly destroyed all of the human world and was more feared in the ghost zone than Pariah Dark himself in his timeline. Fortunately his younger self had been able to defeat him, although nearly dying in the process, and trapping the full-ghost into that same Thermos.

"The last one who tried was imprisoned inside a gauntlet, Phantom. And believe me when i say he could beat both you and young Danny at the same time without barely a scratch. Besides, i don't want to end up as them. Positions of power are distracting and my job requires me to stay vigilant." Clockwork replied while adjusting his his staff, changing into his adult version.

Phantom's reply was a snort and a mumbled "ridiculous."

"Well, look at the time. I believe we should get going. After all, considering what that Gauntlet can do in the wrong hands, we can't afford to waste too much time."

That was Clockwork's, now back his aged form, final response before grabbing the battered Fenton Thermos and teleporting to the resting place of the Reality Gauntlet.