I

"Come now, Mr. Time Keeper. Surely you have the information we seek. Tell us what you know." The voice was gruff. And it annoyed Clockwork.

Clockwork looked up at his captor. "I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about, Mr. Baron."

Baron Vengeous growled. "You do not wish to trifle with me. I guarantee it."

"A fact I am well aware of. But I am the master of Time Baron. What can you possibly do to me?"

"Well, Mr. Time Keeper, we managed to lock you up nice and tight, didn't we?" Came a new voice. It was Billy-Ray Sanguine, an American, which was a nice change considering Clockwork was in Dublin, Ireland at the moment. In a tube for God's sake.

Clockwork smirked at Sanguine. "That you did indeed. However, I know everything. I knew this would happen. And I know you will fail."

Vengeous strutted over to a control panel that had a vast array of colored buttons and selected a neon purple switch to flick. His eyes narrowed in pleasure as the switch shot forth an electrical charge that filled Clockwork's chamber almost immediately.

Clockwork doubled over and clutched at his chest in pain. He had expected it but it hurt nonetheless.

Sanguine smiled at the display, thoroughly enjoying the Time Keeper's pain. He may not have had eyes, but he could see perfectly well, and he liked what he saw. Clockwork was very feminine and very attractive, in Sanguine's opinion. Clockwork may be a male and Sanguine was most definitely not 'that way', but he figured he might enjoy a go at the Time Master.

Since he knew everything, Clockwork knew what was going through Sanguine's mind and it creeped him out severely. He silently prayed that his cavalry would arrive soon or something distracted Vengeous long enough for Clockwork to escape.

"So, Mr. Time Keeper," Vengeous tried civilly, "what is your name?"

Remembering that Vengeous was a sorcerer and giving the Baron his real name was a big no-no, Clockwork decided to take a name to protect himself. A name that suited him. "Chronos. Chronos Enternia." He smirked at the Baron's displeased look.

"A taken name?" Vengeous growled darkly.

Clockwork nodded. "Yup. A taken name." He crossed his arms in amusement. "What? Do you think I'm stupid? I know better than to give a sorcerer my given name. Or my true name, for that matter."

Sanguine laughed. "Oh boy… You are good, Mr. Time Keeper. But, ain't ya a sorcerer yourself?"

"No. I'm not a sorcerer. I'm a ghost. Actually, I'm the closest thing to a god you'll ever see." Clockwork turned his gleaming red eyes t the empty holes where Sanguine's eyes had once been. This man was dangerous, that much was certain. The Baron was nothing by comparison. Yes, the Baron was still bad news, but Sanguine was worse.

And, as powerful as he was, Clockwork was helpless. And alone.

Skulduggery Pleasant looked at the white-haired boy before him in confusion. "What did you say your name was again?"

The boy looked down before looking back at the Skeleton Detective. "Danny. Danny Phantom. I'm looking for a friend of mine. Someone kidnapped him and if he's missing, then we have a problem. All of us."

"Well, Danny… Why would the kidnapping of this particular friend be a problem for us?" Skulduggery asked.

"He's the Master and Guardian of Time. Something happens to him, Time unravels and chaos will erupt. Wow, I didn't know I knew that word…" Danny placed a finger to his chin then pointed at Skulduggery. "So are you guys going to help me or not?"

"How about 'or not'?" Valkyrie Cain, Skulduggery's partner, replied. She crossed her arms and was giving Danny a rather irritated look.

Skulduggery motioned for her to be quiet. "If what you say is true, than we do indeed have a problem. I will help you but I'm afraid I don't know where to start. Let's start with this, shall we? When was the last time you saw him? Did you see him right before he disappeared?" He asked, turning back to Danny.

"Well… Actually, I haven't seen him for a while, but I found out he was missing when my other self came to find me."

"Other self?"

"Yeah. My evil older self. Well, he was evil. He's still a jerk, but he's not as bad as he used to be. Well, he lives with Clockwork. And the other day, he came to my house and told that Clockwork was gone." Danny explained.

Skulduggery nodded. "Well, since this is a time crisis, and if Vengeous has captured a Time Guardian, then we are in a ten foot hole of trouble…"

Valkyrie held out her hand to Danny, feeling embarrassed with how she was acting. "Yeah, we'll help you. We're the good guys; it's our job." She smiled.

Danny took her hand and shook it. "I hope you guys don't think you're going without me. Clockwork is my friend. I'm not just going to sit by, twiddling my thumbs, when I know he's in trouble and I know I can help."

Skulduggery was about to protest when he noticed the look in Danny's glowing green eyes: determination. He sighed. "You won't let me refuse, will you?"

"Not a chance." Danny replied swiftly.

"Very well. Into the Bentley. Both of you."