(Author's note: This is my first fanfiction ever. I own absolutely nothing in Danny Phantom. Nothing. This is rated Teen for mild language and mildly suggestive scenes, and some creepy but not extreme violence.)

(One month earlier...)

"Enough of Daniel Fenton!"

The Observants crowded around the massive colosseum style room, all watching and spouting criticisms at Clockwork, the Ghost of Time at the center. Clockwork's purple cape flowed elegantly, shrouding his ever-changing figure. He showed no intimidation or fear, as usual. Instead, he listened to their various outcries, unfazed. Some made inane arguments, others just repeated what they heard with no new substance at all.

"The boy is a glitch in the system!"

"Phantom is trouble for the Human and

Ghost Realm!"

"Clockwork, the boy has limits!

"Of course he does," Clockwork muttered. "I know that better than anyone else."

Clockwork reflected on the past events that led up to this massive confrontation, the events that shouldn't have happened, according to the many one-eyed ghosts in the vicinity. He had given the Fenton boy a second chance at life, a second chance to not become the monstrous Dan, the ghost that the world had feared. Danny had traveled through time to accomplish the task of defeating his future self, much to the rage of the Observants. After all, their primary job, rather, their only job was to make sure the time stream wasn't tampered with.

It was ridiculous, really. The Observants has been the ones to order Clockwork to save the timeline, but being the fickle ghosts that they were, and after having seen just how changed the timeline was, they had begun to anger over the new developments Clockwork had made. So what if Danny now had more friends? So what if now Danny's parents were now well respected in their community? So what if Vlad was forced to leave Amity Park, leaving Danny to his new life?

Now that Danny had been given a new start, they had insisted Clockwork had done wrong.

"Clockwork, giving the boy a new, unreasonably better life has shown that you are supportive of bending our rules for a human."

Clockwork lifted his ghostly head to look at the particular Observant who accused him of being biased.

"The boy needed a second chance, is all," Clockwork replied calmly. "Is a past leading once again to the creation of Dan what you would have wanted to see?"

"If it was part of a clean, fixed timeline, yes." the Observant replied. His eye pierced Clockwork's gaze, conveying his seething hate of broken rules. "We could have stopped him if he went down that path again, permanently. We do what is necessary."

"No. I do what is necessary." Clockwork retorted. "The new timeline is set."

"Your timeline is a mutation!" another, much more emotionally charged Observant accused him from across the room. Clockwork turned to face him, though not moving from his position. "You are tending to a disease!"

Clockwork despised being told his work was faulty. He'd let that Observant, as rationally as he could, know that he could just-

"Maybe a compromise could be reached?" a tentative voice asked from the crowd.

All voices quieted, as the Observants in the room turned to the ghost who had suggested such a thing. Clockwork bit back a smile in amusement. An Observant with rather unbiased views were quite the rarity. Clockwork turned a little to his left, and found the speaker. It was a lone Observant who had been silent the entire time, at least, up until that moment.

"What do you mean?" Clockwork asked the ghost, freeing his smile. "Do you still wish to change the timeline like all the others?"

Clockwork expected the Observant to deny wishing to change his precious work, and was pleased to see that he had been correct in his assumption.

"No, you may keep the new timeline," the Observant answered, surprising the crowd around him. "But it will have to be modified. Daniel Fenton will still be in Amity Park, and resume his life as a fourteen year old."

Clockwork lifted a brow.

"So what do you suggest, then?" the Time Ghost asked, hoping for a clearer answer. "What modifications do you want?"

"Well," the Observant began, "I, like all the other Observants here, am against the boy time traveling again."

Clockwork nodded. It was nothing new to him.

"But," the Observant continued, "The boy gets himself into trouble, and as we saw from the issue he had with the CAT's, he can be quite the irrational character."

Clockwork hummed in agreement. Teenagers were far, far from perfect.

"And because you helped him once, he'll more than likely seek you out again when he eventually gets into trouble, now that he knows what you can do."

"I know he will-"

"I know he will too," the Observant interrupted. "Time Lord or not, it's not that hard to figure out."

Clockwork was taken aback by his bluntness. Since when were Observants...snarky?

"The point is, the boy will come to you for help," the Observant went on. "And he will quite possibly want you to change the timeline again. But we don't want that. You have to show him that time travel is not the acceptable method for fixing the thousand of mistakes he will no doubt make in his lifetime."

"What is your solution?" Clockwork asked. So far, the Observant wasn't actually saying anything he disagreed with. Unlike the others.

"I say keep Daniel Fenton in the new timeline for now, but to show that modifying the future is costly, let his family and friends be dead."

If Clockwork had a heart, it would have skipped a beat. The surrounding Observants let out a collective gasp, some even drawing away from the speaker.

"You want me to give him his life back, with the guarantee that the old timeline's Dan won't exist, but leave those who died in the explosion...still deceased?" Clockwork asked slowly. This was certainly a turn of events.

"Leaving his friends and family dead will show the boy that time travel is, and should always be, a last resort. It will keep him from asking for future unacceptable favors," the Observer explained. "That way, he, and no one else can sway your judgement."

Clockwork was about to open his mouth to speak, but the Observant raised his hand to stop him.

"Do not try to convince me that you aren't at all biased," the Observant said, lowering his hand. "I'm quite sure you have some things we aren't aware of, and whether you deny it or not, I will always have a lingering doubt in my mind."

The Observants around him nodded, and Clockwork stared at them all. Though they weren't wrong about the many secret alterations he had made in the past, and he knew they would eventually be found out, it still came as something jarring. Clockwork pursed his blue lips, then began to speak.

"I agree that Daniel needs to learn that time travel isn't something easily accessible," Clockwork admitted. "But what you suggested was rather...brutal."

"As was Dan."

Clockwork nearly choked at the response he'd received. Who, exactly, was this particular Observant? And who was he to talk to him like this?

"I see." Clockwork mumbled. Then, he raised his voice to a normal level. "Well, you make a compelling argument, at least. But what do you think will happen to Daniel if I carry out your suggestion?"

"He'll learn that time travel isn't-"

"I mean besides that," Clockwork interrupted, disliking repetition. "I meant his state of mind. Don't believe the pain he'll feel could possibly make him one step closer to becoming Dan?"

Clockwork grinned when the other Observants held their hands to their eyes in shock. He expected the particular one he was talking to to retract his earlier statements, and possibly even apologize. But to everyone's surprise, the Observant stood his ground.

"Then we kill him," the Observant stated. "It's nothing out of our reach."

"But aren't you worried about altering the future of Daniel is gone?" Clockwork asked, taken aback by the curt answer. He waved his staff around in circular motions. "Everything will be different. The timeline will be changed drastically."

"It will, but it won't have Dan in it," the Observant pointed out. "Besides, there's no guarantee he'll become Dan. Human personalities are quite fluid."

Clockwork, after processing their conversation, realized the Observant was right. Daniel was the only person in both realms that could cause the destruction of ghosts and humans alike, and on a massive scale. But now that Danny knew that Dan existed, he would hopefully try hard to not let himself become that monster again.

And whoever this particular Observant was, he acted much differently than the others. Clockwork would have to look into that.

"Very well," Clockwork concluded. "You've made sense. I suppose it's necessary, even at-" he glanced at the other Observants- " the possible expense of Daniel's mental health."

"Humans heal."

The Observants nodded and some even clapped their hands, though a few grumbled about doubts. It was no matter. Clockwork controlled the time stream, not them.

And with that, Clockwork vanished.