Soul Survivor Prologue - Set in Motion

Who was to say how long he had been imprisoned within the confines of the Fenton Thermos? It could have been years, decades, or perhaps even centuries and he would have been none the wiser.

One thing had been made painfully evident upon the first few moments of him having entered his new home, however: his prison was indeed breakable. If one was to spare the spirit-containing contraption merely a single glance, they would have found an imprint of the fusion's face having damaged its exterior merely seconds after its having been set down.

That one dent would soon translate into two blemishes on the thermos' visage, and two soon became four, and then six, and so on…

...until, at long last, the Fentons' signature creation could hold Dan no more.

An explosion of ectoplasmic energy soon shook through the thermos, trembling in place until it finally broke apart into a multitudinous number of pieces. Standing in the epicenter of the contraption's remains, the blue-skinned ghost reveled in his freedom with a smooth chuckle.

"Certainly took long enough," grinned Dan, staring down at his balled fist. At his command, a green light bathed in his palm, inciting another round of laughter. "You know, I could hardly stretch a leg in there… much less access my full power. But now that I'm free, I believe payback is in order for my young—"

"—I believe you will find accomplishing that to be a challenge, Daniel."

Upon his external musings being cut off, Dan immediately focused his gaze on the other ghost in his immediate perimeter. "Clockwork… I see you haven't aged since we last met. Oh… wait.." He smirked amusedly as the master of time changed to his adult form. "My apologies."

"You're quite the comedian, Daniel," Clockwork replied, his stare just as potent. "However, I'm afraid that your jokes will not allow you to escape my realm." He shifted to his aged form. "You've been sealed here for a year now, and you've only now just managed to escape the thermos. Even if you were to somehow find your way back to your younger self's present time, do you not think that your past self has grown stronger?"

Dan quirked an eyebrow. "Is that right? If you're so confident in his ability to defeat me, then I'm sure you wouldn't mind sending me down to take him on one more time."

"Have you forgotten who I am, Daniel?" He reverted to his child-like form. "I am Clockwork, master of time. I do not make decisions of my own virtue. I do what is necessary to preserve the future."

Dan mock-pouted. "Oh, what a shame. And after all this time we've known each other, I thought you could just grant me this one little favor. Very well, then." His eyes gleamed. "If you won't allow me to face my younger self one last time, then I'll just destroy this place and time as a whole!"

"You're far too impatient, Daniel. I never said I wouldn't let you go back." Clockwork grew into his adult form once more. "If it were up to me, you would be trapped in that thermos so long as time existed. However… the future has written that you have another attempt at defeating your counterpart."

"I'd ask why, but I'm afraid I don't care enough." Dan cracked his neck eagerly, his fangs bared. "So, bring me up to speed, Clockwork… just how much time has elapsed since my defeat?"

"It has been a full year, Daniel. Your younger self is now seventeen, a senior in high school with his whole life ahead of him."

'Yeah, until I get my rematch, that is,' sinisterly thought Dan with a smirk on his face.

"He has finally found a comfortable balance in life—between human and ghost. Unlike you, Amity Park appreciates him as the hero he is… and Sam as his girlfriend, despite their on-again, off-again relationship. Your attempt at preserving your fate only transformed him into your polar opposite. It's ironic, almost." Clockwork eyed the fusion, attempting to find any sense of longing within his garnet eyes, yet he found none. 'It seems he has retained all of his malice. Perfect.'

"I suppose it truly was only a matter of time before Sam and I got together," Dan mused. "Imagine that it would have only been one more year before it actually happened. Tragic." He paused for a few moments before his signature smirk slid onto his face. "A worthy sacrifice for the power I wield now, however."

Clockwork mirthlessly chuckled. "I figured you would say something along those lines." As he transformed into his aged form, a stoic expression came over his mien. "But no matter. I have stalled time long enough. Are you ready to return, Daniel?"

"Yes," Dan cackled, his anticipation brewing. "I can hardly wait."

An ever familiar circle began to materialize around Clockwork and Dan as they stared one another down. The former stood with an impartial, stoic mask; the latter openly beamed and cackled as the hand on the circle began to swirl around three hundred and sixty degrees.

'Danny… I hope you're prepared for this,' internally spoke Clockwork as the hand completed its rotation, signaling that their time travel was about to begin. 'For this is a road that cannot be reversed.'

Then, in the span of an instant, they were gone.

Hello there, Danny Phantom fans! I am Super Vegetarott, a writer most well known for his Dragon Ball Z work, but recently I've found myself with a renewed interest in the DP series. As I was rewatching the show, I realized that though the series truly is marvelous, there just wasn't enough of my favorite characters present for me to feel fully satisfied. I also feel that the series had some great potential with the darker nature that The Ultimate Enemy provided, which is something that I want to try and work with in this story. That said, I do not want to stray incredibly far from what canon gives us. That means you can still expect a pinch of humor here and there and some general lightheartedness overall, but primarily I will be aiming for an Ultimate Enemy feel.

The first thing you will notice is that, unlike a handful of other "Dan returns" fics, I've actually attempted to make Dan's escape a little more believable. I hardly believe that he would ever manage to escape while under Clockwork's watchful eye, and it's even harder for me to believe that, in the event Dan escaped, he would actually make it to the time he intended to go(that being Danny's present time). As such, I had to consider a more convincing method of escape, and it wasn't long before I turned to Clockwork as a catalyst for aforementioned departure. The only question is… why?

Guess you'll have to read to find out, won't you?

Now, that hype-builder aside, I have some things that I'd like to lay out real quick since this is my first foray into the DP "phandom"(yes, I'm terrible with puns, I know). For one: I will be doing these author notes pretty consistently at the end of chapters in order to elaborate on my already written work, and that includes small Q&A sessions with readers at the end(which doesn't take up too much space, but I thought I'd just point it out). Second, if you expect chapters to be of this length often, you're dead wrong(and there it goes again). I'm a writer who prefers to make longer chapters than shorter unless it fits the tone of the story, and given that this is a prologue that sets up Dan's return to Earth, I figured that a succinct mood was best.

So yeah, I think that covers pretty much everything. Keep on reading and I'll see you all soon!