She felt very alone in limbo.

At least, that's what she thought was limbo; she definitely knew she was dead. She could still feel the burn of the explosive Nasty Burger sauce sting on her cheek. If she still had a cheek.

It was boring in limbo. Unable to move, speak, hear, smell, and with limited vision...all she could do was float. She didn't know how long she was stuck in this empty, white world. For all she knew, the world could've ended and she wouldn't have known.

"You're quite right, Miss Manson."

She forced herself to try and move towards the voice with all her might. Thankfully, somebody did it for her.

As soon as the refreshingly cold hands touched what she thought was her arm, all five senses exploded into activity. She could feel his touch on her wrist. She could hear his solid voice reverberating in her eardrums. She could smell the musty smell of mahogany on his cloak. She could see his ancient, glowing blue-skinned hands clamped onto her, keeping her from floating away.

"Nice to see you again, Clockwork," she rasped.

The master of time smiled warmly. "Hello, Samantha."

"It's-"

"-Sam. I remember now," Clockwork finished. "I see that you've spent a bit of time here in limbotic stasis."

"Oh, yeah. It's been a real party," Sam replied, furrowing her brow.

Clockwork laughed, reverting into his infant form. "Now you know where the boundary between heaven, hell, the Ghost Zone, and Earth lies. Pretty dull, right?" he chuckled fondly. "I'd best bring you back onto your feet before you get motion sickness."

"As much as I appreciate the deed, it's a little late for that," she huffed, and Clockwork steered her back onto solid ground. After several nervous "whoa!"s and getting used to her center of gravity, Sam was able to stand on her own two feet again.

It was then that Sam also realized that she was completely naked.

In front of Clockwork.

A male ghost.

"AIIIIIIIEEEE!" Sam screeched, jumping to cover herself. Clockwork guffawed, morphing into his young adult form.

"Don't worry, Sam. I've seen you naked more times than you've remembered," he reassured.

Sam blanched. "That's not making me feel any better!"

And after a moment: "Ew! You've been stalking me?"

"In retrospect, I technically 'spy' on everyone."

"Weirdo!"

Clockwork respectfully lent Sam his cloak for the time being and led her away from the white clearing of limbo to a quivering figure shrouded in darkness. "We'll be taking our leave now, Abel," he said.

The dark figure known as Abel nodded slowly and stepped out of the way. Behind him loomed a strange, albeit familiar, illuminant green portal.

"You remember our trade?" Abel wheezed.

The master of time nodded. "Her life is halfway in your hands, my friend. She will return when her job is completed."

Sam looked up at Clockwork fervently. Is he talking about me…?

Abel gazed at her with cold, golden eyes. "I will see you soon, my dear," he said gruffly, then turned back to disappear in a cloud of smoke. Clockwork waved cheerfully before eagerly pushing Sam into the portal.

Immediately she recognized the long, steel walls and timegears ticking high and low. Clockwork's hideaway, she realized. Time Tower.

DP ain't belong to me ; ; unfortunately

YAY I FINALLY WAS ABLE TO POST THIS *dies of overfangirling*

I've wanted to do a Dan x Sam fic for months now, and finally inspiration hit me and life was complete. :) I have high hopes for this one, but I'm terrible at romances...~_~ I'll do my best for you guys

Abel will be back -v- and with a very important part too. Any guesses on who he is?

Also, please pray for my sister Fang! She's going through a rough physical moment in her life and we should be there to back her up :) Please wish her well

Hope you enjoyed,

-Cheshire