Author's Note: Hey all, this is my first fan-fiction so any and all reviews are greatly appreciated! Please enjoy ^.^
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.
"I can't believe they scheduled the make-up exam on a Saturday morning," Danny yawned, pulling his arms above him in a stretch, "The only good thing about this week was the distinct lack of ghostly activity allowing me to study for the C.A.T. in peace."
"For all our sakes, I hope you did well," Tucker mumbled and an unnatural silence fell over the group. It was meant as a joke but the horrors from last week were still fresh in their minds.
"Anyways…" Sam's voice eventually broke the awkward silence, "what do you plan on doing now, Danny? It's only twelve and as you said, there have been no ghosts around lately."
"Yeah but with my luck I'll have Skulker and the Box Ghost knocking at my door by one," Danny chuckled before an idea struck him and serious look of determination crossed over him, "I'm going to see Clockwork."
Half an hour later, the trio of friends stood in front of the swirling green vortex which provided access to the mysterious Ghost Zone. Danny looked over the hand-drawn map in his hands before nodding and stuffing it into his pockets. A ring of light encircled his waist and split, traveling up and down his body, transforming 'ordinary' Danny Fenton into the infamous hero Danny Phantom. Coal black hair and baby blue eyes shifted to a snowy white and glowing green. His white t-shirt and blue jeans were replaced by a sleek black jumpsuit with white boots, gloves, and accents. A ghostly white aura emanated from his body which now floated several inches off the ground. Sam and Tucker, long since accustomed to their friends' unique abilities, merely looked on with disapproval.
"Are you sure about this, Danny?" the young Goth asked, "I mean the last time we saw this guy he was giving you quite the bashing."
Danny rubbed his head, as if remembering the pain the Ghost of Time had inflicted during one of their first meetings. "He only did that to prove a point and force me to change my own future. It's not like he enjoys beating me up."
"Skulktech 9.9," Sam reminded him with a smirk.
"Boxlunch," Tucker offered and the three paused to share an 'ew' at the mention of the future offspring of the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady.
"That's beside the point. I'm going to see Clockwork whether you join me or not." He flew into the portal rather hastily, as if to prove his point, leaving Sam and Tucker to shake their heads in disappointment. Sometimes it was hard to remember this teenager was also an inspiring hero.
"Come on, we better go after him," Sam finally sighed, heading for the Spector Speeder. She was surprised Danny's parents never noticed when the rather large vehicle went missing although these were the same ghost hunters who failed to realize their own son was half-ghost.
Tucker took the wheel and guided the Specter Speeder through the portal, steel walls of the Fenton's basement soon replaced by the swirling green and black void of the Ghost Zone. Numerous doors floated all around them, each one an entrance to a different ghost's lair, not all of them friendly. Ahead of them, a familiar white-haired ghost boy floated a map in his hands and a perplexed expression on his face. As the Speeder came closer, they could hear him mumbling loudly to himself.
"Was it a right at Skulker's Island or a left at Fright Knight's Castle? Perhaps it was past this Swirling Vortex of Infinite Pain-oh, that's a thumbprint…"
"Need some help, ghost boy?" Sam called out from the open back of the Speeder. She tossed him a pair of Fenton phones, Danny fumbling to catch the small communication device.
"I thought you guys weren't going to come." Danny floated closer to them and though he tried to hide it, the relief in his expression was evident.
"As if we would miss a chance to tell you 'told you so'," Tucker jokingly replied, earning himself a glowing green glare, "And I uploaded our current map into the Specter Speeder's GPS system so we don't end up in some Swirling Vortex of Infinite Pain."
Danny sighed as his friends laughed at his expense, but a smile soon found its way on his face as well. Tucker started up the Specter Speeder and Danny was more than happy to follow along behind, acting as a lookout rather than an escort for once. Only Kempler dared to interrupt the their journey and after a long roundabout conversation about not wanting to be his friend, the trio soon made it past the annoying ghost to the looming fortress of Clockwork's domain. It was time to pay the Master of Time a visit.
"So what happens if he's not here or he doesn't let you in?" Tucker's simple question quickly snuffed out the determination fueling Danny's actions only moments ago. His already pale face managed to blanch even further as he hung his head in embarrassment.
"Well he is the Master of Time so he probably already knows we're coming," Danny replied hesitantly, trying to maintain his cool composure. Lucky for him, the gates to Clockwork's fortress were wide open and inviting when they arrived.
"Seems like he's expecting us," Sam muttered darkly, still not completely trusting this powerful ghost. Danny ignored her and continued on inside where he found himself in a long hallway with numerous doors on each side. He went to each door and was surprised to find them all locked except for one. After a reassuring glance at his friends he slipped inside. Small portals dotted the walls of the room, each depicting various events in the time stream: past, present, and future. Danny thought he caught glimpses of himself among them but when he went to investigate the scene had already shifted.
"So where is Clockwork exactly?" Tucker asked, not seeing the ghost anywhere, "And what's this thing?"
"Tucker, put that down." Danny's voice had taken on a darker tone as soon as he caught sight of the all too familiar thermos in his friend's hand. Tucker and Sam did not remember Danny's final battle with him due to Clockwork's time reversal and he was not willing to share those events quite yet. How could he when he had nearly lost them that day? Tucker seemed to pick up on Danny's distress because he carefully set the thermos back where he found it.
"Hey look, remember these things!" The techno geek's attention span rivaled that of a goldfish as he completely forgot about the thermos in light of his new discovery. He now held up a gear-shaped medallion with a strange blue rune in the middle- Clockwork's Time Medallions.
"What do you think you're doing?" Sam asked, watching him stuff quite a few of the emblems into his pockets and one around his neck.
"The last time I got a hold of one of these I found some pretty advanced tech in it. I'm sure Clockwork won't mind if I take a few to study if he is the great guy Danny claims he is," Tucker explained before throwing one to Sam, "Put that on, you never know if you might need it around here."
The Goth gave a small note of disapproval at the bright colors of the medallion but slid it onto her neck as well. Tucker tossed one to Danny, but managed to miss him by quite a few feet. Time seemed slow as they watched the glittering artifact fly through the air, straight for a certain thermos. A sharp clang echoed through the room as it hit the side of the thermos causing the Fenton device to fall roughly to the ground. Nobody moved a muscle as they waited in silent horror for the inevitable. After a few moments of nothing happening, Danny let out the breath he had been holding in relief. He was about to walk towards the thermos when the small contraption began to rattle violently. The trio wore the same expression of absolute shock as the thermos exploded, releasing the prisoner sealed inside.
The dark chuckle sent a shiver of fear through the normally unwavering trio. "Well, well, well. Long time no see."