Chapter Two: Welcome to the Ghost Zone

Danny's POV

Oh Ghost. My head hurts. I groaned, blinking my bleary eyes open. Uhgg. It feels like a sledge hammer is pounding into my head in hyper-drive. I shifted my body slightly, feeling cold hard ground underneath me. I tried to focus my eyes and shifted my head to the side, trying to figure out where I was. The massive headache wasn't helping as I focused on the surrounding area.

The first thing I noticed was green. Lots and lots of green. All different shades that were blending and melting into each other in elegant yet creepy swirls.

The second thing I noticed was that I was currently laying on a floating rock. The rock was just big enough to hold my body and not allow any limbs to hang off the sides.

With those two observations combined, I realized where I was.

The Ghost Zone.

"Why the hell am I in the Ghost Zone?" I wondered out loud, as I slowly pushed myself into a sitting position, allowing me to see more of my surroundings.

Right now the only thing that came into my mind on why I was in the Ghost Zone, was that I had been kidnapped and placed there. It reminded me of that time when Nocturne tried to put everyone to sleep in the world so that he could get more power and take over the Human Realm.

With the thought of my town being in danger, I quickly jumped to my feet only to stop when a sharp stinging pain spiked through my chest. I clutched my chest in shock.

What the hell? I thought in confusion at the surprising pain. I looked down at my chest and noticed that my Hazmat suit had a torn hole in the middle, a white scar right over my heart. Even more baffled now, I shifted again and felt the pain once more causing me to hiss in discomfort.

It felt as if something was poking at my ghost core with every movement that I made.

Confused, I turned my hand intangible and reached into my own chest where the pain was originating from. I suppressed the shiver that came of having my own hand shoved into my chest. I felt around my core with my fingertips, searching.

After a few seconds, I finally felt my fingers brush against something small, hard, cold and...unnatural in my body, right beside my core, resting up against it. My eyebrows creased with confusion, I gently took hold of it and pulled it out.

I held my fist in front of me and slowly opened it. I gasped and almost dropped what was resting on my palm.

A bullet.

And a human bullet at that. This wasn't an anti-ghost bullet. I stared at it in shock and confusion till my memories came back to me.

The sound of gun fire, pain, feeling really heavy, then feeling light as a feather before nothing. Darkness.

I slowly reached up to my chest and brushed the place, where the bullet had penetrated, gently with my fingertips, feeling the scar that now rested there.

I was shot.

But by who? And why did they shoot at me? I asked these questions in my mind over and over again. Then another question struck me.

Since I was shot, was I still a Hybrid? My eyes widen before I closed them, and tried to focus on the warmth that normally resided deep in my core that belonged to my human heart. I mentally reached inside of my core searching for my humanity that normally should be able to feel residing right beneath the surface. But it was gone now.

I could not find my human warmth.

My eyes flew wide open with horror and I stumbled back a step, tears filling my eyes.

I was a ghost now. Full ghost. No more humanity. No more ties to the Human Realm.

Dead.

I was completely dead now.

In my shock I ended up dropping to my knees, my eyes staring blankly forward. My arms began trembling at my side before I braced them on the ground in front on me and bowing my head down. My hair, that I could see was black mixed with white now, fell over my face hiding the tears that were now running freely down my face, leaking from the corner of my eyes.

I chocked back a sob as it began to escape from between my lips.

I was dead now. A permanent resident of the ghost zone. All my friends and family were no doubt going to be heartbroken.

Mom...Dad

How would they react to find out their own son was now full ghost? Would they hate me? Would they try to capture me and dissect me or try and rip me apart 'molecule by molecule'?

You're a ghost now. They hate ghost. They hate you. Whispered a voice in the back of my mind. That voice had always been there, trying to feed my fears and make them flourish.

I quickly snapped back, squashing that voice. NO! They loved me! They didn't know it was me they were hunting!I argued back. I sat on the ground and pulled my knees up to my chest hiding my face against my knees and cried.

Sobs racked my body in violent shudders as they tore from my chest and mouth.

I sat there, for what seemed like hours, just like that. Crying my soul out to the worlds.

Where was I to go to now? Over half the ghost zone residents hated my guts-or ectoplasm now. I hardly knew anything about the ghost zone and how the system worked. That's one of the reasons I kept getting in trouble with Warden Walker. Since I didn't know all the rules, I would accidentally break them and he would try to arrest me for it.

Who was going to teach me the ways of the ghost zone? Where was I going to live? I didn't even know how to make a lair! I needed someone to help teach me all these things.

I continued to cry as I tried to think of someone who would be willing to help. I could always go to Frostbite, but I didn't want to pester them and have to deal with being called 'Great One' all the time.

So who?

I slowly looked up from my legs, my red, tear stained eyes, scanning the area around me. My eyes paused over a certain piece of floating material that caught my attention.

A gear.

A sudden idea sparked in my mind. And for the first time since I first woke up in the ghost zone, I felt hope. I quickly pushed myself to my feet and launched myself into the air.

Clockwork. He could help me!

Whenever I use to feel down, I would always visit Clockwork looking for some advice that could help me or to simply cheer me up. Clockwork was always there in my time of need.

So, determined to find Clockwork's Tower, I flew through the Ghost Zone, all the while, keeping the bullet responsible for my death clenched in my fist.

I flew for maybe only a moment before the gears started growing more and more in abundance. Soon enough, Clockwork's Tower appeared into view. I picked up the pace as I flew to the front doors that were conveniently opened. As I approached the entrance I slowed down, and when I saw a piece of paper stuck to the door, I landed on the ground and walked over, plucking the paper and reading it over with curiosity.

Dear Daniel,

Make yourself at home in my Tower. I am currently in a meeting with the Observants so I will be back shortly. I have a few book shelves packed with books in the viewing room if you wish to read anything while you're waiting; though I highly doubt you will. There is also a plate of cookies on the table if you want anything to eat. Although you are full ghost now and you might not get as hungry as you did when you were human, they still serve as a good snack, even for ghost.

See you soon.

CW

I stared at the paper in wonder. How did Clockwork know I was coming? Almost as soon as I finished that thought, I face palmed and mentally kicked myself in the butt. Duh. Master of Time. He knows everything.

I folded up the paper as I slowly walked inside, glancing around the room. Even after I had read the paper from Clockwork that said to make myself at home, my respect for the powerful spirit and my hero-complex, combined with the fact that I was alone in someone else's home, left me feeling apprehensive about doing anything without them being present.

I went and sat down at the table that held the plate of cookies. I placed the bullet on it, then slowly picked up a cookie and nibbled on it, waiting for Clockwork to come back. I stared up at the ceiling of the huge viewing room, fiddling with the bullet with my free hand and holding the cookie in the other. I stared at a few bells that brought back memories of when I first met Clockwork. They were not the most pleasant of memories back then, but they were amusing to me now. I remembered Clockwork using his Time Scepter to rewind and forward time, slamming me repeatedly into the large bells.

I chuckled softly at the memory and nibbled cookie a few more times. I could faintly taste the chocolate chips inside the cooked dough, but I wasn't really paying any attention to the outside world right now. I placed the bullet on the table and stopped messing with it for a while. I was planning to keep that bullet. I don't know why, but I wanted too.

But right now, I was busy thinking about all the memories and fun times I had had in this tower.

I think my most favorite memory was when Clockwork approached me one day while I was in the viewing room with an English text book open, trying to do homework. That day school had been particularly stressful because I had the crap beaten out of me by Plasmius, had to shove the Box Ghost into the Thermos 3 times and got shoved into my locker AND in a mud puddle outside of school.

I looked up at Clockwork from my text book with a raised eyebrow. Clockwork had a mischievous grin on his face which normally meant nothing good, so I was a bit cautious. I almost jump out of my skin when he held out a beaten up Thermos in his hand out to me. I recognized that thermos almost instantly, and quickly stood up, dropping my text book onto the ground in the process, and took a few steps back, my eyes wide.

"C-clockwork...what are you doing with that?" I stuttered out,almost fearfully as I stared at the thermos that contained my evil future self.

"Allowing you to relieve some of your pent up stress. Go ahead and take it." Clockwork said holding it out closer to me.

I stared nervously at the Thermos, my green eyes wide. "Huh?"

Clockwork smiled and chuckled before holding up the Thermos and giving a good shake or two. You could then hear loud but muffled yells and curses coming from inside. Clockwork grinned once more and held it back out to me.

I cautiously took the Thermos from his hand and looked at it for a second before looking back up at Clockwork nervously. "Umm...what do I do?"

Clockwork chuckled. "Whatever you want with it. Throw it. Shake it. Slam it. Do whatever you wish." I opened my mouth to voice a concern but he beat me to it. "And it won't break I promise. I casted a few Time charms onto the Thermos so no matter what you do to it, it won't break or crack at all." He said easily and crossed his arms over his chest, his red eyes alight with mischief.

I looked back down at the Thermos that contained the origin of my most feared nightmare. Dan Phantom. I suddenly realized what this meant.

Payback.

I felt a small wicked smirk split across my face as I stared at the Cylindrical Container.

"Awesome." was the only word I said for a long while. I took the Thermos with both hands and shook it violently up and down. I slammed it against the ground a few times and against the walls too, ignoring the yells and threats coming from inside. And I did throw it a time or to at the wall just for extra measure.

After almost an hour of torturing my future self, I sighed with contentment and handed the Thermos back to Clockwork,surprised to notice that it did remain intact through the whole ordeal.

"Thanks,Clockwork." I said with a wide grin. "I feel a whole lot better now."

"I don't" Said a muffled growl from inside the Thermos.

"Shut up." Clockwork said and shook the Thermos with a smile to silence the Evil Ghost. "No one cares about your opinion."

I chuckled slightly. "I might have to come back some time to do that again to get rid of any stress." I chuckled.

Clockwork nodded and smiled gently. "And it will be open to you. Anytime you wish to come by and put all your anger out on Dan, that is perfectly fine."

I grinned. "Sweet. Alright well it's getting late back home so I better head out." I said glancing down at the watch on my wrist.

Clockwork nodded his head. "Alright Daniel. My doors are always open to you anytime you need to talk or...relieve yourself of some things." He said holding up the Thermos.

I nodded my thanks to him. "Alright. And thanks again Clockwork. That was fun." I said as I headed back to the couch and grabbed my fallen textbook from the floor and my book bag from beside the couch before heading to the door.

"Anytime Daniel. See you sometime in the future." Clockwork said as he waved goodbye.

I waved back and took off out the door heading back home for a good night's rest.

I was so lost in the memories; I didn't even notice as Clockwork walked in till it was too late.

"Boo."

I yelped loudly and jump maybe four feet into the air, dropping my half eaten cookie and rattling the bullet around on the table. I whipped around quickly and turned to see a smirking child version of Clockwork floating three feet away from me, Time Scepter slung lazily over his shoulder.

I placed a hand over my core with a sigh of relief before glaring at Clockwork. "That wasn't funny." I mumbled out, but I couldn't prevent the smile tug at the corner of my lips. Clockwork saw the small smile and his grin grew wider.

"Oh, no? I found it rather amusing." He said smugly, shifting to his middle aged form.

I rolled my eyes and sat back down in the chair. "Yeah, whatever."

Clockwork floated to the other end of the table and looked down at me with a calm expression. "Now, you wished to ask me something?"

I looked down at the table sadly. "Yeah." I paused before I continued. "You know this already but...my human half has died...I am now a complete member of the ghost zone, but I don't know hardly anything about the zone and the way it works." I looked up at Clockwork pleadingly. "I was hoping you would help me become more... situated."

Clockwork nodded his head slowly shifting to an older man, and a soft and kind smile spread across his face. "Of course Daniel. But I would like something back from you." He said, allowing his Time Scepter to vanish seeing as how it was no longer needed.

I stared up at Clockwork curiously my eyebrows creased. "Yes?"

"I need someone to help me out around my Tower. To help me do things in the time line. I guess you could say, I need an 'Apprentice'." He said staring down at me with his intense red eyes.

I stared him shocked. Apprentice? The Master of Time's apprentice?

"W-what? Why?" I stuttered out, unsure as to why Clockwork would need an apprentice, and why he would ask ME for that matter.

Clockwork gave me a gentle smile. "A Time Master needs someone he can pass down his knowledge to, and I truly do need help with all of my work. We can get things done a lot faster if there were two of us." He explained to me.

I nodded slowly my mind still a bit numb from both the shock of being dead and what Clockwork was asking me. "But...why pick me?" I asked him, looking up in curiousity.

Clockwork turned and floated over to one of his viewing screens shifting his form once more. "Because, out of all the ghosts in the ghost Zone, no one knows just how important the Time Stream is, other than you." He said turning to face to me, his eyes serious.

I nodded again slowly and looked down at the table. Hell, this was a lot to take in. But…Clockwork knows what he is doing. He wouldn't do anything that might jeopardize the time stream. And he is asking me to help him. He must have a lot of faith in me.

I sighed softly before looking up at him with a weak smile. "Alright. I'll do it."

Clockwork nodded and smiled. "Good. Come and I'll show you to your new room." He said before turning towards a hallway door. I quickly got up, grabbing the bullet off the table, and followed after him as he led me through his Tower. We went up two flights of stairs and past a few doors, before Clockwork finally came to a stop in front of a black door with my white insignia on it. I looked up at Clockwork with a questioning expression.

"I knew that even though you are full ghost now, you would still like to hold onto some form of a reminder of your past." Clockwork explained, and then nodded his head to the door. "Go ahead and open it."

I stared at him confused for a second, and then turned to the door. I reached out with a slightly shaking hand and grabbed the door knob, before turning it slightly. The door slowly swung open and I stepped into the room, blinking a few time to allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness. When I could finally see enough to locate a light switch that was a foot away from the door, I reached over and flipped it on. I looked around the room now illuminated by light.

I felt my jaw almost drop and hit the floor, metaphorically speaking. The room was huge. This room could fit 4 of my old bedrooms combined easily. The walls were painted a relaxing turquoise blue, that were almost the same shade as my sister's eyes. The bed was a queen size and had a black and white comforter on it. The room even had its own bathroom attached to it and a closet on the other opposite side.

I took a few steps farther into the room, my eyes wide with wonder as I looked around. The ceiling was gray and had a perfect replica of the Human Realms nighttime sky. It even had the phases of the moon in the Human Realm painted on it.

As I looked around the room and took in everything that was present, I didn't notice Clockwork follow in behind me until he spoke.

"I hope that the room is to your liking, Daniel." he said with a smile.

I looked up at Clockwork, unable to voice what I thought of the room, so I just ended up nodding my head.

Clockwork chuckled and floated over to the closet and opened it up. He looked inside for a second before finding what he was looking for and pulled it out. He turned back around and tossed the new material at me. I caught it on pure reflex and stared down at it.

A new change of clothes.

"I don't think you would like anyone in the Ghost Zone to know who you are, so it is best to change your appearance somewhat." he stated floating back over to me and nudged me towards the bathroom door. "Go get dressed and meet me back in the viewing room when you're finished, okay? Oh and before you do, would you like for me to take that bullet? I and going to do something with it then give it back to you when you come downstairs, okay?" He asked, looking down at my that was still clenched around the bullet.

I looked down at my hand and brought it up, opening my fist so I could look at it. I was reluctant to part with it, but I knew that Clockwork would keep it safe for me. After a moment, I hesitantly nodded and held it out to the Time Master. Clockwork smiled and took the bullet from my hand. "Alright, I'll see you down stairs when you are finished." I nodded, still unable to speak. I walked into the bathroom when Clockwork vanished out of my room in a swirl of his Time Scepter. I looked around the bathroom and saw that the walls in here were just plain old white with simple granite counter tops. There was a shower/bath stall in the back of the room along with a toilet beside the shower and a mirror above the sink. It looked to be like any other bathroom in the Human Realm.

I sighed and walked into the bathroom and placed the bundle of cloths that Clockwork gave me on the counter, and glanced up at the mirror.

Only to gasp in shock at what I saw.

The first thing I noticed was my hair. My hair was streaked with both black and white. There were some patches of white and black all over of the place. They looked to be highlights but you couldn't determine which color was the natural. It added a wild contrast to my eyes which is was I noticed next. My eyes were now two separate colors. My right eye was a bright neon green while my left was ice blue. Not the sky blue that my human eyes were, but ice blue like the color they glowed when I used my ecto ice.

And the third thing I noticed was my skin. I use to be a pale tan color, but now my skin was so pale it was almost chalk white.

I reached up with a trembling hand and gently touched my face, not quite believing that this was me. But when the ghost in the mirror mimicked my movement, it finally sank in that this was my full ghostly appearance. I sighed softly and dropped my gaze from the mirror, away from my reflection, and looked at the cloths that were still resting atop the counter, waiting to be changed into. So I complied and didn't let them wait any longer. I slowly got undressed from my hazmat suit and put on the cloths that Clockwork gave me. When I was completely dressed, I looked back up at the mirror to see how I looked.

The new outfit honestly looked amazing, and I made a mental note to thank Clockwork for it.

I was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt much like Clockworks, with a white symbol on the front. I had black pants with combat boots underneath and a white studded belt around my waist. Clockwork gave me a cloak, similar to his own, but instead of it being purple, it was black with white on the inside and it reached all the way down to my ankles almost brushing the floor. I even had the Gear clasp at my shoulder like Clockwork had on his.

I think my favorite part of the new outfit was the symbol on the front of the shirt. There was a white hourglass with lines at the top and bottom of the it, and a white gear design behind in the place where Clockworks' clocks would be at on his body. It seemed to befit the "Apprentice to the Master of all Time" theme perfectly. I was most diffidently going to have to thank him big time for all of this.

I sighed, turning away from the mirror and walked out of the bathroom, tossing my old hazmat suit into a laundry basket by the door as I went by. I walked into the middle of my new room and looked around, looking everything over once more.

Sadly, no matter how thoughtful Clockwork's gifts were, it didn't change the situation. I was dead and might never see my family or friends again.

With the pang of sadness in my heart, I left the room and went out into the hall, retracing my steps back to the viewing room to meet up with Clockwork.

After a few minutes, I finally stepped into the viewing room and looked around in search for Clockwork. I saw the Time Ghost staring into one of the Viewing Screens at some timeline I knew nothing about.

As soon as I stepped into the room though, he turned around and smiled at me calmly. I took a few steps closer and glanced at the viewing screen, but the vision had already vanished when Clockwork looked away from it. I was unsure of what to say, which made me reach up and rub the back of my neck nervously.

Clockwork broke the silence first. "I am sorry you had to die completely at such young age, Daniel. But it was meant to happen. If I could have prevented it and have a positive outcome then I would have." He said softly, sympathy in his red eyes, as he shifted from the middle aged man to an older one.

I nodded slowly and put a smile onto my face. "I-it's okay Clockwork. I trust that you would never lead me astray...no matter how painful it might be." I whispered softly, my eyes dropping to the floor. I was going to miss my old home in the human world. My school, my friends, my family. I would miss so much fighting alongside Sam and Tuck, hanging out with them at the Nasty Burger, laughing at my Dad when he did something silly on accident, hiding from their ghost weapons.

I sighed softly at all the memories of my past life that now I will never have again.

When I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder that squeezed softly, I looked up to see Clockwork staring down at me, his expression a mixed of emotions. The one that was most abundant was sympathy. "I'll try to help make your new afterlife bearable for you."

I saw that Clockwork truly meant what he said and that made me feel at least somewhat better. Not a lot, but it lifted my spirits enough to where it made it at least easier to accept. I nodded my head and smiled a little. "Thank you, Clockwork. That means a lot to me." I paused before looking at the new garments that Clockwork gave me. "And thanks for the clothes and the bedroom. That was very thoughtful." I said looking back up at him.

Clockwork nodded his head slightly, smiling softly as well. "Anytime, Daniel. Remember that I said you will always be welcome here."

I nodded back before looking around the room. "So...May I ask what a Time Apprentice does?" I asked curiously, trying to change the subject.

I saw the glint in Clockwork's red eyes and knew he was aware of what I was trying to do. Thankfully, he went along with it. "Well, A Time Apprentice's job is to, of course, help the Master of Time, moi, to do his or her work and help to maintain the Time Stream. They do missions for the Time Master and to help to try and make peace among the Ghost Zone residents, and will sometimes give little nudges to help push the Time Stream in the correct direction like I do. But before you can do any of that, I need to train you up for a bit." He said with a gentle chuckle as he crossed his arms over his chest as he stared down at me. "We can to work on your training tomorrow after you get a good night's rest."

I blinked at him in confusion. "Ghosts sleep?"

Clockwork nodded slightly, amused at my obvious cluelessness, causing me to blush in embarrassment. "To some extent they do. Newer ghost need more sleep then older. The older and stronger they get, the less sleep they will need. But they will still need to at least take a nap every now and then to help maintain their strength and focus."

I nodded slowly, a thoughtful expression on my face. "I guess that makes sense."

Clockwork chuckled then turned and floated over to a book shelf on the other side of the room. I watched as he reached out and plucked out a few book and floated back over to me. He handed me the books. There were 3 of them, and they were each about 4 inches thick. I stared at the books with curiosity and I read the covers. They were titled History of the Ghost Zone Volumes I, II and III.

I looked up at Clockwork confused. "What are these for?"

He smiled and started winding up his Time Scepter. "I want you to read them. They will be most informative and teach you a lot about the Ghost Zone, knowledge you might find useful in future situations."

I looked down at the books in my hands, internally groaning. Great. Even though I'm dead, Clockwork is going to be making me learn things like boring history. I sighed and nodded, realizing that it might be best that I learn as much as I can about my new home and its history. "Alright. I start reading them tonight." I said looking up at the Time Ghost.

Clockwork nodded and smiled at me as he finished winding up his staff. "Good. It's best that you go ahead to your room and start reading as soon as you can. Each book will take you about 4 days to finish reading along with the training I will be giving you."

I stacked to books in my arms and turned to leave. "Alright. I'll be up in my room if you need me."

"Alright." Clockwork said from behind me, but he suddenly stopped me. "Oh and Daniel." He said calmly, causing me to pause mid-step and turn around to look at him with confusion. When I saw something flying towards me, I reflexively shot my hand up to grab it and looked down at what was resting in my hand. My eyes widened when I saw the bullet that I had given to Clockwork, now strung up on a necklace chain. I looked up at Clockwork with surprise. But instead of answering my questioning look he smiled calmly at me and said, "You might want to see about changing your ghostly name up some, we don't need any of the other ghost finding out who you are right now. And also, whenever we have a guest over, wear your hood up." He said softly.

I nodded and sighed softly. "Alright, will do. See you later, Clockwork." I said as I turned back around and began walking back to my room the bullet necklace grasped tightly in my hand.

This was going to be a long night.