Author's Note: I just want to say here that there won't be a regular update schedule. I just write whenever I feel like it, and forcing myself to work on it when I don't feel that creative spark only makes me stressed out. I will continue this, and I have no idea how long it will take, but will be finished eventually.

Now for the good stuff! (At least I hope it's good… )


Chapter 2: Preparations and Palpitations

Danny opened his eyes and saw nothing but green. He felt amazing, weightlessly floating in the ghost zone. He wandered aimlessly for what felt like hours, enjoying the rare peacefulness he found here. He finally belonged. No longer a halfa, he was a complete inhabitant of this dimension. He felt relieved of the curse of Schrodinger's cat. Memories of the events that freed him from said curse suddenly flooded his mind, and he shuddered. Choking to death on his own blood was not fun. He decided not to think about whether it was worse than when he was electrocuted by the portal, and instead turned his mind to more positive topics, like how many people he had saved from the attack earlier, and how it was finally time for a friend to make good on a long-anticipated promise. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a purple blur popping up at the edge of his vision. He spun around, tense and alert, until he recognized his visitor.

"Clockwork!" Speak of the devil, Danny thought. He smiled, happy to see the familiar face. Fortunately, over time, Danny had gotten used to Clockwork's tendency to change his age, as it was a bit hard to take the Time Master seriously when he looked like a little ghostly toddler. "Man, is it a relief to see you. I was starting to get tired of the directionless drifting."

"Well, I thought it prudent to greet you on your arrival today. Not to mention my promise to be your mentor." Clockwork smiled as he shifted into an old man. "Small talk can wait. Let's take you home."

Danny nodded eagerly, and before he knew it, he was standing at the front door to Clockwork's lair. He walked inside, the sheer grandeur of the tower blowing him away just as much as the first time he stepped inside. He would never get over how beautiful it was, but he never told Clockwork that. Besides, he was pretty sure Clockwork already knew by the fact that he was having trouble keeping his mouth closed. Clockwork led him up to his new room in the tower. Reflecting the same awe-inspiring architecture as the rest of the tower, his room was open and large. Aside from the obscene amount of books along the walls, the bed, and the dresser, the room looked a bit bare, but Danny knew he could always decorate later. He turned to look inside the dresser to see what Clockwork gave him, and gasped when he saw his reflection in the mirror on the wall above it.

When he looked in the mirror, he didn't see the same old ghost-mode phantom appearance that he had been living with for the past couple of years. Instead, he looked different from both of the forms he took as a hybrid. His skin was deathly pale and lacking color. His hair was a sky blue instead of the snowy white he was used to. The oddest thing, though, was his eyes. Instead of the baby blue or electric green, they were glowing the cold blue reminiscent of the color they took on when he used his ice powers. He turned to face Clockwork, who was standing in the doorway with a slight smirk on his face.

"I'm a blue raspberry popsicle!" Danny looked back at the mirror as if his reflection would change back to what it used to be. Clockwork chuckled lightly, once again in the form of a toddler.

"Well, I didn't have red eyes or blue skin when I died, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but… What happened to Phantom?"

"I believe it has something to do with the fact that you were still mostly human when you were Phantom. Your human side must have played an important part in how you looked in ghost form." Clockwork gestured to the dresser. "You should change. Your friends are already on their way here. I'm glad you had that medallion on hand; you saved Sam much grief."

Danny looked down and noticed he was still wearing the torn up clothes that he was wearing when he died. As Clockwork left to give him privacy, Danny noticed three jagged black scars on his chest.


Sam burst through the door to the lab like a bat out of hell, practically falling down the stairs in her mad rush to get the Specter Speeder. Tucker, Jazz, Maddie, and Jack came rushing down after her.

"Uh, Sam? You know that thing only fits three people, right?" Tucker said, a bit nervously, afraid of how cramped it would be in there with four people… plus Jack.

"Well then, Tuck, we'll just have to drag you behind us with a Fenton Ghost Fisher." Tucker started sweating as she grabbed one without hesitation. "Everyone into the speeder! Except for Tucker."

"Nonsense, Sam. We can fit him inside. It will be fine." Maddie spoke up, not wanting Tucker to get harmed on the way.

"On second thought, Mrs. Fenton, I think I will be outside." If Sam, Jazz, and Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were all somehow going to cram into the seats, then that meant he was going to be on someone's lap. There was no way he would do that, no matter whose lap it was.

Once it seemed Tucker was tied securely to the side of the Speeder, and Maddie approved, The rest of them piled in, with Sam in the driver's seat. After seeing Sam's mood for the past few hours, no one objected when she claimed the wheel. In her lap sat a thermos. Not a Fenton thermos, but a normal thermos with Danny Phantom's insignia. She found it an appropriate container for Danny's ashes. She hadn't parted with it or the time medallion ever since the incident. Now, with the hope that Danny was safe with Clockwork, she couldn't help the nervous shaking in her hands.

The Speeder pulled through the portal, and the passengers all were suddenly in the Ghost Zone. Checking to make sure that Tucker was still secure, Sam set off as fast as the vehicle could go in the direction of Clockwork's tower.