A/N: Howdy ya'll. I was being bugged a lot about a new chapter here, so I finished it during the long winter break. Enjoy.


Chapter IV- Whispers

Phantom was notorious for many things. He burned down cities with the wave of his hand, blasted ghosts to oblivion with the sound of his wail and tortured former friends and comrades by masquerading as Danny Phantom in need of help and then smashing their dreams to smithereens.

Yet, nothing could prepare him more than high school.

He found himself dodging Paulina at every turn, going so far as to take refuge behind the school dumpster to hide from the relentless cheerleader. Dash, in jealousy, made it his life's current mission to debunk Phantom's new popularity with Paulina by setting his jock buddies at him, only to find them trapped in the band room's lockers throughout most of the day.

He remembered the grimace Valerie gave him every time he screwed up their lab work, waiting for her in a quiet alertness to pull out an ecto-gun and shoot him with it out of pure exasperation. It was impossible to get over an enemy, no matter how changed the timeline was.

Not to mention, the insufferable Mr. Lancer, who saw the lack of potential in Phantom's school work and forced more homework upon him. It was only at Clockwork's demand that he did not burn the homework sheets to a crisp.

The only thing he had a semblance of rejoicing was lunchtime, when he and Clockwork were able to disappear from adolescent eye and converse normally beneath the trees outside, no one to bother them at all.

Phantom sat and leaned against the tree, basking in the stray warmth that shined from the canopy of trees. It was nostalgic and peaceful, something he hadn't enjoyed in decades. He closed his eyes briefly and napped.

And then the nightmare began. He couldn't see anything, but he could hear. And in the semblance of being between awake and asleep, he could register the torturous moans bellowing in his ears, his own maniacal laughter billowing between the screaming and shouting.

He was listening to his memories of his reign as the ultimate ghost and something stirred violently in his gut almost painfully as he first laid eyes on Clockwork who appeared before him and re-settled time before he destroyed Amity Park the first time.

'Who the hell are you?' Were his first words to him.

Clockwork back then looked around at the destruction Phantom had caused and then gazed at Phantom, his face was expressionless, but his eyes were soft and gentle.

'I'm sorry,' Was what Clockwork said to him. 'I couldn't save your future, but I can save your past.'

He understood now what that meant. Clockwork was able to save the Danny Phantom of the past, but not him of the future. He exists outside the time stream now, with no purpose in any lifetime.

Gritting his teeth he turned his head violently to the side to shake off the memories, only to feel a warm hand cupping his cheek. He unconsciously pressed his lips against the palm.

"You can't sleep all day, Phantom," A voice whispered just above him. It was the sweetest sound he had heard all day. "You'll get us both in trouble."

Phantom opened his eyes and jumped with how close his face was to Clockwork's and sat up abruptly, growling sharply. "Ever heard of personal space?!"

Clockwork raised a delicate eyebrow. "You weren't complaining a minute ago and as I recall, you have the tendency to visit my bedroom unannounced from time to time."

The raven haired teen snorted and flipped away from the amused ghost, trying to resume his nap, but couldn't. He didn't want to hear those screams again.

"Bad dream?" The tone from Clockwork's voice was rather suspicious, almost too casual.

"What do you know?" Phantom flipped back around and stared at Clockwork accusingly. "Do you know something I don't?"

Clockwork blinked. "They say that a lack of nourishment is the reason for bad dreams." He shrugged and pulled out a large bag from his backpack. "Like Chinese?"

"I have no need for your advice, you meddling fool," Nevertheless, he grudgingly took the bag and began to search through it. "The sooner I regain my freedom from you, the sooner I keep whatever sanity I have left."

When Phantom looked up, he saw something flash in Clockwork's violet eyes that faded immediately as soon as it appeared. Was it bitterness? Hurt? His train of thought then disappeared with a dismissive wave of the delicate blonds' hand.

"So, how were your classes?" Clockwork's smirk reappeared and Phantom mentally prepared himself from the intellectual bantering he was going to be thrown at. "Bring back any memories worthwhile to completing what you set out to do?"

Phantom's right eye almost twitched in anger. "If anything, it only reaffirms my reason why I destroyed this blasted hunk of junk in the first place!" He pointed indignantly at the innocent, educational building. Clockwork blinked at the sight.

"Well, that's not good now, is it?" Clockwork stole back the bag when Phantom decided to eat out of it like a caveman and began taking out the contents. "You're supposed to relearn from this experience…"

"…don't give me that! You were setting me up in the first place, haven't you?" Phantom glared at Clockwork suspiciously. "You already know what will happen in my future. You just enjoy torturing me to stroke your own ego!"

"Maybe I am," Clockwork shamelessly answered back. "Then again, maybe I'm not." He took a bite out of a piece of orange chicken and licked his lips. "Delicious."

Growling in exasperation, Phantom snatched the Chinese container. "I don't understand you!"

The time ghost's smirk faded a bit to an almost whimsical smile. "No one really does actually," The dark cloud faded almost instantly and Clockwork resumed his normal telltale grin. "Anyway, enough about assuming the obvious that I'm all-knowing, let's go back to your predica---"

"DARK?!! Are you thhheeerrreee???!!!" Came a sing-song voice from far off. Phantom instinctively tensed up like a cornered rabbit.

"No---not her! It's too damn early!!" Phantom's eyes dilated in alarm and began searching for a way to escape. Her voice seemed to come from all directions and was getting closer by the second.

The corners of Clockwork's already smirking lips were twitching upwards. "Isn't that that adorable Paulina? Sounds like her…"

"You've got to distract her, Clockwork! I'm begging you!" Phantom stood up, causing the food fall down onto the grass. The time ghost nearly pouted at the food abuse.

Clockwork pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Fine. But you owe me." He swiftly made his exit towards the crooning sound of Amity Park's resident head cheerleader who was practically whining Phantom's false name.

Seeing her amongst the bushels, where she sweetly asked Danny and his friends about Phantom's whereabouts, he made a graceful entrance.

"You know, you can use your awesome ghost powers to find my beloved Dark, Danny…" Paulina was practically hovering over Danny, which caused Sam to crush her boxed orange juice in her hands. Somewhere in Amity Park, the Box Ghost was crying.

Clockwork cleared his throat, causing the group to stare. "Uh…Paulina, I overheard you asking for my brother…?"

Paulina squealed and found Clockwork as her next squeeze toy as she snagged his middle. He grunted from the immediate loss of air. "You know where Dark is?!"

"Indeed…" Clockwork managed to grunt out as another squeeze was in order. He pointed into the foliage where Phantom was indeed hiding. "He's over there."

There were two loud noises that erupted after the words left Clockwork's lips. One being an excited scream from an ecstatic cheerleader who saw a tuft of black hair peeking from a bush and another an anguished roar from the said bush after being betrayed.

"You swine!" Phantom jumped out of the bush just in time before Paulina practically tackled onto the poor bush. "You said you'd keep her away from me!"

"Once again, brother, you know nothing about the 'plays on words," Clockwork smirked. "I merely distracted her for but a moment like you told me to. You said nothing about deceiving her."

With an aggravated growl, he ran off, Paulina at his heels while a melodious chuckle could be heard over all the uproar.

Scratch that, Phantom also hated lunch.


Phantom decided to conduct a talking strike towards Clockwork after that scene, making no effort to neither talk back nor acknowledge that the time ghost even existed. Fortunately for him, this left Clockwork a bit more impatient than usual.

"Act like a child then, Phantom. It's not like my freedoms at stake here." With that said, he turned in for the night…without leaving Phantom a blanket.

The former renegade ghost slept on the couch that night with no blanket, but he was resilient. Clockwork wanted him to suffer, but he wasn't going to give him the pleasure of seeing it. Instead, he cuddled…or, to save his ego, manly huddled as far as he could into the couch, trying to soak up the heat from the friction.

"Damn you, Clockwork! Not even a fucking pillow to sleep on!" Phantom grumbled as sleep overcame him. He was getting used to exhaustion due to his relatively new human body, but yet his dreams had yet to give him any mental relaxation.

He began to have nightmares.

At first, his dream was merely an exhausted fog billowing around and he'd wander it for what seemed like eternity before waking up to start a new day. But then the fog became darker and darker before he knew it, he began to hear the familiar screams of the people he had tortured and hurt.

"Run! It's Danny Phantom!!!"

"You monstrous being!"

"Fucking monster! Leave us alone!"

"I beg of you! Spare my children!" "Why are you doing this?!" "Please stop it!!" "Let us go!!!" "What have you done to my friends?!!!" "Everyone, run for your lives!"

The words, the phrases, began to blend and become a hundred times worse, causing Phantom to cover his ears as the ringing took a turn for the worse.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!! I'VE HEARD ENOUGH!!" Phantom bellowed as the sound began to suffocate him. The cries and screams were piercing his every being.

Kill…kill… He began to hear in the back of his head every few sentences. After a few minutes, it soon became a metronome for every sentence, every phrase and then every word, until the cries were drowned out from the word. It gave him peace. It gave him silence.

Strangle…strangle…strangle….

Strangle what? Was what Phantom wanted to know. For getting rid of the noise of the pains of tortured souls, he was willing to kill if the voice desired.

He reached out and his hands finally grasped something. Strangle…he needed to strangle whoever he was holding in his hands.

He squeezed his palms hungrily.


Clockwork ran into the living room where he heard Phantom's tortured screams and found the said young man on the floor, clutching his ears as if to drown a sound.

"Phantom? Are you alright?" He swiftly reached towards Phantom and grabbed his hands. "Wake up, Phantom. You need to wake up!"

All of a sudden, Phantom's clenched muscles began to relax and his hands fell limp in Clockwork's. As if a great burden was lifted from him.

Clockwork raised his voice tentatively. "Phan---!"

Whatever he wanted to say next was lost. Phantom suddenly began lunging at the blond, his hands finding their way around his neck. He choked and gasped as he was forced down to the carpeted floor by the monstrous strength from Phantom as he opened his eyes, demonic red and blazing.

"Strangle….kill….strangle…!!" Phantom smiled insanely as he played with his new toy, giving Clockwork an experimental squeeze which caused the time ghost to let out a strangled gasp. Satisfied, he proceeded to mount directly on top of Clockwork. "I want to play some more…"

Clockwork grasped Phantom's hands and tried to tug them off, but to no avail. And with his belt back in the room, he had no way of using his powers while in human form. He resorted to begging, hoping it'll calm the unbalanced young man. "S-stop…it…Ph-phan-t-tom! P-pleas-e!"

Phantom slackened his hold only to press his heated mouth against Clockwork's, which was slowly turning blue from the lack of oxygen. "Cooperate more and you won't die quickly!" Phantom taunted against their mouths. He ground his hips angrily against Clockwork's, obviously growing aroused from the torture.

Clockwork gritted his teeth in both aggravation and worry over Phantom's state of mind and instead went the more gentle approach. "P-phan…tom…" Nearly losing consciousness, he draped his trembling mess over the soft raven locks of Phantom's hair and ran through it over and over, hoping that it would calm him.

Phantom let out a low groan at the treatment and found the taunting little voice disappearing with each sensual caress of Clockwork's fingers. His animalistic urges slowly ebbed away and he slowly released his hold on the blond's neck.

Giving out a few great gasps of air, he stilled his ministrations for a moment until a warning growl erupted from his dark haired companion and he had no choice but to resume. He could have almost sworn that he heard a low purr coming from Phantom for a moment or two before the said ghost's lips decided to brush teasingly against the soon-to-be-bruised neck, almost kissing it in apology.

After a few minutes of the gentle massages, Clockwork discreetly tilted Phantom's face up only to see him now slumbering, a peaceful expression on his face.

He gave a great sigh and hit his head back on the carpet, continuing his pampering.

"Looks like I'll be the only one who's not getting any sleep tonight." Clockwork grumbled.


"Ow, my fucking head…!" Phantom groaned as he lifted his head slowly up, realizing that he was smack dab on the floor with a blanket tangled around his legs. He looked from the couch from his seat on the floor.

Wasn't he on that God-forsaken couch? He wondered as he experimentally cricked his neck to the side and moaned gratefully at the satisfying crack. Even on the floor, he felt quite relaxed.

Smelling the scent of coffee coming from the kitchen, he felt his stomach growl.

Clockwork better be making a good breakfast for how he treated him last night!

Nodding to himself in agreement, he held himself up coolly and waltzed in and saw, in his disappointment, an empty table. Clockwork was hiding behind a newspaper where a lone coffee cup remained.

So much for breakfast…He seated himself opposite of Clockwork and glared at him. Hoping that his gaze, which had killed many in his prime, would affect the damn Time Ghost.

Only the rustling of the turning pages occurred and two minutes later Phantom started to growl in annoyance. He was an attention brat and no one should ignore him for so long!

He heard a rather annoyed sigh coming from Clockwork and the blond gently slammed the newspaper down, finally acknowledging the former cruel ghost. "Do you mind? I'm trying to read."

"The hell you are!" Phantom snarled back. "After everything you did to me, you'd think you'd make breakfast as an apology! I'm fucking hungry for crying out---!"

He stopped. Clockwork looked worse for wear now that he revealed himself from his newspaper hiding. Dark circles were faint around his eyes and his once perfect hair was tussled as if he ran a marathon.

"What the hell happened to you?" Phantom quirked his head to the side, obviously curious.

Clockwork eyed him warily. "Don't give me that innocent act, Phantom. You know damn well what happened last night." He watched in wonder when Phantom flinched in alarm and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "You don't remember?"

Phantom's eyes narrowed further in confusion. "Remember what?"

They stared at each other for quite sometime, hundreds of gears churning at an alarmingly rate in Clockwork's head. Something didn't settle well.

The enigma look in Clockwork's eyes faded and was replaced with one of nonchalance. "I have something for you."

Phantom blinked. "Breakfast?"

"Ye—wait, would you shut up about breakfast?" Clockwork pinched the bridge of his nose and pulled a small suitcase from under the table and pushed it in Phantom's direction. "I've been up all night and I think I have something that can control the insane aspect of you for a good amount of time…until you are rehabilitated, I mean."

Phantom stared suspiciously at it. "What the hell is it?"

Clockwork gave a small smirk. "Something you wanted that Danny Phantom has. An ability that caused quite an uproar with Frostbite…" His eyes darkened in mystery. "Something that can fuel your rage into power and strong enough to battle opposite of Danny Phantom."

Just as he predicted, Phantom's eyes lit up in a supernatural glow and a hunger beside his stomach began to be seen on the outside. In trepidation he set his hands against the latches.

And opened it.


TBC….

Yeah, I lied about the summary in the last chapter, but I have school and I don't have as much time as I should. More will come, I promise!

Ciao.