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Quantum Paradox

Chapter 4


Sometimes, the Master of Time knew too much, and the Observants knew too little. This had happened once or twice over their eons of work together. The Observants could usually predict, "Because country A and country B treasure the same resources, they will eventually battle for said resources."

Thus, the Observants had predicted many a war, the rise of an empire, and the fall of a civilization into another.

But Clockwork would see dormant potential where the Observants did not see it. They saw the logic, the reasoning, the statistics, whereas Clockwork saw impulse and possibility.

Such were the circumstances regarding Clockwork's mysterious charge, Danny Phantom.

In the beginning, the Observants had placed bets that the Fenton Portal would kill Daniel Fenton, because that was the logical outcome of electrocution.

Now here they were, scrambling to understand why the Master of Time willingly opened both tower and time stream to accommodate the boy caught between worlds. They fought to understand why the Master of Time, so busy with his responsibilities to the Ghost Council, would stop time simply to listen to the distraught boy.

They fought and fought it, but they had never been human, so they could never quite understand.


"Clockwork," one of the Observants floated up to the old ghost, arms raised in exasperation. "We have sighted Danny Phantom en route to the Tower. Why do you indulge the boy to visit you? Do you not realize you have given him false hope?"

"From an Observant's perspective," Clockwork replied simply, "it would appear that I am being unnecessarily cruel."

"Cruel?" the Observant echoed seriously. "You and I both know the past cannot be changed in the way your charge demands it! Your portals are simply mirror images of the past! They always have been! The true past cannot even be accessed! And thus you are tormenting Danny Phantom with a reoccurring shadow!"

"Danny Phantom torments himself," the Master of Time said. "He knows the odds. I have reminded him every single time. If he refuses to believe me, that is his own prerogative."

"…Surely you cannot think so callously of your own charge!" the Observant replied in shock.

"And for an Observant who generally hates my charge," Clockwork replied, "you seem uncharacteristically concerned."

The Observant swallowed hard, a strange feat for an eye. "It is not," he said carefully, "a concern for the boy so much as a concern for the outcome of his presence here. We fear you are creating a monster. We fear what the boy will do now. He is too powerful to rage so…so uncontrollably." The Observant waved a hand to one of the portals, where Danny Phantom now shot across the Ghost Zone in a desperate haze towards the lair. "You know the old story. Wave a treat in front of a dog long enough, and-"

"-And the dog will attack to get the treat, I know."

"And if the treat isn't actually there…?" The Observant said uncertainly. "What then? How will your charge react when he realizes he cannot save this Manson girl?"

"You do not understand reality as I do," Clockwork admonished. "Danny Phantom requires access to this particular portal for a specific reason. He believes it is to alter the past; I know it is for another purpose beyond that which you or he could ever comprehend."

"Oh, really?" the Observant demanded. "And what purpose is that? World destruction? The entire break down of the Ghost Council's policies?"

Clockwork raised a brow. "Not quite," he replied dryly.

His deadpan was not lost on the Observant. The eye ghost gave him a dirty look and tried again, "But something will happen. When he realizes the truth about the portals, will he attack us? I cannot predict his moves like you."

"No. He will not attack you or any other Observant."

The Observant caught a strange inflection in Clockwork's voice. "And you? Will he attack you?"

Clockwork's eyes grew distant, and he smiled sadly. "Not today." The crinkles at the edges of his eyes smoothed into youthful skin, and his grip about the scepter strengthened as his old muscles fleshed into firm cords. He sighed. "But in the future, he will."


Whoa, baby. I'm only a month into my sophomore year at college, and I'm already swamped with work equivalent to my entire freshman year. This is gonna be crazy!

Good news is I have awesome reviewers who keep me inspired to work on some fan fiction on the side. Thank you Kats02980416, AnimationNut, Phantom Misfit, xsugarxblossomx, Super-Berry, Dev Li, and opiumsong! You are all amazing!

So, I am in love with Clockwork. He's my favorite supporting character in the entire fandom. I couldn't resist doing a chapter that focused on him and the Observants. I hope to further expound on the theory behind Clockwork's time portals as well as the fun, little prediction at the end of the drabble. Looks like this story's getting more involved than I thought it would be! I'll return back to Danny's point of view for the next chappie, and hopefully get back into some time stream jumping with Sam! Unless you guys have any better ideas, of course. :P

Chapter updated: September 26, 2011 6:15 P.M.

Chapter inspiration: Transformers soundtrack. Yeah!

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Thanks for reading,

Lightning Streak

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