Aloha! This is Jailbait, and I'm your very sexy host, Sweet Wisteria!!!!!

I don't own Danny Phantom but I do own this story.

Thanks to my sexy reviewers:

Toraus: Totally. _ Thank you, hon. ^_^

Yuul: lol. Sorry hon, I'm just a cliffhanger writer- I always end up stopping at the worst (best) moments! X_X

SamManson14: Yeah, I sorta saw it coming too. Just a bit. ;) But, the plot must go on, and, well, here it goes. Keep up the ghost fighting!

Animeangel088: thank you very much ^_^

Valak: Ohhh intense is a good adjective. I like. Thank you!!!! 3 3 3 Here's a good word for you! That was a prodigious review. XD

Trinity the Kitsune Kunoichi: I 3 Clockwork. He's one of my favorite characters! But for the good of the plot he had to die! It was a hard... but necessary sacrifice. dramatic music I love Wulf, Cujo and Dani!!!! So many choices! The plot, the plot, it burnnnnnsssss!!!

Littlestorywriter: Hey, I love your display/penname! It's cute! Thanks for the review! GO SONIC AND TAILSSSSS!!!!!!!! (not knuckles, I don't like knuckles, he freaks me out -_-. Ok, I guess it's just echidnas that freak me out but STILL! Have you ever seen one!!! They're freaky!!!)

And now that I'm sufficiently freaked out, here's:

Chapter Three: Protège Moi

Silence ensued.

He was dead?

He had been dead before, he supposed, at least partly, but to finally realize that everything was over- no more ghost fighting, no more hanging out with Sam and Tucker, to never see his family again, to never see Jazz again, to never be an astronaut, to never clean his room like his mom had asked him to that morning.

"Why?"

Clockwork regarded the boy curiously. "Without the Master of Time, the ghost zone is doomed. My time here is up, and I have chosen you to take my place. It is not a punishment, Danny, in fact I would consider it a compliment. Of any ghost, I consider you to be the strongest, the most capable...."

Danny stood, staring blankly at the wall. "But... my friends, my family..."

"You have no such thing. Danny Fenton had friends and family. You are Danny Phantom now. Permanently."

The ghost boy collapsed onto the ground, and Clockwork narrowed his eyes, taking a deep, rasping breath.

"Listen carefully, boy. There's not much time. You may take ten days in the human world to experiment with your powers and deal with your... shock. Then you must return and take up permanent residence here, in what will become your new lair."

The little light left in Clockwork's eyes was quickly fading. The ghost's body seemed to shimmer in midair, and became harder and harder to see by the moment.

"Danny, re-stabilize the ghost zone. You must... calm the observants, and beware the rising insurrection, they will....oppose your rule. The ghost zone resists change, as do the ghosts that reside here... We have remained.... unmoving... for centuries. Be wary."

"Clockwork!?"

Danny reached over and gripped what was left of his friend's hand, gasping as it broke apart into dust.

"Please, please don't leave me all alone! You- You did this to me! You have to stay, you have to! I don't know how to be a ghost! I... I..."

"Danny."

Clockwork smiled.

"You've been a ghost since you were 14 years old. I watched you... defeat Pariah Dark, Plasmius....even your own evil self."

"But-"

"You have...nothing to fear."

And with a shudder, the former Master of Time, great in power and might, had turned to dust.

And Danny Phantom was alone once more.

??????????

It didn't take Danny long to find the portal- the same portal he had once used to travel to the future.

As he was about to leave, he saw it.

Chronos baculus: The time staff.

Clockwork's staff.

Danny was surprisingly torn. It did belong to him now, this much he knew, but to just take it, right after Clockwork passed on seemed... cruel.

Danny sighed, and, fighting himself the whole way, reached for the staff.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, kid"

The ghost boy swung around, fist glowing green, only to take a few quick steps back when he realized just how close he was to his opponent.

"Bullet! What are you doing here?!"

The ghost smirked, and brushed a lock of his blue-gray hair out of his face.

"Just following orders."

"Walker sent you-!"

"Please, boy. Not even an idiot would follow the warden now- he's lost his prison and his power." Bullet grinned. "Now all he's got is his bitch. And I guarantee that she won't stick around for long. Not after I get that staff."

Danny grabbed the staff quickly, albeit clumsily, and held it in front of him like a weapon.

Bullet laughed and rolled his eye. "Don't tell me you're going to try and take Clockwork's place?!" The ghost laughed again, loud and bitterly.

"Kid, you have trouble taking down the warden. And you think you're good enough to control this entire world?! This is our world, Phantom, not yours. Go on home to your pathetic human friends and pretend you're not different, pretend for awhile that you're just like them. Mortal. Finite." The ghost sneered. "What do they call you again? The halfa? Half-ghost, half-human, but you don't belong with either, do you kid? You're just some freak of nature-"

"I'm just like you now!"

Bullet blinked in surprise, but Danny kept going.

"Yeah, that's right! I'm not a half of anything now; I'm a ghost, Bullet. And yes, I'm going to take Clockwork's place because gave it to me! He gave me his powers, his lair, everything! You have no right to even set foot near this place! I should-!"

"Very well then. I'll leave."

"-destroy you! And another..." Danny stopped mid-rant. "What?"

Bullet grinned slyly. "I'll leave. If you are Clockwork's true and only heir then there's no reason for me to be here."

"But....um...ok." He gave a slight wave of his hand. "Well...."

"See ya around, kid."

And Bullet took off through the nearest window, leaving a very confused ghost boy.

??????????

Once he was far enough away, he laughed.

"Foolish child."

His master would be pleased by this new information. True, Bullet had failed to retrieve the staff, but it would not have worked for anyone but the heir- whom no one up till that point had known existed. How had Clockwork, weakened as he was, been able to summon the boy and kill his human half? It was an intriguing mystery.

One that only his master would be able to solve.

??????????

Danny knew Bullet would not let go of something he wanted that quickly.

But Danny preferred to live and let live (metaphorically speaking, of course), so he put it to the back of his mind and sped through the portal towards Amity Park, time staff in hand.

And now it's over!!! ^_^

Hmm, I'm not sure if I'm happy with this. I suppose so. Danny starts PMS-ing while he's talking to Bullet, but whatever, the kid just died, can you blame him?

Thanks for reading all!

Review if you'd like.

Much Love,

Sweet Wisteria