Danny was curled into a ball inside of the, mostly destroyed, city hall, unable to keep tears from dripping down his face. His parents were dead. His friends were dead. Vlad was dead. Jazz was going to be dead, or she might be already, who knew? And there was nothing Danny could do to save them, or bring them back. He'd not only broken his promise to them, but he'd let two entire worlds down.

And that had all happened in a day.

It was now two days later, and Danny was still hardly able to breath with the crushing weight of guilt and failure sitting on his chest. Even if it was out of his control, the halfa still felt he didn't fight hard enough. That he didn't fight long enough, or well enough. He hadn't been enough, and that was why his loved ones were dead. Dead at his hands.

The only upside to this mess, if you could call it an upside, was that Dark had been nowhere to be found after the act. He and his Observants were busy doing any number of horrible things, while giving Danny, in the dark time master's own words, "time to grieve," though that did little to calm the halfa down. If anything, it made him more apprehensive.

He had no idea when, or where, the ghost would show up, but he truly wanted it to be soon. With no one left to support him, Danny had nothing to live for, and that thought hurt. It hurt so much, it felt as though someone were stabbing him in the heart a million times, and yet no wound was strong enough to just end it. He just… wished it would all go away. Wished that it would end.

"Time out!" Danny jumped, looking down to see a scratched up time medallion around his neck. He then slowly turned his gaze upwards, and stared into the eyes of Dark.

"What do you want?" Danny asked, seeing no use is sounding brave or strong. He couldn't be that way without his loved ones, he just couldn't. "Why can't you just leave me alone, already?"

"Daniel, listen to me." Dark said, for the first time shifting into a different form than his adult one. It was childish, with little fangs, instead of buck teeth like Clockwork, and his eyes were a, shiny, ruby-red. His hair even burned less intensely, as though trying to appear less hostile, though the ectoplasm and blood stains negated any effects the smaller form would have had. "Though I may relish in watching everyone suffer, a large part of me still cares about you, and wishes to teach you. The only way to do that, however, is to break you down and rebuild you. Any other way would never work effectively. Come, Daniel, allow me to make the hurt go away, and make you better."

Danny glared at the floor, not wanting to meet the falsely innocent eyes. "No… I won't do it…"

Dark shook his head, shifting into his adult form so he could sit beside Danny. Placing an arm around the halfa, who flinched in response, the ghost continued to speak. "Please, this is for your own good. One way or another, you're going to become evil, it's how all immortal heroes end up. Remember the line… "You either die the hero," which you can't actually do, "or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Wouldn't you rather have guidance? Someone to hold onto now that your obsession is shattered? Someone to be there, unlike all of your mortal friends, that will never die. Someone who knows you?"

"If you care so much, then why did you do it!?" Danny jumped up, eyes glowing bright green as tears welled up in his eyes. "If you care so damn much about me, why did you kill the only people who would be there for me, mortal or not! Why did you ruin my life!?"

Dark wasn't fazed by a single word. "I told you, I have to rebuild you. Besides, your morals were clouded by their judgment. You need to learn on your own."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Even if I wanted to, why should I accept your help if I have to do it on my own?"

"Simple," Dark gave a wicked grin. "I'm a third you, a third your mentor, and a third your... "mentor," I'll say. Or, in laymen's terms, I know you far better than anyone else, seeing as I am partially you and those who know you. I'm giving you a chance for a better afterlife, Daniel. I suggest you take it. After all, time doesn't often give second chances."

Danny frowned, reaching into his pocket for the picture of his family and friends. He gazed at it for a long time, before he sighed. Closing his eyes, he allowed his tears to fall as he nodded. "I guess I don't have anything here anymore... I'll go with you. Just… Can I take some stuff with me?"

Dark scanned Danny's face, seeing the hollowness in his tear-filled eyes. Smiling at the progress, Dark nodded and allowed him to head to the, mostly intact, Fenton Works, where the halfa packed his clothes, a photo album, and some keepsakes. The one object that most amused Dark was the model rocket he remembered Danny making during his freshman year. He had been extremely protective of it when he had showed his friends, much like a ghost would act with their territory. He would have said something, but decided against it. They did have a schedule to keep after all.

"Come along, Daniel. And don't worry… you'll forget all about them and your pain soon." Dark said, opening a portal into his clock tower. Allowing Danny to go first, Dark cried "Time in!" before following the halfa to the ghost zone.

Once he'd entered the tower, and shut the portal, however, he saw the boy immediately walk into a guest room, and lock the door behind him. Shaking his head, Dark proceeded to flick through Danny's future inside his viewing room, smiling slightly at what he could become. It was worth it. He couldn't wait to see his young apprentice succeed.

"…One of you disposable masses of goo, come here!" Dark ordered, and an Observant immediately responded, kneeling at his feet.

"Yes, Master Dark? What do you need?" The Observant asked, not displaying a single sign of fear or unhappiness at answering his master's wishes.

"Pretend you're not broken for 5 minutes, and act as an Observant would. Speak with… Danny, and tell him what is on this scroll. Understood, waste?" Dark rose an eyebrow, and the Observant bowed.

Pulling a scroll out of, seemingly, nowhere, he handed it to the Observant before he turned back to the time-stream. Ghosts swarmed Amity Park, the portal having been re-opened by the dark time master himself, and were reeking havoc on the civilians, though their reluctance to kill was… displeasing. And the ones that did kill with vigor were far too quick in their delivery. Still, they were killing, so he let it slide. After all, every life taken merely meant rebuilding Danny would be that much easier.

Chuckling to himself, Dark then proceeded to scroll through various timelines. "Now… let's see what else could help speed up this process."