It's official. I spend too much time staring at clocks.
The Pendulum
A Danny Phantom FanFiction by Cordria
The clock pendulum swung back and forth, left and right, slowly ticking off measured increments of time until the end of the universe.
But it was not time that I was contemplating as I watched the pendulum swing. It was a young ghost that had come under my protection. A young man who swung just as the pendulum did.
Tick. Over to the left, the child was a ghost, filled with ghostly powers and obsessions.
Tock. Swing back over to the right, the child became human, tempering his ghost persona with human emotions and morals.
Tick. Back to ghost.
Tock. Human.
Tick. Ghost.
Tock. Human.
But I know something about pendulums that many people to do think about. The pendulum swings, yes, but it does not swing forever. Slowly, ever so slowly, with each pass, the pendulum swings a little less far to the left and right. The pendulum slows.
Tick. Ghost.
Unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately – for my young halfa, his pendulum is doing the same thing. Each tick turns him into a ghost, true. But as the pendulum slows, he becomes a little less ghost. Each tock back to human. But a little less human than before.
Tock. Human.
What will become of the young man when the pendulum finally comes to a rest? He will not be a ghost – that is only possible on the left swing. He will not be a human – that is only possible on the right. He will not be a halfa that can switch between two forms like Plasmius – that would require the pendulum to swing. He will be something else. Something in between – his two forms merged into one. He will be the first true hybrid.
Tick. A little less ghost.
I fear for when this happens. I have been working, quietly, to tweak the young man's future into something pleasant. But I cannot change the inevitable. His pendulum coming to a standstill is fate. There is not stopping it, there is no slowing it.
Tock. A little less human.
What I fear most is the power this young man will have. As the pendulum slows, he gains in power. Each swing of the pendulum brings him a bit closer to his true form, to what he is destined to be. Based on how fast he is gaining power compared to how much the swinging has slowed, he will be powerful beyond belief. Long before his pendulum stops, he will be the most powerful ghost in the ghost zone. Much more powerful than I.
Tick. A little less ghost.
Will he be a merciless ruler of both the ghost zone and the human world? I can imagine it coming.
Tock. A little less human.
Will he be a benevolent savior of the worlds? I can imagine that coming as well.
Tick. A little less ghost.
He will become so powerful that even I cannot tell his future. His future blurs and vanishes in my mirror when he becomes more powerful than me. I do not know if he will be pitiless or compassionate. All I have is conjecture. All I can do is guess.
Tock. A little less human.
This young man has more futures than anybody I have ever met. Good and evil reside in his heart. A simple twist of destiny is all it takes to set him on the path towards either one.
Tick. A little less ghost.
All I can do is sit back and cross my fingers. I've never had to do that before. I do not like not knowing the outcome.
Tock. A little less human.
All I can do is hope for the best. I reach out and touch the pendulum with my fingers, arresting its timeless movements for but a moment.
Stops. What will he become?
For once, I do not know.
Written November 4, 2006
I was too bored and the clock was too interesting.
Thanks for reading.