A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I wanted to do the best I could for this part. Without further ado, here's the next chapter!

Chapter 11: Preparations


Danny called Jazz first thing when he got home Friday night to inform her of the situation.

She sighed on the other end. He could picture her calculating scenarios in her head, her eyes darting to and fro as she pushed back her bangs. "Danny, no matter what you say, I'm coming too."

"But Jazz it's dan-"

"Sure it is, but you're putting yourself in danger, and it's my job as your big sister to look out for you, no matter what. You're letting Tucker and Sam come so there's no reason to keep me out of it."

"I don't want them coming either, trust me. Plus it's out of the way and you should focus on school."

"Just fly and get me Danny. I'm fine with my arms feeling like they're going to fly off; it's the fastest way. Saving the Ghost Zone is way more important than school." At least he could count on his responsible sister to get her priorities straight: family first. The problem was that he would rather her stay put so he didn't have to worry about her.

"Okay fine." He knew how stubborn Jazz could be, plus the Fenton Peeler could be useful and she was unquestionably the best at it. Well, it was not like she let anyone else use it. "How about in the morning; I'm dead tired." He covered a yawn with his hand as he felt his eyes grow heavy. The alarm clock by his bed blinked 11:45 PM. It probably didn't help that he had gotten up early today.

"Now that you mention it…I really should finish my paper on child development in cases where feelings of not being able to please a parent are present. I'll be looking at factors such as grades, happiness levels, and success as an adult. I should be done around 5 since I'm pulling an all-nighter, so I can turn this in online. So whenever you get up, I suggest 6, swing by to pick me up." Jazz always tended to give more information than he actually wanted to hear.

"And I was going to enjoy sleeping in. Anyway tomorrow I'll call everyone and maybe by the afternoon we can meet up with Frostbite and see how he's coming along with the army thing. We need to organize our forces and all that."

Her voice picked up with excitement. "I should probably read up on strategy so I can be prepared. Gotta make myself useful right?"

"You are useful Jazz. You are."

She picked up on his sarcasm. "Sure, Danny. Anyway, catch you later."

After hanging up, he lay in his bed, his mind buzzing with the day's events. He struggled to lay them to rest and relax, but eventually his mind cleared and he faded away.

All of a sudden he heard the sound of glass breaking.

Dan loomed over him with a smile. "I'm ba-ack."

In a split second Danny went ghost, adrenaline rushing through his exhausted pores. "You! How did you escape?" He floated out of bed to meet him at eye level.

Dan cocked his head with a curious expression. "Someone let me out, some newb in the old mayor, someone named Ned? Or was it Kred?" He rubbed his chin, adopting a fake pout.

"So now you're telling me you work for Kired too?" This was turning out to be a nightmare. And right now he was so tired, he couldn't even think straight.

He got a laugh in response. "Are you joking? Me, work for that tool? I'm not the follower type."

"I thought not. What do you want then?" He stared at Dan for a while, not missing the gleam in his red eyes.

"What I've always wanted. Except, I've thought about it. I've had a few years to think, thanks to you. Apparently I'm outside of time, so it's not so important to destroy your family. No, I'll just destroy you and take over your life. That look of horror on their pitiful faces as they are destroyed by the very hero they trusted, oh, I can't wait to see it!"

"Oh really," Danny said before letting out a chuckle. He put his shaking hand behind his back. "I'd like to see you try. Oh and even if you do succeed, you'd still have to fight Kired. I don't think he'd let you live after your betrayal, after he succeeds in taking over the Ghost Zone."

"If anyone's taking over the Ghost Zone, it'll be me. I've done it before, and I'll do it again." He thumped his chest, as if that statement didn't communicate his arrogance enough.

"I'm guessing Kired never escaped in your timeline. But too bad for you, he did in this one. And taking a look at you, it doesn't seem that you stand a chance right now." He didn't notice it before, but there were open gashes along Dan's left side, and the skin on his right hand was torn. There was a sort of smoke coming from them, indicating that they were still healing. Considering he was full ghost, Danny figured he must have been injured recently, or severely, or both.

"Sure, maybe I couldn't beat him today, but there's always tomorrow. Let me tell you something: Remember that may…well so the mayor right now, that guy's in him. He's that kind of ghost, a devourer. He is the mayor now, though it's just skin deep. Whatever kind of ghost that wears human skin is a special kind of weakling. And I don't care what he's smoking about resistance to ghost attacks. There's gotta be a way to fry him. It's too bad I didn't encounter him in my timeline. I'd fry him on a platter, and take that resistance for myself. Then you never would have been able to trap me in that blasted Thermos!"

Dan had his worst qualities: arrogance, confidence, anger. At least he was against Kired, but if only he could use that somehow. It was a crazy thought, but Dan was powerful enough, if not a loose cannon; but maybe that unpredictability could be useful. Was there any way to appeal to him? He took a deep breath, then thought hard before answering.

"I don't think you can wait. From what I've heard, he's planning something, and soon. Plus he's resistant to ecto fire, though I'm not sure how much. Either way, he's going to be tough to beat even for me. Clockwork, Frostbite and the rest barely chased him out and the lives of ghosts were lost…not that you care about that last bit. But I have to make this clear, so listen to me. You're not invincible Dan. I'm not invincible. I can't believe I'm saying this…but you're better off fighting with me instead of trying to kill me off here."

"And why would I do that?" He raised an eyebrow, amused.

"Since I have some pretty powerful allies in the Ghost Zone, and they're building an army to fight against him. Plus me and my friends, who will be using my parent's weapons, will be there. I'm sure you know how well they work. Once we defeat Kired, we can battle as much as you want, though I'd never become you and you won't defeat me ever."

"Ha, you seem so confident. But I admit…you do have a point. I might as well use your little army, then I can take you down once you're tired. Don't worry, I'll find you." He pulled out the boo-merang from behind him.

"Hey, give that ba…" He started, but Dan dove out the way he came so Danny let the words trail off.

Just great, he just invited his worst enemy to be his ally. Knowing him, he'd probably not even bother helping and just kill Danny as soon as he defeated Kired.

If he could…But he knew he'd have no chance alone. If only they could figure out how to make him vulnerable again; otherwise all the forces in the world wouldn't be able to stop him.

His eye was stinging; a vessel probably popped. It was already 4 AM. As soon as he hit the pillow, a cloud of drowsiness hit him head on and he let himself be dragged into it.

-2-

When Tucker and Sam arrived at Danny's house, his mom let them in. She was wearing her usual blue jumper and had goggles on her head. From the ashy outline around her eyes, Tucker could tell something had exploded.

"Where's Danny?" he said, stepping into the cool interior. "We're supposed to be doing something today."

"Still sleeping. I don't know what had him up so late; he was on the phone with Jazz for a while. Probably was just playing games again, I've told him a million times. And he broke the window again! I don't know why he keeps doing that. Even if he's angry he shouldn't throw things at the window; it costs money to replace."

"Um yeah Mrs. Fenton, that was my fault!" Sam lied, cringing. "I threw something accidentally at it. Just let me know how much I need to pay."

"Oh? No, that's okay, don't worry about it sweetie. Anyway feel free to go up and kick him or something." She shrugged and then flipped back on her goggles and headed back to the basement.

Mr. Fenton's voice came up from the basement. "Don't forget to bring the fudge from the fridge honey!"

Mrs. Fenton replied in a sweet voice, "What did I tell you, Jack? You're laying off the fudge today."

"Aww."

When they went up the stairs they were greeted with the sight of broken glass on the floor and the sound of fitful snoring. Danny, a messy sleeper by nature, was hugging his pillow and had probably knocked his covers off in the night. The desk was showered in glass, and the curtains were partially torn.

Sam twitched. "I wonder if there's a dust pan and broom somewhere around here…" She spotted a small one in the corner and got to work, leaving Tucker to wake up Sleeping Beauty.

It was never fun to wake Danny up the normal way. This time he snatched the pillow away. Danny just hugged himself in response. Tucker wacked him with the pillow.

Danny popped up, startled. "Wait what, Tucker why did you do that?" He rubbed his red eyes.

"Dude, didn't sleep well?" Tucker said in between chuckles.

"What time is it?" He answered his own question with a quick glance at the clock. "That late? Whatever, Jazz probably figured I slept in."

"You're picking up Jazz? I'd figure she'd insist on coming."

"Yeah. You'd never guess who chose to drop in." He looked to the window then noticed Sam sweeping. "Sam, you seriously don't need to clean up my room."

"A little too late for that, I'm basically done. See?" She showed him the full dust pan before dumping it in the tiny gray bin by the door.

There was a small rap at the door, and then Valerie entered. "Hey guys—what happened to your window?"

"Dan," Danny said, his countenance turning dark. Tucker made a fist subconsciously. "And long story short, we're lucky that Kired got on his bad side. In the worst case, Dan's laying off for now."

"You sure we can trust that guy, Danny? He's sure to stab us in the back. After destroying his plans by saving us and trapping him in the Thermos, he's bound to carry a grudge."

"I know Tucker, but we can't afford to fight two powerful ghosts, and we've got to prioritize the biggest threat. Dan can wait; he's said as much himself."

"Who's Dan?" said Sam. Ah, she had fit so well with the group since she showed that Tucker almost forgot she wasn't always around.

"My evil self from the future, in the simplest definition." Then he told them what Dan had told him about Kired.

"Okay, so the Mayor got overshadowed permanently this time?" Valerie said, crossing her arms. "Great, no wonder I couldn't find him on my ghost detector. Somehow he could hide his ghost signature!"

Danny gave her a look. "…You went looking for him? Alone?"

Valerie shrugged. "I always investigate alone. I don't need a babysitter!"

Tucker thought a moment. "Well, it shouldn't be a surprise that he'd be powerful enough to have a human form, and maybe he's overshadowing him while in that form?"

"I guess it's possible?" Valerie still didn't look convinced. It was a bit of a stretch. "Anyway, apparently his side's got more powerful recruits…including Ember."

Danny and Tucker winced at the name.

"Who's Ember?" Sam asked.

"Ghost that brainwashes people through music," Tucker said, wincing. "Man, is she a pain to deal with!"

"Maybe we can bring earbuds for the fight?" Danny said. "Anyway I'm gonna swing by to get Jazz so It'll probably take an hour or so. You guys can go to the Far Frozen realm without me."

"Sure thing Danny," Valerie said, nodding. "As soon as we can get your parents distracted enough to swipe the Specter Speeder."

"Just make something explode in the kitchen or something." With that Danny transformed into his ghost form and sped off through the broken window.

"So…" Valerie said, and then she and Sam turned to Tucker.

"Why do I have to always make the explosions?" These people relied on him too much, yet he got none of the credit.

Valerie shrugged. "You're the techno geek."

"That doesn't mean pyrotechnic geek!"

"There's a difference?" Sam said in jest, then laughed.

Tucker grimaced. Why did he always have to be the butt of the joke? It was kind of funny though. Suddenly the phone rang, so he picked up the receiver.

"Hello, Fenton residence." It felt weird to be on the other end for once.

"Hello." That voice was recognizable anywhere. That haughty tone, smooth and oozing class and pretention. He could practically see the smirk on the other end. Surely the man was wearing a suit and sitting in an armchair, sipping a café au lait. "It's the glasses kid…what was your name again?"

"Vlad. What do you want? Didn't you talk to Danny plenty yesterday?"

"Vlad's there?" Valerie said, anger rising in her voice. "He had better have something useful to say."

"So Daniel can't get to the phone?" Tucker let his silence speak for him. "That's just as well. Anyway, I would like you to deliver the message…Tucker? I think that's right. After some work, I may have found the way to kick that warmonger back to the ground where he belongs."

-3-

After making the Ecto Cooker explode, they were able to create a successful diversion and slipped away after the Fentons made their exit from the basement. Since it took about an hour to travel to the land of the Far Frozen, Sam decided to take a nap against the window. Tucker planned to laugh at her when she got up to find the inevitable indentations on her face.

"Tucker…?" Valerie said quietly. "While we have time to kill, I've been meaning to talk to you…about us."

"Um, sure thing. I'm listening."

"Hopefully there's no hard feelings, but I don't think I like you enough to justify a romantic relationship between us."

Tucker sighed. "It's the flirting, isn't it."

"Well that too, though I know you've been working on that but I've just felt jealous and frustrated all the time. And honestly, i don't really think you're that into me either. We can't even have a decent conversation about anything other than ghosts."

"Is that a problem?"

"Yes there's a problem. I don't know, I really like being single too. Solitary ghost hunting is a part of me, and I don't think I can sacrifice it for a guy, at least, not right now. Can we, just stay friends?"

He didn't feel that great getting that apologetic look from her. Maybe she was right; he was disappointed, but surprisingly not that upset. He used to really like her before Danny asked her out, and he still did...but maybe it had died down over the years. "Yeah, I'd like that. Now let me drive, okay?"

"Sure thing. I totally get that." She flashed him her characteristic smile.

Tucker looked back to wake Sam up, but she was peeking out with one eye. Their eyes met and then she did an okay sign and waved him away. He didn't think she'd blab to Danny, at least until he was ready to say something himself.

-4-

The conference didn't bother to wait for Danny and Jazz to arrive. It was weird to be in a room full of friends, and those who in all other situations would be their enemies. Spectra was there in her usual red suit, filing her nails. Technus and Klemper were silent for a change, and there were many other familiar faces. Undergrowth was sitting in some plant-based chair he probably made himself. However, he noticed there were some that were not present: Ember, Skulker, The Box Ghost, Desiree, the Lunch Lady…was something keeping them? Frostbite sat at the head of the table, next to his advisor and the Far Frozen army commander.

And what an atmosphere! Everyone was so serious that he was itching to tell a joke to lighten the mood, but he held back. He didn't know how Kired compared to Pariah Dark in terms of power and influence, but while the Ghost King had his right hand man, this guy amassed a small army made of ghosts that weren't to be underestimated.

He decided to keep Danny updated by texting him when key points—in his opinion—were made. Hey, he was pretty good at preparing for tests these days, so he was pretty sure his outlining skills were in order.

Sadly, he wasn't well versed in war planning. The first order of discussion was honoring those fallen, as well as laying out what they knew about Kired. There was one thing he didn't know that they did, and it was surprising but made sense.

Kired was Spectra's older brother. They were both ghosts of the shadow element, and could devour whomever they wished. Spectra was, surprisingly, unwilling to devour anything but misery; she did not rejoice in the bloodier side of things, unlike her power-crazed sibling. The only human corpse she would gladly wear would be one that never lived. Apparently the suit of human skin she made was upgraded with the flabbier sort of DNA instead of Danny's. Tucker noticed he wasn't the only one that struggled not to laugh at her expense.

Their biggest obstacle of the GZ (Ghost Zone) Preservation Army would be how to somehow disable Kired's resistance to ghosts, gained through Vlad's untimely discovery. Pandora hoped that one of her traps may make him vulnerable, but only for a short time, about thirty minutes.

"How about the crown?" Nocturne said, drawing the attention of the room. "We pick one person to wear it, and they would be strong enough to defeat him. Even if he's resistant to our blows, he can't be completely immune, or he would perish himself!" His crafty smile revealed he would love to see the latter.

Tucker was not surprised when Nocturne and Spectra teamed up one time; after all, they loved to mess with people's heads.

"You have a point," Spectra admitted, tapping her cheek with a long red fingernail. "The problem is, everyone knows all too well what occurred last time this happened. Pariah's psyche was corrupted and he turned into a psychotic killer. It was good that most had fled when Pariah was freed, for very few ghosts died. The point is, we created a monster just to defeat a monster."

"Is that such a problem?" Technus said, getting up to hover around his chair. "We can just capture whoever makes the sacrifice as soon as we eliminate the problem, or better yet, somehow take off the crown before they lose 100% of their marbles."

"The mind alteration is permanent," Spectra reminded. "After Pariah was released that time, he only had his crown half the time, remember?"

Everyone sighed.

"A sacrifice for everyone," said Klemper in his usual tone of voice, making it hard for Tucker to take him seriously. "That way everyone can be friends again. We have to defeat the baddie, no matter what it takes!"

"Also," Technus added, "Who says we can't defeat this guy early? With Clockwork's help, or even someone like Freyja if we can get her out of her domain, we can kill the guy afterwards."

"Who?" The attendees demanded. "Who would make the sacrifice?"

No one spoke up.

With Poindexter's information, the group then outlined those who had joined Kired's ranks: a few ghosts from the circus, Ember, Skulker, Vortex, and some others whose names Tucker didn't recognize. The others, including the Box Ghost, didn't seem likely to have joined so were assumed to be hiding just to wait it out. The Ghost Writer was most likely hiding somewhere; he could easily have written himself a plot hole. No one had heard from Johnny 13 and Kitty this whole week, but they could just be dating. As for Desiree… he could only hope that she was making mischief somewhere else.

At that moment, Danny—in his human form—and Jazz slipped in through the wall. Excusing themselves through, they sat next to the humans who were near the back of the room.

"Thanks for the texts," Danny whispered to Tucker, and Tucker elbowed him back in response. "I dropped by Vlad's on the way over here."

"Look who's joining us," Spectra commented, and a few whispers around the room echoed the same. "Now, looking down this list, there are certain measures we can take against ghosts we are familiar with. Using their weaknesses against them, of course." That sounded like Spectra. "The problem is when Kired eventually joins the fray. We have to make things easier for Clockwork. After all, not even he's invincible. Heck, I'm sure a few of us here remember when he took over as Time Lord."

A few of the older looking ghosts nodded and muttered a few words. He wondered how old Spectra really was.

After clearing his throat, Danny stood up, and all eyes fell on him. "There is something." He informed them of a possible trump card: a serum that would render Kired vulnerable to ghost attacks. "Vlad might have it done by as soon as tomorrow. I think we can trust him."

"Vlad Plasmius?" A number in the room exclaimed.

"Well," Frostbite said, waving his hands to quiet the room down. "I suppose an enemy of our enemy is a friend. And we need all the help we can get."

Valerie added, "I can't help wondering though, how can we defeat a ghost that's immune to other ghost's attacks? Wouldn't it have to be indirectly?"

"That's true," Jazz commented. "Too bad we can't immobilize him and bring him down from the inside, like with a Trojan Horse or something." Trojan horse…time travel…wait.

Back when they were still fourteen, and Danny was given the infa map, they had run into some period where witch hunts were still going on. The 16th century, was it? There was some kind of plant that rendered Danny immobile, and Tucker had to eat it all for them to escape. If they could get some of that to use against Kired somehow…but the infa map was gone. Just their luck.

Once they had the available troops in order, Frostbite, his head men, Pandora, and Jazz entered the war room to plan out their next move. Technus volunteered to be in charge of weaponry and Spectra for defense.

"I think I'm going to see why Clockwork hasn't shown up yet," Danny said to Tucker, looking around the room. "I doubt the Observers would have interfered."

"Indeed," said a hooded character with one eye, startling them both. "That Clockwork, always wandering off. He is like a child in many ways."

For some reason, this guy reminded Tucker of his mom.

The Observer leaned towards Sam, eyeing her closely. "So you're Freyja's child. I see."

She cleared her throat awkwardly, then pointed towards herself. "Eh, I'm Sam?"

"I know. Interesting. Now we'll see this play out."

A smile appeared in the blackness of its face, and then it disappeared.

"Sam, I've been meaning to ask you," Danny said discreetly, leaning towards her ear, though it was still loud enough that Tucker could hear. "Why do they keep calling you her child?"

"Basically you know the power I have?" Tucker and Danny nodded. "That's from her, a side effect of reviving me."

"Cool," Danny and Tucker said.

Danny looked off towards the green sky. "Well, I'll be back you guys. Call me on this thing"—He tapped on his Fenton phone—"if you need me."

Valerie said, "Well, I'm going to see if I can get an upgrade on these weapons." She eyed Technus. "Gotta abuse the alliance. And I've been running on his last upgrade for the past year; there's only so much my dad can do to improve the suit with our tech."

With that she stomped over to Technus, who was currently in discussion with one of Frostbite's men.

"Sam, let's head over as well," Tucker said to her. "I think I'll have you say on the sidelines with me, but we'll still have to fight at least a little. Let's see if we can tickle his ego enough to get something cool."

Sam's eyes glittered back at him. Maybe he could make a geek out of her yet.

-5-

Clockwork floated in front of his many screens that gave a glimpse of the possible results of the battle. He saw the forces of Kired, and those that stood against him, collide in a thousand ways. A few had Kired catch them all by surprise, and even convert members to his side out of fear. Failure was too vile to watch; once the Ghost Zone was taken over, he would quickly expand his influence into the human realm, causing destruction of the world. Sometimes, an alien race would decide to take out Kired before he finished conquering the planet in order to enslave him and his minions - he had already wiped out those who dared oppose him.

Many routes resulted in heavy losses. The key figures of the fight for victory would be Danny Phantom, Valerie Grey, Vlad Plasmius, and the apple of Freyja's eye, Sam Manson. Danny Phantom had to survive or there was only a 0.01% of success. If by chance Tucker or Jazz ended up on the front lines while their forces were outmatched, they would die every time, which would lead the young Phantom into a pattern of rash behavior that, 68% of the time, would get him killed. Phantom's girlfriend, whether of lack of battle hardiness or simply the fact that she was weak, ended up dying, which guaranteed one of the following options: Phantom losing his will to fight; Him going crazy and dying soon after; and him taking the crown without a regard for his own future sanity in order to protect the rest of his loved ones.

The paths with the best statistics for success had Danny Phantom take the crown, and its inevitable death sentence, in order to be powerful enough to win. Plasmius, 85% of the time, concocted a potent serum, but the problem was its administration. That would fall to Phantom at least half those times. This assumed successful delivery of the serum in question to the fighter's barracks, which in 25% of cases was stopped due to Plasmius getting himself killed due to overconfidence, weakness, or both. Success for the battle increased by a whopping 20% if both the Box Ghost and Dan Phantom enter the battlefield on the side of those that fought to preserve the Ghost Zone.

He found himself shifting into his elderly form, which usually happened whenever he felt wise, or overwhelmed. With this knowledge, how could he prevent the worst case scenario? He had watched these clips countless times within the last 72 hours, foregoing sleep, but it wasn't like he could just write notes on what to avoid. There were too many uncontrollable variables, not to mention the unlikelihood that anyone would follow instructions to the necessary degree of accuracy. What good was knowledge if he was so limited? And this time, it wasn't the fault of the Observers who loved to breathe down his neck at all hours.

Ghosts did not choose their powers, but were born into them, either from death of some part of the original soul, or from being born out of ectoplasm. What made some ghosts small, and others powerful? Some theorized that it was due to the strength of emotions involved in the ghost's birth. There were many envious of Clockworks unique responsibilities, and there were more than a few that challenged him for the title, not that they could defeat him, or manage to control his staff if the worse came to pass. Did he cheat? Had he simply seen, beforehand, the skirmish's outcome so that he could parry any blows and hit the enemies at their weak points? Was he some sort of god?

No. Of course, he, like his predecessor, had to select the next Time Ghost in the event of death.

Sometimes he wished he knew more, for all he had was knowledge. Even with the knowledge he did possess, he could not prevent calamities. The Observers rarely ordered him to intervene, and always recommended the most brutal way of dealing with a problem, sadly for a reason: there was a guaranteed success with minimal negative effects. Messing with time had its consequences. There were only a handful of cases where he did succeed following his gut instinct and not that of his bosses, such as with the case of the young Danny Phantom and his future self. That too came at a price: allowing the products of both timelines to exist, with the villainous version existing outside of time. However, if it turned out that they were in the most favorable timeline, this character would become a wildcard necessary to ensure success in the battle. And where did he come in?

He planned to assist the forces, as he did when the ghosts banded together to chase out Kired just a week prior. Alas, other than his own ideas, he had no idea what he would be doing or what role he would play. This was because of his weakness:

He could not see his own future.

Not to mention that he, like all other ghosts of the land, had his own designated end, depending on the timeline of course. Some lived a hundred, others thousands of years in the best case scenario. If they knew how to live the longest, it was not necessarily the best option either, or the most righteous. Much like humans, there were those who would kill to live as long as possible, even if all they had was time. Ghosts were not without greed. He had already lived to be 900 in Earth years, and in some ways it was a blessing not to see his own end; but still, he wondered. Who didn't? This is why he didn't always listen to the Observers. Whatever the risk, if he could try to do something to save someone, he would do it. He didn't want to regret anything. And everyone deserved a second chance.

It was then that something clicked.

The screen he was watching—second from the right in the lower third row—flickered, then went into static for five seconds. Kired, in this timeline, was planning to narrow down his advantages. This checkpoint happened in all of the paths where KIred was successful. Whenever Kired would start discussing his scheme, black lines flashed across the screen, accompanied by a long beep. There was only one reason why he couldn't see this event.

And there was only one reason why this was revealed to him. This couldn't be altered, for it had already occurred. He had to act fast.

Eyeing a timeline with a newborn ghost, he shoved his staff into the window to drop it into her tiny hand. It shrunk as she gripped it, still sleeping soundly.

Not even a few ticks past the moment where he passed over the staff, the doors into the past, present, and future shut down, displaying black screens. The ticking of the clocks slowed, until finally, he was bathed in silence. He stood there, breathing it in.

The tranquility was broken with a presence that entered his realm all too sudden. He waited until it was upon him, uttering not a word.

"The question is, Time Ghost: Did you see me coming?" said a slimy voice as he felt shadow wrap around him.

"I...suppose I did. Kired."

"With your fall, this battle is mine. No one can stop me from my throne!"

He never expected that in his last moments he would feel joy. He was but a child again, and could see the happy ending. The timeline they were on was the right one after all, and it was his actions that decided it. Who would have known? He didn't.

He smiled, looking the sad, pitiful ghost in the eye. He couldn't see what Clockwork could right now, and when he would see, it would be too late. "Ah. All of it is: as it should be."

The fool smiled right back.