WARNING: Contains some distressing scenes of torture and strong language
Chapter Eleven
Back to the Future
Clockwork slowly opened his eyes, he coughed sightly as he felt pain run through his body.
He tried to move, yet he couldn't as he felt that his wrists were tied up tightly above his head and he was also bound to the ground around his waist.
"Ah good, you're awake." he heard a low voice.
Clockwork looked up dazed, his vision was slightly blurred but he soon caught sight of Dan Phantom smirking at him.
"Sleep well?" Dan asked mockingly.
Clockwork gritted his teeth and pulled on his bounds, but each time he did they cut into his wrists and stomach.
"What some advice?" Dan smirked "Make yourself comfortable, you're gonna be here a while!" he flicked out his tongue and hissed.
"Dan..." Clockwork spluttered "What...what have you done to me?"
"It's payback!" Dan hissed "Payback for the years you kept me in that Thermos!"
Clockwork glared at the evil Ghost before him.
"Your crimes to the world earned you that sentence!" he said "How did you get out!?"
"It was only a matter of time before I was able to break out of that cramped thermos!" Dan smirked "I spent years in that confined space plotting my revenge! I fantasised making everyone who put me in there pay for what they did! I tried every trick to get out! And finally my efforts paid off!"
He flicked his tongue again and grabbed Clockwork's chin.
"I'm going to enjoy making you suffer for being my jailer all those years!" he then started to punch the Ghost of Time over and over in the stomach and chest, and each time he did, ectoplasm erupted from Clockwork's mouth.
Cackling more Dan then drove his sharp claws into Clockwork making him yell!
"Feel that hmm?" Dan asked "Feel that pain? Such a rush!"
Clockwork spluttered again as he tried to take the pain, each time Dan Phantom stabbed or punched him, it felt worse than before.
After what seemed like ages, when really it was merely seconds, Dan stepped back to observe Clockwork's condition.
The evil ghost smirked as he saw the stains of green ectoplasm on the Ghost of Time's ripped clothes along with dark colourings on the skin.
"Such a rush that was!" Dan cackled "Felt so good, after spending so much time fantasising, I finally do it!"
He then picked up a pole from the ground and swung it before whacking Clockwork across the face with it several times, making the Ghost of Time spit out ghost blood.
He then shoved the pole into Clockwork's stomach making him splutter again and cough heavily.
Dan cackled and licked his lips, the excitement and happiness overwhelming him as he took in Clockwork's suffering.
He then decided to take a break and walked over to the screens and licked his lips.
"I see so much has happened since I was gone." he said looking back at Clockwork "I saw how my other self has done so well, not just saving the world from Vlad's stupidity with that asteroid, but also marrying his Goth girlfriend."
Clockwork said nothing as ectoplasm dripped from his mouth.
"I wonder what my time-line was like after I disappeared from there? Not much different I suppose." Dan mused.
Clockwork glared.
"I am curious." Dan said "After I left that world, I wonder what happened? I did leave a rather big mess behind, and if some miracle it was cleaned up, I think I'll pay a visit and wreak that world again!"
Clockwork's eyes widened as he listened and his mouth formed the word "No..."
Dan just smirked and looked back at the screens before touching one and it showed his time-line, yet what he saw surprised him greatly and even Clockwork looked rather shocked.
Instead of a ruined city, or even a rebuilt one, he saw it was covered in plants, he barely recognised the city at all.
"Has nature reclaimed it?" he mused "Well this is interesting."
He looked over to Clockwork who swallowed hard.
"What the hell happened there?" he asked.
Clockwork glared and shook his head to which Dan strode over and grabbed his chin.
"Do you know what happened to my time-line Ghost of Time?" he asked.
"Why...why should I tell you?" Clockwork spluttered.
Dan glowered and slapped Clockwork's face, his claws catching his skin as he did so.
"You've broken me enough..." Clockwork groaned "Stop..."
Dan smirked and kicked Clockwork in the stomach following up by a hard punch to which the Ghost of Time cried out in pain.
"As Ghosts, we do not die." Dan hissed "So I can continue to keep beating the crap out of you, and you cannot escape it!"
He looked at the screen again.
"You know what?" he said "Maybe I do not need to find out from you what happened in my time-line, I could just find out myself!"
As he spoke he walked over to a set of hangers on the walls where he saw the time medallions and picked a few up.
"I wonder who or what I might find there?" he said, smirking at Clockwork before hovering into the air then flying towards the portal.
"See you soon..." he hissed "Get some rest! You'll need it especially since I got more planned for you!"
Clockwork spat on the floor as he saw Dan Phantom fly through the portal then he pulled again at his cords.
"No!" he cried "Damnit! No!" he pulled harder at his bounds despite the pain then slumped heavily in defeat as he feared what or rather who Danny would find in that time-line.
Dan Phantom flew through the portal until he found himself flying in the air above what used to be Amity Park.
Seeing everything from the sky, he saw that the whole place was like a jungle, covered with tall trees and vines.
"Jeez!" he thought "It's like an overgrown backyard! How long was I gone for?"
Flying around he analysed the plants and began to believe that it wasn't nature reclaiming the city, but something more sinister, since the plants didn't look like ordinary plants found on earth.
Taking a breath and feeling more curious, Dan floated towards the ground to get a closer look.
He identified what were large Venus fly traps all snapping their mouths and he also saw a lot of what looked like cocoons, and he saw bodies in them, some were freshly dead and some were half decomposing.
"Yeesh!" he thought with a gulp "This is sick, even by my standards!"
He glanced at one woman who was slumped in the vines and he wondered if she was still alive.
No sooner did he get closer to check than she opened her eyes and gasped making Dan jump slightly.
"Kill...me!" she pleaded looking at him.
Dan raised an eyebrow as he stared at her.
"Kill...me!" she pleaded again then suddenly some vines erupted out of her chest and mouth and she slumped dead with a few choked gasps as her life left her.
Dan floated backwards in shock and took a look around again and he realised that the survivors of the destroyed city must have met their death when this plant infestation took over.
"Wow!" he thought "As much as this is rather interesting, I should see who or rather what caused all this."
He started to fly around the area trying to see where the plants started from.
"If there's one thing I know." he thought tapping his chin in thought "Plants always grow from a source!"
He continued to fly around following the vines and roots until he saw where the source was.
Ahead of him, he saw the central building of what used to be Casper High ahead of him. Yet it looked nothing like the High School he knew years ago, but rather like a plant covered temple, surrounded by a beautiful garden.
"That must be it!" he thought triumphantly, floating over to the entrance of what was the High School, and peered in to look, seeing how the inside was filled with many plants, and flowers, including roses and Venus Fly-traps.
"Jeez." he said softly "It's almost like a garden temple, yet still, I wonder what happened here?"
He placed himself on the ground and began to walk about, his cape brushing against the vines which unknown to him were beginning to stir, almost like the web of a spider when an unfortunate fly is caught.
Peering around a corner, Dan Phantom then noticed a figure walking around in the centre of the temple.
"The heck?" he narrowed his eyes and blinked making sure his eyes weren't deceiving him, then his jaw dropped slightly.
"No...no fucking way!"
So Dan Phantom has tortured Clockwork for being his jailer for 10 years, and he plans to do more to the Ghost of Time.
He's now returned to his original timeline to see what became of it after he disappeared, and I wonder who he's spotted in the Temple Garden. Can you guess?
I had to admit I got some inspiration from the Alien films to write this chapter.