A/N: Hello, everybodee! I hope you're ready for the next chapter? This chapter is more of a transitional one than anything else. In any case, you know that I don't own any DP characters and I hope you enjoy the show!
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Entanglement—Chapter 25—At the Edge
Old Man Clockwork entered his fortress and sighed in resignation just as the large front door closed behind him. He knew all along that the Observants couldn't help themselves in trying to get him involved with doing something about Ĉasista. After all, it had become their habit—and really, his—for so many centuries to sic him on any creature that they had felt was a threat to their precious Existence. Or manipulate Time…Of course, there were reasons for that, one being that the Observants couldn't leave their realm.
And the other?
He didn't notice his childish soft chuckle as he changed to his youngest form when he thought about that second reason…
But as if his child persona was throwing a slight tantrum, he quickly shoved those thoughts away and focused on the present. As he floated toward his Room of Chronology, he had to admit that Ĉasista was a threat to Existence; and so, naturally the Observants would have tried to get him to interfere since they always put guarding Existence above everything else…
Little did he know how wrong he was about that this time.
He also knew very well that Ĉasista was indeed 'creating mischief' as the Observants had said.
"Yes, she would only be so brazen because she sensed that imbalance in the cosmos," Clockwork as an adult began to muse, only to frown and add, "which also would mean that something more calamitous must have happened…"
He pondered that a moment before his thoughts refocused on his latest encounter with the Observants.
As he changed yet again, Clockwork's frown deepened and sagged as much as his ghostly flesh did; and he tightened his grip around his Time Staff not only from the thought, but also for more support in his oldest state. He hated to admit that the twin Observants were correct in that remark that had made him bristle:
"After all, we all know that she is too powerful for any one of us to stop her on our own. Not to mention that all of our powers would be compromised in her realm."
He knew that the Observants were indirectly including him when it came to challenging Ĉasista. Even if he wished to stop the spider-spirit, he could not do it on his…own. True, he was one of the most powerful spirits in existence…but even he had limits. Unless he had more power at his disposal, then she could easily destroy him…
Clockwork the child chuckled at that last thought, but it was a sad one. Many ghosts—and even spirits—would be shocked at the news: the mighty Master of Time wasn't all-powerful or even all-knowing! True, he had handled all of the situations he had interfered with in the past, but that was because he used not only his great power, but his wits!
In some ways, that just perpetuated the myth that he was the master of both time, power and knowledge. He sighed. He knew very well that there was only one Master of time, knowledge and power, and it certainly wasn't him!
Yet, in a way, there was some truth to the perception that others had of him, for if he was a master of anything, it was the master of trickery and deception!
But when it came to Ĉasista…he might as well be totally helpless, for any deceptive ploy he could use on her wouldn't protect him... Even so, he also knew most poignantly that he wanted to help his young protégé, his human friends and even the others from a terrible fate…
As Clockwork changed to his adult state, he sighed yet again. His core was now heavy with the conflict. This was one of the times when the burden of being the Guardian of Time and Defender of Existence was the most unbearable.
If he interfered like his core longed for him to do, he would be destroyed. Worse of all, then the destruction of Time would soon follow, and then, all of Existence. But if he did nothing…then…how could he face himself after letting that vile creature destroy his young protégé?
For the first time in his after-life, the oldest Time Master was troubled. He had enough self-discipline to literally turn off his emotions. Being cold, unfeeling, meticulous and thorough had become second-nature to him. He had to be, or else he would have already gone insane with carrying out his duties to Time. But sometimes, his emotions still managed to assert themselves…
He actually reproached himself with his next thought, "Yes, indeed, even though you are very clever at giving others the impression that you know and see everything…you really are a fool!"
But then, as if he were switching to another personality as he switched his form, he stifled himself at his next thought. As he had done many times before, the Time Master once again pondered why he was chosen to be the Time Master, especially when the circumstances how he was chosen were the most unlikely ones to an outsider. In fact, it was because of those same circumstances that he became subjugated to the Observants…and became their employee, for lack of a better term.
But then again, that was a long story in and of itself, a story which he didn't want to take the time for to remember at the moment, for the current moment was most dire…
Most dire.
Clockwork didn't think he would ever have understood even that concept if not for the one creature who would change his perception of everything…
As he changed to his youngest form and moved to one of the windows in his castle, the Time Master smirked. Ironical that he would change into his youngest form just as he thought about that young ghost who could somehow awaken what he thought he was never capable of doing ever again: having concern for others, generating a fatherly thought, and even recognizing and even embellishing…
He shook his head, and rid himself of that last thought as easily as he usually could. And those…uplifting human emotions were also quickly snuffed out. After all, he was too practiced… Still, he found himself sighing in defeat at his next thought. He never felt so…powerless than he did right now. He would have to stand by—and at the same time loathe to watch—while that young creature and his companions would be destroyed!
And it would be his fault that Danny Phantom and the others with him would be annihilated….but not just his fault…There would be others responsible for the boy's death and those of his companions!
Adult Clockwork frowned as he stared out of the window and into the atmosphere of the Realm Beyond Time. This time, he could find nothing ironical or amusing at his next thought. Had he been as 'all-powerful' and 'all-knowing' as he made other ghosts to believe, then he would have stopped any of his fear at having to face that impending disaster at its start…
But as it was, any desire of his to try to interfere at this point would only lead to more catastrophe for he would surely be destroyed if he faced Ĉasista alone…True, maybe the other…realms could have helped, but it was too late for that…In fact, he was certain that the one particular realm which could make a difference in this matter was hopelessly helpless, which, ironically, was indirectly the cause of this entire tragedy!
The elder Master of Time shook his head again, as if that could clear his morose this time. He just had to rid himself of these…emotions…or else he could miss other…problems that his duty called for him to attend to.
He floated more slowly over to his Time Viewing Orb. After all, it was time for him to scan the dimensions and timelines for any anomalies…
Young Clockwork twisted the turnkey at the top of his Time Staff and a purple beam shout out and struck the Time Viewing Orb. But the beam didn't so much as shake the orb, as he had selected a non-destructive beam. It was actually a time spell; and like a sieve that sifted through sand in order to find any gold nuggets, this spell was capable of finding major flaws, aberrations or threats to the timestream so that he would not miss any holes…
The spirit, however, didn't know that he was still so upset that he didn't even care to actually pay attention to the results on the lit-up screen in front of him. Instead, his thoughts inadvertently drifted back to his encounter with the Observants. He slightly bit his lower lip and narrowed his red eyes. Did they summon him accidentally as they claimed? True, they admitted in the end that they wanted to discuss with him about what turned out to be a manifestation of Ĉasista's powers near his castle. So, did they summon him on purpose if they suspected Ĉasista was up to mischief again? No, because they also knew he couldn't do anything about it even if he wanted to, because he would be destroyed if he confronted her alone.
Once more, he felt the weight of his predicament and leaned against his staff, only to immediately feel something press against his leg—and it didn't feel like the staff at all.
"What is this?" he asked himself as he patted the area before he reached into one of his hidden pockets of his floor-length cape.
When he pulled the object out, his eyes narrowed in displeasure, all the while ignoring the ghost of a smirk at one of the corners of his mouth…
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Danny was still smarting so badly from Ĉasista's latest attack —the one that had immediately followed his attempt to help Sam through their telepathic power when the she-spider was torturing her—that he didn't really care what the spider had said to him right afterward—not that he could really comprehend her anyways at that point since his head had been-and still was-spinning. He did, however, briefly wonder why that huge jolt hadn't wasted him. Nor, obviously, had it knocked him out, though in some ways he secretly wished it had since he was still busy trying to control his pants from all the pain, and clear his head. But most of all, he was more worried that the blow did its job in severing his telepathic ties with Sam. And he couldn't re-establish their bond because his head was pounding too badly. But then, he frowned…he had an awful feeling, a feeling that chilled his core with dread, that Sam was very hurt…
In the meantime, Ĉasista was still livid at what happened a few moments ago. True, she was still angry at the young half-ghost for somehow being able to interfere with her latest mental encounter with the female ghost-to-be.
All eight of her eyes suddenly narrowed in a mixture of intrigue and irritation, as she thought, "Just how could such an inferior ghost as he interfere at all? She, of course, cannot find out right now since she let impulse rule yet again and punished the worm so brashly that she had knocked him out! She will have to wait to delve further into the matter once he is conscious!"
Little did she know that she hadn't knocked Danny out. And, more importantly, she had no idea that the point on the webbing of his ĉerko where her powerful electrical beam had made contact when she had attacked him had been weakened…
Ĉasista began to pace in agitation as more thoughts distracted her. So far, though she had thought otherwise, she really was not in complete control of any of her victims! She hadn't been able to pry any more information out of them, especially those three most powerful ghosts! She ground her insectoid teeth in disgust at her next thought: even the Skulker had somehow been able to resist her! This group was by far the most stubborn one she had ever encountered! They were too strong…
Suddenly, she jolted at a sudden revelation…and calmed down.
"Oh, yes, Ĉasista dearest, they certainly are 'too strong'! So, then, no more need to waste time with idle thoughts," she said soothingly, as she refocused on her plans.
A hideous smirked suddenly cracked her insectoid face open as she further thought, "The Kosmos[1] may only demand a little, but Ĉasista will require more guarantee of the balance! She will not stop until she has what she desires! And they will deserve what Ĉasista has planned for them for having the audacity to resist her will! But first-most…"
The she-spider hurried over to the pile of orbs still cradled in the webbing she had made for them.
As she gently inspected them, she frowned yet again. "Hmmm….those these are ready, there may not be enough of them; but, patience, dearest Ĉasista. Until she sees what she reaps, they will do for now…"
The Guardian then twisted her head completely around, and the rest of her huge body quickly followed as she narrowed all of her eyes briefly on only the three most powerful ghost captives. Though they weren't moving, she had to make sure that they were at least conscious.
But then, her eyes and thoughts drifted over to the human girl. She frowned when she saw that the female ghost-to-be's head was still down.
"Ĉasista would have thought that a creature that somehow possesses spirit energy would have recovered. Is that creature not as powerful as she sensed, then?" The spirit mused as she unconsciously glided over to the still girl.
One of the creepy crawler's forelegs grabbed the listless girl's chin and turned her head this way and that as she narrowed her eyes in concentration. She huffed when her telepathic powers verified that the girl was unresponsive. Though Ĉasista was just as hungry for the girl's power as she had when she first detected it, she knew she would have to try after she was through with the ghosts.
Then the spider frowned slightly when she noticed some red fluid leaking out from the ghost-to-be's nose and one of her ears. She had no idea that she had seriously hurt Sam physically when she had last attempted to open the girl's mind…nor did the spider know that she would never be able to try that again...
Dropping the girl's head rather roughly, the Guardian quickly headed to the three powerful ghosts to make sure they all had recovered. She quickly shifted side-to-side all the while poking or prodding each of the ghosts to stir them up. She was especially pleased when her pawing startled the youngest ghost.
She glanced briefly at Skulker and narrowed one of her eyes as she privately mused, "Aww, that one. His time will come soon enough. But she does not need him at the moment…"
She skirted back to the webbing cradling her jewels before she turned to face her victims yet again.
"Now, all is ready," she purred only to herself when she was satisfied that all her victims were fully alert.
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In all this while, Skulker had been aware of—well, as aware as his senses could gather under the circumstances—all of the mischief that the Guardian had been creating. In fact, being the great hunter that he was, he carefully studied the Guardian at any chance he could get. It didn't please him, of course, that most of the time he couldn't see the evil spirit from his vantage point since he could only see just barely a few inches around the Ghost Boy's ĉerko. Besides, his robotic eye and head weren't functioning correctly. But he could still hear and smell with no problem. And he had had no difficulty sensing that the she-spirit had definitely been torturing that future ghost, and then, subsequently, the two half-ghosts.
He steeled himself when he recalled just how intense it must have been for them, especially for the Ghost Child, since Ĉasista's 'examination' and torture for the youth had been so close that it had filled all of his senses. It didn't help that some of the telepathic power Ĉasista had used with the ghosts must have accidentally spilled over into his mind since he knew from the odd pressure in his ghostly brain that she was still connected to it. That was the only reason he could think of as to why he had been able to catch snatches of the ghosts' conversations with the she-devil; and, why he had somehow felt their pain, which was very intense at times. Why he hadn't been knocked out by those attacks, especially the big one on the Ghost Boy, was beyond him. Of course, he had had a lasting effect from those assaults: his head pounded then and now.
He frowned when he unexpectedly recalled the two scenes when the Guardian had approached the pup—who was, of course, to his immediate right. In the first instance, she had merely glanced at him since he was so close to the whelp, and had quickly focused all eight of her eyes on the youngest ghost.
One of Skulker's eyebrows arched slightly when he all of the sudden remembered and paid more attention to that first encounter when the whelp's face had become deathly pale and his eyes had been fixed shortly after Ĉasista had been directly in front of him. That must have been the moment she had been 'examining' the pup mentally, and even maybe to his core.
Skulker scowled as he mumbled under his breath, "'Torture' is the better word for the pain she must have caused during her mental 'exam' of the whelp, especially when I don't know why I had been able to feel some of it!"
The cyborg ghost's eyes narrowed in thought as his attention drifted to another memory… The spirit must have finished with her scrutiny when the Ghost Child's head had fallen forward and the color had returned a bit in his face before the boy had struggled to right his head again.
In some ways, Skulker had been insulted when the spider retreated and headed away from him. But in other ways, Skulker had been was relieved that the spider didn't show interest in 'speaking' to him mentally after she had released the whelp. Otherwise, she would surely have noticed that something was amiss…
And that 'something amiss' was to his left! Skulker unconsciously turned his head to his left and stopped when it began to creak a little! After all, it still wasn't in its proper place ever since the wicked spirit had accosted him. Nevertheless, that head movement along with a shift in his eye gaze—thank goodness he had been able to re-wire the one he had thrown at Vlad where it could still somewhat see! — was enough for him to glance at the ĉerko that used to encapsulate the whelp's helper: Tucker.
Skulker seriously narrowed his eyes in thought. "Just why did that mere human not phase through his cocoon in the first place? And since he could not, just how did he manage to cut his way out of something made of spirit-energy, when I, the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter, am still as stuck as some ghostly creature in etherial quicksand?"
The cyborg immediately threw that sour thought away…But then, he fell into another thought, "Hmmm…could Tucker possess some unknown power?" He paused a bit while trying to recall the teen's scent. He squinted one eye as he mulled over the memory. "There is something…different about him than I last remembered… I had not noticed it before, because it is very faint…" He then frowned as he reflexively rejected his own conclusion. "It is impossible for humans to possess any kind of power…" He cringed at his next thought and corrected himself, "Well, no full-human! I am just confused by the fact that the whelp's human friend is somewhat inventive, especially in a pinch—no more special than that!"
Yet again, Skulker immediately dismissed another notion that suddenly leaked out of his brain. There was no way he would actually admit admiring Tucker's ingenuity! It didn't matter that the boy was clever enough to have thought of leaving his red beret propped on top of the ĉerko! It didn't matter that at a quick glance, even he, the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter, would think that the boy was still in that ĉerko and merely had his head down! He would never give credit to that teen, especially when he was still irritated with him!
He scowled. Only one person irritated him more…. And that thought led to another; and an instant later, that other, most recent 'visit' Ĉasista had paid to the whelp focused on his brain. In fact, what had just happened several minutes ago was still fresh on his mind.
The Ghostly Hunter unconsciously shuddered and his ghostly spine bristled again when he recalled that loud scream of pain not too long ago. It had sounded like it had come from a female. And he knew it couldn't have been from Ĉasista, so it must have been produced by the Ghost Boy's little female helper!
At the time, he had, of course, strained to see what was happening to the teen girl even though he knew it was still all in vain.
But then, Skulker paused in thought when he remembered the muffled cry of protest coming from the whelp and saw how intensely the Ghost Boy had struggled with his bonds nearly at the same time.
He frowned in confusion now as he had done then when the boy had actually stopped struggling almost as soon as he had begun and had actually scrunched his eyes closed. At first, Skulker thought the whelp looked as if he had given up. But then, the whelp's entire face had relaxed. In fact, the teen had almost looked as if he had been frozen in place, yet serenely so. Little did the robot ghost know now and then that at that precise moment, Danny had been concentrating on mentally helping his girl.
Then, oddly enough, Skulker had heard yet another loud scream from the girl and then the whelp had jolted within his cocoon, his eyes had flung open, and he had been desperately trying to break free yet again! Skulker couldn't have known, of course, that Danny had reacted that way because Ĉasista had severed his telepathic bonds with Sam.
Not even a core-beat later, however, Ĉasista had been in front of the Ghost Child. Skulker frowned again at his failure to detect her movement beforehand!
But in the very next instant, the Guardian had raised up one of her forelegs, gathered up energy from the walls of her lair, thrust a concentrated beam of it directly at the Ghost Child and then engulfed and electrify his entire ĉerko!
The Hunter unconsciously shook his head, as if that would expunge still hearing the boy's muffled yet painful scream and seeing his convulsing, smoking body before the boy's head fell to his chest. Even now, the hair on the back of the Hunter's head bristled-well, okay, the ends really hadn't settled down from that electrical bolt, which had come so close to hitting his own ĉerko!
His eyes narrowed in anger, and Ĉasista's heated words to the whelp still raked over his ghostly hide:
"You will not interfere with my plans, worm! And you are fortunate that Ĉasista's smite did not damage you…this time!"
Skulker choked down a lump in his throat when he had thought that he would have found the remnants of an obliterated Ghost Child after all the all the smoke had cleared. But his core skipped a beat when he saw that the boy had survived and was just unconscious even among all of the smoke still floating off of his scorched body and ĉerko. But then, the hunter had gagged his own gasp of amazement when he could see that the boy was beginning to move already! It was obvious that he hadn't been knocked out for long! Part of the cyborg could not help but think that the Ghost Boy had a lot of spunk…
Suddenly irritated with himself, Skulker huffed that thought away. Why did the whelp even try to do anything when he couldn't break his bonds? Didn't the silly child realize that he couldn't help his female friend in spite of the fact that the hunter could tell from the whelp's his reactions to what was happening to the girl that he must care for her?
Wait.
One of the robotic ghost's eyebrows arched upward when a spark burst in his brain. He concentrated on that thought.…
"That is right! The whelp didn't react the same way each time the girl screamed. The first time the human female yelled and before the Ghost Child had been attacked, he gave up on struggling to break free almost immediately. And then in the next instant, he looked as if he was doing nothing at all. In fact, he was very calm, almost in a trance in fact. The teen only intensified in trying to break free from his bonds shortly after the girl screamed a second time!"
What did that mean?
He slowly drew in air in the direction of the whelp…
Wait.
The pup's scent was different now than it was when he had been calm…That had to be significant.
Yet, the Hunter was momentarily distracted from his thoughts when a few moments later, he sensed that the she-spider had returned and was in front of the Ghost Child once more!
The spirit immediately grabbed hold of the boy's shoulders and shook him.
Skulker and the spider knew that the boy had recovered enough when they saw the teen's eyes flared in anger.
Skulker scowled when he saw the grin crack over the spider's hideous insectoid face. But then, he turned a bit more toward Danny and slightly smirked at what he had suddenly noticed: the scent surrounding the Ghost Child smelled even more different and yet, very familiar…
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[1] Esperanto meaning, 'cosmos'.
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A/N: I hope this wasn't too much of a 'meh' chapter. But these ideas just sprung up and insisted that I put them in writing. And speaking of ideas springing up, feel free to let them wonder right into that little box below. I would love to read them! Until next time, dear readers.