A/N: Sorry for the wait, guys! It was a long chapter and I've had a lot to do, plus a little writer's block. The next chapter is called "Over Dinner," and it's one I've been looking forward to writing for a really long time. I'll bring up another new character. He's been mentioned before though, so if you go back you might find him. Anyway, until next update... Rachel. Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Time's A-Wasting

I stepped through the portal, and was now standing next to Kaylie and Deyton, not really sure where we were. This certainly was not Amity Park as I remembered it. We were behind some sort of building, and there was a dumpster full of trash next to us. I looked around at Joe and Kaylie and Deyton; they were all cringing at the scent of the alleyway.

"Where the heck are we?" Deyton said.

"I thought we went over this already!" Joe said, smacking his forehead in frustration. "We're in Amity Park! Can you get that into your tiny little mind or not?"

"This isn't Amity Park," Deyton responded. "I just moved from there-here- whatever, like, a couple months ago and it does not look like this."

"You may have moved from here a couple months ago," Joe said slyly, "but we're not in Amity Park a couple of months ago. We're in Amity Park a couple of decades ago."

"This is so weird…" Deyton mumbled.

"Yes, it is," Joe said curtly. "Any more questions or can we actually get back on track? Because we're kind of on the clock here."

"Literally," Kaylie murmured.

Joe pulled up his sleeve, as a lot of people do to check their watch. But he didn't have just one watch on his arm, he had at least ten. Some appeared to be solid gold, and others looked hundreds of years old. He checked each one carefully, shook his head, and pulled up his other sleeve, revealing ten more watches. Again, he studied each one, found the one he was looking for, checked the time, and pulled his sleeve down again. He looked our astonished faces.

"My dad's a watchmaker," he explained.

"So your mom's related to Clockwork and your dad's a watchmaker?" I asked, and Joe nodded. "Wow, you were born into this business."

"You're telling me," he said, shaking his head slightly. "I wanted to be a firefighter when I was little, but I'm beginning to really like working for Clockwork, despite what he says. After all, there's no steadier business than the business of time."

We all nodded.

"Okay, so, back on track!" Joe seemed frustrated for letting himself lose focus. "Let's lay some ground rules here. First of all, those people out there, they can see you, but I've made it so they can't see me. So don't just go talking to thin air. Second of all, don't let anyone know who you are. Remember, your parents are only teenagers, so don't go mouthing off and telling them that you're their kid and that they get married and stuff. It makes a whole mess of things that I would have to fix, and I don't like doing extra work if I don't have to."

"Ditto," Deyton interjected.

Joe continued as if he hadn't heard Deyton. "Third of all, remember what you're here for. Do what you can to get your information without giving a ton of information about yourself. And last of all, Ellie, I need you to be human again. This town isn't- erm, well-accepting of ghosts. And everyone else needs to tuck in their medallions because some people here will know what they mean."

I transformed back to being human and tucked my medallion under my shirt. Kaylie and Deyton did too. I then realized I still had the paper clockwork had given me in my hand.

"What is this?" I asked Joe, holding up the paper.

"It's your directions," he said. "I'm not supposed to tell you anything other than ground rules. I'm to do nothing but be your guide and to follow you. That's your instructions for what to do."

I opened up the paper. In very neat handwriting, it read, 'Amity Park, Casper High, Library. 2:15 PM. Daniel Fenton, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley. Dan Phantom.'

"So what do you think this means?" I asked Kaylie and Deyton, who had crowded around me.

"Well, the first one is obviously the place," Kaylie said. "And after that, the time, I'm sure."

"The names are probably who we're supposed to meet," Deyton said. "We're supposed to meet Uncle Danny and Aunt Sam and Uncle Tucker, obviously."

"What's the last name then?" I asked. "Who is Dan Phantom, and why does he have my dad's name?"

Joe began to cough, but the coughing sounded a lot like the words, "What. You're. Supposed. To. Ask. About." Joe took a moment to breath. "Sorry, it's just this alley is kind of dusty."

"Sure it is," I said.

"Anyway," Joe said casually. "It's two o'clock, and I suggest that if you're planning on going anywhere, you might want to start off now…"

"Good idea," I said. "Ready guys?" I asked Deyton and Kaylie.

"Sure," they responded, shrugging.

We stepped out onto the sidewalk, and I studied the street. We had been behind the Nasty Burger, I now realized. No wonder it smelled so bad. When I had moved from Amity Park, that place was having serious issues with the Health Department.

"Deyton, do you remember where Casper High was?" I asked. "I never got to go there, so I'm not entirely sure. Everything just looks so… different."

"Yeah, I think I remember, unless they moved it or something," he said. "Who knows in this wacky world."

Deyton began to lead us down several streets. Joe whistled a little tune behind us, and Kaylie and I took in the sights. I was surprised at how many people I recognized, how many people had stayed in Amity Park and raised kids I had gone to school with. I recognized Mr. Kwan walking down the street holding hands with Starr Masters. I had gone to school with Mr. Kwan's daughter, Susan Kwan. In fact, it had been Susan Kwan's birthday party that I had been trapped in the closet. And as for Starr Masters… I couldn't help but wonder that if she had married Mr. Kwan instead of Vlad, I wouldn't have had to deal with the spawn that is Darius Masters.

"This is where you lived, Ellie?" Kaylie asked me quietly.

"In a manner of speaking," I said. "This Amity Park looks very different. But I lived for awhile with my grandparents at Fenton Works." I pointed down one of the streets to Fenton Works, with numerous random pieces of ghost-hunting equipment protruding from the roof. "We lived there until I started school. Because both my parents worked, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. My grandfather used to let me help him in the lab to try and catch ghosts. Then we moved to an apartment building." I pointed down the street to the stony-gray faced building that had housed our little apartment. "I still spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house though. I'll always think of Fenton Works as my previous home, not that little apartment."

"That makes sense," Kaylie said. "I've never lived anywhere but Specterton. My parents bought the house when the found out they were having another kid. Where did you live, Deyton?"

Before Deyton could answer, I interjected, "That little rich boy? He lived across town in a huge townhouse. Actually, it was near where my mom's parents live. Of course, that was back when Aunt Jazz was running her practice, before it went under."

"I'm glad to be away from that place," Deyton said. "It was so big, and had all this weird furniture and art in it that I wasn't allowed to touch… I like Specterton so much better."

Kaylie nodded. I'm sure our family seemed very dysfunctional to her, but really, we were just like everyone else.

"Here we are," Deyton said.

We were now standing in front of Casper High; this place had, for some reason or another, had always given me the creeps. It had celebrated its one hundred fiftieth birthday when I was little, and it certainly looked its age. The school looked very cold and foreboding. Deyton looked at it too; he had actually attended here his freshman year. Casper High had always been a very strange place.

"Well, let's go in!" Kaylie said. "To repeat Joe, we're on a clock here." I heard Joe laugh slightly behind us at this comment, then silence himself.

"It's not as easy as just going in," Deyton said. "The teachers watch you here, and we have to somehow get upstairs into the library. So… follow my lead, I guess."

"Oh, I feel so safe," I said, mimicking Deyton. "Maybe you can help us with your mediocre social skills."

Deyton gave me a hard look as if to say, 'do you have any other ideas?' I cocked my head and gestured to go in.

Deyton led the way up the stone steps. Slowly, we all stepped into the building, Joe following us silently. The school loomed down us forebodingly, warning us to not do anything we would regret. I silently agreed… I would rather not do anything that I would regret.

The hallways we deserted. I guessed it was between class periods when no one was in the hallways except stragglers that needed to use the bathroom. I hoped we wouldn't run across an off-duty teacher, because if they asked us anything… I didn't even want to think about it.

"Good, no one's here," Deyton said, making for the stairs.

"No, bad, no one's here," Kaylie said. "We could at least blend in with a crowd, but out here, we're exposed."

"What are we doing, going hunting?" I asked. "Just get a move on!"

Deyton, Kaylie, Joe and I began to creep up the stairs. Deyton looked around the door before we went through it. When the coast was clear, we entered the second floor hallway.

"What are you doing out of class?" a stern voice said from down the hallway. A very tough-looking gym teacher was striding towards us. We froze, dead in our tracks, completely unsure of what to say.

"We-we're going to the library," Kaylie explained while Deyton nodded vigorously.

"Why would you being going there in the middle of the period?" the teacher said.

"We're working on a project," Deyton made up.

"For whom?" the lady asked, not believing us.

Deyton and Kaylie looked at each other in horror. My mind raced. If I said a wrong name, this woman would know and we would get in trouble… I heard Joe behind me breathing hard; he wasn't sure what to do either.

"Mr. Lancer," I finally blurted out, remembering my father's English teacher.

"Oh, of course," the lady said. "Him and that stupid book report, of course that's who you're here for… Anyway, carry on." The tough-looking teacher turned and strode away.

We all sighed, and Deyton walked us all the way to library as quickly and quietly as possible. Once inside, we all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness you thought of Mr. Lancer, Ellie," Kaylie said. "I wasn't coming up with anything."

"Ditto," Deyton breathed.

"Good thinking," I heard Joe whisper. We all gave a slight nod so as not to talk to thin air.

"So," I continued in a whisper, "we're looking for my mom and dad and Uncle Tucker. So keep your eyes out, but don't draw too much attention to yourself. And act like you belong!" I added as Deyton started marveling at how small the library was compared with when he went there.

We began to browse through the shelves. Joe stayed behind. "I can't go any further," he explained quietly as we walked away. "I'm not allowed to interfere."

"Look," Kaylie said after a few moments. She pointed toward a table in the corner of the library. Three kids sat around it. I gasped slightly: there were both my parents, sitting with my Uncle Tucker, casually flipping through volumes of books. My dad still looked almost the same; same black hair, casual clothes, slightly bored manner. My mom was a bit of a different story. I knew that my mother liked black and dark things, but I had never really imagined her as Goth… But there she sat, completely decked out in black and combat boots. Uncle Tucker looked only slightly changed, but then he pulled a PDA out of his pocket, and I saw that he hadn't really changed at all.

"Let's go over," I said. "Grab a few books and then we can go sit down and strike up a conversation."

I grabbed random books off the shelves, as did Kaylie and Deyton. As casually as we could, we meandered over and sat down with my parents and uncle. My dad looked up briefly at us, as did my mom and Uncle Tucker, who held my gaze momentarily then looked away; for a second I thought they were going to refuse us the use of the table.

I began to flick through my book, trying to keep an eye on everything while doing so. Kaylie appeared to be doing the same thing, but Deyton was busying himself looking at the pictures in his book.

"Are you reading this?" I looked over. Tucker was looking at me and pointing to one of the books I had pulled randomly from the shelves, A Modern History of Electronics.

"You can take it," I said.

"No, I just wanted to tell you that it's my favorite book," he said. "Very descriptive."

"Good," I said. "Maybe I'll get around to reading it."

"I'd like to tell you more about it sometime…" Tucker said. "I'm Tucker Foley, TF, as in Too Fine… Maybe I can tell you more about that book over dinner sometime."

Something registered in my head. "Oh my gosh, are you hitting on me?" I nearly screamed, completely disregarding the fact that we were in a library. "Ew! Ew, ew, ew, ew!" I was on my feet now, walking to the other end of the table. Everyone was looking at me.

"I didn't think I was that repulsive," Tucker said, slightly hurt.

"It-it's not you," I said, trying to mend things before they got worse. "It's just- I would prefer if you didn't do that again. Ever." The fact that I had just been hit on by one of my dad's friends completely creeped me out, but this was supposed to be a sort of covert operation, so I had to control my impulse to gag if I wanted any information at all.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he said.

"You're Danny Fenton, aren't you?" Kaylie said to my dad, trying to get back on track.

"Yeah," my dad responded. "Who are all of you?"

"I'm Kay-" Kaylie seemed to stop herself, and thought better of using her real name. "I'm Kay…lynn. Kaylynn Burg." It wasn't very creative, but it was believable.

"Nice to meet you, Kaylynn," my mom said. "Who are you two?" She looked at Deyton and I.

"We're…" I thought for a moment. "We're Lily and Frank Burk. Frank is my older brother."

"Yes, I am Frank," Deyton said, trying to reaffirm what I said, but just sounding fake. I gave him a look before turning back around.

"Well, erm… nice to meet you, Lily, Frank, and Kaylynn," my mom said. "We're-"

"Oh, we already know who you are!" Deyton exclaimed.

"Dey- FRANK!" I yelled at him.

"What?" my dad said. "You already know us? How?"

"The how… is really not important," I said, trying not to give too much away. "Really, we need to ask you something."

"Ask us something! We don't even know you!" Tucker said.

"We need to know about Dan Phantom," Kaylie interjected, getting right to the point.

There was a collective gasp amongst my mom, dad, and uncle. "How the heck did you know about that?" my dad asked in a dangerous whisper.

"Again, we're not really here to discuss the how…" My argument was getting more meager as the conversation went on. I had not expected this much opposition from my parents to give me the information.

"Clockwork sent us," Kaylie said. I heard Joe moan slightly at the fact that he and his uncle were being brought into this. "It's secret. He said he would explain to you later."

"How do we know you're not lying?" Tucker asked.

I felt like banging my head on the table. We didn't have time for this!

Kaylie pulled her medallion out from under her shirt. I nearly attacked her- we weren't supposed to be admitting Clockwork and Joe's involvement at all. And here Kaylie was, giving us away completely.

Her trick, it seemed, did work, though. My mom, dad, and uncle all gave each other looks saying "well, that's good enough for me, I guess" and nodded.

"What do you want to know?" my dad asked.

"Everything," I said.

"Well… it's certainly a long story," my dad said, and began to tell a story I could have never even dreamed of.

Never, ever, in a million years would I have guessed what my dad would tell me. He began to tell me a story including him as evil in the future, all because he cheated… how Clockwork intervened, trying to take him out before he could cause any damage… how my mother and aunt and uncle and grandparents had been dead in the future, and that it had all been my dad's fault… how Dan Phantom had been evil enough to try and kill everyone… and how, in the end, my father had sucked Dan Phantom into the Fenton Thermos and gained the power of the ghostly wail (I was shocked when I heard this, realizing that I, too, had the same power). Clockwork was right- there was so much I didn't know. And so much I needed to.

"And now, as far as I know, Dan Phantom is still in that thermos, locked up in Clockwork's tower," my dad ended. "But honestly, I don't think you have much to worry about, Clockwork's pretty good about keeping that stuff safe."

I looked at Kaylie and Deyton, not entirely sure of that. Why would Clockwork send us here if Dan Phantom wasn't a threat? Was he who we were supposed to be looking for, who had killed Vlad and attempted to kill my father?

"I don't see why you would really need to know this," my mom said.

"Trust me," Deyton said, "that just cleared up a lot for us."

Joe whispered in my ear. "We really need to get going."

"I'm sorry, but we really have to go," I said. "You don't know how much I would like to stay and talk to you, but we need to get back to Clockwork."

"Erm… okay," my dad said, slightly confused. "I guess we'll be seeing you around, then."

"Trust me," I said. "You will."

And with my mom, dad, and uncle staring at us in a confused manner, Kaylie, Deyton and I (or should I say Frank, Kaylynn, and Lily?) exited the library with Joe right behind us.

Joe materialized just outside the doorway. "You're almost over your time! We need to get back to Clockwork Tower now." Again, a portal appeared midair, and after a last look at the library, I stepped through.

We were all back in Clockwork's lair, where he was waiting for us. "It went fine, Uncle Colin," Joe said.

"What went fine?" Clockwork said. "As far as I know, you were here."

"So what was the point of that?" Deyton said. "From what Uncle Danny just told us, we're not in danger. Dan Phantom's still here."

Clockwork sighed. "If only that were true," he said. "Then the Ghost Zone wouldn't be in this mess. From what I can tell, somehow, he got out. He tried in vain for so many years. The old thermos just wasn't strong enough to hold someone like that."

"So you're saying he's out, and he's coming after us?" Kaylie said worriedly. She looked at me as if Dan Phantom was going to attack me at any moment.

"Yes, he's out, and he's coming after everyone," Clockwork said while Joe nodded solemnly next to him. He looked at me. "Especially you and your father, Ellie. Your father was who trapped him all this time. Your father is part of him that he hates, and he will do anything to eliminate that part of himself and anything related to it. That's why he killed Vlad. That's why he hates Darius, and that's why he hates you."

I took a moment to absorb that, feeling all of a sudden weighed with a burden. "So why have you decided to tell me this? Why not Darius, or my dad?"

"Because, Ellie," Clockwork said quietly, very serious, "because I know you will do something."

I stared at him meekly. "How?"

"That's not for you to know," he said. "But I know that you will figure it out." He paused, and looked up at the millions of cogs gently ticking above our heads. "It's time for you to go," he said.

"Yeah, Ellie, we really need to be getting back," Kaylie interjected.

"Yeah, I have homework to do still," Deyton piped in.

"Okay," I said. I wished I could have stayed and asked more questions, but something told me neither Clockwork nor Joe would be able to answer any of them.

"Bye," Joe said.

"Bye," we all chimed in. Passing the three million two hundred ninety six thousand eight hundred and sixty five cogs, we made our way to the door. It swung open on its own. Kaylie and Deyton, eager to leave, stepped out first.

As if hoping for answers, I stopped and looked back. Clockwork and Joe were standing side by side, waiting for us to leave.

"Farewell, Ellie," Clockwork said. "Oh, and one more thing… Good luck with your friend Eric." Joe smiled and winked.

Thoroughly confused, I stepped through the door and closed it behind me. You know, so as not to let the heat out.