Well this is the last chapter I have ready so out it goes. Might be a little bit of a wait for the next ones but chapter 24 is almost done. So fingers crossed for soon, I have some time off in October so hopefully it'll be writing time then.
Thank you for your support on this story so far!!!
Warnings: Language and violence.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of its characters.
Chapter 23: Bring Them Back
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*Clockworks Tower*
"I have no powers. There was an incident last night and so it appears I am without powers for at least the next 24 hours. Better get here fast, or this group is toast. Toodles." Dan smirked before hanging up the phone leaving Danny panicking.
"I have to go, they-" Danny started panicking after finishing his conversation with Dan.
"I know." Clockwork stated calmly.
"Of course you do." sighed Danny irritably.
"Before you go, I think there are some things you need to see-"
"I don't have time they're all here and he's not got any powers so they're sitting ducks." Danny interrupted.
"Believe me Daniel, you have time for this. There are some things you need to see to help you understand your other self better." retold the time ghost.
"There is nothing to understand about Dan. He's a monster." Danny pouted but walked along with the older ghost nonetheless.
"But before the monster there was just a child, a child who lost everything. I must warn you Daniel, the ghost that you see here may be myself but he is not the me now. I have learned from those mistakes I made in the future and am trying my best to fix them."
Danny looked at him with confusion as Clockwork tapped one of the large time windows with his staff and as the ripples dissipated the window showed the inside of Clockworks tower, the exact place where they were standing right now it was just like looking in a mirror but in replace of Danny's reflection there was another ghost. A small frail young looking ghost with cracked green skin, white fire hair and red eyes.
*Dan's past*
"If you can control time then please save them and bring them back! Reverse what I did please!" Young Dan begged the Clockwork in the window.
"No."
"Please, they shouldn't be dead, it's wrong, it was my fault, they shouldn't be dead because of my mistake." Dan continued, tears in his eyes.
"But yet they are.. And how do you cope with this loss? By ripping yourself apart and destroying your human self."
"I didn't mean to," Dan sobbed falling to his knees in front of the time ghost. "But he didn't want me anymore. He wanted to get rid of me! I had to get rid of him first! He was going to do the same to me!" Dan's tear filled eyes looked slightly crazed as they flashed bright red.
"Well then maybe this is your punishment for your sins." counteracted Clockwork.
"I cheated on a school test, tell me how does that warrant a punishment of everyone I love being killed?! It's not fair." chocked out the young ghost through his sobs.
"Life is rarely fair Daniel."
"Please bring them back!" Howled Dan, tears steaming down his face..
"No."
"Bring them back! Bring them back now!" Shouted Dan, blasting off ecto blasts destroying hourglass's and clocks floating around the place."
"Do you think that because you are throwing a tantrum I will bring back one group of insignificant people?" Said Clockwork calmly.
"Throwing a tantrum?" Dan echoed through his tears.
"Yes, you are like a child throwing a fit because he can't get what he wants. I only interfere with the time stream when it is to stop an undesirable future like apocalyptic event."
"This is an undesirable future!" Dan bawled into his hands.
Clockwork was silent, staring at the child before him. He himself was old and tired, there had been thousands of people before this ghost child begging him to change time for them and there would be thousands more people to come asking for the exact same thing. One ghost child was not more important than the time stream or the people who had begged before him.
"Will you bring them back or not?" Wept Dan, looking up at the ancient father time.
"No, I will not." Uttered Clockwork, knowing but not really seeing what he had just caused to set into motion. The young Dan's shoulders slumped and the child looked more defeated then ever. But then anger that he had never truly felt before came forward and filled his being completely, there was no room for anything but rage in his mind.
"Then just know what happens next is all on you. You want a tantrum, I'll show you a tantrum." Dan growled, tears flowing from his glowing red eyes but he took no longer took notice of the dampness on his face as he flew at speed out of Clockworks tower into the depths of the ghost zone.
*The Present*
"Little did I know what I had done and how much of a tantrum he would actually throw. Even going as far as to cause an apocalypse of sorts."
"No wonder he hates me... I was saved from going through loosing everybody but he still had to live through it and at the end of it all he still didn't get his family back but I did...meaning his timeline was destroyed so he's all alone again, anybody he did have in that time is now gone." muttered Danny sympathetically.
"Sounds like you do understand him a little."
"No, I... It's no excuse. He shouldn't... He's just nuts." Danny tried to reason with his thoughts not wanting to see Dan as anything but a monster.
"But wouldn't you be too if you went through life like he did. This is only a glimpse into his past. Wouldn't you like to see more to understand him more?" asked Clockwork shifting to his elder form.
"No. He...I.. Not yet. I have to go. I need to go help my friends." And with that Danny took off trying to calm his racing thoughts and focusing on tracking down his old future self along with his parents and class.
"Fair enough, but I'll be waiting for when you're ready Daniel." Clockwork stared off into the time window both ghosts were just looking through to see where Danny was flying off to.
*Unknow location in the Ghost Zone*
"Well I think we can all agree that Mr and Mrs Fenton are the best people to be in charge in this current situation as they know more than everyone else about ghostly things." said Mr Lancer trying to keep the class calm.
"Right kids what we need to do is stick together through this. No wondering off or dallying behind. Lets go." Encouraged Maddie taking charge keeping one of her ecto-guns on hand scanning her surrounding with her eyes while Jack was holding onto the ghost scanner that was for the moment deathly silent.
"Do you know where we are?" Sam asked Dan as they dropped behind their field trip group a little to make sure their conversation would not be overheard.
"I thought we already established that we're in the Ghost Zone Sam." Came Dan's sly reply.
"I meant where we are within the Ghost Zone smartarse."
"Well considering I lived in my Ghost Zone for 10 years, I know the place like the back of my hand so yes I know where we are and if both our Zones are the same then I could guide us out of here with my eyes closed." Dan was feeling probably more relaxed then he should be but he didn't particularly care at the minute.
"Well if we go with they're both the same, where does this direction lead us?" Sam asked about the direction the Fenton's were leading the class, not recognizing where they were herself.
"Well for one the complete opposite direction of the Fenton portal. But if I had to make a guess if we continue to follow these brain dead idiots we're going to end up in either the River of Revulsion or the Carnivorous Canyon."
"Neither of those places sound particularly pleasant." griped Tucker.
"They are not for the most part as they both reek of death and that scent is quite difficult to get out of clothes. If we can get them to steer right at the next turn through that could lead us closer to the time locked lands. We'd have to walk through a sort of no mans land to get there though."
"Time locked lands are no longer time locked here but we're friends with a few ghosts there so they might give us some help getting back home." Tucker said positively.
"Yeah that's if we can get them to go right. What happens if we go left?" sighed Sam.
"Certain death. Like I said either the River of Revulsion or the Carnivorous Canyon. And there is a chance we could end up finding the portal to Unworld, cause that would be the icing on the cake."
"Unworld?" Both friends asked in unison.
"It's a nightmare realm, basically the underworld. And if you go there you can't ever get back out, so I suggest we come up with a plan to make sure we turn right." Dan stated trailing behind the throng of teens with the only two of the group that actually knew what they were doing when it came to ghosts.
At the front of the class were the three adults discussing what the plan was and how if they continued to travel in one direction constantly they would have to run into something eventually and with the help of their inventions could capture a ghost and force it to tell them the way out. Valerie was listening with great anticipation and interest in the prospect of capturing a ghost.
Just behind Valerie was Star, Paulina, Kwan and Dash, sticking together like normal. Dash trying to put up a brave front for his friends. Following behind the four popular students was Mai, Rebecca and Nate all nervous as mice. Mr Lancer was slowly making his way to the back of the group asking how everyone was doing. Star and Paulina complaining that their shoes were not made for walking and they wanted to stop soon. Mai and Rebecca lied and said they were fine along with the two jocks while Nate was all scientific ramblings of how long they could all survive in here without food and water as long as nothing else strange happened.
"When you disappeared earlier, where were you?" Tucker asked Dan.
"Just before I told everyone to shut up and listen before they completely ignored me?" Dan thought back to a bit earlier.
"Yeah."
"I went to make a phone call and a plan to get us out of here." came the broken ghosts calm reply.
"A phone call? To who?" questioned Sam.
"Come along you three no-one gets left behind now, so lets hurry up and stick together with the rest of the group." Mr Lancer came from the front of the group where the two professional ghost hunters were leading the class forwards, to round up the three that were trailing behind trying to have their private conversation.
"You'll find out and just go along with the plan when he arrives." Whispered Dan to his two confused companions low enough for their teacher not to overhear. And with that the three were flush to the back of the class crowd.
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The Bloodless xxx