Drabble 84-FoleyFest Day 6: Reboot

A lot of things were confusing, Tucker quickly found out. For instance, how did he end up in the Ghost Zone? If he was in the Zone then where was Danny? And why were there pyramids circling him? Did he just accidentally come across an evil ghost mummy? Were mummies already ghosts, but just doomed to live on the mortal plane? Did mummies eat and drink? Was he ever going to eat or drink? He was pretty hungry, after all. He-

-Wait. No. Stop. He needed to stay focused, and that focus was not going to be on food. It was going to be on finding Danny. Maybe if he was able to find a natural portal or get to Clockwork he'd be able to get back to the Tower, tell his friends that hey, guess what, he wasn't dead! But he had amnesia, and needed answers. And who was better at giving answers than Clockwork?

But to get to his Tower he would need to be able to fly. Which he can't because he's just a human with a broken PDA. He groaned, looking up and scrubbing his face out of frustration.

Then it hit him.

No literally. It hit him. One of the four pyramids circling him fell out of the sky and hit him int he face. He stumbled and fell backwards, onto his butt. Irritation flashed through him, but at least now he had an idea. He could use these pyramids to get to Clockwork. They floated, so it's not like they were going to be hard to fly. Unless they just randomly dropped out of the sky and hit an innocent ghost.

He shrugged and grabbed onto the small pyramid with both hands, and floated up to the others, where they slotted themselves together to make a sort of bench for him to sit on. It was strange, to say the least, but at least he didn't have to walk.

He leaned forward, making the bench go in that direction. It acted almost like a skateboard, and if Tucker knew how to skateboard he would have stood up and made this thing go faster, but he didn't. And personally, he didn't really like the idea of falling to his death in the middle of the Ghost Zone where nobody could find him.

He hadn't navigated the Zone nearly as much as Danny, but he had seen through the cameras plenty of times to know the way. He quickly made his way out of the area, where in the distance he could see Skulker's Island, and into the S Area, where only the Class S ghosts lived. In that area there was Frostbite and the Far Frozen, Pariah's Keep, Ghost Writer, and best of all, Clockwork and his beautiful, ugly tower.

It was a small speck in the distance, but Tucker couldn't mistake it for anything else. Clockwork was the only one who had a tower quite like that, with the giant gears sticking out and the base that matched his grandfather clock-belly. It was, to this day, one of the greatest chances he had ever seen taken.

He floated down to the big doors and held his fist up, mid-knock. But before he could make contact with the door, it swung open, revealing Clockwork himself. He was in his old stage, with his long, white beard stretching to the ground. He looked Tucker over a couple of times before gesturing for him to come in. Tucker silently followed.

"I assume you're here for answers," Clockwork said, changing into a toddler when they reached the screen room. Tucker shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, kind of. But first, can you open a portal for me? I need to get back to Danny and Sam and the Avengers. You know, stop the world from ending and all that."

"Well, I suppose that's fair. But Tucker, your work is done. The world was saved, and is doing well. Your friends, maybe less so, but the world? It's in good hands."

"Wait, what's wrong with my friends?" He asked, suddenly shook. He had to get back to them. What if they were hurt? Or worse?

"Tucker, do you not-"

"-Listen, there's no time to talk anymore, just send me back to the Tower," Tucker interrupted him. He couldn't miss out on any more than he already had. Clockwork sighed and nodded, giving Tucker a sort of weird, sad look that didn't feel right on the toddler's face.

"As you wish," he said. He tapped his staff against the ground, and a portal opened up. Tucker wasted no time and practically flew through it.

There was something about ghost portals that Tucker would never get used to. The sudden change in gravity and scenery was one of them. Because when he went through the portal, he immediately hit the ground-hard, but at least he was back home. He looked around the empty living room, wondering where everyone was.

He ran to the elevator, clicking the button more than what was necessary due to stress and panic. When it reached the floor he was relieved. But when the doors opened, everything changed.

Time seemed to slow. The doors opened, and all of the Avengers were crammed inside, all wearing black. Mourning clothes, he realized. But why were they mourning? Why was Danny crying? Who had died? All of them were there.

And then it hit him, for the second time that day.

He had woken up in the Zone. The pyramids must have been attracted to him due to his time as a Pharaoh. The way Clockwork had looked at him?

It was him who had died. He was the reason why they were mourning. He was the reason why his friends weren't doing so well. But hey, at least the world had been saved, right?

There was a sort of tightness in his chest, and he could feel the tears string his eyes as the shock on everybody's faces swarmed his vision. He opened his mouth to talk, but no words came out. Thankfully, though, no words had to come out.

Danny surged forward, clutching onto Tucker desperately, tears streaming down his face. He had seen his friend cry plenty of times, but he had never been the cause of it. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty, but that could wait for later. A second pair of arms wrapped around them, and he buried himself in Danny and Sam's tight embrace, squeezing them maybe a little too hard.

Steve looked over at Tony, worry written all over his face as he saw the glowing dead teenager in front of him.

"Tony," he whispered. Tony just shook his head, and looked away.

"Steve," he said, turning back to the elevator. "This should have never happened."

And then he was gone.