I really want to know how you react to this chapter!
Danny floats just outside of the large clock tower. They had left after his parents went to bed to see if they could find the mysterious man and Danny had been surprised at how easy it had been.
He leads Dani inside, dodging the various clocks and cogs as they go. It takes some time but they finally reach the main room with no trouble. Danny lands silently across the room from the man he was looking for.
"Hey Clockwork."
Said ghost turns to them, his ever shifting form having no effect on his soothing voice, "Hello Phantom."
Danny looks next to him to see his counterpart looking around in amazement.
"This is Dani. Dani this is Clockwork."
She looks to the man in question, her face morphing into confusion when the man goes from looking old to young, "Y-Yeah. Hi."
Clockwork smiles at her, "I've been waiting to meet you young halfa."
Her eyes widen slightly, "You… were?"
He nods, "I've been watching you for a very long time."
She starts shifting around uncomfortably and Danny decides to save her, "Clockwork is the ghost of time. He watches the past, future and present, as well as alternate timelines in order to keep the balance. He's actually the reason why I'm not a monster."
Her eyes flick to him and he can see the awe in them. He had felt the same way when he first met the ghost.
Turning back to said man he waves his hand, "I assume you know why we're here."
Clockwork nods, an amused smile on his face as he stays silent.
Danny groans, "Are we really doing this? I thought that was a one time thing?"
The older him nods his head, "You must ask your question before I respond to you. I can only see the future, not read your mind."
Sighing he nods, they had this conversation before and he STILL forgets it, "Right, we were wondering if you could tell us about the rumors going around. The ones with the ghost zones edges shrinking?"
The smile turns to a frown as he gestures for them to come closer. As they move he waves his staff to change one of the larger screens into something else. Once they get closer, they start to notice that it looks familiar.
Dani speaks first, "Is that a picture of the ghost zone?"
The time ghost nods, "This is the ghost zone exactly one week ago." He waves his hand and the green circle starts to shrink rapidly, "This is a sped up version of what has been happening since then."
They watch as a good third of the green circle is engulfed in black.
"So the zone is shrinking." Danny leans back, folding his arms over his chest as he thinks about what this means.
Dani floats up a little to get a better look at the screen, "Is this going to keep happening?"
The man stays silent for a moment before waving his hand once more, the green circle continues to get smaller, "Our current path in time will lead to the zone continuing to shrink until it no longer exists. Once this happens, the human world will begin to be affected by it as well."
The two halfa's share a look before looking back at him.
"What's causing this?" Danny can feel his anxiousness rising.
"It's a type of ghost that most won't remember as being real. You see, while ghosts of horror exist, they are often mistaken for demons. This also means that demons are considered unreal to the ghost zone."
Dani puts the pieces together before Danny does, "But demons are real."
The ghost nods, "Demons are very real. A long time ago, before man knew of ghosts, demons walked both plains at their leisure. They did whatever they pleased with both humans and ghosts alike. One day a hero, a ghost with incredible strength unheard of in those times, forced the demons out of the human realm. This however trapped the vile beasts inside the ghost zone, causing havoc among the dead. Realizing that what they had done was only good for half of the realms he stretched his power out, forcing the demons away from the entrances to the human realm creating a 'zone'." The ghost gestures around them, "In doing this however, he could not bring his original form back into being."
Dani lands on the ground and gives him a sad look, "So this hero is dead?"
A shake of his head, "No. While he cannot take his form anymore, he is the ghost zone itself. His power surrounds us at all times. Keeping us safe from the demons on the outside." He shifts to his younger form, "His power has been steadily growing weaker over the years. Because while a ghost can have infinite power, it is only possible if it is not consistently being eaten away at. That is what the demons have been doing."
Danny shakes his head, "Ok, but what can we do about it? Neither of us are that strong, and we hardly leave Amity park."
Clockwork turns to him, his eyes pinning him to the spot that he stands, "But you could be."
Struck speechless he waits for the ghost of time to continue, "Have you ever wondered why stepping into your parents ghost portal gave you ghost DNA when a ghost is simply a dead spirit?"
Danny squirms a little but nods his head, "The thing that made the hero of our past so special and strong was because he was pure ghost. He was created from the collected discarded energy of a multitude of other ghosts, a being made solely of the ghost realm." Clockwork taps his staff against Danny's chest, "And when your parents created a portal, an opening to the other realm, the existing energy that was in its place was fused into your DNA."
Silence takes over the room for a moment as they sit there and think about what they had just heard. He was half ghost because of the ghost zone? He had though he was just half dead.
Dani interrupts his thoughts, "Wait, does that mean Vlad is part ghost zone too?"
Toxic green eyes meet as the implications whirl around them.
"That is correct Danielle. While his methods were unethical, you too share this trait with them both."
She stands wide eyed, staring at the man like her world had just turned upside down. And really who was he to judge he was in the same boat. They weren't half dead, they were half ghost zone? That didn't even make any sense.
He waves his hands in front of his face, "Wait, wait, wait. Does that mean we took power from this random ghost and that's why the zones are shrinking?"
Clockwork shakes his head, "No. the power that was given to both you and Plasmius it was only enough to trigger the transformation. So while it changed your DNA, all of your powers are your own. It's also why you three should feel stronger here than in the human realm."
Momentary panic gone, he tries to make his brain function and process everything. It was a lot to take in.
Dani whisper something seemingly to herself but it shakes him to hear it, "Then we belong here."
This is too much. Searching for his core, he watches as the rings engulf him. Changing him from his ghost half to his human half. Feeling his heart begin to beat again he sits down on the ground and holds his head in his hands, This was a lot to take in and he needed a minute to just… sit.
Dani is soon sitting next to him, she hasn't changed back but he doesn't mind. She preferred her ghost half more than he did. Vaguely he realizes that Clockwork put something soft under them before going back to staring at the screens, ever dutiful in his job as the ghost of all time.
