To be brutally honest, reviewers, I don't think Dark Danny's name is "Dan Phantom". If you got that from the list on the search, that was an abbreviation, I believe. But, he must be called something, and it's better than "Inviso-Bill", is it not? lol.
Read on:
Chapter six:
ClockWork seemed not to be listening. He was at the far corner, tinkering with something. One of his damn clocks, Dark Danny decided.
"Have you listened to a word I've said, Time Master!" yelped the ghostly surrogate. His white fire hair seemed to rage with his anger.
"I have." said ClockWork calmly, though not turning to look at the confessor, "And I've been thinking..."
"Thinking…?" he raised an eyebrow," Of what?"
ClockWork graced Dark Danny with a brief toothy grin as he turned to him, "Your future. Or rather, your past. Of you, and yourself- Vlad's ghost and Danny's. You've got quite the amount of angst, my friend."
Confused, but eased by the world 'my friend', he stood and walked over to ClockWork. (He was a lucky sort of ghost who didn't require a spectra tail to be fast or swift, so he never used one.) "Elaborate."
"Do you regret, Danny?"
Surprised, he said, "No."
"You don't?" said ClockWork. He sounded as if knocked on his side, "Those people you killed? The lives you've destroyed, the havoc-"
"No, no,' said the phantom, raising a hand to stop his friend's rant, "I meant: Do not call me Danny. I no longer have him within me; he died long ago. I have no name, I am just 'The Ghost'."
"Well," began ClockWork," 'The Ghost' is not a fitting title, and neither if 'Phantom' or 'Dark Danny'. You're certainly not evil and dark anymore," the manipulator of time placed a hand on the nameless' shoulder, "Right?"
"You sound unsure. I though I wasn't a monster?"
"No, no, you're not." he said, shaking the hand that was on the ghost's shoulder before. It was then that the confessor realized that ClockWork's other hand stayed hidden behind his back, "I just mean to say that bad habits are the hardest to break. It's one thing to say you are good, but it's another to be."
"Isn't it proof enough that I haven't destroyed you?" he replied, still focusing on ClockWork's hidden hand, "I've told you...my deepest secrets that... that no one knew of... our trances were..." curiosity was beginning to overwhelm him, "You not knowing is the proof...What is behind your back!" he said finally, pointing to his arm.
"Destroying me would have sent chaos into the time stream." said the father of time, ignoring his question.
"Replacements are easy to come by."
"Replacements are born." ClockWork corrected, "I need more proof than that. A lasting friendship is hard to build. I like to believe I'm on the side of good, and cannot be pals with evil."
His full attention was diverted from curiosity, "What else could I do? I'll prove it, but how can I know you're trustworthy as well?"
"I know the perfect way," said ClockWork, "That was just the cue I needed."
From behind his back, ClockWork produced an updated time medallion. Oh, the power was the same, but it was no longer gold and black, but shone with sapphire metal with black effects. The 'C' in 'CW' was the shape of a crescent moon, and the 'W' was the tail of a comet. A little impressed, the nameless inquired, "How will the time medallion help me?"
"Simple. Go back two years."
"Don't you mean twelve?"
ClockWork shook his head, "No. That mark is second on your trip. Trust me, it wouldn't help my plan. There must be you and there must be a Danny. Don't question it," he added quickly when it looked like he was going to interrupt, "Two years ago is your first stop. You will go back the other ten when the time comes. Now sit, we must go over my plan."
The clocks in ClockWork's realm counted off the hours. One hour, two hours, three hours, four. Once, ClockWork stood and said, "No! Listen! This has got to be timed perfectly! No slip-ups, or we could be damaging the time stream! I shall explain again:"
Finally, the nameless ghost said, "I am to go back two years when I first received my ghostly wail...to impersonate Danny and go further back to force him to cheat? What becomes of my twenty four year old self?"
"Hog-tied and gagged behind the Nasty Burger. Check on him once in a while, would you? He could spoil our plans…"
What will this prove! I'll only solidify my future again, but from a different view!"
"No, you won't. Listen, just make sure Danny's friends and family are going to die- Do not hold back! Then, I'll step in and save them, and make sure Danny does not cheat."
"Why must you look like the good guy?"
"Well, you certainly can't look like the good guy! He'll want to become you!"
"Fair enough." he said, stroking the ghostly stubble on his chin, "How are you sure he won't cheat?"
"After meeting his jerky older self, he'll never cheat again. I'll make sure of that as well."
He stared down at the medallion clutched tightly by his leather glove, "What...what will happen to me?"
ClockWork shook his head, "There is where our friendship comes into question. I trust you to change your ways...you trust me to guide you safely back. Do not fret, friend," he continued, "I assure you it will be for the best."
"B-"
"I'll be writing up a little story while you're gone. Make sure you are in front of the Nasty Burger in Danny's form when I instructed. Otherwise, the Observers will know what we are up to, and will have none of it." he sighed and stood, "Now, there is one thing missing from our time paradox."
The nameless blinked, "And that is...?"
"Your name. You appear to be a Bill to me," ClockWork chuckled, which was met with a laugh.
"Not on your death, Time Master!" he said in false anger.
"Alright...Dan. How about that name?"
"Dan?" he said, "Sounds a bit silly...Rorek would have been pretty neat." he thought a moment, then shook his head, "But I like it. Call me Dan from now on, ClockWork, and goodbye. I've got a past to change!"
"Goodbye, Dan. I have an appointment to keep."
"With?"
"A little girl who loves her side salads..."
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"You influenced the boy's choice!"
"In other words: you cheated!"
The Observers' cold voices rang throughout the ghost zone, it seemed. ClockWork smiled as he listened, and nodded, gripping the thermos tightly in his little baby hand, "True, I cheated. But I assure you, his choice was his own."
"You do know the boy is your responsibility now-"
"And so is his evil self, now that he exists outside of time."
"I know, but then again," he morphed into an adult, "I know everything." ClockWork glared at the two eyes, "Now, I have things to do, and I am sure you've got time to observe. So go."
The two drones glided out of the room, still unsure, and left the manipulator of time alone.
They always did. He was nothing but a henchman to those two and the others, nothing more. They didn't give a damn how lonely he became, how much he needed others, they just carried him in to do their dirty work thanks to their oath.
But ClockWork managed to change all of that.
ClockWork placed the thermos on the wooden table. Three consecutive BANGS! rang from the chamber.
"CLOCKWORK! YOU BETRAYED ME! WHEN I BREAK FREE OF THIS DAMN THING-"
"Please, Dan. You can stop now. The Observers are gone."
ClockWork pressed the release button on the canister, and in as white flash, there stood Dark Da-I mean, Dan. His glare was intense, as though it was piercing ClockWork through his heart. (Or whatever was underneath that cloak of his).
"Why am I in the Fenton Thermos?" he asked.
Where else would you be?" ClockWork retorted. "Danny's future is different now, a place you have no place in! You must stay here, beyond time, with me."
Dan blinked, "Why must I be a prisoner?"
"Because the Observers wouldn't appreciate Danny's evil side around where he could so easily cause havoc. No, it's better you remain a 'prisoner'."
"Yes, but did you know-"
"Dan," he interrupted, smiling, "Don't underestimate me. I know everything." he patted thewooden chair by the matching table,"Now sit, I'd like to hear another tid-bit from your life, this confession is far from over..."
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For them it isn't, but for you it is! T.T
All right people, that's the laaast chapter! Or, so it would seem…because I love ya (and because I don't have much confidence in my endings) I did write up an epilogue. Wanna see it? You know the rule! FIVE REVIEWS! :peace sign: Kyon!
Oh, if you have any questions, feel free to review or PM me! See ya later!