Insomniac Dormouse: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I hope you enjoy the upcoming segment just as much. :)

Anne Camp: You'll have to wait and see!

Rhonin Magus: Yes. Yes she was. 100%.

Zer Author: It was a little anticlimactic, but I really wanted to match the story to the original myth, and just tell it from Neti's point of view. In the original myth she made a few preparations in case things went sideways, but Danny would have no way of seeing those, and they weren't really important for what I wanted to do. So... Yes. Stupid and arrogant.

neokid93: The story will answer most of those questions, I think. Eventually. With the journey to the core, he almost completed the Rite of Ascension. But not being able to move sort of prevents him from actually finishing the last bit.

ID's Fantasy: Thank you! :)

Eve of Dragons: That's a fast read-through! I don't know that I could do that. :) Also, your comment was really funny to me, because when I first read it, I had just finished writing that scene. It'll be a while before you guys get to see it, though!

fictionaddiction1: You'll have to read to find out. The 'battle' was sort of aniclimactic, but I kind of wanted it to be, to stay in-line with the original myth.

PhantomJedi240: She's not really a goddess of the GZ. She's still human. She's just a very powerful human.

heidinicolelli: Thank you! It's always great to find someone with the same headcanons. :)

Jerichoyuy: You read fast! I'm really glad you're enjoying this fic. It is my intention to finish it, eventually. After I've milked all the plotlines I possibly can from it. You know how it is.

BlackCat: Thanks! As for what Clockwork knows... Well, you've read Grandfather Clocks. You know my version of Clockwork is just a little bit of a disaster.

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Chapter 174: Nomination

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The identity of the next King of All Ghosts was, apparently, a point of some contention.

"I think we ought to invite Shihou-" started Neith.

"He was a monkey in life!" protested Nisaba. "Barely intelligent at all! How could we trust him?"

"Some do not even have a life," said Neith, "and at least he can fight."

"Not well enough to defeat me."

"Hah! As if your choice can do any better-"

"It is obvious we should choose Wesir," opined Nu. "He is the only one who has traveled enough to know the people."

"Oh? And what would you call my sister, then?" asked Nephthys, archly. "He has dragged her everywhere he has gone, and she is at least as clever and strong as that spineless, di-"

"What we really need is a visionary," started Nocturne-who-was-currently-Zaqar. "Wesir cannot do it, anyway. He is still a Judge, remember?"

"Judges are social conventions," said Nu. "There is no rule saying a Judge cannot be king."

"There should be."

"We need someone who can make borders mean something around here," said Nergal, "and stop all this drifting. Someone with a strong mind, who will not bow to every vision that comes to him in the dark of sleep."

"Did you have someone in mind?"

"Kingu."

"Never!"

"Do you want to return us to the reign of Ti-Amat?!"

"Enough!" shouted Ereshkigal. The Ancients quieted. "Lord Heh, you have been quiet, do you have anything to say?"

"I think," said Clockwork, "we must also consider who is likely to agree to take up the burden of throne and crown, not only who is capable and suitable."

There was muttering.

Ereshkigal's voice cut through the noise. "You have a suggestion?"

"I believe Enki would make a good choice."

"The one who spawned that?" demanded Nergal with a finger pointed at Inanna's prone form. "Even her choice would be better," he said, turning his accusatory finger towards Nisaba, "and she just wants her lover on the throne!"

The other Ancients were more contemplative.

"He is powerful," admitted Neith, "and he makes an effort to be fair, I suppose. He does not cling to power, or its appearance, at the expense of more important things."

"There is the overshadowing to consider. The possessions."

"Humans have different standards," said Zaqar. "They invited him, too. Some of them consider him to be something like a god. So."

"How do you know that?"

"The things humans dream of would startle you. They are all insane, you know."

"He will not do it, though. He will not take the crown," said Nephthys. "Not after we dispose of her properly." She nodded toward where Inanna lay. "He might have done his best to discourage her, but the first of her weapons came from him. He looks too closely after his descendants."

"Which is why we did not kill her outright," explained Clockwork.

"Oh," said Neith, in a tone of enlightenment, "a hostage."

"Is that really necessary?" asked Nisaba, sounding tired.

"Not if you'd consider Shihou-"

"Do you remember the last time we put an animal over us? Hm? And that was a tiger, not a monkey."

"I think that was part of the problem."

"I like Enki," said Nu. "He is a little indulgent with his relatives, but, surely, that can be managed. Unlike Kingu. I will admit the man can fight, and command an army, but there is much more to being king than that."

"Not much," said Nergal, sullenly.

"Much," said Ereshkigal. "We are not taken with the man, even if you are. What service has he done us? Where were his armies, when we had need of them? We would call for Bilulu to rise to the occasion, had she survived. In fact, what of that one? He has done more than most you put forward." Ereshkigal was pointing at Danny.

The Ancients turned. Danny got the impression that many of them had forgotten that he was there, which was reasonable. He wasn't exactly contributing to the conversation. He had sort of been hoping that Clockwork would come and pick him up and take him home, though, and he was now feeling somewhat neglected and under-appreciated. He'd worked hard, to take away Inanna's weapons, and they were doing weird things inside him. A little consideration wasn't too much to ask for, was it?

Then, what he was now beginning to be considered for caught up with him, and he wailed internally. He couldn't be king. Not of the Infinite Realms, not of a single Realm, not even of the Homecoming Court at Casper High! He was sixteen, wildly irresponsible, and not terribly well-educated or intelligent.

Hush. You are perfect. A little new, perhaps, but time will take care of that.

Not comforting. He didn't belong here. He wanted to go home.

"Him? He cannot even stand at your threshold," said Neith.

"No," said Nephthys, contemplatively, "but he is there, even so, isn't he?"

"Too young," said Nisaba. "I will agree he must have some power to be here, but he is far too young. What is he even doing here?"

"Distracting our unwanted visitor," said Ereshkigal.

"I thought Bilulu had done that, and her sons," said Nergal.

"Bilulu would not have had even the opportunity to do so, if not for Neti, here."

This garnered some more interest. Nergal growled. "Better even Enki, than some half-king who cannot complete the Rite of Ascension. Better yet, neither of them. This is sheer madness!"

"Say," said Nisaba, suddenly, "Nergal, didn't you have a fight with Enki, that one time? During the Steam Pass?" A wicked smile graced the Ancient's lips. "I do not think you have any room to talk about Enki at all."

Nergal threw up his hands. "Seth, then, young as he is! He has the gift of leadership."

"A thought, sure," said Nisaba. "But let us wait on him until next time. I do not think he is yet ripe."

"We do not go through kings nearly that quickly."

"But quickly enough."

"Bah! If Seth is not 'ripe,' then neither is this youngster, no matter how virtuous his defense of our home. I say, no. I shall not allow it."

"Neither do I," agreed Nisaba. Danny relaxed marginally.

Nephthys, who had been examining Danny quizzically, shook her head. "With all respect, Ereshkigal, I have never seen this child. I know not his character well enough to put him under a crown. Where is he from?"

Ereshkigal shrugged. "The question is better when not where." She was looking at Danny. "A gift for you, then, in return for faithful service. Clockwork." She said the last in English. Clockwork actually jumped a little. Ereshkigal smiled. "I do enjoy it," she said, quietly, "when the interesting ones are not mad." She gave Clockwork a significant look. "Go on, then."

Clockwork looked at Danny. He didn't blink.

Clockwork looked back at Ereshkigal.

"He has your eyes," said Ereshkigal.

Clockwork's eyebrows, on both of his layers, went up. On one layer, the unfamiliar one, he hid his surprise quickly. On the other, he did not.

"First," he said, his eyes back on Danny, even though he was speaking to the other Ancients, "can we be in agreement about Enki?"

"That he will be our next king?" asked Nephthys. "Yes, I think so, even if I doubt he will last for very long."

"Not that he will tell us, either way," said Nisaba, sighing. "The Master of Time keeps his own council. Still, I will allow that Enki is an acceptable choice.

The other Ancients agreed one by one, set up a meeting of the Council of Ancients at a later date to make it official, and then left. Neith took charge of Inanna. The edges of of the hall were starting to blur and deform. Danny wasn't sure if that was because he was because the hall was starting to come apart now that it wasn't needed, or if it was because Danny's vision was blurring. He hadn't been able to blink for a while, and maybe he might have been edging into being upset and angry enough to cry. Being paralyzed and left to lie on the floor for the better part of an hour apparently could do that to a person.

Danny was tired of feeling helpless. He was tired of being forced into situations he didn't want to touch with a ten-foot pole.

Clockwork was still watching him.

It was probably just that Clockwork hadn't been expecting to see Danny for another few thousand years. Probably. This Clockwork, Lord Heh, wasn't a Clockwork who knew Danny, anyway. Clockwork probably wasn't even sure that Danny's timeline was the one that would come to pass, and was viewing him as a potential paradox. He probably didn't want to get attached to someone who might wind up not existing. Danny was essentially a stranger to this Clockwork.

Still. This was becoming hurtful. No, it was hurtful. No 'becoming' about it.

Finally, Clockwork glided forward, bent over, and picked him up.

It was a somewhat awkward hold, and the way Clockwork was layered made the whole thing rather confusing to Danny, but he was no longer on the ground. On the other hand, Clockwork didn't offer any comforting words, like he usually would, or warn Danny that he was going to be picked up. In fact, he hadn't said anything at all.

Danny was suddenly struck by how careful Clockwork must usually be around him, by how Clockwork must work keep this dark, ruthless part of himself hidden, this part of him which would take hostages, and coldly asses the method by which Inanna would be destroyed. This part of himself, which was born of his many long years of service, near-slavery, and alienation. This part, which, by necessity, must be very large indeed.

Danny was glad, because this part of Clockwork was scary, and maybe just a little mean. He was sad, because it meant that Clockwork didn't trust him enough to act normally around him. He was glad, because it meant that Clockwork liked him enough to do something that must be so hard. He was sad, because it meant that he didn't know Clockwork as well as he thought he had. He was glad, because it meant that he was getting to know Clockwork better.

He had mixed feelings.

"Several thousand years, hm?" said Ereshkigal. "We will be waiting for you, little Neti. Be warned, I think I shall snatch you up as soon as you appear on my borders, and keep you for myself."

Wow. Okay. Well.

Even if he had been able to move, he would have had no idea how to respond to that. He wasn't even entirely sure what it meant. He'd done far more than appear on the borders of the Infinite Realms in the future, and he didn't feel like he'd been snatched up. Maybe she meant when he returned to the future?

(Danny wondered if he'd ever really understand time travel.)

For that matter, he wasn't entirely sure if Ereshkigal's earlier statement had about gifts and faithful service had been directed at him, or Clockwork, or what, if anything was being given. Him? Clockwork? A way back to his proper time?

Ereshkigal, Danny realized, was in many ways a perfect example of a ghost. Possessive, mysterious, terrifying, and not overly given to logic.

Ereshkigal's face split in a grin. "Ha! You will do a good job on this one, Clockwork. But this is perfectly logical. You will see. It may take thousands of years, but you will see."

With Ereshkigal's last word, the illusion, or whatever it had been, of the hall collapsed into bright green mist. Ereshkigal's avatar was nowhere to be seen. It was just Clockwork and Danny.

Clockwork started flying. Danny started to be able to move and twitch, and even breathe. Not very much, but it was an improvement. He still wasn't getting any oxygen into his body, but breathing could bring ectoplasm in, as well. Not that his body really needed more ectoplasm right now. There was plenty of it for him to absorb, here.

Danny adjusted himself just slightly, snuggling closer to Clockwork.

This wasn't really his Clockwork. This Clockwork was, he reminded himself, several thousand years younger than his Clockwork, even if he was only counting time objectively, not subjectively. Subjectively was a probably a lot longer. And even a ghost would change a lot in that time. Even so, Danny needed even hollow comforts right now, and this Clockwork couldn't be that bad if he had turned into Danny's Clockwork. (… If he was going to turn into Danny's Clockwork? Time travel made tenses weird.)

Almost, he was comfortable enough to relax. Actually, he did relax, incrementally.

That was when Nephthys and two of the other Ancients ambushed them.