Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman! I'm just contributing to a fanbase.

Opened eyes

As Danny opened his eyes he saw golden light coming in from the bedroom window. The covers only resting on his waist down, and he felt chilly. The teen reached down and pulled the blanket up over his shoulders. He closed his eyes again, feeling the desire to go back to sleep. But before he could doze off, there was the sound of the floor creaking and Danny's eyes shot open.

He looked toward the end of the bed and was shocked to see Sam standing there, staring at him with dead eyes. Her eyes were very pale and seemed to drift. Danny gasped softly and sat up; his bare chest exposed. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, the girl still standing there. She just stared off like she was in some trance.

"Sam?" Danny spoke and she didn't reply. But her eyes drifted straight into Danny's. The two made intense eye contact for a moment. Danny began to shake and lunged forward. He wrapped his arms around the girl as she just stood there.

Danny noticed she felt ice cold and let distance separate them as he places his hands on her bare shoulders. She looked at him still, with dead eyes and her mouth slightly parted.

"Sam?...Are you…ok?" Danny's voice sounded small. Sam then suddenly pushed him back and the teen fell with a grunt.

Sam reached down and grabbed a knife from inside her boot. She then jumped onto the bed, straddling Danny. The boy was shaking and shock filled his eyes as Sam raised her armed hand high.

"YOU DID NOTHING!" She screamed while thrusting the knife down into Danny's bare chest, leaving a deep gash. This made him scream in agony and his head was thrown back. She trusted the knife violently again and again into the boys chest, and it was soon covered in crimson blood. It splashing all over the sheets and the girls face. Danny yelled and cried, tears began to run down his cheeks.

"SAM! STOP!" The boy begged but the assault continued.

The raven haired girl yelled out in rage as she kept stabbing the others chest.

"YOU DIDN'T SAVE ANY OF THEM! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" She screamed again and Danny looked up wishing it would end.

Just as he felt he was going to pass out he stare in horror as Sam's eyes began to bleed and blood dripped down her cheeks. Her ears and mouth started to bleed as well and she threw her head back. The girl dropped the knife onto the bloody sheets and Danny lay on the bed with deep stab wounds in his chest, staring up at her. She suddenly screamed bloody murder, so loud it made Danny wince and cover his ears. The scream got louder and louder, her eyes bleeding like a faucet. Her scream lasted several painful moment before she suddenly stopped and kept her head back looking up at the ceiling….

With a crack sound her head exploded in a burst of blood and guts all over Danny's shaking body.

Danny looked in horror as Sam's decapitated body fell forward onto his chest with a splat sound.

"AAAAHHH!" Danny shot up and screamed in terror. Looking dead ahead and screaming as loudly as his voice could go; his blue eyes wide open. Dan's eyes shot open and he jolted up next to the screaming boy. He swiftly wrapped his arms around the teen and shoved him back down onto his pillow. Danny waved his arms around while the ghost held him down. He continued to scream and scream, tears flowing from his eyes.

"DANNY!" Dan's deep voice thundered and sounded as though it could rattle the windows.

The boy suddenly stopped screaming and dropped his arms. His eyes were wide and he now could see the room was dark and he was in bed with Dan's large arms wrapped around his shoulder. Reality slapped him in the face as he realized it was all a nightmare. He began to sob and forcefully pushed the ghost off. Phantom sat up and looked down at Danny with a concerned face. There was a moment of silence between the two besides the sounds of sobbing.

Dan couldn't take it anymore and let his hand drift to the boys cheek. Danny slapped it away and rolled off the bed with a thud. He scrambled to his feet, trying not to trip and fall in the near pitch blackness. The ghost watched as the teen grabbed his pants and slipped them on and then pulled on a shirt as well. The ghost's face turned from concerned to angry when he saw the boy head for the door.

"Danny…" Dan bolted off the bed, all naked and reached to grab the teen's shoulder.

Danny swung around and slapped the ghost clean on the cheek. Phantom gave a shocked face while Danny just stood there.

"Don't touch me!" Danny said with sobs and opened the door slamming it behind him.

The ghost stood in confusion for a moment. He's never seen Danny wake up like this and the behavior was very concerning. It didn't take long for Dan to snap out of shock and phase through the door. He flew down the hall and into the main sitting room, still naked, looking for where the teen had gone. His eyes shifted to the front door and it was wide open. He rushed toward it with furry in his eyes. But as soon as his bare feet touched the cold concrete outside, he stopped.

"He must have had a nightmare. There's no fucking question. And I bet to the Devil that it had something to do with me... Something horrible." Dan stood in the cold wind and his white hair blew off little bits of flame. He stared down the dark street, with a plain look on his face. "I've put him through so much and he's still acting like a baby about it. He's pathetic and weak." Dan thought and looked down at his hands. He briefly saw an illusion of blood covering them as he remembered the time he killed the boys family. "He'll never be like me…Although…he's passed the test of domination. Maybe I should take it a step further."

After a moment of looking down the street and feeling the cold breeze on his bare body he finally turned and went back in the house.

Closing the door with a harsh slam he flew over to the couch and laid down, getting comfortable. The moonlight broke from the cloud cover and shined in the vast room, illuminating Dan's bare body. The ghost rested his hands behind his head and smiled while closing his eyes.

"I suppose it's time for the test of endurance."

Clockwork smiled while observing Danny as the boy walked through ally ways and decrepit streets. The teen wondered and walked in his bare feet till he stopped beside a decayed car and opened the back door. He climbed in the back seat and laid down, curling up and trying to get comfortable while violently shivering.

Clockwork tilted his head in curiosity. He wondered to himself, thinking what Dan had up his sleeve this time.

The time mirror shifted to a scene of Dan resting on the couch. Clockwork let his lips curl into a twisted grin as he noticed the ghosts nakedness. His deep red eyes turned glossy and he shifted to his middle age form.

"I think I need to pay Phantom a visit…I haven't seen him in two week and the loneliness has been bothering me." Clockwork shifted to his child form and he flew threw the time mirror and let it take him to Dan's time.

A blue portal appeared and Clockwork flew through into Dan's living room. His red eyes shifted to the Phantom and he appeared to be sound asleep. The time ghost floated over to the back of the couch and he shifted to his elderly form. The blue ghost leaned over the couch, letting his arms rest on the back.

Clockwork reached down after staring for a moment and creased the other man's cheek with a slender finger. This caused Dan's ghost sense to go off and red mist drifted from his nostrils, but he didn't wake. The phantom tilted his head away from Clockwork. The blue ghost shifted to his adult form and this time brushed his finger tip on the Phantoms nose.

Dan's hand swiftly gripped Clockwork's wrist and held it still. His blood red eyes opened slowly and he looked over at the time ghost who's eyes were glossy.

"I'm sorry, Phantom. I didn't mean to wake you..." Clockwork smiled and seemed to give the other ghost a heated stare. "I couldn't resist but simple touch that pretty face of yours." His voice sounded heated as well.

Dan released the gloved hand and rowed his eyes. This behavior was well known to Phantom when coming from the twisted time master. Clockwork was the type to admire ghosts like Dan. Strong, powerful and excitingly enough, Clockwork couldn't control Dan with his powers due to the fact that the Phantom existed outside of time. This only fascinated Clockwork more. Dan was pretty neutral with the time master and didn't really care that he was twisted in the head.

"What do you want?" Dan grumbled with a grumpy face. He let his legs and arms cross and laid on the cushions of the couch.

Clockwork giggled in an almost lustful way and shifted to his child form. "I wanted to see you. You know I get lonely while being cooped up in that tower all day. You never visit me anymore. Danny has taken up so much of your time. It hurts my feelings…" He sounded pouty now.

Dan snorted and sat up letting his back face the time ghost. Phantom rubbed his face with his hands and sighed. "You sound like an ex wife wanting attention."

"Mm…not quite." Dan chuckled at the time ghosts comment.

"I know you didn't just come here to visit." Phantoms voice darkened.

Clockwork shifted back to his adult form and floated over to sit next to Dan on the couch. His smile could still be visible. Phantom moved a bit so their hips weren't touching. Clockwork let go of his staff and it floated beside him as he pulled his hood down. Dan glanced over at the ghosts short white hair. It seemed to shimmer with silver.

"Remember the good old days when I would wake you up every morning?" The time ghost spoke softly and tilted his head down.

Dan frowned and narrowed his eyes, looking away from the time ghost. "I was younger back then. Not as bright either." Clockwork chuckled.

"And also an absolute brat." Dan didn't laugh but did gift the time ghost with a small smile. "You've grown so much, my child. What happened to that psychotic smile of yours?" No response.

Clockwork let his hand rest on Dan's while it rested in his lap. "You've changed…I can tell." Clockwork leaned over so his lips nearly brushed against Phantoms pointed ear. "You've grown soft…"

Dan's eyes flashed and he grabbed Clockworks wrist and then the other, pushing him to the floor with a thud. Clockwork didn't look surprised, but only smiled with glossy eyes staring back at the Phantom.

"I'm not a kid anymore, old man! I had a whole year to think about life while being stuck in that God forsaken thermos!" Dan's legs straddled the time master. "You really want to know why I left you? Are you curious as to why I gave you that scar?"

Clockwork just gave Dan a frown and looked disappointed.

"I didn't want to live knowing that someone still cared about a monster like me! I DIDN'T DISSERVE IT!" Dan let his voice go and Clockwork winced. "I hated myself for so long because I let someone back in my life. I didn't need to experience heart break again, so I lashed out and left!"

Clockwork still pinned, closed his red eyes in disappointment; turning his head to the side.

"I hated you for loving me for so long…" Dan let go of the time masters wrists. "WHY!?" Phantom lashed out and slapped clockwork, shocking him.

The time ghost laid there for a moment. His face turned away with wide eyes.

After a moment of silence between the two, Dan growled and slapped Clockwork again harder. The time ghost closed his eye and his lips parted slightly. He still didn't say anything.

Dan raised his hand again but this time Clockwork screamed on impact. This shocked Dan, causing him to frown and look surprised. He's never herd Clockwork scream like that. It sounded like the time ghost was about to cry.

Clockwork took his hand and pushed effortlessly on Dan's large chest. "Get off me!" Clockwork yelled and his voice was very serious. Dan looked surprised. "Do as you're told, child!" Phantom swiftly floated off the time ghost. That order was an echoing memory as he's heard the time master say that so many times to him before. Clockwork floated up and gripped his time staff that had been peacefully waiting for its master to take it once again.

"You didn't answer my question…" Phantom narrowed his eyes.

Clockwork floated toward the other ghost and got real close. Dan felt Clockworks tail tickle his legs. "I shouldn't have to…You already know, Phantom." The time ghost raised his gloved hand to Dan's cheek. He came close to his lips. "You've always disserved it, and you're too pig headed to realize it." Dan snarled at the comment and looked to the side, only to have his chin gripped and pulled back. "I loved you because a creation like you shouldn't have to live unloved just because you're angry and afraid. You needed guidance and security, so I let you torment me for 2 years. Consider yourself lucky I didn't turn you in and let the Observants capture you. I did you a favor and gave you something I knew nobody would give you…love, Phantom." Dan gave the time ghost a blank stare as he got closer to his face. This was all taking him back to the memory of when Vlad took him in. "And of course I should have seen it coming…you stabbed me in the back and gave me this scar. It reminds me everyday of what a fool I was." There was a long moment of silence.

Clockwork finally kissed the Phantom and it didn't last long. Dan took a step back. "Well, that was your own damn fault." Phantom scolded and turned away, walking to the hall.

Clockwork followed.

Dan went down to the basement where bodies hung from the ceiling. He walked over to a fridge that was sitting against a wall. Clockwork floated at the top of the stairs and watch the Phantom pull a blood bag out of the container. It didn't have any ice in it and of course it wasn't on because there was no electricity, so the blood was warm but preserved while in the bag.

Dan floated back up the stairs and made his way to the bedroom.

Again, Clockwork followed close behind.

Phantom plunged onto the bed. He sat himself up against the head rest and bit into the bag of blood, letting the bed fluid run down his throat and some dripped down his chin. Clockwork floated in the door way and leaned against his staff with a smile. He watched as the ghost finished the bag and tossed it. He then took his fingers and sucked the stray blood off, making a sucking noise.

Clockworks lustful expression returned and he grinned. "You have no idea how sexy that looks." His voice deep and low.

Dan ignored him and pulled the covers over his head. As the ghost hid under the warm blankets he wondered if Clockwork would leave. He couldn't hear anything and just waited there. He thought about how the time ghost reacted back in the other room. Phantom still refused to believe he ever disserved any love. He was fixed on the idea that he was a monster and couldn't save his soul no matter how much he tried. He was still evil and wasn't about to go save children from burning buildings. He still had the desire to feed off humans and tear them to shreds. He still wanted death and destruction. He still felt the pleasure of delivering chaos.

His train of thought was broken as he felt something crawl under the covers with him.

Dan turned around still submerged under the blanket. He was now on his side looking at Clockworks glowing red eyes in the darkness of the covers.

"Go away." Phantom spoke with a dry tone, almost sounding annoyed.

Clockwork was in his child form. There was a bit of silence between them as Dan just stared at the time ghost. Suddenly Clockwork reached out and places his small hand of Dan's chest. The time ghost scooted close and Dan was a bit surprised at the feeling of his small legs touching his groin. Clockwork snuggled up next to the ghost and purred softly.

"I'm not sleeping with you, Clock-Face. Now get out." Dan spoke unamused and reached behind the ghost to grab his hood. But to Dan's surprise, Clockwork shifted to his middle age form and the coverers were pushed up. "Stop doing that…" Phantom grumbled.

"Aww…look at you, all flushed." Clockwork said while pushing his knee up against Dan's crotch. This indeed made the ghost blush but he shook it off.

"I swear I'm gonna knock your lights out if you don't get out of here."

"You should consider this your payment for keeping the boy." Clockwork narrowed his eyes and Dan gave him a glare.

"…" Phantom opened his mouth but then closed it. He was stuck. Clockwork was right, he got lucky when the time ghost just let him take the kid. But now he figured that watching them wasn't good enough anymore. He wanted more.

"Don't test me, Phantom. I will take the boy away from you and just let you rot in the thermos again. Or perhaps I can leave you in this world, where you have nobody." Clockwork leaned in and kissed Dan on the tip of his nose.

Dan growled and admitted defeat. Clockwork kissed him again and again, his hands roaming over his chest. Phantom pushed the covers off them as the heat was becoming too much. The time ghost's lips moved down to Dan's neck and the Phantom shivered.

Clockwork pulled Phantom over so he could straddle him again. Dan considered this very annoying but went with it, and gave the pervert what he wanted. He leaned down and kissed the time ghost. Clockwork quickly wrapped his hands around the other ghost along with his bare legs. Dan already knew that every time Clockwork formed his legs, they were never covered in pants or shoes.

"Dan…" The time ghost moaned as Phantom worked on his neck. The flaming haired ghost rolled his eyes at the horny time master.

"So pathetic…"

The next morning Danny opened his eyes to the gray light coming into his car windows. He looked up at the ceiling of the vehicle; it was stained with burn marks.

The teen sat up and groaned at his sore back. He stumbled out of the car and stood up straight, cracking his spine. He then looked around and saw a he was in a parking lot. He smelt the air and it was dry and ash floated around his face. The boy then remembered last night.

"Why hasn't he come and got me yet? That's weird." Danny thought to himself. He put his hands in his pockets trying keep them warm. He looked down the cracked road and saw toppled buildings, broken telephone poles, cables hanging from them, cars scattered all down the street. It was all because of Dan. A part of Danny deep down admired the destruction. Although, he was sure he only cared because it must have been a lot of work destroying all of it. But this was only one town, Dan probably spent those 10 years traveling all over the word. Who knows what the rest of the Earth looks like?

"He's worked so hard to achieve such a devastating result. I bet that's why he's so cranky al the time…nobody has ever admired it. But who would? It's hard to look past the destruction and death and see that all of what he does is his passion. Although it's hard for anybody to respect what someone's work so hard for, if it has hurt them…"

Danny felt his chest burn. His head started to pound and his hands clenched in his pockets. "Stupid, selfish humans can't respect all his hard work! All they care about is themselves!"

Just then Danny's mind snapped and he blinked a couple time after his eyes flashed green. He wasn't sure, but he felt like he had passed out for a second.

Danny mentally shrugged it off and started walking down the street. As he walked he was fully alert of his surroundings. His eyes observed all the broken office buildings and cars. Bent or broken stop signs were at each intersection along with non working stop lights. He turned a corner and saw a small mini mart that was the remnants of a gas station that seemed to have blown up.

The front of the mini mart was gone and scorched with the shadows of fire; leaving a gaping hole to look inside. Danny went inside and the racks of food were still standing. The boy mentally cheered and ran over to grab a Twinkie.

He sat there for quite a while, just eating all the bags of chips and sweets he could get his hands on. After he had eaten tree family size bags of Lay's and over a dozen cookies and mine brownies his stomach began to complain. The teen didn't want to stop eating because he wasn't sure if he'd get another chance like this again. So he kept eating and eating. His frustration grew as he felt the urge to vomit. But he told himself he had to keep eating or he'd starve. Sooner then latter his gut clenched and Danny's was forced to bend over as he felt a warm sensation quickly rise in his throat. A sudden burst of red and yellow liquid spewed onto the floor that was littered with empty rappers.

Danny fell to his hands and knees and puked again. Then again and again till he dry heaved. His arms were now shaking and he sat back on his legs. He breathed heavily while trying to realize what happened. The boy shivered as he could taste the after taste of vomit on his tongue. His stomach felt way better but he figured he'd be hungry again later.

Standing up with a shaken pair of legs, Danny grabbed a couple candy bars and stuffed them in the waist line of his jeans. He pulled his shirt over them and couldn't care less as he walked into the vomit while exiting the store.

Now that his feet were covered in vomit, ash and dirt stuck to them like velcro. The teen didn't care and kept walking down the street. Wind blew his hair and he smelt burnt plants and scorched wood. The clouds were still looming overhead, making his little adventure quite depressing.

He came to an intercession and noticed a mail truck toppled over onto the pavement. He then noticed a post office that he decided to go into, just to explore.

The building had a huge, gaping hole where the front entrance would be, and Danny effortlessly hopped in. The sunlight outside shined in through another hole in the ceiling. Danny made his way to the back room where there was a bunch of mail scattered all over the floor. He hopped over the counter and looked around the floor. He stood there looking at all the mail for a few moments in silence.

"Well…it's not like I'm gonna get arrested for looking. I'm sure most of this mail belonged to his victims." Danny thought and sat down criss-cross, and referred to Dan's victims.

After shuffling through a few unopened letters he stumbled on one in particular that looked rather thick. He scooped it up and the return address read "59001 S Montana Ave 1521." Danny hesitantly opened it; sliding his finger along the seal, and it made a 'riiip' sound. Inside was a letter with a bunch of photographs of what looked like family. Danny opened the letter and started reading.

"Hey Manny! We love you and hope you're ok.

The kids have been getting scared from all the news of the attacks. Every now and then we will feel the earth shake and the news just tells us it's earthquakes, but I'm sure it's that flying monster. Sometimes I get nightmares of losing you. And the kids haven't been well in school. Mindy has had three panic attacks in the last week and her teacher informs me that she should stop watching the news. Andrew asked me the other day if we were going to die. Children shouldn't be asking things like that!

I'm scared for the kids and I'm also scared myself. We're too afraid to leave town, and we're too afraid to stay. We love you and hope to see you again for Christmas.

~Love, yours truly Sandra."

Danny frowned and put the letter in his lap and picked up the thick stack of photos. There were images of a mother and her two kids. Some of other people; probably friends. At this moment Danny felt anger boil within his stomach and he threw the photos violently. They flapped in the air and flew to the ground.

The teen took a short moment to collect his thoughts. He then picked up another letter that expressed the same fear. Danny spent a whole hour reading all the family or business letters till almost all the scattered mail was sitting in a pile next to him. Almost every letter had something to do with either a flying monster or a ghost attacking cities and families. Dan had made a name for himself, in fact he was famous.

Danny stood up and stretched his sore legs that had been crossed for so long. He bent over the counter while leaning on his elbows. He closed his eyes and resisted the urge to cry. "He has made the world around him miserable! The human world and the ghost zone. I've let this monster grow on me as a friend and he's poisoned my mind!" Danny slammed his hand against the counter and gritted his teeth. He felt a fire building inside his gut, and told himself that this had gone too far. "I'm going to end this…" The teen transformed, his jumpsuit now covering him for clothes and his hair snow white now covering half his face. "Permanently!" The boy shouted and shot up threw the hole in the roof.

His eyes glowed bright green as he zipped passed buildings. The hero felt his courage coursing through his veins, and his heart raced with the speed of his flight.

"I'm not letting this ghost control me! I don't need my family! I don't need my friends! I don't need anybody! I'll rip him limb from limb after I slowly squeeze the life out of him!" Danny thought to himself while frowning. He was focused and ready for anything. He wanted to make the Phantom pay for all the crap he's put him through.

Danny flew over the neighborhood where Dan's large house sat at the end of a cul-de-sac. He slowed his speed to a complete stop and stared down at the property. It was still, like Danny's heart right now. What he was about to do might drain him so much that if it doesn't kill Dan on impact the older ghost might come after him. Danny had to calm himself and just think this through. "A blind attack is just as useless as it's actor." At least Danny had gained some knowledge from playing chess with Vlad.

He had to surprise the Phantom. Then again he might not be in the house at all. It would be a logical idea that he would be out looking for him. Danny wanted to make sure that his plan would work and turned invisible; flying toward the roof of the house. His head dipped in through the roof top, and he looked upside-down at the attic. Just a bunch of stuff and cobwebs.

He flew down further and found himself in the large living room. He then tried flying back up and to his surprise, he could. Danny thought for a moment. "When did he take the barrier down?"

The teen didn't want to think on it too much and flew down to the hall, still invisible. He made his way through every room and Dan was nowhere to be seen. Danny then phased into the bedroom, the last room he hadn't checked.

The hero covered his mouth and held in his gasp to what his eyes were seeing. Dan was laying in the bed on his back naked, while Clockwork was hugging his chest…also naked. Danny bit his tongue and did everything to not make a sound. But the teen's eyes flicked at Dan's face as he noticed a red mist escape his nose. This made the ghost boy sweat because now Dan knew he was here.

Phantom grumbled in his sleep and turned over on to side, now facing away from Clockwork. The time ghost moved up and spooned the other ghosts back. Danny was still invisible, standing by the door, shaking, sweating and in total and utter shock.

"What in all things holy! Shit, fucking Christ! What the actual fuck am I looking at?!" Danny thought to himself and tried to slowly float backwards out of the room. But then stopped and grinned. "Asleep… and unaware? This could be my chance! I'll take care of two birds with one stone."

Danny raised his hands and let himself turn visible. "Hey!" He shouted and Dan and Clockwork's eyes both flicked open. "Freeze!" Danny shot ice out of his hands before either of the ghosts could react. He held on, and kept blasting the two with ice. Blue crystals grew swiftly over the ghosts and the bed. Danny's eyes flashed bright blue and the room suddenly turned to winter as the walls, ceiling and floor grew a layer of frost. There were snow flakes now floating around the room and the windows were tinted white. The teen stopped and dropped his hands, breathing heavily. The air in the room was like a meat freezer and Danny noticed his own breath. He's never done something like this before.

The hero walked over to the end of the bed and stared at the imprisoned ghosts that were frozen in place. This was pretty incredible to him. He underestimated his abilities.

Danny suddenly jumped at a crack sound. There was another and another. Then a pause…Danny took a step back as his heart began to thump.

Silence…

Then out of nowhere the ice broke in a million pieces and flames shot toward Danny and the build up of air pleasure caused him to shoot out the door. He landed with a thud on the wall of the hall way, while the bedroom door rested behind him. Danny opened his eyes in a panic and got up and ran as flames swiftly shot out into the hall. He picked his feet up and formed his tail, flying up through the roof and into the air. He stopped after about a hundred feet away from the house and waited while his heart thumped in his chest.

"What was that!?"

There was a sudden burst of flames that came through the roof and wood pieces shot off into the air. Danny crossed his arms over his face to protect himself. Dan was flying full speed up toward Danny and surprised him after appearing from the smoke. The hero gasped as Dan gripped the boys neck and threw him downward, then swiftly kicked him with both feet, sending him to the Earth.

On impact with the cement, there was an explosion of concrete. Flying debris crashed into cars and other houses. Danny opened his eyes weakly and gasped again as he saw the monstrous ghost flying straight toward him with lightning speed. Before Danny could get up Dan landed on the teen's chest with his bare feet. Danny gasped and felt a crack in his chest. The Phantom then reached down and grabbed the boy by the hair. He didn't take anytime to swiftly throw the teen over at a car.

Phantom stopped and waited.

Danny wobbly stood up and held his side from a sharp pain in his ribs. He gritted his teeth and looked over at Dan. The other ghost waited till Danny was about to attack to finally charge and hit the hero in the gut. The two fell to the ground and Dan straddled the boy to the ground. He threw punch after punch, hitting the teen in the face, neck, chest. Each blow left Danny breathless and the smaller Phantom tried to fight back. He kicked up his legs effortlessly. Dan lifted his fist high one last time before Danny caught it.

Dan growled as the teen fault back the strength of his arm. The larger Phantom inhaled and Danny's eyes opened with shock. He quickly inhaled as well and both Phantom simultaneously let their ghostly whales erupt. At such a close range Dan was flung off and Danny's ears were left ringing.

Dan landed with a huge bang onto a roof of a house across the street; falling inside the house, disappearing from sight. For several moments Danny was in a daze and his ears were ringing like a bomb had exploded onto his face.

Silence had filled the street and all that could be heard was the sound of the wind.

The teen sat up holding his head in pain and cried out as his ears felt like they were bleeding. He felt dread as he screamed but couldn't hear himself! He clapped his hands together and there was nothing but silence. Danny's eyes began to tear up. "Why can't I hear anything!?"

Suddenly, Dan burst out of the front wall of the house he crashed into and walked toward the teen. He looked darkly over at Danny who was holding the sides of his head, crying. Dan walked over to the boy and picked him up by the hair again. The hero struggled while tears slid down his cheeks. He surprised Dan as he transformed back into his human self and his purple shirt and jeans were now covering him. His baby blue eyes cried even more and Dan put the boy down seeing he wasn't a threat anymore.

"Stop crying!" Phantom kicked the teen in the stomach and he toppled over onto his back. Danny kept crying, not knowing what the ghost wanted.

Dan sighed after listening to the kid cry for about a minute. "Danny! Why did you attack me!?"

No response. Danny sat on his knees at Dan's feet, covering his face while crying.

The Phantom growled and picked the boy up and held him from under his arms like a toddler. "Tell me!" Dan shouted and the teen opened his eyes. He was both sad and relived that he couldn't hear that voice anymore. Danny just stared back at Dan with tears running down his cheeks. The ghost softened his expression and tried a different tactic.

"Danny…I'm not going to hurt you, just tell me why you attacked me." Dan said in a soft tone, and Danny noticed the Phantoms softer expression. The boy just hung there, staring at the man.

Dan still didn't seem to understand when suddenly Danny opened his mouth. "I can't…hear…anything you're saying…" His words were slightly slurred from lack of hearing his own voice. Phantom's eyes widened and he put Danny down.

"Holy shit…"

Danny began to cry and Dan felt a wave of amazement. He could hardly believe what Danny's was telling him. The ghost was surprised by the feeling of arms wrapping around his chest. Dan hugged the boy back.

"You might want to put some clothes on." Dan turned to see Clockwork sitting on top of a telephone pole, all dressed. "Although, seeing you fight nude is an absolute joy." The time ghost giggled while shifting to his child form.

Dan gave a glare, "The kid just lost his hearing! You think this is a joke?!"

"Don't worry! His hearing will return in three days, 32 minutes and 18 seconds. All he needs is a warm bed and plenty of quiet rest."

Phantom looked back down at Danny who had fallen to his knees again, still crying. Dan felt the urge to mother the child now; seeing he was pretty vulnerable without his hearing. Anything could sneak up on him if he wasn't aware. He was sort of responsible after all.

"Your outburst has left your house with a giant hole in it." Clockwork floated down to the ground and came up to Dan, "You wouldn't happen to have a second place to live?"

Bright blue rings rose over Dan's body and his jumpsuit was now covering him again. "Yeah. But it's a couple states away. You think you can fly that far?" Dan looked over at the time ghost.

"I think I'll return to my tower and watch. I've been away long enough…I'm sure the Observants have wondered where I've gone." There was a tint of agitation in the time masters deep voice. He floated down and came over to the others.

Phantom chuckled. "You sill slaving over those one-eyed freaks?"

Clockwork gave off a small smile. "Sadly." The time ghost came close to the other ghost and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Stay safe, my child." Clockwork said softly before floating back and teleporting to his time tower. Dan watched as the blue clock hand shrunk and disappeared.

Dan sighed and turned around, his back facing Danny. "Hop on my back." Dan waited for a short moment and then remembered. The whole "I can't here anything" was going to take some getting used to. He turned his head, looking over his shoulder and made eye contact with the deft teenager. The ghost gestured his hand for Danny to climb on his back and the boy did. He wrapped his small arms around the ghosts big shoulders and Dan held his thighs. Phantom then flew up into the air and headed in a direction with full speed.

Clockwork watched as the two flew through the air. He smiled. "All is going according to plan. In time, Daniel will open his heart to the darkness that slumbers within him. And Phantom will realize that his love for the boy is all too real. All I have to do is walk the path, do my part and watch as all the pieces fall into place."

The time master sighed and let his time mirror go blank. He floated over to the stairwell and rose up to his bedroom.

In the bedroom there was a large four post bed the corner of the room, and a wardrobe sat in the other corner beside it. Clockwork opened the wardrobe and there was a shelf where a cracked, dented thermos sat peacefully. He picked it up and frowned.

"I should never have let you get trapped, my child." Clockwork floated over to his bed and laid down holding the dented container close to his chest. He shifted to his child form. "I should have saved you…Your imprisonment was all but my fault." The time child turned over onto his side and hugged the thermos close to his cheek. "I should have done something…I should have killed the Observants." Clockwork began to sob. "Forgive me…my child…please."

Tears flowed from the time masters eyes and his sobs turned to crying.

"I'm sorry…I wasn't there for you."

Thanks again for reading my story! Next chapter will be up soon!