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Plushiemon- gift 2 of 3. Sad, huh? Sorry I'm late…

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8. As Time Passes

Fern continued to stare at the glass chamber, her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed into some deep, concentrating expression. Johannes walked up to her and gave her the clipboard again, yawning. The woman cast him a warning look before reading over the data, her eyes widening with surprise. She pointed to the paper before opening her mouth with surprise. No words came out, however. The scientist rubbed his hands together nervously, suppressing yet another yawn. "So… what do you think?"

Fern's mouth curled into an evil smile. "It's better than I could have ever hoped for. Sure, it might not be the key to the city, but it's very close to it. You're telling me that this specimen is an actual ghost from the city?"

"Judging by all the high concentrations of ectoplasm in her system and from the water sample we took a couple of days ago from inside her test tube, I'm guessing we're looking at a very powerful specimen right here." Johannes gave Fern a hopeful smile. "Maybe this is what we've been looking for all our days of studying. This could very well be the key for all we know."

The woman shook her head in a firm manner. She knew this couldn't have been the key to the city. All the researching that had been done all led back to the fact that the key was another ghostly entity that had white hair and emerald eyes. But she had never seen such a being of that power, nor had anyone else. It was going to be a very difficult journey to find this ghost.

But she wasn't going to be the one going on it.

Fern handed Johannes back the clipboard and gave a shadow of her old smile. "Well, we're going to have to find the key to the city and bring our friend here back to where she once lived, aren't we?"

He blinked. "You mean, you don't plan on using it in battle?"

"Oh, I do," she replied matter-of-factly, pointing her finger out the window. "I plan on showing every country in this world that we Germans are far more superior than the Americans, the Russians, or anyone else for that matter. And in order to do that, I need to get this ghost into the battlefield. The only problem is- how should we do it? Is it still in its dormant stage?"

He nodded. "It still is dormant, yes. As far as we can tell right now, at least. Maybe it woke up and it is not indicating on our sensors, ma'am." He knew Fern wanted practically every single detail about this experiment, or he'd get thrown into prison for conspiracy and such. And right now, things were not looking so good in the way of actual data on the creature. Johannes really had no idea how long it would be until the ghost really awakened.

Sighing and nodding to the man next to her, she signaled to him that he could leave. He hurriedly took the clipboard and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving the woman alone with her "project." Fern stared at the ghost and remembered the name of the creature in which they had found- Zephyr. Project Z.

Project Zephyr- the Germans' greatest achievement… and soon to be their greatest failure.

Danny jerked his hand away from Plasmius in the lab, his eyes blazing. "What was that for?! I thought you hated me with every fiber of your being!"

The bachelor snorted, crossing is arms and studying the boy intently. "I still do, Daniel. But I thought it would be best if I finished you myself and not a bunch of bumbling baboons who don't have a legitimate reason for being here with a warrant!" His hand began to glow with a tinge of magenta. "And not like you care or anything, but that bill was to protect you from those idiots! Not from me, of course…"

The teenager morphed into his ghostly counterpart, his eyes changing from their normal sky-blue color to ones of emerald green, always filled with determination. His hands began to seemingly breathe with green energy, his body poised for a battle. "If you're going to destroy me, you may as well do it now, mayor," he spat out. "I know how much joy you take out of causing me pain and misery."

"You and I have known each other for too long, dear boy," Plasmius replied, venom dripping from the words. "If you so desire pain and misery, I can and will deliver it!" With this, he shot a powerful ghost ray in the teenager's direction, his eyes blazing with fury at Phantom's remark.

"Time out."

Right before the blast was about to hit Phantom's ghost shield, the scene paused. Clockwork floated into the scene from the portal and held not only his staff, but also four time medallions. He floated over to Phantom and placed one around his neck. The teen took a deep breath and kept the shield up before putting it down in confusion and looking at the scene around him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Clockwork and gasped for a second. "Clockwork? What are you…?"

The master of time shook his head and beckoned to him. "There isn't much time left," he admitted to the confused Phantom and floated up the stairs. "I'm afraid there are some dire times ahead for all of us if you don't succeed on this quest."

"Can you explain?"

Clockwork looked at him and shook his head. "Not right now. I cannot say much about what you must do, but I will explain more to you as time passes."

Phantom growled in exasperation. "So I can't know anything right now! Is that what you're telling me?!"

The ghost closed his eyes and turned around, his shape shifting from that of middle-aged man to one of older status, beginning to walk up the stairs. "You and your friends are the only ones I can trust with this duty as of right now. And if you are not careful, this world may be destroyed because of your recklessness."

The teenager stopped in his place and stared at the ghost. He had never heard the ghost sound this serious before. Then again, Clockwork was known for always throwing in slight lies at times. It was in his nature. Slumping his shoulders, he morphed back into his human form and sighed in exasperation. "Right. What's going on here?"

"Have you ever heard of the City of Phantoms?"

Danny blinked. This had to be some sort of coincidence of fate. "What does it matter to you?"

Clockwork shifted form into that of a young child. "I'm asking this because it pertains to this time stream and perhaps many other streams. Now, have you heard of it?"

"Well, yeah. I've heard of it."

Clockwork floated over to where Jazz stood at the end of the stairs and looked at Danny. "They say there is a key that will perhaps open the door to the city in the ghost zone. Legend says that whoever will possess this key will have nearly limitless power over all their friends and foes. It can be both a good weapon and a bad weapon."

The teenager grinned. "Well, there's my final project right there."

"I'm afraid it's not as easy as it sounds.," the ghost replied, keeping his voice even. "People are after the key as we speak."

Danny blinked. "Like the Guys In White?"

Clockwork slipped the time medallion around Jazz's neck and nodded, watching the girl come to her senses as best as she could. "Yes, indeed."

The female looked at Clockwork and nearly screamed, but Danny grabbed her arm and gave her a look. She tried to take a slow deep breath and calm herself down. "Who is he, and what am I wearing?!"

The teen tried to calm her down even more. "Jazz, Clockwork is the master of all time. He's on our side… most of the time."

Clockwork gave a wry smile before continuing. "Yes, the Guys In White are seeking out the key, and they believe they may have found it. With their technology, they are certain that it is your ghostly half- Phantom."

"Ph-Phantom?!" Danny managed to stutter out. "You're kidding!"

Jazz's eyes widened. "Is that even true?! Is Danny's ghostly half really the key to this so called city?"

The ghost merely gave a mysterious look at Jazz before continuing. "Indeed, it is not really known if this is true. Only a select few people- and ghosts- have recognized this truth, myself being one of them." He took both siblings by the shoulder and phased them through the door, raising his staff and opening another portal.

He gestured them inside, Danny looked at Jazz, who practically froze on the spot. He grabbed her hand, and they went through together, suddenly ending up inside Sam's room, where she was just about to call someone.

Clockwork placed a time medallion around her neck and stood back as Sam nearly finished typing in a number. She looked up in surprise and saw the trio standing there. She blinked and put her phone down, looking at the medallion around her neck. "Danny? Jazz? Clockwork? What's going on?"

The ghost put a finger to his lips and gave Sam a grave sort of look. "I'm running out of time. We must find Tucker. I think he has been in Arizona for a bit too long."

"You can't just pull him out of thin air!" Jazz countered, looking confused.

Danny snorted. "You'd be surprised what he can do, Jazz."

The ghost said nothing, merely opening a portal and gesturing the little team through. Sighing, Danny followed and led the girls right through. A short moment later, Danny stepped into Tucker's hotel room and blinked in the daylight the shone through the windows. Tucker lay on the bed and slept peacefully as Clockwork slowly placed a medallion around his neck as well. Suddenly, there was a loud and peaceful sort of snoring heard, and Danny gave a quiet laugh. Clockwork sighed and motioned to Danny. "Wake him up for me, please."

Nodding, the male teenager suddenly pushed Tucker over and pulled the sheets off his body. Yelping, the African shot up out of bed and saw his friends standing them, giving him an amused look. He backed up and hit the bed head, blinking in surprise and pointing to Clockwork. "What's he doing here?!"

The ghost merely shook his head and floated into the family room, waving his staff and opening another portal. "Let's go."

"But my parents!" Tucker wailed.

"They will be fine," Clockwork assured him, pointing his staff back to Tucker's bed. "I have made sure of it."

Through the portal they stepped once again, and the group was back in Amity Park, Plasmius's ghost ray still in place. Danny gave Clockwork a stare. "Can I get an explanation now, please?"

He nodded. "Danny, the City of Phantoms you are researching- it exists."

The group of teenagers looked at each other in stunned surprise. It actually existed? How could this have been true?! Sam gave the ghost a blank look. "It exists? But why doesn't anyone know about it?"

"Some people do now," Clockwork replied quietly.

"The Guys In White," Danny suddenly blurted out, a bitter tone in his words.

The time master gave no response and merely continued with his words. "They say that a key exists to open the door to the city- but it's not a physical key, like one you would use to go inside your house. No, it's a human key to unlock the door."

He turned to Danny, who pointed to himself with a dawning realization and watched Clockwork slowly nodded his head. "You've figured it out."

It didn't take a word for Danny to explain what had happened. Each person in the room knew it as soon as he pointed to himself. Jazz looked at the ghost. "What are we supposed to do?"

"There is another person in a different dimension that is also looking for the same thing the Guys In White are searching for- Phantom." Clockwork's face was still blank. "I want to make sure that this person finds you first, and not them."

Danny's face contorted into something that looked like hateful anger. "Then I'm doomed either way!"

Clockwork shook his head. "No, you're not. The person who is trying to find you is good- he has a huge heart and wants to make sure that this 'prize' of his isn't damaged. He's in a completely different time stream and timeline, unfortunately, and he has no idea who you are. However, he is working to find the key."

"Why?" Tucker asked, looking sleepily interested.

"I won't say, but he seen a lot. Danny, this person has the same amount of a hero in himself as you have in yourself." His lips curled into a small grin. "You two will make it pretty far together."

Danny crossed his arms. "So, what is going to happen while I'm in this different time stream?"

Clockwork merely looked at the other three. "You must make sure that it is not found out that Danny has gone somewhere else. Discover all you can about the city in this time period." He looked at the angered face of Plasmius and gave Jazz a sort of look with a twinkle in his eye. She felt odd for a moment before he continued talking. "I must warn you, key to the city- things will change. There will be things you will know, and things you may have to relearn."

"Relearn? What do you mean by that?"

The time ghost merely shook his head. "I cannot say right now. And I will tell you this…" He pointed to each teen with his staff. "Only the three of you know about Danny's real identity as the key to the city. No one else knows. And by no one, I mean no one. Not the person in the time stream, not the Guys In White- only you know." He sighed. "You must not tell anyone."

"Not even this guy I'm meeting?!" Danny questioned incredulously.

Clockwork gave him a stern look. "I told you, no one. I know it will be hard, and you will have temptation along the way, but you must resist. And knowing you, following the rules wasn't one of your strong suits. But you must do it."

Danny grimaced.

"I'm afraid we're almost out of time. Say your goodbyes to your friends and come with me through the portal- you'll have to take a special one to get to the new time stream."

Jazz gave Danny one final hug. "Be good, Danny. And don't do anything stupid."

He shrugged. "Can't promise anything."

Tucker clapped him on the shoulder. "If anyone can save the world, it's you, dude," he managed to get out before stifling a yawn. "And we all know you can do it."

Danny smirked. "I try. I really do."

He turned to Sam and saw her just staring at him, a strange look in her eyes. There was silence between everyone until Clockwork cleared his throat. She looked away for a moment. "I'll see you again," she mumbled, more trying to convince herself than she was anyone else. "I know I'll see you again, right?"

"Come on, Sam," he told her. "I'll be fine!"

The Goth smiled, her demeanor returning slightly. "I know you will. I'm just… I'm just a little worried about you."

Clockwork cleared his throat again. It was time to leave.

Danny smiled and looked at the portal, taking one last glance at all his friends and family. He glanced at Clockwork and took a deep breath. "I hope I'm ready for this."

And as the portal closed and time resumed, the other three teens could have sworn they heard Clockwork give a slight chuckle at this. They didn't know everything- but he did.

Guess what happens next chapter? Yep. THAT happens. And I have another darn plot bunny running through my head. My newest one-shot in my collection shows it. Trust me- it's really weird…

Fan art! http: / / DreamhazeMaster. deviantart. com/ art/ Indiana- Jones- CoP- Revisited- 89387567

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