Still stuck. Me likey where this is going. I'm going to keep writing it until I get more reviews for 'SASTSS'. XP

I like to think that Clockwork doesn't really need his staff to manipulate time (etc), he just has it for show. But he's had it around so much over the centuries that his ectoplasmic, time controlling signature has sort of seeped into it so anyone who, say, knicked it from him could still use it for a short period of, uh, time. Just a little insight that may be important to the essence of this chapter.

Four: Saved

"Like living brimstone I will!" Danny leaped backwards at the same moment that Skulker fired his weapon. The blast hit Danny in the chest, ripped a nice sized hole in his shirt, sprayed blood everywhere, and sent the boy flying right towards a dangerously sharp looking pile of shrapnel that had been a car at one point.

"TIME OUT!"

Everything froze.

The smoke stopped billowing into the air, Sam stopped mid-run to get to Danny even if she wouldn't make it, Skulker stopped his cry of victory, his fist half way into the air, and young Danny Fenton hung in the midst of it all like a puppet on strings, a thin stream of blood flying from his chest, his blue eyes wide with pain and shock.

In the middle of all this eerie stillness there was a swirl of blue and portal spun into life in center of the street. A figure shrouded in a thick, heavy dark violet cloak floated out and looked around, their face hidden by the hood. All that could be seen was a solemn mouth sent into a frown of discontent, pale, bluish-green-white skin, a stretch of black across the left cheek in the shape of a lightning bolt, and a white goatee.

The mysterious figure looked around and then reached into the folds of their cloak and pulled out a shiny object on a thick cord with one gloved hand, the other hand occupied by a tall staff with a V-shaped head, a clock sitting in the middle of it. At the base of the V-shape were several spikes sticking out at least two inches and at the bottom of the staff was a wickedly curved blade.

Back to the shiny object on the string.

The cloaked figure swept up to Danny and dropped the cord of the object around Danny's neck but before Danny could go flying as a scream tore from his throat, the figure caught him in his arms, holding him close to his chest. Danny, nearly unconscious with pain, groaned and his eye lids fluttered, blue eyes dim as they tried to focus on their savior.

"C-Clockwork…?" He rasped and then passed out cold.

The figure smiled coolly, looked around one last time, noticed Skulker, and snorted angrily. Still supporting Danny with one arm; the staff still clutched in their hand; the figure reached once again into their cloak and this time pulled out a Fenton Thermos with a rubber band and paper around it. They uncapped it easily with a flick of their thumb, pointed it at Skulker, sucked the ghost inside, recapped it, and placed it in Sam's outstretched hand. Satisfied with their work, the figure turned to the blue portal and vanished inside, the portal itself blinking out like a light.

"Time In…!"

"—AAAANNNYYYYY—huh?" Sam stopped running forward and looked around, totally confused. Hadn't Danny just been flying through the air about to be impaled on the wreckage of a car? Hadn't Skulker been hovering over there, laughing over his victory? And where did this Fenton Thermos in her hand come from?

As police sirens wailed in the distance, Sam bolted into a nearby alley, hoping that Tucker got away safely and had the sense not to come back. Most likely he was already at home going through a therapy session with his PDA. As she sagged against the wall, she noticed that the Thermos had a note attached to it via a rubber band. She tugged it out, unfolded it, and read…

Sam, Tucker, and Jasmine,

Stay in the Human World and whatever you do, do not, under any circumstances, enter the Ghost Zone. The Observers have (amazingly) taken matters into their own hands for the moment and have disrupted things to the point where certain people could be losing their lives. I have taken Danny and will be setting everything right. If Walker or the Observers catch you in the Ghost Zone you will, no doubt, find yourselves under very painful circumstances. Danny is safe for the moment; I promise you that.

-Clockwork

Sam rolled her eyes and then noticed the slightly sloppy, slightly familiar scrawl at the bottom of the paper.

However much he annoys me, I agree. Stay away from the Ghost Zone. We'll sort it out. And I –there was quite a bit of scribbled out portions that Sam couldn't make out— took care of Skulker for you.

A Ghost You Forgot

It was the shouting that woke him up. He figured that he'd survived the blast from Skulker since pain stabbed him in his abdomen but those voices…whose were they?

"—to be falling over yourself with guilt!? To know that, even though you had the chance to stop it, you didn't!? No, Clocky, I don't think you do!"

"Don't talk back to me that way! I'll stick right back where you belong if you don't start shaping up!"

"Oh trauma, you're starting to sound like my mom…!"

"Ahah, that's very funny. I should never have left you to your own devices; the restraint should be more powerful."

"Believe me when I say it doesn't need to be. You just didn't use the right words."

"Words like: shut up and go hide before our guest wakes up?"

Danny stirred and opened his eyes, gasping at the pain, struggling to breathe correctly. He swiveled his gaze around him, taking in the numerous clocks and pendulums and gears that were all around him. Obviously he was in Clockwork's lair. The Fenton boy slowly, agonizingly slow, turned his head and saw the Ghost of Time in the form of an old man with a trailing white beard, leaning on his staff, blinking sorrowfully at him. Rage bubbled inside Danny.

"What the heck do you want!?" He shouted and immediately regretted it as he spat up some blood.

"Easy there, Danny." Clockwork muttered but made no move to assist him, "You're still a little banged up."

"Like I hadn't-hold on a minute." Danny pushed himself into a sitting position, pressing a hand against the badges wrapped around his bare waist, "You saved me, didn't you? When Skulker blasted me, you stopped time and saved me…!"

The now buck-toothed toddler Clockwork shrugged, looking indifferent, "Maybe." Danny's scowl made the Ghost of Time grin, "Glad to see you've got your temper back; it's been rather boring watching you mope around all day."

"And that's why you didn't see it coming when the Observers took away my ghost powers." Danny sneered, eyes narrowing as tried to push Clockwork's buttons, "Kudos, I really don't care so you can stop watching me."

"No."

"I'd blast you if I had an ecto-gun. What're you going to tell my parents when they find out I'm missing? What about Sam and Tucker? And who were you arguing with?"

"First of all," Clockwork, in the form of a young man, swept away from Danny to float over to his view screen, "An ecto-gun would be no use against me whatsoever. Secondly, your parents are on vacation on some ghost hunting charade I sent them on and probably won't be back for a while. Jazz, Sam, and Tucker—thanks to some people—." He snarled out the two words angrily, "Know you're here. And, lastly, it was none of you business. Go to sleep."

"Make me." Danny said shortly, acting like a five year old; crossing his arms, sticking his nose in the air, and pouting.

"Don't…test me, Boy…!" Those red eyes were suddenly centimeters away from his own brilliant blue ones, "I've had enough lip from others and I don't want it from the likes of you!" Danny had forgotten just how cold ghosts were; Clockwork's presence this close to him was enough to make goosebumps erupt on his bare skin but the Time Ghost's icey breath on his face made him shiver, "You will sleep here until you're better, understand?"

Danny blinked at him, shocked. He hadn't seen Clockwork lose his temper this many times consecutively at all; even when the Observers were bothering him.

"What crawled up your butt and died…?" The Fenton boy growled as he lay on his side, facing the rest of the room. Clockwork snorted and turned away and Danny yawned, realizing that he actually was tired. He hadn't had a real night's sleep in a long time. Yawning again, he let his eyelids slide close. Just as his vision started to blur with sleep, he swore he saw a flash of black and white at the far end of the room, disappearing around a corner as though afraid he might see it.

I'm still not really giving away answers yet, am I? I guess I like keeping people in the dark though maybe I made it a little obvious in the last chapter who everyone was. I'm not that good at hiding things.

Still, if you want to make some guesses, be my guest…!

Thanks for reading and please review! Byes…!