8:00
When you find the staff under the chair in your library you want to break it.
Instead, you bring it back to its owner.
Clockwork regards you with distaste as you toss the staff at him from across the room. It clatters to the floor and rolls to his feet. The ghost bends down, and picks it up with an elegant swipe of his hand.
As you're about to leave, Clockwork stops you with a single question. "Did you enjoy power, Vlad Masters?"
Slowly, you turn around. "Enjoy? Enjoy?! Do you even-" The fury coursing through your veins is red-hot, and all thoughts of your own safety are swept from your mind.
"Yes, I do know. Then again, I do know everything." You stand across the room from each other. Clockwork is cool and at ease, and you are angry and broken. Angry at what's happened, angry at Clockwork for letting you have the staff, but most of all angry at yourself. Suddenly, his words pierce you, and a small yet terrifying thought comes unbidden to your mind.
"You. . . know? Does that mean. . . you knew what was going to happen? You knew what. . . what was going to happen to Maddie if I took that staff?" You barely breathe the words out, and for a moment you're worried the ghost didn't hear you. However, he shatters that illusion - and the one of your happiness - with a nod of his head.
"Of course. As I told Daniel when he came to me with his concerns- Some lessons must be learned the hard way, Vlad Masters."
Your vision blurs. "Lessons? Did you make me go through all of this to teach me a lesson?!"
Clockwork smiles. "I never forced you to do a thing. You brought all of this on yourself, remember? You made your bed, so now it's time for you to lay in it."
"No! I- I can't accept that!" You shout at him, and it's not enough. "There has to be something, anything you can do! You're not even going to try and help him?!"
"Will you?" Clockwork holds the staff out to you, a tantalizing trick you now know well. "You'll choose him over the woman you've loved for twenty years?"
You shake your head violently. Absolutely not. "No! Isn't there some way to save them both?! I've learned my lesson, don't make him pay for it with his life!"
The ghost laughs, smooth and melodic. "You're greedy, Masters." He turns to face a swirling portal, a bright vortex of fantastical lights. "But. . . for once, with good intentions."
Your heart skips a beat. Is he. . . ?
"It is not impossible."
The words are like a breath of fresh air. You want to shout and jump for joy, but stay silent. This moment is too important.
"You have to change the past without effecting the present."
What? What is that supposed to mean? Growling, you're about to protest for more information when he cuts you off.
"You have to change the past so that Daniel does not die, yet you still go through these two weeks. You cannot create another paradox, or the timeline will switch again to fix itself. Then, who knows what will happen?" Clockwork is still not facing you, but as he speaks his tone gradually grows lighter. "You have to build your own train tracks now, Masters. I believe the me of another universe has taken to calling this the 'Stein's Gate.' Are you prepared?"
You understand.
8:00
Clockwork sends you back in time. He explains that this travel is different - you are no longer just sending your mind back. This time, your entire body has been transported to the past. You have one rule: You cannot let your younger self see you. If he does, another paradox will occur.
Before he lets you go, however, he has one last piece of advice to share with you.
"Ignorance is bliss, Vlad Masters."
8:00
It's still light out when you get there. There is no wind or breeze, and everything seems perfectly still. There are no birds chirping, no pitter-patter of tiny animals racing through the trees. It's almost as if the whole world is holding it's breath, waiting to see what you will do and how you'll do it.
The thought invigorates you.
The first thing you do is race to the alley where you found him. It's empty with no sign of anything having already happened. No sign of what would happen here in a short amount of time. It's almost funny - you were expecting this place to be... dark, somehow.
You have to find Daniel.
8:00
When you find him, it's in the middle of a crowd of teenagers. Casper High must have just gotten out, you realize. You try to find a way to get the boy alone, to talk - you're not sure what you're going to say, honestly - but there is nothing you can do short of forcing yourself through them. So that's what you do.
"Daniel!" You hope he doesn't notice the waver in your voice. If you can do this without him understanding what's happening, it will make everything so much easier. Easier on him or easier on you, you're still not sure.
"What do you want, Vlad?" The tone of his voice takes you aback for a moment. It's been awhile since you've heard real venom in his voice directed at you. You shake it off like a dog shakes off water.
"I need to speak to you about something important." You look sharply at Mrs. Manson and Mr. Foley. "Alone." The expression they give you is almost comical - disbelieving eyes and gaping mouths. Does he really think they're that stupid? he can read on their faces. Daniel has the audacity to look bored; and why are you going through all this trouble for this ungrateful brat?! All you have to do is close your eyes and unbidden, you can see him sobbing in your arms again and you know why. You always will.
When you reopen them, Daniel is looking at you strangely. Maybe he's noticed you're acting odd, maybe he's just messing around. You'll never know because right as he opens his mouth, a blue mist seeps out in his breath and you understand that he won't listen to you anymore. He changes, and flies off. His friends are left with you, looking strangely contemplative at the fear you know must be creeping across your face.
You leave.
8:00
You can't find him anywhere. It's getting late; panic is riding on your heels as you search. You've passed by the alleyway over and over, but he doesn't show up. Questions begin to arise in your mind. What was he doing there? Why wasn't anyone with him? And most importantly, who hurt him?
A streak of green in the sky catches your attention, and your neck almost cracks as you search wildly for it's source. You hear a motor drawing closer to you, and you're surprised to see Jack's ridiculous RV. What the hell is it doing here? Maddie is hanging from the passenger window, aiming a large ectogun into the sky. Jack is behind the steering wheel, whooping and slamming his disgustingly fat, flabby hand on the horn repeatedly.
Sick understanding slams into you. Without looking, you know that Daniel is flying past. Without asking them what they're doing, you know the Fentons are ghost hunting. The rest of the pieces just fall together, like a morbid puzzle you never wanted to solve.
Maddie's gun fires, and another green ray shoots into the sky. Your heart almost stops when you hear a yelp above you, but a quick glance tells you the boy is alright. A little worse for wear, but at least still half-alive.
Without thinking, you shout at them to stop. Jack slams on the breaks, and stares at you in confusion. "Vladdie? What are you doing here?" Suddenly, he seems to remember what he's doing, and his face lights up in delight. "We've almost got Phantom, V-Man! Come on, jump in! It'll be just like the old days! Old college buddies Jack and Vlad - ghost hunting together again!" Maddie scoffs; she doesn't like you, but if you being around makes Jack happy, she's willing to oblige.
You just feel cold.
You stare at them unbelievingly, not sure what to do. Before you can decide on a plan, Maddie fires again. Instead of running, the stupid boy, Daniel has stuck around. He's floating there, curiously watching to see what's going to happen. Her shot grazes his cheek, and his hand cups the wound gingerly as he turns to fly away again.
He waited too long. Jack fires a strange looking gun at Daniel that hits him square in the chest, and Daniel begins to drop out of the air. You can tell from the panicked look on the boy's face that this isn't what he wants to be doing. A neutralizer, then.
A split decision. You jump in front of the boy when he lands with your arms raised out in a protective matter.
"What are you doing, V-Man?!"
"Move, Vlad! He's going to get away!"
You shake your head, movements sharp. Your gaze doesn't leave their faces. This won't happen. You won't allow it.
This... seething, burning anger towards Jack Fenton builds once again in the pit of your stomach. You'd been so busy trying to save Maddie that you'd forgotten... you'd forgotten about how much you hated this man. Your fingers curl inwards, forming your hands into shaking fists.
The undiluted hatred spills into your eyes, tinting your vision red. Maddie is looking at you in disbelief, with a hint of fear. Then-
You've become Plasmius. That explains it. You hadn't even noticed.
You don't care.
You won't let this cockroach of a man ruin things in your life any longer.
Your fists are pulsing with sickly red ectoplasm; a hideous color. You fire at the truck, and they leap out the doors just in time. The vehicle explodes in a flaming wreck, bits and pieces of chapped and burned metal flying everywhere. One strikes Maddie on the back of the head, and she falls to the ground. For a moment, two weeks of death come flying back into your heart; are you really free?
Jack checks her. She's only unconscious, you realize, as he doesn't break down sobbing. You've seen this man enough after her death to place his reaction.
Daniel is shouting at you, but you won't hear it. He can't even form an ectoblast. You don't have to worry about him anymore. He's going to be safe, and so is Maddie. They're both out of the way.
Jack runs down the alley, firing it you wildly. He never did have very good aim. You stalk in after him, leaving blazing footprints in your wake.
He's out of room, out of options. You savor it, and take your time charging the largest ectoblast you've ever made. You used to dream about torturing this man, making his death long and drawn out and painful. When faced with the option, however, you can't find it in yourself. You hate him more than you've ever hated anyone, but... one shot, one death.
It will be fast, and there will be no pain. It's the least you can do.
You fire.
A black and white flash.
Everything is still, just like when you came back in time. The world is still waiting.
Your whole body is shaking, and you can't rip your eyes away. Everything shuts down, and it takes you too long to process what's happened. The world is spinning by in flashes, and you're vaguely aware of Jack racing by you to escape while you're occupied.
You can't rip your eyes away from his face.
Daniel jumped in front of the blast. Red and green blood is covering him from almost head to toe, but his eyes are still open. You stumble to his side, and hold him in your arms. He's smiling, even as a trickle of blood runs down his chin.
"I- I couldn't let you... hurt my dad..." His voice is weak and soft.
You're spluttering, caught between yelling at him and trying to tell him to relax, don't talk, it'll be fine.
He doesn't listen, and keeps going. "Thank you... for t-trying to h-help me..." Daniel's face contorts in pain, and you can feel every single cell in your body shake with guilt. The blast would have been a painless death... for a human. His green eyes are fading into blue, and they look very, very far away. "I... I had a dream last night... it... it was... it was a good dream..." Daniel smiles at you, and a creeping feeling flits across your spine. His smile is cut short by another spasm of pain, and his eyes slide closed.
You stare into his face, and it seems so serene and calm. If he wasn't covered in blood, you think he could only be sleeping. The shocked numbness that fell over you when your ectoblast rammed into his chest dissipates with a sobbing gasp. Everything hits you at once and your wretched scream rips through the air it's not a scream of pain but one of sadness loss regret anger and it's piercing your mind over and over you know this voice this scream this emotion this is-
The world goes white.
8:00
Clockwork pities you, you can tell.
You're in a heap on the floor of his clock tower. He explained to you when you first woke up there that he'd had to pull you back; your younger self was heading that way. He couldn't risk a paradox.
He eyed the door of a large vault while he told you this, with an unreadable expression on his face that you didn't understand.
You can't bring yourself to get up. You know where this leads. If you try again, you'll just get burned over and over and over and over and over-
And nothing will change.
You don't have the will to fight anymore. A tiny voice in your head whispers that it was Daniel's will to fight and continue all along, and that you were simply leaning on it. Now that he's-
Your hands are still covered in his blood. Blood that you drew yourself.
Ignorance is bliss.
You double over and vomit.
"Are you going to try again? Or are you giving up on reaching the Stein's Gate?" Clockwork's smooth voice is lulling, yet harsh. You don't want to. You've been burned too many times. You know better than to start the fire all over again.
He regards you blankly for a moment, before shaking his head and turning away. Apparently, you had confirmed his opinion of you, whatever it was.
"What the hell do you want me to do after that? I can't do anything! It'll be the same thing over and over, and I won't be able to stop it, no matter how hard I try! And now, I don't even have-" You stop abruptly, and droop back down.
"And now, you don't even have him anymore. Am I right?" He doesn't have the right to look so smug. You look away, silenced.
He laughs at you. "It's at your fingertips, Masters. All that's left is for you to reach forward and grab it."
You stare at him in confusion. He shakes his head, purple cloak following the movement with inhuman grace.
Clockwork's arm extends, and he holds the staff out to you in a show of offering. "Finish what you started, Masters."
You squeeze your eyes shut, and the cold metal of the staff is hauntingly familiar against your clammy skin.
8:00
You're back in the alleyway again, with the world holding it's breath and the sun setting behind you in the sky. This time... it'll go differently. But how?
You spend the time you have thinking of a plan. You don't know if it will work, but you have to try. You can't keep going like this. This... this is your last shot. It has to work.
The first thing you do is destroy the Fenton RV. That way, Jack and Maddie won't get involved. Hopefully.
For good measure, you drop by as Masters and offer them drinks. Jack takes his immediately, and Maddie takes hers as well after some suspicion. They fall asleep within minutes. Now you're sure they won't get in the way. Before you leave, you can't help but notice Jack. The man is asleep on the couch. It would be so easy, your mind rationalizes.
You leave, and Jack sleeps safely.
8:00
You reach the alley at exactly the right time. Daniel is flying overhead, presumably heading home. It's child's play to sneak up on him as he's flying and knock him unconscious. You slowly descend into the alleyway, holding him tightly in your arms. You're not shaking anymore. You can feel it- it's going to work.
You carefully put him down right where you remember him being on that first night, and smooth the hair from his face.
You're far too proud to say it out loud, but maybe if you weren't such a self-hating person, you would have thought to bring something you could use instead. But you're not, and although you can't even admit to yourself that you hate what you've become, your stiff hand bring the knife out of your pocket.
You need blood.
Daniel has to be covered in blood to fool your younger self into thinking he's dead. Only- only that way-
The pristine silver blade of the knife is colored red and green with blood as it digs into your stomach. Your hand slips off the knife and blood pools into your cupped fingers, spilling between them. You toss as much of it as you can with your fading strength over Daniel, checking carefully to make sure he's still breathing. You know nothing could have killed him then, but you've become paranoid. You stumble as you lean over him, and twist the knife further in. Blood splashes out, soaking the black and white hazmat suit through. You reach up and touch his cheek.
Your hand isn't shaking.
As you clutch your stomach, you leave. You're at the entrance to the alleyway, and you can feel your younger self getting closer. You don't understand how, but it's there. You turn around, and take one last look.
Yes, this is definitely... the picture you saw that night.
It's perfect.
Your eyes slip closed, and you fall.
0:00
The warm sunlight filters in through the blinds pulled over your window. Groaning, you push yourself up out of bed, and stumble to the window awkwardly. Your hair is frizzing up from constantly turning on your pillow, and when you look in the mirror you can see the bags under your eyes are finally starting to wear off.
Pulling on the cord, you open the shades completely. You squint painfully as you're blinded for a few seconds, but it passes soon enough. The lock is rusted with misuse, but you wrench it open anyways. The window panes slide open with a creak, and you lean out. There is a warm breeze wafting through the air, and birds are chirping with morning cheer. A few squirrels are chasing each other through the front yard, weaving in and out of the thick trees. The world is alive, and breathing.
You feel at ease as you lightly brush where the scar on your stomach.
A loud honking blares cuts through the silence, and you see a sleek new car barreling down the road happily.
You frown at it, and close your window. It's not professional for a host to be seen wearing their nightclothes.
It doesn't take you long to get as sufficiently dressed as possible, but by the time you're done cleaning up they're knocking on your door. Before you can call for them to come in, Jack is already barreling through the door with a bouquet of bright orange flowers and a box of wrapped fudge. Maddie follows him in and gives Vlad an apologetic look. Jasmine sits down in the only chair in the room, and nods at him. She's smiling, though, so you don't feel too worried. Daniel comes in last, a soft look gracing his features.
The Fentons stay with you for an hour or two before leaving, and your tiny hospital room feels so much lighter. Daniel, however, stays behind.
"I... I don't know what you did, Vlad, but..." He contemplative as he stares out the window.
You expect for him to go into a tirade about not being fooled over this latest trick, but it doesn't come.
"Thanks." His eyes are searching you for- you honestly don't know.
You stick your nose in the air comically and flash Daniel a haughty smirk.
For some reason, he seems relieved.
-:-
FIN