Phantom: Aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnd we're back! Sorry about the wait everyone, but I had exams this week and a lot of last minute work for classes were due last week, so, yeah.

Trainer: *hits Phantom upside the head* stop rambling and get on with it. Otherwise I'll tell how we escaped from Vlad.

Phantom: oh! Do that! I need a minute anyways. Don't worry everyone, Vlad's ok, but we're still not on his good list.

Trainer: Alright, I'll tell them. I can never get enough when it comes to putting Vlad in a tough spot, especially when it was so simple.

Phantom: *steps away slowly* oh… kay. Just tell the story.

Trainer: fine. So while Vlad had us locked up, Phantom and I started scheming a way out of it. Apparently, Phantom got out of her bindings and then slowly began to break mine. When Vlad had grabbed me, I had my guitar on me and… ok you know what, I'll give you the short version.

Phantom: *from a room in the back* Almost done!

Trainer: Crud! Ok look, long story short, when the two of us became freed, Phantom turned us invisible and I grabbed my guitar. Without Vlad noticing, we snuck up behind him and… *snicker* I HIT HIM WITH MY GUITAR! I've always wanted to do that!

Phantom: yes, yes, you got to live out one of your dreams before your life caves in around you.

Trainer: not cool, you loved it just as much as I did.

Phantom: True. Anyways, before we get on with the chapter, I just want to make a shout-out. Another DP fanfic writer has just finished her first story and I loved it. Gemini, this one's for you! *Shoots several rays into the sky, exploding in the shape of the DP symbol* can't wait to see what you do next, and thank you for reading this story and commenting since the beginning.

Trainer: that was so cute… I think I want to puke.

Phantom: oh, shut it. On with the show!

Chapter 4: Frightful Untold Encounters

Everything was dark, too dark. It was darker than a room painted completely black with the lights out and your eyes shut tight. He couldn't even imagine another time that everything had been this dark. Not even Sam's room was this dark!

Danny moved from his original position, only to realise that he was lying on the ground, in a pile of rubble and debris.

Lifting himself onto his knees, he looked around the area only to wish he hadn't. There were broken bricks, smoking ditches, and several other signs of one of his usual ghost battles. Looking at himself, his eyes widened with horror and fear as he looked himself over.

He was wearing his trademark red and white T-shirt, tattered and worn with several rips and singes all over it. He had to assume that he had received it during… whatever battle he was just in. His blue jean just confirmed the same thing, with similar evidence as well.

Then another thought came to mind as he stood up, his legs wobbling under him. "Did – did I win?" was all Danny could think about until a familiar sound just a few feet in front of him caught his full attention. Not even the ach he was feeling from his body could stop him from doing what he was about to do.

He began to run towards the sound. "No, NO!" Danny thought. "This can't be happening, it CAN'T be happening, it's impossible!" Danny told himself, even though the noise told him otherwise.

He came around a smoldering chunk of concrete and froze. There, before him, was a toppled Nasty Burger sign. And not too far from that, was the Nasty sauce vat; full, flammable, and had all his loved ones and teacher too close to it for comfort.

Danny made a dash to them, to stop the ensuing disaster; to prevent what he knew would happen if he didn't stop what happened next.

He tried to call out to them, to warn them of their impeding danger. Heck, he would have screamed if that would get their attention. But every time he opened his mouth, nothing but air came out, no sound what-so-ever. NO! This couldn't be happening!

He was less than twenty feet from them, so close yet so far out of reach. He tried to transform, but the white rings only fizzled out of existence as he continued to sprint towards his friends, family and teacher; his only support in life. These were the only people that Danny could rely on in his times of need.

Well… there was always Vlad. Danny had learned that he could trust Vlad with his life… and that was in the most literal sense of the phrase! But if Danny lost them, his support, for real… he didn't know if he would be able to survive from the pain he would feel, even with Vlad, and possibly Dani's, help.

Then, everything seemed to stand still. Not only did he see it but he heard it. The explosion that signalled his loved one's demise, and his unhappy future. The blast sent Danny backwards and tumbling to the ground. He heard sirens approaching the scene, but he didn't even care. The last thought that ran through his mind was, "why did it have to be them? Why not me?" And then, everything returned to blackness.

…

"Daniel?" A voice said, "Daniel, can you open your eyes?"

Danny tried to turn his head towards the voice, but found that he could barely do that. He tried to sit up from his position, but was shocked when all he received was an intense pain shooting through his back. Danny clenched his eyes even move shut, hoping that the pain would subside.

"Don't try and move, my boy. You're still badly injured from… previous events." The voice ended sadly.

Finally having the pain that he caused ebb away, Danny was able to focus enough to recognize the voice that kept addressing him. There was only one person that he knew that would call him by his given name and 'my boy'.

Danny opened his eyes. He moved his gaze around the area almost instantly recognizing where he was. The green and gold decorations and colour scheme of the room, the huge bed he was lying in, everything was how it looked before he had gotten to this exact room a little over seven months.

The young half-ghost blinked a few times, but continued to look around himself for the other hybrid; knowing that he was in the room somewhere.

It didn't take long to find him. Vlad was sitting on the edge of the bed that Danny was in, staring at him with his own sad, pained, blue eyes. Their eyes met and they just… stared at each other for some time.

Finally, Danny found his voice and said the only thing he could, "Vlad." His voice was dry, but all he needed to do was say that one name for his emotions to overflow from within him.

Danny looked away, only too sure of what all this could mean, and several tears fell from his eyes and ran down his cheeks. Vlad's eyebrows creased with even more sadness as he stared at the fallen boy before him. He pulled the handkerchief from his suit's pocket and started to wipe away the crying child's tears. It was all he could do for now to comfort him.

Then, Vlad said, "I'm so sorry Daniel. Not even I would have wanted this. I promise, I won't let anything happen to you."

But all that the older hybrid was saying was landing on deaf ears as Danny continued to cry. Then, the scene started to fade and turned black.

…

Danny didn't know what was happening. He was living scenes, moments, from his life… no, his alternate life. The timeline that would have never happened; he was living out the beginning of it.

He looked around him again, but there was nothing except the blackness that came before each new moment. Suddenly, a bright flash came out of nowhere and struck Danny squarely in the stomach. The hybrid was sent flying backwards and tumbled over himself as his body met the ground.

It was only when he heard someone laugh did he turn his full attention to them. A figure approached from the darkness, still laughing in that same evil, malicious, and dreadful voice. The being had his hand still glowing with ecto-plasmic green energy. That was all the light that the two beings in the area needed to see each other.

Danny instantly froze in fear at who it was. The black and white jumpsuit, the flaming white hair, and the red hateful eyes where more than enough to distinguish this particular ghost from any other. Danny began to move backwards only to trip, which was received with another laugh from the ghost before him.

"I-I-I-It's not possible. Y-Y-Y-You c-can't be h-here!" Danny stuttered through his shock.

The figure just approached the fallen teen with a sick and twisted grin on his face. "Oh, please. Don't tell me you thought that that ridiculous thermos that our parents created could really contain me forever did you?" The man in front of him said as he came to a stop before his fallen form.

Danny stared back with all the hate he could muster and said, "I beat you before, I can do it again."

The ghost just smiled wickedly, "Oh really? And how will you do that? Is it A) with your sidekicks? No, they can't help you. B) Your family? Unlikely. They don't even know that their own son is the elusive Ghost Boy. C) You? Ha ha ha, you could barely stop me the first time. It was only with Clockwork's help that things turned out differently. Or, D) none of the above?" He smiled down at the wide-eyed teen.

Danny dodged a blast from the evil ghost shooting him. "NO! I beat you with my own powers. Clockwork saved my family that day. I'll never turn into you!" Danny stated as his transformation rings appeared around his torso and turned him into phantom.

"Ha ha ha ha, you are such a child," Dan replied. "Is it because you promised them?" He mocked his younger self, using the words he said before he was defeated. Dan stepped closer to the ghost teen.

Danny jumped into the air, trying to manoeuvre around Dan but failed. Dan grabbed Danny by the neck and brought him closer so that the two of them were face to face. Dan stared to laugh again, "You know, for you, this is like looking into a future mirror. But for me," he stated as his smile became a frown, "it's like looking back at what I used to be."

Dan then sent his energy into the hand not holding Danny, and waited for the young hybrid's reaction. It was almost instant and Danny began to try and pry his evil self off of him. Dan just laughed again before he smiled and said, "I'll be seeing you soon Danny, just remember this: I'm still here, I still exists, which means you still turn into me." But then he added as an afterthought, he added, "But then again, even if you don't, I'm still around to do it for."

And then, Dan shot a blast at his prey. Danny screamed out loud and then, *Bam* His head hit something and he was doubled over holding his now throbbing head.

Danielle had woken up and looked over at her cousin. He was still asleep and Cujo was sleeping right under his arm. There really wasn't anything cuter than a boy and his dog, even if it was ghosts instead of humans/animals. She walked over to his still form and gave him a kiss before moving to the door separating them from the cockpit.

As she entered, the three teens looked back at her and smiled. The two phantoms had been asleep for something close to an hour and the speeder had only managed to get about halfway to their final destination.

"How did you sleep?" Jazz suddenly asked, as she turned her attention back to driving the speeder.

Sam took the opportunity to jump into the conversation, "Yeah, you guys have been sleeping for like, an hour. I know you guys have almost exactly the same DNA, but you guys sleep longer than anyone I know."

"I know. Is it something that all half-human half-ghosts do?" Tucker said, hating to be left out of the fun.

They all started to laugh. It was amazing how long their friend could sleep. He was a teenager, but he slept more than anyone. Probably because he was constantly fighting other ghosts at night.

"For now, let's let Danny sleep. He might not want to at times, and that's against his and my better judgement, but he really could use it right now." Jazz told the others as they continued forward.

The other three teens in the area all nodded their heads and continued to talk about different topics that they could think of.

However, every once in a while, Sam would look back at the door separating them from her best friend. She appeared to be debating with herself if she should check on him, but it always ended with her focusing back on the others. "Get some rest, Danny. We'll call to you if we need your help," Sam thought as the Specter Speeder zoomed through the green, purple and black atmosphere.

Vlad had been sitting patiently in the back room with Danny and Danielle, watching them sleep as they continued forward to the Realm Beyond Time. True, he had a map and Daniel's instructions on how to enter a hidden spot that lead straight to the time master's abode, but this was easier and less conspicuous.

A movement from the little ghost girl caught his attention and brought him out of his musings. Dani stretched but then covered her mouth as a yawn escaped her. She looked around and swung her legs out of the bed, ready to stand up. She walked over to Danny and gave him a kiss before leaving the room.

Danny didn't even flinch from the action. All he did was readjust himself into a more comfortable position and continued to sleep like nothing happened.

Vlad smiled to himself. Finally, just him and Daniel were in the room. He stood up and walked over to the bed that was across from the one that the sleeping half-ghost teen was in.

Vlad regained visibility, since he doubted that the boy before him was going to wake up anytime soon, let alone the green puppy also asleep on the bed. If he had to, he could always turn invisible again if they did wake up or if Daniel's friends decided to check on him.

The older hybrid just sat there and listened for any intruders, but all he heard was the conversations they were having in the next room. He heard them comment on how much sleep Danny would sleep and how it was more than normal teenagers.

"Well that's because his little 'Hero' complex keeps him up every night with ghost fighting," Plasmius thought dryly.

Then he heard the eldest Fenton child say, "For now, let's let Danny sleep. He might not want to at times, and that's against his and my better judgement, but he really could use it right now." Although it was muffled through the door, it was still picked up by the billionaire.

He then whispered, "It seems that we have some time for just the two of us, Daniel."

Danny began to move again, and Vlad nearly slapped himself for speaking out loud. But what shocked him even more was the one word that escaped the boy's mouth, "Vlad."

It was quiet, but he definitely heard the boy say his name. Vlad looked back at the teen with wide eyes. Did he wake up Daniel? His answer came as Danny just continued to toss and turn in the bed. Vlad's eyebrows creased with confusion. Was Daniel actually having a nightmare that involved him?

All of Danny's movements, however, pushed the ghost puppy to the floor. Cujo yelped in surprise as the warm and soft bed became a hard and cold floor. Cujo scurried out of the room by phasing through the door to where all the teens where, not even noticing the other entity in the room.

Vlad vaguely heard one of them comment on Cujo's sudden appearance, but they didn't come in to see if Danny had woken up too. Danny just continued to thrash about in his sleep.

The older half-ghost knew that his younger counter-part had many bad dreams while he stayed with him, but the reason behind them, he never truly knew. Perhaps Daniel had told him the cause of his frequent nightmares but he didn't believe him.

Vlad was battling with himself as he continued to watch the suffering teen. He wanted to just wake him, but that would blow his cover. He had to let the dream run its original course.

Just as he thought he couldn't take it anymore, that he was going to wake the boy whether it blew his cover or not, Danny bolted straight up screaming. Unfortunately, his scream was cut short as his head hit the bed above him, and he was left to cradle his throbbing head.

Vlad cringed at what just happened, but quickly became invisible again. If Daniel was awake and saw him, then the trip would have been half wasted.

Danny held his head and groaned from the pain. Lifting his head slowly, he glared at the metal bunk above him. He should have just slept on the top bed, then he could have avoided this bump in his plans for the day.

"Danny, are you ok? We heard a bang sound." He heard his sister's voice from the other room. Rubbing his sore head he replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just banged my head."

There was a silence before Jazz spoke again, "OK, don't try and do anything that will cause you to do it again. We're about half way to Clockworks, but when we get closer, you'll need to lead the way. None of us know how to get there."

"Ok, Jazz. I'm… just going to stay in here for a while," Danny said through the door.

There were no more voices trying to address Danny after that. They figured he was going to fall asleep again and didn't want to bother him.

Meanwhile, Danny sat on the edge his bed holding his head up with one hand and the other hand draped across his legs. He stared down at his feet, his face covered in sweat and a few stray tears. Bringing his other hand to also hold his head, Danny just shook his head from side to side.

Then, to the other half-ghost's surprise, Danny stood up and began to pace back and forth. Something was obviously bothering the younger hybrid and Vlad was sure that if he stayed where he was, he might find out the answer to Daniel's problems.

Danny had tried to tell Vlad once before that his fear came from his alternate future, but Vlad thought that he was in hysteria and couldn't be making any sense.

Danny started to mumble to himself, believing that he was alone. Anyone would when you see nothing but you in the room. Either way, Plasmius' enhanced hearing allowed him to hear everything that the boy was saying.

"Why would I start getting these sorts of nightmares again? I had them after battling… Him, but they stopped later on. Heck I all but pushed it from my mind until all that stuff with the nano-bots and Vlad happened. They just seemed to be getting worse as my time there went on, but what else was supposed to happen? Everything from that time with Him had started there. But that doesn't explain why I had another dream involving Him." Danny continued to ramble.

Vlad was getting annoyed again. Who was Him? It was clear that Daniel didn't mean him. Maybe there was something behind what the child had said, something about his fear coming from himself.

Vlad had to ponder this. "Daniel had said that it was his fault, that he's seen his family die by his hands before. But that doesn't make any sense! His family and friends are all well and alive, so how could he know?" The billionaire was becoming just as confused as he was when Danny had first stated this information to him. None of it made sense, at least, not to him.

Danny continued to ramble on. "Ok Fenton, you're overthinking things. Focus!" He chided himself, slapping his face to regain control. "Clockwork has Him locked up; I know that for a fact. Maybe… it's because I'm going to be so close to him that I had that dream. It doesn't matter, either way I'm going to make sure with my own eyes that He's still there; where he should be," Danny concluded.

A few seconds passed and then Danny hit his head on the wall of the speeder. He was confused and frustrated. But now he could add 'in pain' to that list. Danny held his head again and muttered, "Smooth one Fenton."

In the cockpit, Jazz, Sam, Tucker and Dani continued talking, unaware of the battle that their brother, cousin and friend was fighting. When they came to a certain spot, Sam gasped.

Everyone looked at the Goth girl, but she was staring straight ahead and only glanced to her techno-geek friend every other second. Tucker, finally noticing how her gaze switched between him and the window, turned around and noticed the same thing she did; they were in an area where there were almost no floating islands. This was a sure sign that they were on the right path.

But this was also usually the time that Danny would take over and lead the way to the secret entrance. The other two teens in the room followed their gaze to the window but didn't understand what was so interesting.

Then Dani and Cujo looked around worriedly. Since Dani was the only one who could be understood by the three human teens, she spoke up, "Guys, Cujo and I are getting a bad feeling from this place. He keeps calling it the Forbidden Region. Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Oh yeah, we're on the right path," both Sam and Tucker stated with serious written all over their faces.

"Well… if that's the case, then we better get Danny to lead us the rest of the way," Jazz commented.

Handing the wheel off to Sam, Jazz got up and moved to the door separating the cockpit from the back room. She knocked at first, but received no answer from her brother on the other side. She looked back at Sam and Tucker, who just shrugged, not really knowing what to tell her. Danny did this sometimes, but only when he was thinking or wasn't even in the room anymore. Jazz then looked to her 'cousin', who was now sitting on the floor with the little green bipolar puppy in her lap. She just looked back at Jazz with her eyebrows creased in worry. Sure, Dani didn't know Danny for very long, but they shared so much in common. So by that fact, she knew that if Danny didn't answer a door, there was a good reason for it.

Jazz turned back around and slowly opened the metal door. She only opened it a crack but instantly cringed as she heard her brother bang his head and say, "Smooth one Fenton."

Jazz opened the door the rest of the way so that she could enter, but then closed it so softly that Danny didn't even hear her come in, but Vlad saw her instantly. Jazz made her way to her brother and lightly put one of her hands on his shoulder.

Danny jumped and whizzed around, surprised by his sudden visitor. Jazz looked him over, but seeing that his eyes were wide, puffy and filled with horror, she became worried herself. His face was covered in sweat and his cheeks had remains of his previous sleep-crying session. Jazz knew that these weren't good signs and recalled how earlier, Danny had banged his head. Fitting all the pieces together, she concluded that he had had a nightmare, and she really hoped that it wasn't a certain evil-future-self like it had been the other times she found her brother like this.

Being the over-baring and protective sister that she was, Jazz stared back at her little brother and asked, "What happened?"

Danny stared back at her and lowered his gaze away from hers. Seeing this, Jazz coxed her brother to move over to the bed and sit down. Then following what she made her half-ghost brother do, she sat next to him and put a hand on his back. Danny leaned his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor.

Jazz sighed, knowing that this was in fact another case with his evil self. "Danny?" she called, trying to look at his face. When Danny lifted his gaze from the ground to his sister, Jazz continued, "It was another dream involving Him again, wasn't it?"

Coming from anyone other than Jazz, Danny probably wouldn't have even answered. But since it was, all he could muster without his emotions leaking out again was a simple nod of his head.

Jazz bit her lower lip before she tried to comfort him. She then said, "Oh, Danny. Don't let Him get to you. You beat him once and you can beat Him again. Like you said to that jerk that day and like what we've been telling you since then, you will never turn into Him. Not now, not ever."

Danny looked up at his sister and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. Turning suddenly, he hugged his sister, receiving a surprised gasp from Jazz. "Thanks Jazz. You always seem to know what to say to make me feel better," the young hybrid commented.

Jazz returned the hug before replying, "Anytime little brother. Besides, what is family for?" she then ruffled Danny's hair, earning an annoyed "Jazz" from the fourteen-year old.

Danny gave her another smile before he commented with his usual tone, "it's a good thing mom and dad didn't put video cameras into the Specter Speeder, otherwise we'd never hear the end of it with how caring we are of each other."

Jazz laughed before she also commented, "Not to mention all the times we've… borrowed it without their permission."

This time it was Danny's turn to laugh as he stated, "yep, just your average teenagers taking off without notice and taking their parents belongings."

The two siblings just laughed at how not normal their lives were and how it just became a regular thing with them. Even Vlad wanted to laugh at the two's comments. It was very rare to find a relationship as deeply rooted as the one between siblings.

Jazz then poked Danny in the side, easily receiving a squeak from her brother as he jumped away and fell on the floor. Smiling in triumph, Jazz stood up and looked down at her peeved brother.

"What was that for?" Danny asked as he picked himself off the ground.

"That was just some sibling angst," she replied. But then she continued with a softer smile, "by the way, we need you to start leading the way to Clockwork's place. You looked really excited this morning to go see everyone, and I know for a fact that you were the one who said 'Clockwork' when I asked who everyone wanted to visit first."

Danny blushed as his sister left the room and headed back to the wheel. Vlad just smiled at the scene. Yes, there really isn't anything like the bond between siblings. The embarrassment on Daniel's face proved that, and it was priceless.

The younger half-ghost quickly transformed and phased out of the Specter Speeder leaving Vlad in the bunker by himself. That wouldn't last for too long. Vlad phased through the door into the cockpit where everyone else, except his young rival, was in.

Danny could be seen from the front window and waved to everyone inside the vehicle. Sam pointed to her Fenton Phone and Danny complied by turning his on again.

"So, which way?" Jazz questioned as she and Sam switched places again.

Danny smiled, "Just follow me, but stay close. None of you know how to enter and I've only entered by myself through this entrance."

Jazz and Dani looked to the Goth girl and techno-geek, and with them confirming what their hybrid friend just said, Jazz turned back to her brother. "Danny, if you've only entered by yourself, how do you know that you'll be able to get all of us in with you?" Jazz questioned.

Danny floated there for a second and face-palmed himself. Rubbing the back of his neck, his admitted nervously, "I… really hadn't thought about that. I thought we could all just get in the same way I usually do."

They all looked between each other and then back at Danny, and broke out into a full out laughing fit. Danny just stared at the group and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing dude. We're just witnessing another classic example of clueless Danny Phantom," Tucker replied.

Danny's eyebrows creased in irritation, but then a mischievous smile spread across his face. Phasing the upper half of his body through the window, Danny shot a playful blast of ice energy at Tucker's glasses, earning a surprised yelp. Everyone started to laugh again and Danny stated smugly, "That's for calling me clueless." And with that, he phased back out and started to lead the way.

Tucker growled in annoyance as he started to defrost his glasses. The rest just kept their eyes on Danny, holding in their giggles as best they could.

About half an hour later, they were in a section of the Ghost Zone that Danny knew very well. Vlad recognized it too, but he had only been here briefly with Danny when they went on their little treasure hunt. During their travel through the area, Daniel had been checking his watch constantly, but Vlad didn't understand why. Daniel had done a similar thing with the island that the Order's Crystal had been on, but there… there was a reason. The message Daniel had read said something about going to an island that was ageless, that had no time. Was it a similar thing with the entrance to the mast of time's abode?

Danny stopped and looked around. There were no islands in the area. "Perfect," Danny stated to no one in particular. He then looked down at his watch and the arms inside the device stopped. A smile spread across his face, but remembering what would happen if he stayed in that spot for too, he flew back to the speeder with its waiting passengers.

Danny phased through the wall again and transformed back to his human form with the flash of two white rings.

Everyone eyed him and then said at once, "Well?"

Danny cringed at the audio assault. "Did you guys rehearse that or something, because that's a good way to make someone deaf," he commented, not even trying to withhold his displeasure.

Sam punched him in the shoulder playfully before she said, "common, Danny. We know you're excited, but we also want to see our friends. So, are we in the right place?"

Danny punched her back before replying, "Yeah we're in the right place. If you move the speeder about… three feet forward and just wait, then we can all go see Clockwork!" Danny was shuffling back and forth; he was just brimming with excitement.

Jazz move the speeder ahead and stopped where Danny had said. Everyone looked at the young hybrid and he looked at his watch again. Vlad leaned over Danny's shoulder and looked at the watch as well. Without knowing it, both hybrids smirked at the sight of the frozen hands.

"Ok, everyone. Get ready to see Clockwork," Danny said. He had done this enough times to know that it took about ten seconds before someone was teleported to the Clock Tower were Clockwork resided. Danny continued and counted down, "In three, two, one!" And the whole speeder and everyone inside disappeared from sight and reappeared outside of a very large Clock Tower.

Danny looked around and became puzzled. "Huh, usually I end up inside the tower where Sam, Tucker and I first met Clockwork," Danny commented.

"Danny, I think Clockwork made us appear outside due to the Specter Speeder. I don't think he would have liked having one of dad's machines within his home. Plus, how would we get it out if we had appeared inside?" Jazz reasoned.

Danny rubbed his neck again and replied, "Good point." But then becoming excited again, he transformed and zoomed out of the speeder faster than any of them could react.

The foursome looked between each other and then followed the happy half-ghost's example and raced out to see their friend. Vlad stepped out of the speeder himself and looked around, completely flabbergasted. The Tower before him was covered in gears and clock, befitting of the Master of Time. Glancing ahead of himself, he flew over to the group that was chasing Danny through the building. As Vlad followed, he took in the scenery with a critical eye.

All the hallways looked the same and he was amazed at how easily Daniel was flying through it. Did he just say he usually ends up inside the complex? How did he know where he was going?

Then Dani, who was still holding Cujo voiced the same question, "Danny, how do you know where you're going? I thought you said you get teleported into the Tower."

Danny slowed his flight down and floated backwards to face the group and shrugged, "I don't know where I'm going. I just… am. It's like a feeling, almost instinct that I'm travelling through these halls." Then he turned around and continued forward.

Everyone looked at each other in disbelief, but not wanting to get lost, they followed their guide through the winding passages up to the main room that they usually found Clockwork in.

Sure enough, as soon as they got to a huge door at the end of a hallway, Danny landed before it and turned to his friends and family, who were all out of breath after trying to follow him. Vlad brought up the rear and waited for his chance to look around the main sanctuary of Clockwork's abode.

Danny took in a deep breath before moving and pushing the door open. As soon as it opened, Danny and his party rushed in thrilled to find their friend.

Dani then spoke up again, "So, who's Clockwork?"

Everyone turned to the ghost-girl, but the three human teens let Danny explain the story. "Clockwork is sort of my mentor. A few months ago, I got into some deep trouble and he… well, he helped me sort everything out," Danny finished.

Seeing Dani's confused and expectant face, clearly wanting a further explanation, Danny sighed and said, "Look, it's something that I'm not exactly ready to talk about with anyone except Clockwork, so can we drop this for now?"

Dani nodded knowing that there were things that some people couldn't talk about and so, left that conversation for another time.

As they continued to move to the main part of the room, Vlad took in his surroundings again. There were parts of clocks floating or attached to walls and floors everywhere. The most noticeable décor however were the clocks all about the room. None of them matched what Daniel's watch had read before entering into this realm. Truly, this was a lair made for the time master.

Finally coming to the main section of the room, Sam and Tucker took a seat off to one side to rest their tired legs. They didn't think that they would be climbing so many flights of stairs that day. Dani and Cujo looked around in amazement and she whispered to him, "Don't go wondering off."

Everyone was looking around but it was Danny and Jazz who spotted the spirit they were all looking for. Danny was about to fly over to his mentor/guardian, hoping to surprise him, when Clockwork suddenly spoke to him and the group without even turning around, "I've been expecting you Danny, all of you in fact."

The time spirit turned around, currently in his adult form but continued to change in appearance as time went on. Danny landed back on the ground and somewhat pouted, "I think you're the one person I can't sneak up on."

"Yes, well, having the power of time on my side allows me to do things that others see as unfair or… cheating," Clockwork added as he smiled at Danny.

The young half-ghost chuckled as he recalled that his mentor would be pestered by the Observants whenever he 'cheated' and made the timeline better than what they would tell him to do, just like the incident with him and his future.

Vlad on the other hand, stood there (still invisible) with his jaw dropped. He couldn't believe it. Daniel really did know the master of time, and by the looks of it, the two had a special bond. "Well this is something that I'll have to keep in mind for later," Vlad thought to himself.

Jazz walked up to Clockwork and smiled at him. She then said, "thank you for everything that you've done for my brother, and for me."

Clockwork returned the smile. He knew from looking at the timeline that Danny had revealed everything that happened with the two of them in Jazz's near-death moment. Everyone else on the other hand had no clue as to what the three were talking about.

Dani then gasped as she finally recognized the spirit. She ran up to him, Cujo still in her arms, and said, "You're that ghost that talked to me when Danny went missing. Now it makes sense how you knew so much about me. You're the master of time!"

Danny gave her a quizzical look before uttering, "First off, he's a spirit, not a ghost. And second; you two have met?"

Dani nodded happily, which only confused Danny further.

"Don't worry about it, little brother. We'll tell you about it later," Jazz said.

Shrugging, Danny brought up what Frostbite had told them, "Clockwork, Frostbite told me, us, that some powerful books or relics were stolen from them and from here. Is that true?"

Clockwork didn't answer, and nothing on his face could tell anybody what he was thinking about. Finally, he moved over to his viewing glass and raised his staff. An image then appeared on the screen and played itself like a movie.

The whole group watched as a black shadow sped across the scene of what they presumed was the Far Frozen. It ducked into a cave that Danny, Sam and Tucker knew held the Infi-map. But instead of going for the powerful map, it flew past it and down a secret tunnel.

Vlad cocked an eyebrow; realising that the figure on the screen had just gone down the same path he had hours ago. Danny however, had no idea of this path and continued to watch with trepidation.

The shadow-like figure moved down several passage ways, stopping every once in a while in front of some drawings. As it moved past them, Danny remarked, "Those drawings remind me of something."

As the image on the screen froze, everyone except Clockwork turned to Danny for an explanation. Seeing this, and Clockwork's actions of stopping the 'film', Danny continued, "Those drawings on the inside of the cave. The first one reminds me of Vlad, and then the next two sort of look like me and Danielle. That last one… it reminds me of… Him." He finished quietly, not really wanting to elaborate on that part.

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all nodded their heads; they knew what he meant by it. Dani, however, only knew what he said about the drawings that looked like Vlad, herself and Danny. She didn't know who this… Him was, but she was determined to find out, maybe not right now but soon.

Danny nodded to the group and then looked back at his mentor. Clockwork also nodded, then continued with the show.

The shadow-like figure continued on its way until everything around it began to darken. Just when the viewers were losing sight of their target, the mysterious being's hand lit up in a dark purple hue. Danny blinked a few times, clearly fascinated by what the figure just did.

"Well, at least we now know that whoever this person is, they're either a ghost or another spirit," Danny mused to himself while he crossed his arms.

It wasn't just the fact that the being could create ecto-energy, it was the colour itself! A rich, dark purple. At first glance, it looked almost black. And it could have been black for all they knew. The only problem now was: could they see who the perpetrator was by the glow emanating off their hand to their face?

Their answer came swiftly and to their disappointment, they couldn't see who they were. Whoever they were, they had a cloak covering their body and a long hood over their face. The cloak was black on the outside, but every once in a while, they saw a hint of red and purple from the inside.

They figure kept moving, clearly searching for something, but what it was, they didn't know. Everyone except Clockwork and Vlad.

Vlad had his eye glued to the screen as the figure moved along the hidden corridor. He recalled how he had taken the exact same route, but this time, he was hoping to find out what had been at the end of that path.

Vlad had been so busy looking at the image that he barely caught that Clockwork had turned and stared at his invisible form. When he did notice, he was utterly shocked. So shocked that he almost lost invisibility. Was the time spirit actually able to see him? "No impossible," he told himself. Only others who were invisible could see him. Perhaps the time spirit simply knew he was there because he had seen it all before. That was definitely a plausible case, but would Clockwork do anything?

Vlad smiled, knowing what the most-likely answer to that was. "No, of course not. He wouldn't dare do that; it could ruin his precious time-stream!" Vlad all but gloated to himself, very happy over his small victory.

Clockwork turned back to his viewing orb just as the figure on it had reached what looked like a dead end. The image flickered and then reappeared at a different angle, revealing that it was indeed a dead end, but there was a pedestal with two glowing objects sitting on it. The two objects were glowing with a bright white hue. Though no one could tell what they were exactly, they could see that each of the objects had a huge green gem at the centre with several smaller green gems surrounding it. the pattern at that angle was undistinguishable, but for some reason, both half-ghost teenagers had a feeling that the gems' patterns had a meaning behind them. Finally, there were four, small, white pearl-like gems at each of the corners to the book. Anybody who would have seen it could have easily said that they were a work of art.

Then suddenly, in one fell swoop, the objects were snatched by the hooded being and vanished.

Danny and Danielle's eyes widened before they both shouted, "HE STOLE THE BOOKS!"

Everyone, except Clockwork, was taken a bit aback by the conjoined comment. Even Cujo cringed and yelped as both Phantoms shouted their thoughts. For a while, there was an awkward silence that seemed to envelope everything, that is until Jazz spoke up, "Guys, how do you know those were the books that Frostbite told us were stolen? In fact, how did you know those were books in the first place? The angle was terrible, there is no way that even I could tell what they were."

Danny and Dani looked at each other, but just shrugged. Danny was the one who voiced his thoughts, "I… I don't know. It sort of felt like I knew what they were before I even saw them." Danny looked to his cousin, who just nodded in agreement.

Everyone just stared at them like they were crazy. Clockwork, on the other hand, just smirked; but no one saw it. He knew why they knew that those were the books, but he wasn't going to tell. He knew their futures, they would find out in time.

Vlad watched as the group continued to talk, and honestly, he was getting bored. Yes, all this was very fascinating, but he had already guessed that that was where at least one of the books had been. He was all but ready to leave the Clock Tower. He gotten what he came for, all that was left was for him to search the rest of the area for the one book that was most-likely in the time spirit's possession. But that was easier said than done. He wasn't planning on being caught after all the work he had put into this. If he was going to search the time master's abode, he was either going to have to wait for Clockwork to be distracted by Daniel and his friends, have Clockwork out of the way for a little while, or travel through the spirit's home while he was with the teenagers.

Honestly, none of those options sound even in the slightest bit appealing to the older hybrid, but his best option was to do it while Clockwork was busy or travelling with the group. He didn't have to wait long, because he suddenly heard Danny speak up again, "Clockwork, I… I recently had a nightmare… about… Him. Is something going to happen? Will he… will he break free?"

Clockwork looked down at the boy, whose eyes were all but pleading with him to tell him if something was wrong. Clockwork sighed but then said, "I cannot tell you, Danny, if something will happen or not. That could ruin the time-stream and, although the Observants put me in charge of you as your guardian and mentor, my first priority is the time-stream."

Danny nodded, but then looked up at his mentor again, his question not needing to be voiced, but he did it anyways. With a slightly scared and shaky voice, Danny asked, "Clockwork, could I… see Him? Just to make sure?"

Everyone stared at Danny in disbelief. The one thing running through all their minds was, "Is he serious?"

Danny swallowed, not too sure if he should have asked that. Clockwork looked at the slightly trembling hybrid, his facial expression hiding what he was thinking. He gave a quick glance at Vlad, who didn't miss the silent exchange this time.

Even though Vlad wasn't sure if the time master could see him or not, he still kept his hard expression and nodded his head; like a father does when he give his child permission to do something. Clockwork had a faint smile grace his lips before it returned to his usual neutral look. He looked down at the young male hybrid. Danny was looking down at the floor, rubbing his arm.

Danny was so tense and nervous, he wasn't sure if he want to do this anymore. Maybe it had been a mistake to ask. Danny shook his head slightly, no, he had to do this; or his dreams might just get worse, like they did at Vlad's when he kept his fears looked up.

Danny looked up at his mentor, and Clockwork finally nodded his head. As Clockwork started to float of to some place within his home, Danny looked back at his friends' faces. All of them looked worried for their friend, but gave him reassuring smiles of encouragement.

Sam walked up beside Danny and put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be with you all the way, just like last time and all the other times we've hit hard spots," she said.

Danny smiled at her then took a deep breath. "It was bound to happen at some point," he stated, "might as well be now."

And with that, the group followed Danny down the corridors of the Clock Tower to find Clockwork… and, towards Danny's greatest fear.

Vlad watched as the group left the main area of the tower to follow Clockwork to this… Him. Who was this Him anyways?

When Daniel had stayed with him several months ago, he said that he kept having nightmares about Him. How he was never going to turn into Him. For heaven sakes, this was the ghost that had traumatized Daniel and made him fear himself! Even Jasmine wouldn't talk about this ghost. Vlad assumed that Jazz didn't know much about the ghost, but knew enough to know why Daniel was so terrified of him.

Vlad glanced back at the time orb, which Clockwork had left at the spot the image had been at before he left. The older hybrid raised an eyebrow; was the time spirit expecting someone to notice something that wasn't seen before?

Vlad looked back in the direction that the group of teens and spirit had gone, and then he created a duplicate, which he sent down the same path that the others had gone down. He smiled to himself, happy that he could control his power of duplication so well. It made things like this so much easier.

If they were going to see this ghost that Daniel was more afraid of then he was of Vlad Plasmius, then he wanted to know and see with his own eyes who this ghost was. But he also wanted to get a better look at the image still on the screen.

Although he couldn't see who the figure was while they were under that cloak, he was going to at least take photos of the image for future reference. Vlad pulled out one of his spy bugs and started taking photos. After a few minutes, the older half-ghost noticed something in the image on the screen that he hadn't before.

Sure, the figure was at the same place he had been earlier that day. The pedestal proved that. But there was something about the frozen image. Then Vlad's eyes widened a bit with realisation. The figure's head was looking at the drawing on the wall!

Vlad moved closer to the viewing orb, and without a second thought, he touched it. The little 'film' then resumed where it had left off, and the shadow-like being put a hand up to the image on the wall.

The drawing then began to light up, but dimly. Vlad stared at the drawing again, clearly surprised by the glow it was emitting. He now had a pretty good idea of what all the symbols meant; the four rectangles surrounding the ghost portal were supposedly the four books that he had learned about, and the figure standing in the middle of the human made Ghost Portal was to represent any hybrids that existed.

"Ah… just what I was looking for." A creepy, malicious, yet alluring voice said. Vlad looked around, very surprised to hear anyone speaking, let alone in a room that he believed he was alone in. Vlad looked back at the screen and went wide eyed. It had been the figure on the screen who had spoken, and from the looks of it, he was talking about the drawing on the icy wall.

The figure continued to move their hand over the image, the glow becoming brighter where ever their hand was. Finally, the shadow-like figure's hand stopped near the bottom where some writing that Vlad had missed was.

Vlad began taking pictures of the writing, not sure if it was still back at the Far Frozen or not. The mysterious being started to laugh in the same malicious tone he had spoken in earlier before his hand lit up with a deep purple hue. The figure lifted a clawed hand and swiped at the writing before laughing some more. "Now no one will be able to follow my moves," he said proudly. Then, the image faded and Vlad was left in silence ounce again.

The older hybrid didn't know what to make of what he just saw. "Things just got a whole lot more interesting," Vlad commented to himself. Then, he got a telepathic message from his duplicate and teleported to its location with a swing of his cape and a puff of pink smoke.

Vlad's duplicate, like the original, stayed invisible and travelled with Danny and the others down the hallways, following after Clockwork.

As they travelled down the halls, everyone noticed that the surrounding area was getting dimmer and more depressing. Eventually, blue flames hanging from the walls had to light their way as they continued further. Everyone was taking in the new surroundings, obviously amazed by it. Well, all except Danny, who was nervously looking around, and Vlad's duplicate, who was watching the Ghost Boy with a worried expression.

Danny was shifting his gaze left and right. He was so jumpy by this point; he was surprised that he wasn't bouncing off the walls. This was the first time he had ever travelled down this path, and the fact that he knew who was at the end of it didn't make him feel any better.

Jazz looked at her brother with creased eyebrows. She moved over to him and gave his hand a comforting squeeze. Danny turned his head to look at who was next to him, his eyes glazed over with unshed tears. Jazz gave him a sisterly smile and watched him blink away his tears. When he blinked a few times, he returned the smile.

"Just remember, we're here for you all the way," She told her brother. Danny just nodded and they continued forward.

"So, who are you checking on that's here Danny?" Danielle asked. Other than Vlad and Cujo, she was the only one of the group who had no idea who they were going to visit.

Danny and his friends all looked at each other, and then Danny replied, "It's a long story. I-I-I h-haven't been able t-to tell anyone a-about that time. Maybe this… will allow me to, one day." He ended with his down, trying to hold back his unshed tears again.

Dani just nodded, knowing that her answer was somewhere along this hallway. Whoever this person was, she was hoping that she never had to face anything like them.

A few minutes later, they found Clockwork waiting for them at the end of the hallway, before a closed door. The Plasmius duplicate quickly sent a message to the original, and within a matter of seconds, Vlad reappeared alongside his duplicate. He nodded to the clone and with nothing for it to do, it returned to the older hybrid as energy.

Clockwork looked at the group and then at Danny, possibly waiting for some form of response signalling him to continue. Danny swallowed the lump in his throat and then nodded before saying, "go ahead." Although he still wasn't completely sure about what was going to happen next, he took a deep breath and braced for the worst.

Clockwork nodded then pointed his time staff at the door. A bright blue hue encased his staff and then the door opened. The room was a fair size, large enough that everyone that was currently there could enter.

Clockwork entered first, followed by Danny, team Phantom, Dani and Cujo and then finally Vlad. Danny didn't know what Clockwork had done with the thermos from that day, and he didn't know if he kept it or not. But he did now. Sitting on a lone table at the far side of the room was a thermos with several dents in it. The only thing was the dents came out of the small device, not into it.

Danny walked up to the table and then looked at his mentor and guardian. The young hybrid's face said it all; he was scared, angry, but mostly worried. He was worried for the safety of his family and friends if the being within the soup-container-based weapon became free. This time, it wasn't just about his parents, sister, friends and teacher. It was about all of them plus Danielle, and even Vlad! Then there were all his ghost friends that he just visited today. There was so much more on the line if he became free. But that also meant that there was so much more reason for him to want to protect.

Danny frowned at the thermos and then asked Clockwork, "He is still in there… right?"

His answer came with the sudden metal clanking from the thermos. The metal device moved from side to side, some of the dents being hit again. Jazz, Tucker, and Dani all jumped back out of fear. Sam put a hand on Danny's shoulder to reassure him and Danny just stared at the container with hateful eyes. Vlad watched with more curiosity than he ever thought possible. This was the ghost that had traumatized Daniel?

Danny moved closer to the thermos, when suddenly, Danielle grabbed her cousin's hand. The older of the two ghost-teens looked down at the scared girl's face, but then smiled. He bent down and picked Dani up, who was also still holding Cujo; who was probably just as scared.

Turning around, Danny began to leave the Clock Tower, a few tears falling down his cheeks. As everyone stared at the scared teen hybrids, they began to slowly move away from the thermos and after their friend and family.

Clockwork stayed where he was, looking at the thermos, but then he smiled to himself. Suddenly, he said to himself, "everything is as it should be. Don't you agree, Vlad Plasmius? Or should I call you Vlad Masters?" he turned around, seemingly facing nobody since the rest of the group had left the room.

Vlad blinked a few times, but then regained visibility. He was shocked! He was caught red handed with his hand in the cookie jar, like a child! "You've known I was there the whole time, didn't you?" he stated, rather than questioned.

Instead of replying to his not-real question, the master of time said, "If you are that concerned about Danny's wellbeing, then I would suggest keeping an eye on him. He will need your help soon enough."

Vlad stared at Clockwork with a quizzical look, but then his gaze drifted back to the thermos. "Why on earth is one of Daniel's ridiculous thermos' here? Is He inside that thing?" Vlad pondered to himself.

Noticing his gaze, Clockwork quickly stated, "You have no need to know what that is, why it's here, or who's within it. You have been warned, but it's your choice whether you listen or not."

Vlad looked back at the time spirit, his eyebrows creasing. He knew there was secret meaning behind the being's words, but he had no clue as to what that was. Shaking his, he said, "Well, it's been a pleasure my good spirit, but I must return to my own endeavours." And with that said, he disappeared in puff of pink smoke.

Clockwork just looked back at the thermos as it wobbled back and forth. With one last smile, he turned around and headed back down the hallways back to his viewing orb, which he knew Plasmius had already seen. "Yes, all is as it should be," the time spirit said to the empty room.

Danny and friends had begun their journey home. Before Danny entered the speeder, he could have sworn he felt someone pat him on the back, but when he looked behind him, there was no one there. The young hybrid just shrugged, and entered the vehicle that would take him home.

They went and dropped Dani at her island home along with Cujo. The two had become very good friends since their first encounter that day. As they continued, they met up with Wulf, the final friend of the day, and headed back to the portal after they said their good-byes.

About an hour later, they arrived back in the lab of the Fenton's house. Everyone was exhausted. When they finished unpacking the Specter Speeder, Sam and Tucker said their farewells and headed to their separate homes.

While Jazz went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, Danny went back up to his room. He lay on his bed staring lazily up at the constellations of the glowing stars on his ceiling.

Other than the bad run-ins, finding out about some mysterious thief with no good intentions for the stolen books, and seeing his evil future self, Danny had had a wonderful day. The ghost boy smiled at the thought of finally doing something that he wanted for once. It had been so long, he had almost forgotten how good it felt.

Then, a faint glowing from his dresser caught his attention and wiped the smile off his face. Danny sat up and looked at the glowing water-globe with a thoughtful expression.

"Does Vlad know about the missing books? What's to say that that person wasn't just him in disguise?" Danny thought to himself. Shaking his head, he continued, "No, it couldn't have been Vlad. Sure he knows how to get to the Far Frozen, but he's not really all that welcomed there. It would be almost impossible for him to move around the area without being frozen by one of Frostbite's guards."

Danny continued with his thoughts in this fashion until a sudden knocking at his bedroom door broke him from them.

"Danny? Dinner's ready." His sister's voice said from the other side.

Danny blinked a few times, still trying to focus on what was going on. "Oh! Ok, be down in a minute," he finally replied.

He heard his sister's footsteps fading away and then he sighed. He looked back at the one thing that reminded him of his good times with Vlad before whispering, "The only thing that could have made this day better, would be to have more good times with Vlad like we did all those months ago."

Danny sighed away his depressing thoughts and then headed to the kitchen. When he got there, he was happy to see his favourite dish; pasta. Danny chuckled to himself and sat down, ready to dig in. "Well, I guess this works too," he mused, as he stuck the first bite of his dinner in his mouth, savouring the taste.

After Vlad teleported out of the Clock Tower, he caught sight of Danny about to enter the speeder. Flying over to him, he patted the boy on his back, leaving one of his spy bugs on his back. Pleased with his work, Vlad stood back and waited for him to enter the speeder. When they took off he followed them, hot on their trail.

As soon as he recognized one of the areas they were in, he left the group to their own route and headed to his castle in Wisconsin. Once home, he took out his spy bug with all the photos and videos on it and downloaded the contents from its memory. Glad that his little 'day trip' with Daniel was over with, Vlad transformed into Masters as he left his lab and headed to his dining room for dinner.

When he got there, he sat down in his usual seat and waited. He didn't wait long, since a ghost floated into the room with a plate of food.

"Thank you, Derek," Vlad said to his butler, who just bowed and floated away.

Vlad began eating his dinner with relish. He hadn't eaten since earlier that morning and his growling stomach confirmed it. if he was ever going to do that again, he was going to make a note to bring some things along.

As he continued with his plate, his mind began to wonder. What did Clockwork mean when he said that Daniel would need his help? Was Daniel actually right in thinking something big was going to happen? And what was with that thermos at the time master's abode? Who was in it? How did it get there? And why was Daniel so wary of it?

These questions and more came to the billionaire's mind he ate. When he was finished, he decided that he couldn't be bothered with it at this time, and headed back to his lab to make sure the cameras at the Fenton's home were on.

When he completed his task he headed for the door to the lab only to freeze and turn around when he heard Danny and Jazz talking from one of the live feeds.

"Danny? Dinner's ready." His sister's voice said from the other side of the boy's bedroom door.

Danny stared blankly at the door before saying, "Oh! Ok, be down in a minute."

Then Danny sighed and looked back at his dresser where the water-globe of Germany sat. He then whispered, "The only thing that could have made this day better, would be to have more good times with Vlad like we did all those months ago." Then he headed out of the room.

Vlad just stared in utter disbelief. Did Daniel just say that having Vlad around would have made his day better? Of course not in the way that meant they would get into a fight, but still! The older hybrid shook his head and then chuckled. Perhaps he should keep an eye on his teenage foe while he looks for these precious artefacts.

Making a mental note, Vlad walked out of the lab and towards his room to get ready for bed. Today really had been a tiring, but wonderful, day.

Phantom: Well that's it for chapter four! Wow, it's my longest chapter yet. And sorry again for the long wait. Things just keep coming up.

Trainer: no kidding.

Phantom: and for those of you keeping track (because I certainly haven't) Vlad's made several mental notes that he'll act upon later. No sneak-peaks!

Trainer: also Phantom has been bummed since Thursday since we had our last music lesson with our awesome teacher. He's known us for so long, it's not even funny.

Phantom: *holding back tears* yeah, I'm really sad about that. But something the readers should really know! Trainer and I will be absent for about two months a week from today, so I won't be able to update. Sorry, but life is unfair sometimes. Just ask Vlad or Danny.

Trainer: *running out of the room* Freedom! Almost there. Come on SUMMER!

Phantom: Yep, that just about sums it up. Have a wonderful summer guys. I'll be back with another chapter hopefully when I get back. PEACE!