Hello again! Sorry to keep you waiting for the next chapter...school is getting hectic again. Plus, writer's block sucks! Anyways, I hope you enjoy Chapter 8. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE REVIEWS...I love to read the comments :)
Danny flew, eyebrows furrowed as he raced through the mysterious green realm that was the Ghost Zone. He was furious, but he didn't really know who to direct his anger at. Was he mad at his friends for invading his privacy and breaking his trust? Or was he mad at himself for having so many hiccups so soon after creating his "normal" life with the Reality Gauntlet? Maybe both.
Absent-mindedly, Danny brought his hand up to his chest and rested his hand over the medallion nestled between his skin and the material of his suit. Putting the impending issue of a new ghost that was seemingly stalking Danny, he was going to need help getting his life back to a manageable state. Somehow he's got to be able to balance school and what little social life he had all while keeping his secret a secret. He was sure Clockwork would be able to help him.
Arriving at the doors to Clockwork's castle, Danny didn't bother knocking, but instead just let himself in. He highly respected his ghostly ally, but he was in a funk and he had so many questions weighing on his mind that needed answering.
"Clockwork!" He meant it more as a question, asking if the Time Master was in, but his salty attitude leaked into his voice making his tone a pinch more rough.
"Welcome, young ghost child," Clockwork calmly greeted him with his smooth, silky voice. Danny turned in the direction from which the voice came, and saw Clockwork in his adult form descending a side staircase as he entered the massive entryway. The ghost boy nodded in acknowledgement of his greeting, and without a word, followed him into the Observation Room.
Clockwork wandered about room in silence, so Danny took the initiative, and spoke first. "Clockwork, I need-"
"Help." The Time Master finished Phantom's sentence. Danny stammered a little bit from being cut off, but continued on, "Well, that too, but I really need answers."
"What you need is guidance," Clockwork corrected him.
Danny's mood wasn't getting any better with Clockwork's cryptic, roundabout way of getting to the issues at hand. Time was of the essence, maybe not to a Time Master, but for Danny, time wasn't his to control.
Transitioning into an elder ghost, Clockwork floated over to where Danny was standing and began circling him slowly.
"Oh, but you can," Clockwork spoke.
Can what? Danny hadn't said anything, only silently steamed while trying to calm his nerves in an attempt to have a rational conversation with his mentor.
"You can control time."
"Control time?"
"Indeed," Clockwork mused as he examined the confused expression upon Danny's face. He slowed his pace as he hovered behind Danny, and just observed him as if he could see the gears turning inside the ghost boy's head. When it didn't seem like the boy's brows could furrow any further, Clockwork gave him a hint.
"Have you already forgotten about my gift?"
Just then, a light bulb went off. Danny gingerly lifted the medallion chain over his head of snow white hair as Clockwork rounded his shoulder and stopped to hover face to face with the ghost boy.
Danny didn't see the Time Master who was now directly in front of him. Instead, the bathroom scene from Nasty Burger played through his head. He remembered how Tucker had just frozen, mid-stride as he was entering the men's room. Was that his doing? I thought it was one of that Chimera ghost's powers.
"I'm disappointed in you, Phantom," Clockwork teased, but in all actuality, Danny picked up on the seriousness in his tone.
"So this can stop time?" Danny asked, looking up from his palm that held the medallion to meet the gaze of Clockwork's child form floating in front of him.
"Momentarily in the human realm, yes," he clarified. "I created it for you for the purpose of avoiding ghostly incidents when in the company of your friends, family, and classmates."
So like a timeout for when the Box Ghost comes to terrorize the Drama Department...
"Nice of you to tell me this now," Danny's annoyance masked his excitement.
Clockwork just eyed the boy, dissatisfied with his response, before wandering off and pacing the Observation Room.
"You've already discovered it's power, have you not?"
"...yes."
"And you're identity is still secret, is it not?"
"...yes," Danny answered stubbornly.
"Then, no harm done, yes?"
Danny shrugged in agreement, realizing the Time Master had a valid point. He was secretly excited to try out his new gadget now that he knew of its power, but that sensation was clouded by the realization that the perfect "normal" life he had tried to create would always remain just a fantasy.
He thought back to the battle with Freakshow and the events that had ensued - his identity being exposed and consequently wiping everyone's recollection of it with the Reality Gauntlet. So long as he still possessed his ghostly abilities, he'd always be fated to fight ghosts whether he really wanted to or not.
"So it was all pointless," Danny said drably as he once again fastened the medallion chain around his neck and tucked the pendant away beneath the spandex of his suit. "I'll never be able to live a normal life, will I?"
Clockwork looked upon the frustrated boy from across the room, eyes full of empathy, before speaking: "You are destined for great things, Daniel."
Danny scoffed, his sour mood overcoming his temporary enlightenment from discovering the power of Clockwork's medallion. "Great things," he joked, "I can't even go out for a burger without slipping up."
"It's just a matter of practice," Clockwork encouraged with a thin, half smile. "Besides, don't you have more important things to worry about?"
Danny raised an eyebrow, momentarily dumb-founded by what Clockwork was trying to get at. The Chimera ghost, Danny thought as he remembered why he came to the Ghost Zone in the first place.
"Do you know who he is?" Danny figured Clockwork would be able to tell him just who he was up against.
Clockwork paused for a brief period, as if evaluating whether or not it was in his best interest to answer Phantom. As a Master of Time, he abided by a strict code of secrecy as to not disrupt the natural occurrence of things. He supposed a name and a past were details of little significance, and therefore were safe to divulge to Danny.
"He's known as the Alchemist," Clockwork noted as various images of the Chimera ghost appeared upon the orb-like screens throughout the Observation Room.
Danny's interest peaked at his name. He briefly scanned the few images of the ghost before realizing one vital detail: the beast was pieced together like Frankenstein. Lizard arms, dragon's tail, ram's head and horns, not to mention its stomach-turning red hide - he was a puzzle of various mythic creatures.
"The Alchemist? As in real alchemy?" Danny asked before continuing, "I thought that was just a myth."
Clockwork choked back a soft chuckle at the boy's innocence, and offered, "More like a forbidden art that has largely died out since his era."
The ghost boy mulled Clockwork's words around in his head. Chimera. Alchemy. Forbidden art. Alchemists are, or at least were, essentially the equivalents of witches and wizards of modern day fairy tales.
Only you can set me free... The phrase rang in his ear from his encounter with The Alchemist back at the Nasty Burger. Things just weren't adding up though. Of what use could a measly teenager be to a creature whose only limitation was the extent of his own imagination?
"If he's a true alchemist, then he can create anything out of anything else. What does he need me for?"
"To be free and take over the Ghost Zone, no doubt," Clockwork knew what Danny would ask before the words even came out of the young half ghost's mouth. "He is prisoner to a realm of no substance, and thereby..."
"...can't escape." Danny understood now, but he couldn't imagine why he'd willingly release a prisoner, let alone a ghost as powerful as the mysterious Alchemist. "There's no way I'd release him even if I knew where the hell he is."
The orb screens returned to a swirling mirage of green as an adult Clockwork turned away from where Danny stood.
"He's not the only one you have to worry about," Clockwork warned as an air of tension overcame the room. He briefly wondered if he had over spoke by leaking too much information, but Danny needed to understand what he was up against.
"Who else?" Danny's tone was urgent. An odd sensation in his gut was telling him that something big was about to come his way. He thought back to all of the toughest ghosts he's faced throughout his career as Danny Phantom. He'd had his fair share of rough bouts, but he'd always managed to emerge victorious. Skulker, Vlad, Freakshow, Technus, Nocturn, Fright Knight, Undergrowth, Pariah Dark. He's defeated all of them, some even on multiple occasions. But each time he had help...
This time Clockwork couldn't give Danny the answer he was looking for. He merely responded, "Time will tell." Classic cryptic Clockwork. Danny ought to be satisfied with what he did manage to get out of the Master of Time.
The ghost boy put up a front, refusing to show any wavering emotions in the presence of his mentor. He puffed out his chest and tried to sound confident, but really he sounded like an insecure hard ass. "I can take 'em, whoever it is."
"Alone?" Clockwork saw right through his façade, and called his bluff.
As much as Danny didn't want to seem vulnerable, they both knew Clockwork was right. Danny was completely alone now - no more ghost fighting trio with Sam and Tucker. Protecting Amity Park with his two best friends always by his side had caused Danny to rely heavily on them for back up. Was he really as strong as he thought he was? Or were his friends just picking up his slack? And since when had he let his guard down?
He mentally scolded himself for getting accustomed to exposing two humans to the dangers of his ghost fighting activities. They can handle it, he always thought. But they shouldn't have had to. He should be able to fight hard and strong enough for all three of them, even back when they knew of his ghost half. They should've only had to rely on him, not the other way around. And now that they were no longer by his side as part of his ghost fighting team, Danny had to straighten up his act. He needed to get stronger.
Clockwork circled the boy as the gears worked inside his young mind. Danny's expression turned into one of determination, and looked as if he had been born into a new light, breaking the shackles of naivety. Clockwork knew what was coming next - he had foreseen it - and he was prepared to agree to the terms that were about to come from the halfa's lips.
"Train me."