Author Notes: Thanks for reading and please review !
(Amity Park: 10 years into the future)
The future…
It was supposed to be bright and full of untold opportunity for everyone who existed. Whether it be within the ghost world, or the human realm the future was supposed to be something to look forward too. However, all Clockwork could see was devastation, a dying ghost world whose horrors had begun leaking into the human realm. The ghost of time watched as one of his many time rifts showed him the awaiting future.
The human world, which had once been full of life was now nothing more than a barren wasteland! All life had been scraped away leaving nothing, but desolate and rocky lands formations where lush vegetation once flourished. No prey or predators roamed; there was nothing, nothing but silence and death. However, there was one exception, in the center of all that devastation remained one city, Amity Park! Surrounded by a futuristic ghost shield the city of Amity Park was closed off from the outside world. This small fact had allowed them to be protected from the monster who laid waste to their surroundings.
That is until now!
Clockwork watches as the rift zooms in on the futuristic city, it stops to reveal Casper High School. Identical in all its over-a-century-old glory, save for the many futuristic buildings behind it. A yellow-orange car is parked with its wheels deployed and its door open vertically. A girl in blonde pig tales jumps out and joins the ocean of students hanging out on the campus. The car takes flight and zooms off to the unknown. Suddenly a hoverboard with an older version of Valerie Gray, surfs across the sky. Like her town she too had changed, now sporting a crew cut and dark red jump suit, she looked older…wiser.
Clockwork's attention focuses on her as she flies over the lucky citizens of Amity Park.
They are now her sole responsibility; she is the only ghost hunter left. Her eyes sadden at the thought, but she pushes it away. It was best not to remember what had happened that day.
"Hi!" some kids below her waved happily.
Valerie looking down and smiling, salutes with two fingers, then looks forward. As she flies past, her face slowly forms a smile. Yes, the past had been bad, but at least now here in the future; she, with the help of her father had made a paradise for what was left of mankind.
Still pain filled her heart as she flew over the Nasty Burger 2, she couldn't understand why it had to happen this way. Sure, she knew the events that had taken place, she knew what, no who had caused this! But her heart, and her mind could not understand how someone who was once so pure had nearly caused the end of them all!
Valerie shook her head, as a row of six force-field towers came into view. 'Don't go there girl.' she warned. 'It's only going to make you start crying…again!' Valerie forces herself to take her own advice, as she jumps off her board and onto the balcony of one of the towers. Valerie touches a button on her watch, and powers down her board as she walks toward a panel with a huge blue x on it.
Valerie opens it with a press of her watch; inside there are three bars, one yellow, one green, and one red. All are fully illuminated. Valerie observes these bars, and nods to herself, breathing a sigh of relief. They are displaying healthy readings, which meant this tower was fully operational. "That's nine down and 1 more to go." she told herself. She then lifted her communications watch and pushes a button on it, and spoke. "Ghost shield tower nine; 100 percent operational."
The screen on the watch turns on to reveal an older version of her father.
"Great, sweetie. Let's check the last tower and get back-"
The watch cuts to static!
Valerie's eyes widen, "Daddy? Daddy?" she screams.
Suddenly with a loud beep, a pair of red eyes appear on the screen.
"Hello, Valerie." the voice of those eyes spoke darkly cutting into her like a knife.
No! She knew those eyes; she knew that voice! 'This can't be happening!' she thought. 'Why him? Why now?'
"Why Valerie you look scared." the owner of those eyes dark chuckle brought her out of her trance.
"you, again?!" she snapped trying to force herself to sound indifferent, like she didn't know those eyes on a more personal level, but she did. Though she told no one of this, not even her father knew the truth. "I don't care how powerful you are, ghost, you can't break through the shield!"
"Until today." the owner of those eyes answered ominously. Then those same red eyes widen on the screen, and a howl rings out.
Valerie clamps her hands over her ears, wincing. The howl shakes the entire city. People below her also cover their head as they try to avoid broken glass as it falls from the shattering windshields of the flying cars above them.
Valerie doubles over, gasping as she realizes the levels on the tower meter are beginning to drop rapidly, then the generator on top of the tower explodes. Valerie grabs her hoverboard and leaps from the balcony as explosions rattles down the tower, the shockwave knocking her off her board. She tumbles down through the smoke, and towards the hard ground. However, seconds before she becomes a pancake she remembers her watch, and by pushing a button she signals her board, and it zooms toward her, saving her from her certain death.
Wide-eyed, Valerie comes to a stop straddling the hoverboard to stare up at the still-smoking tower. Valerie watches helplessly as the rest of the towers began to explode one after another like a sick domino effect of doom! The ghost shield dissolves at the generator points and sizzles away, leaving the city exposed. Lightning strikes, and people scream and run in the streets. Emergency bunker entrances with flashing red lights rise out of the streets and people race inside. Above the milling streets, Valerie looks at her watch, trying to glare down at the eyes of the monster, but deep down she was trembling.
"Do you like the new power?" the voice of the eyes asked. "I call it my ghostly wail."
Scowling, Valerie is about to respond when she is distracted by a sound overhead. She looks up to see a blazing purple blast coming at her. The impact knocks her out and she falls, coming to a crash-landing in front of the Nasty Burger 2. Bruised, she opens her eyes.
"You?" she whispers in surprise.
A purple-haloed form swoops down, hovering above her.
It's the Fright-Knight, the ghost of fear, and the right-hand man of the old ghost king.
"Yes, Me." Fright-Knight laughs, somewhat amused by her weaken state. "And I serve a new master now." he declared striking her again with another blow.
Valerie scrambles to her feet, as the Fright-Knight hauls back and throws another purple crystal blast at her. Scowling, she punches a button on her gauntlet and her hoverboard sweeps her out of the way just in time. She sighs in relief as the blast vaporizes the Nasty Burger 2 behind her. "Gotta get to dad..." she whispered anxiously.
Purple explosions erupt around her as she zips down the street then up a building, with the Fright-Knight hot on her heels. She arches up through the smoke, then disappears in a burst of speed toward Fenton Works. The Fright-Knight forms another purple blast crystal, this one bigger than he is, and flings it. Valerie dodges and it impacts the ops center, knocking the array off the top and splitting it open like a dropped watermelon.
Valerie zips in through the hole, flying down through the house and into the lab, where red alarm lights are flashing. Her father, Mr. Gray is at a console. Valerie momentarily flinches at the sight of his missing arm, the ghost that was after her now was responsible for that! Her eyes narrowed. 'Fright-Knight!' she jumps off the board and runs to her father's side. "Dad, the Fright-Knight's here. Which means he! Can't be far behind. What do we do? What can we-?"
Suddenly the ghostly wail rings out again, shaking the lab.
"Valerie, run." Mr. Gray shouts, but it's too late.
The red lights shut down, leaving the lab in a green dim light, and they both turn to look at the Fenton portal. The ground splits open, starting at the base of the portal and zigzagging toward them, green light shining from the fissure, and a dark, red-eyed figure bursts up from it his back turned to them, wearing a white and black jumpsuit with a white cape, green flame blazing around him.
He turns, and Valerie's eyes narrow on the logo dawning his chest. She knew the DP logo well, but the Danny Phantom before her now with the, flaming white hair, bluish-green skin, pointed ears, fangs, and a goatee; was unrecognizable.
"Hello, Valerie." the monster, Dan, as she had come to call him in her mind smiled.
Valerie gapes at him.
"And goodbye." he mused, raising a hand, and releases an ectoblast, causing Fenton Works to explode around them.
"Now do you understand?" a pair of shadowed Observants asked Clockwork as they hover nearby in high-collared capes, clock gears turning behind them. The Observants are merely humanoid ghost with large eyeball like heads. However, like Clockwork they see all, know all, but unlike him they knew nothing of time.
Time was a complicated maze, a labyrinth of twist and turns, and crossroads where one decision can change the end result.
Clockwork shifts his form to his past self, a child Clockwork flies up in front of the time rift he has been observing, he is covered with his purple hooded cape, his time staff in hand. "Yes. Danny Phantom grows up to be the evilest ghost on the planet." he shifts to adult form and turns, scowling. "What do you want me to do about it?"
"You are the master of time!" The first observant snapped. "Isn't it obvious?"
The second observant moved forward into the light. "To save the future, Danny Phantom must perish. You must destroy him!"
Clockwork pauses as he seems to absorb the information he has been given. "You want me to destroy his present self?" he asked.
"Yes, of course." the first observant states. "We need to ensure as little damage to both worlds as possible; for neither can live without the other!"
Clockwork floats over to another time rift, this one shows the present day. As Clockwork's form shifts into an elderly version of himself, Danny Fenton, and his friends; Sam and Tucker appear in the rift.
At the moment the three friends are in their school auditorium where Mr. Lancer at the podium, Jazz (Danny's sister) and Irving (some Nasty Burger employ) are sitting in chairs on either side of him.
Mr. Lancer clears his throat and speaks. "Your future is not carved in stone, people, but it may be carved with a no. 2 pencil!" he holds one up for all to see.
Out in the auditorium, Danny and Tucker are sitting next to each other with Sam right behind them. Her arms are crossed and propped on the back of their seats as she looks on in disinterest. Danny, however, is sitting up and listening intently, whereas Sam and Tucker look bored out of their minds.
"Oh, please." They whisper in unison.
Danny shushes them. "Quiet, this is important!" he insisted.
Tucker and Sam stare at him, thrown, then exchange a look as Mr. Lancer continues his pep talk.
"As most of you have probably forgotten, you will be taking the career aptitude test." The letters C.A.T.. And the words they stand for are spelled out on the projector screen behind him as he speaks. "On Saturday. Do well, like Ms. Fenton here." he gesturing to Jazz. "Who got the highest score in the history of the C.A.T.? And a successful future will be assured!" an image of two obnoxiously rich people flinging money around clicked onto the screen, followed by a fancy car, a mansion strongly resembling Vlad's, and a yacht. Mr. Lancer clears his throat, and his voice darkens as he looks over to Irving, who is sleeping with his mouth open and drooling. "However, if you fail like Irving "third degree" burns here, who got the lowest score in the history of the C.A.T.., you will be doomed to a career at the Nasty Burger." an image of the burger joint displays on the projector.
Irving wakes up with a start, obviously insulted he stands up angrily shouting. "Hey! Working at Nasty Burger takes brains, you know! If those forty-two nasty secret herbs and spices in our nasty sauce are overheated, it could cause an explosion that could take out a whole city block!"
His words bring him only disgusted faces as the students stare at him, unimpressed.
Irving sighed, walking off the stage in humiliation. "Oh, who am I kidding? My life is over."
Mr. Lancer holds up the answer booklet to the C.A.T. knowingly. "These aren't just the answers to the test. They're the answers to your future." he holds up a briefcase and puts the booklet inside, then closes it and handcuffs it to his wrist. "So, study, and remember, it's your future. Do you want fries with it?"
Danny watches as Mr. Lancer marches offstage, briefcase in hand. 'If I could just take a peak then I'd pass for sure.' he thought.
Tucker looks to Danny; he grows concern at his friend's blank expression. "Dude, you ok? Danny?"
"What are you waiting for?" The first observant hissed. "It's the perfect chance to take him out!"
"Yes, he is surrounded by others, he cannot fight back and risk revealing his true identity." The second observant agreed.
"That's the problem with you Observants." Clockwork argued, as he switches back to his child form. "All you do is observe."
"You know our oath." The first observant cut in. "to watch –"
"-and never act." Clockwork snapped back. "We all made this oath, but every time you see something you do not agree with you force my hand."
"Are you refusing our order?" the second observant asked.
"It is against the laws of time for me to eliminate anyone from any timeline, you know this." Clockwork argued. "I will however give him a chance to make the right choice." he looks back to the present time rift and fast-forwards time with the rise of his staff. It flashes, the rift now shows Danny studying at his kitchen table. "He turns evil because he's under pressure for some test. Fine. Then perhaps it's time for a test of my own." he says focusing on the boy.
Danny is surrounded by books and working through a C.A.T. Sample test. He taps the paper with his pencil for a moment, then drops his head into his hands despairingly. Jazz comes up behind him, peering over his shoulder with both hands on the back of his chair. None of the bubbles have been filled in. She frowns quizzically. Smiling a little, Danny lowers his hand to mark his first answer as A.
Jazz gave a warning sound to signify that he was wrong. Danny looks back at her and she covers her mouth. Frowning and sweating a little, Danny starts to mark B instead.
Jazz raises a finger again, wincing "no-"
Danny lifts his pencil, and goes for C this time.
"Danny I-"
Danny flings his hands in the air, making Jazz flinch back. "Ok! I get it! You're brilliant, I'm stupid, and I'll never be able to get as high a score as you." he sighs looking down at his empty sample answer sheet. "So far I'm not even qualified to scrape the grease off the nasty grill." he huffs, flicking his pencil away.
Jazz looks down on him knowingly. "All I want is for you to succeed, Danny. And doing well on this test can help. There are three things I've learned in life…"
Danny props his head on one hand and glares flatly as she takes on a lecturing tone.
Danny and Jazz suddenly continue the lecture in unison as Danny mocks her proving that he's heard this lecture before. "Study hard, do your best, and –"
"Duck!" Jazz exclaimed as some metal boomerang comes bursting into the kitchen.
Danny stares at her, thrown for a loop, then the boomerang clocks him in the back of the head and lands on the table with a clang. "Ow!" he cries clutching his head, then picking up the boomerang. "A boomerang?" he asked quizzically.
His parents, Jack and Maddie come running in.
Still rubbing his head, Danny flings the boomerang off through the living room doorway.
"I call it the Boooooomerang!" Jack gesturing spookily. "It locks in on a ghost's unique echo-signature and seeks it out wherever it goes!"
Suddenly the boomerang spinning through the living room, changes its path, and starts hurtling back into the kitchen, and it whacks Danny in the head again. Maddie picks it up, frowning down at the device. "Although why it's keyed into Danny is way beyond me."
Jack looks down, noticing the C.A.T. practice test. "What's that, Dan? One of those stupid C.A.T. Tests? I failed that, and I didn't turn out to be a cat." he said looking pleased with himself.
Danny moans in despair as his parents trot out of the room. Clenching his fits and growling, Danny glares at the sample sheet. "Oh, I give up—"
Clockwork suddenly steps in and freezes time. "Time out!" he declares.
Danny freezes in the act of sweeping the test and a book off the table, Jazz freezes as she begins to sneeze, and a blue-white light flares in midair, turning into a clock hand that sweeps a blue disc of light into being. It disappears, and adult Clockwork appears in its place along with the Box Ghost, who seems to be asleep or unconscious.
Clockwork looks around, and smiles. "Ah, good his parents are gone. He's alone with his sister." he flies in a ring around the frozen Danny and Jazz and returns to the Box Ghost. He punches the button on top of his staff, and declares. "time in!" he then vanishes in a swirling ball of light as Danny's book and sample test land on the floor and Jazz sneezes.
Danny gasped as his ghost sense goes off. "A ghost? Here?" he jumps out of the chair and yells at Jazz. "Now get out of my room!"
Jazz looks confused "We're in the kitchen!" however, her expression changes to shock as she sees the Box Ghost floating behind her brother. 'I have to go so he can turn ghost.' she realized. "But if that's your attitude, I don't wanna see you - or anything you might do in here in the next several minutes!" she declares, stomping off.
"What's up with her?" Danny asked.
"I am the Box Ghost!" a voice shouts behind him.
Danny rolls his eyes realizing who it is in an instant. "You've got to be kidding me!" he said turning around. "How many times do I have to beat you senseless!" he exclaimed, as he changed into his ghost form.
The Box Ghost screams "Beware!" before taking off through the kitchen walls, and outside into the street.
Danny gives chase, flying after the Box Ghost, and towards the Nasty Burger. They zoom past Mr. Lancer, who is still cuffed to the briefcase, and sitting down at one of the outdoor tables with a burger, fries, and cup of coffee. He looks up as Sam and Tucker approach his table. "Shouldn't you slackers be studying for the C.A.T.? It's the day after tomorrow students."
"I've already studied." Tucker assured him. "Besides statistic show that cramming two days before overloads the brain."
"I'm sure we'll do fine." Sam assured her teacher.
Mr. Lancer picked up the briefcase and pointed at it. "The test answers in this briefcase may indicate otherwise." he warned her. "Enjoy your Nasty Burgers while you're still on this side of the counter. Hahahaha!"
Tucker and Sam look unimpressed at his joke; however, their expressions change as the box for Mr. Lancer's burger begins to glow. Then smears him in the face with the burger that lies inside as it goes flying off.
"Fast food nation!" Mr. Lancer declares in shock.
All over the restaurant, people gasp as their food boxes fly off their trays and goes zooming out the door. Above the Nasty Burger, it swirl around the Box Ghost as he faces off against Danny.
"Prepare to be defeated by the boxes of this nasty establishment!" the Box Ghost says all spooky like.
"Seriously? Sure, the place is called Nasty Burger, but the restaurant and its food is not nasty."
Box Ghost looks confused by this, but shakes it off. "I do not care if the food is good, I care about eliminating you with their boxes!" he flings the mass of boxes at him, but Danny goes intangible and it all flies through him.
"Oh, come on! You are the Box Ghost you know how this ends!" Danny declares.
The Box Ghost suddenly strikes bringing both fists down on his head, knocking him out of the air. Falling intangibly through the roof of the Nasty Burger, he lands spread-eagled on a table. The people still inside scream and run out.
Tucker and Sam watch helplessly as scared towns people run past them. Inside, Danny gets up and faces off against the Box Ghost who has followed him in. Behind the counter two employees get up to leave.
"Let's get out of here!" they scream making a run for it!
Irving tries to stop them, putting his hands on his hip he stands in front of them knowingly. "No! You can't leave! As a duly deputized Nastronaut, you took an oath to protect the nasty sauce from overheating at all costs!" he pauses as he points to two tall vats. A small dial on the side with a color warning scale has its needle in the green.
"At minimum wage? I don't think so!" the two teen employs run past him, and out the door.
Irving scrams after them. "You can kiss employee of the month goodbye!"
Flying up over the two vats, Danny gets an idea. "That's right! He said at the assembly if this stuff gets too hot, kaboom!" he looks over at the condiment station, where there is a box of multicolored nasty sauce packets. He picks up one, and flings it at the oncoming Box Ghost.
"Prepare for –" the Box Ghost freezes, mid-sentence as the nasty packet lands on his hat.
"Hey Box Ghost." Danny says in a sing-song manner raising one finger, he sends a focused beam at the nasty packet. "Beware!"
The nasty sauce packet swells then explodes, kicking Danny through the wall and blowing the top off the Nasty Burger. Outside, a crowd of people look on, Mr. Lancer in front. He raises his briefcase to shield his face from the flying debris, and a sauce-splattered Danny falls through it, intangible, to land next to Sam and Tucker.
Irving stumbles through the front door as Mr. Lancer lowers his briefcase. She's gonna blow!" he exclaimed.
"Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance! Run!" Mr. Lancer screamed like a little girl.
Screaming, everyone but the trio runs.
"Wow Danny did you have to trash the Nasty Burger to defeat one ghost?" Sam asked.
Danny bit his lip, and changed back to his human form as he gets to his feet. "Okay maybe that was a bit extreme." he admitted.
"A bit?" Sam began to lecture, but Danny is no longer listening as he suddenly notices there is something stuck to his back. He peels it away and gasped as he realizes it's the C.A.T. answer packet. "Oh my gosh. The answers to the C.A.T.!"
Clockwork and the two Observants are watching closely.
"Now watch this." Clockwork said, gesturing to the time rift that was showing them all these events. "He'll make the right choice. And you'll see, you've got absolutely nothing to—"
Danny holds up the packet triumphantly. "Hello, great future!" he shouts.
Tucker narrowed his eyes at him. "You're not actually thinking of peeking at the answers, are you?"
Danny scoffs, as if surprised by his friend's reaction. "Of course, I am, aren't you?
The first observant, Melk gasped at his words. "He's stolen the test answers."
The second observant, Klem added: "he's clearly going to cheat!"
"You must destroy him!" Melk insisted.
"You must destroy him!" Klem agreed.
Clockwork looks cross. "You said that twice." he pointed accusingly as he shifted into child form.
"Destroy him now, Clockwork." Melk says, more demanding this time.
Switching back to adult form, Clockwork sticks his hand in the opening of another rift. "No!" he says. "I told you there are no exceptions; I cannot kill anyone no matter what harm they may cause in the future. I also cannot manipulate him, or influence him to make a better decision." the rift opens, showing cut scenes of the future, Skulker's images shows briefly, followed by him and Danny fighting. "I put the answers to the test in his hands, and he made the wrong decision."
The rift continues to show images, a smoking wreck of the Nasty Burger appears showing an exposed heating element by the nasty sauce tanks. And as the heat meter moves up to yellow Clockwork punches a button on his staff, making the rift go to static, then it shows one final moment in time. Danny's family and friends and Mr. Lancer stand around the Nasty Burger arguing over something or another. The restaurant explodes, and Danny is shielding himself against the blast and screaming "Nooooo!"
"It is done!" Clockwork announces floating up in front of the time rift.
"No, you must destroy him, you cannot allow this future to play forward!" Melk cried.
"It is against the laws of time!" Clockwork insisted.
"Then change it!" Klem sounded desperate now. "You're the father of time, you can change the future!"
"I am sorry." Clockwork said, his head bowed. "But it is not my future to change. As of right now in less Danny comes clean about the answers before 5:00 pm on Saturday, the monster of the future will become a reality."
"You must break the laws!" Klem urged. "At least once more!" he begged.
"I am sorry." Clockwork turned and floated away. "But his future is sealed…"
- To Be Continued