Chapter 18; Clocks and Time

Ah...the smell of freedom lol. Spring Break, no more dealing with idiots in my school lol. Anyway; review replies!

Oak Leaf Ninja: Lucky you lol, this week will be amazing lol! I hope you like this chappie too.

Luna WhiteWolf: Oi...her uncle? Interesting lol and thanks!

FireWolfHeart: Lol, yes, Death is THAT powerful lol. And yeah...but it wasn't storming, just a light drizzle...where are ya? Wait...you don't have to answer that lol.

Jabber185: Yeah! New reader lol and I'll get your character in this chappie too I think. Thanks for another OC!

Okay, so two new characters this chappie, and I can't wait to write about them XD. Here we go!

Everyone gathered near the Fenton portal, forming a lopsided half circle. Danny, still holding the infi-map, was standing in the middle, facing his portal. He kept twisting the map this way and that, seemingly confused. "Danny, what's going on?" I was standing next to him, but couldn't catch a glimpse at what he was studying. "It says here that there's another halfa in the Ghost Zone." He pointed at Clockworks realm. "Hm..." My eyebrows turned down as I studied the mark.

"Danny, take the rest of the group and get back home." I murmured to him, taking the map. "But..." I gave him a stern look, and his face fell. "Okay, but promise me you'll be safe," His eyes turned pleading and I smiled. "Of course dude, safety is what I'm always about," I winked and turned back to the group at large. "Everybody is too head through the portal. Danny, I want y'all to wait till I'm back. Sam and Jazz should be in the lab soon anyway. Introduce everybody and I suppose you should give weapons to the regular humans." Everyone was looking at me like I was absolutely crazy. "Come on," Danny ushered everybody towards the portal. "Be safe," He mouthed to me before stepping through the portal as well.

Dex's POV

After we had sent Dani and Plasmius off, Tucker suggested we make our way back to the Fenton's. We were just walking down one of the alley ways, wanting to avoid the ghost infested roads at all times, when we ran into her. Here I was thinking that my hard work was done, and she comes running up to us.

"Hey!" The shout was coming from behind us, and I turned to see an older looking black girl running. She was half ghost, I noticed, and she looked like she was about to beat the crap out of someone. "Where can I find Danny Phantom?" She nearly shouted in my face. I blinked, stepped back and studied her more.

The girl had shoulder length white hair with pink streaks. Her t-shirt was a pink half shirt that showed off a flat stomach and an inn-y bellybutton. Her white booty shorts were about as short as you could get them, and showed off perfectly muscled legs. A P glowed faintly in the middle of her shirt. She was intimidating, I won't lie, and I was almost scared to answer her.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but who are you?" I asked her. "Hey, I'm Tucker, Tucker Foley," Tucker started flirting with her, and her expression turned sour. "I'll talk to you," She pointed her finger at me. "I'm Pepper, the halfa of New Orleans." She looked proud of this and I figured that it was pretty cool, being part of the party city. "Well, we were heading to Fenton Works, which I assume that's where he'll be, if you want to walk or, float I suppose, with us." I smiled at her, showing her I wasn't meaning to flirt. Pepper nodded and took to the air. Be ready Alex, more help is on the way, I thought as we set out once again.

Alex's POV

Even Clockwork's realm looked abandoned. The normal chimes of various clocks sounded hallow and empty. Everywhere I looked, unnatural shadows lurked, but I still hadn't caught sight of Clockwork. When I reached the main room, however, a human boy stood there, staring at a blank screen. He seemed stressed, and worried. "Hey," I spoke softly, but the boy just continued to stare.

The boy had light brown hair that hung past his ears. He was wearing black jeans and a white, three-quarter red sleeved T-shirt. His skin was perfectly tanned, much like some of the deeper south Texas boys I'd met. In the reflection of the screen, I saw his hazel eyes dart quickly my way. He stood about six feet, just a little taller than me.

"Have you ever felt lost?" His voice was soft, like whispering wind. "Of course," I replied. He looked back at me, his eyes swam with sadness. I couldn't smile, not with that sad expression. He looked about sixteen; only a teenager, but his eyes told me so much more. There has been so much pain in his life, so much sorrow. "I'm sorry," I whispered, looking at my feet. "Sorry, for what?" He seemed puzzled. "I'm Alex Wolf, or Echo, in this form, who are you?" I tilted my head to the side. "I'm Jason Callahan," He smiled, and the expression lit his face.

Then, midnight blue rings formed at his waist and travelled. His light brown hair turned black and his hazel eyes changed to midnight blue. A simple black jumpsuit with silver lines, looking like places that had been mended from previous battles was revealed. A small, slashed S glowed a faint blue, just like his eyes, in the middle of his chest. It had been outlined with silver, making it stand out more.

"I'm Shadow now," He announced, smiling. I noticed a small gold ring on his right hand. When he noticed I was staring at it, he smiled even more and began to mess with the ring. It changed into a sword that balanced quite nicely in his hand. "Whoa," I was awed. I've never seen anything like it before. "Where did you come from?" I asked him, being careful to watch the blade. His expression turned somber once more and his sword became a ring again. "I don't live anywhere," My eyes widened. "I-I don't understand," I didn't want to force him to tell his story, but I also wandered about his story.

"When I was six years old," He began, and I saw tears glitter faintly in his eyes, "my family was attacked. My parents were ghost hunters, and we were all down in the lab, working on a new weapon my dad said would keep us safe. They hadn't known the Ghost Portal was open, and a ghost I now know as Skulker had crept in. At first, everything was going well; Mom and Dad were successfully fighting the ghost off. Then, everything took a turn for the worst. Somehow, he'd gotten a hold of my parents, and impaled them with one of his swords. I let out a small scream, and he turned his attention my way. I was so scared, so scared," He took in a long breath. "He prolonged my death, walking over slowly. I backed my way towards the portal, quaking in fear. I decided then that I would have a better shot if I escaped through the Ghost Zone. I should've known he wouldn't let me go easy. As I was jumping through, he swung with his sword and struck my lower back, crippling me." He changed back into Jason and lifted up his shirt. I stared in horror at the long, jagged scar that looked a little red on the edges. "Oh my," I whispered. "Yeah," He whispered back, letting his shirt fall back over the scar. "The only reason I lived, was because of Clockwork, who had grabbed me from my useless floating and brought me back here. My ghost half is the result of his trying to save my human self." He changed back into Shadow, still sitting.

"Let's go," He sighed, standing up and turning towards me. "You know?" I was still horrified by the sight of the scar. "Before I left this realm, Clockwork had mentioned something about Death, and the role I'd play when his time came around." He explained, smiling sadly. "Oh...he sure does work in mysterious ways," I murmured, smiling at Shadow. "Yes, yes he does," He murmured back, smiling as well. "Shall we?" He grabbed hold of the infi-map I had forgotten I had and smiled down at me. "Of course, to the Fenton Portal," I commanded the map, and off we went.

Lame ending, I know. Jason/Shadow belongs to Jabber185 and Pepper belongs to Sammansonreplica. Soo, tell me what ya think. Please? Lol I hope y'all really do enjoy this chappie! Uh...not sure what else I need to put down...lol. Catch y'all later!