Chapter 2:

Unknown.

Started:

June 13th 2012

Edited:

June 19th 2012

Uploaded:

June 19th 2012

Chapter Warnings:

Language.

Chapter rating:

High T low M.

It kind of sucks being vacuum sealed for all eternity. The cylindrical object was home, now. He floated there, having long since lost his shape in the small space and just shifted around in circles as a mass of energy, each particle bouncing off of each other and never quite living in harmony. It was better than the constant cramped muscles and stiff limbs though, so it wasn't all bad. He had plenty of time to muse; plenty of times to relive what he'd done, though it had long since lost its appeal. Countless times remembering killing and maiming people tended to lose its appeal after a while.

He missed his family, he wouldn't admit it, but he missed them terribly. Their erratic ghost hunting behavior, the way they embarrassed both him and his sister and their stupid, oblivious ways of life. But then again, it wasn't only them he remembered. He had another set of memories plaguing him as well, taunting him with its own horrid images. Memories of always being cold and hungry, memories of loving parents stretched too thin over their many responsibilities. He remembered fighting hard to get a scholar ship to get into the University of Wisconsin and he remembered being hospitalized for months with an incurable disease. He remembered the burning anger at Jack Fenton, still felt it even as his matter bounced around in a haze. He still had love for Maddie Fenton, though that sickened him deeply. She was also technically his mother, and he should not have feelings like that for his mother. So he suppressed them as best he can, concentrating instead on his memories of one girl in particular.

It still pained him, even now as he thinks of it, about the young woman he let get away. Her laugh and her perfect black hair and her obsession with protecting everything with a face, her clear, amethyst eyes. He sighed, or it felt like he sighed, one never really could tell in this contraption and again he wondered how he could have been so stupid as to let her get away, and then above all else die. It was times like this when he wished he was a physical entity again, where he could punch and smash and chase the memories away with the intoxication that comes with pain and killing.

Was that a movement? He could have sworn the walls of his prison had moved slightly. His particles gathered at the bottom of the container, every atom quivering with anticipation as the telltale scraping of the lid being removed resonated towards him.

Fresh air; he hadn't felt fresh air in what felt like an eternity, the rush was almost too much and it went to his head, his atoms racing in an attempt to beat each other out and into the less crowded space. The hiss of the thermos was accompanied by a mist as his particles rushed to rebuild him. The dense fog shielded anyone from looking at his half built form as long-forgotten muscles blazed to life, complaining loudly of their time cramped in such a small place. He stretched, his muscles tenderizing and his bones popping back into place.

"This feels so GOOD!" he exclaimed, running his hands along himself, making sure he was all there, his cape billowing slightly before dying down to hang limply behind him, his black and white suit a mock reminder of the hero he used to be. "I can't believe I forgot what it was like to be FREE!"

But something was wrong. His hair, hanging limply around his shoulders, was not yet lit, and the dark area around him was unrelenting. Lighting his hair to give him some light, he looked around. The cogs were still there, but they were no longer turning at their steady pace, the infuriating tick-tock of the clock muted. He sneered, a fang hooking over his lip as he shoves his hands in his pockets, strutting forward. Where was that despicable excuse for a Master of Time?

Everything seemed to be old, cobwebs hanging from cogs and dust choking him, waving a hand in front of his face to clear the air. "Come out come out wherever you are." he called into the dank air, though nothing returned his words but his own echoes. Maybe that meddling bastard finally kicked the bucket. He chuckled to himself, returning to the dented thermos and picking it up. Maybe it had simply fallen and he hadn't noticed.

But somehow, that thought didn't comfort him as much as he thought it would. It would have served that jerk right to be taken care of after all this time. Crushing the old thermos in his hand he glanced at the cogs that served Clockwork as viewing screens. They were blank now. Some of them showed nothing but electronic snow. A smile played on his face as he sauntered over to them, running a finger along the coating of dust.

"This is just magnificent." He said, "Clockwork's gone. Seems the worlds fallen to shit." His wolf-like grin stayed plastered on his face as he started to laugh, a deep chuckle resonating from his gut and he slammed a hand on the cog with his laughter. He didn't admit it to himself, but his crushing loneliness was getting to him. To be confined in the thermos for Clockwork knows how long, and then to be released only to still be alone was too much for him, putting another crack in his already fragile mind.

In his euphoria, he failed to notice the cog's screen sparking to life until noises started cackling out of it, erratic and broken as if heard from far away. Pausing, hiccupping from his hysterical laughter, he crouched, folding his legs in front of him as he sits, watching the screen of the cog.

"Now now, what do we have here?" He asked leaning forward as the wasteland came into view, not unlike what he himself had created so many years ago.

A black haired woman, roughly twenty six years old and well built fought against- was that Danny? He felt his hands clench as he glared at his former self. How dare Danny continue on while he, the better self, was locked away? But then he noticed something, they were fighting. Danny and Sam-because he could now tell that it was indeed her- were fighting. Not making goo-goo eyes at each other or staging "fake-out make-outs". He felt his rage build as he saw Sam had no way to escape, she was pinned beneath a mass of sticky ectoplasm and Danny was approaching her fast. Even if she wasn't trapped under the ectoplasm, he didn't think she'd be able to escape. She was bleeding badly and from looking in her eyes, she was delirious.

This was unacceptable. Sam wasn't allowed to live and then be killed by Danny. That wasn't right. Feelings he had long since thought dead came bubbling to the surface and every feeling for her, every dream and every aspiration rushed back and brought back a flicker of humanity.

This would not be allowed to come to pass.

Standing, the wall of muscle growled at the screen. He had to save Sam, and fast. But how was he supposed to get there? She was stuck in her time, and he was here in this damned lair of this damned-.

Clockwork, the Master of Time, had portals to other dimensions, besides, as one of the most powerful ghosts, he was able to create his own portals out of his own ecto-energy. But that was only helpful for places he knew, and he'd never tried teleporting between times.

Still...Sam needed his help. If he had any chance at getting her back, even if he was saving her just to say that this time he did, he had to try. For Sam.

He weighed his options carefully, but quickly. He didn't know if what he had seen was past, present or future, but he just knew he had to get to her, and quickly. He refused to watch her die a second time. He knew that if he attempted to create a portal, he'd burn a lot of energy, especially given the fact that he'd been in captivity for who knows how long, and that he had never attempted this type of portal before. Captive or not, it could take up most if not all of his energy to breach the confines of time and space.

He bit his lower lip reflectively, wincing as his fang pierced the skin there before he shook his head, deciding he'd better see if Clockwork's portals were up and running before he tried something as stupid as breaking the space-time continuum.

If he remembered from his time visiting here before everything had take a drastic turn for the worst, literally, he knew he'd find the portals inside of cogs. So first he tried pushing his hand through the image of Sam still on-screen. No luck. "Fuck." He muttered, standing up straight and looking around, his white-fire hair billowing in anger. With his luck, the damned portals would be inactive and he'd have to find a way to turn them on. If he could at all.

He wandered around for a little while before coming across large cogs, large enough to act as portals. But their faces were black, lifeless and still. Growling in frustration, he kicked at the side of one remembering how the viewing-cog had sparked to life. It didn't work.

"Fuck you, Clockwork!" He yelled out to the black area, hoping that the time ghost would hear it and respond. Several seconds past and no reply, and he huffed, annoyed. "God damned piece of shit. Are you happy now, Clockwork?" His fists began to glow with green energy. "You took them away once, and now you tease me with a glimpse of her- Only to make sure she dies!" He was ready to spit venom with how angry he was. His red eyes were glowing with rage as he again punched the cog, his energy transferring from his fists to the cog, the glow surrounding the piece of machinery for a second before being absorbed.

"It's not fair." He muttered, for the millionth time in his short ten years of life. "I didn't want to lose everything. I didn't want to become what I am. You gave him a second chance...why not me?"

Defeated, he kicked the cog one last time, jumping back as it started to move. With a groan, dust and dirt started to fall from the wheels as it moved slowly, a fuzzy green glow starting to emanate from its center and he slowly pushed his hand through, testing if it was real.

He'd found it. He'd found the portal that would help him help Sam. Grinning, he thought about where he wanted to go, his hand still inside of that green mass of energy, the portal hissed and sputtered for a moment, and he experienced a pang of panic that it would go out. Soon enough though, he put his fears to rest as the portal showed a fuzzy image of Sam's world.

He took one last look at the prison around him- the old stone towers, the floating clocks and endless maze of cogs- and stepped through into the bright light and fresh air of the desolate wasteland Sam now called home.

He was going to save her, evil super villain or not.

Dan Phantom's resolve hardened. He would be a hero again. One last time.

A/N:

HAH! As if you didn't know who that was by like...the second word. But yeah. I hope you liked the second chapter. c:

For those of you waiting on Inferno: Yes! It's coming! But I had half a chapter written out when I had to back up my files and send off my laptop, and I'm currently missing Word. As soon as I get Word back, I'll make sure to get it done and posted! (I know I can simply put it on my desktop, but my laptop is so much easier to write with. I'm currently using a combination of Tumblr for spell check and Note Pad for storage to write this one and it's NOT fun.)