Sam looks at Valerie. She wonders why Valerie trusted her with this. After all her reactions were pretty obviously blast first. Val understands the dangers of her ghostly side, so why doesn't Daniel? Still considering the risk Val took. She still liked Val, but was suspicious of her. Was Val an evil ghost or cursed human?
"Why did you tell me this about yourself?"
"Not the right question. I did plan to tell you at some point. I told you now, because it was necessary. A dangerous and destructive ghost from an alternate timeline has escaped from his prison."
Back at the Fentonworks the phone rang. Ember picked it up. A cheerful but somewhat envious voice spoke up. "Aunt Em! My semester's about to finish. Can I stay at your place? And can you pick me up?"
"You can always stay over, Jazz, but we're far too busy to pick you up, even the way you want."
"Oh." Jazz voice registers disappointment. She isn't going to get flown down to Amity Park. This means she has to leave sooner than she hoped, especially since she has just changed her name back to Jazz Fenton. Daniel doesn't object but he doesn't understand why either. Jazz had supported her father and her Aunt Em throughout her life. As far as Jazz was concerned they were in the right, not the Masters. Of course she had been packed off to boarding school. It hadn't worked. It had only reinforced her beliefs.
"Jazz phoned, Damon. She'll be here in a day or so. She always has an overnight stop when I can't pick her up."
While the person on the other end was recognisably Jazz, there were certain differences to the one we know. While the Jazz we know of prefers subtle enhancements to accentuate natural beauty. This Jazz had dark and heavy eye shadow which only increased the apparent pallor of her fair skin, almost talon like nails, and skull earrings. Her hair was slightly shorter and messier. The clothes she wore were black with small flashes of colour to accentuate her appearance. Jazz sighed. She had to move before the Masters came to pick her up, especially if they had got wind of her deed poll. Since Jazz wasn't trying to hide who she was, a lot of her stuff had Jazz Fenton as a name. (She also had a lot of stuff with Jasmine Masters on it, though that was a name Jazz avoided like the plague).
Time to leave, and fast if her family were in that much trouble. The Masters would only get in her way. So is my step-Dad up to his old tricks again? Or is it something far worse? So I have to go fast, and I reckon Vlad will try and stop me staying overnight. Directly home then. This will fool my idiot parent I hope. They know my usual pattern is leave before they get here and stay at hotel. But if it's this bad... Hotel is out. Directly home. Try and beat my guards."
Sam looked at Valerie carefully, "You fear the possibility because you know in one timeline it happened to someone else. You know your temper ambition and obsessiveness make it a possibility. But why tell me?" This was really confusing to Sam. It was a quite a risk Val had taken.
Val hopes she doesn t offend her new friend; she likes her but in some ways she is too much like the original Sam. Val searches her mind for the right phrase. "You're my friend, but in you I see what I could have been." She hopes this is the right phrase Unfortunately Val has forgotten about Sam's intelligence. Val shivers under one of Sam 's glares, "And could still be, right. But what's wrong with hunting ghosts?"
"It's how." both Clockwork's state, feeling that they need to jump in now, before their mutual tempers destroy their world's only hope "Bad tempered and ruthless Val may have been but she moved from vengeance early. You just made incredible progress now. You understood what Val's fear truly was and accepted it."
"Okay that's just creepy." Val and this Sam state. "I understand why but..."
"And her?" Sam asked as she pointed to Dani.
"Alternate timeline version of Daniel Masters, my daughter?" raised Ember as she arrived. This, of course, sent Sam, who had been recovering so well, back into shock.
"Not exactly, in either case." Val grinned. This was something she had hoped to wait on. Would Sam actually now cope with this she doubted it. But when Sam did switch positions she did do it wholeheartedly. Any moment now... 5...4...3...2...Having finally regained herself Sam asked. "Wait, Ember's your mother?"
"Not this one, no. And Dani's a clone of my world s version of Danny Fenton. There is one big difference between these worlds. Me." Val stated. Of course this would raise more questions than it answered. But Val at least had prepared things to answer
"If you're half ghost and Ember's your mother then..." Sam's eyes open in realisation finally breaking through her denial. At least with Ember. "I love Ember, She's my Mum. Not mother. And why do you cause such a difference?"
Surprisingly before Val can explain it is this worlds Ember answers. "Never get involved with those not of your world," then sighed. "It's often overlooked unless you produce kids. And then the punishment is very harsh. I bet Val barely remembers her Mum. Banned from visits to the world and family's memories effectively erased."
"You want kids, but punishment harsh. Explains you near adoption of Jazz and I." Sam sighed, now finally having a way to reconcile ghosts' selfishness with the love Aunt Em had for her. "Okay, now I got things lined up enough for me, why are there two of that Ghost? Duplication Power?"
"One's from my timeline." Dani sighs.
Clockwork V sighs "And I have good news. Val was waiting for the right time to tell you who overshadowed you, but she doesn't understand how she did it. Masters knows how but not who." This would really confuse Sam but keeping her confused seemed to be working better than it would for Val.
Sam made the logical leap. "So who overshadowed me? Which ghost?"
"She's not a ghost." Val smiled. "Okay, impossible to detect your overshadowing. Thinks along very similar lines to you. Only Sam Manson was spotted when you got overshadowed. You were overshadowed by Sam Manson from my timeline. But since she's human I have no idea how she did it..."
"Desiree. Made a wish where I had never met Danny Fenton. Of course I didn't realise Val would vanish as well." Danny's Sam stated as she arrived.
"Why don't you like Val? She's great." Val's Sam points out.
"She was pretty shallow." Danny's Sam states
"Come on Sam, you know that's not the reason, nor is it the fact my reaction to Danny wasn't much better than Sam's here. No it's because you're scared you'll lose him."
"Similar position, vital opinions?" Val's Sam grimaced. "You were the hunter in your world... A 'human' defending against a powerful erratic ghost. Nuts, how did I miss those obvious puns?" Val's Sam then shakes her head. She now knows didn't understand because she didn't want to.
"Still I think it's time to get to the Fentonworks. It's the best place to try and plan for the multiple problems we'll have. Vlad's still up to something and another alternate of Phantom - a far more dangerous one who has only ever been beaten by surprise has escaped. Let's hope we can get things sorted." Clockwork V states.