Okay, thanks to my reviewer, hope you enjoy this one too!

-Obi

Chapter 17

Danny, Sam, and Tucker just sat there in shock and awe, not wanting to believe what they had just heard. They were sitting on the floor, having to avoid floorboards that had been ripped out and thrown asunder by the fight. Not an eye was dry, except for Daniel's, but his eyes had a very sad look in them.

"That's so tragic," Sam said.

"So, you didn't come to us in the future because you were scared?" Danny asked.

"Well, I thought you would freak out and feel even worse than you already did. I just couldn't do that to you."

"So, what now?" Tucker asked.

"Now? Now you guys go home and I live out the rest of my ghostly life here," the Fire King, or should I say, Daniel, replied.

"No! I can't let you just rot away here forever with no hope! We have to do something!" Danny exclaimed. Daniel looked at him with a sad smile.

"There's nothing that can be done. This is my life, and I have to accept it. Don't worry, everything will be okay. I'll be okay," he tried to reassure the trio and himself."

"But that's not good enough! This whole thing is unacceptable. And I'm going to fix it one way or another."

"Just go home!"

"No!"

"Look, I'm thousands of years your elder, and I'm telling you to just go home."

"And I'm your father, and I'm telling you that we are going to fix this thing one way or another."

Daniel hung his head in defeat. He knew that there was no way of stopping this, so he gave in. "So what? Do you have a plan or something?"

"I think I do. I think it'll work, too. We just need to go to Clockwork and he should be able to do something."

"Sure, he might be able to, but he's not going to. He told me a long time ago that he would never help me again. He was serious, and personally, I believe him. Why do you think I've never tried that?"

"Yeah, well, I know Clockwork better than that, and I know he'll help us."

_________________

"No, I am not going to help you!"

"Told you," Daniel whispered to Danny.

"I helped him," he said pointing to Daniel, "Years ago, and then told him I would never help him again. And I plan on sticking to that."

"How do you know what you said? And technically, you told him that years from now, not years ago," Danny replied.

"I'm the Master of Time. I can view any time period. Don't you think I'd keep track of any decisions I'll make in the future?"

"So you're just going to let this happen?"

"There's nothing I can do."

"I don't believe that. You just said it yourself. You're the Master of Time, overseer of all time periods. In a way, the most powerful ghost there is. And you expect me to believe there's nothing you can do?"

"It's called a paradox, Danny. If you fix it, even by stopping it because of your memories, then Daniel will never turn into that, and I'll never send him back in time. He'll never meet you and tell you the story. You'll never fix it. Daniel will turn into that. I'll send him back. He'll meet you. You'll fix it, and the cycle will be unending, and it would unravel the entire universe! So no, I can not help you, unless of course you see the entire universe as being less important than just one of its inhabitants."

"Please Clockwork, there has to be something. Anything at all. A memory shield or something, so that even though it never happened, I'll remember it. Anything like that."

Clockwork let out an exasperated sigh. "You Fentons just don't quit, do you? Yes, there is one thing I can do. I can put a lock on your memories, so that they'll be unaffected by the time change. It will feel like Deja Vu, yet not. It will be almost as if it were a dream, but it wasn't. It's the strangest feeling you'll ever have, and It's one of the most power draining things I can do. My energy will be wiped out completely for days."

"Why?" Danny asked. "You deal with Alternate Universes all the time. And people like me know about these Universes even though they cease to be."

"There's a difference. This isn't like 1885 in Hill Valley, this won't be that simple. Before, in your evil alternate future, for example, you had been there, it was in your memories already. This time, you have never been in this future. Your only memories are from someone who was there and came back from the future. You want me to deliberately hold your memories of this even though the medium through which you found out will never have been. It's a strenuous task." Clockwork gave a little smile. "But I'll do it. I'm warning you though, this is the only time!" The group of four smiled broadly as Clockwork said this. Clockwork closed his eyes and started glowing green. He held out his staff towards the four, and it emitted an equally eerie green glow. A bright flash overtook them, and Clockwork turned the staff intangible and swung it through their heads. As the light faded away, Clockwork dropped to the ground, weakened from the simple yet draining task. Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Daniel were on their hands and knees, moaning in pain as their heads throbbed intensly. Clockwork slowly got back off the ground as the others got to their feet.

"Did it work?" Tucker asked.

"I don't know," Sam replied.

"Oh trust me, it worked," Clockwork assured them.

"Wait, what am I going to do now?" Daniel asked. "Why am I not fading out or something?"

"Because you were outside of time when it happened. The future is changing, but you won't go away."

"But now I have nowhere to go. My life is still pointless," Daniel pointed out.

"Is there anything you can do about that?" Danny asked.

"Well, because he exists outside of time's boundaries, I'd say he's my responsibility. Come to think of it, I could use some help around here. What do you say?"

Daniel smiled. "Sure."