A/N: Hi.

So, this finally is getting updated. Yay?

You can partially blame the late update on a hard drive crash a few years ago, which basically ripped this story a new one and scattered it to the four winds. I've basically only got the original chapter two (which is like 30,000 words) and the chronologically challenged remains of the original drafts, which are... which are all out of order. A lot out of order. Like, on a sentence and paragraph level. Yeah.

Anyways, that hard drive crash was not a good day. Sucked all the energy for this story straight out of me. Which was unfortunate, because this story at the time was my baby. You have no idea how much energy went into this thing. And it all just went out the window - baby, tub, bathwater, everything. Not a good day.

But anyways, back to updates. ODADA might be getting an update soon, just as soon as I can get my butt in gear and get back on the writing wagon. Same for Shadow Wall, except more in the editing department. And this baby... eh, I'm not sure. I was more focused on what it would take to get this next chapter out, instead of what it would take to get Chapter Three ready. I know where it starts and where it ends, and I have the scenes, but they likely need a complete overhaul and this isn't Shadow Wall where the chapters are limited to just a few thousand words. It'll likely be at least a month before another chapter comes out for this one, likely longer. Especially with school starting in two weeks.

So, anyways, let's get this party started shall we?

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and I don't own Danny Phantom. Considering this took me... oh, just about four years to get out, you should be happy about that arrangement

TIMEKEEPER

Chapter Two

-~o0o~-

It had been a while since Danny had last been inside Clockwork's lair. Not that he didn't like seeing the ghost, but he always felt like he was intruding whenever he wandered in uninvited. That, mainly, was the reason he still found himself glancing around at the wide arches and the clocks littering the place, despite knowing the other ghost for the better part of the last two years.

Gears, gears, more gears, viewing portal, tall arched ceiling fit for a church, clocks floating everywhere, and a million rhythmic clock noises from soft muted ticks to loud thudding tocks. Danny honestly had no clue how Clockwork stayed sane in this place.

He lowered his hands, only for them to jerk in the cuffs instead of falling to his side. He scowled down at them. Goddamned Skulker. A hand fell on his shoulder, making him jump. He looked up to see Clockwork's aged face looking down at him. "Stay here a moment."

Danny raised an eyebrow, stalling in mid-air. "Err, okay…?"

The time ghost nodded, floating across the room, shifting into his "middle-aged" form with a flash. Danny rolled his eyes, absently contorting his hand and slipping it out of the cuff, shoulders finally relaxing as he lowered his arms. He absently started shaking his free hand out - why did they always have to make ghost-proof restraints so uncomfortable? "So, why exactly am I here?"

"You might want to put your hand up again."

Danny blinked, sending a perturbed look at the time ghost's back. "What are you talking about?" The empty cuff suddenly jerked out of his hand, shooting out to wrap around Danny's hand again. Danny gaped down at it. "What the he-" The energy link between the cuffs glowed brightly, and the cuffs slammed together with a clack and a near-dislocated shoulder. "-shit!"

"I wouldn't suggest taking them off, not without someone else to put them onto first." Clockwork said dully, shifting into a young man.

Danny looked over at him wearily, rubbing his shoulder awkwardly. "So, what, they attach themselves to whoever is closest?"

"They hone in on the nearest ghost when activated, yes. But that is not why you are here." Clockwork floated across the room, to the rack of time medallions, and removed one. He turned and tossed it back at Danny. "Put this on."

Danny caught it, giving the ghost an odd look. "You already put one on me. Why would I need another one?"

Clockwork raised an eyebrow, shifting into a child. "Did I?"

"What are you-?" He glanced down at his chest, only to find the usual 'CW' symbol missing. Danny's eyebrows furrowed. "But how did-"

"I will explain, but first you must put the time medallion on."

Danny glanced back up at the ghost, before pursing his lips and nodding. He slipped the medallion over his head, the ribbon sliding along his neck and the weight of the metal pressing lightly into his chest. He sighed. "Okay, now can you tell me what's going on?"

Clockwork nodded. "Of course. As I've already stated, I wasn't the one who stopped time, which is why you where unaffected." He paused, making a point of staring Danny straight in the eyes. "Most ghostly abilities give partial immunity to the user controlling it."

Danny's mouth fell open slightly, gaping. He shook his head, hands awkwardly coming up to touch his forehead. "Wait, you're saying I did that?"

Clockwork shifted into a old man once more, face impassive. "Precisely."

"Since when did I have time powers?" He asked, glaring at the timekeeper in irritation.

"You've been developing them for the last three months, but its only been today that they've started surfacing." Clockwork tilted his head towards the viewing screen behind him, which blinked. It showed the inside of Mr. Lancer's classroom, the man holding a book and lecturing at the front of the classroom, before turning to the door as it opened to show Danny. Clockwork's eyes narrowed. "Like most of your powers, it develops on its own at first. It comes and goes intermittently, often when you're not completely conscious of it, until you're able to control it." The screen blinked again, to a very tired looking Danny, eyes slipping closed with his head down in his arms, as the lunchroom slowly slid to a stop around him. "However, this is a bit different from those times. Much like when you first developed your ice powers, this ability will have some... unfortunate side effects. Of course, many of your others did as well, but dropping a few beakers and phasing through the floor are minor things."

Danny snorted. "They weren't minor when they happened where anyone could see them."

Clockwork raised an incredulous eyebrow. The screen blinked, showing Danny laying on his back on the roof. "Where they capable of truly hurting you or anyone else, in themselves?" The view brightened, long shadows disappearing as the sun rolled back into the summer sky, from evening to noon. "Could you slipping your control ruin lives?"

Danny shifted uncomfortably, frowning. "...No, not really. Not unless they messed up something big." He rubbed the back of his neck, giving the other a pained look. "Are you saying that, well-" He gestured chaotically to the screen with his bound hands, as it blinked off.

Clockwork nodded. "Yes. This is not like that. Your new power over time has unfortunate ramifications - ones that could end very badly."

"Which is why you're here."

"Yes. As the master of time, you are my responsibility. You have been since your first trip to the future."

Danny blinked, eyebrows raising up his forehead. "Wait, really?"

Clockwork nodded. "The Observants have deigned you my responsibility, since I saw fit to... meddle in your situation a bit." He shrugged. "This is a more fortunate side effect of that."

"What, that you're free to "meddle" even more?" He said, grinning.

A smile tugged at Clockwork's lips. "In part, yes. Your removal from the time stream had already been foreseen. It was why interfering with your future at our first meeting was so urgent."

Danny scowled. "Wait, so the stuff my future self was doing to Amity Park already, it wasn't enough to create an issue?"

Clockwork shook his head. "There is more to it, but no. We don't step in for every tyrant in the world, and the destruction of a single town is not a sufficient enough reason for us to interfere." He motioned his staff to the screen again, which rippled oddly. It blink, turned dark, before blinking again. "But you didn't see everything that version of you caused then, ether." The screen flickered wildly, before settling on a view of the very room they where in now, showing the screen itself in some distant corner of the timeline. "This, I must admit, was my own doing. But it is time for you to see a fuller demonstration."

Danny turned fully to the screen, floating closer, until his nose was barely a few inches from the smooth surface of ectoplasm, eyes narrowing onto the miniature screen inside the view. He blinked as it lit and gained focus, showing the shifting energy of a ghost shield around a large city. A figure in red flew on the other side of the shield, riding a hover board. He started. "Whoah, is that-"

"Yes."

Danny shook his head. "Wow, I haven't seen Valerie dressed in that suit for a long time."

Clockwork floated closer, until he was at his side. "Watch."

Danny opened his mouth to reply, only for the view to zoom out, and he felt his breath leave him. Outside of the barrier was only desolate wastelands, devoid of all life. His eyes widened.

Clockwork motioned to the screen, which blinked and turned a pure white. Danny didn't move, a horizon of rubble and destruction overlaying his gaze like an afterimage. Clockwork sighed. "Your future self did much more than destroy a single town." Another motion with the staff, and the screen blinked back on, seemingly to the exact same sight it showed last, the ghost shield rippling over the only speck of thriving civilization. "What you saw, both in my lair and in that future, was simply the last encampment falling." There was suddenly great waves of green energy slamming into the shield, the faint echoes of a haunted wailing as the support structures around the edges of the city exploded one by one. The shield fell away into nothing.

Danny swallowed, feeling like something was caught in his throat as the wail gave way to blaring of a siren. Buildings where beginning to fall, flashes of ectoplamic blasts faint but the effects obvious. He felt a sliver of horror settle into his stomach as he realized what Clockwork was really saying. "Y-you mean I destroyed the entire world."

Clockwork hesitated, but only for a moment. "Yes."

Danny honestly didn't know what to say to that. Ten years…

It took only ten years.

"Your future self, upon gaining the ghostly wail, was able to decimate the Amity Park of the future. However, that wasn't the most devastating power he could have developed. Like you, he would develop a power with many other unfortunate side effects as well."

"He... he could control time, too?" Danny said, in a hush.

"He would eventually, yes. It may have taken him many more decades to pull off without his human half, but he would have done so in time. This is one of the reasons the Observants found you so distressing. It should be apparent to you why." Clockwork looked down at Danny, who hesitantly turned his head away from the screen. He couldn't bring himself to quite look the ghost in the eye.

Clockwork closed his eyes with a near-silent sigh, head bowing. "That time was not the first, nor the last instance where you had to deal with the altering of reality." The screen blinked, and Danny couldn't help his eyes darting back, looking up to Desiree floating over the ruined fountain in the park. "Thoughtless words from a friend, wishing she'd never met you." Blink. Freakshow floating over the Humpty Dumpty concert, him, Sam, and Tucker all holding onto his arm desperately even as he tried to shake them off. "The discovery of the Reality Gauntlet." Danny himself, jumping through the screen in Clockwork's lair, landing his parent's college years. "Your own attempt to change the past-" Vlad, smiling viciously as doors appeared all around him, the Infi-Map glowing in his hands. "-and those of your enemies."

Danny chin fell to his chest, shoulders slumped. Clockwork paused only slightly in his narration. "It is not that hard to imagine, then, what your future self could have done with the powers you are now developing."

"So... what will that mean for me?" He asked.

"On your own, you are capable now of the same unfortunate consequences associated with your once future self." Danny flinched. "The flow of time needs to be shielded from you."

Danny swallowed, hands balled into fists. "I'm nothing like him."

Clockwork sighed, shoulders slumping slightly as he shifted into an young man. "You are very different from him in character, and in action, but your ignorance of such a delicate thing as time creates much the same risk." He sent a meaningful look in Danny's direction. "You might not be him, and you never will be, but there was a time not too long ago when you nearly made the same mistake he did with the CAT Exam. And you know how that would have ended."

"But that was a mistake! I didn't know any of that was going to happen - I didn't know that people would die!"

"Daniel, that is the point." Clockwork cut in, resolve firm. "You don't know. You're only human, despite all of your abilities - you don't have the perspective to understand the repercussions of your actions, not for this."

The man's frown deepened, even as he shifted into an old man. "Who is to say what your actions could cause? Every choice, no matter what your intentions, will have consequences." He asked, voice low. "Can you see ahead well enough to know the results, beyond what is in front of you?"

"I can at least try!" Danny yelled.

"You could." Clockwork said. "But I won't let you. This is something too big for me to let slide, Danny. I can't let you make a mistake and learn this the hard way."

Clockwork motioned to the moving screen, it flashed, and Danny's eyes darted towards it. The GIW shooting at Tucker, who didn't manage to dodge in time. Flashes of muzzle fire, blooms of red across a yellow shirt. The scene shifted - his mother's dazed, grief stricken eyes as a seamstress fitted her with a lavish wedding dress, while Vlad looked on, a lovesick smile on face. It shifted again, and there was Sam, being completely cut in half as a building fell- STOP!"Danny screamed, covering his eyes in a desperate attempt to remove the images, which now danced across the back of his eyelids and made his hands shake.

There was a bright flash, as the screen blinked off. The air was filled with silence, something even the ticking and tocking of the entire tower couldn't penetrate. Finally, there was a sigh. "Daniel." A hand came down on his shoulder, but he shook it off. "Daniel, you need to understand-"

"Why? Why would you- why would you show me that?" He said, enraged. "What was the point?"

"The point?" He said, voice low. It almost sounded... angry. "Danny, do you think I show you these things for no reason? They are all there - they are all possibilities, all stemming from this moment in time. Whether it's a choice you make, or one someone else does, there is always the risk of something going wrong. And you know that."

"More than that, do you honestly think I don't know these possibilities, after everything you've learned?" He said, floating closer. He reached his staff out, and suddenly the screen blinked back on - Danny didn't dare look. "Do you think it doesn't pain me, to know what you could face, what could happen, if things go wrong here? Not only for you, but for everyone. Not only for your family and friends, but for the entire world."

He motioned to the screen, and Danny barely got a glance of his dad slumped over a workbench, clutching his chest, before he turned away. "I show you these because these possibilities could break you. These powers of yours, if abused, could tear the world asunder, and you wouldn't even be able to grasp at the possible damage that could cause."

A hand came down on Danny's shoulder again, resting there a moment, before holding him firmly and turning him around in the air. After a hesitant moment, Danny looked up at the ghost, who's face was a mask of firm resolve. "There is something I need you to understand here, before I can with any sort of good conscience allow you to leave." He leaned forward, his form morphing into that of a small child. "The unknown, here, is more dangerous to you than you can ever begin to imagine, and I can't begin to make the mistake of letting you learn it."

"Tell me something." he said, turning to cast eyes on the viewing screen. Danny shivered, trying to banish the visions the screen has just shown him. "Could you use this power wisely even when holding back would go against your own morals, your own conviction to fight?" Clockwork said. "Would you resist stepping in, if Plasmius used your loved ones against you to gain the upper hand, forcing your own? Would you forgive yourself, if you did?"

He shook his head. "I don't think you could. It is too much for you to ever handle, not with everything you desire from your own life."

He turned to him then, changing into the imposing height of his middle-aged self. "Are you willing have its weight on your conscience, that you let people die because you couldn't accept your own ignorance? Or will you listen to what I'm saying here, now?"

Danny floated there a moment, before finally nodding. "I'm listening."

Clockwork sighed. "Good." He let his hand fall from Danny's shoulder, floating back from the boy. "To begin, no one must know that you have these new powers." He said gravely. "Not your friends, your family, your enemies, and most definitely not Plasmius."

Danny openly gaped at him, before closing his mouth and shaking his head. "W-what? But-"

"No. They cannot know about this, and I need you to choose not to tell them." He said. "They are your anchor, the reason you've turned out so well. You already knew that. But they lack just as much perspective as you do. They will only hurt you and themselves if they know."

"You want me to lie to them?" Danny asked, feeling an emptiness fill up his chest. Clockwork nodded. Danny just shook his head, eyes clenching shut. "You can't - I can't -" He cut himself off, sighing. "Clockwork, I tell them everything. Everything. I trust them. You want me to lie to my best friend, girlfriend, and sister on this?"

"You won't be betraying them by keeping one secret, Daniel."

Danny frowned. "Yes I would. They're a part of my life - I can't keep them in the dark for no reason. I just can't."

The ghost frowned, shifting into a young man. "Daniel, you must understand. There is a reason. This is to protect them."

Danny snorted. "You sure it's to protect them, or to protect everyone else?"

"There isn't a difference, Daniel. And that's the problem." He said, voice stern. "Do you remember what you said to them, when you where fighting your future self?"

Danny didn't look up. "...I ...made a promise to them, that I'd never end up like him." His eyebrows drew together. "What does that have to do with-?"

Clockwork's face was blank. "What do you think I'm saying, Daniel?"

Danny closed his mouth, going silent, his face strained. It was a long moment of silence before he said anything. "It-it would be the bad future all over again."

Clockwork sighed, voice quiet. "Not quite, Daniel." He said. "It would be worse. They would not get the luxury of dying, if anyone finds out. Nor will you have the luxury of a second chance to save them once it is done. This warning is all you will receive to protect them. They must not know."

Danny was struck silent. So many different emotions, from anger to pain to guilt to sadness, and everything in between that he couldn't name, filtered through him as he stared at the ghost. His gaze drifted to the screen, which now showed him screaming hysterically over Jazz's limp body, and the anger vanished. Then, one by one, all the other emotions faded, his eyes fell to the ground, until all that was left was guilt and desolation.

Clockwork's hands fell on his shoulders again, squeezing. Danny hesitantly glanced up, and the ghost flashed him a very tiny smile in reassurance. "You are only human, Daniel, despite everything. You are not wrong in wanting what you want, but without some way to shield you from this ability, those wants could destroy you even if learning to use this power doesn't. That is why you are here - why it's so important that you understand.

"I only say this, because you need to know that there is no room for mistakes here. This isn't about right and wrong as you know it. With this power, what may be right may feel wrong, and what may be wrong will feel right. You need to keep your head clear, and you need to know what's at stake, so that you know what the difference is. " He sighed, face shifting into old age. "I understand how much you've grown in the last few years, how much you've learned and how much responsibility you've taken on, but I cannot let that stop me from doing my job - both as the master of time and as your guardian. Do you understand?"

"I...I understand." He choked out, voice hushed.

"The Observants have already come to me with their verdict." Clockwork said. "And in light of the new situation, their decision was that you should not be allowed to keep your powers." Clockwork quirked an eyebrow. "Fortunately for you, however, you are not on your own here."

Danny blinked, looking up at Clockwork. "Huh?"

Clockwork chuckled softly. "You didn't think I had just brought you here to lecture you, did you?"

"You can help me?" He tilted his head to the side. "How?"

"Its quite simple. I may not be able to stop your powers from forming, however, as you can see-" he gestured to Danny's chest, prompting the boy to look at the golden medal laying against his chest, "-I am quite capable of limiting them."

"Well, I guess that explains why you where so insistent about me putting this thing on." He groused, fingering the medallion. "So if I wear this thing, I'll be okay?"

"No."

Danny's face fell in exasperation. "No?"

Clockwork frowned. "There is a reason I mentioned your ice powers." His face shifted to one old and haggard. "While my time medallions may be able to stop them for a time, the energy will still be building up inside of you. Something will give out eventually. Whether it is the medallion, you, or time itself, even I could not do more than guess."

Danny just stared at him. "So I'd basically be a ticking time bomb." Danny said, voice deadpan. Clockwork nodded. "Well, that's depressing." He raised an eyebrow. "What's the good news?"

Clockwork smirked. "Ah, you are catching on. Good." He held up the hand not holding the staff to the rack of time medallions, surrounding one with a diffused green glow and summoning it to him. It floated in the air over his palm as he turned back to Danny, and the glow grew brighter. A orb of bright ectoplasm formed around it, obscuring the medallion until only a vague silhouette could be seen. The orb began to spin, and the silhouette twisted in on itself, condensing into a sphere of bright light the size of a large marble, before flattening and spreading out into a disk.

The glowing disk spun lazily in the air, the ectoplasm dissipating. It wobbled and grew lopsided, a bulge forming on one end, before it branched out as an arm that trailed around it like a streamer, growing longer as it turned. The lazy spinning slowed to a stop, the tiny arm spiraled out around the center disk numerous times, and the energy seemed to meld itself into a solid structure. Then, the light blinked out, and the object fell into Clockworks hand, a chain trailing after it with with a gentle 'shink' of metal. "This, however," he rested the staff in the crook of his arm, "will restrain your powers just enough to be useful."

Danny hesitantly floated closer. "...What is it?"

Clockwork pinched the chain between long, spindly fingers and lifted the trinket out of his hand. At the very end of the chain, swinging back and forth, was a pocket watch. "It is, quite honestly, exactly what it looks like - a watch made and infused with the power of my time medallion. It retains the ability to hold back your powers, excluding one exception." He motioned the boy forward. "Take it."

Danny reached out, both hands cupping together under the watch, and Clockwork gently lowered it into his grasp. Danny's hands closed around it, before drawing it up closer to his face. It was a plain shiny brass, completely undecorated, with a simple loop of metal connecting it to its chain. "What exactly am I supposed to do with this?"

"Channel your energy into it."

Danny nodded, eyes narrowing in concentration. His fingers glowed around the watch, bathing it in a faint light. The watch opened with a click. Danny raised his eyebrows, inspecting the watch with appreciation. It looked like a very plain watch face, three hands, roman numerals, tick marks lining the edges. "Nifty." He looked up at Clockwork again. "How does it work?"

"You've set the time on a watch before, haven't you?" Danny nodded. Clockwork took the watch from Danny's hand, moving the chain to the side and tilting the watch towards Danny. At the top, framed by the loop connected to the watch, was a knob. He gently pulled it out with a click. The clock did not stop. "It's the same idea. The difference here is, when you turn it back, the watch is not the only thing being set."

"Instead of your powers sending you forwards, sideways, slowing down, speeding up, or stopping time all together, this will only take you in one direction - back." He twisted the knob, but the hands of the watch didn't move. Instead, out spinned ghostly imprints, the second hand spinning back to reveal the copy of the minute hand and soon the silvery edge of the hour hand. "You can use this to set exactly how far back you want to go, the exact length of time shown here." He quickly twisted the knob, hands disappearing back inside of the originals. He clicked the knob back down. "You activate it the same way you would set time on a regular watch."

"With the watch, the risks are diminished. It will contain you in only a single time line. Nothing you can do will alter the past, because you will be acting at the same time in the past as your original self." He said. "You cannot change what has already come, only participate from another angle. But to be useful, it needs to be with you at all times."

"So I have to wear it while I'm using it?"

Clockwork frowned, before shaking his head. "It isn't that simple." He glanced up, looking thoughtful. "Do you remember how your future self trapped you in the future?"

Danny shivered slightly, rubbing his chest. "Sadly enough, yeah." He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"That," he motioned to Danny's chest, "was because he put my medallion inside of your core. Most ghosts cannot touch one, nonetheless insert an item into it. Even those that could ether don't know how or don't see a reason to. The people of the Far Frozen are unique in their detailed knowledge of the subject, but I believe only a handful of them have even gone so far as to touch one. If they didn't have such knowledge, they would not be able to learn how to control their ice powers. With that connected to your core, you will be able to control your powers well enough to function without exposing yourself."

"So... you're saying what, exactly?" He said, continuing to rub his chest, uneasily.

"Danny, it must be attached to you to work. Attached directly into your core."

Danny went white. "You... " He held his hand to his chest and shivered. He could remember the last time, the ripples of fiery agony spreading out from an intangible hand shoved in his chest. He looked at Clockwork desperately. "Can't I just wear it? Wouldn't that be enough?"

"It wouldn't. It needs a connection to your core to work." He shifted into a child. "Even if it didn't, you could loose it too easily, and there is too much of a risk that someone would discover it. As much of a help it is to you, it would be disastrous if anyone else used it."

"So instead, you have to shove it in my chest?" Danny asked, the pitch of his voice rising. "How am I even supposed to use it if I can't even reach it?"

Clockwork raised an eyebrow. "You can learn how to touch your core, with time." He reached out, pulling up the end of the chain, which was hanging down from Danny's hand. "You won't need more than a few loops around it for the watch to function, once you can pull it out."

Danny looked down to the chain, which itself was a few yards long. "...And the rest of it?"

Clockwork raised an eyebrow. "You did manage to fit a heavy medallion in there before. Considering this is made from one, I don't think you'll have to worry."

Danny's face twisted up, into something like a grimace. "Uh huh."

"There is one simple rule you must know, and follow, for this watch to work properly and release the appropriate amount of pressure." He said. "No matter what else you do with it, for every twenty-seven hours you live normally, you must go back three. The watch will activate itself, until you learn how to remove it from your core. At that time, the ability to go backward will be completely your responsibility."

Danny cocked his head to the side. "Why didn't you just say three hours a day, then?"

Clockwork smiled wickedly. "You'll see eventually."

Danny gave him a dubious look. "Uh-huh."

"Also," Clockwork added. "It would be best if you keep up your early morning patrols over the summer. You may find that it will make keeping some things hidden much easier."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "That sounds a little ominous, coming from you."

"You will learn many things over this coming summer, that I can't deny. But," He said, shifting into a young man, "it will also pain you. I've warned you against using your powers too openly, but do not think that they are wrong in themselves. If you are capable of walking the line between abusing them and rejecting them, and learn to use them responsibly, then they could still help you. The only limit to how far back you can go, how much you can do, is your own endurance, ethics, and ingenuity."

"I'll be sure to keep that one in mind." He said, nodding his head. After a moment, Danny took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm ready."

Clcokwork nodded to him, shifting into the form of an old man. He clutched the bar at the very end of the chain, pinching it between his fingers. He reached forward to his chest. Danny flinched and closed his eyes tightly as the intangible hand went inside him.

"AUGH!" He screamed. Clockwork reached out with his other hand to grab his shoulder, steadying him as he clawed at the intangible hand reaching into him. He gasped, reaching out to the arm holding his shoulder and held onto it like a vice, nails digging into it in a shadow of the rod trying to skewer his heart.

He suddenly transformed, vision going black, and then the hand was gone. Danny collapsed. Clockwork, now using both hands, stopped him from slamming into the ground. "Easy, easy now..."

Danny ignored him, panting raggedly as the pangs of pain rang out through his body, even as a human. He pressed his hands against his chest, hard, trying to stave of the pounding ache. He took one big gulp of air as the last pang passed, before sighing. "S-shit."

Clockwork said nothing, gently leading him shakily up to his feet. Danny hunched, still breathing hard, rubbing at his chest absently. He blinked, noticing a smattering of black dots around the edges of his vision, and he did his best to try and shake them off. "M-man, I think could have done without how that part."

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I think I'll be okay, for now."

"Good." Clockwork said, sounding relieved, letting his hands fall away from where they'd been holding the boy up. "The pain is to be expected. It should anchor itself in your core in a few hours, and begin activating as expected tomorrow. It will be uncomfortable for a day or so, but other than that you shouldn't notice anything different."

"And T-this'll be enough?" Danny asked - had to ask, looking imploringly up at his mentor, still clutching his chest.

"Yes, it will be enough." Clockwork said, floating back. "So long as you do as I say and don't tell anyone you have this ability."

Danny took in a shaky breath, before nodding his head. "I-I won't forget." He said, rising up to his full height. "Not anytime soon, anyways."

"Excellent." Clockwork floated back to the screen, motioning to it to clear it, before pressing a button on his staff, revealing the still frozen scene on the street where he'd been fighting Skulker. "Then it's about time you went back."

Danny huffed, rubbing absently at his aching shoulder and sending the scene a sour look. "Goody."

"Follow me."

Danny didn't bother arguing, quickly transforming to fly after his mentor through the portal. It quickly shut behind them, disappearing in a twist of clock hands, and Danny had to blink his eyes to block out the sudden change in lighting.

"Now that we're here," Clockwork said, and Danny cast him a quick look from where he was floating at his side, "You should get back into position, and we should say our goodbyes.

"Wait, you mean I've got to go back to where I was before you got here?" He asked, giving Clockwork a wounded look.

"Of course - this whole meeting is supposed to be a secret, if I remember correctly." He smirked, shifting into a man in his prime as he raised an eyebrow.

"Ugh. It figures." Danny said, floating up to where he'd been before this whole thing started, the chain still floating in front of him in mid air. Danny stared at it a moment, before rolling his eyes, turning to cast Clockwork a glance over his shoulder. "You wouldn't happen to have any suggestions for how to get away from this thing, would you?"

"Not specifically, no." He said. "I would, however, suggest that you move slightly upward and to the left. If you don't, it will catch you around the neck." He gave Danny a look. "You don't want to know what would happen if it does."

Danny swallowed, and immediately followed his directions as he turned back to look at Skulker, face tight. "Right."

"Ah, and Daniel?"

"What?" He asked, not turning around.

"Do not come to me for help."

Danny's eyes went wide, head jerking back. "Wait, wha-AAH!"

"-NY!"

The chain sliced into his shoulder, and suddenly Danny found it wrapped around both his arms. "Shit!" He squirmed, flinching as the large barbs dug into him through his suit. Then, with a powerful jerk, he was suddenly face to face with a gleeful not-so-frozen Skulker. The chain sparked, and Danny only had time to feel a flash of panic before he was screaming.

Danny woke up when pain tore through his gut, forcing the air out of his lungs. His side was encased in wet coldness, which shifted and crunched as he pulled his legs up and began wheezing. He moaned quietly, eyes rolling around in his head before sliding open onto a giant expanse of white.

"Get up."

His eyes snapped open wide, spotting a pair of legs. Danny turned his head, only to look up at Skulker's scowling face. He was fully awake within the second. Danny jerked up, moving to push himself up, hissing at the pain in his shoulders, only for his hands to catch on something. He glanced down quickly - handcuffs.

Skulker growled from above him. "Whelp, I said get up."

Danny groaned, before taking a deep breath. He shakily turned onto his front shifting his legs underneath him - whatever he'd been hit with, he really didn't want to be hit with it again right now. He pushed himself up, stumbling as he tried to pull his hands apart, before loosing his balance and falling back into the snow. All at once, it suddenly hit him what was going on. Oh, crud.

Skulker growled behind him, and Danny quickly forced himself back up, eyes darting over the area.

There was snow, everywhere. If it weren't for the ominous green sky above them, Danny could almost think this was somewhere in the Real World. He glanced around them, noticing the rocky terrain and the long expanse of mountains surrounding them.

...Actually, if he didn't know any better, he'd say he was in the Far Frozen.

Something came down to smack him on the shoulder, and Danny yelped loudly, stumbling slightly as his footing caught in the snow. "Move, whelp."

Danny cursed, pain shooting through his shoulder at the rough treatment. He turned, shooting Skulker a downright murderous look. He felt the cold, sinking in through his clothes and into his core, and let his eyes flash blue. "You know what? Maybe you shouldn't be ordering me around like that, Skulker." The air crackled with energy, as he got ready to release a flash-freezing ray of cold. "You aren't exactly the big hot-shot around here."

Skulker didn't react, simply continuing to scowl as he reached down into his bandoleer and removed a - remote? He pressed a large button, smack dab in the center, and all of a sudden the energy in Danny's core fizzled out, and he was sent back to the ground, nearly writhing in pain. Danny screamed in surprise, snow filling his mouth as he rolled awkwardly back and forth in the snow, until, just like that, the pain faded to nothing. He breathed heavily, still shaking from the shocks of pain, flinching as a boot pressed into his side, before kicking him onto his back. He stared up at Skulker, in a daze.

Skulker stepped forward, leaning over him, reaching down to grab at the link around the cuffs. "Brat, I'm not in the mood to listen to whatever lips you pay as commentator today. Now, get up - we have things to do." His hands clenched around the link, and unceremoniously hauled Danny to his feet.

Danny stumbled, cringing as his shoulders where jerked roughly in their sockets, and barely managing to get his feet under him in the thick snow. Once he did, Skulker grabbed his shoulder and turned him around roughly, shoving him forward, towards an outcrop of rocks. Danny cursed under his breath, as he was forced to stumble more in the snow, reaching up to rest his hand on his now-bleeding shoulder awkwardly as he trudged through the snow, shooting a fleeting glance over his shoulder at the ghost less than a step behind him.

He couldn't help thinking that, despite not knowing what was going on and having no idea what Skulker was doing, it probably wasn't going to end well for him. He hoped Sam and Tucker would be able to find him in time...

They approached the outcrop quickly, and as the ground sloped down Danny realized it was more like a shallow cave. He blinked, eyes landing on a large, round stone set upright, flush against the stony outcrop.

Skulker pushed him forward one final time, and Danny nearly stumbled face first into the large, round, circular stone. "Get to it, brat."

Danny blinked, eyes turning onto the stone in front of him. As far as he could tell, it was just a large, flat, carved stone, taller than he was. It obviously wasn't natural, but from the snow and frost covering it it also had been here a long time.

Danny stared at the flat front of the giant stone... thing. Particularly the ridiculously large, clawed hand indentation in the very center. "What is it you want me to do, exactly?"

"Brat, I want you to open it." He bit out. "That's generally what you do, with a door."

He looked over at Skulker, raising an eyebrow. "A door?" He glanced at the rock again, a crease forming between his eyebrows as his face twisted up. "What gave you that impression?"

Skulker growled. "Brat, which one of us has the remote?"

"Okay, okay - no more funny business." He said, holding his hands up. "But how exactly am I supposed to open it? There isn't exactly a handle or anything..."

"Put your hand in there." He said, motioning to the indented hand print.

Danny sighed to himself, reaching out with bound hands to dust off the carving. He quickly glanced back at Skulker, hesitating, before reaching out and pressing his hand flat against the large indentation.

The door moved with a loud crack, making him yelp and whip his hand away like it was burned. In the center of the carving was a groove, cutting straight down the center of the hand.

Danny hesitated. Skulker activated one of his guns, letting it charge. Danny flinched, and reached out, into the grooves of the door. He pressed his finger into the groove, and dragged it along the seam, a mix of dust, cobwebs, ice, and dirt falling away.

He dragged his fingers downward, until the seam suddenly - invisibly - stopped. Danny frowned, feeling the odd ending in the seam, until he realized it continued off to the side. He could feel it, under his fingers, even if he couldn't see it. He heard Skulker growl behind him, and he gave in to the urge to trail his fingers over the invisible groove.

There was another crack, making him jump, and the large handprint in the center of the door began to glow. And as he stared up at it, Danny realized it wasn't the only thing glowing - the door was now covered with glowing, shifting patterns.

A triangle. A Square. A thousand jagged lines converging. Fractals breaking out into the shapes of a million snowflakes. The second he tried to look at them, they swam together and made something else. It was almost, dare he say it, pretty in its impressiveness.

Danny shook his head, ignoring it. It didn't matter - his job at the moment was to do what Skulker said, going as slowly as possible without getting his head shot off. He could worry about shifting doors later, when he knew what the hell was going on.

He dragged his finger along by touch, finally letting his eyes close as the shifting images became too much to ignore. He hit a corner, and his finger trailed up. A curve, and it went down low enough that he had to stumble to kneel with his eyes still shut. Then, it was like something clicked in his head, and he stopped thinking. An endless string of zigging and zagging lines, in curves and circles and angles, all blending together in his mind.

And then the carving stopped, and Danny's eyes popped open. His finger was at the very center of a door with no grooves at all. He drew his hand back, eyes trailing along the smooth surface. "The hell...?"

There was a laugh, and Danny turned to see Skulker grinning at the door. "Perfect."

Then, without warning, he slapped a disk on the area where Danny's hand had been, the same disk that Skulker had used earlier in their fight. It blinked green, before fading into a carving of a large clawed hand surrounded by decorative grooves. Danny reached out for them, only for his hand to fall through and the illusion to shimmer around his hand before Skulker slapped it away. "Ow!"

"If you know what's good for you, you won't be doing that again." He bit out sharply, before grinning. "Now, since we have that door taken care of, I don't think we need your ghost powers anymore." Skulker pulled out the remote. Danny's eyes widened as he pushed down on another button, the collar humming ominously around his neck before going off in a wave of pain and shower of sparks that sent him falling to his knees howling.

The electricity faded with a fading ring of light, and Danny slumped forward, human, barely catching himself in the snow. He shook his head, trying to clear it as he looked up defiantly at Skulker. "W-what was that…?"

Skulker slipped the remote back into his bandoleer. "You like it? It should feel quite familiar, seeing as it's based on something you've run into before." He hummed and tapped his chin. "What was it called - the Plasmius Maximus?"

Danny's mouth fell open. "Vlad-Vlad gave you the Plasmius Maximus?"

Skulker leaned his head back and barked with laughter. "God no! Plasmius isn't nearly that stupid. I simply... helped along the extraction of its blueprints."

Danny gaped at the ghost. "You stole it?" He said, staring up at the mech with wide eyes. "But he's your boss!"

Skulker carelessly lifted his arm, shooting something out of one of his fingers. A ball of green slime slammed into Danny's jaw, spattering over his mouth. His eyes widened as he felt it tingling and tightening over his face, and handcuffed hands came up to tear it off, but it stayed firmly in place. He narrowed his eyes up at the mech, imagining dipping his new body into a vat of acid while he choked his little ghost body, but Skulker just laughed at him.

"As amusing as it is to see your face right now, we've got company coming, brat." He reached out and grabbed Danny, dragging him close and turning out to the expanse of snow.

Danny looked out, and could see them in the distance. There was a long hovercraft with three figures aboard, approaching quickly, and Danny realized with a start that they where yeti from the Far Frozen. His eyebrows drew together, shooting Skulker a curious look only to see him smiling victoriously at the approaching craft. Danny's eyes darted back, recognizing one of the approaching figures as Frostbite as a feeling of foreboding fell on him. Whatever was going on here, it really wasn't looking good.

The craft landed in the snow twenty yards from them. Frostbite stepped out, flanked by two spear wielding yeti. All three faces where hard, their gazes like steel as they approached. They stopped about thirty feet away, Frostbite stepping forward. "We are here, hunter." Frostbite called out, voice restrained.

"And my price?"

Frostbite's eyes narrowed. "If you uphold your end of the bargain, so shall we."

"Excellent." Skulker said, chuckling to himself. Skulker reached down to the back of Danny's neck and pulled him up by the metal collar, making him gag. He reached up to claw at Skulker's arm, and choked as the chain on the cuffs caught on his neck. He settled gripping on the collar as hard as he could, face going red and eyes clenched tightly shut from the effort, tilting his head back in a desperate attempt to keep breathing.

Frostbite was now growling across from them, and Danny forced his eyes open to see. The yeti's hands where clenched at his side, and his guards where tense, the grip on their spears tightening. Frostbite took a threatening step forward.

"Not so fast now." Skulker said, and Danny's eyes darted up only to see the same smug smile on his face. He pulled out the remote from before. "If you get any closer looking like that, I might have to activate the kill switch."

Danny's eyes widened. He looked from the mech's face to the remote, and realized there was more than one button on there - one of which was in a plastic housing, ready to be flipped open at a moments notice. He felt all the blood draining from his face, and suddenly his hands where shaking with a lot more than just effort.

He heard the growling stop suddenly, and he looked back to see Frostbite standing still, face infinitely stormy, before going slack. The leader's body relaxed, and he held up his ice-encrusted arm up to stop the guards, who had stepped forwards ready to attack, and they warily began to relax as well. He looked at Skulker again with narrowed eyes. "I do not appreciate games, hunter."

The mech snorted. "If you don't like the way I treat the brat, then you know what I want." With a jerk, he motioned to the door using the arm attached to Danny, making him choke again. "All you need to do is come and open it for me."

What...? Danny's eyebrows drew together, prying his eyes open again and glancing to the door out of the corner of his eye - or at least the illusion around the door. He looked to Frostbite, who was looking hard at the door, and then at him, and suddenly his face was completely defeated. Danny tensed, hands clenching hard around the collar, as he quickly shook his head, trying to catch Frostbite's eye. No! He's trying to trick you!

Frostbite took a deep breath, turning a stern gaze back onto the hunter. "Release the Great One first - along with the remote."

Skulker growled, giving Danny a swift jerk in his hold, halting his insistent movement. "And have you run off with him? Please." He dropped Danny, who stumbled and fell on his knees in the snow, only barely able to hold himself upright with his cuffed hands. "That isn't how this is going to work - if you want the remote, you're going to have to open the door and get it yourself."

Frostbite's eyes narrowed further, before he finally sighed. He motioned to the guard on his right. "Firn, approach the door."

The guard nodded, walking forward.

From behind him, Skulker growled. "Why are you sending him forward?" He bit out. "You are the one who's able to open the door!"

"You did not believe I was the only one who could open it, did you hunter?" " Frostbite shook his head, face still flat and stern. "Firn is just as capable of the task as I. Ether way, the door will be opened." He said, looking at the ghost behind Danny with calculating eyes. "Unless you do not wish us to uphold your stated price?"

Slulker's growl deepened, and Danny hesitantly looked back. The mech was glaring at Frostbite, looking really, truly angry at the turn of events. Distracted.

Danny bit the inside of his cheek, slowly moving back to balance on his knees and facing forward again. He didn't know, what was happening, but it definitely wasn't good. He inched his hands closer, hunching over so the mech wouldn't see them. He slowly contorted his hand, moving to slide it out of the cuff.

"Fine." Skulker bit out. "Just hurry up."

The guard began walking forward.

Danny fought down a curse, trying not to rush and make what he was doing obvious. He caught the guard's eye. He held his gaze, before slightly jerking his head to the left, eyes darting in the direction of the door, before quickly glancing back to the guard. The guard's face was still stern, but Danny could see the barest hint of confusion on his face, the yeti's frown deepening slightly. He still continued forward at a plodding pace.

Danny bit the inside of his cheek. He quickly did it again - head jerk, quick glance, look at the yeti imploringly. It only seemed more confused. Danny began to panic - he didn't know what else he could do, and if the yeti didn't stop frowning, Skulker was gonna notice something was up. He stared at the yeti harder, eyes pinching together, pleading, a crease forming on his brow. Now Frostbite was looking at him, along with the other guard, but none of them seemed to understand.

Come on, I already opened the stupid door! He wanted to scream. It's a trap! It's a trap!

He finally slipped his hand out of the cuff, catching it and wrapping his finger through the loop before it could reattach itself. The guard was almost halfway, now looking at the door instead of at him. Danny closed his eyes, hands clenching together around the struggling, half-empty cuffs. How the hell was he supposed to motion a door opening?

His eyes snapped open, and landed on Frostbite. Danny stared at him, unwaveringly, until he was completely sure he had the yeti's attention. Then he reached out, barely moving as he extended a single finger, and slowly traced lines in the air. Frostbite's eyes widened.

"Firn..." He murmured, so low Danny could barely hear him. He was looking at the guard's back again, eyes still wide as the guard continued moving forward, past the halfway point.

That was when Skulker moved.

The chain lashed out, the yeti's head whipping to the side. The spear moved to intercept, but was pulled in as the chain's coils wrapped tight around the yeti, and snapped. The guard yelled in pain and shock, eyes closed tight. There was a grinding noise behind Danny - one he definitely recognized - and as the yeti was jerked close Danny was grabbed by the hair. He called out despite his gag, struggling as he was lifted off of the ground.

"Firn!" Frostbite yelled.

Skulker simply laughed, the large yeti at his feet growling at him and bearing his teeth. He jerked Danny's head to the side, and with a spark of electricity the yeti was howling. Danny flinched away, the electricity setting his hair on end even as the heat started to singe it off.

Frostbite and the second guard rushed forward, but where soon caught as nets burst out of the snow, constricting over them. Frostbite growled viciously, swiping at the net.

Skulker was laughing even louder now, as the yeti fell limp as the electricity faded. "And now, the fun begins."

Guess again, metal head. Danny twisted his head, tearing out a chunk of hair and breaking out of Skulker's hold. He stepped back, holding the cuffs tight in one hand, and then chucked them at Skulker's head.

They hit him in the face with a sharp clack. The mech only had a moment to look at them in confusion as they glowed a bright green, before phasing into his head. Skulker yelled out in shock, hands up to his face, and Danny took the chance to dart forward.

Danny quickly grabbed Skulker's arm, leveraging his feet up to Skulker's chest. Danny gripped the arm as tight as he could, kicking out and popped the robotic arm out of its socket with a spark of electricity.

Skulker threw him off with an enraged yell. His back slammed into the yeti, and he yelped as the chain tore through his shirt and into his back. He dropped, shakily getting to his feet as the yeti behind him gained its bearings, chain growing lax around it.

"IMPUDENT BRAT!" Skulker yelled. Danny's head whipped up, realizing the mech still had the remote, and was moving to pop open the housing on the kill switch.

There was a loud snarling curse from the chained guard, and he immediately began struggling. The finger jerked away from the button, and Skulker's eyes narrowed as he turned his attention back onto the yeti.

"Damn yeti - stop moving!" Skulker yelled, grabbing hold of the chain and jerking it back. The guard howled in pain, but stood its ground. There was a flash of blue, they guard struck out with a spear of ice.

Skulker took a step back, eyes wide with shock. The spear of ice cut across Skulker's chest, tearing open the strap of the bandoleer. The mech reached out and grabbed the jagged piece of ice, wrenching it from the yeti's hand and throwing it away. From the ground, Danny saw it sail behind Skulker and towards the stone, making the illusion ripple long enough to see the shard slip through the solid rock door, and then all hell broke loose.

There was crackling, like ice on a frozen lake breaking apart, and Danny felt like the ground had been sucked out from under him. All sound was lost in screaming wind, so strong that it picked him up and sent Danny rolling, sucking him to the door, before he grabbed a hold on the ground.

The first through was the guard wrapped in the chain. Not even its weight could save it from the pull of the door, and it slid along the ground, unable to grab hold of anything with its arms bound to its side, and it was gone. Danny could hear Frostbite ahead of him, screaming the guard's name, still held against the ground from Skulker's net.

Danny felt like he was being sucked into a thermos, and forced his body as deep into the snow as it would go, even as the flurries of ice whited out his vision, the blinking light behind him reflecting off of the haze.

It was so cold. The winds blew in his ears, across his back and over his body, sucking all the heat out of him. He buried his face down in the snow, anything to get away from the wind tearing the life from his body, but could feel the snow pack dissolving around him.

He slipped, and his body was sliding over the ground. He reached down with numb hands, clawing down into the snow, but he could do nothing. The wind lifted him up, and he yelled as he was pulled into the light.