Dan Phantom did not rest. Instead, he thought. He thought about Sam, and Clockwork. Clockwork couldn't see his actions coming... That meant he could do anything, and the spirit of time would never have predicted it. But he doubted he would be able to get away with something really horrible twice.
And Sam. He needed to talk to her. Tell her he was okay. But she couldn't know who he really was on the inside. At least, not yet, not now.
He grabbed his phone and dialed her number. "Manson residence, how may I help you?" asked a cheerful woman that was Sam's mom.
"This is Dan-ny Phan-Fenton." Wow, he really did need to work on his lies. He wasn't doing too well here. "Uh, I'd like to speak to Sam?" he asked, hesitantly.
The mom seemed to nod through the phone, "hold on, I'll get her." An exchange of incoherent yells, and some fumbling, before a new voice was heard.
"Danny? Are you alright?" asked Sam, sounding very frightened. Which she had every right to be, having seen his true form.
He let out a relieved sigh he didn't know he was holding. "I'm fine, Sam. How are you?"
"Are you... You're not depressed?" she asked, muffled slightly. He got the impression she was walking around.
The boy took a look at his free hand. Normal human skin, wrapped around muscles, blood, and bone. "I'm perfect, Sam," he muttered, still thinking over things. Clockwork's inability to see, the Fenton Ghost Catcher.
"Well, in that case... You won't believe who's back. It's Dan, your evil future self? I saw him, terrorizing other ghosts!" she exclaimed, in a tone that almost made the ghost boy cry.
He fell silent. What was he supposed to say to that? He couldn't tell her the truth... But how could he lie? Her face popped into her head, with such intense fear in her eyes, at him, for him... She would never trust Dan Phantom, he realized. She would never trust him, if she knew the truth.
"Danny?" she asked, softly. "You still there?"
"Yeah, I think I accidentally hit the mute button or something," he said, knowing full well he hadn't. "I think my sister's calling me... See you later." He hung up, feeling not so great. He sighed, and laid on the bed. When had life gotten so complicated? But he knew the answer.
Jazz went to the library. She felt uneasy about leaving Dan alone at the house, but she saw the state he was in. There was no way he was doing anything too crazy... She hoped.
At the library, she glided through the aisles of assorted works. This was her favorite place, teeming, bursting at the seams with knowledge. She took a deep breath, of that paper smell, and let it out in a contented sigh.
Right, back to why she was here. Dan. She had to figure out what to do with him, what to expect from him. She needed psychology books. But she also grabbed some time theory ones, too. She needed to know how to send him back... Just in case.
The idea came across her mind to use the Fenton Ghost Catcher, remove the ghost part of him, trap it, and keep the human part. But that part of him just wouldn't be Danny, not like that. She had been around the first time she saw it used on him, and the human Danny that resulted from that was less than half of her brother.
She kept walking, keeping to herself, looking for books on the aforementioned topics. Eventually, she stopped, and went to a table to start reading. The books would be no good if they didn't actually help her here.
Sam Manson paced her garden, back and forth, back and forth, with a perpetual frown. She knew Danny was recovering from depression, but she couldn't kick the feeling that something else was wrong here. Of course, Dan was back in town. Maybe that's what it was, Danny was so afraid of Dan, but he didn't want to show it to Sam, so he made an excuse!
She nodded. That's what it was. And it was kinda romantic, too, that he'd hide that from her, because he didn't want her to think less of him.
The amethyst eyed girl smiled. She figured it out, or so she thought. Didn't matter. It put those thoughts to rest.
Clockwork surveyed it all with a watchful eye. It certainly was an interesting story. It was like a script with a single character improving it, without any real written lines. Or something along those lines. The master of time found himself enthralled with this particular reality. Things certainly were stirring up... Would Dan remain good? Or would he give in to his ghostly parts, and become evil once more? It was a mystery, even to Clockwork. And this time... He would not intervene.