Based on a tumblr post.
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"Could you possibly repeat that last one?" asked the Mother, pleasantly. 'Pleasant' was, after all, the tone she defaulted to when she was shocked.
Clockwork complied.
The Mother raised her hand slightly from where it had been flat against the table. "Allow me to summarize," she said, "to see if I understand. At the behest of the Observants, you caused a child, who had at the time been dead for less than a year, to fight a fusion of himself and his enemy. A fusion who presented itself as him, despite having essentially nothing in common with him in terms of Obsession? Despite having an opposed Obsession?"
Clockwork nodded. "It was the most efficient solution. Although, I would have preferred to find one that was less traumatic." He sipped at his tea. "Unfortunately, the involvement of the Observants made that difficult."
"And you have been letting older ghosts attack him with impunity?"
"You know I dislike limiting choices, Mother," he said. "Besides, Daniel can handle it, and he knows he can come to me if things get to be too much. In any case, my understanding is that many of those 'attacks' come from a place of concern." Clockwork sighed. "It is his choice, but Amity Park is not the most healthy environment."
"Right," said the Mother. "Do you mind if I borrow him for, oh, perhaps a year or so?"
"That's such a short time," said Clockwork. "Are you sure you don't want him for longer? I know you had Desiree under your wing for decades."
"Yes, and I should speak to her about all this, too. She is one of the ones attacking Phantom, correct?"
"She is only playing," said Clockwork. "She changes things only when someone says 'wish' in her hearing."
"Phantom is an infant."
"He's fourteen."
The Mother raised her eyebrow.
"That's only four years shy of the age at which his people mark majority," said Clockwork, defensively.
"Yes," said the Mother. They stared at one another for a long moment. They both decided to drink their tea.
"If you do decide to keep him longer, however, I would appreciate it if you brought him to visit now and again. I fear I have become… rather attached."
"Sure," said the Mother.
She made a mental note to speak to the Observants. Their method of raising Clockwork clearly hadn't done him any good.
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Danny felt the way he always did when his brain and his core decided to have a disagreement about how to react to something: bad.
Although, for the (un)life of him, he couldn't figure out why. The ghost in front of him was powerful, he could feel it on his skin, but she didn't appear to be particularly hostile or disturbing.
Actually, he decided, he sort of wanted to approach her and-
A wave of nameless dread overcame him.
Maybe this was just her power, he thought, still hiding behind the corner of the building. Maybe it made her feel different to humans and ghosts.
He bit his lip. She wasn't hurting anyone, sitting there on the park bench. He didn't like to fight if he didn't have to. Maybe he should just leave her alone.
Yeah...
Then she looked straight at him and smiled.
He slipped out from his (admittedly subpar) hiding place. "Hi," he said, waving awkwardly.
"Hello," said the ghost.
"Um," said Danny, "Mother, what are you doing here?" He slapped his hands over his mouth. That was not what he had meant to say.
"I'm picking you up," said the ghost (the Mother). "You're going to be staying with me for a while."
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Right, so, Danny had been kidnapped (spirited away) to the Ghost Zone before. This was, however, the first time he'd just... gone along with it.
The ghost (the Mother?) (Mother?) ruffled his hair. Even though he didn't want to be touched and she was not his Mother, the sensation soothed something inside him, and he leaned into it.
"First things first," she said, "let's go somewhere nonthreatening, and I can tell you what's going on, alright?"
Danny, stubbornly, didn't respond.
"You like milkshakes right?"
Oh, Ancients, this was going to be weird, wasn't it?