//------------------------------// // Ch. 1: Endings and Beginnings // Story: A Phantom in Equestria // by Gigglingskull //------------------------------// A Phantom in Equestria Chapter 1: Endings and Beginnings In Amity Park, Casper High was just letting out. It was a Friday so the majority of the school had frantically rushed out the front entrance way and into freedom. The way they acted, it was like everyone feared that the school building would come to life at any moment and hold them as prisoners inside. . . . But considering all the weird things that occurred around the town, this might actually happen. A few moments after the main rush was over, two boys and a girl exited. They went down the building's front steps and stood at the bottom next to each other. The boy on the right was wearing a red beret, long sleeve yellow shirt, green cargo pants and brown boots. His skin was a light brown. He wore glasses over his turquoise colored eyes. He is Tucker Foley, self proclaimed techno-geek and proud of it. The girl standing in between the two boys (but noticeably closer to Tucker) was wearing a black choker, a black tank top with a purple oval that showed off her midriff, a black skirt with a green crosshatch design, purple leggings and black combat boots. This teen REALLY likes the color black. Her black hair was styled short with a small pony tail at the top of her head. She had on purple lipstick and her eyes were a violet color. She is Sam Manson (real name Samantha but don't call her that unless you want a broken arm), outspoken ultra-recyclo-vegetarian (meaning she didn't eat anything with a face) and goth (hence all the black). And the boy standing slightly off to the left was wearing a white t-shirt with a red circle, light blue jeans, and white shoes with red highlights. His shaggy hair was black and in a style that looked like he didn't even try to control it yet it still looked good. His eyes were a baby sky blue. His skin was light, showing that he didn't get much time in the sun. He is Danny Fenton, C- student and secretly ghostly hero Phantom. “I'm so glad it is the weekend,” said Danny. His shoulders slumped after a moment. “I hope the ghosts actually give me a break for once.” Even as the words left his mouth, he know the vengeful spirits would never let that happen. His friends didn't give him any encouragement to stay positive or say anything to counter his words. A long tired sigh left Danny. He was more than drained from his week of ghost fighting . . . and his life in general. Normally it wouldn't have been so bad, but ever since Tuck and Sam started dating a few weeks ago, they hadn't been around as much. This include ghost hunting and just hanging around. They just didn't seem to have much time for Danny now that they were dating. And it hurt. Danny had feelings for Sam that all three of them knew about and it felt like his only friends betrayed him by dating. They didn't even really talk about it. It wasn't like there was anything they could have said to make him feel better. But a sit down and serious talk between the three friends would have helped. But they didn't and it just seemed like they avoided the topic all together. He eventually got kind of over the betrayed feeling with Jazz's help and tried to be happy for his friends. But he couldn't help feeling like he lost the girl he loved and his best friend at the same time. Now he kind of understand why Vlad went totally insane after the accident that gave him powers and what happened with his parents. Danny would have too if it wasn't for Jazz. Them dating hurt him in a way he didn't ever think he could truly get over. Jazz said this was okay, but not to become bitter like Vlad, no matter how similar the situations were. Jazz never said it to Danny or wrote it down, since she was afraid he would snoop and find out, but she thought Sam and Tucker were horrible friends for doing this to her little brother. Jazz didn't want him to find this out because she didn't want to taint his view of his friendship, which he thought was still salvageable. Jazz didn't think it was, but she didn't want to encourage him in any way to throw away his only friends. But it wasn't just that. Tucker and Sam were acting strangely suspicious. It wasn't big things that anyone would notice like Tucker giving up his PDA or Sam eating meat. No, it was little things that only someone very familiar with them would notice like the small bit of sadness in Sam's eyes whenever she looked at him or the way Tucker's muscles seemed to be tense all the time around Danny. And the fact that Jazz was away at college made life harder for Danny. She had been helping him with his issues over the phone. Jazz was important to him in many ways. He loved his parents, but Jazz was more like his parent than them. For as long as Danny could remember, Jazz was the one that made sure he was fed, clothed, and cared for. His parents were always busy with ghost business. In fact, when Danny first spoke, he called Jazz “mom” much to Maddie's shock and dejection. And when Jazz found out that Danny was Phantom, she made it her job to make sure he was okay physically and mentally. Danny's healing abilities took care of the physically part most of the time. She still freaked out over all of his injuries (including the small ones) even thought every time the wounds would be healed before she could get the stuff to treat them. Her actions warmed his heart. What Danny was really missing was Jazz being here to help him with his mentally problems. He almost wished he hadn't insisted that she go to college. She wanted to stay with her little brother, but Danny knew it wasn't fair to her. So he pushed for her to go and achieve her dream of being a psychologist. One of them had to achieve their dreams and since Danny knew he would never get to be an astronaut (not with his grades) so it had to be Jazz. Sure the siblings still got in contact everyday over the phone, but it just wasn't the same as Jazz actually being there with him. She couldn't give him a comforting hug over the phone when he was upset. Speaking about parents, their obsession with ghosts had greatly increased to a point that was concerning. They were either in the lab or out trying to capture a ghost all day long. Danny practically never saw them at home anymore. They wouldn't have meals together anymore as a family either. It started around the time Jazz went to college, making it seem like she was the glue that held them together as a family. And on top of all that, it almost seemed like all his enemies got together and decided to take turns attacking him on each day of the past week. Last Friday, Danny had a fight with Johnny 13. He ended up destroying Johnny's motorcycle, leaving the biker devastated. Saturday, Kitty attacked him because Danny beat up her boyfriend and destroyed his buy. Though the intense fight did end pleasantly with them sitting down and talking. Kitty actually gave him a hug before leaving. Sunday, Skulker hunted the halfa all day, completely ruining his day off. Monday, the Lunch Lady attacked the town with meat monsters. Not only did the fight make him not do all his homework for the next day, but it left him covered in meat slime in front of the A-listers much to his embarrassment. Tuesday gave Danny an unpleasant visit from Spectra and Bertrand that if it wasn't for Jazz's kind words, he might have done something horribly regretful to himself. Jazz actually rushed home while still on the phone with Danny, missing a whole day of classes, but it was worth it if that was what it took to keep Danny safe. The only reason she felt comfortable leaving him and returning back to college was that Danny promised he was fine and to call her immediately if he even thought about doing anything extreme again. Wednesday, Ember got bored and decided to entertain herself by fighting Phantom. He didn't actually mind the fight so much since it distracted him from the fact that Sam and Tucker were on a date. Thursday came with a “new” and “improved” Technus. He was bigger, stronger, and even more annoyingly talkative. This morning, Danny had a confrontation with Desiree that made him miss half of the school-day. And this was not counting any of the lower leveled ghosts that attacked or the annoyance that was the Box Ghost. It was almost like Danny's world was collapsing around him and his support was gone. Sometimes he felt like just disappearing and not coming back. The only thing stopping him from doing so were his morals. He opened the gateway to the Ghost Zone so all the ghosts that used it to come and terrorize the town were his responsibility. . . . . Also he would miss his sister, the only person who still had his back 100%. Trying to get himself out of his depressing thoughts, Danny turned to his friends. They had moved closer to each other and a bit farther from him. “Just like our friendship,” he thought before turning slightly away so he didn't have to look at the two as they shared a quick kiss. “You guys want to got hang out somewhere? I don't really feel like going home right now.” He didn't want to sit in the empty house, just waiting for a ghost to attack so he would have something to do. That was what his life felt like it solely consisted of now . . . ghost fights. Since Danny wasn't facing in their direction, he missed the glassy-eyed look that came to Sam's face. It honestly looked like she was going to start crying her eyes out. This would have been worrying and a major sign that something was wrong since Sam Manson wasn't a weepy kind of girl. If this goth was upset, she would take action to fix the problem. Seeing the upset look on Sam's face, Tucker elbowed her. When she turned towards him, Tucker gave her a meaningful look. She whipped her eyes and her sad look was quickly hidden. “Sorry,” Tucker was looking at Sam as he spoke, “We have plans.” Getting that his words meant they were probably going on a date, Danny said “Okay. Maybe some other time?” The sadness in Danny's tone was like a dagger to Sam's heart. “I guess I'll just go home and catch up on some homework before the next ghost attack.” Sam watched as his shoulders slumped before he trudged away in the direction of his home. Only when he was out of view did the tears appear and run down Sam's face. It was only seconds before she broke down in sobs, falling to her knees. Tucker was quick to get to her side and hugged her, trying to calm his girlfriend down. “We should have warned him,” Sam said between sobs. Brushing the hair out of her eyes, Tucker's turquoise orbs met her violet ones. “You know we couldn't have.” As Sam calmed down, she nodded her head in reluctant agreement. Tucker kissed away Sam's tears. “We can only hope everything works out . . . .and that Danny's death is quick and painless.” They didn't say it, but they both knew that wish wouldn't come true. Danny would have a horrible and torturous end that would continue until everything that made him Danny was torn away, leaving nothing behind but a hollow dead husk. ===============================At Fenton Works============================== Entering his house, Danny decided to see if there was anything to eat (his parents hadn't been food shopping in days) and went to the kitchen. He was shocked to see his parents there, sitting at the table. They weren't doing anything besides just sitting there, making it almost seem like they were waiting for him to return from school. They also had their hoods on, even his dad, which was weird because Danny could count the number of times Jack wore it with only one hand. Their hoods and silence gave them a creepy and almost sinister air. “Hey Mom and Dad,” Danny pleasantly said despise the bit of worry that grew inside him. He got a bowl of cereal and milk. He then set himself up at the table across from them and started eating. His growing apprehension got pushed to the side since he was actually happy to see them. It had been so long since he had sat down with them for longer them a few moments . . . and sitting with them was better than being by himself. The Fenton adults didn't reply to his greeting, making Danny feel even more unease. The feeling wasn't helped by the fact they didn't remove their hoods. With their goggles on, he couldn't tell where they were looking, but Danny had the distinct feeling they were intensely staring at him. It was almost like they were fascinated by him simply sitting there and eating. When Danny was half way done with his food, Maddie spoke for the first time. “Come down to the lab when you are done. . . . . We have something we want to show you.” Her tone lacked the usual warmth that it held when speaking to her children, especially her son since he was her favorite. A red flag went up in Danny's head. The lab was never a good place for him . . . what with his parents many experiments goaled towards the pain and destruction of ghosts. This feeling was increased by the way they were acting.“I was going to do homework after I ate.” He knew that excuse got him out of doing a lot of things. They were always on him about finishing it since he so rarely actually got to start any of the assignments at all. So Danny was shocked when Jack said “Your homework can wait.” He and Maddie quickly stood up, making their chairs scrap against the floor. “Just come down as soon as you can.” There was none of the usual child like excitement in Jack's voice when he got the chance to talk about ghosts or show off something in the lab. More warning alarms went off in the teen's head. But before Danny could come with an excuse to escape with, the older Fentons had already descended down the lab stairs. After Danny finished his food, he reluctantly headed towards the lab. It wasn't like he could just deny a request from his parents. They were his parents after all, making them his bosses in a sense. He was half way down the stairs when he heard the distinctive sound of ecto-weapons charging up. Instinctively, he dodged to the side and a large blast hit the wall behind were he was standing moments ago. In the process of dodging, Danny fell down the stairs. Landing at the bottom in a tangle of limbs, he quickly got up and took a battle stance. What he saw filled his core with horror, fear, and devastation. The lab was filled with GIW agents and they, along side his parents, all had weapons charged and pointed in his direction. The end of Jack's bazooka was smoking, indicating that he was the one to shoot. The others, while still having their weapons locked onto their target (aka Danny), were giving Jack the stink-eye. “Jack,” Maddie said gently, but still very clearly upset. “You were supposed to wait and follow the plan.” “Sorry,” Jack replied, sounding like a child being scolded. “I just got so excited to blast this ectoplasmic scum to pieces.” He then said in a giddy tone “I can't wait to rip him apart molecule by molecule.” It only took Danny moments to realize that one of his greatest fears had just come true. Tears came to his eyes and all he wanted to do was be anywhere else but here. His ghost powers decided to answer his desire and before anyone could react, Danny dissolved into a green cloud that swirled before disappearing into thin air. Danny reappeared outside on the roof of his house. Looking around, he realized that he had teleported away. Part of him thought it was cool to have teleported (and in human form to boot) for the first time, but he was overwhelmed by the despair over what had just happened. He didn't know what to do but he knew who could help him. Transforming into Phantom and jumping into the air, he flew as fast as he could and arrived at his destination in seconds. Looking at the building before him, he went up to a window and knocked. After a few moments, the window opened revealing a very surprised Sam. Seeing his tears, she quickly let him in and closed the window after him. Once inside, Phantom change back to Danny and Sam lead him to her bed. They both sat down and she asked “What happened?” Trying not to completely break down, Danny told Sam everything as tears rolled down his face. After Danny finished his tail, Sam (who was also crying) drew him close before hugging him and rubbing his back. Danny returned the embrace. He was so upset that he didn't notice that Sam didn't reassure him that everything would be okay. Danny didn't even question why Sam was here, alone, when Tucker had clearly said they had plans together. The two teens remained embraced and silent for a long period of time. Slowly Danny's tears stopped and he pulled back so he can look at Sam. He wanted to thank her for being there for him. Sam was still crying heavily. Before Danny could say anything, he felt something hard and pointy press into his side. Looking down, Danny could see that Sam was holding a square device with two poles against his body. He then looked questioningly at her. “S-sam?” The only reply Danny got was immense pain when Sam pressed a button on the weapon. Danny screamed in pain as he was electrocuted. His eyes had closes so he didn't see the horrified look on Sam's face. The pain stopped almost as soon as it started. Danny felt incredibly weak and numb as he fell off the bed, landing on his side. Looking up from the floor, he saw that Sam was just sitting on the bed, staring down at him. Tears were running down her face. A few of the tears dripped down and landed on Danny's face. Getting up slowly, Sam left the device on the bed. Walking across the room, she picked up her phone from her dresser and typed something. After a few moments, the phone buzzed. She read something on it and released a depressed sigh. Putting down her phone, she then walked over and knelt next to Danny before reaching out for him. Struggling weakly away from her, he realized that he couldn't move very much and that there was no way for him to escape. Sam gentle grabbed him and pulled his head onto her lap. She then started to pet his head in an attempt to comfort Danny. Not that it worked in the slightest. Holding his head in a way so that they could look into each others' eyes, Sam said “I'm so sorry Danny.” More of her tears rained down onto his face, mixing with his own. “I'm being f-forced to do this. P-please forgive me.” Danny tried to say something, but found he couldn't. The numb feeling had grown and made him unable to move his body. The only thing he could move were his eyes and that greatly scared him. He came here for help and this is what he got. It made him feel hopeless. “I'm s-sorry. . . . Forgiveness it too m-much to ask for. . . I just want you to know w-why . . .” The tone of her voice told Danny he wouldn't be liking her words. “. . . Tucker and I are b-betraying you.” Her sadness was replaced with anger, but it wasn't aimed at the helpless form before her. “The Guys In White f-found out about your secret . . . that you are half ghost. And using the l-law, they were going to prosecute me, my family, Tucker, his family, and your family for aiding you . . . a ghost” Her look went back to depressed. “So they blackmailed Tucker and me into helping capture you. . .” What Danny wasn't told was that a large part of the reason Sam and Tucker started dating and grew distant from him was that they were trying to move on from having their friend in their lives. They had known that the GIW were going to move in and attack Danny for a long time. Not that she was going to tell him this. She was ashamed of her actions. Sam hated telling him the next thing, but the part of her heart that was still his friend wouldn't let her hold anything back (besides why she and Tucker were dating). No matter how much she knew it would crush the defeated creature in front of her. “Your parents. . .” She hesitated for just a moment more. “ . . joined them without having to be asked or t-threatened once they found out you are a ghost . . . .” Just looking at his eyes told her that information was devastating. “The GIW said they wouldn't destroyed all our lives if we helped them.” She then reached down and hugged him. He was like a rag doll in her hands so no matter how much he wanted to crawl away from his former friend, he couldn't. “I know it is s-selfish, but I don't w-want my life destroyed.” Tears continued to fall from her eyes. Sam hated herself for what she was doing to Danny. “So in exchange for you, I will get my freedom.” She cried into his shoulder. “Please forgive me. . . I . . I . . I don't know what the future holds for you.” In a way she wasn't lying to him. She knew that painful experiments would be preformed on him, just not exactly which ones. She just didn't want to destroy all of him in one foul swoop. But seeing the resigned and defeated look in his eyes told her that she already had. “Please be strong and hold on to who you are.” She tried to smile, but it didn't work. How could it? Sam was doing something that stood against ALL of her beliefs. She was helping to put a living creature in a cage, where death was only positive option to look forward to. “I'm hoping you will escape and show them to never mess with you again.” Darkness started to envelop Danny's sight and consciousness was leaving him. As he was blacking out, the last thing Danny heard was “Please stay true to yourself and remain the hero you are.” =========================Unknown Amount of Time Later========================= Consciousness slowly returned to Danny. Sluggishly opening his eyes, he said “I had the worst . . . nightmare. . .” His words ended when he saw where he was. . . . A circular operation room. There was seating above him, full of GIW agents looking down at him with nasty smiles on their faces. Standing over him with surgical tools in their hands were his parents. And the worst part was that he was strapped to a table with glowing green bands. Just to be sure, he tried to phase through his bindings, only to confirm that they were ghost proof. “Good, you're awake,” Maddie said, drawing Danny's attention to her. “We wanted to record your reactions to the operation for future review and study.” Her tone was cold and unfeeling. She was in total scientist mode. “I'm so excited,” Jack giddily said. “We finally get to dissect Phantom.” “Nnnnnnoooooo,” screamed Danny as he struggled desperately to get away, even though he knew it was futile. He was too scared to think reasonably. “I'm-m your s-son. How could you do this?” After a few moments, his struggles stopped, finally realizing how futile it was and from exhaustion. Maddie and Jack glared down at their child, silencing him. “You are NOT our son,” Jack said with a seriousness that was rarely seen in him. It completely scared Danny. “Our son died in the portal accident.” “And we can do this in the name of science,” Maddie said. She then waved her hand dismissively. “Anyways, it's not like you will feel anything. You are just a spectral entity,” she sent an intensely strained and disgusted look down at Danny, “who had the audacity to attached itself to our son's corpse.” Visibly, she had to hold her self back from hitting the vile thing on the table and from crying. Maddie took a few deep breaths as she thought “Don't get upset. You will ruin the experiment. Plus there will be time to punish this thing for taking my baby boy away.” “But I am your son.” Tears ran down Danny's face. “Don't you love and want to protect me.” “Yes, we love Danny very much,” Maddie said, filling the child in front of her with hope that there might be a way out of this. That hope was dashed when Jack said “And Danny-boy would NEVER become a disgusting ghost like you.” He jabbed Danny in the chest with a finger, hard enough to leave a bruise. “That is right, honey,” Maddie said to her husband in a sweet tone. “In fact, he would want us to find out why a filthy ghost would look like him, possess his corpse,” she almost choked up at the reminder that her baby was dead, “and take over his life after he died.” She stood up tall and gained a strong tone. “So in his memory, we are going to,” she turned and pointed a syringe at Danny, making him flinch back, “dissect, examine, and find out everything there is to learn about you.” With that said, Maddie injected the contents of the needle into Danny's arm. “What was that?,” yelled Danny in panic as he jerked away from his mother. “Just something to keep you from moving and talking during the examination,” Maddie replied. “And it reacts quickly.” While Jack was finishing preparing some tools, she grabbed a pair of surgical scissors and used them to remove Danny's clothes. Danny wanted to scream, but Maddie was right, the chemical did act quickly and he found he could only move his eyes. Before long the teen was completely naked in front of a room full of strangers. But the usual embarrassment didn't come to him. Danny was too scared and freaked out of his mind at what was about to happen to him. Maddie then grabbed a sharpie and proceeded to mark Danny's body where they were going to cut, make incisions, and take samples. All the while, Danny could to nothing, but cry, feel, and watch. When Jack finished with the tools, he picked up a scalpel and twirled it in his hand. “Now it is time to . . . .” A look from Maddie stopped him. “What?,” he asked in a confused tone. She didn't say anything and just held out held out her hand. Jack knew what she wanted and whined “But I wanted to do the dissection.” She just cocked a hip, placed her free hand on her side, and tapped her foot. They stared each other in the eye and the battle of the wills began. It wasn't a very long fight before Jack gave in. “Fine,” he said in a sad voice as he handed the scalpel over to his wife. Seeing Jack pouting, Maddie laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You know I'm better at this than you are and we only have one chance for the first dissection.” She loved her husband, but Maddie wasn't going to let him damage their records and scientific findings. “You're right,” Jack admitted sadly. “Don't worry, Honey,” Maddie said. “You can dissect him next time.” Danny was horrified hearing there would be more dissections. “Isn't the one time bad enough.” More tears escaped his eyes. “I can't wait,” Jack excited said with a smile. From up above, the GIW agents happily watched as Maddie started the dissection of the ghost human hybrid. =============================Time Skip 6 Months============================= In the bowels of the GIW facility was their holding cells. Each cell possessed the exactly same layout. The inside of the cells were plain cement squares. The only way inside or out of each cell was their reinforced doors. These rooms were dark, cold, bare and absolutely miserable places. And it is in one of these dreadful places that sat Danny. He was sitting against the wall across from the door to his cell. His time in the hands of the GIW and his parents was not kind to him at all and it reflected in his appearance. His clothes were torn, covered in his blood (both green and red), and were little more than rags. On his wrists and ankles were ghost power suppressing bands. These were the things that kept him in his cell. He had lost so much weight that he looked like a skeleton with skin. His eyes were sunken and had dark rings. His hair was long and ratty. He had all kinds of new scars from all the experiments he was put through. There was a large scare on the right side of his face. It ran from his forehead over his eye (which was surprisingly still functional, but it was a cloudy color) and continued down his cheek. There was a glazed look to his eyes, showing that while they were open, Danny wasn't seeing anything. In honesty, Danny looked like he had been dragged through hell and back. . . . . several hundred times. And in the process, he had lost the hope of ever escaping. He didn't fight or struggle when they dragged him out of his cell for painful tests or experiments. He had stopped caring about life and just wanted it to all end. On his wrists were the proof of this. There were several deep cut scars overlapping on his wrists from a desperate attempt to escape his suffering. The GIW had sadly saved his life. They weren't about to let their greatest catch escape them, even if it was in to death. In the middle of the room there suddenly appeared a large clock's big hand. It spun around on its axis and a blue swirling ghost portal appeared in it's wake. A ghost floated through the portal before it disappeared. It was obviously to anyone that saw this ghost that his theme was time based from all the clocks that were on him, in him, and the staff that also had a clock at the top. And time was this spirit's thing, for he was Clockwork, the ghost master of time. He was currently in his child form. The powerful ghost looked down at Danny. A sad look came to the normally neutral ghost's face. “I am sorry that things turned out like this Daniel.” He didn't say anymore because he knew that right now Danny would be unresponsive. All of the horrible experiences that Danny suffered had damaged his mind. Right now, the things that made the child himself were broken. He was like a clock that's gears still spun and ticked, but the hands didn't move anymore. Changing to his adult form, Clockwork gently picked the child up and phased the bands off his wrists. He could do this since the suppressors were keyed into Danny's unique spectral signature. He then opened up another portal and floated through, taking the child with him. Coming out the other side of the portal, they arrived at Clockwork's tower. He summoned a bed and laid his charge on it. Looking at the catatonic form of Danny, he knew what he had to do. Raising his staff, he moved it over Danny's head. The clock at the top of his staff glowed white as the hands moved backwards. After a moment, the child's head was enveloped by the glow. Clockwork waved the staff over the rest of Danny's body and the glow followed. After a few moments, Clockwork lowered his staff as his form changed to that of an old man. The glow persisted for a couple of minutes before fading away. What Clockwork had done was repaired some of the mental damage that Danny had undergone by reversing time a bit. Not all of damage, but just enough so that the child could eventually get better. There was only so much a mind could take and Danny had been pushed WAY passed that threshold. Clockwork may be master of time but there were some things beyond even his power. If he reversed too much of the damage to Danny's fragile mind, he risked completely erasing the very thing he was trying to safe. And if that happen, Danny would be gone forever and nothing could bring him back to this or any time-line. The ghost also set up some changes that would happen when he sent Danny to a safe place to recover. The changes would help him fit in and recover. Gently brushing the hair from Danny's face, Clockwork said in a caring tone “I truly am sorry Daniel.” He knew that his words weren't being heard by Danny, but he didn't let that stop him. “The likelihood of this happening was so minuscule that it should have never happened.” His tone became angry as he changed into a child. Seeing a child this angry would have almost been funny or adorable if the situation wasn't so grim. “The Guys In White should have be so imbecilic that they were laughable and unable to accomplish anything.” His voice filled with disgust. “In all the time-lines I have observed, I have only seen Tucker and Sam betray you twice . . and each time was because they were being mind-controlled.” Anger once again came to his voice and this time it was even stronger. “And I have seen your parents be upset about you being half ghost . . . even going so far as to abandon you . . . . ., but never have I observed them so willingly mutilate you over it.” Clockwork then got so angry that he sounded calm, but anyone that heard him speak knew someone might be erased from the time-stream very soon. Yes he could do that, but the ghost only did it when he was truly upset (or if it had to be done to save everything) since it could result in extreme and dangerous consequences for the time-line. As if to express how furious and serious he was, Clockwork change into an adult so he was even more intimidating and down right terrifying. “Each of these events are so unlikely to happen that they should have never occurred. But to have them all occur simultaneously . . . .I think someone helped these things to happen. . . . . . But I don't know how they would do it without me knowing.” He then gained a look that could kill. “If I find out someone did. . .” A serious look came to his face. “I will make them wish they went through the hell that you did instead of what I will do to them.” Calming down, Clockwork picked up Danny and held him to his chest with one arm. He was holding the teen like one would a baby. In a way, Danny was a baby . . . if you thought of how long he had been a ghost. Ghosts viewed each other by how long they had been dead. Yes they did take in to account the age of a person was when they died, but how long they had been dead mattered just a little more. Danny being dead and alive made the situation even more complicated. Clockwork then held up his staff and opened a portal, but this one was different from his usual time themed portals. This one was a swirl of different bright glowing colors. It looked almost like a rainbow going down a drain. Releasing his time-staff and letting it float next to him, Clockwork took hold of Danny with both hands and held him under his arms in front of the portal. He floated forward so that the child entered the portal. He then released his hold on Danny, letting the child travel to the other side of the portal. Clockwork closed the portal and floated away. He was sad that Danny was going, but he knew this place would help the child get over what happened to him. Using his ability to see the possible time-lines, Clockwork smiled as he opened several time portals. “This maybe goodbye for now,” Clockwork said. “But we will see each other again.” He was looking at a portal of himself and Danny meeting again. There was only one confusing thing about it . . . . The two ghosts weren't in human form. They were some kind of small horse creature things. “You will gain new allies.” This time, the time ghost was looking at a portal that showed a horse Danny surrounded by unusual magical animals and several brightly colored creatures that where clearly the same species as Danny. The way the other creatures were standing by Danny showed that they were facing an enemy together as a team. “And build a new family.” This portal showed Danny snuggling with a larger horse with wings and a horn. “You will grow even stronger and continue to be the hero you were always meant to be.”