Chapter Text
[ Day two - ??? ]
"...you are a sight for sore eyes, timekeeper."
The Master of Time tilted his head, gripping his staff and allowing himself a sad smile. "You have my condolences, friend," he spoke, floating through the doorway and glancing behind himself. He shut the door, approaching the desk, and shifting his appearance to one of being older. "I never would have thought that events would come to pass and result in you becoming his rehabilitee."
The woman walked out from behind the chair with the selfsame expression. "I truly never thought it possible so myself. And somehow, I don't quite believe that you never saw this coming. After all, you tell everyone that." She held a thick book, pushing a strand of blond hair from her face. "Do you really think that you can continue the same tired charade over and over again, Clockwork?"
"It seems to work with everyone else, Lavenza," he replied mildly, adjusting his staff with his fingers. "Dare I say you've surpassed your master with that intuition of yours."
She shook her head at the compliment. "Oh, hardly." There was a twinkle in her eyes, though, as she adjusted her butterfly hair clip. "I trust you are not here for a tea party, though."
The ghost stroked his beard. "...you wouldn't happen to have ginger, hm?"
"If we're going to have tea, I'm not having it here," she countered gently. "I did just finish cleaning the place, after all."
"Ah, right. Executions can be rather messy."
Lavenza sighed. "Missed executions are worse." She shook her head, clutching the item close to her chest with a head tilt in the direction of the closed door. "Well, if you're willing to invite me for such an occasion, I am more than happy to accompany you as such. Judging by your sudden appearance, however... we may have much to discuss."
Clockwork could only close his eyes, his form shifting once more to a child before it moved to the young man again. "I fear that is the case."
"Lead the way then, timekeeper."
The door opened, Clockwork floating out the doorway and Lavenza following him with an aquamarine pathway lighting her steps. The butterflies fluttered gently around her, the blue mist and sparkles following her as she sighed softly. "I'm almost glad you came to me first. You're a difficult specter to find, you know; yet I would expect that many say the same thing."
Clockwork shook his head. "I don't tend to enjoy visitors."
"Perhaps you should," she chided him. "Then when we require your, ehem... 'uninvolved interventions', as you call them, you would be around to perform such deeds. I'm certain other godlike beings would feel the same." The girl gave the ghost a pointed look. "Wouldn't you?"
The ghost inhaled slowly at this. "If it is of any consolation, you are the only one I invite to tea."
"Fibbing doesn't suit you."
Clockwork could only raise a brow, hiding a smile. "Nor does irritation you, Velvet Room Attendant."
The building towered over Lavenza and Clockwork both, two huge doors looming as Clockwork tapped them. A smaller door unlocked and opened, and Clockwork gestured with his staff and a gentle smile. "After you."
She bowed her head with thanks, walking into the hall with a gaze at the space. "Goodness, you really haven't changed the decor in forever."
"Why mess with perfection?" he murmured, tapping it gently to the floor. A wide platform appeared at Lavenza's feet, and she held the encyclopedia tighter as it began to rise. She did not answer, looking up to the top of the steps with an empty smile before turning her attention to the ghost. He remained carefully blank, hand tightening on the staff imperceptibly as they reached the top of the tower in what felt like an eternity.
Lavenza stepped off the makeshift elevator, turning to the ghost as he floated towards the door. His staff tapped the door in question, and it opened for both godlike beings. Clockwork gestured Lavenza inside, and she nodded her thanks before stepping into the room with another look around. The shelves were lined with books, pages fluttering off the shelves as she walked towards the desk. Clockwork shut the door and tapped his staff, two cups materializing out of the air and a pot of tea as well. “Sugar?”
“Ah, plain. Thank you.”
The cup floated over to the woman, and she set down the large book with a soft nod to the ghost. “Thank you.” A chair appeared behind her, and the woman took a seat with a head tilting to the left. “So… speak your mind, Clockwork. Why did you come to the Velvet Room, of all places? Surely, there is another place for you to seek the help of others.”
Clockwork closed his eyes, pouring a cup of tea for himself and placing some sugar in the cup. He floated over the desk before settling himself down in the chair with a sigh. “Lavenza- there is a problem on the other side of the world, and it appears it’s going to affect the Ghost Zone sooner than expected.”
Lavenza frowned at this, taking a sip. “Do you not- have a clock for that? They call it the… hm.” She sat down the cup in the air, folding her hands in her lap. “Ah yes. The Doomsday Clock.”
“That is correct,” he replied, smiling woefully. “The humans have set the clock to one-hundred seconds to midnight before a so-called nuclear catastrophe. The Ghost Zone has a similar one; we call it the Endgame Timer, and it works in the same fashion. We don’t use it for nuclear catastrophe, per se, but- it exists for an entirely different purpose.” He took a sip of his own tea now. “Only two days ago, we had ours set for one-hundred seconds as well.”
She gazed at the ghost. “I assume you set it forward.”
Clockwork opened his eyes, now locking eyes with Lavenza. “…the clock is set at five seconds.”
Lavenza paled, the tea all but forgotten. The leap forward was so immense, and Clockwork seemed to age years in seconds. Even in a place of lost time, the air seemed to grow heavy as she adjusted her position in her chair. “Five…?! But how is that possible?”
“One of the most dangerous hybrids in existence has released a man with research into the cognitive world- or rather. He holds information from studies performed in a secret lab regarding cognitive psience and the world connected with it.” He gestured tiredly with his staff to the outside, which had a crimson hue versus the former neon green. “It already seems to be slowly coming together as we speak… and I am powerless to stop it.”
The attendant’s eyes hardened. “What of the boy? Can he not do a thing?”
Clockwork sighed once more. “Not when the spread of cognition is already in effect- not to mention, the face of true evil rattles in its cage, nearly free from its thermos.”
“You speak of the ultimate enemy.”
He nodded slightly. “Indeed.”
Lavenza took a deep breath. “And you- you need the trickster’s assistance, don’t you?”
“Your trickster is in Amity Park on an exchange program of sorts,” he explained, setting the staff aside again before folding his hands now. “I am aware that his strength has waned, and his power will be- limited in the world. And yet… I beg of you, Attendant of the Velvet Room.” Clockwork’s eyes softened; his voice pained. “Please- help me prevent a calamity that could shake the foundation of our world.”
She looked down at the now-cool tea, releasing her breath she had held. “…and you do not see the fate of the world? This is not a test?”
He shook his head. “No. Not this timeline. Not this path.”
Lavenza allowed a small smile on her face. “Somehow, I believe that to be false.”
“Dare you risk it, Lavenza?”
“…in the past, I might have. And yet now?” She shook her head. “I do not.”