Chapter Text
Danny was having a horrible day. While that wasn’t exactly unusual for the ghostly teen, today, however, managed to surpass the normal kind of horrible. He was used to the ghost attacks that kept him from proper sleep, and all too familiar with using Mr. Lancer's class as naptime. This time, however, was different. Which was a real shame, since before that point, things had been okay.
Danny had grown close enough with Valarie to tell her about being phantom, and she had taken it pretty well. That was 6 months ago. 2 weeks ago, Danny had turned 16, and had managed to have a pretty good birthday party with his friends, all things considered. The ghosts gave Danny a break for once, Kitty had mentioned that it was his birthday gift from them all. So Danny and his friends got to enjoy being normal teens for the day.
Last night, Danny’s parents had found out about his ghost half. He had gotten too comfortable with his normal routine, and, unbeknownst to Danny, his parents saw him transform. Jazz had immediately called Danny and his friends using the Fenton phones, and the group knew it was time to enact project ghosting.
Named by Jazz, Danny and his friends had come up with a plan in case Danny ever had to disappear. Whether it was because of the Guys in White, or Danny’s parents. Danny had always hoped that if the plan ever needed to be used, it would have been because of the former. The group of teens had quickly gotten to work, Sam called Valerie and the two made sure to distract Jack and Maddie. Sam dressed up as Danny, leading the Fenton's through amity park and away from Fenton works. Red huntress would give the Fenton's false leads on Phantom’s whereabouts. Tucker tracked the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle (GAV) through the streets, helping Danny navigate around it and back to his home. There, Jazz had opened the ghost portal.
Once Danny had made it back to the Fenton works, Jazz handed him the go bag that she had prepared. His friends had arrived soon after, and they all said their goodbyes to Danny. He then, just as they had planned, entered the ghost zone, and the portal shut behind him. The last part of the plan, destroying the portal, didn’t take long to do. Sam had grabbed whatever Fenton weapons were nearby and smashed or shot everything she could. Tucker released malware he had specifically written for this into the portal’s computers, which took a few seconds longer than normal on account of the tears in the corners of his eyes blurring his vision slightly. By the time they were done, it looked as if a typhoon hit the Fenton Works basement. The team, satisfied that it would take the Fenton's years to rebuild their portal, trekked back up stairs, waiting for Jack and Maddie to arrive so they could give their cover story.
Danny floated through the ghost zone, with no real direction in mind. His body ached, and he had a pretty bad burn on his shoulder. Danny was glad that his Dad’s aim still wasn’t very good, or else it would have been his head. The ectoplasm around him helped to sooth his body, but it couldn’t do much for his mind. Danny fidgeted with his bag’s straps as he floated along, he knew his friends and sister would be okay, they could handle themselves, but that did little to stop his worrying. Danny felt his eyelids grow heavy, and he debated if he should find somewhere to rest. It’s not like Danny had any plan now that he was away from his parents. Sure, he was supposed to, he told his friends he’d come up with something when they came up with project ghosting, but he never actually did.
Danny was pulled from his thoughts as the zone around him became darker, and he passed a green gear. Danny hadn’t been paying much attention to the direction he was floating in, but he was pretty sure he had been going in the direction of the far frozen, not Clockwork. Danny picked up a bit of speed as he neared Clockwork’s lair, to find the ghost in question waiting for him.
“Hey Clockwork,” Danny said as he landed at the entrance of the lair. Clockwork smiled and motioned for Danny to follow him inside. Danny paused and arched a brow before following the ghost of time. “So what is it this time,” Danny sighed, “You're being cryptic, well more than normal.” He folded his arms and watched as the ghost before him changed from an old man to a young infant.
“Greetings, Daniel. I’m sorry about your parents.”
Danny sighed, “Yeah, of course you know about that- wait, did you know this would happen?”
“It is one of the many possible outcomes that I foresaw.” Clockwork admitted. “However I did not plan this, if that is what you were implying.”
Danny let his shoulders drop, and he rubbed his eyes with his hand. “Okay. I was heading to the far frozen, so why’d you bring me here?”
Clockwork smiled sympathetically, “It would not be wise to allow the Ghost King to take full command of the infinite realms before he is even an adult, so instead I have found a place where you can continue to help people and heal.” He gestured with his time staff to the time portal behind him. It displayed a dark looking city, gargoyles lined rooftops and the sky appeared overcast.
“Come on Clockwork- wait did you say Ghost King?” Danny whipped his head around to look back at Clockwork, his eyes wide.
“Yes, you are the one that has defeated Pariah Dark. That makes you the new Ghost King. Though from the look on your face it seems I forgot to tell you about that.” The ghost of time said, shifting once again from infant to adult. “There is a lot you will need to learn to be able to manage the infinite realms, and all in due time. Until then, do try to enjoy being a teenager.” With that, Clockwork gently nudged Danny towards the time portal.
“Wait! What about my friends, and my sister!” Danny tensed and dug his heels into the floor, he may have been far from his friends in the ghost zone but he didn’t want to cut contact completely.
Clockwork paused, and then moved his staff over Danny’s bag. “You’ll be able to contact them now.”
Danny slowly relaxed, and looked over to his bag. It didn’t look any different to how it looked previously. “Okay,” Danny mumbled, trying to think of another reason to delay whatever Clockwork had in store for him.
“If that's all then it’s time for you to go.” Clockwork reassuringly placed a hand on Danny’s shoulder, and Danny’s vision grew dark.