The Speeder's denizens were silent, the only noise the engine as it sped its way through the green-hued space. Vlad sat next to Jasmine, the girl angrily glaring at the floor instead of looking at Clockwork and Phantom sitting across from them. Vlad, in turn, had his eyes closed, his head leaning back against the cold metal. His mind whirled as he tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for all this when they eventually see his daughter.

He knew it was sooner than later, but god did he wish it was later. He could already feel the headache coming on that Phantom's presence in the Human world will cause. The people of Amity were not known to have good relations with Ghosts, even with all of Samantha and Tucker's work. Seeing a Ghost of one of their own will not endear them to the supernatural. If anything, it will probably cause more tense relations in the future.

People did not react well to dead people. He silently opened his eyes to take in the people around him, they themselves were evidence of that.

He sighed to himself, bringing his head forward with slow movements to stare at his hands. He felt... conflicted. He knew why he felt this way, but it didn't help his situation if he knew the cause.

On the one hand, he was angry. So unbelievably angry. Clockwork hid a massively important thing from him. And while he did not get along well with the Time Ghost, he had hoped the Ghost would have reached out to him knowing how much he cared for Daniel. He could have helped the boy regain his memories -if there were any to recover in the first place, that is. Instead, he sequestered the boy away in a tower like a fairy tale princess, He kept him under lock and key and away from his family even as the boy was dying. Again.

And on the other hand... He understood Clockwork. Seeing the boy as he now was, it was heartbreaking. The very visage of the son he never had stared at him and told him he had no idea who he was. He showed too much emotion, every feeling telegraphed on a face that had once held a brick wall of teen angst. Daniel never would have smiled shyly, he would have shoved whatever emotion it was down and spit out a snarky remark to cover any weakness.

That was the Daniel he knew and loved. This one felt wrong, like a mirror image just slightly off.

It didn't help that the boy's ghost skin was a deathly pale blue. He glanced over at Samantha and Tucker, both sitting in the front of the Speeder. They seemed anxious to talk but read the room well enough to know no one would welcome idle chatter at the moment.

They were handling this remarkably well, all things considered. He feared when he saw the Ghost form of Phantom, it might stir some unpleasant memories within the young adults, the blue just too close to that of Dan from the descriptions he had heard from all three humans. He turned to look again at said Ghost, who idly played with the hem of his void-like cloak, a nervous tick Vlad assumed with how much the boy did it in their presence.

He tried not to look down at the glowing green energy the boy's arm emitted, but he felt his eyes drawn despite his wishes. God, he could kill Clockwork for that alone.

He knew what the green slowly creeping up Phantom's arm meant. Anyone who spent as long as he did in the Ghost Zone would be an idiot for not knowing. He pointedly avoided looking at the supposed 'Ghost Experts' in the front of the Speeder.

It was a death sentence. It was almost like a second death for Ghosts. They would turn to mindless green creatures attacking all insight and not a care whom they hurt, even if they once were friends. Vlad had seen these creatures before, once on an exploration mission with Skulker.

Skulker, his unwavering friend who feared few things had blanched when he saw those creatures, making Vlad fly around them, giving them a wide berth just in case. It had confused the hell out of the elder Halfa, who demanded to know what they were. His metal friend just looked at the octopus looking creatures with pity.

"They're nothing now," he told Vlad, eyeing them as if he couldn't decide whether to give them space or to put them out of their misery. "Just shells of what they once were."

From there, Vlad asked about them around the Ghost Zone, ruining one Christmas Truce party and annoying several Ghosts in their homes before he finally got his answer from the insufferable Ghost Writer.

"Green beings of energy, causing most to flee," The Ghost Writer began, looking through the window of his abode with trepidation as if one could hear him speak, "No longer what they once were, now merely a blur." He looked over his glasses at the Halfa, "The energy changes them, creeping slowly till they are condemned. Without an obsession, it causes friction. Be wary of these green blights, for their bark is much less than their bites."

It took Vlad longer than he wished to parse through that annoying rhyme scheme, but he eventually learned what it meant. Those green Ghosts were once things that looked like people. Like most of the other Ghosts. But for some reason or another, they ignored their Obsession and turned into mindless monsters.

And Clockwork was letting it happen to Phantom.

Clockwork watched from half-lidded eyes as Plasmius's face grew darker the more he looked at his young charge. He could guess where such thoughts were leading the living halfa, his anger as clear as day when his grey gaze drifted to Phantom's arm.

He sighed internally, knowing no matter what, this will be a contentious point in their already tenuous relationship. Clockwork was not, despite what the Observants tried to say, an idiot. He knew exactly what the green glow meant. He had tried to prevent it by teaching the boy how to watch Time. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be the young Ghost's Obsession.

He knew it wasn't going to be.

The Obsession mirrored the ideals the Ghost held in life, to an unhealthy point. Clockwork needn't guess to know what Phantom's Obsession is. It would be evident to anyone who knew the Halfa in life.

But it was dangerous.

Just this trip alone to Plasmius's manor held many different streams of Time, each one varying in degrees of disaster. A couple were simple, a minor situation easily resolved with no harm coming to his protege, but more oft than not, his Phantom was harmed in these numerous Futures. Some a necessary hurt, some needlessly torturous. But if Phantom stayed, well those Futures were the worst ones he had laid eyes on.

Clockwork smiled down at the nervous Ghost next to him, the boy's eyes flitting between all the silent humans in the Speeder. He caught his Mentor's gaze, smiling nervously back at him, the corners barely upturning as he went back to fiddling with his cloak.

"Everything will be alright," He lied to the young Ghost, whispering gently, but knowing the others could hear him in the awkward silence and small enclosed space. "I'm sure you will enjoy your stay at Plasmius's Manor." He glanced over at said Halfa, seeing him turn away to look through the windshield, trying to pretend he didn't hear a thing. Jazz next to him was slightly less subtle, actively glaring at his charge with her arms crossed. He glared back before turning his now smiling eyes to Phantom.

His protege nodded absentmindedly, his thoughts elsewhere but trying to be polite. This time Clockwork sighed audibly, knowing his attempts to assuage Phantom's fear had fallen on deaf ears.

He turned his now child-like visage to the front of the Speeder, glancing at the two humans in the front, both silent but exuding a joy that couldn't be contained and at complete odds with the awkward silence in the back. He smiled at them than at Phantom, getting an idea to help his charge.

"Why don't you go up front, Phantom? I'm sure Sam and Tucker would enjoy learning about your life, and I know you're curious about theirs." He reached forward to ruffle the snowy white crown on Phantom, who looked up at him with wide eyes. He looked nervously from Vlad and Jazz to Sam and Tucker before steeling himself with a smile and rushing to the front with excitement and a bit of trepidation. Clockwork just grinned after him, watching the boy begin asking the two about their time in Ghost Zone.

"You know they think he's Danny, don't you?"

Clockwork closed his eyes gently, letting out a deep breath before turning his head to look at Jazz Fenton, who was pointedly looking away from the Time Ghost.

"I know, Jasmine." He sighed out, fiddling with his staff in what one could say was a nervous gesture if they didn't know him. "It will take a lot for them to see Phantom as his own person, but I am hoping the more they talk, the more it will be possible."

Jazz, in return, just rolled her eyes, huffing slightly in a rather teenage moment for a grown adult. Clockwork narrowed his eyes for a moment before deciding to let it slide. At least she was well aware of Phantom's own personhood from Danny. It was all he could ask for from the humans.

Vlad finally moved, wrapping an arm around Jazz, pulling her closer to him to kiss her paternally on her crown despite her still sitting there in a huff with her arms crossed in defiance. " It will be alright, Jasmine." He said, eyes glued to the three up front, "It has to be" He finished in a whisper, seemingly meant for himself than the woman he half-hugged.

Jazz slowly relaxed, the hunch of her shoulders softening under the caring comfort of the Halfa. "I'm sure you're right," She finally relented, causing Clockwork to raise his eyebrows at such an acquisition. He was sure she would be fighting this till Phantom came back to his lair.

He looked away from the tender moment between parent and child, thinking over this whole trip to the Human World and going over in his mind the different Timelines to let them have their moment.

Phantom hated this ride.

He wanted to be excited -it was his first time out of the lair for Pariah's sake!- but the tension in the air was so dense he felt even his ectoblast wouldn't be able to cut through it.

It didn't help his own fears about humans was feeding right into the tension.

So when he was given a chance to escape the death glares and world-weary looks of the humans in the back, he jumped on it. It wasn't until he was upfront that he remembered one of these humans tried to shoot him. In the face. After entering his home.

Phantom chocked down the groan that threatened to escape him, even his attacker was a better option than the human girl back there.

He would just have to...suck it up! Yes, that's what he's going to do. Pretend like the human never drew a gun on him and made him fear for a second death...third Death? He shook his head, erasing the thoughts like an etch-a-sketch. It wouldn't do to think about whatever his life was like before. All he knew was now, and that's all that should matter.

He hoped it was all that mattered.

"Hello," He called gently to the two in the cockpit, startling them out of whatever whisper session they had going on. When they saw who interrupted them, their faces lit up in broad smiles and crinkled eyes. The mere sight caused Phantom's core to burst with joy and longing for a split second before it left, leaving the specter reeling and missing their response.

"-ust trying to find the stupid football." Phantom caught Tucker saying when he tuned back in. The human was glaring at the empty space before checking a small metal rectangle in his hand. "It says it should be right here, and the amount of times we've been through his portal, you'd think we'd be able to spot the dumb thing a mile away."

Phantom watched as Sam laid a hand on Tucker's, her smile taking a softer tone, "It's fine, babe, you know shit moves." She reminded, eyes turning back to scan the horizons.

"Not this much," He mumbled in return, a small smile replacing the scowl despite his words.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Phantom asked, not sure he could do anything but want to participate in this all the same.

"Not really, Danny," Tucker told him, "Unless you know where the infi-map went."

There was a small pause of silence. "The what?"

The two adults turned their heads to look at Phantom, both wincing at the question. Sam shared a look with Tucker, who just shook his head silently. She glared back before opening her mouth to what looked like Tucker's chagrin.

"You know, the infi-map," She stressed, " The map we stole from Frostbite? That Vlad then stole from us?" Her eyes looked pleading as her words bounced off the blank expression Phantom wore.

He just shrugged, " Sounds like you guys had an adventure."

He saw Sam slump down into her seat, Tucker turning around with a mumbled, "Told you so."

Phantom looked back and forth between the two, the situation slowly dawning on him. "Oh! Oh. I was with you guys. Well," He paused, thinking it over, "not me. But Danny. He...me...we? were with you. During the...the adventure..." He finished lamely, finding the swirling green of the Ghost Zone suddenly a lot more interesting.

" You think I remember being alive." He whispered.

"You wouldn't be the first Ghost."

His head whirled to Tucker, who was staring intently at the small rectangle again. He seemed to weigh over his words as he fidgeted with something on the box before putting it down to squeeze his eyes shut.

When he opened them, he had turned his gaze directly to Phantom's, staring into the unbroken, curious, green eyes.

"You wouldn't be the first Ghost we found who remembered his past. Sidney Poindexter used to go to our school, long before any of us were alive. He seemed to remember everything that happened to him when he was alive. Everything." He stressed the last point, the weight of the word getting through to even the young Ghost.

The poor Ghost had remembered his Death.

"Not everything." Sam finally piped up, her voice quiet and barely audible over the gentle hum of the Speeder. Her eyes were locked forward, her knuckles white against the steering wheel.

"He couldn't remember his family. Or what he did outside of school. He could only remember what they did to him."

Tucker reached over a placed a soothing hand on Sam, gently rubbing her back until her shoulders relaxed from their stiffened position, "How do you know this?" He questioned quietly, his voice the same level as hers.

Sam shrugged, "I asked him. He wasn't alive too long before us. He might've had family still alive and kicking in Amity. I thought I was doing him a favor. The look he gave me when he told me he didn't know was terrifying. It was like they never mattered to him. Only revenge did."

The trio stayed silent at her final statement. Phantom couldn't believe there was a Ghost out there that remembered most of his life, even if it only had to do with his Obsession. It was practically unheard of according to Clockwork. And his Mentor knew everything.

After a minute, Phantom finally broke the silence, "That was nice of you to ask him, Sam." He whispered, not wanting to shatter the quiet too much.

She snorted, a scornful sound that seemed to shock even her. She shook her head and gave Phantom a mocking smile. "At the time, you told me it was a stupid thing to ask him. Your job was to stop the Ghosts, not help them."

"Well," He paused, not sure if it was okay to continue his line of thought, Danny was their friend after all, "Sounds like he was being an asshole."

That got a genuine smile out of Sam. She let out a small laugh under her breath, shaking her head at the thought.

"Yea, You kinda were."

He tried hard not to wince.

Clockwork smiled at the trio up front, past timelines flashing before his eyes of when they had been much younger and much happier.

What he wouldn't do that have been able to protect them all from this.

"His arm."

Clockwork chocked back the feral growl that threatened to rise at the sheer anger coming from the Halfa's tone. He slowly turned his head to face the seething man who seemed to at least have the courtesy to wait till Phantom was distracted. He casually took in Master's gripped fists that were bunched in his slacks, wrinkling the already unkempt item, and the way his jaw was clenched as if he was seconds away from screaming.

He did not need his Time seeing abilities to know this could go down disastrously.

"Yes," Clockwork began as if speaking to someone who was stating the obvious, "His arm." Master's grip only got tighter the fabric letting out a small sound at the tension he was putting on the clothing. Hmm, it seems he wasn't as placating as he hoped.

"I gather you aren't as stupid as you are acting, and you know exactly what it means." The man hissed back, his tone icy and cold. Clockwork wondered briefly if Plasmius was the one with an ice core, instead of his warm ball of fire that was Phantom. He simply nodded back instead of answering such a rhetorical question.

Clockwork noted that the man's eyes briefly flashed red before going back to their cold grey hue. "If so," He snarled with actual heat behind his words, " why haven't you done anything?"

It was the Time Ghost's turn to glare at the Halfa. He pulled himself up to his full height as his form shifted to his adult body, shedding the friendly demeanor he kept in Phantom's presence. "What is with you and assuming I care so little for the boy?" He responded in kind, causing Jasmine to flinch slightly, having never heard his tone so cold. " This is the second time today you have accused me of ignoring the boy's best interest. I would not suggest there being a third, Plasmius."

For Plasmius's credit, he did not shrink from his gaze, which caused more powerful Ghosts to run and never return. Instead, he glared right back, not backing down from the Time Ghost older than recorded history. Oh how Clockwork wished he could wrap his hands around the Halfa's neck again, but even now he still had to be aware of his Phantom less than several feet from him.

So he opted to sigh, deflating as he closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, ignoring the tingling from his scar at the stress of it all. He reopened his eyes to glance at the two across from him. " I have tried, Plasmius." He said in a calmer voice, this time laced with tiring year after year of trying to find a way to save Phantom. " I have a theory on what his Obsession could be. Unlike most Ghosts, he doesn't exude a need to follow a path. He hasn't mentioned a single thing that could be taken as an Obsession, and the one job that he did want to do has done nothing to stop the spread." This time Clockwork let his head fall back and bump the wall of the Speeder, feeling the vibrations coursing through the machine into the ecto-energy.

"What is your 'theory'?" Plasmius sneered, causing another sigh to pass the Time Ghost's lips. He watched as the Halfa's face still held contempt for him. It was to be expected he supposed.

" My theory," He stressed to show he didn't appreciate Plasmius's attitude, even if he understood it, " is protection. When he was alive, as you said, he protected those he loved to near Obsession. In my lair, he had nothing to protect, no actual danger to fight. I hope that in the Human World, he will have something to fight for, something to save him."

Plasmius this time was quiet, clearly mulling over Clockwork's words, which he appreciated. As the man thought it over, Clockwork turned his ever-changing gaze to the child they were talking about. He seemed content at the moment, letting the two in the front talk on and on as he stood there. He smiled at the thought of Phantom having someone else in his life besides an ancient Ghost. It would do him good to have another outlet.

Finally, Plamsius spoke up again, this time his tone controlled, none of his previous temper tantrum poking through. " So, you are giving him to me to save him by putting him in harm's way." Nevermind, Clockwork mused, it was still there in the undertone.

"In a way, yes." He confirmed to a sharp laugh from Jasmine. He spared her a single glance before turning fully to Plasmius. "I can not protect him forever. Neither could you."

The Halfa flinched back, his eyes turning to the floor at the pointed comment. Good, it would do well for the man to learn humility.

" If this can save him from his own nature, I would do it a thousand times over. From what I can see, even with all this uncertainty, this is the safest for him in the long run."

"Do you truly believe that?"

Clockwork faced Jasmine this time, her meek voice filled with grief twice lived. He nodded before responding, " I have to. It's the only way for Phantom to live."

She grew quiet at his comment, not looking at either of them even with Plasmius's arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Heads up, everyone!" Came the sudden call from the front, shocking the three from their morose stupor as they all whipped their head to look at Tucker. " Finally found the cheese head's football, we're home!"