A/N: Once upon a time, I told a reviewer that I was going to upload the next chapter in a week, because I was excited to write and I already knew what I was supposed to write.

However, the exams to get into college in my country – kinda like the SATs – were approaching too quickly. I couldn't focus on writing, just as I couldn't focus on studying. Those were horrible months of conflict with myself, because I wanted to do both, but ended up doing neither... Needless to say, I didn't pass, but no one can really pass on their first try, so I don't feel like I lost too much. It wasn't even THAT hard like many people say. I even got a lot of things right despite the fact that I barely even touched the books. Eh, yay me. But then again, Brazil is not exactly a model of intelligence out there, sooo... *snicker*

Anyway, I finally got back into the groove of writing! It just... kinda happened! Not sure how! It just did. Also, look at the picture! It's so cute, I can't believe I drew that! Both of them look adorable! I wonder who got Daniel's look correctly, heh. I'll keep that one until I draw a better pic, more similar to the show's style.

By the way, since the last chapter, I realized that I do have a lot of attention on this fic! It's an OC fic, for god's sake! I'm doing a lot better than most people! Geez, what was I complaining about?! I guess I spoiled myself with MKB... Ah, awkward. I'm still SO thankful to everyone who took the time to read this story! :,D

So, the usual goes. Grammar on the first few hours after update might have lots of mistakes, like a beta version of a game. They say "Eh, we'll fix it later, after we use our fans as testers. Profit!"

Something important, now. Anyone tried to map the canon DP time-line? I did, and man, what a mess! According to that, by the end of the third season, Danny would be a Senior, nearing 17 years old! That because we don't know when his birthday is, so it's difficult to say if he would actually be 17. I'm not going into detail over it here. That can be found at the Author Note after the chapter, 'cause I'm going to use it!

Oh, and for the first time, we have multiple POVs! Changing POV always gets me stuck, it seems, so I'll try to avoid it...

Mistakes & Consequences

Chapter 05

Variables

It just took him a second to realize that something had changed.

The ground was no longer rocky and uneven and he could no longer hear the deathly hum of the Ghost zone. Instead, he could hear the ticking of clocks.

His eyes snapped open. There was no one in front of him, and Daniel only stared at the empty space ahead in silence. The numerous ticking clocks around only gave him a feeling of foreboding, each second louder than the last, like his time was running out, one tick at a time. 'What did I do wrong...?' He lowered his hand, the electric energy dying down until it was gone.

"I believe you understand what is happening?" A deep voice asked, and he looked up hesitantly to see an aging blue ghost, with the same clock thematic all over, which sprung a simple conclusion in his head.

"The 'Ghost of Time', I presume?" He couldn't keep the bitterness from showing.

"Correct." The ghost's form suddenly changed from an old man to a child, but Daniel couldn't find the strength to demonstrate surprise or to question it. "My name is Clockwork." At least he introduced himself, because he wasn't going to ask.

His shoulders dropped as he tiredly looked at the ghost in silence. He had nothing to say. The kid, Danny, was gone, and now he was with the Ghost of Time in front of him, who was frowning. Why would he assume that he's won something? "Was there ever a chance to do anything?"

Clockwork tapped his staff in thought, tilting his head a bit. "You mean, for things to remain as they were? No."

"'Were'? As in, not anymore...?" His eyes widened, and he focused on the ghost's face. No expression, no body-language cues... nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Reading ghosts was always a pain, so he learned to rely on sound. As a normal human, that would be nearly impossible, but with enhanced hearing, their tone and pitch alone were enough to give away their thoughts.

This ghost hasn't sputtered a single lie, or emotion, since this conversation began. It was like talking to a robot, from his perspective at least.

"I already re-set the timeline to before Danny meddled. Things are as they should be now."

'Re-set'? To what Danny would have labeled as the 'original course of events'? His parents never marrying... and-? Daniel narrowed his eyes at Clockwork and straightened himself, clenching his fists and taking deep breaths. It didn't work, the fury was rising. "If so... then why let him meddle in the first place?!"

Clockwork raised an eyebrow - the first sign of any emotion Daniel had seen - at his sudden change of tone. "You do realize that you own your very existence to him, don't you?"

Daniel scoffed bitterly. "If I didn't exist, I wouldn't care about that, now would I? And neither would anyone else!" He crossed his arms and looked away, an attempt to stop himself from looking hostile despite his increasing inner aggressiveness. He needed to punch something.

"Then why do you care now, Daniel?" He sounded like his damn psychologist...! The same tone...!

"Because now I do exist! So the damage's already done!" It was difficult to not raise his voice and flail his arms. He was itching to attack, to defend against this turn of events, to make yet another ghost submit and obey to his list of rules like he did to all the other ghosts he's encountered, but what was the point anyway?

Attacking the Ghost of Time? Daniel could tell when the fight was lost, even when it has never even began.

Clockwork seemed to find this amusing, which only served to instigate even more anger. Daniel did his best to control and hide it. "Indeed it is." Clockwork smiled softly - What was that? Fondness? - and continued. "However, what Danny learned from this experience will remain with him, and that is no damage. I see all past, present, and future. I know what can be done, and also what needs to be done."

Then what 'can' be done is a teen-prat bending the timeline to his will. He would not say that to this ghost's face, though. "...You already know that I'm not going to argue... or fight with you." Daniel drawled with a shaky voice, his arms crossed again as he glared sideways at the ghost that changed into a middle-aged man. It must be a cyclic thing. "Just get to the damn point."

There would be no fighting... He's not suicidal.

The implications of a ghost who could control time didn't leave much to think about on whether or not he could beat him. Daniel wasn't the idiot who had to test the electric fence with his own hands to know that it works. Knowing his limits was one of the best weapons he could have.

"As you wish." Clockwork nodded. "I'll give you a choice now. You can either live on in this timeline as it is, or..." He tilted his head, not needing to finish that thought before Daniel understood its meaning. He felt a shiver run down his spine and folded his crossed arms closer together, as if trying to look smaller, staring at the ground without really seeing it. If he were to imagine 'not existing', he would compare it to what he perceived as true death: nothingness... Not of empty space, but a nothingness so complete that he wouldn't even miss it.

For that, he would have to be there...

On the other hand, what awaited him if he just continued living? He's technically never even existed until now, what was there to live for? No family, no friends, no home, and last but not least, no past. How would he even move forward when he had no starting point? Maybe he's over-thinking it. Could he really choose to not exist? Of course not, the choice was obvious. He was speculating over what awaited him, but either way, he would never choose to sit down and give up.

'Dying is not the answer...'

"Well?" He heard the ghost of time ask. He couldn't hear that pitch of impatience, though. He probably knows what he would choose anyway.

"I'm..." Daniel frowned and then sighed in defeat, gritting his teeth. "I'm fine on my own... I guess..." He turned around and walked towards what he presumed to be the exit of the place. The damned ticking clocks were starting to unnerve him.

"Don't you wish to see how your family and friends are doing?" He heard Clockwork asking, something in his tone, a slight drop at the end... it made him wonder if not existing at all would be better. Or maybe he was imagining it, because he knew exactly what awaited him.

Daniel stopped and shook his head, looking back. "I'm pretty sure I know what happened..." All he had to do was to remove himself from the equation, and he could easily deduce what happened. Key events that he didn't cause, but intervened and changed.

...He just wasn't there to help them.

And his parents... They were... fine, but not together. He couldn't, for the half-life of him, imagine what they would be like. Logically, he knew the extent of the change. But it was so sudden that something didn't register, didn't quite hit him yet, he knew it didn't. He would rather not explode in front of anyone. If he let himself think too much about it, he would panic and rage until the thought of vengeance settled in his head.

No one even remotely responsible for his misery should be in front of him when that happens. "If I ever see Danny again, may I punch him directly in the face...?" Not only for Daniel himself, but for the people he wasn't there for.

"As long as you don't alter reality." Came the dry sarcastic reply. Daniel scoffed again, this time in mild amusement, shaking his head and turning away. But a voice in the back stopped him once more. "Also... may a suggest a path to the nearest portal?"

"Yeah ...I appreciate it..." The less time he had with the endless silence of the Ghost Zone, the better.

The car stopped with a screech, his driver and his sporadic twitches waiting for his boss to leave the car so he could disappear as quickly as possible. It was understandable and preferable.

Vlad was not in a good mood. It was visible to anyone.

He opened the door on his own as soon as they stopped, not waiting for his driver to do so as usual. He closed it harshly and stalked towards his manor in the Rockies. The car screeched as it left in a hurry, least the driver ends up angering his boss for no reason.

The only bright side of the day is that the Little Badger did find a cure. He wasn't sure how, and he wouldn't have been too interested if the situation wasn't... worrying.

The flight back to the Rockies – his castle in Wisconsin was still being rebuilt from that portal explosion – and the drive here were unbearably annoying. There were more eyes that usual, so he went to that little town by conventional means despite his aversion to being seen with that wretched condition – Jack Fenton could choke on all that fudge... Vlad's cursed him a million times more than usual since the ecto-acne struck – and then he couldn't have his human employees wondering how he got back on his own.

Vicious gossip, he couldn't give them a reason to talk. The ecto-acne was more than enough fuel for that.

Once inside, Vlad sighed tiredly, rolling his eyes and taking off his suit. How unfortunate that the ecto-acne hit him at such a crucial time, interrupting his cloning project, along with his tight schedule with VladCo and Dalv.

Contrary to what Danny believes, he didn't spend all of his hours plotting to kill his father, and him too, recently. Vlad scoffed to himself, leaving his jacket on a furry couch as he headed to the hallway that would lead to the entrance to his lab.

Danny wasn't going to let go of his ridiculous delusions of heroism. Vlad couldn't see him as an heir or apprentice at this point. It's been more than a year, soon he would be old enough to take care of himself, and what a sight that would be...

Horrible grades and no college. Vlad nearly snickered at that. He couldn't wait to laugh at the misery this path would lead him to. That look he had when he arrived with the cure - a genius guess, according to Maddie - was the look of defeat. Pure, unblemished defeat.

How very tragic...

His deluded altruism is why Vlad 'gave up' on him. He would try another way. Cloning would have to do. Although, how this mysterious defeat affected him could possibly change his mind. Vlad would keep an eye on him, even though he was sure that the Little Badger would push it aside as another weight he intended to carry on his own and move on with his hero-act. Vlad wouldn't keep his hopes up.

He walked downstairs and saw light. Vlad frowned. He didn't leave the lights on.

Danny would not come all the way to the Rockies, so Skulker probably made himself at home and was taking whatever tech he needed. It's fine, Vlad would just kick him out. However, what greeted him wasn't Skulker taking his tech nilly-willy.

He was there, yes, but on the ground, with a wrecked, fizzling suit, with the blob called Skulker out of it, a small panel opened on the suit's neck as the tiny green spec tinkered with it, mumbling indistinguishable curses angrily. Vlad sighed tiredly again and pressed his lips together in suspicion. "What is the meaning of this?"

Skulker the blob shivered visibly and turned around. "Ah, t-this, uh... It's..."

"Spit it out, already!" Vlad barked suddenly. He was so not in the mood for this.

"Someone came through the portal!" He stuttered quickly.

"What?" His eyes widened in alarm. Vlad didn't waste time asking anything else to Skulker. He moved quickly to the control panel. "Maddie, show me what happened." His computer-generated hologram fizzled and appeared.

"Right away, honey cakes! You look handsome as always, by the way!" Vlad heard Skulker groaning in the back, but lucky for him, he ignored it.

Vlad watched as the image popped up on the screen, showing an empty lab, lights on still. He could see the portal and the area around it, then a figure flew in through the swirling green light, landing on the ground clumsily and looking around quickly. Vlad frowned. It... was a boy? He had white hair, and for a second, Vlad thought he was looking at the Little Badger.

But, no, he wasn't, definitely not. This kid was taller and had a black lab coat on... The boy looked around in what Vlad could see as hints of confusion and fear in his bright red eyes.

"Oh, and... there's something I should mention-"

Vlad heard Skulker stutter nervously, but ignored it again. Right then, in the video feed brightened, rings appeared around the boy. "...What in the world...?" He mumbled in shock as this ghost, so eerily similar to Danny turned into a human. The kid walked out of the camera's vision and Vlad hastily pressed a button to change to another one, then turned to Skulker. "A Half-Ghost?!" He howled, making Skulker twitch and gulp. "Why didn't you contact me about this earlier?!"

How in the world- Again, why? Vlad had no idea what to think! How did this happen, when did it happen, where did this kid come from?!

The video feed continued and Vlad heard Skulker's own voice in it. "A Halfa...? Who are you?" He didn't wait for the blob's response and looked back at the video, where Skulker in his suit appeared, pointing an arm-cannon at the boy, who honestly didn't look scared. In fact, initially, he looked surprised but Vlad could see the signs of frustration and impatience creeping on his face.

The boy rubbed his eyes, indigo eyes, shaking his head, hair the same color as Vlad's own – before the accident. "I'm not in the mood for this... Move." The boy raised a hand quickly and the feed turned white, the sound rumbled and fizzled, not quite capable of reproducing the sound of whatever happened.

Once the feed was clear again, the boy still had his hand up, two fingers pointed like a gun, and Skulker was gone, most likely flew to the other side of the lab, where he currently was. Vlad frowned and looked closer. "What was that?" He asked out loud to the ghost suit on the floor. The boy lowered his hand slowly, head lowering.

"The circuits in my suit are fried. Must have been some kind of electric attack... or something..." Was Skulker's grumbled answer, his pride soiled for losing so pathetically quickly.

Vlad was barely listening. He could swear he heard a sniff and saw a shoulder twitch, typical of someone with the need to cry. The boy hugged himself as if looking for some kind of comfort and walked out with a tired slouch and his head down. Ideas popped into his head, one after the other, and Vlad smirked. "Well, look at that..." He pulled away from the screen, looking at a door in his lab that lead to where the cloning pods were. His smirk dimmed.

Should he put that project aside?

He was tapping the panel in thought. He couldn't jump into this possibility blindly. He needed to know where this kid came from. You could only create a half-ghost with a ghost-portal. Did that mean that there was another scientist out there who created one, and on top of that, had another accident, a mere year after Danny's own?

It took him 20 years to find another half-ghost. What are the odds of finding another one in such a short notice...?

There has to be something more to this.

Vlad narrowed his eyes and turned to face Skulker the blob, still outside his own suit, trying to fix it by pulling melted cords out. "Alright, Skulker, fix your suit. I want you to track this boy down." He crossed his arms when Skulker gave him a predatory grin, which wasn't very threatening, considering his size. "Track, Skulker." He repeated warningly.

"What?! But I'm-!"

"Ghost Zone's greatest hunter', yes, I heard that one before. False advertising." Vlad droned. "Track. Report to me once you find him and then await for orders. We both know that you can't beat this boy anyway."

Skulker growled like a tiny dog and Vlad turned back to the screen, pulling a chair and sitting, rewinding the footage and observing more carefully. He wasn't listening to Skulker's sullen complaints as he watched the frozen image.

Those indigo eyes... they looked... familiar.

At this point, Danny knew better than anyone that messing with realities was something no one had the right to do. So him being somewhat pissed at Freakshow and his 'Reality Gauntlet altercations' was understandable.

He dealt with it. But that's not to say that he was immune to its allure.

Days following his time-travel experience were... unpleasant. It was difficult to ignore the weight it left on his shoulders. It was a responsibility before, but after the brief weightless of its absence, it came back with vengeance and turned into guilt. There was nothing he could do, or could have done, but the guilt was there, nevertheless.

Ten times as heavy.

Besides that, part of his mind seemed intent on making sure he knew exactly what he was guilty about. He could add 'nightmares' to his repertoire of things that kept him up at night. He even had the vague impression that he would never sleep for a full seven hours again. But with the Gauntlet, he could somehow solve the problem altogether! The answer to his heavy regret was literally on his hand. However...

"Do not do such a thing again."

He remembers Clockwork's words vividly. There was no force on Earth that would make Danny repeat the same mistake again. He had no right, he wasn't wise enough, he could never make things better by changing reality, he could not play god.

It seems no one could.

It became such a tenet, that he felt affronted by the man who thought he could control all reality on a whim. How could Freakshow think it was so easy after everything Danny's gone through when changing one single event of the past? Danny wanted to leave Ghost-Freakshow inside the thermos, and then throw him into the Ghost Zone. If he wanted to be a ghost so bad, he should have stayed that way. He'd felt slightly tempted to bury him in the backyard, though...

But... no. Freakshow was a human initially, and Danny would not change that, so he left him, as a human, with the GIW.

It would have to do.

Still, he did what he knew he had to do with the Gauntlet. He destroyed it after returning everything exactly as they were before Freakshow messed things up. Using the Gauntlet seemed pretty intuitive, but he had this immense fear of somehow messing things up again while using it.

It was relieving to take it off. It was just as relieving to destroy it.

Danny took a deep calming breath and sat down on the steps in front of his house.

"What a road-trip...!" Tucker sat beside him, leaning back with an exaggerated sigh. Sam rolled her eyes with a small grin, sitting on the lower steps in front of them.

"Yup, we're done for this summer. It was-" Her smile dimmed when she looked at Danny. "You okay, Danny?"

Oh, he knew that question. "Hm? Yeah, fine." He kept his tone firm enough to tell her that he didn't want to hear this again.

"Oh, boy..." Tucker groaned and inched away from both of them, as if sensing a conflict coming. Sam's face turned serious in a second and she turned to face Danny directly. She frowned. "Danny..." Her tone was tired and impatient.

"No, Sam, I'm not-"

"I know we just survived a life-threatening 'reality adventure' in a cross-country trip, but I think you've been ignoring this for too long."

"Two weeks is not 'too long'." In fact, it was way, way too long...

Sam crossed her arms with a growl. "You're tired from what happened today, Danny, but can't you see that we're worried? You look like you're sleeping even less than usual." Yes, Danny knew the dark circles beneath his eyes were visible a mile away, specially to his close friends, and even more to his sister. "I know you were exhausted all this time, and you could have gotten killed for real because of it."

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. He was too tired to argue, so he got up and walked inside his home.

"Don't you run from me!" He heard Sam outside, as she got up and followed him.

"Uh, guys..." He heard Tucker trying to pacify them, but neither of them heard him. He got up and looked back and forth between them and his spot on the stairs, as if trying to decide if he should get involved or just stay put, where he was safe.

"Alright, Sam. If you want to talk about this, fine, but not now. I am exhausted, just like you said."

Sam grabbed him by the wrist. "That's what you said last week." He did? Huh... he needed a new excuse urgently.

Danny shrugged. "Tomorrow, then." He grumbled and turned his arm intangible, walking out of her grip easily.

Sam narrowed her eyes, hand closing into a fist, then her shoulders dropped as she rolled her eyes in frustration. "Tomorrow, then." She walked out with a brisk pace.

Tucker had finally decided to walk in, but stopped as Sam passed by him, nearly bumping into each other. He looked at Danny, who was watching Sam as she left with a wistful look, and shook his head. "You know she'll make your life a living terror tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, I figured. I think I'll disappear for a few days then, until she forgets about it."

"She won't."

"I know..."

Tucker opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. Then, he tried again. "I... I know you don't wanna talk about it, but this is serious, man. You- we can't ignore it forever." Danny sighed and looked down, nodding. Tucker continued. "We just want to help."

"...I know..."

"Well, remember that then. I'm going home, got some Zs to catch up on. I'll try to get Sam to go easy on you tomorrow, alright?"

Danny scoffed. "I don't think you can, but I'll appreciate it, for sure." Tucker nodded and walked out, giving Danny subtle looks before the front door closed was finally closed, and Danny was alone once again. In silence again.

They didn't talk about it.

Ever since that day, none of them even mentioned what Danny meant when he told them a tiny bit of what happened. He didn't talk about the time-travel, and he didn't mention Daniel. All they knew, is that he got into a fight, and got beat up on his search for an antidote for the Ecto-Acne, and that something happened and someone died.

They had no idea, but it was left implied. Who he fought with 'was gone gone', he'd said. What they understood by that, Danny could only guess. Did they think he merely spectated someone's death? Or that he was the cause of it? Or maybe, thought that Danny himself killed someone? Either way, they didn't talk about it.

For two weeks, there was this tense shadow in the background, no matter what they were doing.

He could tell that they were thinking about it every time they looked at him. Tucker just happened to be ironically less verbal about it – 'ironic' because he's the one who talks way too much sometimes.

Danny threw himself on the couch with a grunt. His fight with Freakshow didn't leave him unharmed, but he's been through worse. He undid the damage with the Gauntlet anyway. His bruises from his last real beat up, however, healed almost like a normal human's and disappeared completely after a whole week. A slow, painful reminder.

None of his usual enemies even scratched that level of damage, and he still had no idea what the issue was, not exactly. His mother had no research on the matter. Probably because she never actually studied many corporeal ghosts like himself. Maybe he should have given Ghost-Freakshow to her... She would have loved to dissect him molecule by molecule-

"Danny?"

Danny closed his eyes. He wanted to bury his face on the couch. "Hi, Jazz."

She smiled brightly and strode over to him, sitting beside him, touching his forehead, and also checking for any wounds. "You okay, now?" She wasn't asking about that, but he tensed anyway. She would ask soon.

"Yup, totally fine." That was the truth, and it was a first one, a truth that included the word 'fine' in it. He looked at his sister and saw the worry vanishing. Jazz not existing didn't hit him right away in the alternative reality, not as strongly as his father did. He guessed that nothing hits quite as painfully as your parents not recognizing you.

Maybe if he'd stayed alone long enough, his brain would have finally felt the punch. Same with his friends having no idea he even existed.

"Good, we were all worried back then. Do mom and dad...?"

"Remember? No. Only Sam, Tucker and you. Just like it was before." He grinned tiredly.

Jazz tilted her head, pursing her lips but not losing the smile. "I'm surprised you didn't erase my memories too..."

That would mean changing something. "What are you talking about? You're part of the team now."

Her smile was so bright at this point, it was metaphorically blinding. She was nearly bouncing on her seat. "Really? That's great-!"

"Just leave the ghost-hunting to us, alright? Your aim's still... eh." He waved his had to indicate that.

She heard it like a joke – it was, partly – and giggled, giving him a feeble punch on the shoulder that he barely felt. "Thanks, little brother." She leaned back and grabbed the remote, turning the TV on and cycling through the channels with an easy smile.

Danny frowned as his smile disappeared. She wasn't going to ask? He eyed her cautiously, waiting. She was always more verbal, she always asked. She stopped a few days before, but... he's seen her reading a lot more after that. He thought she was researching on how to make him talk in her psychology books.

Well, he wouldn't fall for that. Whatever it was. After seconds of tense silence – for him – he got up and walked out of the living room, intending to go upstairs. He kept an eye on Jazz, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

Part of him wished he had Daniel's ability to read people...

But there was nothing. She didn't ask at all. Maybe she gave up and was now patiently waiting for him to open up on his own? That was... thoughtful of her, if that was her deal. Danny was already on the top of the stairs when he stopped.

What did Jazz always say? Talking is the best medicine? Hell, maybe it was! The guilt and the nightmares were tormenting him for two weeks, and using the Reality Gauntlet was a no-go to solve it. It felt like time was making it less painful, alleviate the guilt, but it changed so slowly...

How long could he keep going like this? Part of him wanted his friends and sister to ask. He would consider it, for half a second, and then he would ultimately refuse to say anything. But knowing they care is always comforting...

'I just want to forget...' He couldn't, but oh, how he wished he could. "...I must be going crazy..." Danny mumbled and stalked downstairs again. "Jazz."

She turned off the TV. "Yes?" She answered too quickly...

"Were you waiting for me?" He asked with a deadpan expression.

"Probing doesn't work, so patience is the key." She quipped, shrugging with a smile.

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Did you get that from one of your books?"

She shrugged again, and Danny sighed, looking at the ceiling in exasperation and dragging his feet until he was on the couch again. He sat at the end, hand under his chin, supporting his head, with Jazz inching closer. Once he opened his mouth, after long seconds of silence, the words came out before he could think about it. "Have you ever done something so horrible you just wanted to take it all back...?" He gave her no time to respond. "I mean, I didn't mean for that to happen, I wasn't even thinking! It just did! I didn't... I didn't kill anyone, if that's what you were thinking!" He leaned a bit closer to her, eyes wide to assert her reaction, then leaned back. "Sam and Tucker probably think that too..."

Jazz's brows knitted together. "Actually, I was thinking that an accident happened, and that you were blaming yourself. I'm pretty sure Sam and Tucker think so too."

"It wasn't an accident..." He admitted surly. "I was being an idiot, and it was my fault... in the end..."

By the brief confused look on her face, Danny thought she would ask what he was talking about – he wouldn't explain the details, he didn't want to – but instead, she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"If I had just listened..." Danny leaned forward and rubbed his face with his hands tiredly, regret resurfacing. "N-none of that would have happened...!" Deep regret... He sputtered, it was getting difficult to force his voice out. Danny considered getting up and leaving before Jazz could think he was about to cry...

"Danny..." She continued rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. Danny wasn't sure if she knew what to say, specially when she had no idea what he was talking about...

How could she ever give him any advice with these conditions?

"I..." Should he tell her? Explain? If he did, would she know how to make the guilt disappear or how to soothe it? He could feel his heart beating faster and faster, the gnawing fear and guilt inside him again, digging itself out of where he buried it... He needed a minute... He wanted to forget about it!

Not relive it...! 'This is not helping me...!'

Danny shook his head, and after a second, he got up and headed out through the front door. He heard Jazz trying to call him but then stopping and letting him go in silence. He didn't look back at her. Maybe a flight a few miles away from the ground would alleviate things...

These next weeks were going to be long...

Continuous ticking clocks and bells every now and then. Some people might consider this constant repetitiveness maddening, but to Clockwork, it was comforting. It meant that things were moving forward with no interruptions.

As they should be.

He watched, somewhat detached, as the young Phantom left his house for a flight, the ghost equivalent of taking a walk outside. As a ghost who has always existed, getting attached to beings that lasted so little was not encouraged.

Not that he could, even if he tried. He's simply been, for far too long.

But... there are certain people, humans and ghosts alike, who got more attention than others. These people tended to swing both ways, both extreme ends, each so far apart that he, the Ghost of Time, could not tell exactly which would come to pass.

Danny Phantom could either lose his family and destroy the future, or move on with his life with his family alive and well. The path he was now following, the one where Clockwork himself exercised his influence, also had its own variables. Not everyone had such variables – most futures were so predictable from his perspective, that they were inevitable – and that's what made someone more interesting.

These cases, they were a bit like Schrödinger's Cat. He could see both ends, but he wouldn't know for sure until it happened, until a definitive event confirmed where they were. Both existed, until only one emerged.

The other infinite timelines, the ones that simply didn't happen, had an uncountable number of people that never even existed, and they also had the special ones, not as predictable, with many defining variables...

"This again... this again, Clockwork! You did it again!" The usual professional tone of the Observants' leader echoed in his lair, less composed than usual, just as shrill.

"Clarify to me, again, what did I do?" He didn't look away from his monitor. Anything to not look at the floating eyeball in robes behind him, specially when he knew his mood wasn't pleasant.

"Your actions brought forth one who was never meant to be! And now-!"

"You know, as well as I do, that those who pass through the Clockwork Tower are no longer bound by the Time Stream." Clockwork replied calmly, eyeing the thermos on a shelf in the corner of the room, its dents just as visible. "As well as those who touch the Time-Medallions."

"He shouldn't have had the chance to be in the first place!" The eyeball crossed his arms. "That boy is a walking future disaster! The Observants' Council should have both of them in trial for what one has done, and for what the other could do!"

Clockwork nearly scoffed. "Your oath is to Observe, never to Act. The Phantom boy if following his path as he should be, and I will not do anything to the other one when he hasn't done anything."

"Yet, Clockwork! You might have been right about the Phantom boy, despite your interference, but allowing the other boy to exist due to Phantom's actions-!"

Clockwork tuned him out, already knowing what he would say. Their close-mindedness aggravated him greatly. They only see it like a parade, the immediate future that only changes as great variables come into play. Explaining such things to them was not his responsibility. The alternative reality of Maddie Walker marrying Vlad Masters was not an exclusive variable Danny Fenton created. The original Time Stream branches away, creating infinite realities that never happened. All have their own infinite branches, none of them exist, but they are there.

Daniel Masters is just another variable that has always been there, one that just so happened to cross into existence, unlike anyone else. Such a rare occurrence... His future also had two extremes ahead of him. Clockwork couldn't confirm which would come to be, and even after following one path, there would be other similar balancing extremes to face next.

Just like Danny Fenton.

"You Observants are ironically unable to see it, but nothing is out of place." Clockwork muttered firmly, finally turning to the Observant High Council leader with a smirk, making the floating eyeball clench his fists in silent indignation with the affront. "Everything is exactly as it should be."

A/N: Foreshadowing. Foreshadowing everywhere. This feels like setup, no? Setup always gets me stuck too, by the way. So, setup and POV change. I'm glad I'm writing at all!

First thing, the Wiki says that Maddie's maiden name is Walker, so I used that. How many of you knew that? I sure didn't before...

Second thing, Vladdie is heeere! He'll be a big part of this story too, and later on, Maddie will also be just as important.

Third thing, I watched all of the Randy Cunningham series, so, I decided to write a three-way crossover with Jake Long and Danny Phantom. Man, I'm so excited for it! You know my writing style, so you decide if you wish to read it.

Fourth thing, I found a bunch of characters I created when I was much younger in an old notebook, so I drew them again with my current style and put them on DeviantArt! I'm giving them away for free, 'cause I have no use for them. :( They're all girls, by the way. Link's on my profile.

Fifth thing (my god, will you stop adding stuff?!), I had a bunch of fic ideas that I ended up not writing at all, so I'm leaving the general idea of all of them in my profile, also for free or as challenges, I dunno.

Anyway, I hope the chapter was good, for a setup. I hate writing bad things and then begging my readers to 'bear with me because it gets better later', because that's not how you're supposed to write! Every chapter needs to be worth the readers' time and move the plot forward! I strive for that.

Okay, now, about that Canon Time-Line!

Supposedly, the series starts in 2004, around September, since Danny just started as a Freshman. However, by episode 8, in Prisoners of Love, it says it's May 9th, Maddie and Jack's anniversary! That meant that from episode 1 to 8, SIX MONTHS passed!

Which is why, this fic will be using my own timeline.

Proto-portal accident in 1984; they were 22 years old then. Jack and Maddie married on September 20, instead of May, in 1986, when they were 24. They had Jazz two years after marriage, when they were 26, early 1988. Danny was born on November 15, 1990. Maddie and Jack finished the portal somewhere before mid-2004, so Danny got his powers during early summer break, that is mid-July, in 2004.

Danny's Freshman year started on mid-August. Danny's still 13 at this point (2004)

Episode 1-7: Happened in a month or so (2004)

Episode 8: September 20, instead of May 9 (2004)

Episode 9-15: A month, until October 31, during Fright Night (2004)

Episode 16-17: Around June, so that meant Danny had a few months with no new enemies or remarkable events, and Danny's long 14 by now (2005)

Episode 18-29: Sophomore year (2005)

Episode 30: Christmas, and Danny's 15 (2005)

Episode 31-38: Sophomore year ends and then there's Summer break in Reality Trip (2006)

So in this fic, Danny's 15 and a Junior! And that makes Daniel 17 and practically finishing high school when Danny arrived! Seriously, writing this timeline was kinda of difficult! If you find a loop-hole, tell me! I'm also changing these details in earlier chapters. Nothing big, just a line or so. Good lord, these author's note made the chapter bigger than any chapter I've ever written for M&C!

So review, fave and/or follow! I'm thankful to everyone who even took the time to read what I wrote, it's such a blessing! :) I hope it was good enough, as always.