Wow, do you know how much of this thing I re-wrote? Clockwork was WAY out of character the first draft. I had to erase and rewrite three pages of material, but now it works so meh. I only regret that one particularly cool scene couldn't exist in this version. Ah well, it's worth it.

Love to all reviewers. I think last chapter inspired the most first-timers out of any chapters in this thing. And surprisingly, only half of you seem to want me to die. I'm glad you like the story enough to not kill me until I post the last chapter. Speaking of which, I need to go into hiding now. Hope you like the conclusion. Seriously, I love you all, even those with angry mobs forming. You make this worthwhile. Cheers.

Later!

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 16 – Martyrs

Danny stood in the empty room as the stones about him silently moved to create a large, level floor, breathing deeply. He shook from the tremendous loss of his dear friend, but no tears fell. Eerily calm, the ghost boy turned towards Ember. The singing ghost just stood to the side, staring mutely at the green puddle that was all that remained of the first true friend she'd ever made. Sniffling, Ember met Danny's empty gaze.

"Go find my parents. Tell them everything." He said in an odd sort of monotone. There was no life left in that voice, no will to go on. Even the near silent echoes of his command seemed cold and empty. Frowning sadly, Ember walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. Danny gently shrugged it off and looked at her, silently repeating his request.

"Alright, kid. I'll tell them…everything." The ghost slowly turned and walked away, back towards the black door to Danny's house. She paused. "What are you doing? Looking after her?" She jerked her head to indicate Valerie, but that wasn't really necessary. A spark returned to Danny's eyes, and his face contorted in anger and he returned to his ghost form.

"No." He said quietly. "She'll be fine. I have to go see a ghost about a thermos." Flaming green cracks spreading out from his feet, Danny walked slowly but deliberately to the other door. A certain robed ghost had some explaining to do.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sam and Jazz rode with Damon around the perimeter, with no idea of what else to do. Tucker had called them and told them to patrol, saying that Danny and his future self were fighting somewhere. Both girls were incredibly pale, almost wishing a generator would explode, if only to tell them where he was. Shifting uncomfortably, Damon shot them an encouraging smile as he drove to the next point on his compact map.

"Don't worry, girls, I'm sure Phantom is fine. He's a tough ghost, even Valerie said so." The two girls smiled slightly. Damon sighed; worry leaking through his strong front. "My little girl is out there with him, and I have no idea where she is. How can you live with something like that? At least Jack and Maddie know all their kids are safe." Slightly guilty, Jazz slid forward and rested a hand on Damon's shoulder.

"I'm sure she's fine, Mr. Gray. Valerie's a fighter, she can handle herself. And Phantom would never let her get hurt. He'll do his best to protect her, I promise." Their driver just stared ahead.

"I just worry that it won't be enough. All I can do is keep this shield up, and leave the rest to her. It's not fair that someone so young should have to do something like this." The RV's communicator crackled to life.

"Guys?" Tucker's voice was hesitant and sad. All three people in the vehicle grabbed for the speaker, Damon finally winning out.

"Tucker. What's going on?" There was a long pause.

"We won. But Val's hurt, I'm taking her to the hospital." Damon pulled the RV into a U-turn so fast his passengers slammed into the side.

"What's wrong? I'll be there in five minutes!" The frantic father slammed the gas, tearing off down the rode in a way that Jack would find insane. Desperate, Sam grabbed the device.

"What about Da-Pantom? Is he okay?" There was an even longer pause.

"Yes, he's fine. I think." Sam collapsed in relief, sobbing. Jazz deftly plucked up the link.

"What do you mean?"

"It's Danielle. She stopped him. She saved Phantom's life. But…." Jazz paled.

"No…"

"I think Danny and his parents need some time alone. I'm taking Val to the hospital on my permit. Desperate times…." Tucker gulped. "I'm in your car Jazz, you can drive back home from the hospital. I think he'll need you. Sam, you should go too. I'm gonna stay with Val until she wakes up." Nodding at the speaker, Jazz hung up, turning towards Sam.

"I hope he's alright."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

BAM!

Clockwork fell to the floor, and rose, wincing, as he cupped his cheek. Danny glowered at the time ghost, eyes a pair of green flames.

"I'm confident that the Fentons will pull through. There are more universes where you survive. Tell me something Clockwork, was that promise made before or AFTER YOU LET MY EVIL FUTURE GO!" Several light fixtures in the now-traditional meeting study shattered, glass shards falling to the floor and the exposed candle flames scorching the walls. Danny's eyes finally dropped a few tears. "WHY DID YOU DO IT! YOU'RE THE MASTER OF TIME! YOU COULD HAVE STOPPED HIM!" Danny panted, and fell back into a soft lounge chair, red faced and gasping. "I promised I'd keep her safe, that I'd take care of her. And she's dead!"

Clockwork waited with pity and shame in his face while Danny lay back in his chair and shook, sobbing. To his credit, he knew he'd deserved the punch, and had been more than willing to take it. After all, he'd seen it coming. A few minutes of silence passed, and Danny calmed down, looking at his hands and refusing to acknowledge the other ghost. Clockwork decided that was as close to an invitation to explain as he could expect. The time ghost sighed, and sat back in a chair of his own.

"I can try to explain, but you will react poorly to my first statements." Danny looked up, frowning. "You will want to hit me again, or leave. I must ask first that you do not act on this impulse. What I say will at first seem selfish, evil, and wrong. But I had a very important positive motivation. Let me continue, and give me a chance to explain." Danny nodded, eyes narrow, as he mentally braced himself.

"I allowed Dan to go free. My actions greatly decreased the chances of Danielle's survival." Danny's head shot up, hand shaking with barely contained anger. Finally, with a visible effort, the ghost boy slowly began to relax, his eyes the only indication that Clockwork was now on incredibly thin ice. Clockwork motioned for him to sit back and calm down.

"Even without knowledge of the future, I would have known that. With him out, your friends and family were at significantly greater risk. You would be too busy to devote time to stabilizing Danielle. She could easily be put in a position where her powers were needed, or slipped and over-exerted herself. I'm sorry about what happened, Danny, more than I can possibly express. But through her actions, the future looks brighter than it has in a very long time." Danny quirked an eyebrow at that.

"Remember, for me time is not a straight line. Concepts like past present and future do not apply to me. The moment Dani destroyed your evil counterpart, the number of dark futures withered. Thousands upon thousands of terrible possibilities vanished in an instant, to be replaced with peace, and whole new glorious futures became all the more likely. So while I mourn for Danielle's tremendous sacrifice, I thank her with every fiber of my being for what she has done."

Danny looked down, miserable. "She didn't have to die. What good is influencing the future if it can change so much any second? What good did any of it do?" Clockwork frowned, then stood, looking slightly nervous.

"I think I might be able to show you something. I have never actually tried showing someone else, but you are in my charge. Perhaps I can, and it might help." The time ghost walked slowly from the room. Curious and eager for some valid explanation, Danny followed. In the end, Clockwork led him to a familiar room with a large viewing glass. Danny pulled up short, confused.

"I don't understand. I've been here before." His companion nodded, frowning.

"Yes, but I only showed you one possible future. One that in any case was destined not to be, whether because I intervened or because I followed my original orders and destroyed you." Danny gaped, momentarily forgetting why he'd come to Clockwork's.

"You're showing me the future?" Clockwork shook his head.

"It's never that simple, Danny. Even the Observants are unforgivably dense. The 'future' you saw on your last visit was no more set in stone than any I can show you now. It was likely at the time, but by no means inescapable. My short-sighted associates simply panicked, assuming in their ignorance that the horrible things they saw were destined to be. Still, their worries allowed me unprecedented freedoms with you, allowing me to help shape your future more directly from that point on than with any other person who has ever lived, or likely ever will." Clockwork turned towards the circle.

"Before Dan's escape, I suppose you could divide the possible futures, good and bad, into two groups. One where he escaped and one where I stopped him. Out of all of the good futures, the best occurred in universes where he was allowed to go free. I was literally between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, I could recapture him. You would not be as at risk, but in the not-too-distant future, certain events would come about that would be infinitely more dangerous. Many dark futures branched from that event. But in many futures where Dan had gone free, that event no longer occurred. Though many of the futures on that path were darker, the others were brighter, happier, for you and others." Danny looked towards the time ghost.

"What event?" Face still, Clockwork waved his hand before the screen. It appeared to be the local news.

'After recent controversy over the allegiance of our city's own Danny Phantom, the mayor has officially deferred all authority regarding his apprehension and questioning to the government agency Guys in White. Within hours of his decision, local company Axion Labs was bought out by this mysterious party, and advanced Anti-Ghost weaponry is being installed about the city as we speak. Local experts Jack and Maddie Fenton have been protesting violently outside City Hall for several hours, but the uncertain residents of our city seem more willing to cooperate. It seems this is the end of Danny Phantom's mysterious haunt. More at eleven.'

The image faded. The floating robed ghost turned towards his shaken charge. "If Dan had not escaped, the city would have had no reason to rally behind you for protection. Now that the threat has been defeated, complete with more video footage from Miss Gray, currently at the local hospital in stable condition, it is likely that the mayor will do no such thing. Besides, with Damon's fear-inspired creation of the Anti-Ghost dome, many in the city will see Guys in White interference as unnecessary, even for other ghosts. Your secret will remain safe from the world at large, and this city will no longer fear your presence or seek your destruction. Or at least, they probably won't. The future is never completely certain. That is what Dani did for you." Danny turned and looked at the ghost.

"That doesn't sound like much. Not to die for." Clockwork smiled.

"That's the near future. The further into the time stream you go, the large the effect of the present becomes. Think of ripples in a pond. Many of the futures further along were greatly improved. Unfortunately, I dare not show you for fear that your knowledge would actually prevent them from happening." The ghost boy looked vaguely disappointed at that, but eventually shrugged, sad but much calmer.

"Alright." He said quietly. "I don't know if I'll ever forgive you for risking our lives, especially after what it cost us. But I understand why you did it, and that you didn't know that any of us would die." Clockwork smiled.

"Danny, no matter how desolate things may seem, you must always hold on to hope. I couldn't know what would happen, but I had, and always will have, faith in you. You are stronger than you know, and a better person than you might think. You should always remember to have faith in yourself and those you care about." Clockwork grinned. "Which brings me to my final point. I said Dani made a 'sacrifice.' I never said she was dead."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Danny rushed through his lair so fast the stone flew apart all over again, and phased down into the lab. His parents were in the back corner, looking down at a large beaker filled with ectoplasmic goo. Hearing him approach, they looked up, stricken.

"We don't know how, but she's alive. She's unconscious, and her body is gone, but something is keeping her alive." Danny stared at his cousin's remains, then looked up.

"Her power." He whispered. The others looked over at him. "Danielle. When we were fighting, she turned into ectoplasmic mist and back. It's a ghost power. She's using it to stay alive without her form." His parents looked down at the pool of glowing energy, thoughtful. Maddie frowned, eyes red.

"We can still stabilize her DNA, to repair what was lost, but in this condition she may not have a mind or any consciousness as we understand it. She won't die, but she may never recorporiate. She might not wake up again." The ghost boy looked down at the beaker, a strange expression on his face. Finally, he nodded. A slamming door sounded from upstairs.

"Let's get her stabilized; we'll worry about the rest later." He looked at his parents and smiled softly. "No matter how desolate things may seem, always hold onto hope."

END

Cue the Ending Theme from Lord of the Rings! (Don't own it)

Well, there you all go. That's the end of Exceptions. The Ghost Zone and its inhabitants lie in ruin, Vlad's frozen in time, Dani is a puddle, and Dan's gone. Things could definitely be better, but we can always hope for the best. The future looks bright.

Speaking of the future, I'm not done here yet. I'll be back. Eventually. This is too much fun to stop now, and I have some fresh new ideas left over from my Writer's Block destruction afterglow. I think I'll call the next segment HOPES. It's gonna be fun. But not too fun, at least for Danny. Good news for him I'm definitely throwing in a time skip. I cannot in good conscience throw any more crap in his lap inside one month. Even if he's fictional, I'd HAVE to be violating some sort of child abuse law. Anyway, until we meet again, I remain your humble servant,

HiddenAuthor

PS – To any lawyers or friends of lawyers out to make money, if I forgot to disclaim anything I used in this story, consider this a blanket disclaimer. Whatever it is, I don't own it. Also, stop suing fast food places; they're just trying to get by like everyone else. Of course the coffee is hot!