Hey, guys. Remember when I wanted to get this done by February? Ha. Ha... Basically, my life has been a mess since November of last year. It's just a super, duper long story. So, bear with me. The next chapter will be the last, and I'll finally get this thing wrapped up. I know it's been forever. I'm terrible. Anyway, ENJOY?

(Ideas from Butch Hartman's Youtube video are used in this chapter.)

The man lay unconscious in the makeshift hospital my parents created. His ectoplasmic signature was unstable. My parents couldn't quite pinpoint what jumping into the tampered portal had done to him. He wanted to be half ghost and was convinced that he could figure out how to do it. Wanting to prove it could be done on purpose and not just on accident, he experimented on the portal that regularly appeared behind his home. He became power hungry and decided that he could give many people ghost powers to create super humans. The problem was that he didn't understand what he was actually doing. Humans don't understand the Ghost Zone, no matter how much they research. There are still mysteries surrounding it, which brings us back to the problem. Even we don't know what actually happened to this man.

And that's exactly what I told the news reporters that were covering the story.

Sitting on the couch, I watched myself speak on the television. Seeing me admit on the news that I didn't actually know what we could do about the mutated man was gut wrenching. I sighed, curling in on myself, as the guilt ate away at me. Hanging my head, my body just deflated with disappointment.

Suddenly, a hand touched my shoulder to comfort me. I glanced up, seeing Jazz sitting next to me with a reassuring smile. "There's nothing you could've done, you know. People do crazy things all the time, we can't control them."

"But, if I had kept my secret a secret, then no one would be trying to get ghost powers."

My sister shook her head. "Danny, do you remember that interview you did? When I told you that you had to make it clear that getting these ghost powers was a rare case and that it was dangerous?"

"Yeah, of course. That's where I met that little girl." The one named Samantha, I remembered. She was adorable.

"Right and you have kids like her that look up to you. Making your identity public wasn't a mistake. The mistakes of other people, aren't yours. You can't control what stupid decisions other people make, Danny."

Letting out a sigh, I ran a hand down my face. "I still can't help it. I still feel guilty. I feel like this is all my fault."

"It's not. If anything, it's that man's fault that you and Danielle have been running ragged. Him tampering with the portal sent the ghosts into a frenzy. You need to talk to the guy and find out what he knows. He could be dangerous."

"Yeah," I nodded. "You're right."

Pulling up a chair next to the man, I felt the guilt pitting back in my stomach. He blamed me. This man thought his current state was my fault. I knew I couldn't help him now, but I wish I could have prevented it. His eyes blinked open, one on the regular flesh of his face, and the other matted with ectoplasm. It made me sick. What if I had turned out that way…?

"Oh, it's you," he grumbled.

"Given that I'm the only one who could hope to understand and explain your situation… yes it's me."

He scoffed at me. "Big words for a D student."

"How did you-?"

Smirking, the elder narrowed his eyes. "You didn't think I went into this without research on you, did you? I have been looking into your situation for months. I thought I had finally cracked it. How to make super humans like you. A world where no one would be helpless. Everyone could be powerful in some way."

"When everyone is powerful, then no one is. You should know that," I retorted.

He chuckled. "Oh, but that's where you're wrong. In a world where everyone has super human abilities, then only the strong survive. The weak and helpless are weeded out. A stronger society built for battle. Can't you see it?"

Jazz was right. This guy was insane. A serious fruitloop. More of a fruitloop than Vlad Masters ever was. Being around this man just made me uncomfortable. The churning in my gut wasn't from guilt anymore, but instead, from disgust. What a monstrous man. "Nope. I don't see that at all."

Scoffing, he rolled his eyes at me. "Whatever. I expect nothing less from an ignorant child."

I snorted. "Yeah, of course. That's all you see me as because I don't want what you do."

Looking away from me, he apparently chose to ignore that comment. "There is one thing I must know. How do you handle the nightmares?"

"The nightmares?"

"The nightmares of that… that place I saw. It was dark. Unearthly. It's in my dreams every time I close my eyes," he grimaced.

"The Ghost Zone?"

"No. I saw the Ghost Zone. This place was not the same. Have you not seen it?"

Shaking my head, I furrowed my brow. "No. I haven't seen anything but the Zone."

"Count yourself lucky then. The horrors of that place I passed through… I don't think I'll ever forget it."

Now that… that peaked my curiosity.

"Clockwork! My man! My buddy! My—"

"What do you want, Daniel?" The elder ghost looked up at me flatly, obviously irritated that I flew into his lair unannounced.

Laughing nervously, I ruffled my hair. "I don't have a reason to come see one of my favorite ghosts?"

He rolled his eyes as his form changed. "Seeing as I know you well enough, you only show up here when you have questions or want a favor. Considering how your last two favors turned out, I'm assuming that's not it. So, ask what you want."

"Am I that predictable?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

"Danny, I'm the one responsible for keeping tabs on you. I know what your last week as been like."

Feeling my shoulders sag, I sighed. "Yeah… Right."

"Go on."

Taking a seat on the floor, I crossed my legs before gathering my thoughts. "Well… let's start with the nightmares this old coot is having. He said something about a dark place he passed through. Said it wasn't the Ghost Zone, though."

Tinkering with the mechanisms of his staff, Clockwork hummed. "He must've passed through the Unworld while the portal closed on him."

"The Unworld?"

Clockwork nodded, eyes focusing on me. "Yes. The Unworld is a nightmare realm that anyone can end up in if the calculations for a ghost portal are incorrect. It's a dark place of nothingness. No powers, ghost or human. It's simply dark and full of hellish creatures. No one has ever lived to tell the tale of it. This man would be the first."

"If no one has lived to talk about it, then how do you know?"

Giving me a flat stare, Clockwork cocked a brow. "You do realize I control the fabric of time, right? I know everything."

I shrugged. He had me there. "Touché. So, anything else I should know about?"

"Since you know of the Unworld, I should probably explain the Elsewhereness as well."

Cocking a brow, I stared at him blankly. "What?"

"The Elsewhereness is a place of peace. No pain, no agony. All ghosts have tried to find it for years. Vlad Plasmius was one of them. Fortunately, thanks to you, we no longer have to worry about such a thing."

"So, basically, these places are like heaven and hell, while the Ghost Zone is what? Limbo?"

"You could call it that," he replied with a shrug.

I was intrigued. I didn't know all these types of things existed. "So, how do you find the Elsewhereness?"

"Only one ghost, Sojourn, has ever found it. He left all of his findings in a journal, which only a few pages have been gathered and brought to me. That's why Plasmius wasn't too fond of me as I refused to give him the journal pages." Clockwork explained.

"Is there a reason you're telling me all this?"

The elder ghost smirked. "There could be."

There was a knowing look in his eyes again. Clockwork always has greater plans for me that I can never figure out. "So, since this guy has seen the Unworld, what's next for him? He keeps having nightmares of the place."

Wincing, Clockwork looked away from me painfully. "This hasn't happened before, but the Observants would like to prosecute him."

My eyes widened. "Can they do that? This guy isn't a ghost. Won't he just phase through everything?"

He shook his head. "With his DNA contaminated, then no."

"How? I'm technically contaminated, but when I turn human I can phase through things here."

Clockwork gave a nod. "Exactly. Your DNA is literally split in half. When you change into a human, then the ghost DNA is more dormant. Enough that you have human abilities in the Ghost Zone. This man is literally contaminated. Fused with ecto energy. By tampering with a portal as he did proves to be a crime, by the Observants standpoint, so therefore, they want him imprisoned here."

Rubbing the back of my neck, I hissed. "That's not really something I can tell the public."

"No, it's not. But this matter is something beyond my control. I have to agree with them this time. That man is dangerous. The ghost DNA can eventually overtake him, and the human side of him will be swallowed. It's too risky to keep him on Earth with humans, especially with how twisted his mindset is, you see?"

Nodding, I agreed. "I understand, Clockwork."

"Good. His tampering with the natural portal has caused a lot of friction here. It's almost as if the Ghost Zone… I don't know how to explain it."

"Went wonky?"

He chuckled. "I guess you could say that."

Catching how dorky that sounded, I almost felt mortified. "I've been around Tucker too long," I murmured to myself.

Clockwork smiled at me, floating towards me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Danny, you need to stop doubting yourself. The decisions you've made are the right ones. I'm sure of it."

My lips twitched a little. "Thanks, Clockwork. I guess, you would know best?"

"I do," he said with a nod. "I know that great things are coming your way. You are a great hero to Earth and the Ghost Zone, whether other ghosts admit that or not. Things are as they should be. Don't let just one incident ruin your confidence."

Smiling, I let out a laugh. "You sound like my sister."

"She's not wrong, you know."

"She's rarely wrong. And you've never been wrong."

"Then it's reasonable to listen to us, yes?"

I nodded. "Yeah, thanks."