#ectoberhaunt Cryptid

[aprocessionofthoughts]

Amity Cryptids

ectoberhaunt2023 day 21- past prompt (2021/treat/cryptid) TW- none summary- The Fentons have always been weird

ao3 masterlist

Amity Park had always been weird. It’s citizens always just felt a little off to outsiders.

It only got worse after the portal opened. After they were sucked temporarily into the ghost zone.

Visitors never stayed long. They claimed the town was too far, too difficult to find.  And when Amity Parkers visited other places, people always gave them a wide berth. Hardly anyone looked them in the eye.

Amity Parkers just thought this was because people from bigger cities were rude. 

But even within Amity, those Fenton children were considered especially strange.

Especially the boy.

Strangers noticed it most. When they spotted one of the Fenton children, they froze till the perceived threat had passed. The effect was lessened for Amity Parkers but even still, whenever the children were around they couldn’t help feeling an intense sense of dread.

The girl gives weird vibes and her eyes are so perceiving. She can read you scarily easily.

The boy gives off fight or flight vibes, but mostly flight. He feels like looking at a predator and when he smiles, it’s all threat. 

The Fentons had always been strange. They had waltzed in talking about ghosts and portals, and the town had called them crazy. But then the ghosts had shown up, and everyone had to adjust. 

They changed, but it was okay. They were used to the chaos now, they embraced it, like all small towns embrace their singularities no matter how small. 

Ghosts were real. 

At first it had been terrifying, but things had settled down. They even had ghosts employed now!

But even before the portal opened, that Fenton girl had eyes that were too wide, that didn’t blink, and that seemed to stare into your soul. She’d make casual remarks about what would happen tomorrow or next week, and they always came true.

And then the boy was born. He had been average sized, but he had felt like he weighed nothing at all. This didn’t change as he got older. He moved silently and his teeth were sharper than they should be. When you looked at him, your brain registered a threat.

It only got worse after the portal.

The boy’s appearance wavered like a mirage and to look at him hurt your brain. The girl’s movements appeared otherworldly and it felt like she could tell what you were thinking.

Amity Park had always been strange, but those Fenton children; they were something else.

[worm-writes]

Day 3 - Chaos

She was gone for 5 minutes, 5 minutes too and all hell broke loose in her house. Sam is ready to loose it.

First time joining ectoberhaunt!! Hope you enjoy!!

[lollystocks]

The New Kid

Ectoberhaunt 2023 Day 3: White Crow

Summary: Danny continues to mind his own business whist freaking out everyone around him with his mere existence.

A short "Cryptid Danny" fic, with a twist.

Words: 509

CW: mild horror, mild body horror

---

"White Crow": a member of a group who is different from the rest. Elaya vorona (бе́лая воро́на) in Russian, kalāg-e sefīd (کلاغ سفید) in Persian. Similar to English's "Black Sheep".

---

The New Kid was exceptionally unnerving.

Friendly enough, if one got the chance to talk to him - which was kinda rare. He was territorial and kept to himself which, fair enough. But he never really seemed interested in getting to know anyone.

But despite being, on the surface, a pretty normal New Kid, there was something very wrong with him.

No-one could put their fingers on it at first. And no-one liked to talk about it. Because how could you talk about…that?

His eyes, for one. A nice, normal, luminous green for the most part. But when he was tired, or distracted, they would… they’d dull. Lose all traces of light, and just go empty. They’d flicker back on as soon as you’d caught it, and one might chalk it up to a trick of the light. He’d smile a normal smile, and you’d forget you’d seen anything. Or maybe, try to forget.

His teeth, too. A perfectly average maw of razor-sharp fangs. But he covered his mouth with his hand when he smiled or laughed. If one looked beyond that, they might see - or rather, sense - a jaw of blunt, flat, incisors and molars. Prey’s teeth. Mortal teeth.

But prey shouldn’t fill you with such discomfort. Should it?

He was probably just developing his shapeshifting skills early. That was probably it.

Youngblood swore he’d seen him drift through a wall, once. In the Ghost Zone.

Youngblood was hardly a reputable news source.

All the same.

Then, then, there was his voice. How sometimes (always when he was tired or injured or distracted) he’d talk and his voice would just… dampen. Vanish into nothingness. No echo, or reverberation through the ectoplasm around him. Nothing to carry his words through to other ghosts. And, once, again, everything would reset, and he’d be a normal ghost.

There was a theme - moments of flatness, dullness, of disconnect. Moments of mortality.

The worst one was when he would breathe. He wouldn’t even hide it. After a territorial spar (which he took way too seriously) he’d float there, victorious, and his chest would expand and retract like some wet, dying thing. Bodies weren’t meant to move like that. Not after death.

And it wouldn’t be so bad if he was weak.

Freaks came and went. There was enough variety amongst ghostkind that any one, or even multiple of these things, could be brushed off.

But the New Kid was strong. Stronger than any of them. He’d been around for no time at all and defeated every one of them in combat, even the strongest of them. His abilities were coming in fast, too fast, and he had too many. No ghost should have a portfolio that large, and know how to use their new powers so well.

He got better with every fight. 

They were training him, without realizing. Feeding him.

But there’s the rub. To back off, to withhold from indulging in one’s Earthly Obsession, to bow to his obscenely large territory? The thought alone was obscene.

And what would be the repercussions?

[scarletsaphire]

Wes has caught Danny Fenton using ghost powers in public more times than he can count, and yet no one ever notices. At long last, he confronts Danny to figure out why.

--

For Ectoberhaunt day 11: calm (im not late you're early also im sick so i have an excuse.)

Wes had heard a lot throughout his life that he was not good with emotions, to put it nicely. He agreed most of the time. Wes considered himself a logical person. Sure, photography and videography was a creative pursuit, and most people didn't consider cryptids logical, but that was just because people didn't like to see the hard truths. Now was a perfect example.

Wes had figured out that Danny Fenton was that new ghost child that had been flying around within a few weeks of the first spotting. It had been ridiculously easy. Wes had known Danny through a school project he'd done with Jasmine, and the two of them looked so similar there was no way they weren't connected somehow. Even if they had looked different, you'd have to be blind, deaf, and an idiot to not notice all of the ghost stuff Danny did on a regular basis. In just the past week, Wes had watched Danny grab pencils out of his own chest, float over the puddle the busted water fountain left, turn invisible in the middle of the hallway, fall through the floor after tripping on his shoelaces, and bend his arm with far more joints than any human arm should have. And yet, despite all of this being in plain view, not hidden at all, not a soul had noticed it.

It was fine. Wes was used to people ignoring clear evidence. Normally the evidence was a picture or a video, not clear evidence in front of someone, but he was still used to it. They were probably just seeing what they expected to see. Most people weren't able to recognize the signs of the supernatural until it busted down the side of a building. That had been what Amity Park needed to start believing in ghosts after all. In this type of situation, all Wes would need to do was bring attention to it. If he said that it was weird, it would give them the subconscious permission to recognize it as weird as well.

Except, when Wes had pointed out the discrepancy to one of his friends, they'd just shrugged. "It ain't none of my business dude," he'd said.

"What do you mean none of your business?" Wes sputtered. "You just watched him stick his hand into his locker without opening the door! How is that not your business?"

He shrugged. "Why should I care what the kid gets up to? Besides, he has chill vibes."

"Chill vibes?" Wes asked. "You don't even know him! How can you say he has chill vibes?"

"Just look at him."

Wes was, in fact. looking at him. Danny was talking animatedly about something. In this case, animatedly meant performing what could be a scene from some karate movie and miraculously not hitting anyone around him, despite the fact he definitely should. "What about that that says chill vibes to you?"

Wes's friend shrugged. "I don't know dude. People either got chill vibes or they don't, and he definitely has them. Maybe you broke your vibe meter with how rancid yours are. Anyway, I gotta get to class. See ya around!" He took off at a leisurely stroll down the hallway, leaving Wes to keep glaring at Danny.

Wes knew he was right. It was clear as day! But it didn’t matter what evidence he found, or who he presented it to, every last person always had the same reaction. “Why should I care when he’s such a calm guy?” They said it differently, of course, but that was the heart of all of their statements.

It only took three tries for the statement to end up on Wes’s cork board. He could recognize the influence of the supernatural when he saw it. Unfortunately, it looked like there was only one thing left to do.

"I need to talk to you, ghost boy," Wes said, slamming shut Danny's locker door in front of him.

He watched as Danny glanced nervously over at Tucker, who shrugged in response. The Manson girl wasn't here; Wes had chosen a time specifically to avoid her. She was far too good at talking her way out of  things, and kicking her way out of things she couldn't talk her way out of. Also, she was scary, but Wes wouldn't admit that. "Because my parents are ghost hunters, very creative," Danny said with a fake laugh.

"No, because you're Phantom, and I have questions."

Danny froze completely, as if someone had hit the pause button. He didn't blink, didn't breathe, staying perfectly still as he stared up at Wes. It would have been freaky, if Wes hadn't been prepared. But he was prepared, so he didn't back down. "Fine. But can we make it quick? I have a test next period, and I'm really hoping to at least finish it." 

Danny grabbed a hold of Wes's wrist, and dragged him through the wall. That was significantly weirder, and if Wes didn't have to worry about getting stuck in the wall, he'd probably fight against the grip. Since getting stuck halfway through the wall was a concern, Wes let it happen. Danny let go once they'd surfaced in an empty classroom, the window in the door blocked off with cardboard. Wes stumbled slightly, the shock of physically not existing and then existing again rushing over him.

"You could at least give a guy a warning," Tucker grumbled, straightening his hat.

"Don't you remember the standing warning I gave you?" Danny asked. "You should expect to be dragged through walls and/or the air at any time for as long as you're friends with me."

"I still don't think that's a proper warning, but whatever."

Danny rolled his eyes and turned back to Wes who had managed to stabilize himself. "So, what do you want?"

"I want to know why no one notices that you're a ghost when you're doing stuff like that every day," Wes started. "I have caught you on camera dozens of times, and pointed out you sticking your head through your locker in person to so many people, and they all ignore it. How are you doing it?"

"Oh, is that all?" Danny asked, his shoulders lowering slightly as he untensed. "I have a calming aura to most people. Makes it so they just don't see my weirdness as important. What did we call it again?"

"Capybara effect," Tucker said. "After those big cuddly guys."

"Yea, those things."

"If you have this so called Capybara effect, how come I've never noticed it?"

Danny shrugged. "No idea. Maybe you're resistant to ghostly mind manipulation, or maybe you're just so uptight that even it can't help. Jazz did say you could do with relaxing some, and if Jazz says that, you know it's bad."

Before Wes could respond, Tucker's PDA went off. "We have to be in class in t-minus thirty seconds, so if that's everything..."

Danny grabbed Tucker's hand. "Hopefully we won't be seeing you around again, but I feel like that's just wishful thinking." Danny said, giving a lazy salute and blinking the two of them into invisibility.

Wes took a deep breath through his nose. At least he got his answer.

[jadenoryuu]

Domestic Phantoms Revival!

While my soul agonizes over finishing the first arc of my Invisobang and this year Ectoberhaunt prompts, here I'm going to repost the links of last year Ectoberhaunt Series!

(Every link will bring you to the Tumblr page with tags and I'll have tp split the list because there's a cap of 4k characters per post... (╥﹏╥))

Treat Rating G

Laugh Rating T

Cryptid Rating T

Goo Rating M

Ouija Board Rating G

Witching Hour Rating G

Abyss Rating G

Poison Rating G

Mask Rating T

Doppelganger Rating T

Maze Rating G

Scythe Rating G

Candlelight Rating T

Music Box Rating G

Curse and Blessing Rating T

Bloody Mary & Stingy Jack Rating T (+ Bonus Fic)

Found Footage Rating G

[okkennymay]

Ectober Month 2021

Day 3: Mutant vs Cryptid

“Listen, I know you just transferred here so I thought I’d give you the heads up; If you see the boss man do anything...weird...just pretend you didn’t, trust me.”

“...Weird?”

I have the vaguest memories of the old intern squad series I had based around this same idea from my Chicky days, I mean we follow Danny’s ghostly shenanigans at school but man I would’ve liked to have seen what its like workin for a mans who’s been afflicted with a phat case of the ghost for yeARS tbh 👀

You’d have to sign a rather thorough NDA upon being hired that’s for sure

[sheepheadfred]

here comes the intepid reporter finally getting close to one of the zones oldest and most elusive cryptids ...what a majestic creature

day three of ectoberhaunt: cryptid

quizz: cryptid spotted

levi (leviathan) the first ghost king and feral cryptid is the oc of @13thdoodle

quizz the inQUIZZative ghost is the oc and ghostsona of @kawaiijohn

[reading-wanderer]

Ectober Day 3: Cryptid

Jack and Vlad go on a Cryptid hunt. Just some good-old collage fun in a dark cave with only one lamp. What could go wrong?

Ectober Masterlist

“Jack, I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Vlad complained, eyes darting to and fro as they walked deeper and deeper into the cave.

“Nonsense,” Jack boomed, throwing an arm over Vlad’s shoulders while the other held their lantern aloft, “we’ll find that Man-Bat down here for sure! Just think, you an me getting the first ever evidence of a Cryptid. We’ll be famous!” Vlad sighed.

“Fine,” Vlad agreed, “but if you get hurt, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He held up his Polaroid instant camera, “lets go get some pictures!” Jack let out a whoop and, letting go of Vlad, ran forward into the dark, the lantern’s light bouncing across the walls.

“Come on Vladdie! Time’s a wasting!” Vlad let out his own laugh and ran after his friend.

“Slow down dude,” he called, “we need to make sure we mark the way back!” Jack skidded to a halt.

“Whoops,” he laughed, “almost got ahead of myself.” Jack shrugged off his backpack and dropped it to the floor with a ‘thunk’. He passed the lantern over to Vlad, who let his camera dangle by the strap around his neck, and started rifling through while Vlad made sure he got enough light to see by. “Ah ha! The Masters-Fenton Glow Spray,” Jack cheered, holding a spray can aloft. He offered the can to Vlad, who took it in his free hand, before grabbing a second can for himself. Once he had his bag closed and back on his back, Jack happily took the lantern back from Vlad.

“Okay,” Vlad hummed, “so an arrow points back the way we came. If we come to a split, we can put a circle at the entrance to the one we take and then, if it’s a dead end, we back track and put an X over the circle and go down the other one. Sound good?”

“Sounds good to me Vladdie!” Jack agreed with a wide grin, “Now lets GO! The Man-Bat’s a-waiting!” He started running forward once more, leaving Vlad to quickly spray down a neon-glowing arrow and chase after him.

-x-X-x-X-x-

“Jack!” Vlad called, pacing around his little circle of glowing paint, “Jack! Where’d you go!” The other man had just been there, but he’d obviously seen something if the loud, unintelligible exclamation and suddenly bolting into the darkness without Vlad meant anything. “Jack, you don’t even have the camera!”

Nothing.

Vlad groaned softly and sank to the floor. He’d be back. Eventually. He would have just back tracked, but there had been some pretty deep holes in the floor in the last large cavern area they had passed through. He fiddled with the camera around his neck. It had a flash— maybe if he took pictures every so often he could make his way out on his own?

It would be such a waste of film, though, and he didn’t make all that much at his job that he could afford to waste money on new film. Plus if Jack came back to look for him, he didn’t want Jack to think he had fallen down one of the holes or something. With a sigh, Vlad reclined on the ground, closed his eyes, and just listened to the sound of water dripping from the stalactites above.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there when a scuffing noise caught his attention. He cracked his eyes open to see if it was Jack with the telltale light of the lantern, but there was nothing there. He slowly sat up and glanced around, as if the black shadows of the cave would suddenly part and allow him to see what that was. His hands clenched around his camera as he sat up straight. He listen closely.

There! He turned, pulled the camera up, and snapped a picture only to shriek as the flash revealed a large, furry, humanoid creature standing not 3 feet from him. It was brownish-grey in color with a snout full of sharp teeth and yellow eyes. The light seemed to startle it, making the creature cringe back. Vlad took the opportunity presented to jump to his feet and run like hell. He just barely remembered to snatch the picture from the end of the camera and stuff it in his pocket before he lost it.

At least the Cryptid hunt hadn’t been in vain, Vlad’s panicking mind supplied as he bolted.

[blobghost]

Cryptid

After a class presentation on cryptids, Wes notices something on his way to his seat.

For Ectober day 3: Mutant vs. Cryptid

Warnings: none

Word Count: 267

Ectober Masterlist

“And that concludes my presentation!” Wes announced, excitedly. “Are there any questions?”

Someone rose their hand, snickers drawing Wes’ attention, before asking. “So, if Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster got into a fight, who would win?”

“Bigfoot, as it can just throw things from the safety of the shore,” Wes answered, unamused. “Any real questions?”

Wes looked around the classroom, hoping for someone to ask something interesting. Reasons why these cryptids were so difficult to locate and photograph. Why would they hide in the first place. Even so much as a ‘why bring them up’ would have been welcomed. But no, with another snicker Dash asked if Sasquatch and Bigfoot were roommates.

Wes sighed, knowing that it was futile to make these dumb nuts understand. He took his flash drive from Lancer’s computer and started back to his desk, defeated. Yet, as he walked, he saw a flash of blue come from a certain loser’s mouth. Blue eyes flicked to his friends before they flashed green and the guy just vanished. Wes froze, not understanding what he just witnessed, but then the ghost alarms started up and he was shepherded out of the school with the rest of his classmates. All of this seemed to happen fast enough that no one but Wes and the freak’s friends knew that Danny Fenton didn’t follow his class outside.

The only thought now on the conspiracist’s mind was that he had class with a cryptid and he would not rest until the rest of his classmates saw the cryptid, finally realizing that Wes was right. That cryptids were real.

[soilem]

Ectober Day 3 – Mutant/Cryptid

"They think they proved you don't exist"

[tsubaki94]

Ectober: 3 Mutant vs Cryptid

[aprocessionofthoughts]

Ectoberhaunt 2023 Masterlist

prompts

ao3

In the Forest a Darkness Creeps day 2- Botonamancy TW- major character death (kind of) summary- Sam just wants to connect with nature

To See and Not Understand day 3- white crow TW- Danny dies but we all know that summary- Danny has always been able to see them. He's just never known what they meant.

In the Lab day 4- zombie TW-body horror, medical stuff, Danny dies but not exactly how he does in the show summary- Danny's parents are there for the accident, and they'll do anything to make sure their son survives.

With No End in Sight day 5- hunt TW- violence, death of random characters, blood, death of major character, slight gore summary- Danny is tired of having to be the one to hold back

Want to Talk? day 6- tabletop TW- hyperventilating summary- Sam and Tucker have been friends for years. They've always been considered the weird ones, so it's no surprise when the try to talk to the dead.

There be Dragons day 9- dragons TW- nothing summary- Danny comes across a new island while exploring the zone.

To Seek Freedom day 10- occultism TW- mind control summary- The Justice League is trying everything they can to free Danny.

To Stop the Flow of Time day 11- dread TW- nothing summary- Clockwork is an old ghost and he'll keep the only person he cares about ale.

Ever Onwards day 12- obsession TW- manipulation summary- Clockwork will do anything to get what he wants.

Friday the 13th day 13- horror flick TW- none summary- As Team Phantom gathers to watch spooky movies, something strange happens.

Slightly Less Partial Explanations day 16- revenant fandom- DC crossover TW- none summary- Danny tries to explain

Fly Away day 17- blood TW- blood, gunshot wound summary- Danny gets shot and tries to run

Unraveling day 18-unravel TW- character undeath Summary- Sam tries to figure out what's happening

Ghostly Changes day 19- claws/horns TW- none summary- Danny's ghost form is changing

Dancing with Death day 20- dance macabre TW- none summary- It's time for the Halloween dance

Amity Cryptids day 21- past prompt (2021/treat/cryptid) TW- none summary- The Fentons have always been weird

Metropolis day 22-portal shenanigans fandom- DC crossover TW- none summary- Danny gets flung int the DCU and decides to become a villain

Exchange Students day 23- magic fandom- Harry Potter crossover TW- none summary- Harry, Hermione, and Ron visit the strangest wizarding school in America

Worry day 24- science fandom- dp x dc TW- none summary- Sam and Tucker have been trying desperately to locate Danny

[soni-dragon]

When you submit to the soil of the earth...

Ectober month day 3: Cryptid 🌫🌾

[angelic-ish-phantom]

It wasn’t as though he hadn’t heard this conversation before. Far from it.

The topic came up at least once a week; His parents would begin a spiel about ghosts as they often did (it was hard to get them to talk about anything else) and Jazz would finally get irritated enough to try and shut it down.

It was always the same thing, Danny knew that.

So then, why did it feel different now?

Why did hearing his parents talk about how ghosts were unfeeling monsters make him tense in a way it hadn’t when he’d first gotten his powers?

Why did hearing his sister insist they didn’t exist make him feel hurt and offended after being to the Ghost Zone himself?

...When did he start hearing ‘ghost’ and thinking he was one?

When did it stop being a mutation, and start being his state of being?

It wasn’t just a back and forth about an empty topic anymore. It was the debate of his own existence, it was how he’d be cut apart, it was the internal battle to sit and listen, because he couldn’t not care as he once had.

It hurt. - Danny

[iamaghost-fearme]

Ectober Day 3: Important Lessons

Read on AO3

New freshmen at Casper High learned a few things very quickly. First, that the best place to hide during a ghost attack was not, as the teachers insisted, under their desks in the classroom. They should instead find a much sturdier table like the teacher’s desk, the lab benches, or the library tables to hold up to ectoblasts or debris. Second, football was the top priority to the administration. All wrongdoing by star players would be overlooked and all funding would be pulled from other departments to indulge the team and coaches on their every whim. And third, there was something wrong about the senior Danny Fenton.

No one could quite put their finger on it,  but there would be a creeping feeling in the back of their minds whenever they met his eye that his quick smile could do nothing to alleviate. A hallway that just moments before was empty, would suddenly have a scrawny figure appear out of nowhere. He could be stuffed in a locker by the jocks only to emerge from behind an entirely different door down the hall. But what baffled them the most, was how the rest of the school was so quick to dismiss their concerns.

The seniors had been with Danny the longest and practically considered his strange shenanigans a point of pride. Every time he appeared on the roof of the three story school despite the door being locked or suddenly appeared unharmed in the aftermath of a ghost fight, they would laugh to themselves. “Classic Fenton,” could be heard by bystanders.

To Danny Fenton and his friends, this fondness was baffling. Despite still being considered freaks and nerds, they would be warmly greeted in the cafeteria. One minute, Dash would be shoving his head in the toilet, and the next he’d clap him on the back like they were both in on the same joke. Ghost strangeness would be quickly dismissed as just another quirk, and Danny had fallen into a sense of security. Over the years, more and more ghostly traits slipped into his day to day life. At least, until the new batch of freshmen would stare. He could hear their whispers and feel their eyes on him like he was some rare and exotict creature that wandered the high school. Each year he would pull back for a while as they adjusted, but before long they too would adopt ‘Freaky Fenton.’

[mymadmedleyw]

What if there was never an elder evil version? What if showing fourteen-year-old Danny a disastrous future was just a tool to lead the boy to a path that turned him a better halfa at the end?

a.k.a. rethinking of TUE, and/or maybe solving by it some logical loopholes and glitches in that episode

(this is what you get when you sit down to give yourself a little time between the end of the work and starting to focus on studies... well, ending a short fic about rethink TUE, combined with Ectober, that I didn’t plan at all to finish in one sitting. I just sat down to make a short note and not forget the concept, but well, damn... it is here now, short, but finished, it didn’t even need any beta-ing, wow)

----

Possibilities (fanfiction | ao3)

Clockwork adjusted on his panels, the screen showing the future seemed settled – and not just seemed, it was. Things that had happened with the Daniel he knew had occurred as those always had to turn out. Now, it was time to face the truth.

Clockwork switched off the screen and floated towards the container the Fentons simply called ‘thermos’ (presumably by the similar shape of objects containing soup), then he reached out his staff, pressing softly the releasing button. By a blue-ish mist, the trapped ghost got freed, knees falling on the floor.

“God damn it,” came an immediate cursing, “do you have any idea how suffocating it is? Awful, awful I say… like being stuck under a water, and it is fucking dark inside, not funny at all.” the ghost massaged his neck like feeling the identical sensation of being out of air, then sat down, stretching his limbs. “Don’t do this again, Clockwork. This just sucked.”

The named ghost raised an eyebrow, hovering a bit away, to give the other space to get back his strength. “You hardly were inside for a few hours, Daniel,” he said, “and as I remember your sister kept you captured more times than I did.”

“Those were accidents. And her aim is much better now. Besides, she is only doing that when she is pissed off at me.” the ghost debated, trying to get up, but fell back. “Dang it! My limbs totally went numb. I have to be on time for dinner-time, or else Sam will kill me. That’s not what I signed up for, damn it, Clockwork…” he murmured under his nose, letting out a curse again, but then exclaimed under a meaningful knock that made him shut his mouth by a hit on the top of his head with the staff. “Hey!”

“It’s still a sacred place, Daniel. I’d really appreciate it if you don’t use that ugly language of yours here.”

The ghost just rolled his right now red eyes, and shifted into a much comfortable sitting position, still on the floor, waiting for the time until he would be able to move properly again. “Anyway… did it work?”

Clockwork turned into his oldest form, and took a place too, to be on the same level as the adolescent spectre. “You know it did.”

“Yeah, of course…” the other came to see, but it sounded like a curse. And indeed, his eyes wandered off, thinking about something, but then the figure’s lips curled up into a half-smile, and shook his head. “You know, if I had known back then that it was nothing but an act…”

“But you didn’t know, did you?” Clockwork gave him a look, “not until today.”

“Yeah, not until today…” the ghost agreed, “but seriously, when you appeared you scared the shit out of me. You sounded very ominous, saying ‘it’s about your future’.” the clawed fingers moved in the air, quoting the sentence. “Seriously, Clockwork, especially today… I thought he’d return or something, and I’d turn to him, dead-on time, ten years later…”

Clockwork tilted his head, meaningfully, roving his eyes on the ghost in front of him, on the exact sight, that meant ‘being him’.

“Not like that!” the adolescent showed up his arms in the air, “I meant literally,” he said, but then tsked, realising the two meanings of the word. “Okay, this is literally too… but still, you see my point.”

“You wouldn’t have believed me, Daniel,” Clockwork explained, reaching out his stuff towards the other, who immediately grabbed it, pulling himself up with the little help.

The ghost scratched his neck, recognising it too. “Yeah, surely… but you owe me years of Jazz’s therapy.” Clockwork arched an eyebrow, but not giving out the truth, that both of them knew those helped much, to keep the balance between the normal life and a secret identity and the side effects to each other, and work out together a manageable schedule for each.

“I’m sure if you tell Jasmine, she’d be better proud.”

“Oh, no.” the ghost shook his head, grinning widely over a thought, “I’ll tell it to Tucker first. He had his theories whether the Observants could be screwed or not. He owes me a hundred dollars now.”

“Technically, you didn’t ‘screw them out’,” Clockwork said, shifting to his youngest form, clarifying the situation. “they observe, not going after how events are created. Without you, they wouldn’t have come here, asking my help, and without you, you wouldn’t have turned out the one you are now.”

The ghost massaged his temple, with a struggling face. “Please, don’t start this again… it already gives me a headache. I planned to drink a lot to celebrate I am over his age now, but it turned out I am him, and was all along… now I’ll drink to forget it. It was already unfollowable, Clockwork! Even though my perception is way above my fourteen-year-old level…” he drew out the difference with his hands, but then stopped, gazing at his fingers, clenching in and out them. “It’s only your luck, I could still recall him. I mean me… Jesus, this is fucking confusing!” To that, Clockwork struck again with his staff, making the ghost flinch under it. “Okay, no more swearing! I get it.” the time-ghost satisfied nodded and floated towards the shelf where  the thermos was, and grabbed the gauntlet next to it.

“You know, what you have to do.” he questioned the other.

The tall figure got the gem-containing artifact, taking a serious frown at it, but then repeated the hours earlier clarified task. “Make sure I use the right combination to change everything back as it was, and not to the illusion I created to demonstrate my younger version about a horrible future. Yeah, you already told me in the morning the steps like a hundred times…”

“Exactly.” Clockwork nodded, but then, as the ghost reached out his palm, creating a portal back to the human realm, he stopped the youngster. “Daniel…”

“Yes?” the head tilted back annoyed, unmistakably by the long day and giving out a provenly believable act about an evil alteration of himself. And indeed, the boy needed a rest – or as humans called it, a ‘loosening up’ – after this. For a second, Clockwork imagined not voicing the slight little detail the halfa forgot about, but instead just played in his mind that possibility if he hadn’t noted the boy it.

“Don’t you forget something?” Clockwork asked, sneering.

The ghost looked around, searching for anything that he was supposed to grab on over the Reality Gauntlet, but then his brows suspiciously furrowed. “Uh- no? I mean… I asked Jazz if she needed any help for the evening, but she insisted on organising my birthday-party alone with Sam and Tucker and that I should just bring ‘myself’, so, no?”

“And don’t you think, bringing ‘yourself’ is as she hopes you’d bring ‘yourself’?” Clockwork inquired, helping out the absent-minded ghost and changing to his middle-aged form, giving a meaningful look at the figure floating in front of him.

“I don’t have time now to take a shower, thanks to you and your ‘mission’, so no, I am certainly not as fresh as I should be. But thanks for the reminder, really. You won't not be the one whose parents will say why you are again reeking like hell. Seriously, Clockwork, fighting with my younger self was really that necessary? I am god-damn smelly right now and keeping up a shapeshifted form is already exhausting, especially concentrating to keep it up that long and- oh.” the halfa halted, slapping himself with the palm of the gauntlet in his hand. “I am still in that frigging form, aren’t I?”

“Yes…” Clockwork sneered at the baffled realisation.

“And couldn’t you tell me a bit harsher, damn it?! What if I change everything back and go to the party, where everyone is there in this outlook?!” the halfa cried out, suddenly panicked and horrified. “I can’t believe you sometimes…” was a head shook, making the fire-like translucent white hair flickering annoyed over it, but then, the light appeared, travelling through the ghost’s tall and muscular body, changing it to a much normal, less tall and thinner form. The glowing red eyes turned into green, and the suit too into a slightly different styled one than that had been ten years ago.

“I believe now you can fulfil your sister’s demand to bring ‘yourself’.” Clockwork told to the halfa.

The today turning twenty-five-year-old ghost just rolled his eyes, pointing towards him with the fingers part of the gauntlet. “I am starting to feel, since I learned how to shapeshift, you’ve planned this all… it’s not fun, Clockwork.”

The time ghost just silently smiled, but before the other could have disappeared into the portal, called him again.

“What is it, now?” came a tired snap by the renewed stopping.

“I just wanted to say happy birthday,” the half-ghost flushed green at the sudden kind words, seemingly feeling himself uncomfortable about the unfriendly behaviour, but then his face turned into a grimace.

“I am still pissed off for today.” the boy reminded him.

“I know,” Clockwork nodded, “but even if it was hard, now, I am sure, you can have a great time today.”

The youngster opened his mouth, but then without any proper answer just closed it, flying through the swirling green portal and leaving his lair. Clockwork a second later floated to his panels, switching on his screens and adjusting it to the Fentons’ home, to the preparation for the party. He knew Daniel would have a good, relieved celebration, with a very rough hangover the next day, but in fine, the boy was free from the fear of an actually never coming day. Yes, it might have been unfair, but this little ‘performance’ helped the halfa turn out the young man he was right at the present. Daniel would be ‘pissed off’ at him for long, but Clockwork was well aware everything was capable of changing with time.