Oh My Field Trip

Chapter 3: Chronos

Danny woke up with a start. Thoughts were swimming around in his head. He tried to sit up and get a better look at his surroundings when pain shot through him and his mind went blank. He quickly tried to soothe the pain in the back of his head by rubbing the spot with his hand. He glanced around and saw that he was laying on a soft bed in an unfamiliar room. Two doors and a closet decorated the rest the room. One of the doors, the one right in front of him, flew open as Clockwork came flying through.

"Hello, Daniel. Had a good rest?" Clockwork said with his usual stoic expression.

"Not sure, my head hurts like a sucker and I can't remember a thing." Danny groaned.

"Come with me and I'll explain everything." Clockwork said as he floated out of the room.

Danny followed Clockwork down the halls and into the viewing room. There he stood still in front of one of the viewing mirrors. He stood, unable to move as he saw the events from a few hours ago. He saw Dash punch him in the gut, the crack of his ribs and finally the pool of crimson red blood spilling around his lifeless body.

What surprised him the most is what Dash did next, walk over to the body and nudge it over the edge. He looked down at his own hands and was frightened by the light blue color that had taken over his human skin tone. He was dead. Nothing was going to bring him back to life. No super healing, no turning back time. He was dead, and that was the way it was supposed to be.

He turned his back to the screen and looked at Clockwork. He knew that Clockwork would have changed the timeline, had it not triggered anything in the future. Clockwork gently shook his head and let out a small sigh. Danny bit his lip and tried to hold back his tears, but he couldn't. It all was so unfair! Why did I have to die? Why must fate be so cruel to me?! All these thoughts swirled aimlessly around inside of his head. Clockwork didn't have a core of steel and thus, he gave Danny the fatherly hug that he knew the teen needed. Danny looked up at Clockwork and decided it was for the best that he had died, at least, no-one else was hurt.

After a few minutes Clockwork asked him to go back to the room he came from and open the door that had previously been on his right. He opened the door and saw it was a bathroom. Cautiously, he moved closer to the giant mirror and gasped at what he saw. His once white hair was now black and with a slight shimmer, spotting hints of midnight blue. Instead of the lovely baby blues or vibrant greens his two forms once held, he now had crimson colored eyes. But his skin tone was the biggest change, he had a light blue skin color that perfectly resembled death and if someone doubted he was a ghost, they would surely know by looking at his skin.

He screamed. He had thought that once he was a full ghost he would keep his Phantom appearance, but he was so wrong. Clockwork came into the room and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"I see that your new appearance has shocked you greatly, but I will make things better by adding an outfit of my own. In a few days, you will be known as Chronos. You'll find your new clothing in your closet over there." Clockwork said.

Danny walked over to his closet and grabbed the clothes Clockwork had laid out for him. He put them on and looked in the mirror. Where he once wore his trusty black-and-white hazmat suit he now wore a short-sleeved black tee with Clockwork's Time Symbol on it, his old baggy pants were replaced by tight-fitted dark blue jeans that were ripped in some places, and he also had brown combat boots with black laces. He also now wore a cloak that was black on the outside and light gray on the inside, which was clasped with an emblem of a golden clock with wings. His name was no longer Danny Fenton or -Phantom. He was now Chronos, the apprentice of Clockwork and destined to be the new Master of Time.

A few days later Danny sat in the viewing room, reading a book on ghost history when Clockwork phased into the room and handed him two items: a weird-looking key and steampunk-like goggles.