Neutral (Danny Fenton/Phantom x Reader)

Chapter Five - Yearning

As I grew older, I learned more about the world around me. I've been taught about the Ghost Zone since I was seven. The history, how everything works, what disastrous things can happen, the areas of the Ghost Zone we can't see and the ghosts that exist here, including the legendary nomad that hasn't been heard from since he disappeared.

Clockwork has also managed to teach me about human history as well because of his infinite knowledge, but all that consisted of was war and law, which I didn't care for.

But most of all, I have been taught about time. After I was old enough, Clockwork finally gave me that speech on how he exists outside of time and he was able to teach me about time travel without me falling asleep through the explanation.

Let me enlighten you a little.

Life already knows what decisions you're going to make, and everything from now until your demise is going to happen no matter what. There are parallel universes, but this only can occur when something in this universe is forcefully changed.

For time travel to be possible, time loops continuously. You go back or forward to a certain moment in time, and for that to be possible, the moment of the day would still have to exist presently. Meaning that the past isn't really the past, it's just days no longer accessible to us unless we can travel back. The future is already set in stone, choices, actions, words, births and deaths.

The loop of that day will stay the same unless someone travels back or forward and changes something, even the smallest thing, and it will affect the entire timeline. This is the same for time traveling to the future as well- I'm boring you too, aren't I? Clockwork is right, being able to wrap your mind around how time works must be learned.

Anyway, I've learned a lot more about time than any being, other than Clockwork of course, is capable of knowing and understanding. One thing, however, that I never found out and Clockwork never explained was how I could age while existing outside of time. It's been ten years now since I arrived floating through the Ghost Zone alone.

I knew that day wasn't an accident, Clockwork was expecting me. Speaking of, Clockwork doesn't tell me everything. He says that I can't know about my own past because I'm not meant to, if I learn how I came here, it needs to be on my own.

Personally, I think that's a load of ectoplasm that I have to find out by myself, without any help, mind you.

It keeps me awake at night, sometimes.

I feel like I have amnesia, and it's erased my whole past from my brain up until I came here.

I don't even remember my own mother or father. Did I even have them? Did I only have one of the two? Did I have siblings or pets? How am I supposed to find out if I've never even been to the human world? Endless questions like that make me think I might never find my family, if I even have one.

All these questions and yet here I am, fourteen years old and have never even seen another human in person. Pathetic, right? The only way I can see anyone of my own species is through Clockwork's view screen.

As of right now in fact, I'm watching people on it.

It's a brunette boy at the dinner table with his two brothers, sister and parents.

They're talking about their family reunion they'll have around the holidays. The dad makes a cheesy joke and the whole family groans, but a few snickers are heard as well.

I smile, "That's such a lame joke, you need a new sense of humor!"

Their conversation continues as it had been before, they couldn't even hear me after all. They continue talking and the subject of school and grades come up.

A longing sigh escapes my lips, I don't know why I torture myself like this with a fantasy I'll never get to have.

"(Y/N), may I speak with you for a moment?"

I look at him from the corner of my eye, Clockwork floating a few feet away from me.

I shrug, "I don't have anything better to do."

He chuckled, "I know."

Of course, he does.

Turning to face him with a look of curiosity in my eyes, I open my mouth to ask what he needs to say but he cuts me off. "I have a bit of a...task for you."

No big deal, I've helped Clockwork and other ghosts plenty of times. I nod my head confidently, "Sure thing. What'cha need?"

Clockwork smiled, his form shifting to elderly, "How would you feel about going to the human world?"