Danny. Could not. Believe. This was happening. This might've been the best birthday he's had in years!

Sure, he knew nothing about the mysterious wolf-like ghost that had saved him from an evil file cabinet for some reason, but he had paid attention to Danny. Something no one had done to the affection-starved child in a long time.

He drank up the attention like a dehydrated man in the desert, and put his blind trust on the wolf.

Plus, Danny loved dogs. This was a good dog.

He was currently running at very high speeds through Danny's neighborhood, the usual sound of birds and lawnmowers and children being swept away by the sound of the wind that was rushing through them.

Yes, through them.

Danny had never been invisible or intangible before, much less both at once. It was kinda scary.

But that fear was stamped out with awe as ghost and human raced through Amity Park, nothing getting in their way, and no one even acknowledging that they were there.

Danny had always been skeptical about the existence of ghosts. His parents used to tell him time and time again that they were real, and Danny had somewhat believed them. But without proof he could never be sure. Now, however...

Danny looked down at himself and his mount, and predictably saw nothing. He closed his eyes and tightened his hold on the wolf's fur, which he could still feel, thankfully.

I am being taken away from my home, he thought suddenly. I don't even know where we are going... And as much as Danny tried to make himself care, he couldn't.

He never realized that his own house never really felt like home to him, until now.

And wherever this ghost was taking him, he found he didn't mind.

This was sudden, but it was also an adventure. Danny had always wanted to go on an adventure.

Excitement bubbled up inside him and he found himself laughing breathlessly in happiness as the wolf below him sped up. A deep chuckle sounded below him, and there was a whoosh of air,

A slash

And a tear

And suddenly Danny found himself surrounded by green.

£-£

Clockwork felt like a little bit of a creep, to be honest. Did he really already see young Daniel as his own? Maybe he was just being protective of the boy but that was the thing: Clockwork could still not get over how attached he could get to this random, adolescent human he had spotted in one of his mirrors one day, looking quite sad, and lonely.

Maybe the boy's unfortunate predicament reminded him of Clockworks own childhood...no, he would not think of something so insignificant and so long ago.

So he decided he would not dwell on the reasons why he wanted Daniel to feel loved, wanted...

Maybe Clockwork just finally wanted to feel loved and wanted, too.

Clockwork was getting old, even for a ghost. He was a ghost so powerful, few knew that his existence was more than a myth.

Clockwork needed an apprentice, didn't he? He needed someone to pass on his knowledge to. Sooner or later Clockwork would fade away, and the appointment of a new Ghost Of Time would be mandatory.

Clockwork had seen the future path that young Daniel would travel of he was guided by Clockwork.

Death lay in his near future, sadly.

And a certain mentor.

Clockwork smiled, albeit a bit forlornly. He finally had a reason, it seemed. But he knew that wasn't the full story. Clockwork knew that he wasn't taking Daniel in just because he was to become Clockwork's student. Clockwork really did feel something for the boy, no matter how much he questioned it.

They both needed a family, and they would both get one.

£-£

A large tower loomed in the distance. The swirling green gas that made up the Ghost Zone's atmosphere appeared thicker around the top of it, as if realizing the power that lay within the tower, and congregating near it, starving for just a morsel.

Danny still had not stopped gaping at everything around him. The purple doors, floating about, the swirling green sky, the floating rocks here and there, and now this super cool clock tower thingy in the distance!

Is this the place where ghosts come from? It's super neat! Danny thought. He looked below him to see a now-visible ghostly wolf running on thin air, moving through the Zone at a slowish pace, as to not cause Danny to fall off his back. Danny patted him on the head.

"Good doggy," He laughed, giddy from excitement and curiosity. The ghost spoke in that strange language again, sounding amused. Danny could not, for the life of him, understand how the great, hulking being could fly so gracefully. He guessed that all ghosts could fly like that.

They drew nearer to the clock tower. Danny felt goosebumps, and they weren't because of the Ghost Zone's natural chilliness. The tower was quite big, and glowed green almost everywhere. In fact, now that they were closer, it less resembled a clock tower and looked more like a huge grandfather clock.

There was a large square of glass in the front. Within it a monsterous green pendulum swung mightily back and forth, causing the air to vibrate around it each time. Glowing green gears, sizes ranging from huge to huger, floated all around the tower, all clicking at the same predictable rate.

It was creepy, but awesome.

Wulf flew upwards and approached a blue-ish door near the top of the tower, above the still-swinging pendulum. Wulf's paw pads met the landing, and Danny hopped off. The chiming and ticking of countless clocks could be heard emanating from inside the door and everywhere around them.

Wulf opened the door, and gestured for Danny to follow, the confused but excited child scurrying inside.

"Hello," a voice greeted them almost immediately, almost as if the speaker knew exactly when they'd be there. Wulf stepped back and Danny looked up to see a tall blue ghost, with a muscular build almost hidden by his purple robe, which hid about a quarter of the ghost's face and was adorned with nothing more than a gear-shaped clasp on the shoulder.

The ghost had eyes like the wolf ghost's; everything, even the sclera, was one glowing color. Except this ghost had red eyes, instead of green. This ghost also had a humanoid figure, despite the ghostly tail that replaced legs.
Below the cloak and above the tail, a purple tunic rested on the ghost's figure. A belt ran across the middle. At the center of the ghost's chest, there was a rectangular hollow covered by glass. A clock with a pendulum rested inside, the pendulum swing rhythmically back and forth. Danny had a feeling this pendulum swung in time with the tower's.

The ghost had brown gloves on both hands, each glove sporting three watches. A cool-looking staff was clutched in one hand.

"Young one?" Daniel realized he had been staring, and shook his head. "Um, hello," he said shyly; something about this ghost radiated authority, and Danny felt a bit subdued.

He pushed back his inhibitions in favor of manners for a moment, and held out his hand. "My name is Danny," he stated as confidently as he could while the new ghost bent down and shook his hand. "I know," the ghost answered, confusing Danny. But before he could ask how this ghost he had never met before knew his name, the ghost was talking again.

"My name is Clockwork, little one. Come, follow me. There is a couch where we can discuss what is going on right now in this room over here," Clockwork said as he led Danny down a slightly crooked hallway. "Come along, Wulf."

So the wolf's name is Wolf? That's easy to remember, Danny thought, secretly trying not to judge. Wait...

Before he could ask, Clockwork answered for him, interrupting again. "It's spelled W-u-l-f." he said, Danny's appalled face making Wulf chuckle behind him.

Honestly, Danny was starting to think this guy could tell the future, or something.

The room they were heading to was pretty plain on the inside. A couple of worn blue couches sat on the wall farthest from the group. Large gears were painted on the faded gray walls. Danny could tell the gears used to be a golden color, but now they were a rusty brown, paint peeling from age. This room's existence was strange; the hallway just outside it had looked so new...

"Come, little one," Clockwork said, nudging Danny towards one of the couches, the other being taken up by Wulf's sleeping form.

"He dozed off," Danny spoke, concerned for his new friend. "He must be tired from, um, taking me here."

Clockwork chuckled next to him as they both sat down, the couch's springs groaning at their combined weight. (Even though neither of them weighed very much at all, really.) "You care about Wulf, even though you just met him. You consider him a friend, yes?" Clockwork said, gazing down at Danny with fondness in his red eyes.

And that's when Danny realized. He had a friend now. A real, genuine friend. And Danny could care less if his friend was a giant terrifying werewolf ghost. He had a real, actual, friend now.

Just that thought alone made Danny's face split into an insanely happy smile. "Yeah," he chirped happily in response to Clockwork. "He's my friend."

He then fidgeted a little, somewhat shy again. "You wanna be my friend too?" Maybe Danny was getting too happy at the prospect of having a friend. He didn't need to bother this man with stupid questions like that.

As if sensing the child scolding himself, Clockwork put a hand on Danny's shoulder comfortingly. "Of course," he replied. "That's why you are here. I see all--and you looked lonely, little one. You can count on me to be here for you."

Danny just stared up at Clockwork, slowly taking in his little spiel. Then, the sheer happiness that bubbled up inside of him at those words was too much.

He wants to be my friend.

I have two now.

He says I can count on him.

He says he will be there for me.

And Danny started crying again, but not out of sadness this time, burying his face in a very stunned Clockwork's tunic. Danny didn't care, he didn't care that they were ghosts, he didn't even care if they ended up being not-so-good people or weirdos, because he had people precious to him now, and that was all that mattered.

Wulf snorted in his sleep on the couch next to him, making Danny giggle a bit into Clockwork's chest.

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

Sooooooo third chaptahh
Criticism is welcome.
Have...a good day?
(I suck at this author's note thing)
Also, I edited my cover photo, it belongs to me, notthatyoucare
Chapter art doesn't belong to me tho
Please vote if you liked it!