A Chance to Trust (YJ/DP)

-11- Running Out of Time

Clockwork floated in his cell, in the exact middle of the room, farthest away from all the ecto-sucking walls. He was doing what is best described as meditating. His spectral tail was folded up underneath him, much like crossed legs, his gloved hands in the middle of his body squished together like someone praying. There was barely any sound in the room, even all his watches were near silent, the big clock in his chest swayed to and fro like the beat of a heart.

His eyes were closed, he breathed deeply through his nose. His body rose and fell like he was on a boat, rising and falling at the mercy of the waves. This calmed the ghost, for the ocean was like him, never ending and unexplored. On good days he was calm and charitable, giving a random person a helping hand at the most opertune times. On the worst days he could sink a thousand ships with a wave of his hand, letting karma do its dirty work.

Clockwork wished karma would visit a certain organization that for some reason really liked the color white.

But he was not the master of karma, or even the sea, he was the master of Time. Time can not be contained, it is universal, to stop time would be to rip open the fabric of the universe. When Clockwork used his time bubbles it was for a few seconds only, and only a certain area. He could not, for example, freeze time all around the world, for that would mean stoping its rotation. To stop the earths rotation would be to stop the sun and all its planets, then the whole galaxy, then all the other galaxy's and their suns. Clockwork was not that powerful.

But to trap time, and force it to stay still, is another matter. Time cannot be bottled, it cannot be stoped, it is always moving and changing, as did Clockwork. But force it into a straight line, a stream out of a faucet, would be to control time, making it fixed and unchangeable. Time was not meant to be controlled, Clockwork did not control time, he was more of a keeper, he protected time.

Time was having a very bad day.

Beginning with a simple conversation.

"Hey ghost scum, I heard you came here willingly, the future must be bright if you chose to give up so easily." An agent sneered, soon after he had phased through the wall. After all, humans are the ghosts in the ghost zone, the ecto-ranium walls would not harm them.

Clockwork, in his meditating position, regarded him cooly, not opening his eyes or acknowledging the agent.

"It is not that I gave up, it is that I saw what would happen if I did not agree to come here."

"Our sources say you're the ghost of time, you can see the future can't you?" The agent walked around Clockwork like a prowling cat, playing with its food. "What does it see for the future of the GIW?" The agent asked stoping in front of Clockwork and folding his arms in front of him in a business like manor.

Clockwork wanted to strangle him, this flesh bag thought just because he was stuck meant that he would tell him what ever he wanted to hear. He was not a genie, he did not spout answers on command.

"If you wish to know your future you should ask Daniel, he is the key. But you know that..." Clockwork's face frowned as he talked but he schooled it into blankness once more, trying not to add venom to his words. It was a small victory to anger the GIW, the agent was trying to get a reaction from him and the ghost refused to give it, instead he wanted a reaction from the agent.

"Ah yes the young halfa, he did our company proud by letting himself be our guinea pig." The agent said with a sick smile, knowing he would hit a chord with the ghost.

Clockwork's face contorted in anger, his mind literally went blank with rage. His blazing red eyes opened and he glared at the agent so hard that the agent took a few steps back.