Hoooo man it has been a long while since I did some work on this fic. But thanks to a PM from a fan not too long ago (Hellhound monster girl lover) asking a question I started thinking about it, one thing led to another and here we are! So I want to thank said reader for getting my brain thinking about this again.

First off, I do not own any stakes in Danny Phantom or Naruto. They belong to their respective creators, the only thing I own is massive amounts of gratitude and respect to said creators for providing some good creative entertainment for my childhood and teen years and this weird idea of mixing the two together. Basically I'm just playing with their old toys.

I welcome you one and all, to the story of a boy getting the powers of a Phantom and the chaos that follows all protagonists. For what is a story without chaos?

Once again I thank my fellow writing buddy, Kamen Rider Arashi for helping me create these wonderful writing works, may the crazy ever keep flowing my good buddy.

Quick announcement, I have launched a profile on a certain patron based website we have all probably heard of. It is for those kind souls interested in simple donations for my continued ability to do these stories. Not trying to turn a profit off these but I work in fast food and I want to be able to afford to keep doing this. Donations are not mandatory. I will still do these stories.

Even cooler announcement double whammy, got engaged and I'M GONNA BE A DAD!

I will be posting a poll for which story to focus on next, both on this site and that one.

But that's all up here folks, hope you enjoy.

And now, on with the Chapter!

Chapter One: Meddling Siblings

The multiverse.

It is a concept that has existed in the art of storytelling for a long time. A series of universes each almost identical to the one before save for one difference, a decision or event that happens differently and thus creates a completely different timeline. However, as varied or similar as all these timelines become, there remains two unarguable facts. First, they have a place in time. A beginning and an eventual end. The second, they occupy a space of reality.

Time and Space.

The two constants are almost as old as those of Life and Death. So old, in fact, that they have developed a sentience of their own. Within the near limitless numbers of alternating timelines there is a connecting space, a realm that acts as a kind of web interlocking all timelines in a great cosmic dance. This realm is a world of immeasurable span and power, and the places where its mass contacts the reality of each universe serve as a realm unto themselves. These realms are the homes of deities, beings that share a level of consciousness with other versions of themselves existing in other universes. But it is the place between the realms of gods and mortals, the great spanning between where other forces exist.

Nevernever

Realm of the Dead

Ginnungagap

Abyss

Great Divide

Void

It is known by these names and a great deal more for it is known by all existing cultures, and it is feared. For this is the realm of the unclaimed. Souls who, for some reason or another, slip through the cracks in the workings of the deities, and become the Unclaimed. They fall into the tears in reality, and slip through this middle darkness into the great depths. Some barely have the strength of will to form corporeal bodies, harnessing the energy around them into a construct similar to themselves in life. The stronger the will of the soul, the more detailed and capable the construct….and some have even gained the strength to cross back into the realms they came from.

These souls, trapped in an existence of neither living nor dead, wandered the mortal realms in search of their desires. Some only wished to see the loved ones they lost, giving rise to stories of restless spirits with unfinished business. Some used their newfound powers to obtain wealth, creating the tales of evil spirits filled with malice.

In time they became known as one broad, encompassing term: Ghosts. And the realm they called home, nestled in the place between all that is, became known as the Ghost Zone.

Now, while this massive realm acts as a kind of web to the greater reality, there exists anchors holding it together. These places of incredible power are referred to by those of a mind to discover them as nexus points. Usually these are places birthed from a concentration of energy focused by some greater power. One of these places floated under the command of an entity as old as the concept of time, for he was the concept given form. On an island of concentrated ectoplasm forged by its creator's will into a substance nigh unbreakable was a clocktower. It was a massive construct, matching some moons in size, with the appearance of wood and iron. Within these impossibly large walls a series of gears interlocked, forever ticking the passing of each second in this swirling void.

In the tower's peak, behind a face of ectoplasmic crystal that glowed with an intensity greater than any lighthouse, was a room through which many of the tower's gears could be seen rotating. This was the Tempus Sanctum, the home of the Ancient Time himself. Time was a peculiar fellow, possessing a body forged in the likeness of a lifeform called the humanoid, but a fluid one. Every twenty-four hours that body went through a change. First in the form of an infant, he would grow until the tower struck midday and would possess the body of a man in his physical prime. Then, as the day continued to progress he would age further into an old man with hunched back and a beard that brushed against the tops of his boots. At midnight he would begin to regress along that range until he was an infant again and the cycle would continue.

He, like the realm he made his home in, was known by many names. Tempus, Janus, Chronos, Kan-Laon, and so many more. But, for his chosen construct of a home and for the window formed in his body's chest showing yet more cogs of a clock moving in time with those of his dwelling, he was known to the denizens of the Ghost Zone as Clockwork.

At this point in time, the primordial being was standing with hands clasped behind his back. Dressed, as always, in a dark purple cloak with its hood drawn and a lighter shirt with its sleeves ending beneath thick leather gloves. Around the wrist of these gloves were three bands each holding a watch bearing different times. His eyes were constructs of pure red energy, bearing no pupil or deviation in color as they stared at the object of his attention.

The object in question was a gear turning freely in the air where it hovered. The space inside was wide enough that at his current size Clockwork could stretch out his arms and just barely graze the sides with his fingertips and was currently filled with a vortex of toxic green energy. Under his direction the swirling energy began to recede, the whisps left behind conjoining into a moving image, a window into the timeline of a world his attention had only recently been called toward.

In the image he saw a barren land, ravaged by conflict only recently ceased. Here and there burned patches of fire black as a new moon and massive constructs bearing the resemblance of mutated animals lay slain. Over this twisted landscape there rose a tree of monolithic size. It was a misshapen thing, bare of any branches. Only the very tip sported any kind of extra growth, a kind of seed bulb. To him, it resembled more a mutated flower that would have done Undergrowth proud. But aesthetics aside he knew this was not something he could dismiss, and at the base of that tree was the proof of his decision.

Roots, each large enough to be the gripping tentacles of a massive eldritch horror, spearing through the surface of the planet and extending out like great hungering snakes throughout the continent. Red eyes narrowed and locked onto the multitudes of small pods hanging from each root. Humans, animals, the tribes of special animals that learned to manipulate the bio-energy which the inhabitants of that world called Chakra. None were spared, all taken into the embrace of the great world tree to be changed. One by one they would fall deeper into an endless dream, while they're bodies would be warped and mutated into a near-mindless husk of a slave to the one who instigated it all.

The image reacted to the mere thought and changed to show the instigator of this event, and the possible wave of alternate futures to come. It was a woman, tall, graceful and possessing a kind of beauty that could only be described as unearthly. She hovered before her twisted tree, her mutated third eye staring down on the world she had just conquered, and full lips curled into a triumphant smile.

"Kaguya Otsutsuki," he whispered. "She worries you."

From the shadows behind him floated out a pair of ghosts. They were completely identical figures of green, each possessing a single bloodshot eye and dressed in matching white robes of some sort of acolyte. Black, high necked mantels were set about their shoulders. Whatever names they held once as individuals were lost to the waves of time, and he held no interest in calling up something as useless to these beings as a name. They were the Observants, a hive of ancient spirits that dedicated themselves to the observation of the multiple realities they were connected to. They were also the most often visitors to the Clocktower, in order to beseech his intervention when their restrictive rules got in the way.

"She does," the left one answered. "Does she not worry you as well?"

"Oh I worry." By unseen command a series of gears identical to the first began to appear, turning in their own space. Each of these began showing the same world in different timelines, all of them at war. "She is stretching toward godhood, yet in every timeline so far there has been someone to rise and vanquish her plans. However, this remains the first where all the pieces fall into her victory. And it will have catastrophic effects if left unchecked."

Together they watched as the victorious woman drew on all the power of the world, absorbing it into herself. Her body shone with uncontainable energy….and then it began to change. Under their watch the mortal shell she once held began to break like a caterpillar's chrysalis, and from within would rise a new deity. He knew how it would progress from there. Deities shared a link, a sort of combined consciousness. She would learn of the other versions of herself. Those yet to win. And she would intervene.

Worlds would fall to multiple versions of Kaguya, and the power hungry creature that would replace each one upon ascension would cause cataclysmic failure across multiple timelines. A chain effect that could destroy a full reality amongst the infinite cosmos. Among the broad picture it could be seen as a small issue...until one considered the fact that multiple deities working together held the possibility of creating a path to another reality. What was to stop her from discovering a way to do so? What would stop her trying to fix the next 'imperfect' world she came across.

Nothing. Nothing would stop her...if he did not intervene again.

"I will decide on a tactic to prevent this future." The statement was as much a dismissal as it was a declaration and the Observers recognized it as such. Alone again, Clockwork turned the images on the fresh portals back through time, watching for the critical choices, the pivotal moments that created the divides. "Carefully," he ordered himself. "I must locate the nexus of this timeline, the first true divergence that led toward her victory."

He had not paid as much attention to this chain of timelines, there was a near infinite amount with new ones in each reality birthing new timelines every other second after all. The most it had occupied his mind was when he did customary checks to ensure things remained working fluidly. This anomaly was the first to occur, and thus the first he paid more than passing notice.

This meant he needed to learn about them. And learn he did. He watched in that place removed from time's passage and studied the events of this reality. He watched wars, sickness, peace and prosperity. Just like in all timelines he saw the best and worst of humanity and civilization. He watched Kaguya descend from her clan's home to the earth. Watched her fall in love, saw her betrayed and her closest confidant slain. He witnessed the moment every Kaguya decided simply asking and talking were not enough. That if peace was to happen, someone was going to have to make the effort to create it, and have the power necessary to force others to listen.

On every portal he watched the woman heralded as a goddess give birth to the twin boys that would defeat her. He saw them grow from boys into young men, learn of the truth behind their mother's actions, and stand against her. A battle that reshaped the continent they called home and ended with her sealed into what would become the moon along with the misshapen thing she had transformed the great tree into.

They sired children of their own before one brother took his leave with some of his descendants, rising to the moon to watch over the seal and carcass within. The other stayed on the planet below, tending to the people and raising his children. Taking the power claimed from their mother and sealed within himself, he split it into nine beings, named them as his children and passed the duty onto his blood. He saw the meddler whisper in the jealous eldest's ear. The battle between brothers that descended into an eternal blood feud. Time and again they reincarnated without memory, only the rivalry. At times they seemed like brothers again, until the day came they would fight.

Through it all the meddler lived and sought his method to free the woman. And then he came to the generation living in the time just before her victory. He saw the newest incarnations of the brothers. The eldest, a boy ravaged by personal tragedy and haunted by the vision of his family slaughtered by his own elder brother. Forcing himself to feel only his thirst for vengeance drive himself with a foolhardy oath made by a hurting child who didn't even know the truth.

The youngest became a young blonde whose own father had called on the power of a higher being, sacrificing his own soul to fuel the contract binding the soul of the greatest of the beasts created by the sage to the child. The beast was torn in two by the deity, taking one half as further payment for the intervention, a sacrifice allowing it to meddle at all, while the other half would be forever joined to the boy.

"Naruto Uzumaki...Sasuke Uchiha." The timeless being stroked a chin that was quickly developing hair while his skin grew wrinkled. "They hold conjoined fates it would seem."

Under his gaze the boys grew. One the masses fawned over and lauded him as 'cool' and a 'genius' while he focused only on his goals. The other was cursed and looked down on as a fool while he clawed his way forward with almost no aid. Both possessed a kind of charisma in their ways. One of focus and intent, the other a wild joy for life and desire to force the world to acknowledge him, an outright refusal to be mediocre.

Time and again he watched the two. In some branches they were the closest of friends. Pushing each other to new heights and forming a bond that was unbreakable even by the gods themselves. In others they became bitter enemies, one killing the other and moving on to do terrible or great things depending on circumstances.

He watched Sasuke be redeemed. He saw Naruto become the demon many called him. The same, opposite, and moments where they defied belief in the stunts pulled. He still couldn't help but chuckle when a gaggle of naked men was enough of an image to throw off the self-made goddess, granted it had been a long dry spell for her, maybe she was feeling a little pent up. He shook off the idle thought and continued on.

And that's when he found it. The one moment where everything fell into place for Kaguya and her hidden assassin. A small country, if it could even be large enough to hold such a title. A business mogul with lots of money and a severe lack of scruples had managed to subdue the public of this land until he had become its ruler. Only a few had the will to rebel against him, led by an architect who planned and began constructing a bridge that would connect to the mainland. Being a greedy businessman, this Gato character had taken an exception to this rebellion and hired some outside help to...convince them of their wrongdoings.

The linked souls had been placed on a team with a young girl, who seemed little more than a sycophant in her obsession with Sasuke, and an older man named Kakashi as their commander. From what he had seen the man was capable, if a bit too lost in his own past making it difficult to live up to his potential. He watched them clashing on that very bridge with those hired by Gato to put the architect down. He saw the two clashing with the girl who used ice as effectively as an inhabitant of the Far Frozen.

He saw them both die. Sasuke was put down by the ice user, an act that would kill her emotions in many ways as it was her last step into the darkness. She clashed with Naruto after nearly falling to the berserk blonde who had called on the power of his tenant. Quickly adapting to his increase in speed and power she managed to hit a place with her needles rendering him unconscious almost immediately. He had been mid-leap in another attempt to grab her and at sudden loss of control he tumbled over the bridge to drown in the water below while Sasuke bled out, his heart stopping only a few minutes later.

This was the moment he had searched for. It would take far too long for the brothers to reincarnate again, leaving the world open to Kaguya's rise. Now he needed to think carefully. The moment he stepped in the Ancient Laws would come into play and that meant he only had so much room to maneuver events to a more positive outlook. The obvious choice would be to simply save the two and let the actions play out. However, there was a glaring issue to such a quick action. Fate did not take well to others playing with its plans, and he would need to make whatever action he took stick. Just saving them simply meant they would die again soon, he needed something fundamental to change. Something irrevocable to the point Fate had no choice but to realign its patterns.

"So...what should I do?"

"Why, I thought it would be obvious brother." The sudden voice in what had previously been an otherwise empty tower had Clockwork spinning to its source, red eyes flaring with power. However, before he could act on the instinct to lash out he realized who had addressed him. "Locus," the aging spirit growled. "Why must you insist on these antics and why are you here?"

The spirit that had arrived was humanoid in form, but most certainly not human. It was like someone had taken a picture of space, with all its many galaxies and stars, and fashioned it into the form of a woman. From the star-studded scalp descended locks of hair in all colors of the spectrum, flashing now and then with inner light. She wore very little as well, a pair of boots fashioned from some alien metal rising to her knees, a skirt of iridescent material and a cloak of midnight clasped in such a way to preserve some level of modesty.

Her eyes were pools of molten gold, no distinguishable pupil, and quirked in such a way that it was obvious she was smiling. "Come now Tempus, we can't have you falling complacent here in your ivory tower. And you know that I am always here, I am everywhere."

"But your focus is here Locus and I want to know why."

"Must a sister have a reason to visit her baby brother?"

"We are of an equal age sister," he grumbled. "Please, what do you want? I can already feel the headache coming."

The embodiment of Space huffed and crossed her arms. "I know all about the next project those little Observers have brought to you. You being you I made an educated guess that you are, once again, making something complicated out of what could be a simple situation."

"Well if it's simple I would have expected them to go to you for the solution," ah that felt good...wait he's getting distracted again. "What genius plan have you come up with this time?"

Instead of answering, the ancient, unbelievably powerful aspect of the concept of Space and Matter….kicked her brother in the shin. "Don't call me that you geezer!" she roared over the cry of pain as the immortal time lord clutched the offended area. "Geez I show up to help, we haven't seen each other in so long and the first thing you do is make fun of me!?"

"Whose fault is it that we never see each other!?" he shot back. "Little miss 'everywhere and nowhere but only where I want to be' can't drop in huh? I get blamed every time you don't visit but we both know the only reason you don't is because you're too much of a space case to think about it over catching another one of your little mortal soap operas!" He dodged another kick and was forced to block the followup smack to his head.

"Don't call them that!" She made to push the assault only to pause. "The Marvel universe is not soap operas!" She turned to leave but Clockwork managed to grab her cloak and yank her back.

The ancient spirit threw his sister's hand away and smirked. "What else do you call a story line where everyone has a dark past, people have secret twins, and almost everyone seems immune to actually dying for good?"

"A setup for a long series of entertaining scenarios that I'll never get bored with."

"No, and why do you call it that anyway?"

"Call it what?"

"The Marvel universe?"

Those golden eyes blinked. "Because it's marvelous?" If she had a mouth, he knew she would be grinning like a loon. Meanwhile he had pressed a palm to his face, unable to comprehend how he had not seen that coming.

She smoothed an imaginary wrinkle in her cape. "Well if you've had enough insulting my hobbies I have things to do, places to see...lives to watch devolve into chaos." She turned to walk away only to be yanked back by her brother's hand clamping onto her shoulder and spinning her back to face him.

"Oh no you don't! You are going to tell me what you were talking about before you went on another tangent!"

"What are you talking about?"

One eye twitched. "Timeline in danger? Godhood ascension and cataclysmic blowout? Trying to keep it from happening and spilling into another reality? We were just talking about it!"

"Well if you hadn't interrupted me I would have already told you how to fix it silly! Just save the blonde and turn him into a half ghost like the Phantom!"

Time froze, one hand still locked on Space's shoulder. He blinked, face sporting a look of pure shock. She blinked back, expressionless face just oozing smugness.

"Could...could it really be that simple?"

"Of course it can!" Locus vanished from the floor and appeared at his side. "You were trying to think of something so out there it would throw the current sequence of events so far out of flow it wouldn't be an easy fix and need to be rewritten completely from that point on right?" He nodded and she waved toward the image currently floating within the original gear. Naruto Uzumaki was sinking into the water, slowly drowning.

"He's half dead, right now the souls of both him and the fox creature are losing the tether connecting them to the body. It's being stretched to the point of snapping...which means there's just enough space for the power of the Ghost Zone to brush against them-"

"And leave behind a changed being!" Clockwork finished her sentence and bolted to the window. "Yes! This is perfect Locus. But wait, it would also be a great chance to make an arrangement with the fox. Their scorn for each other for so long hindered his growth in other timelines. But what could we offer?"

"A chance to interact with the outside world maybe?" Locus was getting excited again. Her brother was always so methodical and patient. She adored those moments where he would become lost in a passion for one of his projects. "Wasn't the Phantom aligned to an element?"

"Ice yes," he replied. "Daniel Fenton was attuned to Ice and thus became a very capable user once he discovered the ability." He reached into time, finding the elements that suited the boy and his tennant. "Ah, this could be interesting. This timeline has some interesting rules ingrained into the powers they utilize. I already knew Ice was an element some could master...but it seems to be a combination of elements only a few can master thanks to something in the user's blood. No matter, his powers will have to obey the rules of his world to an extent but ectoplasm has its own effect which will bend them to a degree." He began to weave his hands together, fingers dancing as they began to pull the ambient energy toward the area between them.

From the air around them rose streams of ectoplasm. It was like a great collection of threads crisscrossing the plane in their own unique pattern. The Weave, the very fabric of the Zone. Only a select few individuals ever managed to even perceive such a thing, and less ever learned to manipulate it. Clockwork made it look as easy as someone at a potter's wheel. Plucking loose strands he gathered together, winding them into a ball and forcing them to merge, to change their very nature. WIth each passing second the bundle he toiled over began to take a form Locus knew well. It was the lifeforce of every ghost, the first thing ever constructed by a spirit when fashioning a body of their own: the ectoplasmic core.

It started as the smallest drop in the palm of his gloved hand. A single, neon green drop of crystalized energy, but it grew. Little by little it grew outward and upward as if he was freezing a green liquid by the drop. As it grew he molded it, shaped it tenderly into the form all cores became. A heart. A beating crystal heart resting in the hands of Time awaiting its purpose.

"Are you coming?" The question broke Locus from her study of the object, pulling her gaze to her brother as he stood in front of the portal. Its light casting him in a silhouette while the faint glow of the core underlit the sharp features of his aging form. He now appeared to be in his fifties, the beard reaching to his chest casting even more shadows in the light. He stretched out his free hand and summoned his staff into existence. Made of gleaming metal it was split like a pitchfork at the top, a single clock resting in the prongs.

Had she a mouth, she would have grinned as she stepped up to his side. "You couldn't keep me from this if you tried."

He chuckled. "Very well." He raised the staff, his power suffusing its form with a faint dancing glow of purple and blue, and brought it crashing into the floor. "Time. Out." A wave of pure will launched from the humanoid aspect and crashed through the portal. He felt as it entered the timeline, and froze it in place. From the largest planet hurtling through space to the smallest atom. All of it, halted in time by his Will. "Time to go."

"Aaaaaand you ruined it."

"Oh shut up." He stepped through the portal.

"And he calls me immature." She followed, chuckling at her brother.

They appeared on the other side, hovering freely in the water next to the body of Naruto frozen in the midst of drowning. Without speaking they reached out, becoming intangible, and allowed their forms to merge with his own, sending their essence deep into the seal to enact their plan.

When they reformed, it was to find themselves standing in a massive room in the shape of a square. The walls were made of yellow-stained bricks and the floor perpetually soaked in still water only a few inches deep. Both turned their eyes upward, facing the massive barred doors built into the far wall. From the dark space beyond they could feel the gaze of the old construct. There was an undercurrent of malice, understandable given the circumstances of its current state, but also of curiosity. "Interesting," the voice that flowed out was loud by the very nature of its origins within a throat large enough to swallow the largest of normal animals whole. The water all around them rippled as it spoke. "You are not the mindwalkers that live in the human village. And you are, by far, more powerful than anything I have encountered. Who are you?"

"Intriguing," Clockwork murmured, one eyebrow rising as he contemplated the circumstances. "It appears you are somewhat immune to the passage of time if you are able to speak and act right now. Or perhaps it is because we are currently inside the soul of an individual. Souls are unaffected by the passage of time after all. Then again the Shinigami in this realm had a hand in sealing you away perhaps that could have an effect." He shook himself. "Time for such musings later, to business."

He raised his hand and clawed at the air, pulling it back to his chest as if drawing something out of it. A moment later the floating form of Naruto Uzumaki hovered before him, hanging limply in the air. "I can only linger so long before I draw unwanted attention."

"What are you doing!?" the beast roared, one massive paw crashing into the seal's gate with a crash louder than any thunder. "My own life depends on his!"

"And we are here to save the both of you fox," Locus growled and waved her hand. The darkness surged and clamped itself around the giant's muzzle like a massive hand. "Now be silent. My brother must concentrate."

Clockwork stepped closer, holding the beating heart he had forged mere moments before. "You are touched by the machinations of Fate," he declared. "The pattern fate weaves is a complex thing forged from the interactions of all life into one great tapestry. No true hand guides it, but the pattern is stubborn. With this, I shatter the past's effect and warp the future with what follows. Live, Naruto Uzumaki, live and save your timeline. Live, changed forevermore. You have fallen, now rise. As a Phantom!" He slammed the heart into the blonde's chest, and the world flashed with green light.

A wave of power exploded from the contact, sending the water out in a wave in all directions. The siblings remained unfazed, only their cloaks fluttering showed they had felt it at all. The fox was forced to watch as the stranger's palm rested on the chest of its host's soul, and the green beacon shining between the fingers. It was almost blinding, but began to slowly dim over the long moments, from like staring into the sun it became more like an intense fire, and then to a soft glow. Then the light pulsed, quick, uneven tempo like the heart was learning how to beat.

A pulse. Then another, each followed by a faint light moving throughout the soul. Again, and again as Clockwork stood as if frozen, burning eyes locked onto the boy and waiting. For what it could possibly be the creature did not know, but it found itself riveted all the same. Veins of green spread like grasping vines, sinking further into the body to work their changes. Then the light gave one last pulse at the same brilliance as the first, and then it vanished.

The gloved hand fell and Clockwork stepped back. Naruto, still held aloft by some unseen force, drifted lower until he was lying on the ground. "We will give him a little time for the body to adapt to the soul's changes," he said. He turned to the growling fox. "If it means anything I do apologize for the abruptness we showed upon arrival. I needed to act quickly lest your death god take notice of a soul to collect." The fox stilled at that, eyes wide at the prospect of being taken by the thing responsible for ripping him in half. "But the first step is finished so I see no reason not to introduce myself."

He bowed slightly at the waist, just enough to be polite. "I am known by many as Clockwork, but the name I chose for myself is Tempus. I am the primordial spirit of time itself." He gestured to his companion. "This is my sister."

"Locus, the spirit of the concept of space." She did not bother to bow, instead locking her golden gaze with his own burning crimson glare. "And we have come with an offer for both Naruto...and Kurama."

The red eyes narrowed, and the mystical muzzle faded away. "The fact you know my name yet I have never met you is proof enough that you hold some knowledge." He was cautious, obviously wishing not to be bound like some disobedient pup. "I do not trust you on the primordial claim, I have met many mortals claiming to be gods. My own father was heralded as one, though he always called it nonsense. Even that boy's closest confidant is given the word as some silly moniker. Still, you have power. What is this offer?"

"Do you remember the space between worlds? The place where your creator, or father I think you prefer, first let you out of his body?" The nine tails, which had writhed constantly behind their owner, momentarily froze. It nodded, ever so slowly. "That little pocket he used was formed out of a much greater space. What mortals call ghosts originate from it. What I just implanted into your host was the core necessary for a spirit to form a corporeal body. I have, essentially, transformed him into a half-ghost."

"What does this do for him?"

"With training he shall be able to transform his body into that of a ghost, granting him the ability to turn invisible, become incorporeal and even fly. There are other powers which will be unique to himself but those I have named are all a staple of that species."

"Making him more likely to survive, something good for me I can admit….now what is your offer for me?"

"A chance to leave the seal, if only a little limited at first." Those red eyes darted to Locus and even without a mouth the fox had the distinct impression that she was smirking. "Got your attention now don't I?"

"Explain."

"My brother mentioned Naruto developing powers, we looked into his future." Clockwork coughed but she gamely ignored it and kept on. "His power holds alignment to wind and water, I believe we can work a technique to give Naruto that would let you have some limited form of freedom." She stepped forward, placing her hand between the bars and holding it as if to place it against the huge creature. "If you will allow me, I will project the image into your mind so you have some idea of what I hint at."

The Kyubi, a creature called demon since the day he first met mankind outside his father's family, stared at the being that claimed itself to be far above anything he encountered before. It had been strong enough to muzzle him, and they both had saved his host from dying. Taking a gamble, it stretched out a single tail and placed it against the offered palm. There was a flash at the point of contact, and the fox found himself grinning subconsciously. "You have some dangerous ideas."

"I know! Isn't it great?"

"You have my interest, what do you need from me?"

Clockwork stepped up to the prone form of the young blonde. "I cannot leave time frozen for long lest I provoke dire consequences. The strain on his body causing the change, plus channeling the raw power of your chakra will have taken a massive toll on your host's body but we cannot leave him to drown after doing so much to save him. I will implant a series of commands into his subconscious. For the next five minutes he will be effectively sleepwalking." Two fingers pressed to the boy's forehead. "My sister showed you the ability she cooked up, I intend to include its activation in these commands. Use it, manifest and save his team."

The fox hummed in thought. "Will he remember?"

"He will have flashes of memory, though he will not fully remember until later. Don't worry, he will remember it is possible and that you did not take over his body. Hopefully it will allow the leverage for you both to begin trusting each other. The future of your realm depends on it."

He stepped back and Naruto's personification vanished from the mindscape. "When time resumes there will be a few seconds as the changes happen all at once. The commands will take over immediately after and manifest your new form beyond the seal. Take it over, do your work and ensure his safety. We will meet again soon." WIth a wave of Locus' hand they both vanished from the space. Only a matter of seconds later, a pulse of green as veins of energy surged through the walls, new pipes forming as the fox watched. Then, it felt the tug on its mind and grinned. Things sure were looking up for the old being, and they seemed bound to become even more interesting in the future.

But at the moment, it only cared about one thing. It had a chance to move about the physical world again and in the name of his father he personally swore that he would not squander it! "TIME FOR SOME FUN!"

XXXXX And Cut! XXXXX

That's a wrap for now ladies and gents, I hope you enjoyed it.

Couple things to cover.

Tempus and Locus, the Latin words for Time and Space respectively.

I figured it'd be fun to give them a bit of extra lore, as well as explain why Clockwork is so powerful. I also made his sibling a sister because it just felt right as I was typing it. Honestly, it was still Erasmus right up until I was writing it and just kinda flowed out of my fingers. I liked it, so I went eh it's cool, and she's a literal space case the way she came out I figured why not keep her.

I was trying to find something to come up with a visual for her and found Eternity from the Marvel comics. Picture that with a woman's body and hair looking like it was made from the Aurora Borealis with the clothes I described and you have Locus.

As for which to call the ol' time master I haven't fully decided. I like Tempus but his actual name by the creator has to account for something. Let me know what you guys think.

Another big change is the timing and setup for the story in general. Those who read the first version know I started at the start of canon. But that was long before I knew how the story would end, now I know more I was looking over the story and just thought I could do better. With the help of my good buddy Kamen Rider Arashi we came up with something I think is a bit more relevant to the knowledge of now and this way we weren't just copying Dan Phantom with Naruto flavor.

Sasuke is NOT a halfa and will never be one. Just getting that out now. I have not decided on whether to redeem him for this one or leave him the piece of shit that he was in canon. Honestly I don't know how he isn't basically Dexter without the self-control to only target evil. There are a lot of similarities there after all. Oh well. I think someone wrote that once actually, can't remember it's name but he was basically handed over to Danzo to give him aim instead of just being a mass murderer. If anyone remembers that one can they tell me?

Moving on...Arashi and I haven't decided if we will be keeping the idea of bringing Ember and Desiree into the story like we did the first time. It's still a bit up in the air but I'm all ears for feedback from people. Let me know if you have any ideas, all I ask is that any suggestions are accompanied with an argument for your person and suggestions on how to integrate them into the story beyond "she's hot."

Here's another topic for those still reading, his Phantom look. I do NOT want to just make his hair turn red like the cliche goes. While that would be easy, it has also been done...a lot. I also don't want to turn his hair black just because I don't think he looks good with that or white hair. So, what do you guys think? Hair, Eyes, should there be a change to his whiskers? Let the ideas flow y'all.

I hope that answered a few questions, let me know what you think. Love it, hate it, have ideas feel free to share constructive criticism will never be scorned but flames shall be used to cook.

Until next time, this will be Yurei King signing out.