A/N: Man, sorry this one came up a little late . Work has been devouring my soul but well at least it's still within the first few days of march right? Eh? well regardless here we are! Next month maybe a little slow as well as April I'll be participating in the Phic Phight in April so we'll see what happens there. Please R&R

Chapter 11: Cold Comfort

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Danny sighed as he sat down on the bed upon entering Tucker's dwelling, or, more accurately, his bedroom within the dwelling. Sam and Tucker had done a wonderful job as crutches, helping him hobble along on a semi-swollen leg.

"Do you want an ice pack dude?" Tucker asked, eyeing the other male's injury with suspicion in his gaze.

"I still say we should have taken him to the doctor..." Sam sighed, plopping down next to Danny, and making the headboard clank against the wall in protest.

"No, this is fine, I do not wish to be under the scrutiny of a physician." Danny waved her off for the umpteenth time. In truth, a doctor would help but he had no intentions of letting himself be examined by a human one. Regardless his leg was healing well as far as he could tell, the bandage that was wrapped around his injury was holding it well in place already allowing his break to fuse into a fracture.

"See? He gets it. Hospitals, man, never want to be there if I can help it. So, if he says he's fine I'll take the chance that his caretaker, or whoever, can sort it out later, right?" Tucker called earning a firm nod from Danny as he returns with a plastic ice pack. He hands the thing to Danny before moving to turn on a small T.V. on his dresser.

Danny takes the ice pack and tucks it under his pant leg eyeing the television with a frown. It was such a clunky looking machine and had a high pitched whine as it turned on. As Danny was about to ask what the point of it was when a colourful plastic device was shoved in his hands. Tucker threw himself down onto the floor with a solid clunk as a musical chime played from the television.

Danny examined the device he was given, holding it as Sam was, and it took him far longer than he cared to admit before he recognized the thing as a remote of some sort. "Sorry ya got the knock-off controller, we can trade off after a few rounds to keep it fair though," Tucker said wrongly interpreting Danny's confusion.

Danny only nodded in dumbfounded response as the screen displayed a rather jittery selection screen. Human tech was nothing like that which The Far Frozen utilized. Tucker set the game mode, excitedly explaining what buttons do what and prompted him to pick a character class. Danny obliged picking some overly buff looking man in blue and green breeches.

The other teens explained the game, saying that they would all be on the same side fighting the computerized enemies, and before he knew it they were playing. Danny found himself relaxing more and more as they played round after round, eventually battling each other within the digital space. It was hardly the most realistic thing Danny had played but he found it challenging and enjoyable nonetheless.

Before anyone realized it, the sun had gone down. It wasn't until Tucker's mother knocked on the door-frame and told them that it was past nine, did they even realize how late it had gotten.

"I don't believe I've met you before, I'm Angela Foley," the mother stated moving into Tucker's room, hand outstretched.

"Danny," he obliged with a dip of his head while the woman smiled pleasantly.

"Well it was nice meeting you, but it's getting late, and you three have school in the morning so I'm sorry to have to kick you out, but I'm sure your parents are wanting you home soon," Angela said, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she looked pointedly at her son.

"Right, yea. My parentals will probably have a fit and call the national guard if I'm not home soon." Sam sighed, moving to wrap up her current controller, coiling the cable around the device.

"Or just call us and complain about how I am raising my son to be a miscreant…" Angela grumbled under her breath, smile never faltering as she did, an impressive feat as far as Danny was concerned. "Tucker, make sure to lock the door once your friends have left," she said louder before nodding to the teens in the room and taking her leave.

Danny wrapped up his controller following Sam's lead, (he'd been copying these two a lot in most things it seemed,) the ice pack he'd long forgotten about clattered to the floor. "Ah yes, here, I suppose you would want this returned. Thank you for your hospitality and for allowing me the use of this." Danny said with a sheepish smile picking up the pack and handing it off to Tucker.

The other boy waved him off. "Anything to stay out of hospitals, man," he said with a small shudder, placing the pack on his dresser beside the T.V. to deal with later. He blinked down at the semi-solid ice-pack, it was still rather chilled, like it had been in the fridge rather than freezer but still… Tucker shook his head, he'd also deal with that later.

Danny offered a grateful grin as they made their way towards the front door. "How's your leg doing anyway?" Sam asked watching Danny suspiciously for any sign of him needing her help to walk.

"Much better, thank you. The sprain hardly hurts."

"You sure ya can walk alright on it? That was a gnarly bruise before…" Tucker asked, earning another nod from Danny. Tucker raised a brow down at the no longer swollen leg in suspicion and sent a glance to Sam, who offered a subtle nod.

"What way are you headed maybe we can walk a bit together, I'm on the north side of town," Sam said.

"I am not too sure where I need to head to actually. I am still not totally familiar with the cityscape." Danny admitted shifting his weight off his healing but still tender leg.

"Well, I'll walk with you anyway, maybe we'll come across a street you recognize"

"Text me when you're home, dude," Tucker said opening the front door for his friends. "Ah, do you have my number? I don't think I gave that to ya actually…" he trailed off noting that Danny didn't pull out a phone.

"I do not understand…" Danny blinked in confusion, looking between the others, shifting his gaze between them and taking in their own confused expressions. "What?"

"Your phone, dude? So I can give you my number," Tucker said while Sam waved about her own flip phone for emphasis.

"Ah, I do not have that," Danny said simply, gesturing to the device.

"What? Dude no! What self-respecting teenager doesn't have their own cell in this day in age!?" The technogeek threw his hand dramatically to his chest. "You can't be real! Never played Doomed and no cell? Seriously what universe are you from?"

"I am from the Isle of Eusebia held within The Asphodel quadrant"

Sam snorted and rolled her eyes, while Tucker gasped. "You are a sworn enemy of my people!"

"I am? I did not think we held grievous enemies within the carbon realm... What was it that has been done to offend you? Perhaps I can work to make amends?"

"You tried to kill my mother Sarah Conner," Tucker said with as straight a face as he could manage, causing Danny's to screw up in confusion.

"I do not know anyone with that name, perhaps it is one from The Tenebris Odium? They are closer to you and often are much more apt to cause misdemeanours around the realms…. What?"

"Dude… Have you really not seen Terminator either?"

"UGH! Later, Tucker, you can have your boy-toy back tomorrow. I wasn't lying about my parents freaking out." Sam said smacking the teen in the arm before a smirk appeared on her lips. "But I have to agree, a movie marathon is in order."

"Yes!" Tucker cheered giving a fist pump and an excited smile "Please say at your house?!"

Sam didn't respond, instead, she glared at him and pushed Danny out the door. "Later, Tuck."

Tucker huffed in exasperation before he shut the door with a sigh, while Sam marched Danny down the driveway. "So, do you know what street your place is on? Or someplace close by where you've come from?" Sam asked as they made their way to the sidewalk.

"Sort of? I remember a park with a fountain and a large treeline…" Danny offered unsurely. Perhaps she knew where he could find that permanent portal? Would it be something that would seem suspicious if he asked?

"Well, there's only one park with a fountain so that's something." Sam hummed in thought before turning left nudging Danny with her arm as she did.

Danny weighed his options before deciding it would be worth the risk of sounding odd. If he can find his way back home it wouldn't matter anyway. "Do you know the building that houses the permanent ghost portal by chance?"

Sam gave him an odd look and raised a brow, before placing a hand to her arm and the other on her chin in thought. Danny's heart fluttered in hope.

"I… I think you're best to ask the Fentons directly if you're wanting to know what happened with that," she said after a moment of silence.

"What do you mean?" Danny asked, trying to keep his tone even and not overly elated as he now had a solid lead to return home.

Sam sighed again. "Well, I don't know all the details but I know they had a kid that got killed in the portal they built… I don't remember if it was their kid or someone who was there for the event, but… yeah... I just remember their girl in grade school and all the parents telling us to keep away from that family." Sam scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"It made me want to try to make friends with Jasmine, knowing it would piss my parents off, but she was really hard to talk to… I remember for the longest time there was a rumour going around that she was a ghost or something too, which would have been funny if it were true, and she snapped at everyone who accused her of it. No one really talks to her much now," Sam trailed off and shook her head. "Kinda sad really."

"Sad? I suppose it would be if the daughter was isolated through no fault of her own," Danny frowned at the thought. He didn't have too many friends in the realms, but he had plenty of others he could turn to for help and to stave off the loneliness. If she truly only had two others, her parents, to turn to, well, Danny couldn't imagine ONLY having Frostbite and Pandora to turn to…

"She's nice enough now I guess," Sam shrugged. "A real teacher's pet though. She almost single-handedly organizes the spirit week stuff… which might I add is a lot less cool than it sounds," Sam shook her head and dropped her arms back to her sides as they continued to walk. "Why're you interested in that stuff anyway?"

"I am interested in the ghostly things?" Danny tried, seeming to come across more of a question than a statement, earning a snort from Sam.

"Ghosts are so mainstream now, they're not cool anymore," Sam responded with a flippant flick of her wrist.

Danny was both confused and slightly offended by the comment but chose to keep his mouth shut. He was starting to recognize the area they were approaching anyway, "That is the park!" he exclaimed with a smile, happy to move the topic of conversation to less awkward waters.

"Yeah. That's why we went this way after all so you can find your way home. Right?" Sam stressed the question, raising a brow to the boy.

"Well, this is where I was dropped off the other night…" Danny offered. "Thank you for returning me here," he said in earnest, dipping his head in gratitude.

"Yea, sure… You know where to go, then?" Sam asked skeptically.

Danny nodded in return smiling to the goth. "Though if I were to want to talk to the Fentons which direction are they?" Danny asked having decided to press his luck.

Sam didn't say much at first simply eyeing him a moment before sighing. "They have a big neon sign, FentonWorks, you can't miss it. Hell, you can even see the glow from here, but I wouldn't recommend it," she warned eyes narrowing as she spoke. "They get even weirder if you ask them about ghost stuff."

"Right." Danny looked to the direction of the neon green glow that Sam pointed out in the skyline. "Well, regardless, thank you for your help."

Sam gave a grunt of acknowledgement and rolled her eyes, knowing the look of determination from Tucker. Nothing she could say would stop him from going to talk to them. "Whatever, your funeral." She turned on her heel and gave him a wave as she began to walk across the street, heading for home

Danny watched her go a moment, waiting until she turned the corner before darting into the treeline of the park. He felt it earlier, right before the knight ghost attacked, a bubbling chill in his chest that was still suppressed, but the fact his leg was almost healed now… Perhaps whatever chain had been binding his core had loosened?

He looked about the area and held out his hand, it sparked with green energy dancing and weaving about his fingers, causing the teen to smile brightly. It took far more focus, almost enough to drain him mentally from the strain, but it was there. The comforting thrum in his chest was back, pulsing in time with his heartbeat, an odd but relieving feeling.

His powers were returning. By no means was he back to full strength but it is a good start! Now the next issue, is how does he return to his ethereal form? He fumbled about in his inner pocket and pulled out the necklace he had worn for as long as he can remember, eyeing the cracked stone. Was this the cause? And if so how can he repair it?

He ran his thumb over the broken gem and could feel the latent power held within. There must be a way to repair this at least somewhat right? He paused and thinks, brow furrowing as he strained, before he smiled.

He closed his eyes in concentration and pushed his energy to coat the gem. It takes a bit of time, and far more energy than it should have, but soon a thin layer of ecto-ice is formed over the surface of the gem and gold band. He was panting from his tiredness, but he couldn't stop the triumphant grin that found its way to his lips.

Danny fumbles a bit trying to attach the choker but eventually, he does get the jewellery to cooperate with him. "Okay…. Now turn me back!" Danny commanded the gem.

An advantageous cricket, with a love of comedic timing apparently, filled the silence.

Right. That shouldn't have come in as much of a surprise as it did. Maybe he did get his hopes up too high… Danny sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead. When in doubt, poke and focus on your core right? It's how he learned to utilize most of his powers so why shouldn't it work here?

He screwed up his face as he concentrated. He wasn't really sure what he needed, or what it would feel like, but he kept pushing at the energy willing it to cover him like it always had. There! He felt his energy spread out from his core darting about his body before it collected and moved to coat him spreading outwards in a flash of light he could see even through his eyelids.

He could feel his weightlessness return to him before he even opened his eyes. His usual clothing now back to the usual garb he wore as well. He fiddled with the tunic to make sure it was sitting right along his waist before he checked over everything else. Satisfied everything was as it should be, he looked off towards the FentonWorks glow.

At least he felt more himself, and the heartbeat was no longer loudly beating in his ears, allowing him a blissful reprieve. With a nod to himself, he tries to turn invisible a few beats later he blinked out of the visible spectrum. He bobbed in the air a moment before he sighed. Would it be wise to head that way now with him still pulling this hard at his powers?

On one hand, he could get home and have Frostbite tell him exactly what had happened to his core and either how long he'd have to wait it out for, or how he can fix it. On the other hand, if he did go and ran into the hunters he may not be able to properly defend himself. If they had things that would render him completely helpless as Plasmius had, it would be far worse to go in now and without a plan…

He rubbed the leather-covered heel of his palm into his eyes with a tired sigh. Tired… why was he this tired already? He cursed under his breath and dropped his invisibility. "Well, that answers that…" He muttered to himself lowly.

Perhaps he'll have to wait until tomorrow after all. Or what about that Jasmine Sam mentioned? Perhaps he would be best to approach her? From the sounds of things, it was only the elder parents he needed to be wary of with his ghostly nature, right? At least he hoped so…

With a tired and forlorn sigh, he dropped fully to the ground his energy having already drained. This time though, he was able to fully witness the light show he had produced. A blue-white ring ran across his body changing the cool comfort to warm anxiety.

He presses a hand to his chest and frowned. He was sure he had more energy than that… it was almost like there was still something blocking him from his core's normal function. He let out a growl of frustration and launched a punch into a nearby tree.

He blinked in surprise before recoiling his hand with a yelp from the pain he felt in his knuckles. This form was so much more fragile than he was used to. Looking to the tree that had caused him the pain he felt a small twinge of satisfaction he had at least dented and damaged the bark some.

He shook out his hand and turned to walk deeper into the park heading back towards the fountain that he had slept near last night. He stared at the flowing water and to the collection of coins at the bottom of the pool wondering idly if it would be worth the risk to try to wish his way back home.

He shook his head almost immediately. It would do him no good to wallow in his sorrow and self-pity. He needed solutions not complacence or hope for a quick fix. With a firm nod to himself, he thought up a possible plan. It most likely wouldn't do much more than to keep his mind off current problems, but it was better than sitting and wallowing.

Stamina, he needed to work on that as it was, so maybe he should run through some simple exercises. At the very least his ethereal tiredness could be matched with physical tiredness allowing him to sleep through the night.

Danny fixed his stance and began shadow boxing, pretending to jab and dodge an invisible enemy, which now that he thought about it was ironic… He smirked at that and rolled to the side before springing up to sweep and grapple his imaginary opponent.

As Danny continued his routine, he failed to notice the spectator he had gained. They watched a moment from the path they were jogging on, before shaking their head and carrying on. It wasn't any of their business anyway…

The moon had risen high into the sky, just barely poking through the heavy clouds, before Danny felt the pull of exhaustion. The teen sighed deeply before dunking his head into the water from the fountain, having removed his cloak and shirt during his routine.

He stared into his reflection a few moments, eyes landing on the now yellowed bruise that was on his neck. Thankfully that was healing faster now with his core coming back online, but it was still nowhere near where it should have been. He rubbed along the outline of the mark, before trailing down his body to trace his death scars. The puckered scars branching out like a tangled maze coiling around his core and spreading out and fading down his arms and torso, in a darker flesh tone than his current human one.

He found it ironic that he looked more of a ghostly colour as a human then as an actual ghost. It was still so surreal to him…. To see himself this pale pink colour instead of the greenish tan he had grown used to… he'd sometimes used to imagine what he had looked like when he was alive… but to actually see it, here and now? To stare into his living reflection and not just that of an old photo? To have his whole view of himself changed and turned upside down.

It made him think… and not in a good way.

Just who was he supposed to be? Was there a human family he should have been apart of instead of the one who had taken him as a ghost? And how did all this come to pass? Not that he wasn't grateful for the ones who'd raised him, Pandora, and all her guards and warriors, and Frostbite and his clan… he would never trade them for anything.

And yet…

Would it be worth looking for his human origins? Would it be worth it as a ghost trying to find that connection, or should he stay away from trying to seek answers?

He sighed deeply and stared up at the pale moon, letting the quiet of the night and beautiful sight soothe him. As he sat, slowly the clouds began to thin, allowing a few stars to be seen. He couldn't help but smile at that. It was gorgeous, it was steady and constant.

Why couldn't he be like that? Knowing what he was, who he was and able to be steadfast no matter what?

He ran a hand through his sodden hair and let out a yawn. Perhaps he could still be a star… All he needed was to get home, back to The Zone, where his life made sense. "Yeah," he muttered to himself. He just needed to get home, where he could shine, and with the help of his family, he could focus that light into something powerful.

He promised himself that whenever he managed to find a way home, he would work extra hard to make his family proud. It may take a while, but he'd make sure to be the best warrior they had. As he stared up at the moon, and the three stars he could see through the clouds, and he smiled.

Time shouldn't be concerning him at all. He'll get home one way or another eventually, right? After all, the light that comes from the stars takes time to reach your eyes, and it was just as pretty from here after having travelled for thousands of years to get here.

With that soothing thought, he replaced his shirt and laid down on the grass, using his cloak as a pillow. Tomorrow. He'll try and confront the Fentons about the portal tomorrow…. But for tonight, he'll be content to rest under the stars.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Please R&R and let me know your thoughts :) also have a few 14 hour days next week so wish me luck on that too ^^