A/N: Heya peeps. Good to finally be seeing you again.

Lotta stuff has been going on, in the past few months. Won't get too into it, as much of it doesn't have to do with you guys, but needless to say this took longer than I was hoping it would. Unfortunately, I know the next chapter is going to take a lot more work than this one did, so I don't even want to put even a hopeful update date below two months from now. Which sucks, but hopefully you guys can stick around for that.

I do want to announce that I started a writing blog, though. Hasn't got much to it yet, outside of a couple very long posts, but hopefully that'll change as the months go by. If you want to send me questions about writing, you can shoot me an ask on tumblr at writingscout . tumblr . com, minus the spaces. You can totally send it on anon, too, if you want.

But anyways, questions:

AkabaneKazama: What the hell was Skulker doing? Was that a natural ghost portal? And what happened to the Yeti?

That should (mostly) all be answered in this next chapter, outside of some deliberate vagueness on my part. But we'll get into that later.

Thanks to Kit, all the Guests, Awesome, ShadowPillow, AkabaneKazama, My Darkest Night, and Tsukiko K for reviewing, and thanks to Lalenja, kyuuo, mysticfalls2357, yazmin 97, Shiro Yuki-sama, Kaderos, lillysting, chaos-lord377, .562, ShiraYukiShadow, KitCat97, mattmack, Lady Rin06, The King's Knight, MoonShadow 7117, ace 115, XxMidnaxLinkxX, Lizzie2145, messie23, ProngsPotter22, angels2645, GotNoName123, Krisym, Yusuke, Urameshi, boyrich, SlowlyFallingApart, Winter's Folly, Teyranus, Phoenix's death, Shadow Pillow, Ariel Night, aspygirl, AkabaneKazama, maxfan28535, smile-with0me, Myra The Fox, TheCursedWolf, DragonMaster9521, LunagaleMaster, Lilyqz, almp15, corbinskydragon1, YuNaru19, Akita-J, Skas Corosante, My Darkest Night, Neon12134, Golden feathers Edward, Tsunayoshi Decimo, RogueDragonPrincess, and Rosythorn for faving and/or following.

Now, let's get on with the story!

-~o0o~-

The classroom was dark. Sirius was completely still, staring at a wall. The sun had gone down hours before, and it was now late in the night. Most of the castle would be fast asleep by now, and those who were awake probably didn't know or care what was happening to him, beyond future gossip.

Because Sirius Black sat waiting in the dim candlelight of an vacant classroom for the dementors to come, and that would be too interesting to not whisper about.

He shifted in his seat, with his hands bound together on his lap. His face and shoulders had been torn up from fighting Remus off, even after changing back from his animagus form. His worn, dirty clothes dug into them, making them sting with every move, but that was hardly important anymore.

For a moment, one glorious, shining moment, he'd made amends with Remus, caught Peter, revealed the disgusting rat for what he was, and had met Harry face to face. He had seen to light of freedom - of public redemption, of having the truth finally revealed, the chance to have it acknowledged that he was innocent, only to have it crashing down around his ears in the shine of a full moon and a swarm of dementors.

His hands shook. He pressed them down a bit harder. Sirius had forgotten what it was like, to feel really happy. The only thing he'd felt even close to it in the past twelve years was cold, bitter conviction. He'd also forgotten what it was like, the desolation left when it was sucked out of him. Even without the dementors at his side, he was left with only a feeling of emptiness now. It filled him with something bitter.

He heard the door open, but didn't bother turning. He didn't want to see it coming, even if they had to force his face up to administer the kiss.

"Sirius." He started, lifting his head up and turning to the door. Dumbledore stood in the threshold, face blank and weighed down by the many wrinkles on his face. "It has been quite a long time."

Sirius stared at him. "Dumbledore...?" Then, he slumped, turning to the window with eyes half mast. "I didn't expect to see you here. You don't seem the sort to enjoy an execution."

"I'm not here for that, Sirius. I'm only here to talk." He said quietly, closing the door behind him.

"About what, exactly?" He said, exhaustion breaking through into his hoarse voice.

"Oh, I think there are many things for us to discuss, Sirius. I've heard more than a few interesting thing tonight." Dumbledore said. "But, in the interest of limited time, I think it best that we not spend it idly." The man sighed. "It is my understanding, that some of my students, along with one of my professors, has seen a dead man tonight."

Sirius' eyes became pinched, a deep well of anger rising up within him. He swallowed thickly, closing his eyes with a sigh. "You wouldn't be here, if you didn't already know for sure, Dumbledore."

"Would I?" He said thoughtfully. Sirius opened his eyes, looking at the man again wearily. "I've learned many, many things tonight, things I feel sorry for not knowing before, but I did notice one peculiar fact that was left out of the tale."

Sirius stared at him, face blank.

Dumbledore stared back undaunted. "Sirius, what did you do with Daniel?"

Sirius couldn't help it. He was laughing - a low, dry chuckle that didn't have a drop of pleasure in it. It fell away with a horse cough, leaving a smile of bared teeth as he stared down at his bound hands. "It doesn't matter. It's too late for that now."

"Sirius." Dumbledore said, voice low and commanding, and Sirius couldn't have stopped himself from looking in the man's eyes if he tried. "What happened to him."

"I sent him away. Where I thought no one would look." He said, the hollow smile the only expression he could manage. "Seems to have worked."

"But why? Why didn't you say anything, when you where thrown in Azkaban?"

"You're on the Wizengamot, Dumbledore - tell me, where you there for a trial?" He asked, chuckling again. "There was no one to tell but the dementors, and even if there was, it wouldn't have done anything." He shook his head. "He's safe where he is."

"Can you be sure he'll stay that way?"

The smile fell from his face, eyes falling to the floor. The room was silent. Neither man moved, and Sirius could not bare to lift his gaze, the weight of his failure making it too much to even fathom.

Dumbedore sighed. "You don't have to hide him anymore, Sirius." He said, softly. "Let him come back. Let them be a family."

For a moment, he did nothing. But eventually, Sirius turned back, looking towards his old headmaster, face blank and eyes dim. "I can't tell you." He whispered.

"Why?" He asked.

"I'm bound to silence. There's nothing I can say."

Dumbledore's eyes stared straight into his, unwavering. "But he is alive?"

"I don't know." Sirius said, shaking his head. "I... don't know. He was bad off, when I left him, and after that..." He sighed, glancing back out the window. "I couldn't bring myself to go and look, before coming here. Couldn't risk it. And now it's too late."

"Sirius." Dumbledore pressed. "Look at me."

He did.

"Sirius, I need you to listen." Dumbledore said, standing up. "Where you have left him, is he truly safe? Does anyone else know where he is?"

He laughed hoarsely. "I would have to say no, if you yourself didn't find out."

"What about Peter?"

Sirius' face turned sour. "No, never. I never breathed a word of it to anyone, and I certainly wouldn't have near that rat."

"Did you ever tell anyone, no matter how far back, of the location where he was left?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, Na-" He choked, coughing suddenly, before clearing his throat as he cringed slightly. "He didn't want that - I wasn't to be able to tell anyone. That was part of the deal."

Dumbledore paused. "A Tongue-Tying curse?" He asked, looking at the man with renewed interest. "That's where you took him? You gave him to your informant?"

Sirius smiled morosely. "If I could tell you, would we be here?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in the candlelight. "Quite an interesting choice. For a man so keen on not getting involved, you certainly involve him in quite a few things."

"I wanted the boy with someone the Wizarding World wouldn't know to look for." Sirius said, voice somber. "What better person, than one hidden so far from it that Dumbledore didn't even know his name?"

Dumbledore stared at him a moment, before shaking his head. "Yes, who indeed." Dumbledore shifted from his stiff posture, and gave a small sigh. "Sirius, I must go now."

He said nothing.

Dumbledore glanced out the window, an odd twinkle in his eye. "It's too bad this room isn't on the north wall - I heard Polaris would be surprisingly bright tonight." Dumbledore smiled, and then the door was closed.

Tucker was wheezing as he ran down the street, trailing behind Sam. He could see FentonWorks in the distance - had been able to see it for the last few streets, with the Op Center as large as it was, hovering over the roof. It was just to the end of the street now, and then they'd finally be able to reach the portal and find Danny.

he could literally see the car in the driveway when Sam skidded to a stop in front of him. He was left bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath. "Aw, man." She said, reaching back to grab his arm, pulling to try and lead him to the side of the house. "Let's try going around the back, quick, before they-"

"Heya, kids!" Jack called out, loading the large piece of weaponry into the back or the RV with a grunt. Sam stopped in her tracks, hissing under her breath.

Maddie quickly leaned out of the front seat, smiling on catching sight of them. "Hey, you two." She frowned slightly, looking down the street behind them, before her eyes refocused on them. "Where's Danny? He's usually with the two of you."

Tucker smiled at her nervously, pushing himself up out of his crouch, still breathing hard. "Y-yeah, he's - Uh -"

"- Grabbing something he left at school!" Sam said, plastering a smile onto her face. "He wanted to go grab it, but we wouldn't have time before seeing the movie if we where going to head here, too. We thought it would be best to split up and meet each other there."

"Oh, all right then." She said, smiling at them as she opened the passenger side door to the Fenton RV. "Tell him his father and I will be home before seven. And please, make sure he gets back before curfew - I know it's almost summer, but school isn't out yet." She sent them a hard look. "I don't want him coming back late again tonight, you hear me?"

"Yes Ms. Fenton." They said at the same time, both smiling nervously.

"Good." She moved to close the door, but paused. "Oh, do you two have the key?"

"Uh..." They glanced at each other. Sam laughed, trying not to sound like a nervous wreck. "No, Ms. Fenton. I guess we kinda forgot about that."

"Yeah, kinda... In a rush, here." Tucker added.

"Oh all right, you two." She said, sighing. "The spare key's under the key pad for the security system. Just leave it under the mat when you're done, Okay?"

"Alright, Ms. Fenton! See you later!"

"Bye, kids!"

Tucker ignored her - Sam was already running up the front steps, and with a curse under his breath he was soon trailing after her again. She'd already flipped oped the casing for the security box by the time he'd made it up the stairs, and had the key inside of her hand. He heard the door to the RV close behind him as she hurriedly tried to jam the key into the lock, cursing to herself, until it finally slid in and she jerked it to the side to open it.

The door was open, and Tucker barely thought far enough ahead to close the door before rushing to catch up with Sam again. They where in the kitchen and down the stairs to the lab in a heartbeat.

"Tucker," Sam said, turning to him. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Specter Speeder?" He looked around, not seeing the vehicle out in the open, where it would be most conventient. "Yeah. They probably have it in the weapons vault, somewhere."

"You think you could manage to hack it without raising any problems?"

"Give me a minute." He said, approaching the weapon's vault. "I can probably get in, but cracking a system takes time."

"We don't have time!"

"Calm down - I didn't say it'd take that long." He said, inspecting the key pad, reaching into his side pocket to remove his tools. "Just let me open it up and it should be simple. Try getting ready for when we have to actually leave or whatever - grab some weapons or something."

She sighed. "Alright."

He could hear her moving around in the lab as he focused back onto the key pad. He quickly unscrewed the housing from the wall. He placed it to the side, before inspecting the wiring.

Tucker paused. "Someone's been in this thing already." He said, under his breath.

"What?" He head Sam call out behind him.

Tucker looked up, calling back. "Someone's opened this thing up already!"

"You mean, outside of the Fentons?"

"Well, yeah," He said, pulling the wiring apart, inspecting the damage. "I don't think they where interested in cracking their own security system. And definitely not like this." He said. "I'm not even sure I can get in, with it like this."

He heard her footsteps, and turned to look up at her. "Is the door broken?"

"I don't know - it could be. I just don't know how they couldn't know about this - this should have been fixed."

She pursed her lips, eyes narrowed a moment, before suddenly whipping around and stalking across the room. "Give me a sec." She called out. "I think I saw I crowbar over here-"

"-Whoah, wait wait wait." Tucker said, quickly standing. "There is no way you're going to be able to pry that thing open. It's no tin can, Sam. Just let me see if I can get into their system and find an override or some-"

"Tucker, by the time you're done doing that, who's to say Danny isn't skinned by Skulker?"

"That doesn't mean clawing at the door is going to save him any faster!"

"You can't expect me to just stand here and do nothing, after saying something like that!"

"Then don't - go get stuff ready for when we have to go."

She growled in frustration. "Why are we even arguing about this?!"

"I don't know - you tell me, Sam." He said in frustration, finally pulling apart the torn wiring and looking over the circuit board. "Just - just chill already."

Sam huffed behind him. "Fine." He could hear her walking across the lab, and sighed in relief as he hooked up his PDA to the security pad. He smiled in relief as his PDA showed a successful connection.

"Tucker, where's the spare thermoses?"

He huffed, quickly typing in the name of a program. "I don't know! I'm trying to work, over here!"

"Tucker, There aren't any down here. Danny didn't take them all, did he...?"

"...Maybe?" He called back. "Don't we already have one, though?"

"Yeah, but it's just... weird, I guess."

"Whatever, just let me focus, and -"

With a loud whoosh, the vault's door opened straight up into the ceiling. "Yes!" Tucker yelled out, fist pumping into the air.

Sam jogged over, rushing through the door and immediately spotting the speeder. She immediately sighed in relief. "Finally. Let's get going."

Tucker paused behind her, and Sam scowled, turning to look back at him. "Come on, Tucker - what's the hold up?"

He frowned looking over the rows and rows of equipment. "Sam, there's a bunch of equipment missing from in here. Do you think-"

"We don't have time to sit around and figure it out right now. Come on, find a weapon to grab and get your ass in here."

"Alright, alright!"

She started up the engine, doors closing as Tucker jumped in and slid in the seat next to her. "Lock and load." She said. "You better be okay, Danny."

He hovered, eyes catching sight of the swirling green of the Ghost Zone, and then Danny was free falling backwards. "MMMPH!" He cartweeled his arms, trying desperately to draw out his ghost half and avoid hitting the ground as air started whipping around him. He turned half-hazardly in the air, spotting a sea of white ground coming up to meet him, and realized he wasn't going to stop.

His back slammed into something solid that made every bone in his back crunch, completely winding him, and he was sent tumbling ass over teakettle into a snowbank.

Tremors of pain went through his body. Danny groaned loudly, blinking upwards from the hole he'd embedded himself into. That... could have gone a bit smoother.

He laid there, unwilling to move, breathing hard out of his nose. Everything was covered in a haze of white, backlit by the glow of the Ghost Zone. He closed his eyes again, biting the inside of his lip as he tried to suppress the pounding ache in his back. Danny sighed, moving to gently push himself up.

His arms sank deeper in the snow as he shifted around, forcing him to strain a bit more to get upright. A shooting pain going through his arms and shoulders. Danny groaned, leaning forward and dragging his knees up into a ball. "Mph." He pulled his arms out of snow, cringing as his shoulders gave violent protest.

He reached up to his mouth, digging his fingers into his cheek, before finally getting a hold of the gag. He dug his fingers down, nose crinkling as the material slowly pulled at the skin underneath, before taking a breath and ripping it off like a bandaid. "Shit!"

Danny hissed through clenched teeth, closing his eyes and gently feeling the irritated skin around his mouth, fingers feeling like ice. He forced his eyes open again, looking down at his hand.

It was bright red, from being shoved directly into the snow, and he knew as it warmed up it'd start burning. He couldn't even feel his fingers anymore - it was only the fact that he could see them in front of him that he even knew he still had them. He shook his head, looking around.

All he could see was white. Even as the snow continued falling out of the air, it only revealed more white snow covering the ground, and if the snowpack he was sitting in was any indication, it was a bit more than just the stuff that had been dragged along by the door opening.

He looked to the side, and flinched as he spotted the crumbling marks of something dragged tumbling through the snow, leading down to him. It had not been a nice landing, and Danny could only hope that that was the last nasty surprise he'd get for today.

He took a deep breath as he crouched in the snow, before slowly pushing himself up to stand. Danny hissed as he moved, back and arms stinging in pain, his back slick with melted ice. His legs cut straight into the snow, making goose bumps springing up his legs and down his arms, and he fought not to fall over. He pushed snow off of his shirt and pants, which where already soaked with water, and he was already shaking uncontrollably. Danny clenched his jaw in a futile attempt to have his teeth stop chattering, growling in irritation. He hadn't felt this much like a popsicle since his ice powers where coming in.

Something shifted above him, sending a shower of snow down the side of the mound. Danny flinched, looking up to where he had landed originally and going still. Please don't be Skulker, please don't be Skulker, please- A quiet growl, the sliding of a body against ice, and the head of a yeti appeared from atop the snow, looking dazed.

Danny blinked. It was the guard from earlier. His shoulders slumped and he relaxed. All the energy flowed out of him, catching up with him again and leaving him completely and utterly exhausted.

He closed his eyes, and started pushing himself up the embankment. He wasn't going to be resting anytime soon, and if he stopped now he wasn't so sure he'd be able to start again. He hardened his resolve, even as he slipped free of the snow and started sliding downwards. Time to do something productive.

"H-hey, are you okay?" He called up, panting slightly.

The yeti's head whipped to the side, but stilled as he spotted him down the embankment. He nodded. "I'll be alright in a moment, Great One." He said. He looked down at Danny. "Do you need assistance?"

"...Yeah, k-kinda." He said, smiling up nervously. "C-could you lend a hand?"

The yeti nodded, shifting closer to the edge. He leaned out, clawed hand reaching down for Danny. He smiled, grabbing a hold, and bit his lip to stop from groaning as he was lifted up. The move had stretched the wounds on his arm, spiking the pain in his shoulder.

When he was finally up the side, the yeti let go of his hand, and Danny settled down into the snow. "T-thanks." He said, turning his head to glance over the landscape. The haze of snow from their entry had faded, and between a swirling green sky and a whole expanse of snow, he realized he'd been right on his first assumption. In the distance, the snows rose up the sides of steep mountains, and piled together into deep snow banks. There wasn't a hint of plants, animals, rocks - even a ground - just a lot of pure, white snow. He sighed loudly, shakily - he was getting sick of snow pretty fast, without the resistance his ice powers gave him.

"Great One..." He turned back, looking up at the yeti. It looked down at him, appearing phenomenally tired. "Could you please help me remove the hunter's weapon?" He said, looking down at him. "I will likely hurt myself further, if I attempt it by myself - my arm is still trapped."

"Sure, g-give me a sec." Danny stepped closer, circling around until he found the loose end of the chain. He grabbed it carefully, cringing as he looked up to where it had dug itself into the yeti's back. "A-are you sure you want me to mess with it? I-it looks p-pretty deep…"

The yeti nodded. "I'm sure, Great One. I won't be able to heal properly until it is gone."

Danny nodded, even though the yeti couldn't see him, and gently pulled the chain to him, trying to avoid cutting up himself or the yeti any worse. The yeti grunted in pain as the chain pulled free from flesh, body growing tense under Danny's movements. After a few long moments of tugging the chain free from ghostly flesh, it fell away into the snow.

The yeti released a ragged sigh, reaching up with a glowing hand to hesitantly touch at the wide, gaping wounds still left by the chain. "Thank you, Great One. I don't think I could have managed to remove these by myself."

"Y-yeah, you're welcome." Danny reached out, hesitantly grabbing with numb fingers at another length of chain, frowning. It hadn't been long enough since he'd last felt this cold, that's for sure.

The yeti glanced over his shoulder, down at Danny. He frowned, moving with a grunt to turn and face him, hand still aglow with a blue light, hesitantly floating over the edge of his wound. "Great One?" The yeti asked, looking down at him curiously. "Are you alright?"

"E-err," Danny said, gently removing another length of chain and sending the yeti a quick look of askance. "I'm o-okay. My arms and shoulders are a b-bit messed up, but I don't think there's any new wounds to take stock of."

"Then why are you in your other form?"

"Huh? O-oh!" He grinned nervously, clenching his jaw tight to stop his teeth from chattering. "Yeah, and that too. Skulker did something to m-mess up my powers." Danny cringed, face going sour. "It's... p-probably going to be at least a f-few more hours, before I'm able to transform again."

The yeti took a step back, and shakily stood at his whole height with a groan. He looked over the expanse of snow, shifting on his feet to turn. Then he glanced up, frowning. "Tell me, Great One - what happened?I remember approaching, and being captured, but then..." He shook his head. "I don't know what. I feel like I'm missing something..."

"I-I'm kinda wondering the same thing, honestly." Danny hesitated. The yeti was still looking up, his face pensive. " Err... w-well, obviously, Skulker got me, and he basically ordered me to t-touch that weird stone thing, to open it or w-whatever, before shorti-"

The yeti's head whipped around, and he was looking down at him with wide eyes. "You opened the door, Great One? But how? It was intact when we arrived!"

"That's w-what I was trying to warn you about earlier." Danny said, frowning. "I knew Skulker wasn't really telling you the t-truth, but I couldn't figure out how to tell you without getting his attention. Hell, I b-barely even understood what was even going on. What where you and Frostbite even d-doing there?"

"We where trying to get you away from the hunter." He said. He was distracted, looking up again at the swirling ectoplasm of the Ghost Zone. He looked distinctly lost, even as he turned back to Danny. "But the door, the markings - how could you have opened it without anyone being able to see it? Why didn't it open?"

"Skulker made a... hologram, I-I guess?" Danny's face twisted up. "He put it on r-right after all the marking left, to make it look like nothing had happened to it. I didn't really get what he was doing, but I didn't have a lot of time to think about it before you showed up."

"You didn't use your ice powers on it?"

"...N-no, not really."

He nodded, sighing. "Then I have only myself to blame, performing such a maneuver so close to it."

"S-so it opens when you use ice on it...?" Danny asked.

"Yes, Great One."

Danny waited for the yeti to go on. He didn't. "W-why was that door like that, anyways?" He asked, frown deepening. "It was really w-weird, trying to open it, and it definitely isn't like any other door I've seen in the Ghost Zone."

The yeti looked over at him again, an odd look passed over his face. "Of course." He muttered, seemingly to himself. His gaze had fallen to the ground and a hand reaching up to rub his chin. "You wouldn't know about any of that."

Danny frowned, head leaning down, trying to catch the yeti's eyes. "W-what is it?"

The yeti shook his head. "I'm just… thinking, Great One. Nothing for you to worry about."

Danny huffed, crossing his arms. "What where you and F-Frostbite even doing there? I don't really understand what you had to do with this..."

The yeti looked downright shocked at the comment. "We where here to rescue you, Great One." Firn said, head tilting slightly. "Wouldn't that have been apparent?"

Danny blinked, the blatant affirmation that they where there to save him throwing him. He really wasn't used to anyone doing that, outside of Sam and Tucker. "Err..." He reached up to rub the back of his head. "...k-kind of? I understood that Skulker was using me to get something, but I don't understand how you come into this. Especially with that... d-door thing, or whatever it was. S-skulker really caught me off guard this time. Seems like he did that for you g-guys, too."

"You shouldn't have been able to open the door, Great One." Firn said. "Only a select few people in the Far Frozen can so much as touch it. If I had known you had already set it..." He shook his head, looking away again. "I don't know all the details behind its creation, but the fact that you where able to get so close to opening it is distressing in and of itself."

"H-how many people can open it?"

"Two."

Danny straightened up slightly, looking over to the yeti. "Two?"

"Yes - me and my father."

"Is there a reason, that it was made so... s-specifically?"

"Yes. It was made to lock away beasts that prowl the Far Frozen - ones that have grown too powerful to be dealt with normally." He said. "It was specifically designed by my ancestors, so that no one would be foolish enough to try and release them again, which was the result of... an unfortunate mistake made, once, long ago." He said, voice pensive.

Danny shifted uncomfortably, both curious and a bit wary of asking about what the yeti really meant by that. "Uh, y-yeah.' He said, turning to smile at the Yeti "Bet you d-didn't expect the whole 'getting dragged in' part, though."

"On the contrary, Great One - I was expecting it when I came with my father to free you."

"Why would..." Danny shook his head, reaching up to massage his temples. "O-okay, I'm confused. I thought Skulker said he only wanted you to open the s-stupid thing. W-why would you expect to be trapped here?"

"I may be able to open it, but it cannot close until the ghost that activated it has been captured. There is a back door, of sorts, connected to one of the old outposts in the mountains, but we must travel there first." He hesitated a moment, before continuing. "It is a... safety measure, you could say."

"A-alright." Danny said, sighing. "So, we need to get going, if we're going to get there anytime s-soon." He cringed, rubbing his arm, careful to avoid his injury. "U-um, you wouldn't happen to have some, magical way of keeping warm out here, would you?"

The yeti blinked, before shrugging the cloth off of his shoulders, carefully draping it over Danny. Danny reached up and wrapped the thick cloth around his body, sighing in relief as he was filled with warmth. "T-thanks, that's loads better." Danny paused a moment, shooting the yeti an embarrassed smile as he scratched the back of his head. "Um, s-sorry - I don't think I know your name."

"You can call me Firn, Great One." Firn said, smiling.

"Nice to m-meet you, Firn." He said, hand stalling at the back of his head, feeling the collar wrapped around his neck. He paused, fingers trailing along the edge, turning to look at the yeti. "Hey, do you know anything about tech stuff? I'd rather get this thing off, if it's at all possible."

Firn frowned. "I know some, Great One." He said, leaning down slightly. "What do you know of it?"

"Not much. I was kinda passed out, when it was put on me." Danny reached up, hesitantly touching the collar. "I can't really see it. How does it look, exactly?"

"Complex." He said, frowning, twisting his head this way and that as he inspected the collar around his neck.

Danny frowned, trying not to fidget under the yeti's inspection. "Can you take it off?"

Firn reached up, gently tapping a claw against the collar. "I don't think I can, Great One." His hand fell away, and he sighed. "Perhaps with a few tools, I could manage to take it apart, but..."

"L-let me guess - it's designed so I really can't take it off, no matter what I do."

"Unfortunately, yes." He said, frowning as his hand fell back to his side. "Any attempt I make to destroy it right now would most likely injure you severely, Great One. We should wait until we have more time, and more delicate tools, so that I can try removing it in pieces instead of destroying it."

Danny huffed. "Alright." He said, shifting the cloth around his shoulders carefully, turning to stare out into the snow, taking a few halting steps. "Then, let's get going."

Danny blinked coming up short as he walked past the yeti, spotting a band of blue fabric in the snow. He rushed forward. "H-hey, my backpack! Thank God - at least now I don't have to worry about-" He yanked it out of the snowbank, and almost fell as it slipped out effortlessly. He looked down curiously, only to see the bottom completely ripped open. The bag was empty. "...Great. Just great." Danny sighed. "Well, at least I don't have to carry around all my textbooks."

"The outpost should have a few supplies. And... forgive me for saying this, Great One, but I don't think you'll survive as you are, currently."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, believe me, I k-know. Do you know where the outpost is?" He asked.

"Not precisely." Firn said, gently lifting him onto his shoulders. Danny had a sudden flash of being five, when his Dad insisted on carrying him around the house like this, and couldn't help his face going even redder. "I know it's somewhere in the mountains, however."

Danny's eyes wandered over to the range of mountains in the distance, and felt his stomach drop out. He sighed, shoulders slumping. "W-well, this is a fun way to end the day."

Sam entered, only to see a ceiling covered in furs and walls littered in taxidermy - glowing taxidermy. Her eyes fell on a half-cured skin, hanging from a drying rack and giving off an overwhelmingly pungent smell. She covered her mouth, gagging.

"Oh man, Skulker really set up shop here." Tucker breathed out, eyes trailing over the work bench, which was littered with machinery. He felt a shiver go up his back as he looked up at the tools littering the walls, more than a few fitting straight into his worst nightmares - the ones involving hospitals. "Remind me to ask Danny how he can handle the idea of being skinned alive without passing out."

"Not funny, Tucker." She said, voice shaky. "Really not funny."

Tucker laughed nervously anyways, deliberately turning away from the nightmare that was Skulker's work station, and stopped. "Hey, is that...?"

"Huh?" Sam turned around, looking to see Tucker looking at something in the corner. She stepped closer, frowning. "What are you looking at?"

Tucker jogged across the wreckage, and leaned down to throw a half-finished taxidermy ghost hide off to the side. "Oh man - Sam, look!"

She was at his side in a second. Her eyes fell on a large, steel and ectoplasm green gun. "Tucker, what are you going on about? It's a gun. Skulker probably has hundreds of them."

Tucker turned and gave her a disbelieving look. "You serious?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow, and Tucker just shook his head. "This isn't just any gun, Sam." He reached forward and lifted the huge gun up with a grunt, lifting it onto his shoulder as he stood. He maneuvered it on his shoulder unsteadily, until he had enough room to tap the small, green logo on the side. "It's a Fenton gun."

Sam's eyes widened. "What? Let me see that!" She grabbed the barrel of the jun and pushed it further out, shoving Tucker's head in a very awkward direction as she leaned in to inspect the logo. It was a simple green 'F', surrounded by a green ghost blob. It was also the personal trademark that went on literally everything Danny's parents made. She looked back across the work bench, looking at it with new eyes.

It wasn't a table of broken down machinery - it was a table covered with the Fenton's ghost hunting equipment. A Fenton Finder, the Ghost Gloves, Wrist Rays, Fenton Phones, Ecto Guns of every size, shape, and model - including the fully-functional Fenton Bazooka. How in the world did Skulker get all this stuff?

Sam groaned loudly. "Oh man, this is not good."

"Do you think any of the other ghosts have taken stuff out of the lab?"

Sam cringed. "I hope not." She sighed, shaking her head and taking a step back from Tucker. "We don't have time to think about this right now - we need to find out where Danny is, before Skulker does anything."

"But we still don't know where he is." Tucker said quickly, resting the bazooka down on the ground at his side. His face twisted up as he thought. "Though, if he's carrying real world items, they might show up on the censors in the Speeder."

"Do we have the boomerang?" Sam asked, voice tight. "I don't feel like going after every ghost that manages to smuggle something in under Walker's nose." She snorted. "There's probably a lot of it, too, if he didn't notice Skulker with all this stuff."

"He looks like he's been tearing them apart." He said, carefully picking up a deconstructed gun, metal casing torn apart. "I wonder why, though...?"

Sam pushed aside screws and parts, scowling as she looked down at the blueprints. "He's probably looking for something."

"Something like what?"

"How am I supposed to know? You're the tech head, you figure out what he's looking at." She motioned over work bench and toward the computer console, off towards the side. "He left this junk here and everything."

"I can't really know that without knowing both what all this stuff does, and really taking the time to look at it. We don't have time for that."

Sam hesitated. "Maybe we could try catching him in the thermos, and come back while he's in there?"

"I dunno - let's figure it out when we track them down." He said. He paused, looking over the computer console a moment. "Although this definitely looks promising."

"Well, if you can't figure out how to get where Danny is off of it, then I don't think it's going to be much help to us."

"Maybe not." He admitted. "But we could probably get a little bit off of his harddrive while we're here." He fished around in his pocket, pulling out his PDA, which he connected to the console. "Just give me a sec, and-"

The PDA lit up, along with the screen on the computer. "Got it."

"How long should it take?"

He sighed, fingers tapping away absentmindedly. "Dunno, probably way too long. I can try checking something specific, if you've got any suggestions."

"Would the keyword 'Whelp' be too obvious?"

"Probably."

"Then I have no clue."

He sighed, "We really don't have time to try searching all through his stuff, just to find Danny. That'll take too long. Do you think he's somewhere out on the island?"

"Probably not. We would have heard something coming in here, with how dramatic they can be."

"Damn." He said, quickly scanning files. "We really should have grabbed the boomerang."

"Wait." He paused, turning to look over to Sam, who was standing over what looked like a blueprint, spread out over the workbench. "I think... I actually got something."

"What is it?"

"Look." She said, grabbing the blueprint around the sides, lifting it up and spreading it out over the top of the computer screen, creasing the paper in odd places and backlighting it in ways that obscured some of the drawings. "It's a map."

Tucker blinked down at it, narrowing his eyes, before making out the markings of an island, with mountains and valleys. Scanning the paper, he realized what he'd thought was a blueprint was actually a map, showing a front view of a floating ghost island, along with a top-down view with lines showing heights and valleys. "Whoa." He said, impressed. "I didn't know Skulker had a thing for map making."

"And this isn't just any old place in the Ghost Zone." Sam said, voice grave. SHe pointed toward the corner of the map, which had scrawled on it 'Far Frozen'. "And there's other notes over there, too. It looks like he's been doing a lot of work on this, and fairly recently. Wanna bet he already knows about how they treat Danny?"

"Yeah, definitely. There's no way he could have missed that, if he had even half a brain."

"Right." She said, rolling up the map. "How about we grab those notes, head off to the Far Frozen, and keep an eye out for some Real World items? Even if we don't find Danny, Frostbite would probably love to help - and he'd definitely want to know about something like this."

"Alright." Tucker said. "That's as good a lead as any. Let's head out."

It had been hours since they had first set out into the snow. The going was slow and plodded, since Danny couldn't exactly fly, and neither could Firn.

He was currently sitting on Firn's shoulders, legs around the yeti's neck and forced to lean forward onto a horned head to keep his balance. It made him feel like a five year old, even if it did keep him from freezing to death. On the upside, at least the yeti wasn't as excitable as his dad - he really didn't want to be dropped into the snow again today.

Danny sighed, glancing around the blank white landscape. They where now getting into the mountains, and the snow they where climbing up was getting steeper and harder to keep a footing in. Firn, thankfully, was rather used to this sort of travel, and didn't have much of a problem, so Danny just held on as tightly as possible, and tried not to stab himself on a horn.

Not that they where climbing actual mountains, really. Danny personally felt that they didn't look like proper mountains, but like like giant piles of snow fashioned into jagged peaks - like something worthy of a really twisted nightmare, or a Tim Burton movie. He also suspected that they where made of only ice and snow, because he hadn't even see a hint of rock his whole time here. But then, this was the Ghost Zone - the place where valleys where made of mouths and time was taken out back and shot. Repeatedly. He'd just have to go with it.

The faux-mountains managed to entertain him for about a minute. However, after an hour or two of sitting and staring at nothing but snow, and not being at the mercy of said snow, he was quickly getting bored.

Danny sagged into the yeti's furry shoulder. "Any idea how long we've been walking?"

There was the low hum of a growl, which he could feel reverberating from the yeti's back. "No, Great One, I do not."

"But its been a few hours, right? Two or three?"

There was a short pause from Firn. "Yes, it has been at least a few hours. Why do you ask?"

Danny shrugged. "Just curious. I have a watch, but this is the Ghost Zone - I can't really count on it being accurate." He sighed. "Besides, I don't really know what time we got here."

"Does it matter, how long we've been walking?"

"Yeah, actually." Danny said, propping his head up with his hand. "I could figure out when my powers will come back, if I knew how long ago Skulker zapped me."

"The affects of the device are only temporary?"

"Well, he did say he'd gotten it from the Plasmius Maximus. The collar probably works the same way," Danny cringed, "unless he enhanced it or something. That would kinda suck."

"That collar of his... if it was on any other ghost, I'm not sure what sort of effect it would have had. I imagine it would not be pleasant." Firn said, voice grave.

Danny reached up, hesitantly touching the collar. "Well, if we can get out of here, I can have Tucker look at it." He thought for a moment, before smiling hopefully. "Actually, we don't even have to do that - we just need to make sure we're out here long enough for Sam and Tucker to track me down."

"Through the door, Great One? I would question that." Firn frowned. "And even then, only as long as the hunter does not reach us first."

Danny cringed. "Yeah, that too. I'm not sure what we'll do if that happens - I can't exactly fight him off right now."

"Do not worry, Great One - I am more that capable of fighting, should it come down to it."

"Err... Thanks." He shook his head, reaching out to scratch the back of his head before quickly catching himself as he shifted around on the yeti's shoulder. "You know, I was expecting Sam and Tucker to show up and save me, not you guys."

"Sam and Tucker...?"

"My friends." He said, wiping a bit of snow off his sleeve. "You know, the people who showed up with me, the first time I was in the Far Frozen?"

Firn frowned. "I believe I remember them. But they wouldn't have known where you where, would they?"

"Hey, we're used to having to track down each other occasionally, and they've definitely done it before." He said, shrugging.

"They would have a hard time tracking you to this place I imagine, Great One, no matter what their skill."

Danny paused, chewing on that thought for a moment. "So..." He started, looking down at the yeti's head to make sure he grabbed Firn's attention. "What exactly is this place?"

"This place, Great One, is where we seal creatures away, when they become too powerful for us to hunt." There was a moment of silence. "It is kept a secret amongst our people. I am unsure exactly how the hunter knew about it's existence, but, since you are here... perhaps it is best you know what lies in wait here."

Danny raised an eyebrow, casting a disbelieving look down at the top of the yeti's head. "What exactly do the people in the Far Frozen hunt?" He shrugged slightly, shifting where he sat. "I mean, I haven't spent enough time there to really know much, but I've never seen anything there other than you guys. What sort of stuff lives there?"

"We hunt creatures made of ice." He said. "They periodically form themselves from the snow. When they grow too strong, they must be tracked down and destroyed before they become bold enough to attack us." Danny could hear a small huff from the yeti below him, something like a laugh. "And to be technical, Great One, this area is still inside of the Far Frozen, sealed off as it is."

"Is it? This place looks an awful lot like it, but..."

"It should - it was originally a part of it." Firn said. "The area was one the furthest from our homes as possible, to avoid damaging our village or trapping our own people."

"You said creatures got sealed away here?"

"Yes, Great One."

"Shouldn't there be something here, then?" Danny said, casting a curious look around them.

Firn didn't respond. Danny frowned, leaning forward slightly, wary of the horns, looking down at the yeti's face. He raised an eyebrow inquisitively. Firn glanced up at him, before sighing. "I don't know, Great One. I haven't been taught much about the creatures left here, beyond the sorts of stories told to badly behaved children."

"…What sort of stories, exactly?"

"You want an example?"

"Sure. It's not like there's much else for me to do up here." He shifted back again, letting his elbows rest gently on the top of Firn's head as he stared out at the expanse of snow, smirking. "I could use a ghost story right about now."

Firn chuckled to himself. "The mothers had a habit of telling the smaller children, that if they acted out of line, that the Abomination would come and drag them back to its den, never to be seen again."

"Kinda mediocre, as far as boogymen go. What was it like, exactly?"

"It was silent." Firn stated, grunting as they came to the edge of a ridge as he pulled himself up. "It could come up behind you, and you would never know - nothing but the sound of wind. And even if you did hear it, it left no tracks, no trace."

"How would you know it was following you, then?"

"You don't, unless it wanted you to. But it likes playing with its pray - it would make only the slightest sound, and when you turned to look, it would vanish. It was known to drive men insane, before finally running them down."

Danny hummed thoughtfully. "Sounds like the sort of thing Sam would love hearing about." He frowned to himself. "It... isn't based off of something that's actually here, is it?"

Firn was silent.

"Firn?"

The yeti continued his treck for a long, silent moment, before sighing. Danny had to hold on as Firn shook his head. "Yes, Great One, It is." He reached up, pulling himself up through the snowy bank. "Its said that it's body is pure ice, and its arms and legs are like knives." Firn explained. "It's also said to be so cold that you will not feel it strike, until you have already been run through. It could also control the snow itself, using it to suck up little yeti, so they would never be able to escape no matter where they ran." He sighed again. "Despite whatever embellishment might have been added to the stories, I fear that all of that is also true. There is a reason we sealed these things here."

Suddenly, there was the sound of snow crunching, coming from behind them. Danny could feel Firn tense under him, head and shoulders turning back to stare behind them, into the snow.

There was a small patch of snow, off to the side, slowly sliding down the hill. Firn narrowed his eyes. Danny frowned, glancing around in the direction Firn was looking in. "You think...?" He asked quietly.

There was a growl, so quiet and low that Danny only knew it had happened from the rumbling through the yeti's back. "Ignore it, Great One." He said, voice barely a whisper.

"...Are you sure?" Danny said. "...I mean, If they move silently, leave no footprints, and vanish before you can turn around, how can you be sure that right there was nothing?" Danny asked quietly, still staring at the small patch of disturbed snow.

Firn was silent, continuing up to the ridge. "They like playing games, Great One." He said, grunting as he pushed himself up the snow. "Let them have their fun - it will buy us more time."

"...You want me to pretend we're not being stalked?"

"I want you to play along, Great One, and I want you to remain calm. If it wanted us to die, we would be dead."

Danny stared at the patch of snow, feeling uneasy as Firn moved farther and farther away. Whatever this thing was, he was currently wishing he still had his ghost powers.

But then, he heard something, off in the distance - a whirring noise. Danny frowned for a second, turning his head to listen, frowning. Then, he groaned. "Firn, heads up." He said, tapping the yeti's head. "I think we've got bigger problems that random ice monsters -"

There was a bang behind them, and Danny whipped his head around only to be thrown from Firn's back as he became encased in a net.

Danny hit the snow, air emptying from his lungs in a whoosh.

The mech landed down hard in the snow in front of them, taking the higher ground. Firn growled, blue energy quickly surrounding his hands.

Skulker growled, extending his arm and letting a cannon fold out of his forearm, which began humming as it powered up. "You really think you could get away that easily whelp?" His eyes narrowed, other arm coming up in front of him, and Danny realized in dawning horror that Skulker was holding the remote to his collar. "You won't even be pelt when I'm done with you."

There was a the loud explosion of gunfire, the ectoblast shooting at him. Danny tensed to dodge, only his neck to explode in electricity. "AUUGH!"

Danny seized, and everything else was a flurry of noise and snow. There was a commotion near him, and he was sent rolling. He heard Skulker yelling, the sound of grinding metal, and ferocious growling.

He opened his eyes, and saw Firn on the mech's back, forcing Skulker off kilter. The yeti had a ice spear, which he jammed into one of the engines on the jet pack, and they where both sent sailing uncontrollably into the snow, Skulker cursing up a storm.

Danny shakily pushed himself up, almost falling back over from the boundary of the net, before managing to sit up. He took two handfuls of net, trying to tear it open, only for it to barely stretch. He felt for his core, but nothing. His powers where gone - again - and his inhuman strength along with it. He heard the two ghosts brawling, noise slightly muffled in the snow, and realized he had to get out before Skulker got free. He hastily felt around for the opening.

There was a yell of surprise from the fight, and Danny saw Firn being thrown back towards him, the yeti and broken spear sent flying. Firn rolled through the snow, then forced a stop and pushed himself back up again, the deep, threatening growl returning as he bared his teeth in the direction of his opponent.

Danny looked, and saw Skulker cresting over the hill. He had a blade extended from his arm, stained green and dripping. Danny felt his stomach sink, glancing down at the snow around Firn, which was dotted green. He needed to get out - now.

He spotted the broken handle of the spear behind Firn, and curled up before pushing off from the snowbank with both feet to roll through the snow. He heard shots - could sense the impacts around him - and forced himself to go faster, contorting his body to change directions. He felt something nick his arm as he dodged again, but didn't flinch.

He slowed to a stop behind Firn, who had already rushed forward to meet Skulker head on once more, a spear of ice in hand. Danny wasted adrenaline filled moments moving closer to the discarded spear, net still tight around him, before he slid it out of the snow with the very tips of his fingers. He pulled it through the net, cursing as he realized only an inch of broken spear tip remained.

There was a loud yell from Firn and Skulker, and Danny growled. "Screw it." He shoved what was left of the blade through the diamond weave of the netting, and yanked it violently against the material with a very satisfying ripping noise. He hacked away at the net, and it fell in tatters around him in the snow.

Danny was on his feet in seconds, and turned to see Firn batting Skulker's wrist knife away with his spear. Skulker scowled fiercely down at the yeti, and grabbing hold of the spear and snapping it, kicking Firn's hand hard enough to send the other half flying. He spun the ice weapon in his hand, tip downward, and smiled viciously.

Danny rushed forward, both hands and feet moved across the snow, pushing his body through it as fast as it would go. He grabbed the broken shaft of the spear, ducked into a roll straight back into the fray.

Danny smacked Skulker's arm with the shaft. The mech yelled in alarm, pushing back, and Danny fought to keep his grip as it slipped down the metal arm. It caught on the chain's compartment, currents of electricity sparking off of the ectoplasm, and Skulker pushed forward.

He lost his footing in the snow and fell back. Skulker lifted the arm and aimed it at Danny. Firn was on his feet, and rammed into the mech. The chain shot out in a blur. He tried to turn intangible, but screamed as it ripped open his side, going straight into the snow.

Firn struck out at the mech. Skulker grabbed the spear, and used it to throw the yeti off balance. Firn stumbled back, and Skulker pointed his arm out and shot a pair of bolas at Firn's legs, sending the yeti to the ground. Firn rolled on his sides, bringing the spear up in the spin and straight into Skulker's side.

The blade dented the ribs, caught in a seam, and tore open the metal housing on the chest in a shower of sparks. Skulker growled, throwing his weight into wrenching the spear from the yeti's hold, shooting another set of bolo's to ensnare the growling yeti's hands.

Finally, he turned back towards Danny. "You." Skulker hissed. "You won't live to see the human world again. Not if I have anything to say about it."

Danny couldn't think, it was a flurry of red and snow. He felt himself being thrown back, but could barely feel it. he could hear yelling and fighting, muffled in a sea of cold white. He was dizzy with pain, and the cold of the snow was burning into side, wet and slick against his skin.

Something pulled him from the snow. Large hands, oddly warm, burning through the haze in his mind and the numbness overtaking his body. He tried moving away. "L-lego..." The words where a slurry in his mouth.

"Great One." Danny opened his eyes, seeing the large form of the yeti kneeling over him. "You're injured - can you hear me? You must stay awake."

Danny blinked his eyes open. The snow around him wasn't quite as white it should have been, a mess of yellows and reds and glowing greens. Had Skulker managed to break open one of his parent's weapons when he shot him? But he wasn't carrying any of his parents weapons...

A large hand was on his chest, pushing him onto his back. Then it was pressing into his cold, wet side, and Danny was hissing in pain as a warm palm was pressed hard into his skin. There was a bright pink glow. "Don't worry, Great One. This will take a moment. You can rest soon."

Danny could feel the energy from the hand, pressing down and passing into the skin of his side as a soft numbing tingle. He breathed out in relief as the pain faded, relaxing back into the snow and letting the numb feeling overtake him as he closed his eyes.