Danny cursed silently under his breath as he scanned the wall of Walkers goons, all holding up enormous shields about the same length as their bodies. They had appeared out of nowhere three seconds after Danny's ghost sense had gone off and boxed them in just as quickly, sliding into the space behind them before the halfa could tell his family and classmates to backtrack.
"Well, well, well," the familiar deep voice penetrated the silence as he appeared at the front of the crowd, a slight smile on his face as he focused on the dark-haired teen, "nice of you to drop in punk."
"Walker," Danny spat.
"Hmmm, real world items, humans in the Ghost Zone, trespassing and harboring a fugitive. All against the rules. I'd say a thousand years per human and another two added to your already impressive total."
Danny took a protective step in front of the group, still glaring at the ghost warden, "They don't have anything to do with this Walker, if you want anyone take me."
Both Jack and Maddie immediately started to protest but were silenced when Danny shot them a quick look over his shoulder. He turned back to find the six foot specter chuckling. "Didn't you just hear me kid? Their trespassing and in possession of illegal contraband, on top of those already grievous offenses you're here…." The guards surrounding them shifted a little closer, making the halfa tense slightly. "….which means that there's no way any of you are gonna' getting away from me."
At that moment the guards descended upon them. The A-listers screamed while Jack, Maddie, and Valarie went for their weapons. Mr. Lancer cried out what sounded like a fractured exclamation of "War of the Worlds!"
Danny dropped into a crouch and spinning hook kicked the closest ghost, sending him and about five more specters flying via the domino effect before turning and kicking another in the chest. A baton came swinging at the back of his head and he grabbed the assailant's wrist, heaving the guard over his head and sending him tumbling into another three, all of which collapsed in a heap on the ground.
A sudden shriek had him turning to see that one of the guards had grabbed Paulina. Breaking away from the pack that had surrounded him Danny made to run for her and got blindsided by a baton to the back of his skull. Grunting in pain the half-ghost slid away just as another strike came down and he struggled to his feet, punching the specter in the face before swinging back around to try and save the A-list drama queen.
The moment he turned away there was another strike to the back of his head. This one had him face planting into the ground. Before he could jump up and retaliate a half dozen ghost bodies dog piled him, roughly yanking his wrists behind his back and sitting on his legs to make sure that they were immobile. Deep laughter roared in his ears as Walker knelt down in front of him, "Looks like you'll be joining me in my prison after all ghost boy."
"Thought you'd already made Amity my prison," Danny growled out as he was hauled to his feet.
"That was before you decided to enter my domain again punk, and they-" Walker jerked his thumb at the others, who had also been captured and were being led away by the rest of the guards "-will be serving out their sentences with you."
As Danny opened his mouth to protest a sharp blow landed at the base of his skull and the world instantly turned black.
TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC
When Valarie woke up she discovered that she was in some kind of cage with electric bars surrounding the perimeter. They all glowed with a strange green energy that reminded her vaguely of Phantom's energy blasts.
The ghost huntress tentatively stood, glancing around to find all her classmates, teacher, and the Fenton parents also in the cage. None of them had yet to wake, though they all looked unharmed. Shaking her head Valarie tried to recall what exactly had happened and got flashes of a wall of ghost police wearing riot gear.
'That's right we were walking and suddenly got surrounded…I remember shooting several of them before…'
Feeling around through her thick black locks she winced when she found the bump and felt her frown turn into a scowl. 'Those filthy spooks knocked me out!'
She instinctively reached for one of her weapons, ready to reduce the first ectoplasmic object she saw to dust, and her hand closed on air. Blinking in confusion she glanced down to realize that her backpack – and therefore her ghost hunting equipment – was gone, making her nearly defenseless at the hands of any ghost that decided to pick a fight with her.
"Oh great," she grumbled, "stuck out in the Ghost Zone without any weapons, how wonderful…"
A groan suddenly sounded off to her right and she turned to see Mrs. Fenton sitting up from where she was laying, glancing around in a daze for a moment before standing. "What happened?" the elder ghost huntress asked as Valarie moved to help her, keeping a gentle hand on her elbow to make certain that she wouldn't collapse.
"Looks like we've been captured," Valarie answered.
"Is everyone alright?"
"Looks like they're all here, unconscious but unharmed-"
Valarie's brows drew together as her eyes once more swept over the unconscious bodies, noticing that one was in fact missing. "Danny" she whispered, "he's not here…"
"What!" Maddie exclaimed, breaking away from the teen ghost huntress's grip to survey the room. Her violet eyes were wide in alarm as she confirmed that the girl was right and her son was nowhere to be found.
"Where is he?" She asked as she continued turning, almost like she expected him to be hiding in one of the corners of their prison.
Valarie could only shrug apologetically, "I just woke up a few seconds ago…"
Maddie let out an exasperated sigh and walked quickly to where her husband was laying, ignoring his mutterings about ghosts in favor of shaking him. "Jack wake up!" she said, shaking him a bit harder, "Danny's missing."
The Fenton father's eyes cracked open and he slowly sat up, focusing on his wife. "Maddie? What happened?"
"We got captured by those ghost police, everyone's here but Danny, we've got to find him and-"
"I wouldn't bet on it if I were you."
All three ghost hunters turned to face one of the guards, who was smirking at them from the other side of the bars. Maddie's eyes narrowed, "And why is that?"
"He's getting some…special attention from Walker, he is a noted convict after all and he needs to be reeducated."
Both Jack and Maddie seemed angered by the comment but Valerie, barely reigning in her own anger, said: "What do you mean 'noted convict'?"
The ghost guard laughed, "The boy needs to serve time for two counts of bringing unauthorized human contraband into the Ghost Zone, two counts of bringing unauthorized humans into the Ghost zone, aiding in the escape of a prisoner, causing a disturbance within the prison and releasing convicts as well as escaping himself. He really has a lot to answer for actually."
By now Lancer and half the A-listers had woken and were staring incredulously at the guard as he spoke, hardly believing that Danny Fenton - Casper's resident freak and nerd – could wrack up such an extensive record. Lancer's surprise was slightly softened after everything he'd seen upon entering the Ghost Zone and he found himself thinking, only half-jokingly, that Danny had a worse track record in the ghost world then he did in theirs.
Maddie and Jack were as surprised as they looked, slightly thrown at the image of their son being involved with more than just the mechanical ghost they'd run into earlier despite the fact that they should have expected as much. Valarie was equally as surprised.
The silence was suddenly broken by a scream that was cut off just as abruptly, almost like someone had caught it before it was fully formed. The guards smirk widened, "Looks like Walker has started the punishment."
TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCT
Danny had woken up strapped to a table with glowing green restraints around his wrists and ankles. He could feel the strange vibration of energy flowing through them and had tried using his humanity to phase through the bonds only to receive a sudden shock. A scream started to tear through his throat but he stopped it short, forcing his body to relax and feeling slightly relieved when the electronic charge died down.
"Good try punk," the half-ghost glanced to his left to see Walker appear, "but those restraints are charged with live ecto-electricity, I wouldn't recommend trying to break them as either a human or ghost."
A guard appeared beside Walker and left the metal table he'd been wheeling beside the warden, who didn't even acknowledge him as he quickly saluted and flew back out the door. Danny narrowed his eyes at the specter as he walked calmly over to the table and plucked a scalpel from its metallic surface, making a show of running his gloved hand over the blade before holding it directly in front of the halfa's pupil, so close that it could have sliced off an eyelash if Danny had blinked.
"I'm not gonna beat around the bush ghost boy; I owe you for releasing all my prisoners. While it was satisfying to make your hometown your own prison it never did replace the pleasure of making you pay personally."
With a cruel smirk Walker suddenly whipped the blade toward his exposed arm, cutting a shallow wound into the exposed flesh. Danny didn't even flinch, he'd had worse and Walker looked a bit angry that his intimidation tactic hadn't worked. The half-ghost smirked mockingly at the warden and received a hard backhand to the face in return, making his head snap to the side and the restraints crackle at the movement.
Walker chuckled, "Did I forget to mention that any movement on your part sets these babies off?"
"Might've left that part out…" Danny muttered as he turned to face the warden, a noticeable line of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
A fist to his gut made the halfa winch and twitch his arms in an instinctual need to defend himself, which only set off the electricity in the restraints. After several minutes of merely smacking the ghost boy senseless Walker took a step back and cranked up the restraints, making electricity crackle through them without him moving. Danny gritted his teeth to silence the cry that built up in his throat as his body recoiled from the energy pumping through his veins. Walker watched with a satisfied smirk on his face as the halfa convulsed and thrashed, feeling rather accomplished at getting true physical revenge on his worst prisoner.
Danny's eyes suddenly snapped open, burning a bright green as a blue ring appeared around his waist and split into two halves that traveled in opposing directions up and down the teenager's body. Blue jeans, tennis shoes and white T-shirt changed into a white and black jumpsuit while his black hair became a startling white.
Both his gloved hands lit up green and he screamed as they flared, breaking the restraints around his wrists. Turning his attention to Walker the halfa teen angled his palms toward him and let loose another energy beam, which hit the specter in the center of the chest and sent him flying back into the wall.
A guard burst through the door and the warden started shouting for him to shoot while Phantom took out the restraints on his ankles and stumbled away from the vertical table, grabbing the rolling table for balance as the guard took aim. The ghost boy fired another energy blast, which knocked the guard back into Walker. The warden had been in the process of getting up when the guard hit him and ended up flat on his back with the guard on top of him.
Phantom took the opportunity to nail them with an ice blast, which froze both ghosts solid. In the aftermath of the battle the halfa took a few moments to regain his bearings before walking to the door and closing it tightly behind him. Hopefully nobody would notice that he was missing for quite a while but he melted the door handle with an ecto-blast just in case.
With that done Phantom glanced back and forth down both ends of the hallway, noticing that no one was around and deciding to take the left path. It dropped off into a T-shaped hallway and the halfa cautiously glanced down both corridors before confirming that they were empty and, once again, choosing the left path. It wasn't long until he found himself in the familiar block of cells that he'd been imprisoned in the last time he'd been there. The majority of the cells were empty, which made him guess that it was lunch time.
'Perfect' he thought gratefully, walking around the corner and making his way past the rows and rows of empty bars toward the guard tower. It was placed at the center of the room, evidentially Walker had made extensive renovations since the last time he was here, and Phantom kept a careful eye on the large windows as well as the empty hallways, expecting a guard to suddenly appear and sound the alarm.
Just as Phantom was beginning to believe that lady luck had finally decided to cut him some slack a group of five guards suddenly rounded the corner. The easy conversation that they'd been having ceased immediately and a few silent seconds later they whipped out their weapons shouting out the standard "Freeze and put your hands in the air-"
Phantom hadn't let them finish. He shot a volley of ecto-energy blasts, which some blocked with counter fire while others dove back around the corner for cover. Those that hadn't been smart enough to do the latter were quickly downed by the halfa and he hastily erected an ecto-energy shield to protect himself from the return fire.
He whispered a curse under his breath and glanced up at the guard station, watching as the four guards that had previously been out of view came rushing to see the commotion. One of them must've hit the alarm because a loud shriek echoed through the prison, red lights flashing to alert all the guards in the building that a prisoner was attempting to escape.
Ditching the ecto-energy shield Phantom made a beeline for the guard station, dodging the ecto-fire peppering the ground behind him as he ran. The halfa teen threw the door open and bolted up the stairs, rushing into the room and dropping to the ground as three ghosts turned their weapons on him. Phantom managed to take one out with a well-aimed ecto-energy blast to the chin, which sent the ghoul reeling back into one of the control panels, effectively disrupting whatever the forth ghost had been typing. The other two kept firing while Phantom ran around the room, eventually managing to get close enough to lunge at one of the guards and tackle him to the ground. Using the guard as a shield the ghost teen snagged his weapon and fired, a bit surprised when a green beam of energy shot out and nailed one of the other's in the chest, sending him spiraling across the room and into the remaining guard, who had abandoned the computer and continued firing even after Phantom had tackled his co-worker.
A quick blast to the back of the guard he was holding hostage was enough to knock the ghoul unconscious.
Unfortunately the guard he'd knocked down earlier had gotten to his feet again and managed to nail the halfa teen in the shoulder with his weapon before the ghost boy had a chance to dodge. The shot burnt through his suit, making the white haired teen hiss painfully before managing to return fire. Once he was down Phantom made a grab for another weapon, one that looked similar but wasn't quite the same as the one that he'd used on the earlier guard, and aimed it at the still-standing ghost. One shot later and the guard was restrained with a familiar cord of green energy. Using the same weapon the half-ghost restrained the other three, who looked unconscious but he wasn't taking any chances, before letting a sigh escape his parted lips.
"What did Walker change his training style or something?" Phantom muttered, "These guys were a lot weaker last time…weapons are different too."
Putting that thought aside for later the halfa rushed to close the door and melt the handle before making his way over to the controls. He glanced around at the complicated assortment of switches and dials, briefly wondering why it was that he'd thought it would be a good idea to come here before he noticed the security cameras. He let out a relieved breath when he saw that everyone was alright or at least that they looked alright. Walker had put them all in a lone room with electrified bars around the cage that they were trapped in; he really wasn't taking any chances with humans escaping this time.
Briefly glancing at the map of the prison posted below the security cameras Phantom almost smacked himself. 'I would have found them if I'd only gone right instead of left!' Feeling slightly exasperated Phantom was about to rush back down the stairs when a thought occurred to him, walking back inside the halfa switched off the security system. The flashing red lights and earsplitting alarm shut off and with another flick of a few dozen switches all the prison doors flew open, releasing the few remaining prisoners to tangle with the guards who had rushed to respond to the alarm while Phantom smashed out one of the observation windows and backtracked.
Once he made it to his destination he peered around the corner and found a total of five guards standing around the cage. A few well-aimed ecto-energy blasts took out two but the remaining three rushed to respond, shooting at the corridor to try and nail whoever had taken down their comrades. Phantom stepped into their line of fire and dodged to the side, rushing the closest ghost. Dipping under the muzzle of the gun Phantom punched the guard in the jaw, sending him spiraling back into the electrified bars of the cage. The sickening sizzle that resulted was completely drowned out as the guard screamed and slumped to the floor.
The remaining two charged at the ghost boy, one lunged as if trying to hit the teen with the base of his weapon but Phantom sidestepped and grabbed it, wrenching it out of the guards grip before hitting him in the gut with it. The guard doubled over in pain and clutched his stomach, giving the white haired ghost a chance to nail him in the back of the head with his own weapon. The final guard had pulled short on his charge and gone back to shooting. Phantom danced away, returning fire with his own weapon. The halfa's shots were much more haphazard than the guards, the pain in his arm was making it difficult to aim correctly, and it wasn't long until the guard shot the weapon from his hands. Phantom hastily created an ecto-energy shield and the guard's ammo pelted the swirling green surface.
Thinking quickly Phantom dropped to the ground and rolled away, pulling the restraint device that he'd taken from the guard tower out of his belt and firing as he slid to his feet. The guard had seen the shot coming too late and hadn't been able to dodge as the glowing green cord wrapped around him, making him fall to the ground with an angry grunt. Phantom restrained the other four and twirled the weapon between his fingers smugly, flashing the guards a contented smirk.
"No need to get up fellas, don't worry I've got it."
Pressing a rather large and obvious button near the door the electric bars dropped. "Follow me," Phantom called, motioning for them to come with him as he ran out into the corridor.
"Why should we follow you?" Maddie asked.
Phantom's eyes narrowed in annoyance as he turned back to her, "Because I'm your best and only chance of getting out of here, now stuff your ghost prejudice to the back of the closet for now and stay behind me."
The ghost huntress looked startled and blinked twice before letting a scowl fall into place, "What about my son?"
Phantom's eyes seemed to soften at that, "He's already out, escaped with a friend of mine."
Without any more explanation he turned and started fast-walking around corners, everyone else followed after him and Maddie hastily called out, "Is he alright? Hurt? The guard said-"
"Talk later, escape now," Phantom responded, not breaking stride as he led them out of the ghost prison.
TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC
They were walking down a deserted corridor when they came upon a heavy door built into the wall. It wasn't the door that made Phantom stop but the person that he saw sitting in the cell. "Wulf!" he exclaimed, rushing forward and clutching the bars in both hands. The hairy wolf-like ghost's head snapped up at the sound of his name and a fanged grin appeared on his face. "Mia amiko!" he called, rushing to the bars.
"Walker kaptis vin denove?" Walker caught you again? Phantom asked in Esperanto.
The wolf-ghost nodded, "Kiam mi revenis al la Fantomo Zono monatojn post mia lasta vidis vin." When I returned to the Ghost Zone months after I last saw you.
"Nu, ne maltrankviliĝu, mi gonna eliru el tie." Well don't worry, I'm gonna get you out of here.
Phantom stepped back and shot out the lock, being tackled by Wulf the moment he threw the door open. The wolf ghost's tongue came out to lap at his friend's face and Phantom laughed lightly at the contact.
"Feliĉa vidi vin Wulf sed ni bezonos akiri movanta, mi ne certas kiel longe ĝi estos ĝis Walker kaj liaj gardistoj venis post ni." Happy to see you too Wulf but we need to get moving, I'm not sure how long it'll be until Walker and his guards come after us.
When he managed to get the affectionate creature off him and rise to a standing position Phantom noticed that everyone was glancing between him and Wulf, looking apprehensive at the sudden appearance of the odd ghost.
"I'll introduce you later, for now we've gotta' go."
Turning again Phantom led them all out of the Prison. At one point they met up with a pack of prisoners who were also making for the exit. Apparently the riot had escalated just as Danny had hoped it would. Once they reached the doors Phantom stopped and faced the prison.
"Everyone stay back!" he shouted, "Time to bring this straw house tumbling down."
He inhaled a deep gulp of air and let it out as a ghostly wail. The sound waves fractured the walls and made them collapse in on themselves, tearing the entire structure down in a matter of seconds. When the attack died down Phantom slumped, breathing raggedly and placing his hands on his knees to try and catch his breath.
"Let's…see you…rebuild that…Walker," he said between pants, turning back to his stunned classmates and parents.
"We should keep moving," Phantom said, brushing past them to continue toward the edge of the island that Walker's prison rested on. "Everyone stand on the edge, I'll use it to help get you back on the path."
The A-listers were quick to follow his instructions, all shock gone in favor of ogling their favorite hero. Lancer was slightly more hesitant but did as was asked of him anyway, which led Mikey to quickly follow as well though he looked nervous. The Fenton's and Valarie took a bit more prompting, especially when they realized that they would be riding with a ghost wolf. But eventually they all did as he asked and one well-placed ecto-energy blast later they were floating toward the path, exiting their makeshift transport once Phantom deemed that it was safely moored.
Once they were back on the path Phantom turned to face them and found himself almost nose to nose with a furious Maddie Fenton.
"Where is my son?" She demanded, clutching the Fenton saber threateningly in her left hand.
Phantom took a step back holding both hands out passively, "Already home, I had a friend of mine take him there while I came for you guys."
"A friend of yours? A ghost friend? How do we know that you and your so called friend haven't kidnapped him or worse killed-"
"I wouldn't do that," Phantom interrupted her, "I promise you that your son is safe and if you want to see him soon I suggest that we get going."
Maddie worked her jaw angrily, drawing up a blank when she tried to think of a reply. Luckily Valarie did it for her. "Why should we follow you!" she shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him, "You're a ghost, you could be lying to us trying to lure us into a false sense of security so you can-"
"-perform some kind of dastardly ghostly act after rescuing you from Walker's prison at the risk of my own neck? Because that makes so much sense," Phantom interjected with a roll of his eyes.
This seemed to throw the ghost hunting teenager for a moment, though a quick glance at Wulf had her jabbing a finger in his direction, "You were probably just there to rescue him!"
Phantom glanced at Wulf, who was looking pretty confused with the entire situation.
"I had no idea Wulf was in there when I went in," Phantom said with a shrug.
"…Wulf?" Mikey questioned tentatively from behind Valarie.
Phantom suddenly brightened, "Ah that's right I haven't introduced you. Everyone this is my friend Wulf."
"Wulf tiuj estas miaj amikoj de la homa mondo." Wulf these are my friends from the human world.
The wolf ghost blinked in understanding but didn't seem very forthcoming as far as a greeting was concerned, though he did try and smile. It came out as a grimace and half the people who received it took a wary step back.
"…What is that language you two keep speaking?" Maddie asked after brief hesitation, not taking her eyes off Wulf.
Phantom rubbed the back of his neck, "Esperanto, old 18th century language that isn't used much anymore. It's the only language Wulf can speak."
Silence reigned after that and Phantom cleared his throat awkwardly before turning to the path, "Anyway we should probably keep moving…follow me."
TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCT
"So tell me again why we're bringing that…ghost with us?" Maddie asked, eyeing Wulf as he walked beside Phantom on the path.
"We need to get the collar around his neck off and the only person I know that can do that is in the Far Frozen."
"Uh-huh" she replied, "And what exactly is this 'Far Frozen' place anyway? I heard Danny talking about it too but he never explained it."
Everyone had been keenly tuned into the conversation, wondering the same things themselves but not having the courage to ask. Phantom answered without turning around, "It's the home of a race of ghost yeti's with advanced technology. Their medicine is top of the notch and they should have a few vehicles that you can use to get home."
Nobody was in the least bit surprised to hear this, although a few people did pale at the mention of yeti ghosts. Another few minutes of silence ensued before Paulina made her way to the front of the group and tapped on Phantom's shoulder, he turned to face her.
"Nice to finally get to talk to you again Phantom," she said, batting her eyelashes in a seductive way designed to make any male melt at her feet, "Maybe we could meet up after all this is over and…hang out?"
Valarie watched the spectacle with barely contained nausea while Lancer and a few of the other A-listers rolled their eyes. Pretty much everyone but the Fenton's had seen this coming and the ghost hunting couple were getting ready to intervene – no innocent teen is gonna get hypnotized by ectoplasmic scum on their watches! – When Phantom suddenly gave her a forced looking smile. "Uh…nice of you to ask but I'm afraid that I'm too…busy for things like that."
With that he faced front again, leaving a dumbstruck Paulina and a rather amused bunch of teenagers. Even Valarie couldn't help but crack a smile at the impressive rejection.
TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC
Sam tapped her foot impatiently as they all loaded onto one of Pandora's larger carriages (one that was probably designed to carry something a lot bigger than they were) anxiously staring at the swirling green sky of the Ghost Zone as if it were somehow the cause of all this. In a way it was.
Tucker walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, making her turn to face him. "Everyone's all loaded up, any word?"
She shook her head, scowl deepening. They hadn't heard anything from Danny for a while now and were getting increasingly worried. He would never forget to check in with them if he could help it.
"I'm sure he's alright, he always is," Tuck reassured, "probably already at the Far Frozen wondering why we haven't shown up yet."
"He would have shown up after us no matter what and they were heading past Walker's prison, what if they got caught? It's actually more than likely that crazy warden has them and after what he did to Danny last time who knows what-"
"Sam," Tucker said sternly, "this is Danny we're talking about, he's can take care of himself."
The Goth teen snorted at that, giving her techno geek friend a half smile, "Probably not as well as he should."
Tucker had to agree with that one and chuckled lightly at the joke before steering her toward the carriage. Pandora was standing beside it waiting for them both to board. The two friends stopped in front of her before they got on, thanking her once more for her help.
"No trouble at all" she replied, "Give my regards to Frostbite and Danny when you see them and make sure to come back for an extensive visit just like you promised."
They smiled at the Greek ghost and agreed before getting on the royally decorated carriage. Pandora had apparently selected her four best horses – black stallions with burning red eyes and black flames in place of a mane and tail – for the ride. The inside surface of the chariot looked to be made of wood but was soft to the touch while the outside was metal plated gold. Golden reigns and bridles attached the horses to the vehicle, the reigns dangling uselessly at the crest of the cart several feet above their heads. Apparently Pandora trusted her horses to navigate themselves, though with the threat of her retribution none of them probably would have strayed regardless.
The regal vehicle lurched as it disconnected from the edge of Pandora's acropolis and everyone waved until the four armed giant was a speck in the distance.
"Man," Trev said, finally sliding down to a sitting position, "this is one field trip I'll never forget."
"You're telling me," Kate giggled as she slid down to sit next to him, "this is the best field trip I've ever been on!"
"Same here," Aless replied, leaning against the wall, "and to think I was considering not coming."
Rory raised an eyebrow at that, "Are you nuts? Who wouldn't want to come to the Ghost Zone?"
Aless snorted, "Some would tell you that nobody who wanted to keep breathing would come here, but after seeing the place I'd have to say that my opinion has changed."
"Especially after meeting Pandora," Kate added, "after seeing her I'm not as afraid of ghosts as I was before."
"Speak for yourself," Trev said pretending to shiver.
They all laughed at that. Aless gently shoved Trev, who grinned back at her before kicking at her foot. She danced out of the way and vowed vengeance later, a challenge he met with a very mature: "Bring it on Dorothy."
TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC
They had been traveling for a grand total of ten minutes when a portal suddenly opened above them and a person fell through, landing with an 'oomph!' dead smack in the center of the carriage. Aless had shoved Rory and Kate behind her an instant later, training the ecto-pistol on the figure while everyone else froze.
"That hurt…" the girl said, rising onto her feet while she rubbed the bump forming on her head.
"Wait a minute…Danielle?" Sam said.
The girl's head snapped in the direction she'd heard her name and she grinned widely, shooting up from where she'd fallen to float in front of the Goth teen. "Sam! It's so good to see you again! You too Tucker" she added when she noticed him standing to Sam's left.
Dani glanced around a bit before turning her attention back to the two friends, "Where's Danny?"
Sam and Tuck grew silent a moment before they pulled the ghost girl to the side, motioning for everyone else to stay back as the spoke to the little girl in hushed whispers, explaining how they came to be there and everything that had happened so far.
"So you're supposed to be meeting him in the Far Frozen but he's not picking up when you call?"
Tucker nodded, "Exactly."
Dani seemed to mull over that a moment before smiling, "I wouldn't be too worried. Danny's resourceful I doubt he's found any trouble he couldn't handle or he'd have found a way to contact you."
The confidence in her tone helped to lessen their worry if only slightly but they still shared a nervous glance a moment before nodding.
"On another note I think that I'll stick with you guys, as you probably just saw I'm here because I got a little too close to a natural portal. I gotta' get out and keep going with my personal world tour, and I haven't seen Danny in a while it would be nice to talk to him again."
Tucker nodded, "It would also be a big help to have you here, give us some backup with any ghosts that might attack and all."
As if on cue the Box Ghost suddenly appeared at the open end of the carriage, screaming "BEWARE!" and getting a few words into his usual monologue before Dani sent him flying with a casually tossed ecto-blast.
"What, no rolled up newspaper this time?" Rory asked making everyone dissolve into fits of uncontrollable laughter as they remembered the day that Lancer had fended off the Box Ghost with a rolled up copy of Amity Today when the shoebox flinging felon had attempted to disrupt his English class.
TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC
Adrenaline from the prison break faded fast and it wasn't long before people started complaining again, most notably Paulina and Cassie (with Star, Dash and Kwan throwing the occasional quip though they were less rude then they had been when Danny Fenton was leading). But even with all that complaining Phantom didn't slow down for hours, stopping only once for a brief five minute break during which he relieved Mr. Fenton of carrying the still-injured Mikey, much to the older man's hesitation.
At the moment they'd stopped for the night and nearly everyone had collapsed the instant they'd sat down. Even Wulf had fallen asleep rather quickly, curled up in a tight ball at the fringes of the group closest to where Phantom was standing watch. The ghost teen hadn't gotten much rest in the past two days (being knocked out by Walker and his goons didn't count) and wanted nothing more than to lay down and let sleep claim him but if he did that there would be no one to stand guard.
Phantom was confident that he could retain his ghost form while he slept, three years of practice had helped him with that. But he didn't want to tempt whatever fate might await him when he woke up, who knows what his mom is carrying in that utility belt after all. An involuntary shiver went up his spine as examination tables and high-tech ghost dissection equipment came to mind. Wouldn't put it past them. The ghost hero still couldn't quite figure out why his mother's utility belt had been the only thing Walker failed to confiscate.
It was near four in the morning, according to Mr. Lancer's watch, when Phantom heard the roar of a vehicle in the distance. Swearing under his breath the ghost teen sounded the alarm, shouting as loud as he dared for them all to wake up. Maddie, Jack, Valarie, Lancer, and Mikey got up right away while the others had to be poked and prodded a bit more before they could be convinced to move.
The white haired teen had just positioned himself in front of the still half-asleep group when the motorcycle pulled up in front of them, the rider revving the engine in greeting. Phantom visibly relaxed when a grey-faced teen peered over the handlebars with a half smirk plastered on his face. The halfa started walking toward the bike as the rider dismounted and met him halfway.
"Good to see you Johnny, been a while."
"Not too long I think…at least not since my last spat with Kitty."
"So I guess that means you aren't here to ask for advice like last time. Hopefully not in the mood for a friendly sparring match either?" Phantom asked.
The biker seemed to think about it for a moment, eyeing Phantom up and down before finally saying: "Naw I don't think so. Looks like you've been to Pariah's Keep and back today, wanna' spill?"
Phantom rubbed the back of his neck before running his hand roughly through his pearly locks, a sigh falling from his lips. "Met up with Skulker two days ago, Walker yesterday, neither of them were very nice."
Johnny let out a low whistle and leaned against his bike, "That's rough man, I feel for you. To be honest Walker's kinda been on the warpath since you kicked his butt last time. As for Skulker…"
"Him and Ember at it again?"
Johnny nodded, "Kitty was tellin' me about it, apparently she said he wasn't that great of a hunter again. Something about him going ballistic and searching his entire island just to find the TV remote and it being between the cushions of the couch…"
Phantom groaned, "He attacked me for that?"
"You know how it is man; I personally don't think he can help himself."
"No kidding."
"Where's your girl and that nerd by the way? Rare to see you without em'."
Phantom's glowing emerald eyes flicked back to his group for a moment before returning to Johnny, "Got separated," he replied trying to soften is tone so that the rest of the group couldn't hear, "not exactly under ideal circumstances right now Johnny."
"I should say so, but you at least have some pretty things to look at while you're hoofing it," Johnny replied, making a point of looking over Phantom's shoulder to check out the ladies of the group.
The halfa frowned, "Keep talking like that and Kitty's gonna skin you alive."
"Like she'll ever find out."
"She always finds out Johnny, remember the last time she found out?"
The biker cringed as he remembered the particularly horrible incident, "Point taken and thanks for the advice you gave me, really helped out."
"Yea, no problem and sorry to cut the conversation short but we've gotta' get moving. Nice talking to you though, say hi to Kitty for me."
Johnny smiled and hopped back onto his bike, "No problem dude, have fun gettin' outta the Zone in one piece."
With that the ghost rider revved his bike one more time before taking off, nearly splattering Dash and Kwan across the pavement as he flew past them.
"Wasn't that Jazz's old boyfriend?" Jack inquired.
"Now that you mention it he did look like him didn't he?" Maddie replied, narrowing her eyes at the disappearing figure already a mere speck in the distance.
"I'm sure it's just a coincidence," Phantom said, already several steps down the path with Wulf trailing behind him.
TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC
The carriage came to a stop at the entrance to the Far Frozen. One look at the mouth of the cave, which spanned about a hundred feet both vertically and horizontally, and the smiles disappeared from everyone's faces. They all hesitated to leave the carriage but ended up doing it anyway. Kate was the last one off and it took considerable prompting to get her to step down from the luxurious wooden ride into the knee-high snow but she managed it. The instant that her weight disappeared from the vehicle the horses shot off back toward Pandora's acropolis. Everyone watched as they vanished into the swirling green of the Ghost Zone.
"So how far exactly do we have to walk?" Trev asked, eyeing the snow covered ground that spanned before them in a slow descent that disappeared into darkness further down.
"A while," Tuck answered, "last time we were here we had the Speeder so I'm not sure how long it'll take…"
"Well that's just great," Trev said, sounding exasperated, "what are we gonna do about freezing to death?"
"Probably lose a few toes but I think we can make it," Aless called out. She was standing furthest into the cave, next to Rory and Nathan who both shot her strange looks. Nobody could tell if she was kidding.
"I kinda like my feet in tact thanks," Rory responded.
"That's also pretty easy for you to say Dorothy considering that you've got those heavy boots and jacket," Trev piped up.
Aless lifted her feet from the snow, revealing her ankle-high leather hiking boots while fingering her thin jean jacket.
"Other than being waterproof these aren't much better at keeping out the cold than your tennis shoes," She replied, staring pointedly at where Trev's khaki's disappeared into the snow. The hazel eyed jock glared at her in return while she merely stared back, looking as expressionless as ever.
"I think that we should get going," Tucker quickly intervened, taking everyone's attention away from the developing conflict, "Dani can go on ahead and talk to Frostbite. He'll send some shuttles to come and get us but it'd probably be best to cover some distance and do something useful while we wait for them."
Sam quickly agreed and the others reluctantly followed their guides, beginning the long trek toward the heart of the Far Frozen. Dani disappeared into the distance in under a minute, which was both a relief and a new form of concern for the members of the weary group.
Rory had managed to recover a bit of stamina and no longer needed to rely on Lex and Nathan to walk though he did stumble occasionally on a random piece of ice or rock hidden under the snow. Nathan, being as clumsy as he is, tripped over considerably more unseen obstacles than Rory and everyone else combined. At one point Aless took it upon herself to walk in front of him out of concern for him falling and further injuring his broken hand.
Sam and Tuck had the easiest time, being used to maneuvering through the thick snow that comes almost standard in the Far Frozen. The Goth teen still had the advantage with her thick combat boots and excellent physical condition though. About half an hour into their hike Kate started to slow down. She had long since found it necessary to walk behind Trev to try and keep from mashing her toes against anything. Of the members of the group she was wearing the lightest footwear, a pair of bubblegum pink ballet flats and black tights that were predictably soaked through from the cold.
"Sam can we take a quick break?" Aless suddenly asked.
"We need to cover as much ground as possible, can't really afford to stop."
"Just for a minute," she insisted.
The Goth bit down lightly on her lip as she stared at the blonde, who looked back earnestly. Given that she hadn't complained for the duration of the trip Sam found herself nodding and Aless promptly thanked her before stopping Nathan and making her way back to Kate, who was shivering violently where she stood behind Trev.
"Sit down, Aless said, spreading her jacket on the snow before pushing the shivering girl down and lifting her soaked legs. Without any warning Aless took off the ballet flats and tore the stockings, making Kate gasp out in surprise an instant before Aless lifted her own foot and started to untie her hiking boots.
Everyone watched as she slipped off her sock and put it on Kate's foot before slipping the boot on the same way. "Good we're the same size…" the blonde muttered as she did the same to Kate's other foot, slipping on the discarded ballet flats once she was done.
"Try not to lose them and sorry that they might be a bit uncomfortable but I haven't managed to completely break them in yet," She grabbed Kate's hand and pulled her to her feet before taking her jacket from the ground and brushing the snow off.
Everybody watched as Aless moved to stand back in front of Nathan, giving another quick thanks to Sam. The Goth teen simply nodded and told everyone to keep moving, which they complied to. Ten minutes later Trev had given Kate his football jacket, which she accepted after heavy protest with a red face. Aless had offered Sam her jacket but the Goth had declined even after Aless stated that someone wearing a long sleeved shirt would fare better than someone with a tank top. Rory, going along with the sudden trend of chivalry, even offered to give Aless his shoes when he noticed her shivering but she just laughed it off and told him to save it for himself.
They had walked for a total of an hour before the cold started to set in. Sam had long since tucked her hands under her armpits in an attempt to keep warmth while Aless could barely feel her feet and Rory was trying to suppress the chills running up and down his spine. Kate was faring well and occasionally tried to get Trev to take his jacket back but he always declined with a fake smile. Tucker and Nathan were both wearing long sleeved shirts and good shoes but still felt the sting of the cold just as well as everyone else.
Luckily Frostbites shuttles appeared shortly thereafter and the great ice king himself was the first to hop out of the head vehicle with Dani flying at his shoulder.
"Lady Sam and Sir Tucker how good it is to see the servants of the Great One once more."
Everyone's eyes bugged out as they took in the eight foot something snow yeti grinning toothily at them from his position beside the rescue vehicles. Kate even let out a short scream, which drew Frostbites attention away from his two friends long enough to notice the state that everyone was in. The smile fell from his face and he immediately motioned for them all to get onto the vehicle. Nobody hesitated long, too relieved to bother having second thoughts as they piled inside. Frostbite turned back to Sam and Tucker, who had remained behind to talk to him.
"Where is the Great One? Lady Danielle mentioned that he wasn't with you but…"
"We lost contact with him," Sam said, "no matter how many times we call he isn't answering."
"Last we heard he was leading the second half of our group past Walker's prison," Tucker added.
Frostbite rubbed his chin in thought, "Walker has been especially active lately, it is possible that they've been captured."
"Then we need to hurry up and get them back!" Sam shouted already imagining the innumerable horrible things that Walker was probably doing to Danny and the others.
"We'll take care of it, but for now we need to get you inside."
The yeti king used his flesh hand to gently guide Sam toward the waiting ship. Tucker followed close behind.
'You had better be safe Fenton…' Sam thought, glancing one more time in the direction of the entrance to the cave before slipping into the shuttle.
TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC
"So Phantom how old are you?"
The ghost teen nearly tripped on an invisible stone at the sudden question and turned to face Cassie who was staring at her nails in an attempt to look casual, which would have worked better if he couldn't see the keen interest reflected in her gray-blue orbs.
Phantom sighed and turned back to face the front, debating whether or not he should answer the question. "…Seventeen" he finally said, figuring that there was no harm.
"Really?" the popular replied, sounding a bit surprised, "I heard a few people say that you looked fifteen when they saw you a year or two ago, do ghosts age?"
"Some more powerful ghosts have the ability to alter their age," Maddie answered, eyes trained on Phantom as she spoke, "It depends on how long the ghost has been dead and what type of spirit they are."
Cassie hummed in response and they lapsed back into silence.
"So how long have you been dead?"
This time Phantom wasn't as startled by the question and made a point of not answering. The last thing that he needed was an interrogation that would inevitably lead to the discovery of his secret.
"Did you have a girlfriend when you died?" The question was ignored once again and Cassie huffed indignantly, angry that he wasn't answering any of her inquiries.
The other members of the group eyed the white haired teen curiously, their interest piqued by Cassie's questions and Phantoms refusal to answer them. It was common knowledge that the ghost boy saved their town on a regular basis before disappearing right after the fight finished. He always managed to evade any fans or news people that tried to interview him after the fact and hardly anything was known about him outside a battle setting.
Now that they all got a closer look at him they realized that he did indeed look to be around seventeen with a fairly impressive built that was in no way hidden by his skintight hazmat suit. Messy white hair sat in an unbrushed heap atop his head and made him seem – to the girls at least – all the more ruggedly handsome and attractive. That unusual hair framed his tanned face and accentuated his otherworldly green eyes. Just as with all ghosts there was a strange glow that surrounded him, making his appearance seem a bit hazier then it would with a normal human, but unlike all other ghosts the light that surrounded him seemed more…gentle, less hostile perhaps.
They were all dying to ask a few questions themselves. Nobody could deny the obvious mystery that surrounded the boy and the desire to know more about him was almost impossible to ignore. But before any of them could build up enough courage to ask Phantom stiffened, stopping in the middle of the path and throwing an arm out to make them all stop as well.
Green eyes flicked back and forth nervously for a few moments before he whirled around and shot an ecto-blast directly over their heads. They all ducked instinctively as it flew over them and flinched when they heard a loud screech. Turning they all noticed a pair of ectopus's floating several feet above them, one still reeling from the hit that it had taken while the other charged.
Phantom shot off from the ground and grabbed one of its tentacles, whipping it into the other and sending them both spiraling backwards. They recovered only to find the ghost boy mere inches in front of them, his hand charged with ecto-energy and ready to fire.
"Not in the mood today guys, I would recommend walking away now before I decide to get really rough," the energy still gathered in his palm flared to accentuate the threat and the two ectopus's briefly made eye contact before turning and flying off into the swirling green sky.
Phantom watched them go before lowering himself back to the front of the group, giving everyone a reassuring smile before continuing their trek. Nobody said anything, just got up to follow. The strangeness of the situation had stopped being strange hours ago.
TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCT
It took roughly another hour to reach the Far Frozen and Phantom broke off a piece of the path to fly them across the space between the path and the ice cave's entrance. Johnny would probably be extremely ticked to find another portion of his biking trail damaged but after everything that had already been done to it the white haired teen doubted that the ghostly rider could get much angrier and a little more casual vandalism probably wouldn't hurt any.
Feeling impatient and wanting to avoid the possibility of anyone getting overwhelmed by the cold Phantom decided to use the piece of earth he'd 'borrowed' from the path as a kind of makeshift sled, informing the passengers moments before giving it a rough shove down the incline and tightening his grip on the edge. Everyone screamed as they descended and Phantom managed to swerve to miss several stalagmites that appeared in their path. It took several minutes and a considerable amount of effort on Phantom's part but they managed to make it to the heart of the Far Frozen, pulling up just short of running into the stone arch that had only recently been built and subsequently startling the two remaining architects that had been putting the finishing touches on the aforementioned arch.
"Alright people step lively," Phantom called as he floated above them, "this is the last stop on your tour of the ghost world, hope you enjoy your time here and have a wonderful day!" Half the group was still too shaken to even acknowledge the horrible joke while the other half could only raise their eyebrows or cringe in response.
Valarie and Maddie hopped down from the chunk of rock, both landing easily in the knee-deep snow. Jack attempted to follow but ended up face-planting beside his wife, who proceeded to help him up. Dash and Kwan managed to hop down, stumbling to their knees as they landed.
"You two," Phantom said pointing to Dash and Kwan, who looked startled at being addressed by their idol, "could you help the girls get down?"
The two jocks glanced at Paulina, Star and Cassie, who were kneeling at the edge of the large chunk of earth, staring at the drop with expressions of deep apprehension marring their beauty queen features. Having no words to respond the footballers merely nodded before moving to stand under where the girls were.
Phantom meanwhile grabbed ahold of Lancer, ignoring the teacher's sudden exclamation of "Pride and Prejudice!" as he lowered him to the ground. A sudden shriek had the white haired teen glancing instinctively to the side to see Cassie trying to hold down the hem of her skirt as Kwan caught her. They both flushed as their eyes met and Cassie scrambled out of his arms, swatting him on the shoulder before walking away in a huff. Star was watching the entire spectacle with a jealous glare from where she was still seated on their makeshift ride. Phantom rolled his eyes and floated back up to get Mikey, who was still a little shaken from the initial ride but smiled half-heartedly and offered no protests when the ghost teen lowered him to the ground. Jack Fenton helped the still-injured nerd stand when his feet met ground and Mikey thanked them both.
"What were you thinking!?" Valarie suddenly shouted, all anger now that she was certain everyone was alright and her feet were on somewhat solid ground. She stormed toward their spectral guide, making him reel back as she shoved a finger in his face, "Give people more warning before you do things like that, we have injured here Phantom, unlike you we die if we get hurt badly enough."
Something flashed in the ghost teens eyes for a moment but it was gone before Valarie could properly identify it. The next second he put his hands up in a placating gesture and gave her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry I made sure that everyone was hanging onto something before we went over, there's no way that any of you will get injured on my watch."
The huntress blinked and lowered her hand, taken aback by the assurance and how true it rang. Taking her silence as a temporary reprieve from her hostility he turned back to the group, who were all mutely watching the confrontation. Phantom cleared his throat to ensure that he had their full attention before smiling and gesturing to the arch, "Welcome to the Far Frozen, home of one of the most intelligent races in the Zone."
All eyes turned to the frozen tundra before them. They were standing at the crest of a hill that overlooked a small valley of tundra ringed with mountains. Yeti ghosts were rushing about from one cave opening to another carrying chunks of metal and wooden crates. They were all large and furry with hair as white as the snow covered ground they inhabited, clothed in rusty brown chestnut colored loincloths and boots. Some wore cloaks of the same color thrown around their shoulders. Dark blue armbands with small white designs completed the attire. Overall the word that came to mind was 'tribal.'
"Great One."
They all turned to see one of the architects kneeling in front of Phantom with his head inclined, "Word has already been sent to our King and your friends have arrived would you like me to lead you to them?"
Phantom smiled and nodded, "That would be great WinterDagger and you don't have to bow, it really isn't necessary."
The yeti glanced up at the ghost teen with a toothy smile that looked more like a cross between a smirk and grimace to everyone else. Unnerved, everyone but Jack, Maddie, and Valarie took a step back as the ghost stood, right hand resting on his chest with his head still inclined. "You are very humble Great One," the yeti said softly, reverently.
Everyone was startled by the admiration glowing in the ghost's red and yellow eyes but Phantom merely chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck almost sheepishly. "Not really but thanks for the compliment…sorry to rush you and all but it's kinda cold out here so…"
He left the sentence unfinished and the yeti's eyes swiveled from the ghost boy to the group of shivering humans behind him, immediately understanding and offering another short bow before turning and leading them toward one of the caves. Phantom motioned for them to follow and floated behind the yeti, slowing to keep pace with everyone else as they trudged through the thick snow.
Once they reached the cave opening the snow thinned out until it was nothing but rocky cave walls and floor. The further they walked the more yeti they met. They all wore nearly the same outfit, some carried heavy packages and crates but no matter what they were doing they never failed to stop and bow to Phantom. He just smiled and waved to them, calling out several names along with greetings and receiving smiles in return.
After walking for miles (or what felt like miles to the tired and weary group) they all turned off into a large open dining room. The ceiling was tall and two sets of stairs led up to a pair of second floor hallways that were decorated with ice hand railings and branched out onto both sides of the room. A long table stretched in front of them, filled with food and occupied by their seven missing classmates. They were all clean and wore fluffy white and gray coats, laughing hysterically at something that someone had said between bites of their meal.
Frostbite, who had been sitting at the head of the table, was the first to notice the new guests and quickly stood from his seat to make his way over to them. "Great One it is good to see that you arrived safely!" the yeti exclaimed inclining his head slightly before placing a large hand on the ghost teen's shoulder.
Phantom chuckled, "Thanks, I'm assuming that they already told you the situation?" the white haired boy said as he motioned to the group of seven feasting at the table.
"They have indeed and we should have your shuttles ready in roughly six human hours. For now though I would recommend that you all rest and get something to eat, any injured can be checked out in our medical facilities and we have already prepared several rooms for you all."
Taking his hand off of Phantom's shoulder Frostbite smiled at the new group of humans, who flinched away from the fanged grin that still looked too menacing to be trusted. Unlike the rest of the yeti they had seen this one was wearing blue instead of rust brown chestnut. He only had a single band around one of his arms and it was gold, matching the golden belt around his waist. The attire was far more regal than the others of the yeti species and the way that he'd addressed Phantom was far less formal as well, which led them all to think that he was someone important. Of all the snow beast's they'd seen so far though this one was by far the most intimidating. Aside from the ice horns on top of his head (they all had those) he was also missing an arm, or at least it wasn't completely there. His left arm was nothing but bone from the shoulder down with a thick layer of ice in place of skin.
Many of the newcomers turned slightly green around the gills at the sight. Paulina and Cassie yelped while Star tried to swallow the bile that had formed in her throat. Maddie and Jack, who had been on edge the entire time, stared at the arm wide-eyed, seeming to momentarily forget that they were in the lair of a ghost. Valarie scowled and positioned herself beside the Fenton's at the front of the group, almost as if expecting an attack.
Frostbite didn't seem fazed by their reactions; in fact he kept smiling as he motioned them all into the room with a wave of his flesh arm. Hesitantly they all filed in and sat down at the large table, relaxing a bit as they received a few welcomed shouts from their friends.
Once they had all settled down Phantom turned back to Frostbite, his smile disappearing as he fixed his friend with a serious look. "Really Frostbite, thank you for this I don't know how I can repay you."
Frostbite chuckled lightly, "There is no need, you are our friend and ally it is only right that we help you in your time of need. Now then…" The yeti ghost placed his hand back on Phantom's shoulder, slightly more roughly than before and Phantom flinched at the resulting pain, "…you need to head to the medical ward for treatment."
Phantom rubbed the back of his neck as a sheepish smile found its way onto his face, "I'm actually fine, it's not that bad-"
Frostbite quieted him with a look, one that told the ghost teen he wasn't going to get out of this one. Accepting defeat Phantom turned to leave with Wulf trailing behind him, having been silent for the duration of the trek. Less than a minute later a certain Goth and techno geek also slipped out of the room with a few half-hearted excuses to their classmates when they inquired as to where they were heading.