But it's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.

(Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)

Like it or not, Sam decided to like it, the cat had become a permanent part of her search. She knew Cordura would follow her no matter where she went and she realized this as she began exploring the out reaches of Ember's domain, a reminiscent of a rocky seaside on Earth. He'd bound behind her from rock to rock and methodically disappear and reappear wherever and whenever he pleased.

Sam would laugh from time to time at him, he bore a striking resemblance to a beloved childhood dream. Cordura was often like the Cheshire Cat and the more she watched him the more she saw it. Though, Lewis Carroll never did imagine such a grotesque image for the character and would probably be beside himself to see Cordura.

It didn't really matter how very creepy Cordura appeared, because she always wanted a cat. Her mother had always been so allergic to them that she'd never been given the chance. Sam found herself becoming more and more accepting of the idea of him following her around, being her friend.

She had to wonder what the animal would do once she decided to leave the Ghost Zone; she wondered if he'd follow her home and become a permanent haunt. She wasn't sure, for now though she was enjoying the company he seemed to take her mind off her troubles.

But she couldn't forget them entirely. And she was becoming extremely aggravated that she'd forget about her search for Danny from time to time. It was striking that Sam didn't let it consume her like it should've, especially since she'd found her way into the Ghost Zone and gone through all the trouble to find him. How could she even begin to forget?

This wasn't about Ember, or Cordura, or her, this was about Danny. Sam stared off into the reaches of the Ghost Zone the deep black sky was still so very foreign to her. Every so often ghosts would drift by and far away and Sam watched them hoping Danny didn't share the same gloomy fate.

It must've been hours that she stood there watching them when she saw a familiar face. She felt a tinge of excitement grow inside her and she began waving her hand happily. Perhaps there was still some hope in this seemingly fruitless journey.

"Dora, hey Dora!" She called moving closer to the ledge. The ghost would have to hear her or see her somehow she'd draw her attention.

If curiosity killed the cat and the cat was already dead, well then his curiosity could only kill again. Cordura felt her excitement and weaved in between her legs catching Sam off guard. She stumbled forward only a an inch but unfortunately it was far enough for her to stumble off the ledge. Luckily, before she began to fall far away from the area two pasty blue hands caught her.

"Sam? Whatever are you doing here?" Dora asked pulling Sam up to her level so that the girl was actually standing where the ghost was floating.

Sam craned her head to get a good look at herself actually standing on thin air, or whatever it was that the Ghost Zone was composed of. "Don't look." Dora warned and Sam snapped her eyes right back to Dora. "Don't think about it, that's how it works here."

Weird, things were just weird here. "So Sam, what are you doing here and all alone too?" The ghost asked letting go of Sam's hands and letting the girl get a feel for herself.

Alone, those words hurt more than the ghost princess would know it made her seem so small. It seemed as though every ghost knew that Sam had been without Danny, was it really that noticeable? "Have you seen Danny around here at all?" Sam asked with a hint of desperation in her voice.

"I'm sorry, not a sign of the ghost boy. And I've been combing the Ghost Zone rather carefully."

Sam sighed in disappointment. "So what are you looking for?" She asked, maybe her searching would make her overlook the inhabitants and possibly overlook Danny's presence. Hope, all she could do was hope now, and if she was wrong then there was nothing left to be done.

Dora smiled nervously. "I'm looking for Prince Aragon. He sent himself into banishment shortly after I retook the Medieval Realm." She answered in a meek voice.

"What why? He treats you like a doormat, why the hell would you want to find him?" Sam cried.

The ghost shook her head and began to play with her long blond braid. "Well...he is still my brother and the only family I have here. He may be a pompous jerk but it's a dreadful thing to spend eternity alone." She paused and gazed off for a moment. "Well, at least for some of us."

Sam nodded in slight agreement, she wasn't sure if she'd ever get that lonely. But she'd never experienced that depth of loneliness before. Besides even though most of the ghosts were solitary some of them did really love any sort of companionship, like Klemper and even the odd cat who had taken to her.

"I think...I think I'm just going to go home." Sam said quietly, feeling like somewhere the little hope she had died out. All the rest would follow she was sure. "Do you know where Clockwork resides?"

The ghost thought for a moment then jerked a finger behind her. "I'm almost certain he lives in that direction, it's a huge castle like structure adorned in clocks. You can't miss it. Good luck Sam."

"Yeah same for you Dora, I do hope you find your brother."

And just like that the two girls parted ways, there was nothing left for them to say to each other. Dora drifted off in one way and Sam took nervous clumsy steps in the other. It was very awkward, walking where there was no ground or clear path. But Dora had told her to banish it from her mind so Sam began thinking of strange random things.

Eventually she found herself thinking about Danny. Was she so wrong that he was actually alive? Had all those feelings of him still being out there somewhere true? Was it entirely possible that his appearance changed so drastically that maybe none of the ghosts recognized his spirit? Or was there another place the dead went, heaven and hell where they even real, was this a sort of purgatory? What was the Ghost Zone for?

"There's no explanation because none of us really know either. Some days some spirits just disappear and we don't know why, but the Ghost Zone is vast, possibly endless. So no one is entirely sure." Cordura chimed in as he trotted along side her.

Sam narrowed her eyes at him. "Okay I'm willing to forgive the vanishing acts but reading my mind..."

"I don't." The ghost said. "It's in your body language, I can sense these things."

She didn't question him she simply walked on. Her heart aching for Danny now more than ever, he'd guide her safely home, he'd comfort her. And while the cat did his best, she just didn't fully understand him, not like she understood Danny. She wondered and was beginning to believe that he was still alive that he had not found his place amoung the dead.

Why else would two ghosts not have seen him? To be fair, it was entirely possible that others had but still, if not Ember than Dora since Dora had been searching for a specific ghost which would mean she'd have to see faces, ask questions, and go around quite a lot. Danny was rather popular in the Ghost Zone, who here wouldn't want a chance to berate and devastate the powerful half-ghost.

"It's all about perception my dear," The cat began. She was about to question him but he continued on before she could. "You see this place is only as scary, as endless, and as wonderful as you want to see it. For some it is terrifying and so are the creatures here, they choose solitude. And for others the Ghost Zone is a beautiful landscape of the unimaginable."

"How could this be? I mean, honestly if everyone saw something different you couldn't all even attempt to co-exist." Sam argued, knowing very well that if she'd been wrong through this entire trip this was the time she knew she was right.

The cat looked up with the grin. "It's all dependent on your state of mind upon entering."

Sam was trying to wonder where this lecture was coming from and why. It made sense for once, but she wasn't sure why that sort of statement would even remotely pertain to her. Sure she was confused about the Ghost Zone but what he said only really applied to ghosts. Perhaps he was admitting he was actually very scared being here, and was trying to thank her for being good company.

The roar of a motorcycle suddenly erupted behind her breaking her thoughts. "Oh no..." Sam groaned she looked beside her to see that Cordura had disappeared, again. She sped up her pace to try and gain some distance it didn't matter if this was futile Sam needed to do something.

A black shadow leapt up in front of her stopping Sam in her tracks, she stood still and put on her best glare. Within a matter of seconds Johnny was doing donuts around her. "Johnny, leave her alone already." Kitty yelled smacking the back of Johnny's head.

The teenaged rebel pulled his bike up next to Sam. "Damn girl, you're looking hot now." He remarked taking in Sam's hourglass figure that she'd gained over the years. And she had to figure that the tube top she was adorning wasn't very chaste either. Sam backed away with a sneer.

"Johnny!" Kitty reprimanded hitting him again. He rubbed the back of his head and shot a look at the green haired biker chick behind him. "Oh Sam, we're so sorry to hear about the..." She dropped her voice. "Accident."

The girl gave Kitty a strange look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's okay sweetie, it's a part of life, we all had to deal with it at some point." Kitty nudged Johnny with her elbow sharply, a sign for him to chime in.

"Uh..wha?" Johnny sputtered lifting his head from his hand looking much like Danny use to when Lancer used to prod him awake after he'd doze of in class. "Oh yeah, right. Sorry dude...girl...Sam." He said. "Come on Kitty we're gonna be late."

"Well our deepest condolences." Kitty said again as Johnny revved up the engine on his bike, shadow placed directly beneath them. Sam stood there completely and utterly confused.

"Yeah see ya around." Johnny called as he raced off.

"Yeah right." Sam retorted to them even though they were no longer near her. What were they talking about, what accident? If they thought she was sticking around they were greatly mistaken. Although she was shaken to the bone on their sudden sympathy for her, an enemy.

There was something unsettling in the Ghost Zone that Kitty, Johnny, and Ember all knew and she didn't. The only reason she figured that Dora hadn't know is that the ghostly princess had a habit of being caught up in her own self-pity, it was a damn shame to because Dora would've been the ghost to ask.

What had happened to her that would make them all treat her respectively? Why did Kitty treat her like a friend, why did Ember decline to fight? It was all becoming a massive migraine for her. The only thing she could wrap her mind around was that something was terribly wrong.

Sam walked on, she seemed to be doing it a lot, but she continued on the non-existent ground. And as if on cue Cordura eventaully had taken stride alongside her. They walked together in silence; Skulker passed her by but seemed utterly uninterested in her and much more enthused with whatever he was chasing.

That was very unsettling to Sam; surely he of all ghosts would've taken a shot at her. Anything to get his priceless ghost boy, although if Danny had died then his value most definitely decreased. Sam sighed, maybe Danny was gone, and perhaps that was what Kitty and Johnny were talking about.

But did they know what happened to him? Sam gulped, what if was something horrible, something so unspeakable and they thought she was there? It was plausible and maybe that's why Skulker had no need for her, it'd be useless to lure a dead Danny out of hiding. That was when something Sam had hardly wondered suddenly popped into her head.

What was dead Danny like? Was he a sad gloomy depressing creature, a vicious unremorseful killer, a reckless ghost with the devil-may-care attitude, or just Danny? Was he even remotely close to what he used to look like? It frightened her, she'd never ever thought about what Danny, her Danny, would be like without any life left in his body.

Sam had to wonder if it would be devastating for her to find out for herself.

She shook the thoughts from her mind as Cordura broke the silence. "Awful lot of clocks for a place with no real time." He remarked green eyes transfixed on the castle like structure with odd filigree stretching out from every angle as if reaching toward something unreachable.

"Well he is the Master of Time." She responded softly and took very slow almost cautionary steps forward. This was his territory and Sam had nothing but respect for Clockwork.

She walked through the open door and into a grand hallway, the padding of the cat's claws and her own boots against the marble echoed sharply. Sam lost all her composure and slumped her shoulders; she wasn't sure what to say when she saw him. She'd only ever met Clockwork once, in a misunderstanding. And although Danny eventually told them the tale of the alternate timeline he'd lived through she still couldn't get a feel for a benevolent Time Master.

"Hello?" She called in a very quiet voice. Another door opened up and Sam walked through it and entered a large room adorned with clocks and what looked like screens. She remembered this place on all the walls there were gears spinning and ticking and on the far wall there was a large screen, she looked and noticed it'd played something.

She walked up to it with tears in her eyes, it was Tucker. He looked tired, drained really as he was driving alone. A picture of herself, Danny, and him dangled from his rear view mirror, now that hadn't been there before.

"Now there's a sad image." Her ghostly friend said as her appeared balancing across her shoulders like a scarf with claws.

"Yeah he looks so...depressed." Sam answered as she stared at his features. He looked like all the world had crashed on his shoulder, kind of like after Danny died. "How long have I been gone?" She whispered her hand almost reached uo to caress the image.

"Longer than you know." A deep voice answered and Sam turned around, the cat vanished.

A ghost with soft red eyes was winding his time staff as he floated behind her, rhythmically changing his form. "Sam, I knew you'd come. But then again I know everything." He smirked at her.

"Clockwork, you've got to send me home, I know he's worried about me. They all must be." Sam explained not even bothering with a greeting. "I mean, I don't even know how long I've been here."

Clockwork stopped winding and held the time staff in one hand and looked at a wrist watch almost mockingly. "Three months, two weeks, and six days no cause for panic, they aren't worried."

It had really been that long? Sam wasn't even aware that her mouth hung open in disbelief, three months was so long, especially since it'd only felt like days ago Tucker had brought her to the Fenton's. "Ho-how are they not worried?" The question didn't matter to her as much as she thought it did.

Thoughts were speeding through her head, confusing her, scaring her. "Just send me home."

"I'd love to, except..."

"Except?" Sam queried, what could possible stop him? Honestly, from what she'd heard from Danny he could do anything.

Clockwork moved beside her and put a directing and compassionate hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps you would like to take a look at yourself in that mirror over there." He pointed a finger toward a piece of glass on the far side of the room.

She felt sick, seeing the reflecting glass glint on some foreign light in the room. It looked rather pretty though, like a blue twinkling wink. Sam walked forward, Cordura under feet.

"Alright, but I can hardly see why appearance has anything to do...with..." Sam's words died on her lips as she got an eye full of herself.

No, that wasn't her, that sad thing on the other side of the glass, wasn't her, it had to be the lighting, it had to be her fatigue. It couldn't be real perhaps an illusion. She put a hand up to touch the somber reflection when it did exactly as she did, she confirmed her fears.

Tears streaked down her face as she fell to her knees. "I assumed you were aware." The cat whispered beside her as she clutched her sides trying to hold herself. He stared into her pale violet eyes with his fiery emerald ones and she stared forward into the pale violet ones as well.

"No..."

Yes, did I mention this is a short story, the next chapter is the last. Anyway, this chapter is my favorite and my most hated, there are parts I absolutely love and other parts I just cannot stand but are much more nesseccary then I care to admit. So with that, can anyone guess what the cat's name actually means?