Maddie only slowed down when the portal was out of sight. Then they turned to each other and considered their next move.
"You got Danny?" Harry muttered hopefully.
"Yes. But he's hurt. Badly. I don't want to free him, until I'm certain we can treat his injuries," Maddie confirmed.
"Is that why you put him in that thermos?" Jazz asked, nodding to the thermos clipped to her mother's belt. Maddie glanced at the device and nodded.
"He couldn't walk and he wouldn't respond to me. It was the only way to get him out of there," Maddie whispered. Jazz blinked at the helplessness in her mother's voice.
"Mom, are you alright?" Jazz inquired, putting a concerned hand on the blue jumpsuit clad woman's shoulder. Maddie took a steadying breath.
"I'll be fine Jazz," Maddie mumbled.
Danielle glanced in the direction of the Fenton portal.
"We should probably figure out what Vlad meant. Hopefully he can meet up with us soon. He can't handle the Ghost King and Undergrowth by himself," Danielle suggested.
"What did he say?" Harry prompted, having not heard as he dragged Jack to the Speeder.
"Go to where Daniel solved his box problem," Danielle recited perfectly.
"Well, my guess is Box Ghost," Sam immediately surmised.
"But he never "solved" the Box Ghost," Tucker pointed out.
"Perhaps Vlad was referring to another box?" Dumbledore recommended helpfully.
"How many boxes are there in the Ghost Zone?" Steven asked.
"Well, in Box Ghost's warehouse lair, hundreds. But Danny's never been inside," Sam answered.
"Surely there are boxes outside of this Box Ghost's possession," Dumbledore commented. Tucker and Sam gasped.
"Did Danny ever tell Vlad about Pandora?" Tucker asked. Sam shrugged.
"It's possible. I mean since they became friends they've told each other tons," Sam replied.
"If that's the box Vlad means, then he'll mean Pandora's lair," Tucker concluded and Sam nodded in agreement.
"Mind clueing us in to what you figured out?" Steven called.
"The Box Ghost once stole a ghost relic in the possession of Pandora. Pandora's Box. It holds all the world's evil inside. Pandora created it to contain the malevolence of the Ghost Zone to make both our worlds better. But when the Box Ghost stole it, he released that stuff in Amity Park. Danny decided to go to the root of the problem. The box. And the rest of us dealt with the stuff that came out," Sam explained.
"Which included a hydra," Maddie recalled, suddenly recognising the story. Sam and Tucker nodded in agreement.
"So while we protected Amity Park, Danny came into the Ghost Zone to find Pandora and get her help. They've been allies since," Tucker resumed the tale.
"So Vlad wants us to wait for him there?" Jared inquired.
"We think so. It's the only "box problem" we can think of. But it all hinges on whether or not Danny told Vlad all about his allies. I can't see why he wouldn't but I kind of can't help but wonder how that conversation came up," Sam replied.
"I don't think it's a good idea to stay there. I think we should make it a pit stop. Leave a clue for Vlad to where we're really going," Steven interjected.
"Vlad is risking his life," Danielle pointed out defensively.
"Yes, and both Pariah Dark and Undergrowth heard his hint. We don't know if they'll be able to riddle it like we did. You're forgetting that they're in Fenton Works. They have access to all your work, including printed versions of Danny's ghost files. If Danny made a note anywhere of dealing with Pandora's Box. They might figure it out," Steven reasoned.
"Perhaps, we should go somewhere without a connection to Daniel. Harry, did you keep Sirius's house?" Dumbledore suggested. Harry nodded, frowning in confusion.
"Then we could use the Order's headquarters," Dumbledore hinted. Harry's eyes widened in realisation.
"The spell. It's still running! It's weak since it's so stretched but it still works," Harry exclaimed. Dumbledore smiled and nodded.
"Spell? Headquarters? You're not making any sense," Jack questioned.
"During the war between the wizarding world and Voldemort, I formed an organisation. The Order of the Phoenix. During my last years, our headquarters belonged to Sirius Black. Harry's godfather. Upon his death, Sirius left the building to Harry and he graciously allowed us its continued use as our headquarters. However as a safety precaution, I cast a special spell. The Fidelius Charm. Designed to keep a location secret and impenetrable unless the secret keeper discloses the location. Upon my death, the burden was passed to all those that had knowledge of the secret. The more included in the spell, the weaker it is. But it should be sufficient enough to hide ourselves until Daniel's injuries can be dealt with," Dumbledore explained.
"Are you sure Harry? What about Ginny and your kids?" Jazz inquired worriedly. Harry bit his lip.
"We owe Danny. And we can protect my family. I know it. Besides, Professor Dumbledore is right. The possibility of those ghosts even finding us is slim to none," Harry decided, hoping that he wouldn't regret this choice. If his sons got hurt because he wasn't careful enough, he'd never forgive himself but Danny saved Ginny from Voldemort when the partial ghost overshadowed her. He also saved Harry himself as Voldemort was plotting to exact revenge on the wizard. And the halfa was in trouble. Harry didn't abandon his friends when they were in need.
"If we're going to your house, we'll need to find a portal out of here or Wulf," Tucker decided, breaking the uneasy silence that fell.
"Maybe we should get to Pandora's lair first. Which way is it?" Maddie interjected. Tucker pulled out his latest PDA and tapped a couple of buttons. He looked through a window before sitting beside Maddie and directing her in the right direction.
"I wonder what happened to Nocturne," Sam muttered.
"Vlad said something about Carnivorous Canyon," Danielle informed her. Sam pulled a face.
"What is that?" Jared asked.
"It's a place in the Ghost Zone. It's one huge mouth. Go in, and you could get eaten," Sam answered.
The Speeder fell quiet. Dumbledore looking out the window and watching the view outside with intrigue. Harry stood beside his teacher and pointed out the few landmarks he knew from Danny. Jared, Jazz and Jack sat with Sam and Danielle to hear what happened on their search for Danny. Steven stood at the front with Maddie and Tucker, keeping an eagle eye out for any signs of danger. Within a few minutes, Pandora's lair, complete with entrance maze, came into view.
"We should alert Pandora to the danger that could follow us or Vlad," Steven suggested.
"I'll go. Danny showed me a quick way to the central buildings when he brought me here before. How much are we saying?" Danielle announced.
"Tell her everything. We told her that Danny was missing. At least telling her that he's been found will help her relax about that," Jazz decided. Danielle nodded and phased out of the vehicle and flew to the side of the maze.
"Alright, how are we getting to Harry's house?" Tucker asked.
"Well, how do you get in contact with Wulf?" Harry inquired. Steven glanced at the group before pulling out a tracking device.
"Wulf let the Fentons build this in order to find him. But we don't like people knowing about that. Walker is still after Wulf," Steven answered.
"Wait! Walker's after Wulf. How long?" Jared interjected.
"Since before Danny's known him. Actually Danny met Wulf after he escaped Walker's guards during a revenge plot," Sam replied with a confused frown.
"Wulf's an escaped convict!?" Jared yelped.
"Jared, Danny trusts Wulf alright. And Walker does tend to arrest first and never hold a trial," Steven assured the wizard.
"I guess. What was Wulf arrested for?" Jared relented slightly.
"Danny never asked," Jazz admitted. Jared blinked in shock.
"Never… never asked?" Jared repeated in disbelief.
"It's not important. Wulf is fiercely loyal to his friends. Danny's Wulf's friend. I'm sure if it was important, Wulf would tell Danny or Danny would ask," Sam concluded.
Steven nodded and Maddie dropped the windshield.
"It has a backtrack feature that leads Wulf back to where it came from," Steven commented to the group before throwing the softly beeping, blinking device.
"We call it the boomerang feature, not present on the Fenton boo-merang. And it can only lock on to one ecto-signature," Maddie informed the group without them asking.
Danielle returned a few minutes later.
"I told Pandora to tell Vlad we're going to London. Your house is there right?" Danielle told them, looking to Harry.
"Yeah, sorry. Probably should have told you before you left," Harry replied. Danielle smiled and shook her head.
"It's fine Harry. I told Pandora to send Vlad to Trafalgar Square, only place I could think of in London," Danielle added. Harry nodded.
"Not that close to home, but I can always apparate to get him. How are we going to get in contact with him when he reaches London?" Harry inquired.
"We can stake it out in the Speeder. It has a cloaking feature," Jack offered.
Steven looked up as a speeding blur of blinking light and beeping returned. It stopped in front of Steven and he grabbed the device and pocketed it. Moments later a large black shaggy humanoid dog came into view wearing green ragged clothes.
"Saluton Steven. Ĉu vi bezonas mian helpon por serĉi Danny?" Wulf called. (Hello Steven. Do you need my help to look for Danny?). Steven smiled.
"Neniu Wulf. Ni trovis Danny. Ni bezonas portal al London," Steven answered. (No Wulf. We found Danny. We need a portal to London.). Steven knew a little Esperanto in order to ask the ghost where he wanted to go and a few pleasantries. However he was nowhere near Danny's level of fluency.
Wulf grinned in response and slashed the air beside him. He poked his head through before gesturing for the Speeder to follow, shredding the edges of the portal to make it large enough. They drove through and Wulf phased into the Speeder.
"Kie estas Danny?" Wulf inquired excitedly. (Where is Danny?).
"Li estas en termobotelo Wulf. Li estis vundita. Sed ne maltrankviliĝu ni tuj helpi lin," Tucker interjected for Steven being more fluent than the wizard. (He's in a thermos Wulf. He got hurt. But don't worry we're going to help him). Wulf turned to the techno-geek, his excitement melting into worry.
"Harry, I don't know my way in London," Maddie called over her shoulder, activating the cloaking feature on the vehicle.
Harry nodded and joined Maddie at the front. He took a moment to gather his bearings, grateful for the hours of night flying he'd done in the past to relax. He pointed towards Grimmauld Place.
"That way," he told her. Maddie then stepped on the accelerator and zoomed off in the direction Harry pointed.
And they've escaped. But any ideas what happened to Vlad?
Let me know what you think.
Until the next chapter.