Disclaimer: I own nothing from Danny Phantom

Note: Sorry this chapter took so long, life happened which kept getting in the way or I was too tired. Might just put it on hold after this to give myself some time to mentally recharge.

Chapter 35: Frozen In Fear

(Chapter inspired by I'm Alive by Becca)

Vlad's POV

"I still can't believe I let you talk me into this," Danielle began incredulously with a heavy sigh as we made our way deeper into the Ghost Zone.

In response, I merely smirked and put an arm around her shoulder, and chuckled, "Come now little badger, where's your sense of adventure? I thought you'd leap at the chance to learn more about this mysterious realm with me..."

As soon as Danielle's friends returned to that hovel of a town I wasted no time preparing for our trip here, admittedly spurred into action by that unsettling vision I saw with Danielle's future self making dark promises of becoming a reality. So first of all I made sure to perform a full medical examination on Danielle to make sure she's healthy and set everything up for our lessons together with her powers. I also introduced Danielle to her tutor since I thought it best to give her another outlet for all that restless energy that flying alone couldn't curb by resuming Danielle's normal education beforehand until the next school semester begins.

Unsurprisingly, Danielle is very excited about the idea of showing off her powers although she tries desperately to hide that simple fact from me. But at the same time, she's also dismayed by the amount of work that will be involved in that particular venture since I want to bring out the best in Danielle so she can face any threat without fear. I warned her that we have a lot to do before school starts now that all of the right papers are in order but thankfully the adoption progress is nearly complete so soon I will be able to declare to the world that Danielle is my daughter. Not that I haven't already been showing her off as much as humanly possible to reaffirm that fact mind you because I want everyone to know that she and I are a package deal, which also goes for Jason as well despite not living here with us.

For example, that model who attempted to woo me and bribe her way into Danielle's good graces with apology gifts, while I didn't blacklist her completely I did use my contacts to allude to the fact that she has an unprofessional attitude so they should think carefully before hiring her in the future. It should give them enough of a scare to make it slightly more difficult to climb up the ranks in the fashion industry and act as a warning that should anything like this happen again I can do MUCH worse. Such as reduce her to a minimum wage waitress at some small diner like she was back in her hometown. At any rate, while I know Danielle doesn't need my protection from people such as that insufferable woman, that doesn't mean I'm not going to provide it...

Trust me, making good on my threats now will help Danielle in the long run because even in a private school she will run into those who either despise her on principle because they're jealous of what we have or they will see an opportunity to worm their way closer to my wealth by underestimating Danielle's intelligence. Essentially, I'm preparing Danielle for the challenges ahead whether the threat is a ghost or closer to home with those who will treat her like a pawn or they will think they can get away with deceiving her or treating her like she's beneath them simply because Danielle isn't related by blood when in truth she's infinitely better than all of them combined. That is what I intend to prove to Danielle by finding the Infimap as well, to show her that she is not shackled by some dark future either.

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say fruitloop. All I'm saying is that the Ghost Zone is a big place and don't we have some kind of, I dunno, actual CLUE to go off of instead of this random riddle." Danielle pointed, out, pulling a small piece of paper out of the collar of her battle suit and reading it aloud. "'Where others see only the color of bones, his strength is reflected in a mirror not made of glass.' What the hell am I supposed to make of that?"

"Language Danielle. At any rate, it's really not as obscure as you seem to believe. In fact, it's quite simple." I explained with an amused smirk, keeping an eye on our surroundings as I led her to our destination. "All the hints seem to dictate that the guardians of the Infimap are a clan of spirits known as the Far-Frozen. They have ice powers like you which is rare enough as it is but I've managed to track down their location through my connections here in the Ghost Zone. Your developing immunity to the cold should give us an advantage against them if it comes to a fight. But given what I've heard about them we may be able to convince them to let us at least see the map if it is indeed under their protection."

"What's so special about this map anyway?" Danielle asked, having clearly forgotten what I told her before which I suppose is understandable given how distraught she was at the time.

"Well, apart from having the power to take you literally anywhere in the Ghost Zone and show you where every natural portal is located, legend says it can also lead you to your destiny. Understand Danielle that the Ghost Zone is constantly changing and shifting, warping time around it, so the Infimap is the only near-complete map there is and reflects those changes. Unlike the stars which can still be read accurately based on the time of year, some realms never appear in the same place twice." I explained and eventually she nodded.

"That makes sense about the Ghost Zone shifting and all that. I'm still skeptical about the whole destiny thing but I trust you so we'll try to do things your way. But if this doesn't work out I'd still want to see if we can reconcile with my parents somehow. Sam and Trish are worried about how quiet they've been lately and so am I," she admitted before taking a deep breath and replying as confidently as possible. "Anyway, let's just focus on finding this map thing first, and then I'm looking forward to training with my powers again because once I've got my old mojo back, maybe then I'll feel more like myself again and not this depressed mess I've been lately."

"Yes, let's focus on the matter at hand," I agreed although my heart fluttered after hearing the excited undertone in her voice when Danielle mentioned training with her powers.

Not long after our conversation we finally made it to the island where a long ice cavern seemed to lead inside of the island since the surface area was likely only a decoy seeing as there were no signs of intelligent life anywhere else. We carefully flew between the jagged ice spikes which as you can imagine unnerved Danielle since they reminded her of the vision she had seen of Amity Park reduced to a frozen wasteland, and I'll admit it did remind me of my own vision but neither of us were about to let that stop us. Thankfully I have a heat core and my battle suit is insulated, however, no sooner had we reached an opening than the bitterly cold breeze stung my exposed skin and I repressed an involuntary shiver.

Danielle seemed unphased by the cold which is a relief and she bent down to pick up a handful of snow, staring at it thoughtfully as she wondered, "Huh, that's so weird. The snow here feels familiar somehow even though I've never been here. Is this really because I have an ice core?"

"Yes, your core is resonating with this place since your power is so similar which means it should be much easier to control that part of you. That said, we should still proceed with caution because your immunity is still only just developing properly and I have a heat core which will only protect me for so long here. So let's not waste any time here and begin our search. We're looking for a ghost named Frostbite, he's their leader," I explained, showing her a mini holographic projection of the ghost whose left arm was nothing but bone and ice which the riddle was referring too although it's a shame the rest of the passage was illegible as it might have shown us some other important clues.

As expected though, without any landmarks to guide us and only a false sky overhead, we had no choice but to pick a random direction and hope we'd stumble upon something before too long. We only had a few hours before the cold eventually begins to take an effect on me at least which is frustrating but sadly unavoidable. I didn't want to limit my movements by creating winter clothing for us since Danielle should be nearly immune to the cold by now and I figured the naturally high temperature my body and core is would more or less counter the cold climate. Danielle seemed to understand we were in a hurry too and insisted on flying a bit higher to get a better lay of the land.

Reluctantly I agreed but made Danielle promise to stay within eyesight at all times which earned me an eye roll but she complied and flew up as high as she could until I could only make out a small black speck above me. In the meantime, I expanded my ghost sense to try and detect the presence of any other ghosts but the inside of this realm was deceptively large. If I didn't know any better I'd say that not a single ghost resided here, but I had reliable sources such as Skulker and a few other notable ghosts. I was just about to teleport to Danielle's location to ask if she had spotted anything when I saw some sort of craft heading in my direction and turned invisible since it was unclear what they wanted or who they were. Danielle probably hadn't seen them yet so she should still be out of sight provided they don't think to look up.

I waited patiently for the vehicle to approach and smirked when I saw that they matched the description of the Far-Frozen perfectly. Their bodies were built to resemble polar bears although I suppose the closest comparison would be to a yeti, otherwise known as the abominable snowman. They were larger than expected but other than that I was fortunate to have seen them first. That is until they flew closer and I heard them talking.

"That's strange, the sensors indicate the intruders should be here. Reinforcements are on their way but...could one of them really be her? The one the ancient sage spoke of? The timing of their arrival cannot be a coincidence," the first asked, sounding almost awed by the idea.

"They could still be in the area so stay vigilant my brother and do not get distracted by the old tales. Although, if it is the chosen one whose arrival was foretold of it is our duty to bring her to the village so our leader can fulfill his promise to the ancient sage. He knows that only she can- wait! There! I see something!" the other exclaimed and much to my dismay Danielle had decided to fly back down right at that moment which brought her back in range of their sensors.

Sadly I didn't teleport to her in time before an ice ray was aimed at us and we both dodged out of the way to opposite sides. I still had the element of surprise since I had turned invisible and suppressed my ghost signature, however, Danielle has yet to master that skill so they wasted no time launching the next attack. Not about to let them get away with attacking Danielle on sight, I teleported in front of them and phased my hand into the engine of their hovercraft, tearing out what I hoped was the power source. Unfortunately, it wasn't and I hissed in pain when the device in my hand started to sizzle and spark, rumbling in my hand so whatever I had done...perhaps it was foolish of me to so instinctively I tossed the device high up into the air which proceeded to explode in a comically dramatic fashion.

As for the hovercraft, at least I had disabled their weapons but in doing so I had exposed myself when my invisibility dropped and the two Far-Frozen lept out of it and approached me, brandishing their spears. Before they could attack though, Danielle flew at them and yelled, "Hey! Didn't anyone ever teach you to play n-icely with others?"

I ran a hand down my face at the terrible pun since she's usually much wittier than that, I watched as she shot an ice beam at their legs to stop them from getting any closer to me. And yes, while they're immune to the cold, that still meant they couldn't phase through the spectral ice and stared at Danielle in shock when she placed herself in front of me, crossing her arms.

To my astonishment, as soon as they got a closer look at the insignia on her chest, both ghosts gasped, and bowing their heads down one of them exclaimed, "I knew it, the Great One has finally come! Forgive us, we did not know it was you!"

Just as taken aback as Danielle was I frowned, "What are you two babbling about? Danielle's not-"

"Yeah, what he said. You're clearly mistaking me for someone else. And why'd you attack us anyway? We just came here to talk to someone called Frostbite." Danielle interrupted landing in the snow with a soft crunch, but undeterred the other nodded and insisted-

"There is no mistake Great One. You bear the sigil of the one the ancient sage spoke whom we are meant to aid however we can to defeat a great evil that will threaten both our worlds. We have carvings of your likeness in the Chamber of Stories as well! Please, forgive us for mistaking you for the intruder..." he began, eyeing me suspiciously and I merely scoffed in response and decided to make the most of this misunderstanding since we had no proof yet that Danielle is or isn't in fact this supposed Great One.

Placing my hands on her shoulders I began after clearing my throat, "Always so modest, but there's no need to hide it anymore Danielle. As for those prophecies of yours, surely they should also tell you I'm the Great One's father."

"A thousand apologies O father of the Great One! Come, let us take you to our chief at once!" they exclaimed and led us to their hovercraft after breaking the ice around their legs with their claws like ice picks which I'll be sure to keep in mind.

In the meantime Danielle gave me a look and whispered, "Psst, Vlad, what the hell are you doing? You can't just lie to them like that or they're going to send every ghost on this island after us once they find out!"

"How do you know it isn't the truth?" I smirked, "After all, you come from a family of greatness now unlike before so I shouldn't be surprised. And even if it's not true let's take advantage of this to get closer to the map. Once we know it's here it should be quite easy to liberate the map temporarily."

"Fiiine, but if this blows up in our faces I'm blaming you," Danielle grumbled as we stepped into the vehicle and flew off to the village of the Far-Frozen.

Danielle's POV

Does the saying 'too good to be true' ring any bells? Well, that's practically my motto because things don't usually go this smoothly for me so I've learned to brace myself for the inevitable. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be a downer about this 'happy coincidence' but still, this whole Great One prophecy business is sending up huge red flags for me because the last time I was involved in any sort of vision I was kidnapped by Nocturne. That said, if the Far-Frozen think I'm destined to save the world then ok, good for them, but I seriously don't need that pressure since I'm already paranoid about also being the person who could destroy it too...

Either way I hope Vlad knows what he's doing.

It didn't take us long to reach the village via hovercraft even though Vlad had kinda ripped out the power source for their weapons, but it was less of a village and more like a bunch of caverns and igloos. And for some reason they insisted on giving us a welcome feast too. We tried to refuse, or at least I did, but Vlad agreed to it without even asking me to be polite. Good thing we hadn't eaten since breakfast because boy when they say feast...they meant a legit feast of several courses! I know ghosts don't have to eat and do it for enjoyment but this was overkill even for me. I even joked to Vlad about hoping they weren't trying to fatten us up to eat later.

As for Frostbite, the two Far-Frozen from earlier said he was waiting for us in the Chamber of Stories which was really just another cave with carvings on the wall. I was shocked though when it turns out...there really were pictures of me here. Not that I believe all this Great One nonsense since I haven't done anything all that great lately. If anything it still feels like I'm walking on thin ice which is ironic given where we are. As soon as we spotted Frostbite since he was the only one with an arm that was nothing but bone and ice crystals, he smiled brightly at us and bowed to me which made me blush slightly when Vlad gave me this look like 'you'd better get used to people treating you like royalty back home' too.

"So it really is you Great One! It is such a great honor to see you in person! The ancient sage told us long ago to expect your arrival, however, he did not specify the manner so please forgive my comrades for their rudeness before. Our people have a sacred duty to uphold which we take very seriously so we must guard our borders well in the event of thieves trespassing here to steal our knowledge or our greatest treasure. But you are destined to be our savior so I can think of no one more trustworthy. Of course, this goes for your guardian as well," Frostbite bowed politely before stepping aside to show us the carving he was examining earlier.

I think I went as pale as the snow when I saw the carving and what it was implying. It was a carving of me fighting a shadowy figure with the same 'sigil' on her chest as mine. Frostbite was explaining their so-called prophecy to me but honestly, it was like someone had stuffed cotton balls in my ears since I could barely register anything he was telling me. I hated the way I was reacting but I couldn't help myself, Vlad wanted to find that map so he could prove I'm in control of my destiny and then we find out about another prophecy where I'm supposed to save the world from my future self...?

It felt more like a confirmation that I'm fucking doomed.

I felt Vlad's hands rest on my shoulders but unlike usual that didn't help at all, and when my hearing finally came back I saw Frostbite staring at me with worry as he asked, "Are you alright Great One?"

I wanted to say no but instead I just smiled and lied unconvincingly, "I'm fine. I guess I just ate a bit too much but thank you again for the feast."

Nodding in understanding Frostbite apologized, "You're quite welcome. Although I must admit that the villagers did get a bit carried away and made twice as much food as usual since they truly wanted to make you feel welcome. Also, I'll admit that I had forgotten that you and Plasmius are also half-human which means you don't eat nearly as much as the rest of us. As ghosts or spirits, we feast like this because we enjoy it rather than needing food sustenance the way the living do. At any rate, there is something else I still wish to show you, but that can wait until next time since you do seem rather fatigued O Great One. So please, return home and rest well until our next meeting since I have a feeling you still have questions you'd like to ask of me. Which reminds me, rest assured that the next time you visit us my comrades will know not to attack you on sight as they did before."

"Thanks," I smiled and without looking back I walked out of the Chamber of Stories as fast as I could without breaking out into a full run, wincing when I saw another flashback of one of my nightmares about my evil future self.

As soon as I made it outside I muttered to myself, "I knew this whole thing was a bad idea..."

I didn't even bother to check if Vlad was behind me or not because frankly...I really needed to be alone right now since I'm actually kinda mad at him now for putting me through this again when it's pretty obvious I just want to forget about all this future bullshit so we can focus on the here and now. In fact, I decided I'd had enough for today and flew back to where we entered the Far-Frozen's realm on my own, thinking to myself I know I shouldn't be wandering off on my own but goddammit, I really don't need Vlad's pity right now. And I can't believe I started to have a panic over a bunch of stupid carvings. I swear if Vlad's crazy plan doesn't work, I'll just use the power Nocturne lent me and erase both our memories of all that evil future self nonsense. This is getting ridiculous! Why does everyone around me keep telling me how to live my life?

Simple, it's because they want to control you before you can become me, An unexpected voice answered and I looked around wildly while searching for the source until it suddenly occurred to me that the voice was inside my own head.

"Lovely, I'm hearing imaginary voices now. Maybe I really did eat too much," I laughed nervously, smacking my cheeks a few times and glancing down at the floating island beneath me. "On second thought. I should wait for Vlad after all."

Why bother? He can't save you. No one can so why don't you go ahead and save yourself? You already know what you have to do, so why're you leaving it all to Vlad? You're a big girl now right? Besides, don't you remember how Vlad tried to control you too? Face it, now that he has what he wants he'll never let you go back there, not without a fight, the voice continued in that same sickly sweet and almost caring tone of voice and I shivered because it almost felt like there was someone behind me even though I knew there wasn't since my ghost sense hadn't gone off.

"Ok that does it, hallucination or not I'm telling you to get the fuck out of my head and leave me alone!" I growled, clenching my fists as I flew off back in the direction we came in as if I could outrun the voice in my head as their cruel laughter echoed in my ears...