The Infinite Realms spanning all around them as Danny spoke to himself. "Okay, Fenton. You've looked evil in the face and defeated it time and again. You can do this." He pulled out a hand-crafted map and started to chart his way as he spoke. "We turn left at Skulker's Island then right at Walker's Jail. Or is it left at Walker's Jail and right at Skulker's Island?" He was really confused as the Specter Speeder paused behind him, the Iron Martyr joining them as Sam voiced her opinion.
"Um, are we ever going home? Or are we still playing lost in the Ghost Zone?"
"We're not lost. My expertly drawn map tells me exactly where we are. We just hook a u-turn around this swirling vortex of infinite pain and we're home." He stopped to doublecheck and was sadly right about the check. "Oh wait, that's a thumb print."
"If we don't get back soon, I'm gonna die of starvation. I've already missed my four o'clock feeding." Talia and Topaz slapped him across the head as Topaz spoke.
"Diptech! No one is fed that often!"
"Cedric, sweet, can't we use the map onboard the Martyr to get us back home?" Cedric Trace hummed in the Martyr as he spoke.
"We should, but for some reason, the Martyr's sensors are pinging off something in this region of the Realms, I think we got too close to one of the Domains of the Realms to get a bearing on the Fenton Portal, that or something else is interfering."
"Would you guys quit complaining." Danny commented with stashing his map before commenting. "If we're gonna become a better ghost fighting team, we need to know the enemy's territory inside and out so we, uh, don't get lost." Their attention was taken from Danny's lack of direction by a pair of ghosts flying by as Sam spoke in hope.
"Hey. Ask them for directions."
"And snacks. Ask for snacks." Tucker plead before Danny said otherwise.
"No, let's just follow them. They're bound to lead us somewhere." All five facepalmed as Danny took off before Tucker started to follow and the Martyr behind them.
"Ugh. What is it with you guys not asking for directions?"
"I think it is just Danny trying to get a bearing on our location and trying to reel us back home without relying on others to tell him where to go, his 'hero' complex, I think." Cedric voiced as Talia nodded while Tucker ranted.
"Now I missed my four-oh-five feeding." He spoke with gripping Sam's arm in sorrow. "If I don't make it, tell my PDA I love her. The cell phone meant nothing to me." Topaz puffed before pulling out a boot and slamming it into Tucker's head to his yelp.
"Even after everything, I STILL don't understand your thing with tech, it's unhealthy!"
"Topaz." Talia deadpanned as she spoke. "You once molested your guitar collection because your fire core was overheating and driving your body into a state of hyper sensitivity."
"W-Well... I-I was..." Topaz growled finally as she whined. "SHUT UP!"
"I will, once Danny treats the two of you to a session, a THOROUGH session." Sam and Topaz puffed with crimson and drool down their mouths before recovering as the band followed the ghosts into a frigid passage as Danny spoke.
"See? These guys seem to know their way around. We'll be out of here in no time." That was before he rammed into a icicle and the Specter Speeder rammed into one as well while the Martyr dodged and landed to investigate the damages that happened with the fall down several cliffs and shelves as Danny recovered. "Is everyone alright?"
"Besides being lost, almost killed, and now having no way home." The Martyr checked it out carefully of the down Speeder as Sam finished. "Stellar." Danny took in the damages as well as Cedric spoke.
"Speaker is out, the hull is dented out of shape, and the engine needing an overhaul, we are sitting ducks here and the Martyr can't carry more than two people at a time." Danny groaned as he planted his face in his hands.
"Oh man. My dad's gonna kill me." A growling was heard as the members looked to find a actual yeti towering over them, the Martyr the only close compare to it as Sam exclaimed.
"He's not the only one!" The creature raised its arm to attack as Cedric moved to catch the blow as Danny shouted.
"Good boy! Nice boy!"
"Danny! The Martyr can tank it, but this thing is running diesel!" Cedric scowled as the creature was proving to be stronger than the Martyr right now as Danny generated an ecto-blast.
"Lay down!" He knocked the yeti back and caused a overhang of icicles to entrap the beast as Danny lanced and spoke with turning back to the Speeder. "Very good. Next we'll work on fetching the paper." But the creature ripped one of the ice shards out of the ground and hurled it at Danny as the band shouted.
"Danny!" Danny turned and fired, blasting the icicles to pieces before firing another at the creature, but its eyes glow with firing beams of their own, freezing the blasts and the creature catching the largest as Cedric exclaimed.
"Ice strong to freeze ecto-plasma, just our luck!" The Martyr readied as vents opened and the clasps for general actions converted into flamethrowers as he spoke. "Martyr, Model: Hellion - Online!" The creature tossed the frozen piece to Cedric blasting a torrent of fire at the toss, melting it as he spoke. "Nice, the Hellion works!" He gasped as the creature charged and swung with a ice arm with bones visible through it, knocking Cedric across the ground and slamming into one of the cliffs as red warnings rang out as he exclaimed. "Son of a-! Danny, the Martyr can't take another hit like that!" Danny turned back as the creature went for a sweep before Danny blinked.
"Wait a minute." Lodged in the creature's shoulder was a small piece of ice and he fired at it to knock it out of the creature's body, not destroy it like he was expecting, but the shift was real as the growling stopped to awe.
"Huh? The pain. It's gone!" The creature beamed as he stomped over to lift Danny up into a giant hug. "Hahaha, thank you!"
"Aww, a boy and his snow monster."
"Is there a greater love to be found anywhere?" Topaz and Talia nodded before Talia paled at the sight that finally greeted her.
"Oh Ancient Divines...!" The band looked to her as she staggered back as she spoke with a shaky tone. "I, in all my years, have never gazed upon that face before, but there is no doubt..." The creature held Danny up as he spoke.
"To whom do I owe my debt of gratitude?" He set Danny down as the Martyr slowly got up, brushing the snow away to reveal Danny's white mane, but the creature was surprised as he exclaimed. "You? The savior of the Ghost Zone!?"
"Me?"
"The savior?" Sam added in confusion along with Tucker.
"Of the Ghost Zone?"
"What did Baby-Pop do!?" Topaz exclaimed while trying to get Talia to reply from her shocked state.
"Oh, Great One," The creature voiced as he bent knee to Danny and spoke. "behold your humble servant, Frostbite, leader of the Far Frozen!"
"Oh... snap..." Cedric voiced as he joined Danny. "Talia told me about you, Frostbite, a leader of honorable warriors whose origin reside from the ancient creature that once resided in our world as the Abominable Snowman, the Yeti." That kept their jaws shut as Cedric continued. "And we can approach that 'Great One' business much later, mighty Lord, but we need aid, our transport had been wrecked and we need repairs."
"But of course, Noble General, I will assist you on your way! It is an honor to be of service to both the Great One and the Noble General, along with their servants!" Frostbite voiced in helping to lift as Sam and Topaz took offense to that.
"Servants?!" Danny countered them as Frostbite lifted him up as well.
"Silence, oh Sam of the Very Vegan Heart and Topaz of the Eternal Stars Radiant, I will explain my feelings to Frostbite, but first we must head out."
"To my village shall we go and a great feast shall we have!" They headed off toward where Frostbite resided.
The village was much more than just caves and the like, a great feast was indeed thrown in honor of Danny as the Yeti aided in repairing the Specter Speeder with Cedric also aiding the construction of the vehicle and fixing his own damages in the process as Frostbite took the band that didn't stick to Cedric on a tour within a cavern. "This shrine is dedicated to you, oh Great One!" Danny was in awe as he charted the events that appeared before him and relating them to what had transpired.
"So this is why they think I'm the Ghost Zone's savior, because I defeated the Ghost King!" He trailed his hand from the fight with Pariah Dark to him binding Pariah to his tomb once more, though it didn't show him in the Skeleton, more like his bout with Pariah was unfiltered and won. "That's me trapping him in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep!"
"Wow, in the world of freaky, hairy, frozen people with bad breath, you're a legend!" Sam commented with sass as Topaz was also in awe, as she found herself on that wall too, fighting the legions of Pariah as the 'Banshee Queen' with Cedric the 'Noble General' as well, Danny having explained the fact that both her and Sam were actually dating him to which Frostbite apologized for the mislabels of them both and called them the 'Savior's Hearts', better than consort or mistress as Frostbite spoke.
"It is my hope that our humble tribute pleases you, oh Great One." Danny turned to the Yeti Ruler in explaining, still in Phantom form.
"This is all swell, Mr. Frostbite but we're kinda lost and-"
"Excellent!" Frostbite exclaimed with excitement as he rushed further down the passage with the four following him into a room where maps were strung up, various knick knacks were scattered across the chamber, and in the center was a chest with a claw-shaped lock on it as Frostbite paused in front of it before inserting his ice hand into the lock, causing the chest to open with a scroll floated out of it. "Behold, the Infimap!"
"Infimap?" The four questioned as Frostbite explained.
"We have guarded it for millennia." The Yeti tapped an icy finger on the bottom as it unfurled itself to a chart of marks and lands, detailed in the green of the Infinite Realms or Ghost Zone to be simple as Frostbite continued with tapping an icon on the map. "It can lead the wielder to any entrance of the Ghost Zone." Several violet doors appeared aroung them and Topaz yelped with swinging an arm to one that just popped up next to her, only to have her arm go right through it as Danny questioned.
"Any entrance?" He turned to Frostbite as he asked. "I thought our portal and Vlad's portal were the only entrances, were there entrances far before the Ghost Portals?"
"Your world has many natural entrances to the Ghost Zone that only the Infimap can reveal. For example..." A screen appeared of a green triangle over a large body of water as Frostbite continued. "An area you call the Bermuda Triangle." Sam clued in on it as a airplane flew through the portal.
"That explains all the mysterious disappearances! Everything that comes in comes to the Ghost Zone!" Frostbite continued his explanation.
"Travelers pass quickly through until they find their way back, yet not necessarily from the time period in which they left." Danny asked that question as it sounded like these natural portals were able to toss travelers not just through space, but through time as well.
"So it not only takes you through Earth, but time too?"
"The Ghost Zone is constantly shifting. Entrances can appear in many different periods. Most remain open for only a short time before closing forever." Frostbite warned on this to the four of them there. "In the wrong hands, the map could be very dangerous." Danny took the map in hand as Frostbite finished. "And you must not stray from it's indicated path, which is why I'll be escorting you home." The three of them gathered around Danny as he spoke, Sam and Tucker taking up a side of the map while Topaz clung to Danny from behind.
"Wow, thanks! Which way do we go?" Frostbite had the answer to that as he spoke with putting a paw to his chest.
"The map can read your mind. I shall simply speak where I wish to go and the map will take us there." Danny thought about it before he asked.
"You mean if I say 'take us home', it'll take us-" The map glowed and Danny paled as he spoke. "Uh-oh!" He activated it as a white dotted line trailed through the map and to a symbol that was the Fenton Portal before encompassing them in green as Frostbite caught on as well to what Danny just did as he exclaimed.
"Wait!" But it was too little, too late as the map sped with the four attached to it at breakneck speeds before pulling them back into the real world in stumbling out of the Portal as Tucker cheered.
"Wow, that was better than the Vomit Vortex at Floody Waters!" But Topaz didn't find it funny as she delivered a solid boot to the head to Tucker as she screeched.
"DIPTECH, YOU IDIOT, WE JUST LEFT CEDRIC AND TALIA BEHIND!" Danny transformed back as he spoke too.
"Topaz is right, Tuck, we also left the Specter Speeder behind and we need to get back to it before my parents freak out that I took it out and left it in a frigid civilization, despite how nice the Far Frozen people are." Sam took the Map off Danny's hand with its closed form.
"Frostbite didn't seem so keen on letting this out of his sight, though. We better get it back to him."
"True." Danny answered as he spoke. "But, to be fair, this is a chance to better know the Ghost Zone, how often does a chance like this happen?" Tucker recovered to lean on Danny as he spoke.
"Besides, who's gonna know?" The three deadpanned before Danny turned to Ferdinand who sprung up to their arrival.
"Get me Vladimir Masters." The machine hound barked before sitting and opening its chest to Vlad jumping to his screen open while playing a game of chess.
"Darn it, Daniel, I just was... um..." The party looked at the Cat on the other side of the board before Danny spoke.
"Maddie?"
"Natalia, actually, I am not that desperate nowadays." Danny nodded as Vlad approached the screen as he spoke. "So, what are you doing calling me at this time, shouldn't you be on your little expedition of the Ghost Zone?"
"We were, but we got lost, on my part..." Sam and Topaz high-fived to the admittance as Danny continued. "...We crashed and ended in the Far Frozen."
"Goodness!" Vlad yelped as he spoke in swift tone. "Are you hurt!? Is everything alright!? Do I have to smash Skulker's skull in for once!?"
"No, no, and only if you feel like it." Vlad rolled his eyes as Danny continued in crouching in front of Ferdinand. "We got some help from Frostbite, leader of the Far Frozen, and a guarded relic, this..." Sam held up the rolled up map as Vlad exclaimed in surprise.
"The Infimap, the legendary guide through the Ghost Zone and back, how did you manage that!?"
"Turned out, due to my 'defeating' Pariah Dark, I am considered the savior of the Ghost Zone to the yetis and Frostbite was interested in helping out, even when I shot an icicle out of his back." Vlad nodded as Danny spoke. "But that is for later, Uncle Vlad, we are going back into the Ghost Zone to grab Cedric and Talia, we accidently left them there and I wanted to make sure that Tucker understood that he jinxed himself."
"OH, COME ON!" The party laughed as Vlad answered with a chuckle of his own.
"I see, well, best of luck to you Daniel, I know that I have been... a bit dull with now living in Amity, but if you could tell me how it goes that would be wonderful."
"Can do, Uncle Vlad." Danny answered as the link stopped and Danny beamed at the party. "Now Vlad knows, anything else, Tuck?"
"Withdrawn..." Tucker sulked as Ferdinand licked his master's face as Sam spoke.
"Let's get going." Danny nodded and Ferdinand leapt onto Tucker's back in bird form, hiding out in the pack before zipping it up as all four took the map and Danny spoke.
"Take us to the Far Frozen." The map went to work once more before blasting them off into the Zone...
They returned to the chilling landscape and Danny quickly turning ghost as he wasn't wearing a coat and it was cold before Frostbite arrived to their return. "Great One, you have returned!"
"Thank you, Frostbite." Danny answered as he returned the map back to the Yeti. "Sorry about jetting like that, I didn't realize what had just happened before it did."
'No worries, Great One, you returning this is a kind act." But Frostbite returned the Map back to them as he spoke. "But I am afraid that your return bears bad tidings."
"W-What happened!?"
"It is curious, the young Talia Rahmat's powers somehow haywire and blasted the Noble General, now he is scattered across the Ghost Zone." Frostbite explained as he continued. "What's more, my suspicions have been confirmed as well, he has been scattered across time and space itself at the exactly same time as the powers haywire."
"Oh, that's not good." The four grimaced as Frostbite continued.
"He should be fine, but he is currently in a phantom-like form, if left unchecked, he will turn into a full ghost." Danny looked at the Map before cluing in.
"You want us to go looking for him."
"We of the Far Frozen would be too apparent to notice, you must find him and save him before it is too late." Danny nodded with resolve as he opened the map and started the search.
The map pinged across the Zone and they collected those right quick with Talia's help, she looking utterly terrible of what had just happened and had prepared a life-sized wooden puppet to store the fragments, the Martyr haven't been unaffected as it was stored with the Speeder, as they passed through several locations like the River of Revulsion to the Carnivorous Canyon, but now they had to focus on time.
One place they arrived to was Salem, during the Witch Trials of the sixteen hundreds and, Topaz only got involved by being a person at the stake while Sam, not sure if she could at the time, caused the Blood Blossoms spread by John Fenton Nightingale to shift out of the way for even a moment to get Topaz free through Danny and for them to bolt from there, having also grabbed the specter of Cedric in the process before the mob recovered, though Sam got a bit of vengeance on Tucker with shoving Blood Blossoms down his throat, being the only one of three normal people not affected by the plant.
But it also was an issue as, in Ancient Rome, Cedric's specter had gotten a surge of energy to manifest as a powerful ruler under the title of 'Imperator of Mars', his battle sense and fiery power made it quite known throughout as Danny had to put him down, he giving a fight, but not enough to stop them as he spoke to the wailing people to not tarry with loss, the legacy of Rome was a strong and valiant one as he joined the others in the puppet with the party heading further along for anymore problems.
Finding one of the specters in the fourteenth century, in China, was interesting, but the head warrior of the Ming there acknowledged the need to return the wandering soul and let them go without trouble as they returned to the search as Danny spoke. "How many more are missing?"
"We have grabbed them all, except one, but it seems to be years before we ever met up." The small group looked at each other before arriving to the point in time, the initial was yelping as a massive storm surged overhead and they took cover as Talia spoke. "When was this!?"
"I remember this." Sam voiced as she spoke. "Back when we were six, a massive storm front surged over Amity and it really ruined a few businesses and even took a few lives in the process, the 'Tempusi', I think it was called."
"But why would a specter being doing here?" They looked out to see through the storm, Danny trying to tap into his ghost powers to find his friend before spotting him, on a ridge and looking down as he flew over in calling out. "Cedric!" But nothing, he didn't reply as Danny soared over to get him to listen, but just as swift, he was smacked away and the group called out.
"Danny!" They rushed over as the specter turned back to watching as Topaz spoke.
"Trace is manifested here!? I thought that requires a lot of energy, belief or ghost power, to make a specter that strong enough!"
"But he's not fighting..." Sam spoke as she glanced back to the specter. "He's watching... waiting..." Talia took the step as she stood up, leaving the puppet with Sam and joined the Specter, eyes hollowed black and body wisping about, but not touched by the rain as she spoke.
"What are you waiting for...?" The figure pointed and Talia followed it to an incoming car, but she spotted a younger, happy face in there with a mother, a father, and a sister as well, that made little sense in the long term, but Danny and Topaz quickly jumped in when the figure tried to get closer, holding him back to his increasing strength as Talia spoke. "Cedric, Cedric! You can't change anything here, you will affect the time line if you did, you need to stop!" The hollowed eyes blazed abyss black before he lifted both and slammed them hard, cracking the ground before Ferdinand moved and pinned him down, to get hurled off as well before Talia whispered. "Forgive me..." She lashed out with her powers to hold him still, he thrashing and raging as Danny tried to ask.
"Can someone...!?" Nothing more before a clap of thunder rumble and a massive bolt struck one of the outcroppings, the party turning to see that the car dodged it before getting blindsided by a large boulder and he heard a echoing laughter emit from the heavens and both Demi girls paled as they spoke.
"No way...!?"
"He was...!?" But the being or deity just left the site and Danny left it alone as he dashed down to the toppling car before it crashed to an end and he grimaced of not saving those people before soaring in to see the damages, his fist clenched as both the mother and daughter had taken hits and were not alive from the rolling, the father took a shard through his right side and he wasn't long for the world, but the child was battered and bruised, but in a state of shock as Danny worked to get him out, the party joining him with the specter finally tiring and getting put in the puppet as well, to be returned once they got back to the Zone as Talia spoke. "Breathe, breathe..." The child tried as tears formed before he broke down and they left them have his moment while Danny spoke.
"Girls, help me out here, let's... let's get them out of here." Both nodded as Danny pulled out the dead and set up graves for them before Danny rubbed the tiring child's head. "You're going to make it, you are going to live... live for them, don't forget them and don't forget the friends you get..." The child dozed off and the party headed back to the present, back to the Far Frozen as Frostbite spoke.
"Welcome back, Great One, Hearts, and allies." Danny nodded as he returned the Infimap and Frostbite spoke. "Your expression carries the hurt of a wounded soul." Danny glanced up as Frostbite rested a hand on Danny's shoulder and smiled to him. "I have seen the like before, this burden that you have seen has been lightened, I know, but it is a reminder that not all are saved and that you will face tragedy, but to know that others are saved, even given a new chance, that means much more than a map or a guide, it means a life for them." Danny gulped with a nod as Talia focused and remade Cedric, the young man breathing before falling forward into Tallia's arms as she wailed.
"Cedric... Cedric...!" He lightly took her in arms as well as he spoke.
"I'm... back..." He tired out and the party bid farewell to Frostbite, Speeder in tow and Talia manning the Martyr, but answers were needed and Danny had that answer in the form of Amity's mayor...
Mayor Vlad hummed as he sorted through documents and papers before he felt a chill and his breath plumed out as he straightened. "Daniel..." Danny phased through and reverted back in the mayor's office as Vlad spoke. "To what do I owe this meeting to?"
"Answers, not about me or you, about something that happened years ago." Vlad nodded as Danny took a seat and spoke. "I need you to tell me about the 'Tempusi', that event." Vlad straightened up before he exhaled in grief.
"Danny, this is a serious matter." Vlad spoke as he explained. "The Tempusi was no ordinary storm, it was a storm caused by the Ancient of Storms, Vortex, one of Dark's made creatures."
"Is he...?"
"No, the Observants had made sure to pull him back into the Ghost Zone, but he still roams free across those planes now, they work to capture him and keep him locked up to keep Pariah's power at a standstill." Vlad breathed as he continued. "But it wasn't without damages, many small buisness were ruined in the torrent of a storm, several lives were imperiled by the weather as well, we had suffered a few losses for that same." Vlad glanced to the side with sorrow as Danny spoke.
"The Infimap took us for a ride, the last place on the map was during that storm, Vortex caused a rockslide which... took out most of a family, only a boy lived from it." Vlad breathed as he spoke.
"I want you to keep this a secret, it... is not a pleasant thought to have." Danny nodded as Vlad spoke. "That boy lost his family to that mess and should have been taken into foster care, but something happened at that day, he was certain of it, he assured himself that ghosts had both saved him and condemned him, he quick picked up skills that took years for others to learn, he ran business like a toy under the guise of a cover, and he changed his name under that cover to focus on a new life."
"And...?" Danny spoke in trying to piece it out, it wasn't making too much sense... unless...
His eyes widened and he dropped into the chair to Vlad's concern. "Daniel!?"
"Cedric... we just met Cedric in the past... Vortex orphaned Cedric!" Danny yelped as he leapt out of the seat and paced in surprise. "Was that why, was he trying to change the past of his own life, what was he thinking!?"
"I think that he was given a chance and, not even realizing it, tried to take it." Vlad answered as he floated over and rested a hand on Danny's shoulder to stop him. "It is okay to be shocked, I myself was stunned when I found out about him, but... it was your mother who was the most horrified." Danny froze as he looked at Vlad who, to his credit, was frowning. "She confined in me that she was appalled that such a child had to face a tragedy that far back, but she didn't make a move as she didn't know by then and Cedric quickly made friends fast and had grown from it." Danny breathed as he was directed back into the chair and Vlad spoke. "You changed his mind, as much as he has changed the world around him, you gave him hope for a better future.
"You're... you're right..." Danny relaxed as Vlad spoke with a smile.
"Mostly, I can be wrong in a number of things and claim to be wiser." He took a seat again as he spoke. "Now, though this is a leak of intel, I need to tell you what else I found about the plot about the sniper." Danny nodded and listened, his hands gripping as he pieced it out more and more, Montez hired a hitman to attack the next candidate for Mayor, but with an odd intention...
...To make sure that the bullets had a special alloy in them and that, if anyone saved the next candidate, that they had to be shot again, their target not just the next Mayor, but also the person who saved that person, the town hero, Danny Phantom...