Cold.

Everything was so cold.

Nothing felt alive. She didn't feel alive.

Her heart wasn't beating.

Rylie shot up, snow falling off of her body. "What… What happened?" She asked herself, looking down at what used to be her hands. Now they were large paws with extremely sharp claws. They were covered in white fur with grey skin on the palms.

The young girl screamed, scrambling back. Her legs were covered in the same white fur and had the same sharp claws on them. She was hyperventilating- how was she doing that? She didn't have a heartbeat!

Her eyes widened in her panic. It was dark out, but she could still see, somehow. She saw something glinting in the distance. Ice, perhaps? She scrambled towards it, she couldn't be seeing what she was-

"No," she breathed. "No no no no no, I can't be dead, I can't be!" She exclaimed. In the ice, staring back at her, was a five foot tall yeti with small horns, snow-white fur, and glowing silver eyes.

"I- I'm a ghost, I'm actually a ghost," she said, eyes wide, her paws covering her face. "Mom and Dad will hate me forever. Grandma and Grandpa will hunt me down," she curled tightly into a ball, starting to shake and cry, glowing tears trailing down her face. "I'm a monster… I don't even look human…"

She felt something slip out of her mouth, and then she felt something encase her feet. Opening her eyes, she saw her feet were frozen in a block of ice. She let out a shrill scream, frantically trying to break it until her feet just slipped through the ice.

Intangibility was handy, when you remembered you had it.

"R- Right, I'm a ghost now…" She said, slowly standing up. "I guess I… Gotta go say bye to mom and dad…" She mumbled, looking around.

"Hey, you!" She heard a voice call. Phantom? She looked up, seeing her town's hero, freezing. He would surely put her in his thermos! The ghost landed, looking at the young girl. "Have you seen a little girl around here? Black hair, amethyst eyes, only wearing a sweater?"

"N- No, s- sorrry," she replied quickly. He was looking for her. But she couldn't tell him that she was who he was looking for! The girl sneezed, ice covering his feet. She looked at him, fearing the worst, and then ran off.

"Hey, wait!" He called out. "That's not the way to the nearest ghost portal!" He flew after her, easily catching up, until she got on all fours and started kicking snow at him to try and distract him. Then she took off again, hyperventilating. The girl was obviously panicked and not thinking straight.

He sputtered for a moment, watching her take off like a rocket. His eyes narrowed. He'd have to bring her back to Frostbite's the hard way, but that would have to wait because he still needed to find Rylie.

Taking out his thermos, he easily sucked the yeti ghost up into it. "This'll keep you safe from ghost hunters until I can get you to Frostbite," he sighed, feeling the thermos shake.

A few hours later, Danny came home, looking extremely dejected. His wife ran up to him, looking worriedly at him and around him for her daughter. He was still in his ghost form when he landed, but he quickly turned human as he walked into the house.

"Did you find her, Danny? Where is she?" Sam asked, panicked. She needed to know her baby girl was safe.

Sam's hair was a mess, and her makeup had long since been removed. Amethyst eyes glinted with worry that only a mother could have.

"I didn't find her," he shook his head and sighed. "I'm just here to get something to eat, then I'm going back out."

"I'll come with you, I'll take the Speeder-"

"What if she comes home, Sam?" Danny asked, looking at his wife. "Tomorrow. If I can't find her today, you can come with me tomorrow." With that, he gave her a tight hug. He needed it as much as she did, that was for sure.

"Is there something in the thermos?" Sam asked with a frown.

"Yeah," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "A Yeti ghost. I'm going to bring her back to Frostbite after we find Rylie."

"We'll find her, Sam," Danny said, holding his wife's hands. His eyes held determination. His expression was serious. "I promise."

A week passed by with no sign of the nine-year-old. Danny, beginning to worry she was stuck in the Ghost Zone, took the thermos and started off towards the Far Frozen. The Infimap would be able to help, right?

Once there, he met with Frostbite, who allowed him access to the Infimap. Then, he let out the young Yeti ghost. "Is she one of yours, Frostbite? I found her while looking for Rylie."

The young ghost saw the large Yeti and the famous, or infamous depending on who you asked, Danny Phantom and immediately backed up. "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! I was just trying to get home and- and- and-" She clammed up, covering her head.

"No, she is not one of ours, Great One. Her voice is not deep enough. But, if she has nowhere else to go, she may stay here," the larger Yeti said, looking at the younger one curiously. "Tell me, young one, what is your name?"

The young Yeti shook her head, turning around. She was obviously scared and had no idea what was going on. She wouldn't be answering for a while.

Danny frowned, taking the map in his hands. "While it's been great, I need to get back to looking for Rylie." He took a deep breath. "Take me to my daughter," he said. The map took him, circled the younger yeti ghost, and then stopped.

"... What?" He asked, looking at the two Yeti's. "I said to take me to my daughter." Nothing happened this time. "Take me to Rylie!" Still nothing. He looked to Frostbite. "Frostbite, the map is broken."

The older ghost frowned, looking at the two. "I fear not, Great One. You see, when a human perishes in the cold, they usually turn into a Yeti ghost, it is how most of the tribe was created."

"Y- You mean…" He looked at the younger ghost who had her back turned to all of them. "... Rylie?" He asked in a whisper. Then, he tensed, realizing she wouldn't recognize him as Phantom. He changed back, taking a small step towards the girl. "... Rylie? Sweetie?" He said, louder this time.

Rylie looked up, seeing her father, and tears sprung to life in her eyes. "I- I'm sorry, Daddy! I- I didn't mean to die, I was just- I wanted to look for Grandma and Grandpa too, but it was so cold out and I fell asleep and-"

Thinner arms wrapped themselves around her fuzzy frame. "I'm just glad you're safe, Rylie. I don't care if you're a human or a ghost, you're my daughter."

Silver eyes locked in on Danny's blue ones. "Y- You mean… You don't care?" She asked, surprised.

"You're still my baby girl regardless, Rylie," he affirmed with a nod.

"Great One, if you do not mind, I would like to run some tests," Frostbite interrupted with a frown. "As I said, our kind naturally has a deeper voice, yet hers is still the same."

"Of course," Danny replied with a frown. "Ry, Frostbite is a friend, okay? I'm not asking you to trust him, but just trust me."

"I trust you, daddy," she said softly, letting Danny and Frostbite lead her to a building that kind of looked like a hospital? If one was built into the side of a mountain, that is.

She had her ectoplasm drawn and samples taken. The Yeti Ghost Leader told them all about what to expect from Rylie- if they decided to bring her home. The growth spurts, how some things were different because she was young.

Frostbite came back into the room with a frown on his face. "Great One, your daughter is not a ghost, as we previously thought," he said seriously.

"So she's half ghost like me?" He asked, giving his ally a confused look.

"No, that is not it, either. You see… We cannot tell what she is," he said with a frown. "She is not human or ghost, nor is she half ghost."

Rylie frowned. "Half ghost?" She asked, scratching her head. "I thought they weren't possible."

Danny sighed. "Ry, sweetie…" He said, standing up. He transformed into Phantom, looking at her.

"Y- You're Phantom as well?" She asked, looking confused. "But he- but you- I WAS PUT IN THE THERMOS!" She yelled, getting up.

"Rylie, I'm sorry! I didn't know and it was to protect you from the ghost hunters," he explained, trying to placate her. "If I had known, I wouldn't have done it. Frostbite, is there any way to make her turn human again?"

"I do not know, Great One. For now, she needs rest. She has had a stressful day," the elder ghost said. "She could stay here if you would like."

"No thanks, Frostbite. Sam's wondering where she is. We'll figure this out at home and let you know," Danny answered.

Rylie's nose twitched. She snorted, then let out a large sneeze that froze Danny's feet. "S- Sorry," she mumbled, rubbing her nose slightly.

"... She'll also need to come back for training," Danny sighed, phasing out of the ice. "It's fine, sweetie. You didn't mean it. Ready to go home?"

"Yeah!" Rylie exclaimed, her small cotton ball tail wagging. "How do we do that?" She asked.

"Well first…" He floated up. "Take my hand, and don't look down."

"Wait, are we going to fly?" She asked, eyes wide as she took his hand.

"Well, yeah. It's the quickest way home," he shrugged one shoulder and took off, holding onto Rylie's hand tightly.

"Eeep!" Rylie exclaimed, holding onto Danny's hand with both of her paws. They were going so fast and- suddenly they were in the lab?

She felt really… Tired. Her body felt heavier. She noticed that she shrank, but not much else as she passed out, her eyes sliding shut.

Danny looked towards his daughter when he noticed her weight shift in his hands and he noticed she was human again, and smaller once more.

"Ryles, you're human again," he said, not noticing she was asleep. "Ry?"

He heard her soft snores and smiled, picking her up bridal style. "Guess you need the sleep," he said, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Welcome back."

He carried her upstairs quietly, only to bump into Sam once he entered the living room.

"Danny, you found her! Where was she, is she okay?" The panicked mother asked, looking her daughter over for injuries. Thankfully, there were none that she could see.

"She was… She's part ghost now. Not half ghost, part ghost," he said with a frown. "The yeti ghost I caught? That was her. Something happened out there, Sam. I need to find out what."

"What did Frostbite say?" Sam asked. "I mean, you brought her to him, did he try to find things out?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't even know what's going on," the father replied, feeling the young girl shift in his arms to better cuddle into him. His core responded to that by making him just a bit cooler for her.

"We'll figure it out," Sam sighed, looking at her daughter with a small smile. She was finally home. "She must've been exhausted, though."

"I'm gonna go put her in bed, then we can talk about what to do next," he said, walking up the stairs and opening up the door to his daughter's bedroom. He made a duplicate, who pulled down the sheets, and he put her in her bed, tucking her in. "Good night, sweetie,"