By the time we got to Ellef Ringnes, it was already morning and the blinding sunlight against the white snow didn't bode well for our vision. The storms here made hail feel like a light shower, and the 70 miles-an-hour winds didn't exactly make the place any cozier, either. I was shivering so much I was surprised my teeth didn't start a fire, or break.

Five minutes would've been enough to make Frostbite beg to be brought back to the warmth that was the Realm of the Far Frozen. We'd been trekking through it for the past half an hour.

"How much longer until we get there?" I could barely hear my own feet as I trooped through all the snow. I hoped Zak could hear me.

"We can't be that far! The storm is strongest where the Amarok is!"

"That means we're close to Amarok, not to the burial mound!" Somehow, I felt this storm wouldn't be as disarming to the Amarok as it was to us. Not the most comforting thought given that it kinda hated us for stealing its glasses.

"Quit worrying so much! I've been here before! We're definitely close to the burial mound!"

THERE'S WHITE ALL AROUND US! HOW CAN YOU TELL? I kept that to myself. I've learned through repetition that arguing with that guy was useless.

After maybe another ten minutes of trotting, I yelled out to Zak. "How much farther do you think we'll need to walk?"

No response.

"Zak?" Right after I said that, I walked into a cave wall. Thankfully, the neck pain was almost gone, by then. "Zak, I think I found it!" Maybe he can't hear me?

I walked against the wall until I found an opening to a cave. Shelter from the storm.

I sat there for a few minutes waiting for Zak. Nothing. We'd been separated.

My heart was racing. I wasn't worried about Mr. I've-been-here-before. I was worried for myself. I had no idea where I was. There was a monster out there. Would my ghost powers work against it? I'd never fought anything that wasn't ghost or human. For all I knew, cryptids might not be affected by ectoplasm. It could just be goop to them.

Calm down. Remember what Mom always told you.

I had to keep moving. Maybe this cave is the burial mound? I just have to find the mound part.

The place was almost entirely made out of ice, like it was just a huge iceberg at one point, and something carved it into what it was now. The entire place had blue glow, like there was some liquid trapped inside. I know what you're thinking. No, it wasn't water.

My heart rate fell, and I felt something touch me. Oh, Zak. Thank goodness.

I turned around to face him. Or not. A tall, wolf stood where I thought my regrettable comrade would be.

It opened its mouth to growl at me. I'd tell you what it sounded like, but I was twenty feet into the cavern running for my life before I could hear it, any noise masked by my own yelling. The walls of the cavern started shaking, like the Amarok had a Cryptidly Wail, or the ability to generate earthquakes.

I frantically looked around to see if there was anything I could hide to lose the Amarok and take cover over in case the ceiling collapsed. That's it. The ceiling!

I charged up a light ghost ray and aimed for the ceiling. Part of the stiff snow melted and made way for the snow above to come crashing down, creating a wall behind me.

I ran into two, maybe three forks, not caring which path to take before I reached a large area with mounds of snow topped with artifacts like cherry on a cake. These must be the burial mounds! Great!

Zak came running in through a different entrance after hearing my panting. "Danny! What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I ignored his attempt at a pun. Gasping for breath, I mustered "Am – Ama – rok."

"You know what an Amarok looks like?"

I could respond without stuttering after taking a few seconds, but the words still stuck to the back of my throat. "Are there many other weird creatures living around here?!"

Zak smiled sheepishly. "So, what now, we wait for it to find us?"

"No need to wait." I pointed at the entrance I came in from.

My wall did little to slow the man-wolf down. The Amarok came charging in on all fours.

I covered my head with my arms and shut my eyes, expecting it to pounce me. Nothing happened.

The Amarok just stood there, eyes glowing orange. Zak had just saved my live.

"Easy, big guy. I've got your glasses right here," teased Zak, waving the Crystal Glasses in the air. He walked backwards until he reached a donut of snow and stepped aside, making way for the Amarok to walk into the donut. Zak covered the top with snow, placed the artifact back on top, and released his influence on the cryptid.

A pile of snow and a pair of glasses are enough to keep an earthquake-causing man-wolf at bay? I didn't question the good fortune any further.

"That was awesome," I yelled. "Let's never do that again. Your powers were a lot stronger than back in your room. I mean, your whole body was glowing orange, this time."

"This is a mystic hotspot. My powers actually are stronger here than usual."

I thought for a moment. If this place enhances powers, then… "Give me your Claw. I wanna try opening a portal here."

Zak reluctantly handed his bamboo…sword…thing over. "Try not to cave us in." There wasn't a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

The moment I touched the Claw, the actual claw part started glowing green, and my entire body followed. It felt different from back in Zak's room. This energy was far more potent, coursing through my entire body rather than just my hand.

I raised my hand and tried visualizing a portal opening in front of me. The glow turned red, and a red and black portal showed up in front of me, sucking the two of us in before closing behind us.

That was easy… Wait. Where…

There were no floating balls of green ectoplasm; there wasn't anything green, at all. This definitely wasn't the Ghost Zone. This was… Amity Park. In ruins.

Looking around, it seemed to have been that way for a while. I tried picking up an asphalt rock next to me, but it just crumbled into powder on touch. The air current blew the powder into my face and I stumbled back into Zak.

"Uh, Danny?" Zak tapped on my shoulder and pointed behind us.

A teal-skinned man with fiery white hair had just fallen from the sky. He wore a black jumpsuit with a white 'Y' shape stretched across the torso. In the center of the Y, the same stylized "D" that sported on mine.