After talking with her dad about how he and her mother—and Vlad, she supposed—had come up with the notion of a portal into the Ghost Zone, Jazz came to the reluctant conclusion that her father's genius was in the weaponry, not the science.

Admittedly, that conclusion didn't really surprise her. She suspected that her mother fixed up some of her father's inventions, tweaking them so they worked better or had a better purpose, but Jack had invented—or at least come up with the initial idea of—the majority of the equipment her parents used.

But despite that, or perhaps because of it, it was Maddie who knew how things worked. It was Maddie who had worked out the precise details of the Ghost Portal, and it was Maddie who had perfected the Fenton Bazooka. But it was Jack, not Maddie, who was sitting in the lab of FentonWorks with Jazz, wondering how they could possibly build a bridge to the reality that still held the rest of their family.

"Even if we had a Reality Drill," Jack commented eventually as he examined a few of the weapons left in the lab, "it wouldn't do us any good. We wouldn't know where to drill. We don't know where this dimension they're in is supposed to be."

Jazz looked over her parents' calculations for the Ghost Portal again. She took after her mother, in more ways than one, and getting the highest score on the C.A.T. in the history of Casper High was the least of her accomplishments. "It would be right here," she murmured. "Here, and at the school, and probably all over town. There are connections wherever we came through." She looked up at Jack again. "Even if you did get here by wishing, to grant that wish, a bridge would still have needed to be created, even if it was just temporary."

"But how do we get it so it's not temporary?"

Jazz sighed. "I don't know. That's the trouble. It doesn't seem to follow any sense of logic. There might be a bigger pattern that I'm missing, but it looks random." Biting her lip, she scanned the list she had made again. It was comprised of what they knew and what they assumed to be true, and right now, it wasn't helping in the slightest.

"It's too bad we can't just reverse those bridge things," Jack said. He was fiddling with the switch on the Fenton Crammer. Cram. Un-cram. Cram. Un-cram. "It'd be a lot easier."

"What do you mean?"

Jack shrugged. "Well, if a bridge was there once, and we could reverse things, we'd just need to put it back, not build a new one."

Jazz stared at him for a moment as his words sunk in. Maybe she'd been giving her mother too much credit after all. "Dad, that's brilliant!"

"It is?" Jack looked surprised for a moment, but then he grinned and looked smug, as if he'd known the answer all along. "Of course it is."

Jazz was nodding. "Yes, that's why Vlad said we just need the right tools to build the bridge. I kept thinking we'd need the materials, but we've already got the materials. We can rebuild every bridge that's broken down, and Mom and Danny are bound to find one of them." She grabbed the phone and started dialling, saying, "We'll tell the others in case they haven't realized it already, and then we can focus on designing what we need."

Vlad watched as Valerie answered the phone and talked to Jasmine. He hadn't expected the first new development to come from them. After all, the poor girl was working with her father, and Jack Fenton, well…. He was the cause of too many of Vlad's problems to think he could ever do any good in a situation like this. No, he'd thought he and Valerie would devise the ingenious plan that would save the day. Perhaps they still would. After all, they were the most qualified and had the greatest pool of resources upon which to draw.

And he wasn't used to losing, even in something like this that wasn't truly a competition.

Valerie related what Jazz had said, then glanced around the lab and added, "Do you think there's anything in here that we'll find useful?"

"I don't keep a lot of useless stuff on hand," Vlad replied. Not in here, anyway. This really was a secret lab, after all. Not his secret secret lab that housed his portal and the computer with the Maddie program—no need to let Valerie be aware of that—but this was a relatively small, perfectly serviceable lab for instances such as this. He'd realized early on, once Valerie had discovered that it had been him who had supplied her with her ghost hunting weapons, that the day might come when Valerie would show up for an unexpected tour, and he didn't feel that it was necessary to show her everything.

"Do we want something based on ectoplasm, do you figure?" Valerie asked, shifting on her feet. "I'm not really well-versed in this whole extra dimension reality thing."

"Neither am I," Vlad replied, sifting through a few papers that outlined early experiments, "but I imagine it might be a bit of a steep learning curve." It was unfortunate; judging by some of Daniel's comments, and the fact that he seemed to be on good terms with Clockwork, the boy had more experience with that sort of thing than he did.

Still, he needed to focus. These bridges were finicky things, from the sounds of it. Jazz had crossed one, and so had the Box Ghost. Everyone else had crossed over by utilizing some residual magic left over from the creation of the reality that was a result of Valerie's wish, granted by Desiree. It was magic but not solely the simple ghostly magic that was typical of Desiree's spells. This was more complex.

"Jazz said that she'd been thinking they might be able to figure something out based on how you guys created the Ghost Portal," Valerie said. "Before Mr. Fenton figured out the rebuilding thing, I mean. But do you think Jazz was looking at the right thing? I mean, it'd make sense, wouldn't it? The Ghost Zone's another dimension, and so is the place where Danny is."

"It's not as simple as that," Vlad said, still absently looking through previous design ideas. Half of them were copies of blueprints stolen from FentonWorks, but that was beside the point. He still had the genius to put them together. "The Ghost Zone and our world are mirrored, in a way. They're connected. One cannot exist without the other. This other reality isn't the same. It's temporary and, I imagine, highly unstable. We won't have any luck trying to break into it. If we did, it might not last long enough."

The Box Ghost had told him that he could build a bridge. All they needed were the right tools, and Vlad Masters was not about to let the Box Ghost, of all ghosts, be one up on him. He picked up the blueprints for the proto-portal, the one they'd designed in college. The principle was essentially the same. The proto-portal, however, had acted more like a battering ram and forced an opening into the Ghost Zone. If they were going to try any such thing with this other reality, whatever it was, it would need to be a lot more gentle.

So, perhaps, if they tweaked a few factors, they could draw upon what was left, and build things up rather than force them down. They'd need to know the exact location…. "Do you know where Jasmine crossed over?" Vlad asked, looking up at Valerie.

"I think so."

Vlad started gathering a few of his tools and the odd weapon or two that could be partially dismantled and fitted for a new purpose. "We're going to try something," he said, "and we'll have better luck if we are wherever she had been."

Valerie looked surprised. "You think you know what to do?"

"Not exactly, but we'll do more good if we fiddle there than if we fiddle here. We'll know if we get it right that way." He passed her a bag full of things they might need and started filling another for himself. They were going to figure this out, one way or another. Of all the Fentons, he would much rather that it had been Jack who had found himself stuck in a failing reality. The situation would have been much less urgent then. But as it was Maddie and Daniel…. Vlad wasn't going to take any chances.

Besides, even if Daniel wouldn't appreciate what he was doing, even if he would just call him a 'seriously crazed-up fruit loop' again and accuse him of having ulterior motives, Vlad wasn't going to sit back and let someone else destroy the young halfa. If nothing else, Daniel had helped save him before, and debts had to be repaid. Eventually. And, since Vlad hoped to incur more debts in the future until Daniel finally came around, well…. It was time he did something nice for once.

Even if they were, according to Daniel, his arch-enemies.

Sam stopped when they got to the school. She glanced at the place where she'd last seen the Booo-merang, but it was gone, and she vaguely recalled Tucker saying he'd taken it back inside. It didn't matter. It hadn't given them any answers. All they'd learned from it was that they couldn't get to Danny, but that was the same thing that Clockwork had told them. Danny Phantom couldn't be helped by his friends.

She and Tucker weren't going to be doing any good at all, then.

"Let's start inside," Tucker said. "It's a smaller area."

"We don't know what we're looking for," Sam reminded him automatically.

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean we won't find something."

Sam didn't comment, but she followed Tucker inside. He was right, but she didn't really think they'd find anything. Not without help, anyway. She'd still try—she'd try anything to help Danny—but she wasn't as hopeful as she should have been.

Normally, she'd chalk that up to being a Goth. Hope and happiness weren't exactly her stock and trade, and she balanced optimism with a healthy dose of realism. But with Danny…. It was different with Danny. It'd be different with Tucker, too, of course. They were her best friends. She just….

She was worried, and she was finding it really hard to pretend she wasn't. Well, to pretend that she wasn't as worried as she actually was, at any rate. Yes, there was a light at the end of the previously dark tunnel. Yes, they had some answers. They knew where Danny was. They knew why. They knew it was possible to get him back. They knew what needed to be done. They just didn't know how to do it.

And, well, Clockwork's words were coming back to haunt her.

How could she and Tucker help Danny if he couldn't be helped by his friends? How were they supposed to do anything? The spell had to run its course. The wish had to be granted. They couldn't change that. That's what Clockwork had said.

He'd also said that they didn't follow the rules, probably implying that they wouldn't be doing that this time. But what did that mean, anyway? What hint was he trying to give them? That was assuming he was trying to give them a hint, of course, but Clockwork wasn't exactly on Danny's enemy list. He was one of the good guys.

When Sam's phone rang, she was relieved. Maybe it was some of the help they needed. Glancing at the display, she saw it was Jazz. That was a bit surprising, actually, considering what Clockwork had said. Jazz might be family, but she definitely counted as one of Danny Phantom's friends. "Hello?"

Jazz's explanation wasn't much to go on, Sam had to admit, but it was something. Rebuilding a bridge had to be easier than building one from scratch, right? But the fact remained that they still had no idea how, and that wasn't exactly comforting. Neither was the fact that it had been Jack, not Jazz, who had realized this. That meant, technically, that Clockwork's words were still true: only Phantom's enemies were helping.

There was something undeniably unfair about that.

Tucker was checking the walls for who knew what, but Sam had stalled out at the table filled with FentonWorks weapons. "I wish we had some help," she whispered. It was silly. They did have help. It wasn't just her and Tucker. There was Jazz, Valerie, Mr. Fenton, and even Vlad. But it didn't feel like enough. It didn't…. None of them knew much more than anyone else.

Laughter split the air, and Sam recognized it immediately as Desiree's. With practiced ease, she grabbed an ectogun from the table, whirled around, and took aim.

The wishing ghost held up both hands in surrender when Sam—and Tucker, Sam realized out of the corner of her eye—turned on her. "I didn't mean for it to happen this way," she said. "And so, as you have wished it, so it shall be."

Sam cocked one eyebrow. "Meaning?" She lowered the ectogun, just slightly, but not far enough away that she couldn't still hit the ghost if she needed to.

"Isn't it obvious? I've come to help."

"Really?" Tucker asked. "Why? I mean, you had to have been coming here before Sam even made that wish, right? So why come to help?"

Desiree crossed her arms in a huff. "If you must know, it's required. But," she added quickly as Sam raised the ectogun again, "after what Clockwork showed me, I want to."

"What'd he show you?" Sam asked.

Desiree shook her head. "You don't want to know. Just trust me, it's better if you don't shoot me. I'm going to be helping you, whether you like it or not."

It was probably part of her punishment, Sam realized. Like how the Box Ghost had essentially had community service after the fiasco with Pandora's Box. Whatever it was, it wasn't because of her wish. Desiree hadn't granted that wish, or at least not gained any power by offering her services like she would've otherwise, and she wasn't twisting the wish, either. It really looked like she genuinely was going to help clean up the mess she'd created.

But it wasn't just Desiree's compliance that worried Sam. It was the fact that she was clearly quite willing to help. Because of whatever Clockwork had shown her. Was it Danny's future? Well, whatever his future was now, providing they got him out of there? Was it the future if they didn't?

Was it the present, showing what Danny was going through now?

Sam dropped the ectogun onto the table and closed her eyes. She hated feeling helpless. She'd wanted help, and she'd gotten exactly what she wanted: help from someone who knew more than they did. But still, considering the source…. It wasn't Skulker or anyone who showed up on an all-too-regular basis, and Desiree wasn't that high on Danny's enemy list, all things considered, even though she had nearly wiped away his life as a half ghost for good by granting an ill-timed wish on Sam's part, and she clearly had the power to do more bad stuff, like this, but….

But it was just more support for Clockwork's words.

Danny Phantom cannot be helped by his friends.

Maddie cracked open one eye, just slightly, and watched. Phantom was, as far as she could tell, inspecting the walls of the school auditorium. For what, she didn't know. She hadn't figured that part out yet. She'd come to at some point during the move to Casper High. She'd still been groggy from Phantom's attack, but it didn't take much to realize that the ghost boy had had the nerve to steal her son's scooter.

It didn't make sense to her, really. Phantom could have put her with the rest of her family, wherever that was, or he could have flown her here. Of course, she didn't see why Phantom would bring her, his enemy, to a place filled with weapons that could be used against him, either. That had piqued her curiosity, and she'd seen the value in playing possum, so she had.

What she'd learned from her observation—and eavesdropping, when Phantom chose to talk to himself—didn't make much sense.

From what she could tell, Phantom was playing out some sort of delusion. She wasn't sure why he'd picked her family—perhaps they'd reminded him of what he'd had when he'd been alive, as he was clearly a ghost created from post-human consciousness rather than one of pure ectoplasm formed through an amalgamation process—but whatever the reason, she was going to make sure he never picked them to participate in his little games again. He might think he was playing at heroics, but his hold on his delusion was frightening. When she'd tried to get him to see the truth, when she'd tried to get him to admit to taking her family, when she'd tried to find out where they were and what he'd done with them, he'd attacked her.

He acted remorseful, of course. She wasn't entirely sure why, given that he hadn't been aware he'd had an audience, but she imagined that it was because he could pretend that he was good, as he wanted so many people of Amity Park to believe. She'd admit the ice probably had taken the swelling on her head down a bit, but the fact remained that he was the only reason she was injured.

If she weren't so worried about her family, about Jack and Jazz and Danny, she'd use this opportunity to truly study Phantom. For all that he was spotted almost daily in Amity Park, she didn't know much about him. He usually managed to elude them one way or another.

But now…. Experimenting could come later. Right now, she just wanted to be back with her family. She wanted to see all of them again and see for herself that they were safe and sound. But the only way she could do that would be to convince Phantom to admit to what he had done and release her from this, whatever this was. That hadn't gone over very well.

When Phantom looked suitably distracted, Maddie crept slowly towards the FentonWorks booth. She and Jack had left enough behind for her to use. There was even, she noticed, a Fenton Bazooka. If she kept it on the right setting, she could use it as an ectogun, and it would pack a better punch than any of the ectoguns that were on the table. That was just as well; this was one time she had no desire to send the ghost back to the Ghost Zone.

Not yet, anyway.

So, ignoring the throbbing of her head, Maddie collected a small arsenal of weapons and crawled along the front of the stage, keeping a watchful eye on Phantom, who was busy at the back of the auditorium. She reached a pile of boxes, slipped into the gap behind them, and began preparing her battle plan.

Things weren't looking too good. Danny hadn't been able to find anything remotely promising. Well, nothing that he'd been able to recognize as promising. He wasn't really too good at this sort of thing.

He needed help.

If Tucker were here, he'd have run some sort of simulation on his PDA and would've figured out what they needed. Sam would probably have worked out the solution without that, pointing out something obvious that he and Tuck had missed. Jazz would've worked out the theory behind it all by now, even if she hadn't been able to solve the problem.

This was sort of why he needed his mother's help. He wasn't the genius in the family, not by any stretch of the imagination.

Danny, wondering if Maddie had woken up yet, glanced back to see how she was doing.

She was gone.

Danny sank back to the floor immediately, his heart heavy. He'd had a bit of time to rest now, yes, so he had more energy than when he'd gotten to the school, but Maddie was gone. He was the only one left. He was trapped here, alone. Completely isolated, cut off from everyone else. No humans, no ghosts, and not so much as a cricket to be heard outside.

That was when he heard the quiet whine of a weapon powering up.

Danny shot back into the air, looking around. Okay, so Maddie wasn't gone. That was good, right? She was still here. She could still help him. They could still figure this out.

He just needed to convince her that he wasn't the enemy.

Easier said than done.

The first blast came from the opposite corner of the room, from the boxes he'd hidden behind earlier with Sam and Tucker. A second blast quickly followed the first, and Danny knew he needed to move. He just needed a bit more time to figure this all out. He needed to figure out what to say, how to make it clear that he wasn't the one behind this. Turning intangible, he shot straight up and settled on the roof of the school.

Somehow, being hunted by his mother wasn't much better than being stuck in the lab with her. For all that he was a ghost, he still seemed to be at a distinct disadvantage. He knew what his parents thought about ghosts. He knew they didn't care if the ghosts got hurt at all by their inventions.

Danny swallowed. It was dark out now. He hadn't realized how much time had passed when he'd been in the school. The sun had only just been setting when they'd arrived, hadn't it? He couldn't really remember.

At least the sick, twisting feeling in his gut kept any hunger that he might've been feeling at bay. Of course, when he was in his ghost mode, he didn't need as much food, but he'd still spent, what, half the day as Danny Fenton? He hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday, and a few ill-timed ghost attacks had meant he hadn't gotten as much as he might've.

Danny buried his face in his gloved hands. "Please let this be a dream," he muttered. This being a dream was infinitely more preferable to this being reality.

He needed to keep moving, though. He couldn't stay up here. His mother was probably on her way to the roof right now, and he still needed to figure out what to say and how to say it.

Danny flew over the side of the roof and hovered against one wall, sticking to the shadows. He wasn't by a main doorway or any windows, so he shouldn't be easy to see from the roof. Not unless his mother checked every corner, anyway. And she didn't know he was sticking around here. For all she knew, he could be halfway across town. That would normally be an excellent idea, but he couldn't go too far when he really needed to talk to her.

Valerie had put their differences aside and worked with him. Surely his mom could do the same, just until they got out of this?

Danny turned invisible, just in case. But he was still tired, and he wasn't sure how long he could hold it for. With his luck, it wouldn't be long enough.

He'd have to ignore the little fact that he'd been strapped to a table earlier. He'd have to ignore the fact that he'd already hurt his mother, albeit unintentionally. She was going to be expecting Phantom to be his usual cocky self, and if he was, then maybe she wouldn't think he was lying when he told her the truth this time. Maybe she wouldn't think it was just some desperate attempt to escape. After all, if he'd wanted to escape her, he could have simply flown away. If he stuck around, if he tried to talk to her…. Wouldn't she listen?

Danny lost his hold on his invisibility. Crud. He was too tired to keep it for too long, and he hadn't really built up the endurance for it. On the upside, he hadn't heard his mother walking around the roof. On the downside, that meant he had no idea where she was.

He held his breath for a moment, listening hard. He'd hear her before she found him, wouldn't he? If he paid attention? If he just listened?

An all-too-familiar whine of weaponry, this one louder than the previous one, caught his attention, and he barely had time to dodge the blast as it came. Most of his half-formed thoughts of what to say flew out of his head, but he tried to reason with his mother anyway. It felt like he was just repeating himself, repeating everything he'd told her back in the lab. But even when he tried telling her—again—that they needed to work together, all she did was fire at him.

He took refuge inside the school again. He had no doubt she'd follow him, but that was just as well. Even if he had to blast every weapon to pieces just so she'd listen to him, he would. He just…. He needed his mom. She couldn't comfort him, not about this, but he needed her to listen to him.

Even if it was just a temporary truce, he'd take it; anything was better than this.

A/N: So, we finally caught up with the story and are right where we came into it before hastily backtracking. Now we just get to see how it all ends up…. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to review!