Hidden away in the icy terrain of the North Pole was the beautiful Russian palace that served as workshop to the one and only Santa Claus. But to a select few he was also known as Nicholas St. North, the Guardian of Wonder to all the children of the world. As always he was hard at work getting ready for the one night of the year when he would make his grand trip around the world. Deciding to call in some help he sent out the call and summoned his fellow Guardians: Bunnymund, the Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and the newest to their group the winter spirit Jack Frost. Even though he initially didn't want the task Jack found that he was meant to be one through the help of his recovered memories of the sister he saved and his first believer Jamie Bennett. Now that he had accepted his responsibilities as a Guardian he found that he could still have the rebel nature that he had made for himself but just tuned down a bit so it wouldn't interfere with his duties. But the one thing he truly enjoyed was the fact that more and more kids believed in him as the days past since defeating Pitch, which he couldn't be happier for.

A few hours after arriving and mostly helping to keep the elves out of trouble Jack was lounging on one of the high beams of the Globe Room, swinging his staff at his side while tossing a snowball up and down into the air. At the same time down below a hand of a grandfather clock appeared out of the blue, swirling around a few time before disappearing and Clockwork, the master of time, floated in its place. Noticing what was happening out of the corner of his eye Jack looked down and quickly sat up, getting both curious and confused as to who that was and what he was doing there. Making his snowball disappear he floated down as the others were gathering around, sensing Clockwork's familiar presence the moment it appeared. Getting a grand grin on his face North was the first to greet him as he let out a hearty laugh. "Ahh, Clockwork old friend! It's been long time since last visit! How long has been? 63 years ago or so?"

"More or less, North. However, my visit isn't a casual one since I have an urgent situation that has arose in a short amount of time." Nodding to North's guess Clockwork had to keep things short in order to keep things on track. "My friends, I'm afraid that something, or someone, has crossed into the Ghost Zone and is starting to cause chaos on a level that I've had to stop once before the future was doomed. I can only guess that whatever or whoever is doing this found its way through a natural ghost portal that appeared wherever it came from. And whatever or whoever it is is upsetting the peaceful balance of the Zone at an alarming rate. The only clue that I can give is that the level of fear centered around a certain area has been greatly increased and it's only continuing to rise at a drastic pace."

Absolutely confused at what was going on the moment he heard the last part Jack quickly gripped his staff tighter than before as a glare appeared in his icy gaze. "It's not possible. I thought he was gone for good once he was sealed away that morning we stopped him. But of course, this is Pitch we're talking about. Who else would get a chance to get free and quickly start spreading fear like crazy?"

Realizing that Jack was right the others grimly nodded in agreement, feeling the same way Jack was about the news that Pitch was free once more. Then catching what Clockwork said about a certain area North got a terrible chill down his spine as his knowledge of the Ghost Zone flooded his mind, especially about one powerful ghost in particular. "Clockwork, old friend. You don't mean the home of former Ghost King, do you?"

Nodding as well Clockwork looked at each of the Guardians with a serious yet hopeful look as he told them what they needed to do. "Jack is right. Now that Pitch is loose in the Ghost Zone and at Pariah's Keep it can only mean that he's going to grow in power and strength and may be unstoppable unless we stop him by any means necessary. Which brings to why else I'm here. I'm must ask for the Guardians' help in stopping the Nightmare King before both this world and the Ghost Zone fall to his darkness forever. Will you help?"

"Mate, if it means sending Pitch back to the Dark Ages and keeping him there for his own amusement, then I'm in it all the way." Giving Clockwork a confirming nod Bunny was more than ready to go to get this done and get back to work getting ready for Easter on time.

"Agreed. I hate to think what would happen if we weren't able to stop him this time." Remembering what had happened to her fairies and to her friends Tooth nodded as well, wanting to make sure that it would never happen again.

Clapping happily at the thought of the new adventure Sandy gave Clockwork two thumbs up as well as two sand-made images of two thumbs up above his head to say that he was ready to go.

Thinking the same thing Sandy was North looked at his friend and a wry smile spreading across his lips he let out another laugh and clapped his hands together, rubbing them in anticipation. "If everyone else agrees I say let's begin!"

As for Jack he was a bit surprised that someone like Clockwork knew who he was despite never meeting him before until now. Giving him a curious look he nodded as well while leaning on his staff at the same time. "Well, I'm certainly in if it means getting to defeat Pitch for the second time in a row. But there's something I got to know first. How do you know who I am without even having to meet you until now?"

Chuckling a bit at Jack's inquisitiveness Clockwork looked over at the winter spirit with a clever look on his face. "Well, being the master of time, I've seen what you've done in the past against Pitch so it's pretty easy to know who you are without every having to meet you. But, of course, I'm one to know everything."

Even more surprised at that Jack couldn't argue with something like that for once and nodded, though smirking a bit at at the quip that Clockwork made. "Ahh, I see. And interesting. Can't argue with someone who can have that kind of knowledge at their disposal."

Nodding back Clockwork looked at everyone else as he felt relieved that they were all willing to help. "Thank you, my friends. I truly appreciate this more than you can ever know. Now, I must take my leave to get things ready for your arrival. Pleased get yourselves prepared yourselves for anything that might happen on the mission. When things are ready on my end I will open a portal for you to come through and I will explain what your mission will be about. Until then, everyone."

Making the clock hand reappear it spun around just like before, taking Clockwork back to his tower in the Ghost Zone before disappearing once more. Knowing that they didn't have a lot of time at that point North quickly sent his fellow Guardians to get themselves ready while getting things set at the workshop to continue with production on schedule while they were gone. Once things were set and everyone was ready to go it was a short time before the hand appeared, spinning around once while opening a portal at the same time. As the hand disappeared while leaving the portal in its place the Guardians looked at each other for a moment before walking through it and made their way to Clockwork's home in the Ghost Zone, being greeted by a curious surprise once they arrived.

Over in Amity Park Danny, along with Sam and Tucker, were over at the Nasty Burger enjoying getting something to eat and hanging out with each other. Usually Nyreena was with them as well but she was in the Ghost Zone, doing research on her family tree and ancestry. And that happened to be one of the topics the teens were discussing.

"I hope that Nyreena's doing okay being by herself while at her father's castle. Even with the reputation that Pariah has there might be some ghosts who might take this as a chance to go after her." Being a bit worried about her friend Sam piped up her concern to the boys, wondering if they were feeling the same thing.

Not seeing the worry Tucker waved his hand and shook his head. "Please, Sam. This is Nyreena we're talking about. Besides Danny, Clockwork, and her own dad she can handle herself with no problem at all."

"I'm sure that she'll be fine, Sam." Taking a drink of his soda Danny gave her a reassuring look to let her know that things were okay. "After all, being at her father's castle is probably the safest place she can be. If need be she can probably summon an army at will and keep her out of harm's way."

At that moment Clockwork came through the portal from the North Pole straight into Amity Park, wasting no time in getting to Danny and his friends. Flying high through the sky he looked around for them, wondering where they could be at this point in time. Suddenly getting a guess as to where they were he turned and headed straight for the Nasty Burger, feeling confident in that guess. Seeing the three outside at their table as he approach he smirked a bit, glad that he could meet with them without the hassle of trying to find them inside. Stopping and hovering in place just out of range of Danny's senses he raised his staff and pressed the button on top of the clock, summoning his power to stop time all around him. "Time out!" Instantly everything froze around him and double checking to make sure that it was he floated over to the three, pulling out three of his time medallions and placed them around each of the teens' necks, freeing them from the freeze.

All three suddenly gasping when they were freed Danny quickly felt his ghost sense go off and looking around in alarm he saw Clockwork and instantly got a bad feeling in his gut. "Clockwork? What...what are you doing here? Is...is there something wrong? Is...is it...him?"

"No, no, Danny, it's nothing like that." Quickly calming him down Clockwork shook his head in reply, but the look on his face said that it was something just as serious. "However, what it is may be just as serious as facing your once evil future."

All three teens quickly looking surprised at that moment Clockwork knew that he had their utmost attention for what he had to say. "I hate to say this but Nyreena isn't as safe as you think that she is. Just a short time ago a dark and powerful force passed into the Ghost Zone, invaded her father's castle and has taken her prisoner. She is going to need your help if she is to be freed and this evil defeated before it destroys both this world and the Ghost Zone before it's too late. Are you up to the task?"

Each of them equally shocked that something bad had happened to their best friend Danny, Sam, and Tucker all nodded in agreement to that. Getting a determined look Danny looked at the other and getting an approving nod from them he nodded back and looked up at Clockwork. "Oh, we're more than up for it. We're going to do everything we can to get Nyreena back and stop whatever is threatening our home and her's."

Nodding in approval himself Clockwork knew that they would accept even before having to bring this up to them. "Excellent. Now, there's not a moment to lose, literally. All of you head to Danny's home and get everything you can possibly think to bring with you for use on this mission. I will head back to my tower to get things ready for the next leg. Once I am I will open a portal for you to come through and I will explain everything that you will need to know. Alright?"

All the teens nodding in agreement Clockwork hummed in approval. "Good. I will see you all soon." Raising his staff he pushed the button and restarted time from the moment he paused it, along with the time medallions he gave to them. "Time in!" The moment time restarted the familiar clock hand appeared and spun around, taking Clockwork with it as it disappeared.

Seeing that everything was back to normal the teens wasted no time in getting their trash disposed off and rushing off to Danny's house. Making it there in what seemed like hardly any time at all they burst through the door, thankfully with no one there at that time to surprise by their abrupt entry. Quickly running around they gathered as much equipment and supplies as they could get into their backpacks. The moment that they figured that they were ready the portal finally appeared before them, telling them that it was time to go. Looking at Sam and Tucker with an affirming look Danny transformed into his ghostly form and led the way through, appearing on the other side to a rather...unexpected surprise the moment they stepped through.

Hey, everyone! So, definitely a big change from what I had before, huh? Well, just stay tuned. I've got a lot more surprises in store! See you next chapter!