The ghosts didn't know what to do. They had unconsciously been relying on the boy recognizing the two humans and being cooperative, and they hadn't actually predicted that he would be this frightened. They realized how idiotic that was, because now here they were, running around the base frantically looking for the young boy who held their entire future after he had panicked and disappeared.

Sam and Tucker were at a loss as well. They had figured that he would remember them, seeing as they knew how intelligent the Halfa was and how he had near-perfect recall. They had thought he had an eidetic memory, even though as a younger child he had subconsciously blocked out certain traumatic events. It hurt them when they learned that he had a family but he didn't quite remember what had happened to them other than they died tragically and was separated from a sibling afterwards. It hurt them when he found out that he could remember his foster family clearly and he could recall with precision what happened to them but he couldn't even tell them what his birth mother's name was.

The two wanted nothing more than to find the boy and make sure he was sheltered from the harsh world around him. And while they agreed with the cause the ghosts were fighting for, the absolute last thing they wanted was to rescue the small Halfa only to send him out to war. But they knew that the boy could handle it. However what was important right now was to find the half ghost, and they hoped and prayed the boy was aware and intelligent enough to not leave the base.

Everyone was so frantic and panicked that they were about ready to obliterate the person who was banging on the door to their secret base.

Skulker crept toward the door, weapons drawn as he ordered a few of the bystanders to continue the search for the boy. All of those in the vicinity flinched slightly at the harsh tone of the hunter and ran off to look. The metallic ghost cautiously opened the door, guns pointed at the person on the other side.

There was a teenage human girl with fiery red hair and teal eyes at the doorstep of the rebel base. She looked dirty and shaken, but overall injury free save a few scrapes and bruises. The ghost automatically knew something was amiss as questions filled his head.

'Who is she? How did she get here? Why is she here?'

The girl finally noticed the door had opened and looked up at the ghost. To the normal eye, it looked as if she was scared, but Skulker has been in this fight for a long time and he caught the hesitation before the empty scared look that crossed her face. Skulker knew that whoever this was, it wasn't someone to be trusted.

But it was someone that could give them information. It was risky, especially with the Halfa in the base and currently missing, but it was a risk they would have to take.

"Hello, is there something I can help you with, child?" Skulker asked in a false gentle voice. The child let out a small whine.

"Please help me." Skulker led the kid to the most high security room that they had. He sat her at the end of the cot and kneeled in front of her.

"What's your name?" He asked in the same falsely gentle voice.

"Ja-Jas-mine Fen-ton."

<><><><><><><><><><>

Danny was lost. Not emotionally or mentally, he was physically lost. At this point he was less scared than annoyed at his own idiocy.

After he had watched people come in and out of the room that he had woken up in, and the more he witnessed the freedom that he may or may not have, he decided to at least try to escape because if after two hours of being "missing" and still nothing, what's the worst that could happen?

Apparently, getting lost for an additional three hours.

He hit another dead end.

'If I recall correctly, that's the seventy-eighth dead end.'

'That many?'

'Yes that many, you imbecile. Are you having difficulty understanding? Would you like me to spell it out for you, mi amigo?'

'Shut the fuck up.'

"Great now I'm having full fledged conversations with the voices in my head." The boy hissed quietly to himself as he carefully looked around the corner. He had dropped invisibility in order to preserve energy, only picking it up again when he was not alone.

"Have I gone mad?" He muttered, still half distracted in his scan of the hallway.

'Absolutely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret, all the best people are.' The boy growled quietly before cutting himself off, remembering where he was.

'You can cram your references up your ass. We only saw that movie once. And I thought I told you to shut your trap.'

'1) I'm in your head, so 'shoving my references up my ass' doesn't work, now does it? And 2) rude. And you say I'm the asshole.'

Danny was about ready to scream and disregard the stealth escape when he ran down a hallway and heard voices.

'You've been hearing voices for awhile, buttercup.'

He glared at the wall.

Shaking his head in an attempt to clear his mind, he turned invisible and crept silently towards the source of the sounds. He phased (in his human form) through the door. What he saw nearly sent him into panic.

There was a teenager sitting across from the metallic ghost that had brought him here. The teenager was familiar.

"What's your name?" The ghost asked, not unkindly but certainly with fake kindness.

"Ja-Jas-mine Fen-ton." The girl said, voice breaking and shaky and with tear tracks running lines in the dirt that covered her face.

Danny wanted--he wanted so badly to believe that this was his sister. That this was Jazzy. But he's not an idiot. He can sense the ecto-signature and can see the hesitations in the movements. It was if this impostor wasn't entirely sure how to act and had to think about.

Danny dropped his invisibility, carefully masking his emotions.

If someone wanted to fuck with him they sure as hell not going to outplay him in manipulation. He's been doing this since he was five.

'Game on.'

The quiet hiccups the girl had been letting out were stalled and her breath hitched when she caught sight of the small Halfa clad in slightly bloody sweatpants and t-shirt, both of which made him appear smaller than he was and presenting him as fragile or frail. Danny hated appearing fragile or frail, but it was natural and there was little he could do other than use it to his advantage.

Skulker had seen the teen's eyes darting to the side and heard her breath catching so he turned quickly around and was relieved to see the source of his frustration for the past five hours standing behind him at the door. That relief quickly soured to horror when he realized just how dangerous this could become.

The girl closed her eyes for a bit and in the moment the boy locked eyes with the ghost, shaking his head slightly with one finger pressed to his lips, the message of 'trust me and play along' in his now-green eyes.

The girl reopened her eyes before abruptly standing and running to the boy and hugging him tightly. Danny smirked before wiping it away and forced tears down his face. His facial expression didn't change as the tears flowed and he repeated his foster sister's name. Skulker, seeing the stoney expression even though broken sobs and tears, narrowed his eyes.

"Jazzy"

<><><><><><><><><><>

Silently, a ghost glided down the frozen hallways, passing the immobile skeletons as he headed straight to the throne room. When he walked it he looked to the redhead chained in the corner before grabbing the restraints and releasing her. He pulled out a gear-shaped medallion and slipped it on her neck. She jolted into motion. Noticing the being in front of her, she met his red eyes as he smiled kindly down at her.

"Hello Jasmine Fenton. I'm Clockwork, the one who brought you here."