Chapter Text
Everything was wrong.
Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong, and now everything was wrong.
And Jazz knew this because, when she woke, it was with a desperate cry.
“Danny!”
Jazz’s eyes opened to the jagged ceiling of a cave and her body felt the pressure and of being buried under piles of furs. The first thing she heard was her own gasp, quickly followed by a startled voice.
“Lady Jasmine!”
Immediately, Jazz tried to sit up, but found the weight of the furs too heavy. What should have been a simple act turned out to into a struggle that exhausted her quickly.
But then a large, cold hand gripped her shoulder gently, and the other hand moved some of the furs aside. The hand made sure she could sit up on her own before letting go.
Jazz looked at her helper and met the elongated, grey face and white fur of a yeti.
Jazz had never met a yeti before- she’d never even been in the Ghost Zone before- but Danny had talked about them often enough that there was no doubt in Jazz’s mind that she was now in the Far Frozen.
It would explain why everything seemed to be tinted green in her vision.
But none of that mattered.
“Danny!” She cried again and oh, her voice was hoarse and her throat was sore.
She ignored the pain and pressed on, “Where is he? He was hurt. They- Is he-?”
“The Great One is undergoing an operation.” The yeti- presumably a woman based on her feminine voice- explained “He will be well, Lady Jasmine. Our chief, Frostbite, is seeing to his well-being, and he is the best healer this side of the Far Frozen.”
The name rang a bell, but Jazz’s mind glossed over it and the woman’s assurances.
“I want to see him.” She said “I want to see Danny.”
“You cannot.” The yeti replied “As I said, he is undergoing operation. We cannot-”
“But Danny! He was- it was so bad, they- they- they-”
The image of Danny lying on the metal table flashed in her mind, and Jazz felt her eyes quickly tear up.
“Please,” She raised her hands beseechingly “I need to see Danny.”
The yeti took Jazz’s hand, completely engulfing it.
“Lady Jasmine, please,” the yeti woman said “do not overexert yourself. You are still recovering from the incident. I promise you, the Great One ison the mend. The operation is progressing smoothly, and I am sure you will get to see him soon.”
“No.” Jazz nearly whined as she pulled her hand out of the yeti’s.
And in that moment, Jazz glanced at her hands.
They were clean.
She held them up to her eyes, running the fingers of one hand over the other.
Her hands were clean. But she could still feel the warmth of blood… and ectoplasm. From when… when they… and she had to….
“No.” Jazz said again, her voice firm “I’m going to see Danny. I’m going to see for myself that he’s begin taken care of. I need to.”
Jazz started pushing more of the furs away to uncover her legs. Oh, why were they so heavy?
“Lady Jasmine,” The yeti reached out to stop her “you mustn’t.”
And it was easy for the yeti woman to do so. All she had to do was put her large hand on Jazz’s shoulders and leave the weight there.
Jazz felt that weight. If this is what carrying a sack of potatoes felt like, Jazz wouldn’t last as a farmer, sorry Aunt Alicia. Even if she could uncover the layers of furs, she wouldn’t be able to stand with the hand there.
So Jazz started pushing it off.
“Let go.” She demanded “Get off. I need to see Danny. I need to make sure. I need- I need…”
She needed to see Danny, with her own eyes, to know that he was safe. That the yetis really were taking care of him. And not doing something else. Not like… not like…
But for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out.
Jazz began to stutter “I need to- I need to- I need-”
Breathing started to hurt. Each breath was shallow and more of a struggle than the last. Jazz’s body begin to shiver, but she wasn’t sure it was from the cold.
“Lady Jasmine?”
What was this? Jazz asked herself. Was she having an anxiety attack?
No, no, this couldn’t be happening right now. Danny was hurt, he could still be in danger, he needed her. Something could happen during his operation. What if Frostbite couldn’t help him? What if their parents followed them into the Ghost Zone?
No Jazz, she told herself, don’t think like that. Ground yourself.
Remembering the basics, Jazz forced herself to take deep breaths. It was a strenuous task. She ran her hands over the soft furs. Her legs were too warm. She tried to breathe out slowly, but it hurt. Tried to listen to the yeti’s voice as she said… things.
What was she saying? That was the same yeti speaking, right? When did sound become to muffled?
And her vision. Jazz blinked rapidly when she realized her vision was blurring. Was she crying? She couldn’t tell if there were tears.
And the green. The green that had been just a tint in her vision, it was starting to spread.