"Valerie…Grey? As in the former ghost hunter Valerie Grey?" Sam asked. "Danny, she hunts ghosts! I read about her once in this book!"
"I…" a memory tugged at the back of Danny's mind. "No, Sam, I think it's alright."
"No, Danny, I think you need to send her back!" Sam said.
"Look, just…chill, Sam," Danny kept his eyes on Valerie while she stood still, silently biting her lip.
"C'mon Danny, you've gotta at least remember something about me. I mean, we were friends for years," Valerie smiled a little bit.
"I…uh…" Danny felt sick to his stomach, trying to remember. "I don't remember, I just can't. But I know you," Danny finally turned to Sam. "I know her, it's ok."
"Danny…" Sam was about to say something, but she bit her tongue and just looked away instead. "Fine. Just don't come crying to me when everything goes wrong," Sam stormed away.
"Sam wait!" Danny called, starting to run after her when Valerie caught his arm. She looked down at her wrist watch, cursing under her breath when she saw the time on her timer.
"There's no time. We have to go now, before it happens."
"I…ok, I guess, yeah," Danny said hesitantly, still unsure whether or not he should trust the feeling in his gut. "Tuck, are you with me?"
Tucker was still looking at Valerie in awe, obviously trying to comprehend what was going on. He shook his head, snapping out of it. "Um, Danny, I don't know…"
"Danny, there's no time for this!" Valerie dragged Danny with her, walking down the street like she knew every twist and turn.
"Um, Valerie, care to explain what's going on?" Danny tried to keep up as Valerie dragged him by his arm, running and weaving through the town until they finally made it to the edge of the floating island. "We- We're not allowed this close to the edge."
"Yeah, we're probably also not allowed to do this," she dragged both of them off of the edge, and they both wend tumbling into a void of nothingness.
"AH! Valerie, what are you doing?" Danny screaked while he flailed his arms helplessly. After a few moments, his instinct kicked in, and he transformed into his human self, catching Valerie and keeping them suspended just a few hundred feet below Amity Park.
"Wha- Danny!" Valerie yelled. "You were supposed to let us fall! There's somewhere we both need to be just below us!"
"Well, I would've known that if you'd explained anything!"
"Ok, you want me to explain? Well, here you go. I remember everything that happened. I know that this is all just an alternate universe because of the fact that I'd been zapped by ectoplasmic waves so many times before that, that nothing ghostly really effected me anymore. And I know you know what I'm talking about because I just recently came in contact with Ember and Jazz," she explained.
"You…wait, what?!" Danny exclaimed.
"Well, I need your help because of the fact that there's about to be a portal to earth opening just below us any moment now. I don't know what's going to be coming through, or what will even be going on, but I do know that you're the most powerful person I've ever met, and if there's anyone who can keep things under control, it's you."
Danny took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "What's going to happen? What do we need to be there when the portal opens?" Danny asked.
Valerie sighed. "I don't know, but I do know that it involves Vlad. Which basically means that it's not good."
Danny took a deep breath, feeling his heartbeat (which was getting stronger and stronger since he'd gotten his powers) slow down slightly. "And you're sure about this?"
"Positive."
Danny nodded, letting the two of them fall again. After about thirty seconds, Amity Park was just a speck in the swirling green and black void. After just a few more seconds, Valerie clicked her heals together, her suit flying around her and fitting itself to her. She pressed a button on her watch, and a board came out of her boots, the jets firing up and stopping her from falling. She caught Danny and pulled him on the board with her.
"Wow," Danny looked down at her hover board in awe. "That's amazing!"
"Yeah, I know. So, the portal should be opening right in front of us in three…two…one…" just as Valerie counted down to one, she pressed a button on her watch, and both of them turned invisible. The portal opened just half a second later, the swirling blue and yellow clashing with the green and black around it.
Three small silver and magenta probes flew out, staying completely still in front of the portal for a few seconds until the portal closed. The probes then turned in three different directions, and flew away from one another. After the probes were far enough away to not be seen anymore, Valerie turned off the invisibility.
"That was…shockingly anticlimactic," Danny sighed, floating away from Valerie's hover board so that he was eye level with her.
"He was…just trying to probe the ghost zone? That's it? But according to my readings, that portal was big enough to bring an army through it!" Valerie scowled. "It must've been the fact that the probes were so advanced that the portal needed to have a huge ectoplasmic signature in order for them to make it through."
"So, wait, Vlad's trying to probe the ghost zone now? That can't be good…" Danny looked around until his eyes landed back on Valerie. "So, what Sam said about you being a ghost hunter…is that true?"
Valerie sighed, hanging her head slightly. "Ok, yes. You know how Jazz told you about you being a sort of teenage superhero in the original timeline? Well, so was I, kind of. Vlad had given me the equipment I needed to hunt ghosts, hoping that I'd take you out. And, well, I did try to take you out, when you were in your ghost form. But then I found out that you were half ghost, and a hero when you saved the world this one time, and we became partners. Then, Vlad messed things up with that stupid immortality serum, but I still remember. Oh, I still remember everything," she tightened her fists into balls at her sides, obviously angry with Vlad. "In the alternate timeline, this timeline, I went along with Vlad only long enough to get the equipment I needed. Then, I fought him as hard as possible, never giving up. I still won't give up, especially after what happened to you, and everyone in Amity Park."
Danny stood there in shock, trying to comprehend her words while memories fought their way back. Valerie Grey, Amity Park High School, something about a ring. He tried to collect his thoughts without any success, leaving the small pieces of the puzzle separated. "I remember somethings," Danny finally said. "We went to high school together, right? I remember feeling guilty, and…and a ring?"
Valerie pushed a button on her watch, and her suit came off, leaving only the hover board under her feet. She covered her mouth, her eyes glistening with tears. "Yes. Yes, you remember!"
"Well, not everything, but bits and pieces," Danny rubbed his neck nefariously.
"Oh, that's ok. Danny, I'd honestly be fairly surprised if you remembered everything, considering the fact that this was all before you died…and in a different timeline," Valerie trailed off.
"Yeah, everything's pretty fuzzy…" Danny trailed off. Suddenly, he remembered how he'd left Sam and Tucker in such a hurry. "Oh, hey, we should get back up to the island. Are you staying, or…?"
"Um, I really don't think that's a good idea. I hear ghost hunters aren't the most popular around here," Valerie smiled a little bit, starting to hover closer to the island. Danny followed her until they were finally up on the cliff, where Tucker was a few feet away, pacing and looking for the two of them. The second they landed, Tucker ran over, obviously worried.
"Danny! Dude, you guys just went off of the cliff! I didn't know where you went!" Tuck ran up and gave Danny a tight hug before pulling away and turning to Valerie, then back to Danny. "So? What happened?"
"Well, here Tuck, I'll explain later, but first, where's Sam?" Danny asked.
"Um, she ran into the woods after you and Valerie ran off," Tucker said awkwardly, still looking between Danny and Valerie.
"Val, I've gotta-" Danny looked at Valerie.
"Yeah, go, I've got somewhere to be anyways," she smiled at him before pressing a button on her watch, activating her suit. Danny turned and ran towards the woods just as he heard a surprisingly familiar scream echo.
"Sam!" Danny floated off of the ground, flying as fast as possible towards the woods.
Ok, even I have to admit that this chapter was pretty lame. So, not to make any excuses, but I've just had no inspiration lately! (well for this story anyways...)
Also, even though I have a week off, I don't know how much I'll be able to update. I really just am not super excited about this one like I was before! If anyone has any exciting ideas, I'm all ears. I'm really, really sorry, I should just stop making so many storied because I never seem to complete them, ugh.
Anyways, I'll try to update, we'll see when that happens.
-Samantha