Vlad recruits Valerie.

"Danny?"

Danny sighed. He had been trying to sneak into the lab unnoticed, but it seemed that wasn't in the cards for today. "Hi Mom."

Maddie stared at him in surprise. "Sweetie, what are you doing here? I thought you were with Sam and Tucker." She looked at Cujo, tucked under Danny's arm. "What's that?"

Danny shrugged. He looked down. "This is Cujo. He's, uh, kinda becoming a problem."

"How so?" Maddie frowned.

"A girl at school's dad lost his job because of him. I tried to stop him, but I just made things worse. Now they've lost their house too, and a lot of their possessions."

"Oh hon..." Maddie looked like she wanted to hug him, but held back for fear of being rejected. Danny was grateful.

He walked over to the portal, which was always open nowadays to allow Danny easy access to the living world, and tossed Cujo inside. The dog went easily, happily yapping as he crossed the threshold. "Sam and Tucker say I'm taking too much responsibility, and that I shouldn't blame myself for not being able to stop him."

Maddie nodded. "They're right."

Danny grinned over his shoulder. "Yeah, I know. Clockwork would say the same thing."

Maddie looked down, fiddled with a scrap of metal on her work table. "I don't mean to change the subject, but who exactly is Clockwork? You've mentioned him before."

Danny stared at the swirling green of the portal. "Yeah, I suppose it is time I told you about him." He sighed. "Let's go sit down."

Valerie couldn't believe her friends would ostracize her over something like her dad losing his job. She hadn't been expecting it of them, it just seemed so shallow. Maybe that Manson girl was right.

What she really couldn't believe, though, was that Foley was still following her around.

"Uh, hey Valerie!" He stood on the other side of the nearly empty lunch table, practically hovering over her.

Valerie dropped her chin on her hand. "What do you want now?"

"I was, ah, wondering if you wanted to join me, I mean, us, for lunch." God, Foley was practically sweating buckets.

"No thank you," Valerie gritted out. "I don't need to go flaunting my new social status. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to enjoy my bag lunch in peace."

Foley made a face, but walked back to his own table, where Manson sat waiting. They started chatting, and Valerie instantly regretted passing up the opportunity. It would be nice to sit with someone, even if they didn't necessarily get along.

Valerie sighed and turned back to her lunch. She wasn't ready to try making new friends anyway.

Suddenly a shadow fell over her. Valerie rolled her eyes, expecting to see Foley hovering over her again. She turned, saying, "I told you already, I don't-"

The dog was staring at her through the window.

Danny had decided to go back to Casper High during the lunch hour. He didn't have anything better to do, besides whatever Clockwork might have him do, and he wasn't ready to go back to the Ghost Zone.

Danny had just reached the school when people began streaming from the cafeteria. He sighed, and headed towards the chaos.

There he found Cujo, once again terrorizing Valerie, who was, again, screaming.

Danny found Sam and Tucker. "How long has he been here?"

Tucker jumped.

Sam glared. "You're not much of a dog catcher, are you?"

"Guess not." Danny shrugged.

"He's only been here a few minutes, man. He seems to have a target on Valerie, though."

"Yeah," Danny sighed. "I can see that." He patted Tucker on the shoulder and flew towards the fight, if you could call it that. Really, it was just Valerie hiding behind an overturned table and Cujo trying to dig through to her.

"Cujo!" Danny whistled. "Here boy!"

Surprisingly, Cujo instantly turned around and shrank. The puppy yapped and jumped onto Danny's chest. Danny wrapped his arms around Cujo and flew out the window, turning invisible as he went.

Once outside, Danny turned to look back in. He saw Valerie, huddled in her hiding place, trembling. Danny watched as Tucker crept over, sitting beside her. He said something to her, and Valerie seemed shocked. Her eyes narrowed and she began to interrogate him.

Danny had no clue what Tucker had said to her, but he didn't envy his friend for the reaction.

Valerie wiped angry tears from her cheeks as Foley sat beside her. She rolled her eyes and looked away.

Foley laughed awkwardly. "Ghosts, huh? What're you gonna do? I doubt even the Fentons could keep that one under control."

Valerie was silent for a moment as his words caught up to her. "What do you mean, the Fentons?"

Foley shifted. "Uh, y'know, Danny and Jazz's parents? They're, uh, professional ghost hunters."

Valerie narrowed her eyes. "How can I get in contact with them?"

"With Jazz, or uh, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton?"

Valerie shrugged. "Or Danny, I don't care."

Foley winced. "No, uh, not Danny." He didn't explain why. "Look, if you wait on the front steps after school I can walk you to FentonWorks? I'm sure they'll be fine with it."

Foley seemed far too nervous for it to be 'fine', but Valerie figured that was his problem. "Sounds great." Valerie grabbed her bag and headed to class, leaving him behind.

Valerie's last classes passed by in a blur. She had no clue what they'd covered or what the homework was about, but she could deal with that later. Right now, ghosts took priority.

She met Foley after the bell rang. He had been waiting on the front stairs while she collected her books. Manson was there too, and she didn't look happy.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Tucker? What if he's at the house? What're you gonna do then?"

"That's why I texted Jazz earlier. She's going to make sure that everything is set before we even get there."

"Before you get there, you mean. I'm going book shopping."

"Oh," Foley seemed to deflate. "Okay."

Manson left, shooting Valerie a dark look as they passed each other. Valerie tossed her hair and approached Foley.

"You ready to go?" He smiled.

"Absolutely. I'm ready to meet the Fentons."

Foley seemed amused. "No, you're really not, but let's go."

Valerie was almost annoyed that he would assume she wasn't prepared for anything, but Foley started walking down the street before she could say anything. She shook her head, let it go, and followed. They walked in silence. Valerie was beginning to get uncomfortable by the time they reached the third intersection, which she noticed Foley seemed nervous to cross. But then they turned into a neighborhood of brick houses, and she noticed the closest building. It was absolutely insane.

The building was red brick like the rest of the block, but as if three floors wasn't enough, it also boasted a large, metal contraption on the roof that was twice the size of the building itself. From the front of the home stretched a giant neon sign reading 'FentonWorks' with an arrow pointing to the door.

Valerie hadn't realized she had stopped walking until she heard Foley laughing at her. She glared at him and he shut up. Valerie scanned the building once more, psyching herself up for what was sure to be an incredibly strange and draining interaction. Then she left Foley's side and climbed the stairs.

Valerie lay facedown on the ratty couch in her new apartment. She couldn't believe Mrs. Fenton had just pushed her aside like that! She hadn't even listened to Valerie when she tried to explain the situation. Mrs. Fenton had just pursed her lips and said that the ghosts in question were already being investigated. Then Valerie had been shooed out the door.

"Sweetie? Are you okay?"

Valerie groaned into the coarse fabric.

"Can I help? Is it cramps?"

Valerie pushed herself up with a sigh. "No, Daddy, just that dumb ghost dog."

"Oh baby, don't worry about that. Someone will catch it eventually. And I've been given a second chance at Axion!"

Valerie felt her spirits lift. "That's great! How many of your employees can you put on it?"

Damon hesitated. "None. It's just me. I have to guard it myself, alone, at night." He pointed to a blue work suit hanging from the closet door. "In that."

Valerie glanced at the suit. "Nice. And if things get worse, you can use that outfit to deliver packages."

"Which reminds me!" Damon seemed grateful for the change in subject. "This arrived while you were at school today. From Wisconsin?" His watch beeped as he passed Valerie a large box. "Oh, don't want to be late! Bye sweetie!" Damon kissed Valerie on the cheek, snatched his suit, and dashed out the door.

Valerie stared at the box. It had her name, but she didn't recognize the return address. She tore off the tape and opened the package. A letter sat on top of the contents.

Heard about your recent ghost troubles. Hope this helps. - Vlad

Valerie tipped her head. She didn't know anyone named Vlad, and she had no clue how a stranger would know about the ghosts following her. Her eye caught a metallic glint in the box, and Valerie decided that she couldn't pass up such a gift, no matter who it came from. "I don't know who you are, Vlad, but if this thing does what I think it does, I don't think I care."

So, Valerie knows Danny's dead, but she didn't make the connection between him and Danny Fenton, just in case anyone was wondering.

To LdR: Thank you! I actually have 309 chapters planned, as long as I stick to my outline. Yes, Valerie will find out that she's been hunting Danny, but not for a while yet. Thanks again, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story!