Jack tread heavily through the dark undergrowth of the forest. His arm was pulled straight in front of him due to the excited romping of Cujo. The little glowing green dog was also doubling as a flashlight, allowing both Jack and Maddie to see several paces into the trees around them.

While Jack was busy holding tight to the leash Maddie was adjusting the setting on the spectral scanner. If any ghosts were in the area they would know about them shortly.

While Jack and Maddie adjusted their equipment a pair of glowing red eyes watched them from a distance. Pointed teeth glistened in a wicked grin before the dark figure twisted and darted through the trees to a camouflaged shipping crate about a mile from the two hunters.

Vlad Plasmius landed quietly near the container and searched his pockets for only a moment before pulling out a key. The lock of the container clicked softly. The doors swung open to reveal several glowing grates, each filled with a different spectral animal. Plasmius grinned again and proceeded to open the first several crates.

The ghostly beasts hesitated for only a moment before hurrying out of their cages and disappearing into the trees.

Vlad checked his watch. In another ten minutes, he'd release the rest of them.

…

Cujo had found a stick the size of a large sapling which he insisted on dragging along the path. Jack had been forced to switch the leash to his other hand in order to avoid having his ankles abused by the branches each time Cujo turned his head.

Maddie was still messing with the setting of the scanner. When it finally beeped she looked ready to cheer with joy.

"Jack, we got a reading," she practically sang happily. The device beeped again. "Two readings. Oh, this is wonderful." The device then beeped several more times in a row. "Oh...well the good news is there are plenty of ghosts in the area."

"That sounds like the kind of sentence that's usually followed by bad news," Jack said suspiciously.

Maddie waved her hand, "Oh don't be ridiculous. I was going to say the better news is, they are all heading straight for us."

"Yes!" Jack exclaimed, pumping his fist. He then scooped up Cujo, who continued to chew on his branch. "We can test Cujo on them."

The little glowing pup tilted his head to the side, the dried leaves on the branch rustling with the movement. He didn't know what was happening but since his humans seemed excited he wagged his tail.

…

"Ugh!" Danny exclaimed, his hand digging into his own hair and making it stand in odd directions. "There has to be something here. A camera, a trap, something nefarious"

Jazz checked the scans again but they continued to turn up nothing. "Sorry, little brother. There's still no sign of any ecto related activity in the cabin."

"Vlad's cabin," Danny emphasized. "There has to be something here."

Jazz slowly lowered the scanner, "or, maybe, this time he's actually not planning anything."

Danny gave her an incredulous look.

"Ok, fine, he's probably planning something, but whatever it is doesn't seem to be related to the cabin."

Danny leaned heavily on the nearby window sill. "So, he's probably out there then. Mom and Dad could be in trouble."

"They have Cujo and a butt load of weapons," Jazz shrugged. "Even if he did try something I'm sure they'd still be fine."

Danny chewed his lip. "I'm going to check again," he said, pulling away from the window. "We had to have missed something."

…

"Gosh darn it, Cujo, you're supposed to attack them, not play with them," Jack yelled in frustration as he shot a glowing two-headed beaver.

Cujo looked up mid romp. He had been tumbling around with a bear-shaped ghost and playfully nipping at its ears. The bear was not so playfully trying to slash Cujo's side but the ghost dog was currently much larger and had no problem pinning the bear in such a way that it couldn't reach anything vulnerable.

Cujo happily yipped and grabbed the bear by its scruff before giving it a dizzying shake.

Maddie sighed and used a Fenton thermos to suck the bear out of Cujo's jaws. "You know, I thought this ghost dog was supposed to be more vicious."

Jack shrugged, "he just hasn't learned the difference between work and play yet. We'll train him to be a ferocious hunter in no time."

Maddie glanced over to see Cujo panting happily while he bopped a large green bunny spirit on the head. The bunny snarled at him with carnivorous fangs. Cujo yipped happily.

"Yeah, I'm thinking he'll be more useful for capture than actual spectral destruction," Maddie muttered disappointedly.

Jack was busy lining up another shot when the incessant beeping of the spectral scanner suddenly went into overdrive.

Maddie glanced at the screen before her eyes widened and she shouted, "Take cover!"

Jack shouted for Cujo to go small and scooped up the pup before diving behind a tree. He quickly realized the small birch wasn't going to conceal his girth and proceeded to run for better cover.

Maddie meanwhile had ducked behind a large boulder and was reloading the ecto charger on her weapon while ignoring the steadily increasing rumble that was shaking the ground. A few moments later a stampede of ghostly creature charged passed her hiding spot. Most of them ignored her but a few had to be discouraged with a well-placed ectoblast.

Jack meanwhile was having trouble finding cover suitably large enough to conceal him and Cujo. The rumbling was getting steadily louder and he was running short of time. Finally, he spotted what looked like a small ravine and dove into it just in time to avoid the flood of ghostly animals which passed overhead.

It was several minutes before the last glowing beast passed by and the ground finally stilled. Jack sighed and began to stand. Or at least he tried. The problem was his dive for safety has resulted in him getting wedged in a rather tight spot. He tried to wiggle free except the ground gave several inches leaving him even more stuck than he was before.

Cujo looked at him with confusion than gave a happy doggy grin before licking his nose.

Jack sighed, "you have no idea how much trouble I'm in, do you?"

Cujo panted happily and wagged his tail.

"Now listen here Cujo," Jack said seriously. Cujo's ears perked up at his own name. "I need you to get Maddie and bring her back here." Cujo tilted his head at an angle. He didn't seem to get it. Jack pointed out of the ravine and loosened his grip on the dog. "Cujo, fetch Maddie."

Cujo's ears perked up at the familiar command and he barked once before running up the earthen walls and disappearing from sight.

Jack watched him go, happy that the training seemed to have paid off.

…

Danny was slumped in one of the overly stuffed chairs by the fireplace. He had searched everywhere he could think of. He had even pulled all the books off the shelf in case one of them opened a secret door of some kind. Nothing.

Jazz meanwhile was staring at the fireplace. "You know, Cujo was pretty interested in the hearth earlier."

"Except we checked the hearth. There aren't any loose stones or fake back walls or anything."

"Yeah, except, Vlad's half-ghost. He wouldn't actually need a secret door to get into hidden passages. He could just phase through the wall."

Danny's eye slowly opened wide and his hands made their way up to cover his face as he groaned. "I'm such an idiot."

White light spread out from Danny's center and he immediately dove into the floor by the fire. Jazz, meanwhile, could only wait for him to return. Hopefully with some kind of news.

While Jazz waited, a scratching, followed by a yip echoed from the cabin door. Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Really hope that's our dog."

She sighed in relief when she opened the door to puppy-sized Cujo. She then frowned with worry. "Aren't you supposed to be with Mom and Dad?"

Cujo darted passed her and up the stairs. A moment later he came running back down with a doll in his mouth and hurried into the woods with it.

Jazz was too confused to react. "Where is he going with the Maddie plushie Dad made?"