The following morning, Danny almost got started preparing for school, before remembering that he wasn't going to school that day. Or the next, or the day after that. He, his sister, mother and father were packing for the trip to Wisconsin. Danny's cell phone rang around the time it would have been lunch at school. It was Tucker.

"Dude, where are you?"

"I'm at home. My family's going on a trip for a few days. You know, like we always do." This wasn't the first time the Fenton family had ever gone on a 'family vacation,' as Jack had called it. Most of them had been ectologists' conventions.

"Oh…"

"You guys won't strangle each other without me?" Danny joked.

"Nah," Tucker said, "We'll be cool."

It was the first time Tucker really admitted to being more at ease around Sam than he used to be. Danny was gladdened. They talked a little more, then hung up.

The four of them headed out in the RV that afternoon. Jazz and Danny were in the backseats, of course, being children, while Jack drove (like a maniac as he was known for), Maddie sitting shotgun.

"So, Danny," Maddie said after a while, "What's been bothering you at school?"

"Nothing…really…" he felt guilty and strained, "That I can think of."

"Jasmine, have you noticed anything about your brother?"

"He's being ridiculed pretty badly by his peers," his sister responded matter-of-factly, "I hear them—talking—about him sometimes."

"Yeah," Danny half-heartedly glared out his side window, "Why don't you ever do anything to stop them?" He didn't look at her as he asked this.

There was silence in the vehicle, which meant Jasmine was surprised. Good. He'd been keeping his opinions to himself long enough where she was concerned.

"I—I do!"

He did look at her, then, unbelieving, "Right, because you want to ruin your own reputation by defending me."

Jasmine's face was priceless to him. He thought, with a hint of triumph, that he'd caught her.

"Danny, don't be that way to your sister," Maddie scolded, "I'm sure she's being honest with you."

"Sorry," Danny said, though he didn't feel very sorry.

Maddie took a breath, "Why would you let peer pressure get to you, Danny? It's not worse than it was before, is it?"

He guessed that was the best lie to use, "I…don't know." Dash and his cronies had abused him physically, sure, but they'd done that in middle school, too. "It's just annoying."

"And this annoyance is distracting you from schoolwork?"

"Yeah...looks like it." He rubbed his head.

"We did go to the vice principal about that guy you don't get along with. Has anything changed?" Jack cut in.

"I'm sure he still hates me. But I haven't heard much from him since." So maybe something had worked out. He hoped.

"That's good. Let's make a promise, son: that you won't let some stupid kids get in your way of working for NASA. Can you make that promise for me?" Jack had no idea how his request affected his son. Danny's heart clenched.

"I promise." Danny vowed. The ghost thing wouldn't break his dreams. He refused to let it.

"Good."

No one else said anything for a long time.

When it was time to sleep they all laid side-by-side in the back of the RV. It was certainly big enough for all four of them to fit. They weren't really ready to sleep yet, Jazz and Jack sat up talking with one another, Maddie read a book lying down. Danny was quiet. How would the town fare without him to fight off ghosts? It was only four days he would be gone...or five, counting how long it would take to come back to Amity Park.

"What's this old friend of yours like?" Jasmine inquired of her father.

"He's great! A rich guy nowadays, he was the bee's knees when we were in college. We used to call him Vladdy."

"Which is short for...?"

"Vlad Masters." Jack didn't add onto it, his tone telling them he knew he was dropping an informational bomb.

"What?" Jazz's eyes widened, "What, as in, the billionaire philanthropist?" Her voice held a note indicating she wasn't convinced.

Even Danny's attention was caught now. He'd heard the name before. An obscenely wealthy man who went out of his way to donate to charities, was voted Most Handsome of the year for some magazine or other for rich people (he was pretty sure) and was from what Danny could gather one of the richest men in the United States. Maybe the planet, but that might be stretching it. He wasn't an expert on these things, he wouldn't know.

"The same guy! He's done really well for himself..." Jack paused, "You know..." He seemed unsure of what to say, which was unusual for him, "Well..." Danny narrowed his eyes. Rarely had he ever seen his dad become upset, and he wasn't certain this counted as being upset, but something was off-kilter, "He got into an...accident, while we, your mother and I and him were working on a project, in the University of Wisconsin," Danny noticed Maddie had closed her book, "And...to be honest with you, the accident was my fault. He was hospitalized for two years."

Shocked silence. Maddie's face was soft.

"But I suppose that may be in the past now, since he's invited us. He sent us a letter, recommended bringing you kids along. I hope he's forgiven me."

"I'm sure he has, Jack," Maddie held her husband's hand.

For once Jazz didn't seem to know what to say.

Danny watched his parents for some time.

The next day was rather boring. Sitting in the backseat, staring out the window.

"Jack," Maddie broke the quiet, "That project we've been commissioned on...I'd forgotten all about it."

At the word 'commissioned,' Jack's face lit with recognition, "Well, heck, Mads. Me, too."

Danny resisted a snort when his sister asked, "What project?" She just had to open her mouth.

Through the rear-view mirror Jack glanced at them both, "Something your mom and I are being paid to do by the BER. Unfortunately the whole thing might end up being done past the due date."

The BER. Bureau of Ectoplasmic Research. A government organization. Danny's parents collaborated with them often. They were nicknamed the Guys in White, in parody of the fabled Men in Black, because of their white suit uniforms.

Jazz was genuinely curious now, she always was whenever she could find out more about her parents' work, especially since ghosts had been proven to exist in her eyes, "Can I ask what it is?"

Maddie and Jack looked at each other. Maddie shrugged. Jack nodded once and explained, "Do you remember those armor suits your mother and I designed for ourselves? The orange one for me, and the blue one for Mads?"

"The jumpsuits?" Danny blinked.

"They're not jumpsuits," Maddie laughed, "They're highly advanced, form-fitting suits, meant to be worn while combating threatening ecto-entities."

"The BER wanted some of their own, specially made by us," Jack said, "Of course, they wanted them in white."

Danny's heart-rate sped up. He suddenly realized he knew what they were talking about. The suit he'd stolen from the lab closet when the Lunch Lady attacked Casper High. It had been one of those commissioned suits. He was wearing an inverted version of one of his parents' specialized projects every time he shifted into ghost form, complete with the set of goggles.

"I haven't even looked at them in weeks," Maddie frowned slightly, "If the lab weren't so sterile I'd worry they're getting dusty."

Danny stared at his lap.

Next time they checked on the suits, they would find one misplaced.

A little after five p.m. Danny peered through the windshield and was jarred by the striking sight of a gigantic, ornate old castle not very far away at all. He'd been dozing, he looked out his own window again and soaked in the vision of beautiful gardens, nearly maze-like.

"We're here, kids," Jack was beaming, "Isn't it impressive?" He seemed awed by it himself.

"It is, actually," Jazz concurred.

"Huh," Danny's reply was much less descriptive but he was definitely ogling the place.

Jack parked.

Danny waited for everyone else to get out of the RV first. As his feet touched the ground he asked, "Do we just walk up or does some butler escort us in?" He was partly messing around.

Jack grinned, "I don't see anyone, I'm sure there's no harm in going up and—"

One of the large wooden doors opened.

Danny squinted to see who it was. A tall figure dressed smartly, crisply, Danny couldn't make out the details of the guy from this distance. There was a heartbeat before Jack bounded forward, his wife and children following suit. Danny wondered if they'd be brushed off by the very same butler he'd mentioned a few seconds earlier. That would be embarrassing, "Excuse me, sir and ma'am, it is too early to come inside just yet." He could just see it happening. Would they even be that polite?

The closer they got, however, the more obvious it became that this was the man his father had spoken of. Vladimir Masters. His expression was warm and welcoming, the way he walked forward as the four of them came up the steps with arms outstretched screamed 'friendly.' His hair was gray, oddly enough, with a silvery stripe down the middle. Strange, his eyebrows didn't match, dark and standing out against the pale frame of long ponytailed hair. He didn't look all that forty-ish, though he must have been.

"Jack...and Maddie! You've never looked lovelier, my dear!" His voice was smooth, deep and charming. Danny decided right away he liked him. Masters oozed trustworthy. It was kind of nice, Danny thought, after all the ghosts he'd met as of late who wanted to beat the tar out of him, "Please, please, come in." He gestured inside, which was air-conditioned pretty nicely, Danny found as he came in after his mother. Also green and yellow. Lots of green and yellow. He would have smiled politely at Masters when he passed by but the man didn't meet his eye.

Danny took in the sight of all the cheeseheads and other merchandise placed about the room and made an educated guess, considering his dad was also a Packers fan, "You're a—"

"Packers fanatic, yes," Masters' voice said from practically right beside Danny, who blinked at him. When did he get there?

For a second Danny thought he saw a look cross Jazz's face indicating that she wasn't impressed at all, but she said nothing.

"Just like the good old days, huh, Vladdy?" Jack asked, "I'm sure you've still got your old moves—"

"I never had any old moves," Masters waved off and Danny weirdly got the impression he was staring off into the side of Jack's face more than directly looking at him, "All those years in the hospital robbed me of that." He said it so calmly but with a layer of meaning which made them all go quiet. Then, his neutral expression burst into a smile, "Certainly gave me time to chart a course for my life, didn't it?" It broke the silence so well everything seemed like it would be all right. He said some more things; Danny breathed an inaudible sigh. That definitely meant Masters forgave his dad for what happened to him, right?

Masters proceeded to show off a football signed by some famous Packers player, his prized possession, talking about things with Maddie and Jack, subjects that clearly the minors of the group were not supposed to be a part of. Danny, to his own surprise, edged closer to Jasmine who was watching the three adults like a hawk, Danny himself was paying more attention to their words than how they were interacting.

"...the whole reason I'm hosting this reunion is so I could reconnect with you two."

"That's fantastic! I mean..." Jack was actually at a loss for words for a heartbeat, "I don't know what to say."

Masters hmm'd, "That's a first. Do you need somewhere to stay the night?" He didn't wait for an answer, "I insist you stay in my castle."

"I dunno, V-Man, we do have a pretty cool RV..." Jack rubbed his chin.

Jasmine coughed, "Let's stay here," she coughed again.

Her parents and their old friend all stopped and turned to she and her brother.

"Smooth," Danny said sarcastically with an appropriate hand gesture.

"Well, the children have spoken," Maddie lifted her hands before her in a sign of mock defeat. The look Masters gave her was oddly warm.

"I guess we'll have to stay here, then," Jack said, "I'll get our bags later."

"Wonderful! I'll show you your rooms—rather, the rooms you can choose from, there are indeed that many—and then I can boast some more about the things I own," he grinned humorously and Danny's mouth quirked.

As they followed him Masters glanced at Jack knowingly, as if he understood exactly what made the Fenton patriarch tick, "You know, Jack, there's a legend about this castle that it's haunted..."

"Do tell, buddy!"