Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom.

Note (6/2/2020): As promised I worked on editing some stories like I planned, but as expected there were just so many chapters that needed working on that it became a bit too much of a chore. Plus after writing that one-shot tying up another loose end I missed out on adding to the final chapter of "Nowhere To Run" the sequel has been on my mind a lot lately. Thankfully, I already have most of it planned out in advance so now comes the fun part, the actual writing!

Seriously I've been so excited to get started and I hope you're eager to see how things turn out since the main focus will be Valerie and a certain ghost-girl who needs some closure from Vlad too. Danny will still be part of the story of course, but he isn't the main character this time. It'll be Valerie and eventually Danielle. Anyway, I hope you're as excited about this as I am so wish me luck! Also sorry if this prologue is a bit all over the place, I stayed up pretty late working on it.

Prologue: Your Own Worst Enemy

Valerie's POV

"Dad! You can't be serious! How can you even think of agreeing to keep working for that creep after Vlad lied to us like that?!" I growled because I couldn't believe my ears when my dad suddenly told me his plans to go back to work at Axion Labs.

"Valerie, I know how you feel, but I can't ignore the fact that intentional or not Vlad's ghost shield technology along with many of the emergency plans he put in place as mayor did help Amity Park get through this crisis," he elaborated with an exasperated sigh. "And while I don't like that he's the one who tricked you into becoming a ghost hunter either that suit DID protect you from that evil ghost that tried to kill us and from many others before all this. He risked everything to save us, to save your friend Danny, so I'm just trying to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"But dad, he's-!" I argued but he cut me off with one of those stern glares that told me I'd better let him finish. God, I really hate it when he does that...

Packing up the rest of his things, my dad turned to me again and continued a bit more calmly, "Sweetheart, one thing you'll have to learn when you grow up is that you're not always going to like the person you work for. I don't care for the man either, but despite the fact that we know he's half-ghost now the only reason I decided to stay with Axion Labs is because I still believe we can do a lot of good for people. With Vlad's funding along with his vast wealth of experience and anti-ghost technology, I'm sure we'll be able to protect this town better moving forward. And more importantly, I'll be able to protect you better too Valerie.

"So while I don't exactly like the idea of working with Vlad Masters again knowing what I do now, I think he's completely serious about wanting to help make the world a safer place from the threat of ghosts. How do I know that? Because he's doing it for Danny's sake. Vlad Masters might not care about the rest of us beyond that, but that doesn't change the fact that his inventions can be used to protect everyone else as well. The same goes for the inventions made by Danny's parents. And quite honestly I'd rather be somewhere I can personally keep an eye on Jack and Maddie Fenton so they don't make things worse or slip back into their old habits-"

With a sigh and a thoughtful expression on his face my dad added, "As for Danny himself, I sincerely hope he's really going to be alright living with a man like Vlad. Especially when he appears to have a complex history with him and his family. I can't believe that poor kid has been through so much this past year and none of us ever realized it. Or knew that he was shouldering such a heavy burden protecting us at the expense of his own well-being."

"I feel the same way," I admitted, averting my gaze when I was reminded of everything I heard that made my own struggles pale in comparison when it comes to ghosts. "It really makes what we went through with that one ghost dog seem like nothing, doesn't it...?"

Gently gnawing on the bottom of my lip I continued, "But you know, considering what his parents do for a living Danny was always going to be at risk of being attacked by ghosts even before he...changed. And given the fact that they were constantly hunting him down just like I was after he became half-ghost himself, I can't say I blame Danny for wanting to live with someone who actually understands him, even if its THAT guy. I just wish I knew Danny's secret sooner and that I hadn't wasted all this time picking fights with him as Phantom when he was already dealing with so much by himself since his parents are freaking useless at their job! I let Vlad turn me against Danny so easily so no wonder he didn't feel like he had anyone else to turn to for help four months ago! Some friend I turned out to be. In the end, I couldn't do anything for him..."

"Don't say that," My dad said with a worried expression on his face as he pulled me into a warm hug, "Things may have started out bad between you two, but I'm sure Danny knows it wasn't your fault Vlad tricked you and he never held it against you. Danny's a good kid, so don't beat yourself up about it Valerie. Anyone could have made the same mistake you did. His own parents did after all and probably feel just as guilty about what they did as you do, probably more so. Either way, if Danny can find it in himself to forgive someone like Vlad, I'm sure he's already forgiven you and wants you to forgive yourself and move on with your life just like he's trying to."

"Thanks, dad. And I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I'm just stressed out because of everything going on right now so let's hurry up and get out of here, ok? I'm sick of this place. Their food sucks, so when we get home let's make breakfast for dinner just like when I got out of the hospital. I don't know about you, but I'm thinking French Toast!" Smiling mischievously I shrugging out from under his arms and reached for his bag so I could help carry it to the car before he could put up a fuss about it.

But when we made it out to the parking lot I was surprised to see Danny waiting for us along with-

"Vlad," I hissed, my mood doing a complete 180 as I gave him a serious death glare and instinctively stepped between Vlad and my dad. "What are YOU doing here?"

Rolling his eyes ever so slightly Vlad scoffed, "If you must know, Daniel insisted I bring him here to give your father his regards when he heard he was being discharged today. And seeing as Damon has already agreed to continue working for me there is something I would like to discuss with him in person. So I thought I could take care of that too while we're here. Now, would you be a dear and escort Daniel back inside while I speak with your father? He's had a long day and I'm sure Daniel could use a cold drink-"

"Vlad, I already told you I'm fine," Danny complained with a slight frown, probably getting a bit tired of the guy treating him like he was made of glass. "I don't need a drink or anything so we'll just wait by the car or something til you're done," then, turning to my dad he smiled and said, "I'm glad you're alright Mr. Gray. I was worried when it took you so long to wake up so it's good to see you up and about again."

"You too Danny," my dad nodded, returning the same awkward smile, and leaving it at that.

After that, Danny stepped past Vlad and tried to smile at me too, but unlike my dad, I wasn't in the mood to play nice at the moment and was too busy trying to burn a hole through Vlad with my eyes. And besides, there was no way in hell I was letting dad out my sight either so I crossed my arms and flat out told them, "Forget it, if you have something to say to my dad you can say it to both of us."

"Valerie," My dad scolded with a disapproving look. "That's enough. I'll be fine so just do as he says. I'm sure he'll make this quick seeing as I just got out of the hospital so don't worry about me."

Knowing better than to argue with him since I was already on thin ice as it is because of how I was acting earlier, I stomped off towards the car with Danny at my heels. Once we reach it, I unlocked the car since my dad gave me the keys too, and practically shoved our stuff inside. I hated myself for getting so worked up about seeing Vlad again, but between that and wanting to get out of the hospital as quickly as possible since it was a constant reminder of the fact that my dad and a lot of other people almost died because of that evil ghost, Dan, it was just too much for me so my nerves were shot.

I mean, I get that Danny was just worried about me and my dad and he wanted to check up on us but honestly I wasn't really ready to see him again yet either. Let alone seeing him walking around with that sleazeball Vlad Masters like it was no big deal.

"Danny, what were you thinking?!" I asked as soon as we were out of earshot, unable to keep the irritated tone out of my voice even though I wasn't mad at Danny. "You know how pissed I am at Vlad so why did you have to bring him here...? You could have at least called me beforehand."

Leaning heavily against the car while keeping a close eye on Vlad, I heard Danny sigh deeply next to me and felt the car dip slightly when he sat on the edge of the bumper, his voice hoarse and tired as he stared at the dirty asphalt beneath us and replied, "Sorry, I know this isn't the best time, but there's a lot going on right now and I had a bad feeling that if I didn't come here in person I'd run out of time and miss my chance to talk to you again. Besides, I wanted to see you again before we, you know, leave Amity Park."

Glancing up at me, Danny continued seriously, "It just didn't feel right to leave things off the way we did before even though you said you've forgiven me and all that. And I know I already said it before, but I'm sorry Valerie. I'm sorry for everything I put your family through and for not trusting you with the truth about me sooner since we're friends. I never meant for any of this to happen, especially the part of putting both of your lives in danger because of one of MY enemies."

"It's ok, I know you had more important things to deal with so don't sweat it. I'm over it," I shrugged, sounding totally unconvincing.

After that, I finally managed to tear my eyes off Vlad and my dad long enough to look at Danny even though I still felt a bit strange being around him knowing he's also Danny Phantom, but before I could really think of what to say to him, all I could think was that, God Danny still looks like absolute crap. Maybe Vlad was right, Danny does look pretty awful. What exactly did they have to do today that was so stressful for him?

I wondered silently to myself before asking aloud, "Hey, are you sure you're doing ok Danny? Because right now you look pale as a ghost, which is funny seeing as you're-well you know."

Smiling tiredly Danny laughed, "Ha, good one Val, but yeah today has been kinda hectic for me and convincing Vlad to even agree to bring me here wasn't as easy as I made it look. Especially since we just got back from talking to the police about when I was 'missing.' Thankfully I was able to trick them into thinking I honestly couldn't remember much of anything since we blamed my kidnapping on Dan and said he kept me overshadowed most of the time, not that they ever found out who he really was aside from a ghost with a grudge against my family..."

I couldn't blame Danny for sounding nervous bringing up the name of that ghost we fought because that whole experience was way too fresh in our minds. I mean meeting Dan was a bad memory for me too, but when I looked at Danny it was like even mentioning that ghost seemed to shake him to his core and he visibly tensed like bracing for a blow. Danny seriously looked like he felt much worse than I did so I decided to throw the poor guy a bone and quickly changed the subject.

"Anyways, what did you want to tell me that's so important you risked the chances of me punching Vlad's light out in broad daylight?" I asked before adding with a frown, "Because trust me, I still REALLY want to."

Closing his eyes, Danny replied with a sad smile, "Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking the past few days and I wanted you to know that I'll understand if you need some time to figure a few things out about Vlad, me, ghost hunting and everything else. I know it's a lot to take in so after this it's ok if you'd rather not see me or talk to me until you're ready. I also wanted to tell you I patched things up with Sam and Tucker and asked them to look out for you when I'm gone since I still think of you as a good friend of mine too even if you're not really sure how to feel about me.

"And yeah, I know it's kinda pointless asking them to do that since you can pretty much take care of yourself, but I want you to know that you can feel free to ask them for help or about anything you want to know about me and ghosts in general. Especially if you decide to continue hunting ghosts. But if you don't feel like you can talk to them, that's ok too because you can always talk to me too ok? Just because I'm moving away doesn't mean I'm going to disappear from your life again. Not unless you want me to. But even then, I promise I'll always be there for you if you need me, Valerie..."

Danny's POV

I actually can't tell which one of us was more relieved when Vlad and her dad finished talking and told us it was time to leave because I think that conversation ended up being super awkward for both of us. Still, it made me smile seeing Valerie blush like that when I said the last part even though I knew it wouldn't really change anything. I was the one who decided to get all sappy near the end, but I meant every word of it.

Before I leave Amity Park behind, I wanted to make sure everyone I cared about was going be taken care of, including Valerie.

This whole thing still feels so surreal to me if I'm being completely honest. Like, after this I was finally done saying goodbye to my friends and family, but unlike last time I wasn't leaving them behind to save myself from a fatal wound or because I had to distance myself from them to protect everyone from Dan, I was leaving Amity Park by choice so I could start a new life with Vlad. But deep down, sometimes it still felt like I was running away from something rather than towards a new life where I didn't have to worry about fighting ghosts anymore so I could focus on school and do all the other things normal teenagers get to do.

Only, like I've said so many times before I knew for a fact that my life would never be normal even if I wasn't about to go live with the richest man in the world, Vlad Masters. Too much about my life has changed forever, including me. It's been almost a year and a half since I became half-ghost, a ghost-fighting hero, and arch enemies with Vlad until we wound up on a collision course and he saved my life and gave me the chance to take back my future.

I really never thought I'd see the day when Vlad finally DID get exactly what he's always wanted, which in this case was someone to treat like the son he never had. Vlad has changed a lot since we first met since he used to be such a crazed fruitloop but now thanks to all the hard work he put in to prove himself to me, to prove that he cared, I can now safely say I trust him completely. He finally sees me for who I am and I'm glad I'm not just some prize to be won or something else Vlad wanted to steal from my dad like my mom was. Sometimes I seriously feel like I have to pinch myself to remind me that any of this was real.

It was so difficult to wrap my mind around the fact that Dan was finally gone forever, that my parents have accepted the truth about both of us being half-ghost and they still love me after all, and that Vlad was on my side for good now and I'll never have to fight him or ghosts in general ever again. It was like a dream come true, which is probably why it was so hard for me to accept...

And I was afraid to let my guard down again because of it.

After all, the last time I let down my guard I destroyed Skulker when I got too carried away with teaching him a lesson about leaving me alone and Dan used that moment of weakness when I flew into a blind panic to take control of me. I've even started having nightmares about it again now that most of my wounds have healed, which sucks since I know Dan's not to blame for them this time. These were just the product of my own imagination going into hyperdrive since I'm still unconsciously bracing myself for the moment something goes horribly wrong again.

And one night, after waking up from a particularly bad nightmare Vlad offered to get me the best counseling money could buy to help me feel better. But as you can imagine I wasn't thrilled with the idea since I haven't had the best experience with those kinds of people either so I turned him down. I've had it up to here with people trying to get inside my head anyway.

When Vlad asked me directly why I refused to see a counselor, I explained to him with a loud snort, "Um, no offense Vlad, but the last counselor I was told to talk to as punishment for 'misbehaving' turned out to be a psychotic ghost lady named Spectra that feeds off teen misery so sorry but I'll take my chances getting over this on my own thanks. Besides, I'll probably feel better once we're back in Wisconsin so talking to a counselor is pointless either way. As for right now, there are still too many reminders all around me of how close we came to losing and how royally I screwed things up for everyone because I was careless. And I can't help but wonder when things are going to take another turn for the worse so it's impossible for me to stop myself from thinking about what happened."

"Be that as it may Daniel, I'm serious about this. You NEED to talk to someone about this because I'm concerned about you little badger," Vlad replied a bit more quietly since it was almost 2 am and he didn't want to wake anyone else up. "These nightmares are only getting worse and the lack of sleep is clearly getting to you as well. You can't go on like this."

I knew Vlad was right, these nightmares were getting out of hand but in my defense, it wasn't like I was waking up screaming, making things float, or coating the entire room in ice or anything like before. Admittedly I did almost fly through the roof earlier, quite literally, when I bolted upright in bed which is why he responded so quickly. Vlad only knew I was in trouble because his ghost sense went off and he immediately teleported to my room to check on me. We were still at Fenton Works for now, but things have been very tense between him and my parents despite them hashing everything out and Jazz was still acting as a mediator whenever Vlad started acting a bit too protective of me around them. Especially whenever I reacted like this when something brought back bad memories of something that happened to me here before and I started acting strange.

So after handing me a glass of water to help me re-hydrate since I woke up sweating bullets, Vlad sighed and settled down in the chair next to my bed before he continued, "You can't fool me, Daniel, I know haven't been eating much the past few days while you think I'm not looking too so these nightmares of yours are clearly affecting your mental health which has made you lose your appetite. However, since you're so adamant about not seeing a counselor I would like at least like to come to some kind of compromise about this. If you'll let me perform another medical examination so I can safely prescribe some anti-depressants just to help reduce your anxiety levels, then I'll leave it at that for the time being. Regardless, I know you realize that this level of stress will only slow down your recovery just like it did before after you were shot and that's the last thing we want. Unless you WANT to be stuck here even longer?"

Feeling guilty for making him worry so much I finally gave in and nodded, "Ok ok, I see your point. And I...guess taking some medicine couldn't hurt since I'd rather do that than talk to some shrink! I already have one of those in the family, remember?" I pointed out, trying to be funny but I failed epically.

Satisfied with my answer Vlad smiled warmly and brushed back my hair affectionately as he said, "Good. Now do try to get some sleep little badger. We have another busy day ahead of us tomorrow. But once we're done with that I believe it would be a good idea for us to check into a hotel after all rather than continue staying here if all its doing is delaying your recovery at this point. Unfortunately, we can't leave town until the rest of your paperwork arrives which is rather irritating, but in the end, it'll be worth the wait so I can take you home and get away from all these blasted distractions so you can rest easy again."

If by distractions you mean dealing with my parents and my overactive imagination making me wake up in a cold sweat almost every night and freaking you out then yeah, it would be nice to finally go home now that I know everyone is safe, I thought to myself before rolling over and telling him goodnight.

After that, I tried to fall asleep while imagining something a bit more uplifting such as what I would do first when we got back to Wisconsin. And personally, I think the first thing I was going to do was find Maddie-the-cat and keep her in my room for a while just to have some company that couldn't keep asking if I was doing ok every five minutes. At least that way I could talk to someone like Vlad wanted me to that didn't actually have anything to say back to me. And seriously, wouldn't that just a therapeutic as talking to a professional...?

I mean, getting a cat helped him too after all just like I thought it would even though I only suggested getting one as a joke, right?