Dizgirl: Yeah, so my plan to finish this by the end of the summer went down the drain…sorry about that. In my defense, August turned out to be crazy busy and I also had writer's block for a week. Either way, I apologize and offer in return a more likely deadline: the end of the year (hopefully!) It shouldn't be too hard…I mapped out the rest of the story and it's about twenty chapters long, but I will not promise any more. I will just try!

So, this chapter was supposed to be sort of the midpoint where the plot suddenly picks up and stuff (and maybe it still is…) but I had to shift a few things around and I'm not sure anymore! (sweatdrop) But please enjoy and love it anyways!

Ghostly Secrets

Danny walked towards the cafeteria with his two best friends on either side. Sam wore a tight frown, her lunch box swinging against her thigh, while Tucker kept shooting looks full of curiosity and light frustration at Danny.

"Dude, just tell us already," he tried yet again. Danny shook his head, avoiding both of their eyes.

"I'll tell you in a few minutes, I just have to do something first," he replied tersely, ignoring Sam's impatient sigh.

"Yesterday you wouldn't stop talking about her and how something weird was going on but today you won't say a word?" Sam grumbled. Danny echoed her sigh. He knew he was being unfair to them—that if anyone should know it was them—but he and Jazz had decided it was best to wait.

"Look, I want to tell you but I have to…" Danny paused as he tried to come up with the best way to explain his hesitation and make them stop badgering him. "Well Jazz and I think that if I told you right away, my secret might be compromised but this way I won't have to worry about that."

"Your secret?" Tucker repeated.

"Compromised?!" Sam's scowl disappeared into a look of surprise.

"Yeah, so just wait alright?" The trio made it to their usual table where Jazz was already sitting. She greeted the three as they sat down.

"What do you mean your secret might be compromised?" Sam hissed as she pulled out various fruits and vegetables from her lunch box.

"It's not yet," Danny assured her before adding under his breath, "I think." Even though Danny had decided to trust Chaos and Raimee to keep his secret—at least until they talked—he couldn't completely get his previous suspicions out of his mind. What if they weren't good guys? What if they used his secret against him?

Well at least the second question wouldn't be a problem; they weren't the only ones that learned an important secret yesterday. And from the look on Raimee's face when she realized that both Danny and her father had learned about Chaos, she didn't want that secret to get out. If it had to be, he could play the same dangerous game with the two girls that he did with Vlad.

"I don't think his secret is really in danger," Jazz spoke up before Sam could continue. "This is more of a precaution." Unlike Danny, Jazz was a lot more trusting of Raimee's ability to keep quiet. Of course this might be due to the fact that she didn't know the full story of what had happened the day before.

Initially Danny had had every intention of telling Jazz everything about Raimee and Chaos but the lab incident with his dad and Vlad had not only completely distracted him but made him warier too. Like he had realized before, his secret was now at risk and if he told anyone what he knew, Chaos could just as easily turn around and tell what she knew—just like it would be with Vlad. So when he had finally finished ranting about Vlad and the evil plot he was surely planning (Jazz had agreed but pointed out that until they knew exactly what he was doing it was pointless to speculate), he had been hesitant to continue with his findings.

Fortunately Jazz had made it simple. She had already known that he was going to follow Raimee so she guessed he had discovered something he considered important about her. She even realized that whatever it was, was connected to Chaos. When Danny continued to dance around the subject, Jazz slowly convinced him to explain what was really bothering him.

"Earlier you were so ready to find out what's going on but now that you know you won't tell me?"

"It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that I don't know if I can…" Danny rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to organize his thoughts.

"You want to protect Raimee's secret?" Jazz pressed when he didn't go on.

"I don't want to," Danny scowled, "but…they know mine. They know my secret." His scowl fell into a worried frown. Saying the words aloud was a lot scarier than thinking them in his mind.

"Oh…" she simply replied.

She had remained silent for a while but then finally proclaimed that in that case he shouldn't tell her what he had learned until he had worked it out with Raimee. He needed to ask her for permission first before he told Jazz (and Sam and Tucker too). That way, he could evade retaliation and perhaps even strike up a friendship of sorts with the newcomer. Danny wasn't so sure about the friendship thing but he had to agree that asking first would be their safest bet. That is if Sam and Tucker didn't hurt him for keeping quiet first.

"But how did your secret even get out in the first place?!" Sam demanded.

"It's a long story…" he stalled.

"We've got fifty minutes," Sam countered.

"C'mon Danny," Tucker jumped in. "We know you went after Raimee so what did you find out?"

"I will after…" Danny cast his eyes around to avoid his friends' and landed on Raimee as she stood just inside the cafeteria doors. "I talk to Raimee and now she's here so…"

He waved a hand and Jazz did the same. They quickly caught Raimee's attention. She hesitated a few seconds but then began walking towards them. When she made it to the edge of their table she hovered yet again.

"Sit down and join us," Jazz invited, patting the seat next to her. Raimee's eyes darted to Danny who shrugged and gestured that he didn't care (though that was a lie).

"Thanks," Raimee smiled briefly but it disappeared as she yet again glanced towards Danny before hurriedly focusing on her lunch. An awkward tension fell over the group that contrasted sharply with the chatter echoing around them. Danny felt Jazz's foot poke his leg from under the table. He looked up to see her staring at him.

Talk to her, she mouthed. He wanted to scowl at her pushiness but this is what he had been waiting for; he just wished he had taken the time to think about what he was going to say! He turned to Sam and Tucker who were both watching him expectantly. Steeling himself for what he feared would be a very uncomfortable conversation, Danny twisted in his seat to face Raimee.

"Um, Raimee?" Her eyes snapped up and immediately looked into his.

"Yeah?" Danny paused for a second as he scrambled to come up with what to say. Drawing a blank, he decided to be straightforward.

"Look, you know my secret and I know yours." Danny determinedly ignored Jazz's eye roll at his lack of tact and continued, "and I don't really trust you yet…but, uh, 'you' helped me out yesterday so I don't think you're…evil."

Raimee blinked at this statement. Finally she replied, "Uh…thanks I think." Her gaze flitted around the table before returning to him. "Do…they…?"

"We know about Danny," Jazz answered before Danny could.

"Oh, okay," Raimee said, she played with the edge of her paper bag. "Do they…know about me?"

"No." This time both he and Jazz responded but Danny added, "I didn't tell them yet."

"Because he should ask first," Jazz finished. "It's your secret." Raimee seemed surprised by this and smiled warmly.

"Thank you, I—"

"—And because you know his," Sam burst out, interrupting whatever Raimee was going to say next. Everyone turned towards Sam who quirked an eyebrow. "What? This goes both ways doesn't it? Did she keep your secret?"

"Of course!" Raimee seemed shocked by the accusation. "I wouldn't tell anyone! Besides, who would I tell?"

"Well maybe your dad," Danny pointed out, voicing one of the many anxieties that he had thought of the night before. "You could've told him." Raimee's eyes widened.

"Oh no, if I can avoid any more discussions about ghosts with my dad I will!"

"Okay, then someone at school," Sam suggested.

"It'd give you instant popularity if you did," Tucker agreed.

"No," Raimee shook her head. "I don't want to be popular. Never have, never will." Danny noticed Sam's scowl soften just a touch at this statement. Jazz was grinning from ear to ear.

"See," she said, her voice taking on that know-it-all tone he highly disliked. "I told you she wouldn't tell anyone." But Danny had thought this through last night and there was one more thing he had to check.

"The authorities," Danny spoke up before Jazz could gloat too much. "There are ghost hunters out there you could've told about me." Raimee caught his eye, her defensive expression melting into sober frown.

"Never, I'll never call a ghost hunter," she said seriously. Danny had guessed that that would be the case. Raimee was friends with a ghost, she wouldn't bring a ghost hunter anywhere near them, but the fear had still been there. Hearing her say it out loud and so sincerely made him feel a whole lot safer.

Silence fell over the table once more but this time Danny was able to relax…and finally start on his lunch. There were still nagging questions and doubts playing at the back of his mind but somehow he knew he could trust Raimee with his secret. He had come a long ways from the day before when he had been practically stalking her, but then again a lot had happened.

He had learned about Raimee and Chaos and, if they were telling the truth, that they were friends. They had learned his secret but had not blabbed it to anyone, or so he believed. It all came down to whether or not they were telling the truth and his gut told him Raimee was. Sure his gut had also told him that something was weird about Raimee but he had been right about that too, hadn't he?

"Um," Raimee spoke up, interrupting Danny's musings. "I've never told anyone my secret before—well I guess except yesterday—but, I…" She bit her lip but seemed to force herself to continue. "I think it's okay if I told you." Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz remained silent as they pulled themselves from their own thoughts to listen to her.

"I mean, you kept my secret when you didn't have to and maybe if we both knew what was going on there'd be less trouble between us because I don't want there to be fighting and stuff if I can help it," Raimee babbled. "So, if we just got stuff out in the open and talked about it maybe things would be better."

"Yes," Jazz smiled. "I think that would be good too."

"It would even the playing field at least," Sam commented, her face still tight but no longer hostile. Tucker just gave Raimee a thumbs up to signal his agreement.

"Um, let's see…" Raimee's words were cut off by the shrill ringing of the bell. All five of them jumped as they abruptly remembered that they were still in school.

"Wow, time flies when you're revealing secrets," Tucker quipped.

"Except we never did," Sam muttered so that only he and Danny could hear.

"I guess I can tell you later…?" Raimee trailed off, standing up.

"Well this might not be the best spot anyways," Jazz admitted with a wry smile.

"So where?" Sam asked, shouldering her backpack.

"We could go to our house after school," Danny offered, meeting Jazz's eyes whose expression turned thoughtful.

"Dude, you're grounded," Tucker reminded him.

"Oh right, "Danny grimaced. "But it's been a week. They usually only last that long and if we say it's a homework group…"

"Will they really believe that?" Sam wondered.

"If Raimee comes with us they might," Tucker said. The whole group began walking towards the cafeteria exit.

"That will actually help your story from yesterday, Danny," Jazz agreed. "And I can say that I'm helping all of you with your papers. They might just allow that."

"Okay, we'll do that," Danny grinned.

"Can you, Raimee?" Jazz turned to her. Raimee frowned but nodded.

"Sure. I'll just have to call my dad." Everyone could hear the strain in her voice as she said that and Jazz quickly moved on.

"So we'll meet at my car? I can drive us home and then we can talk."

"Yup."

"See you then!"

The last three classes of the day were a blur to Raimee as she analyzed what she had learned at lunch. Raimee wasn't sure if it was a surprise to learn that Danny's friends and sister knew his secret. It did seem obvious in hindsight as she thought about the day Tucker helped her find her locker or when she had sat with them at lunch that first day of school. They had been hiding things from her from day one. Again, that wasn't that much of a surprise but it was nice to know her instincts hadn't been completely off.

She couldn't help but be slightly jealous of Danny. For the past five years she had been the only one who knew about Chaos and that meant their secret rested completely on her shoulders. She didn't have anyone to cover her back or to talk to about ghost-related frustrations—except for Chaos herself. Considering the fact that her ghostly friend was the cause of most of her strife, she wasn't exactly the best of confidants.

But that could change now that she had committed to telling Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz about Chaos. Raimee's stomach twisted nervously at the thought but she was also just a little excited. Unlike her dad, these four wouldn't be instantly opposed to what Chaos was and hopefully they would be willing to see past her obsession with causing havoc. She really was a great person when you got to know her…

The bell signaling the end of the day rang loudly overhead and Raimee jumped. Her history class was already over? She began to gather her stuff, wondering if she had missed anything important and hoping fervently that she hadn't. They had a paper due the next day; that had to be it right? While she fretted about this, Raimee felt Chaos's familiar presence appear above her head before diving into her body.

'So I was thinking that we should make a list of questions to ask the ghost dude,' Chaos greeted her.

'Hello to you too,' Raimee replied, her tone grim. She stood up and headed for the exit.

'Whoa, what's wrong?'

'Nothing, I'm just mad at myself for being distracted. Go on,' Raimee sighed.

'Okay…anyways, I was thinking about lunch—sorry 'bout leaving you after that by the way but I was just itching for a fight after what that goth girl said to you—'

'—It's fine, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you didn't go after her.'

'Tch, she was asking for it, accusing you of blabbing his secret! Like you would do that!' Chaos thought darkly.

'She was just being a protective friend like someone I know…' Raimee opened her locker door and grabbed her literature book.

'Who?' Chaos joked before continuing more seriously. 'Anyways, like I was saying before I think we should have some questions ready.'

'Shouldn't we think of what we want to say to them first?' Raimee asked, her stomach flip-flopping again.

'You told your dad the whole story yesterday. Just tell them the same thing.'

'I guess so,' Raimee pursed her lips as she headed towards the parking lot. She sighed again as her thoughts turned towards her father.

'He'll get over it at some point,' Chaos assured her.

'I…I'm just afraid I was too harsh,' Raimee thought, the anxiety of last night's discussion mixing with her worry for today's. 'I took your side over his and I think that really hurt him.'

'Well he was trying to separate us! Would you let him do that?'

'No! I just wish it didn't have to come down to that! I'm…I'm almost afraid to go home and see him…'

'I'm not sure I'm even allowed in the house,' Chaos laughed humorlessly.

'I should probably call him though…to let him know I'm going to Danny's…'

'Yeah, probably.' Raimee paused outside of the school, her hand hovering over her pocket.

'Maybe on the car ride there…'

'You're stalling.'

'Yes, yes I am,' Raimee admitted. 'But…um, so what are your questions?' Chaos paused and Raimee could tell she was debating whether or not to let the subject drop.

Finally Chaos muttered, 'whatever….' Smiling gratefully Raimee asked once more.

'What do you want to ask him? Oh, and 'do you want to fight me?' doesn't count.'

'Well—wait, why can't I ask him that?'

'Because first,' Raimee began, her tone playful now that they were on a lighter subject, 'it's obvious that you want to brawl him so there's no need to ask and second, I would really appreciate if you didn't pick a fight with someone who could possibly be my friend!'

'Real friends brawl each other…' Chaos disagreed, a pout clear in her voice.

'Only in your eyes, Chaos,' Raimee rolled her own before scanning the parking lot and catching sight of Jazz standing by her car. She quickly made her way over towards the redhead, smiling when Jazz looked her way.

"Hey," Raimee said.

"Hi," Jazz replied, waving at the open backseat. Raimee dumped her backpack and then stood beside the older student who asked, "How was school?"

"Alright," Raimee answered. "You?"

"It was good." After that the two fell into silence and Raimee returned to her internal conversation with Chaos. 'So…'

'Well besides that question, I wanna know how he became a ghost/human dude,' Chaos continued. 'But more importantly what kind of powers he has!'

'I wonder if he has an obsession…' Raimee mused. 'And like you said, what exactly he is. Is he half and half? A human with ghost powers? Vice versa?'

'Yeah, and how powerful he is!'

'Does anyone else know his secret or just his sister and friends?'

'Does he fight ghosts a lot?'

'What's it like to have ghost powers?'

'Why won't he fight me?'

'Chaos,' Raimee sighed.

'What?' Before she could reply, Danny, Sam and Tucker walked up. Greetings were exchanged and all of them piled into the car, the Fenton's in the front and Sam, Tucker, and Raimee in the back. Her whole insides squirming now as she sat nervously to one side (Tucker had graciously offered to take the middle seat), Raimee pulled out her cell phone from her pocket.

'Just get it over with,' Chaos advised. 'Maybe you'll get lucky and just get his…uh, message thingy.'

'Voicemail,' Raimee automatically corrected. 'Maybe, but with your luck?'

'What's wrong with my luck?'

"Um, hey," Raimee spoke aloud to her car-mates, ignoring Chaos's indignation in the process. "I need to call my dad, do you mind?"

"No that's fine," Jazz smiled in the rearview mirror, while Danny shrugged. Raimee pressed speed dial on her phone and listened to the ringtone with trepidation.

'Please go to voicemail, please go to voicemail…' There was a click and she grimaced as she heard her father's voice.

"Just a minute—hello?"

"Um, hi Dad," she said.

"Oh, hi," he responded, his tone difficult to read. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Raimee frowned at his assumption. "Nothing is wrong, I just wanted to let you—to ask if I could go over to a classmate's house and work on some homework."

"A classmate? Who?" Mr. Perking's tone lightened considerably. She could only guess he had expected something ghost related and scowled. Then again, he wasn't that far off the mark…

"Danny Fenton."

"Fenton? Fenton…I know that name from somewhere," her dad murmured to himself.

"Really?" Raimee's forehead wrinkled. Where would he have heard that name before?

"Hmm…I can't remember, but that should be fine. I'm staying late today at work so take your time."

"Okay."

"But don't stay out late," her dad hastily added. "It's a school night and...you don't want to…is she with you?"

"Yes," Raimee's frown deepened at her father's reference to Chaos.

'He knows I can hear him right?'

'I don't really know…'

"Hmph, I can pick you up if you want. You don't need her to do it for you, okay?"

"Okay, we'll see how it goes," Raimee replied, suppressing the desire to defend her friend. Her father had already made it very clear last night that he didn't want anything to do with Chaos once she had finally convinced him that she wasn't a threat. There wasn't any use in bringing up that whole discussion again over the phone in Jazz's car.

"Alright, call me."

"Kay, bye." Raimee snapped her phone and looked up in time to see Danny watching her but he quickly looked away before she could read his expression. Her face flushed as she wondered what the group had thought of her conversation.

"Look, we're here," Jazz called out cheerfully as she steered the car into the garage. Raimee stared up at the top-heavy brick building with the florescent sign reading "Fentonworks" on it, distracted from her embarrassment.

"Wow," she mouthed.

'Dude, what a sweet house!'

"Yeah," Tucker grinned at her. "It's probably breaks a hundred building codes but Danny's parents have a lot of leeway here."

"Really? Why?" Raimee asked as she scooted out of the car. Danny threw his backpack over his shoulder.

"My parents are ghost hunters," he answered casually before heading inside. Raimee froze.

'I take that back about the house,' Chaos thought, her form shifting nervously inside her.

"What?!" she gasped out loud. "You just decided to tell me this now?!" Danny poked his head back outside.

"Don't worry, they couldn't catch a ghost if it was sitting right next to them; I do it every night at dinner," he chuckled at the joke before slipping behind the door. Raimee remained where she was, oblivious to the strange looks Danny's friends and sister were giving her.

'How could he just…'

'This is 'cause I got him with my Sparks, huh?' Chaos huffed. 'Well whatever, go inside Raimee. I can handle his parents!'

'Chaos.'

'Just do it, I'll be fine.'

'Okay…' Raimee trailed after Tucker who was last through the door. 'I guess this means his parents don't know his secret…?'

'Hmph, well if they come after me and I can't get away I'll just tell them about him! Then we'll see who's laughing last!'

'Well let's just hope it doesn't happen…' Raimee thought worriedly. She followed the group into the living room where a man was sitting with a newspaper in his lap.

"Ah Daniel, how nice to see you," he began, a smile spreading over his face. "Jasmine, Samantha, Tucker, good to see you too." He nodded at each of them before his gaze finally landed on Raimee. His smile disappeared momentarily but she wasn't able to catch his expression before the grin was back in place.

"And who is this?" Raimee smiled politely, wondering the same thing about him. There seemed to be something vaguely familiar about him though she couldn't pinpoint what.

'Do I know him?' Chaos asked.

'I was just thinking the same thing…'

'Huh.'

"This is Raimee, a friend from school," Jazz spoke up. She then turned towards Raimee and added, "This is Vlad Masters, he's a friend of our parents."

"Vlad Masters?" Raimee did a double take of the man. "The billionaire who lives up in Madison?"

"That would be me," Vlad agreed. "It's always nice to know you younger ones are taking an interest in the business world."

"Well, um, I used to live up in Wisconsin so I heard a lot about you…" Raimee corrected quietly.

"Did you? Beautiful area isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Raimee scuffed her shoe against the ground. Talking to adults usually didn't faze her but something about this man made her neck hairs stand up on end. It was almost like her ghost sense. As if he could read her thoughts Danny spoke up.

"Where's my mom and dad?" Vlad turned his gaze onto him.

"Down in the lab working on those bazookas, though I have to say they seem to be spending more time cleaning up your father's messes than they are fixing the weapons," he answered, his tone colored with light concern. Danny's eyes narrowed and Raimee wondered why, but the teen stormed off in the direction Vlad indicated before she could figure it out.

"Here, let's go upstairs," Jazz jerked her head towards the stairs. As Sam, Tucker, and Raimee followed her, Vlad waved.

"Have fun!"

'So what, this guy is famous or something?' Chaos asked as they made it to the first landing.

'Yeah, he's super rich and very successful, but that's really all I know,' Raimee informed her. 'It's weird, we move down here and then we run into this guy who's from where we left? Talk about coincidences…'

"I guess we could go into Danny's room?" Jazz wondered out loud as they lingered in the hallway. Raimee glanced between the three, noticing a silent exchange between Sam and Tucker before the goth answered.

"I think Danny said something about trying the Ops Center."

"The Ops Center?" Jazz tilted her head to the side. "Why?"

"Privacy," both she and Tucker said at the same time.

"What's the Ops Center?" Raimee questioned.

"The big hunk of metal on our roof," she heard Danny from behind her. She turned around to see him coming up the stairs. "It's the only way we can make sure no one will interrupt us without us knowing first."

"Oh," Raimee looked up at the ceiling.

'Sweet! What do you think is up there?'

'Probably a bunch of things that could destroy you,' Raimee thought. 'His parents are ghost hunters.'

'Yeah, but it could still be sweet!'

"Here, this way," Danny squeezed between them and headed down the hall.

"So Mom and Dad said it was okay?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah, 'as long as we're doing homework'," Danny gave her a wry smile.

"We might squeeze a little homework in," she protested, though she didn't sound confident. Danny just laughed.

"Maybe, but we've got more important things first." Though Raimee was a serious student she couldn't help but agree. This was going to be a very important discussion for all of them.

"Have fun!"

As the teens disappeared to the second floor, Vlad sat back in his chair with a smug smile spreading over his face. Raimee Perkings was here, and not just in Amity Park which he had already discovered with a little research, but at the Fenton's house with Danny of all people! This would simplify his plans considerably! Instead of having to search her out within the city, she had practically fallen into his lap.

Now he could focus his efforts on analyzing the girl and confirming that she was still harboring Chaos. If his brief interactions with them were any indication she was. Chaos had seemed too attached to Raimee to let the girl go and as his earlier investigation had concluded wherever Raimee went, paranormal events followed. He would prove his suspicions but meanwhile it was time to move on to the next phase in his plan.

Skulker would have to be notified that Chaos was most likely in the Amity Park area and that he should focus his hunt here. Depending on the time he arrived, Vlad could expect her to be captured by the end of the week. As he continued to mull over this change, he made a mental note to remind the hunter that he was there to capture Chaos and not to hunt Danny. That wouldn't be necessary this time around.

A noise to his right made Vlad look up and see Danny walking through the kitchen and towards the stairs, sending mistrustful glares at him the whole time. Vlad just smirked in response, internally amused at the teens timing. Just when he thought of the other half to his plot…

His goal wasn't only to take Chaos's powers but to take something else, something that was rightfully his and would hopefully be his in the near future. Technus was maintaining his end of their bargain beautifully and soon Vlad would be able to persuade Maddie that Jack really was as incompetent as he seemed. If he played his cards right, and he had every confidence that he would, then maybe Chaos wouldn't be the only one he took back to his castle in Wisconsin. He would just have to nudge a few pieces around and this game would be his.