Hey guys.

This is my reboot of the Danny Phantom: Year Two fanfic. After a full year of not getting anything figured out, I decided to start fresh so I could plan out the story and have something that I had time to plan out and structure. One of the things that involved was figuring out ways to set this story apart from other fics. That involved a little creative license and trying to interpret the Danny Phantom universe in another fashion.

This is going to be the first of three stories, each of which will have a specific theme. The theme for this fic, in case you haven't guessed, is about growing up and what that entails: realizing that everything is more complex than we ever give it credit for and that adversity can only be held off for so long.

Please leave your impressions and thoughts on this chapter via a review.

Prologue

September 2, 2008

It was too crazy to be true.

Danny wasn't that surprised when we woke up. Whether it was from the stress of starting his sophomore year, or saving Danielle from becoming a pile of sludge two nights ago, he wasn't sure. But for a few minutes, he just sat in bed, chuckling at the absurdity of it all. Nothing in life was that simple. There was no way his parents would accept him that quickly. Masters' Blasters? Sounded like a cheesy video game for kids. Tucker as mayor? Pfft. And of course, there was his guilty pleasure of riding...well, flying into the sunset with Sam. He doubted that would come true any time soon.

Could it happen though? Danny had been asking himself that the entire summer. He wasn't quite sure, but in the past weeks, he felt something he hadn't noticed before. Or maybe...he just hadn't realized before. Was it worth risking his friendship, or pushing away the girl he wanted desperately to keep close? Why did girls have to be this challenging? Where could he get advice? Tuc-no, no way. His dad? Nope, even worse. Jazz? The psychology part might help, but he questioned her ability to keep her mouth shut.

He'd think about it later. Danny grabbed his towel and went for the shower. It was going to be a long day, with or without this on his mind.

It was still dark when Sam left the house.

That was how things had been for most of the summer. Get up early, change quickly, leave a note, and head to school before Mom and Dad woke up. She hadn't gotten a decent sleep since Nocturne, but it was better than the alternative. The night had truly become her friend. It was the only time she felt alive, secure, surrounded by people who didn't care who she was, who accepted her. She could make a difference. It didn't matter what sperm and egg she came from, her family was with Jazz and Tucker and Danny...Danny. That stupid, clueless, immature dork.

That one person she couldn't imagine life without.

Part of her wanted to share what was going on. It wasn't worth it. They didn't need her burden. Danny had enough on his plate. Heck, they would all have a lot on their plates in the next few weeks. No, this was her burden, and hers alone. Besides, they understood having annoying parents. She could handle it.

Tucker straightened his beret.

A whole new year approached, and he liked his chances. Sophomore year meant a wave of new freshmen, fresh faces, new chances to finally prove his skills as a ladies' man. Now that Star was officially off the market, he had to search for other options.

But that would have to wait. His eyes flashed to the box on his dresser. The contents: two flash drive. Inside the first was all the data he had on Danny, ghosts, Vlad, the Ghost Zone, Valerie, and Fenton technology. He doubted even Danny knew how much information it contained. And the less people who knew about it, the better. You never knew who could be watching. The other drive contained his magnum opus.

He spent months working on the program, making sure it stayed safe, testing it whenever he could. Every fiber of his body screamed not to do it. Every step of the plan could go horribly wrong, and he wasn't sure he was ready to do Step One. Fear didn't describe what he felt about what he was going to do.

But there might not be a choice. There was enough to worry about today. He turned away from the box and went upstairs for breakfast.

It was three nights ago when Valerie's world was shattered again.

Vlad Masters was a ghost. The mayor, the man who gave her the power to make things right, who gave her direction in her darkest point in life, was a ghost. He wasn't being overshadowed, she had seen him become one with Vlad Plasmius, as if they were two halfs becoming whole.

Almost like Danielle. Never in a million lifetimes could Valerie imagine something...no, someone like Danielle. It didn't make sense: how could someone be both human and ghost at once? Did that mean they were only half alive? Was Vlad a...half-ghost too?

Why would Vlad reach out to her? She knew they had Phantom as a common enemy. The ghost that ruined her life, got Dad fired, forcing her to pick up whatever remains of herself remained. The being that attacked the last mayor. If one thing had been clear, it was that Danny Phantom was a monster. Ghostly scum. But now she wasn't even sure about that.

Danielle trusted him. He had worked to save her. Valerie hadn't forgotten his despair when he thought Danielle was gone for good. Everything he told her about Danielle that night was true, which was more than Vlad could claim. And Danielle was remarkably similar to him, physically at least. What did that mean for-

"Val,"

Valerie blinked. "Huh?"

"We're here,"

Sure enough, they were at Casper High. Valerie gave her best attempt at a smile. "Thanks, Daddy,"

He smiled warmly back. "I know it's the first day of school, but...have a good day,"

She rolled her eyes. "I'll try,"

Dad nodded. "Hey, you free tonight?"

Her heart sank. "Sorry, I couldn't get my shift off,"

The hopeful light in his eyes faded. "That's okay. Maybe sometime later this week?"

"I'll see what I can do," she answered, knowing she probably couldn't make it work. Between working at the Nasty Burger and Dad's late night security guard shifts, it had been hard to just sit and have dinner together. "Love you, Daddy,"

"Love you too, pumpkin," he said, kissing her on the cheek. She took one last glance as he drove off, shrinking into the distance. Before, she was able to place all her anger in fighting ghosts. They were demons who did nothing but hurt people, and she could make them pay. Now, she didn't know what to believe. She didn't know what she had been fighting for.

The harder Val thought about it, the murkier everything felt. She couldn't keep this up: she had to focus on school, getting behind this early because of ghosts wasn't an option. The only way was to get answers, but where could she get them? The Fentons wouldn't know, and they might call her dad. Vlad was obviously out of the picture. Danielle was the most trustworthy, but Valerie had no idea where she was, left alone how to find her. That left...no, no way.

But she had no choice. Valerie hoped she would never, ever have to do this. Unfortunately, the only thing clear was where the key to all this was.

She would have to find Phantom.

Well, here we go.

This chapter feels a lot more fleshed out here then my original Chapter 1, in part because I have a better idea of the direction I'm taking. Hopefully you guys like this more as well.

One thing I've realized in life is that no matter how hard you try to plan things out, it never turns out exactly how you wanted it to. My computer crashed a while back, and it's almost impossible to do this on a cell phone. I'm not going to make any promises on when Chapter 2 comes out, but I want to wait until 2017 so that I can work around school, life, and tech issues. Rest assured, I will not give this story up.