Masquerade

Pairing: Dash x Danny

Warnings: Homosexual relationships. Main DP characters of the story are in their senior year of high school and are 18 years of age. Foul language. Violence. Out of Character on Danny's part because of a spell.

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom is a product of Nickelodeon. All characters in this story are imaginary.

Summary: When an old enemy and a new ghost hunter appear in town, Danny finds his life turned upside down.

Originally Written: October 2004 - January 2005

Chapter 01

Danny phased through the brick wall into an abandoned warehouse, missing the blast directed at him by mere centimeters. His attacker, a human, couldn't follow him through the wall without destroying it first, so Danny had a moment to relax before he needed to start running again. Valerie gave up the ghost hunting job when she moved away to California with her father a little less than a year ago.

So who's the ghost hunter this time? Danny wondered as he tried to calm the panic building inside him. He went on patrol that night alone since Tucker and Sam were too busy on a date. When he first learned of their relationship, Danny was angry with his two best friends. At the time, he still had a small crush on Sam, all thanks to Ember's little love spell and the fake out make out he shared with Sam that one time. But now two years later, his crush on Sam had faded away, and Danny found he was happy for both his friends.

With Tucker and Sam dating and keeping up with school work and studying for exams, Danny patrolled for ghosts alone more often than in their freshmen year. Then tonight, out of nowhere, a new ghost hunter attacked him. Danny couldn't remember doing anything to anyone that would cause them to hold a grudge against him, like with Valerie.

"Now you are mine, ghost child," stated someone with a familiar voice.

Danny's gaze snapped up, and he found Skulker floating before him with one of his weapons aimed at the half ghost. "Can't you come around some other time, Skulker?" he questioned with a groan. He didn't want to play the game of cat and mouse with Skulker while being chased by some new ghost hunter, who appeared to be a lot better trained than Valerie on her first attempts at the job.

"Did you really think you could escape that easily?" the ghost hunter demanded as he blasted away the door to the warehouse.

"I can't catch a break, can I?" Danny mumbled in annoyance.

But the ghost hunter's entrance called Skulker's attention away from the half ghost. When he noticed that fact, Danny shoved Skulker toward the hunter. The ghost collided with the man, and they tumbled to the ground. Danny passed through the wall again and flew as fast and far away as possible before Skulker and the ghost hunter realized their mutual prey escaped. He decided he had had enough excitement for one night, so he headed back to his house, slipping inside through the open window in his room.

"You're home a lot later than usual, Danny," Jazz stated from where she sat at the foot of his bed.

"Jazz! What are you doing in my room?" Danny demanded as he tossed the Fenton Thermos onto his desk. First a new ghost hunter, then the return of Skulker, now Jazz randomly appearing in his room. What else would he have to deal with in one night?

"I was worried that something happened to you! It's three in the morning, and you're only now getting home from patrolling. I don't think you should patrol alone anymore."

Danny saw the concern showing on his sister's face and regretted causing his sister to worry about him. He knew how much she cared about his safety. Their parents would probably worry as much as she did if they knew that he snuck out at night to fight ghosts.

"I can take care of myself," Danny argued. "And Tucker still has butterfingers. Last time he patrolled with me, he dropped the thermos again and released the ghosts I had captured that night." Danny flopped onto the bed beside his sister when a thought struck him. "Shouldn't you be at college right now?"

"I came back to pick up a few things. I'm heading back Sunday morning." Jazz glanced at her brother and saw the tired, almost depressed, expression on his face. "You look a little down. Is everything okay?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. I'm just tired." Danny faked a yawn as proof of his tiredness. "Since you'll be here until Sunday, why don't you come with Sam, Tucker, and me to the football game tomorrow night?"

"Sounds like fun." Jazz smiled at her brother as she drew him into a one armed hug. "I'll see you in the morning." She stood and headed for the door.

"Night, Jazz," Danny whispered and lay back on the bed.

Danny stared at the ceiling, watching the shadows play across the smooth surface. He knew had fallen into another bout of depression, which came in cycles, though the bouts came more often now than they had in the beginning. His sister was usually away at college so he couldn't talk with her that much anymore. Tucker and Sam spent most of their time together and maybe every other weekend did something together with him. With the only people he had as friends too busy, Danny felt like he had no one to really turn to for help or just to talk. And he knew Jazz would go into overprotective sister mode if he told her about the new ghost hunter. Danny only wanted someone he could spend time with when Tucker and Sam were unavailable, and he usually felt like the third wheel when they did hang out together.

Danny released a sigh as he rolled onto his side. His eyes slipped shut, but sleep didn't come easy to the young half ghost.

"Do you think Danny's becoming more distant towards us?" Sam asked Tucker while they walked to the Fenton's house. "It just seems like he isn't talking to us as much."

"Well, we haven't really been paying him a lot of attention since we started dating." Tucker frowned as he realized he had been a bad friend to Danny by ignoring him to go on dates with Sam when they weren't all busy with studying. "Maybe we should try to find someone to set Danny up with. He hasn't had a date in a few months."

"Yeah, but he's either dated or been shot down by pretty much every girl at our school." Sighing, Sam tried to think of a girl at Casper High that Danny hadn't asked on a date.

"Maybe we should try looking at another school," Tucker suggested. "I hear that Nosferatu High is having a Halloween Masquerade dance. I know a few people there. If I ask, they can get us guest passes to attend the dance."

"That's a great idea! But do you think we can convince him to go?"

"Even if we can't convince him, we can always force him to go," Tucker answered with a grin. They stopped talking about Danny as they reached the front door of the Fenton's house. Tucker rang the doorbell, and two seconds later, Danny threw the door open.

"Hey, Tuck, Sam!" Danny greeted. "I hope you don't mind, but I invited Jazz to come along since she's visiting this weekend."

"No, that's cool. Go get her, so we can leave," Tucker said. Danny ran back into the house, calling for Jazz. A few minutes later, the siblings returned, ready to leave for the game.

"It's great to see you again, Jazz. How's college?" Sam asked as the two girls took the lead while the four of them headed to Casper High.

"So how did patrolling go last night? Fight any strong ghosts?" Tucker inquired, nudging Danny's side with his elbow. Danny raised his hand to rub the back of his neck.

"Well, I ran into an old face last night," Danny mumbled. "Skulker's back in town."

"He's still hunting you? Man, I thought he had finally given up since we hadn't heard from him in a while." Tucker sighed with a shake of his head.

"Unfortunately, it seems I'm still his number one target." Danny chewed the inside of his cheek, wondering if he should say anything about the other surprise he received last night. He decided it wouldn't hurt to tell someone else. If Sam and Tucker patrolled with him again, they would find out about the ghost hunter sooner or later. "I ran into someone else last night. It was a new ghost hunter."

"What? A new one? Do you have any clue who it could be?" Tucker jumped on the new topic, eyes wild with curiosity and fear from the threat that the ghost hunter posed.

"Not really," Danny answered in a weak voice. He cleared his throat before continuing. "I was more concerned about escaping in one piece than who the face behind the mask was."

"Skulker and a new ghost hunter? I think Sam and I need to spend more time patrolling with you," Tucker stated, worried about his friend's safety. "I wonder who would have a grudge against you this time."

"It could always just be some random person who wants to hunt ghosts," Danny said with a shrug. "Maybe the person's reason has nothing to do with me. But," Danny paused as he remembered what the ghost hunter had looked like. "His weapons and his outfit… they looked like they came from the same place Valerie got her ghost hunting equipment."

"Then maybe it does have something to do with you," Tucker offered and received a strange look from his friend. "Okay. Yes, Valerie had a grudge against you. But what if the person who provided her with the ghost hunting equipment used her grudge to get someone to chase after and perhaps capture you? What if that person has a grudge against you as well? He must if he's sending another ghost hunter after you."

"But we can't be sure the ghost hunter was after me because I'm me and the mystery provider told him to chase me and not because I'm a ghost," Danny argued.

When they arrived at Casper High, Tucker and Danny stopped their talk of the new ghost hunter. The four of them walked around the school to the football field. The game had already started. The crowd cheered as the players fought their way through the other team's defense line toward the end zone. They found some open spots on the bleachers among the rowdy crowd and sat down to watch the game.

Danny enjoyed going to football games even though he didn't really like the sport. At the games, he felt like an average teenager again. His worries about ghosts and ghost hunters disappeared the moment he leaped to his feet and started cheering for his school's team.

"I never realized how much Danny liked football," Jazz whispered to Sam, but Danny heard her.

Danny smiled to himself, loving the rush of feelings he received from something as simple as cheering. He sat on the edge of his seat, waiting for that one guy whose name he could never remember to snap the ball to Dash. The blond jock still wasn't one of his favorite people, but when he watched the game, Danny found he always mentally cheered for the jock.

Finally, the player snapped the ball to Dash, and the game was set into motion again. Danny watched with all his attention focused on Dash while rooting the jock on in his mind. Dash searched the field for an open player. Once someone got open, Dash threw the ball to the other player. The crowd roared with excitement; however, Danny's gaze remained on Dash. No one else seemed to pay any attention, but Danny noticed it. Dash was hurt! The other team had intercepted the pass with great ease. Dash didn't throw the ball as well as he had in every other game because his right arm had been hurt somehow. Danny slumped back on the bench with a frown on his face and his brow wrinkled with concern.

"Is something wrong, Danny?" Tucker asked when he noticed the sudden change in his friend.

"Dash is hurt," Danny responded, but worry distracted his mind from everything happening in the game. He worried that Dash might hurt himself more if he continued to play in the game with his throwing arm hurt.