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Chapter 3: A Test of Will

Danny Phantom was, in a word, pissed.

He was pissed at himself for letting himself be captured so easily, he was pissed at the other ghosts for being about as dependable as a bulletproof vest made out of cardboard, he was pissed that he was likely going to be brought right back to Vlad to become a nutritious ghost snack, and last but most importantly, he was pissed at that trench-coat-wearing nutjob that had manhandled him for the past hour and was now making him lie face down in an abandoned field while he did who-knew-what.

Actually why not just admit he was pissed at this whole damn universe. That would save a lot of time. Danny rested his head against the cool grass. He was so very tired of stewing in his own thoughts, and this strange behavior he had to endure from the ghost hunter wasn't helping at all.

From what Skulker had told him about "the hunter," he knew only two things about this man. One, he worked for Vlad and two, he was a major badass. Although that second part was up for debate because so far Danny had seen him break a balcony, fall on his ass, and almost crush himself with his own melodramatics.

On the other hand, he had tracked him down within a matter of hours, had convinced the other ghosts to abandon him, and had captured him embarrassingly quick. Although that last one was only because of this stupid ghost-proof line, which, much to Danny's surprise, looked exactly like the Fenton Fisher line.

He was lucky the Fenton Fisher jammed so often…If his dad had managed to use it properly he might have actually stood a chance at capturing Danny Phantom.

Danny tugged against his bonds again, but they still weren't budging. His only choice was to try relaxing and hope to hell he got a moment to escape soon. He had managed to get away from vamp-Fruitloop once and he could do it again...right?

The rub to that plan only came when Danny realized he was not being taken back to the fruitloop. At least not yet…to be honest that was the fact that upset him the most. Just when he thought he had some idea of how this universe functions, he ends up face down and tied up in a random fucking field…

So far all he had by way of information was a whispered "Don't worry, this isn't over yet" from Hunter, and despite the 'don't worry' part in the statement, it was not reassuring.

A hand grabbed the rope crossing his back and Danny found himself turned over onto his backside. The moon and the stars gazed down on him, and for a moment Danny stared back, amazed at how clear and bright they looked. The stars only look that bright when you are miles away from any kind of civilization, which probably meant he was still in the less populated part of Wisconsin.

The snap of a cord being cut made Danny sit up suddenly, his eyes falling to his captor and the ridiculously sharp-looking knife he was cutting the line with.

The teenager didn't know whether he was relieved, confused, or apprehensive. It just didn't make any sense. Why would this ghost hunter go through the effort of tracking him down just so he could take him out into a field and let him go.

Then again, if he was the Fruitloop's errand boy it was likely he was just as crazy as Vlad himself. This was probably just a small part of a greater plan. If there was ever a time to look a gift horse in the mouth, this was it.

A few more of his restraints were cut, giving enough leeway for Danny to sit up fully. The hunter flashed him a self-satisfied smirk and reached towards Danny's head. The teen resisted the urge to pull away, letting the elder press some buttons on the back of the gag in his mouth. The machine beeped and the cord keeping it in place retracted with a snap, letting the ball fall into Hunter's waiting hand.

The first thing Danny did with his freed mouth was take a very deep breath, pausing after to run his tongue across the back of his teeth, wishing he had something to get the taste of metal out of his mouth.

He tugged a little bit on the ropes, but they still weren't loose enough to escape, leaving him to wait as they were removed one-by one. Danny had a feeling that it would be better to wait until his bounds were removed before he started to question this odd change of heart, but his curiosity had no mind for his silly logic.

"Why are you letting me go?" Danny asked, green eyes glaring suspiciously at the older male.

The hunter didn't reply for a second, finishing cutting a few more ropes before he looked up at his captive. "I'm not." He chuckled darkly and titled his wrist, revealing a supped up digital watch.

Before Danny could ask him what he meant by that, Hunter activated one of the mechanisms in his watch and a glowing green force field blazed into life around the two of them, moving at a rapid pace until it formed a large dome a good 200 meters around the empty field. Danny recognized the ghost shield on sight, his stomach twisting in a tight little knot as his misgivings were confirmed.

"I'm not letting you go…more like giving you a second chance," Hunter explained, slitting the last of the ropes. Danny took to the air as soon as he felt the rope loosen, but he remained close enough to talk to his captor, both out of curiosity and because there wasn't anywhere else he could really go with the shield in place.

Danny scanned the dome, looking for the generator that was emitting the force field. Hunter seemed to guess what he was thinking though and interrupted his thoughts.

"The shield is powered off my bike. You know, the one just outside the boundary of the glowing green wall?" He smirked and pointed to it. True to his words, it was just outside the area Danny could go without slamming into a force more shatterproof to him in ghost form than a brick wall. "So, no, you can't just smash that and get out of here," Hunter chimed, making Danny cringe a little when his exact thoughts were guessed for a second time tonight. What was this guy, a damn mind reader?

"What exactly do you want?" Danny huffed, crossing his arms over his chest in mild frustration.

Hunter raised an eyebrow at him, looking genuinely surprised at the question. "Isn't it obvious? I want to fight."

"Fight?" Danny exclaimed, not sure if he was more surprised or incredulous. "Not that I don't appreciate the opportunity to kick your ass, but if I attack you I'll just get shot with your blaster thing and end up tied up again."

Danny wasn't close enough to be certain, but he could have sworn the hunter rolled his eyes. "Why would I bother letting you go if I was just going to use the same tactics to capture you again?"

"I don't know…maybe it's because you're crazy. You work for Vlad, so I think that automatically qualifies you as crazy," Danny snapped, the situation beginning to put a strain on his frayed nerves.

Hunter seemed to have the same sentiment. He rested his head against the palm of his hand and sighed exasperatedly. "Oh, this is giving me a headache…you're the only ghost I've ever met who would even think twice about fighting back. I don't know whether that makes you noble or just a coward."

"Hey!" Danny shouted automatically, but he didn't have time to think of a better comeback to add before Hunter interrupted him again.

"Listen," he began, rolling up his sleeve and pointing to his watch. "There is only one way out of here, and that's by taking this watch from me and deactivating the shield."

Danny looked from the watch to the man wearing it, his green eyes narrowing. "Let me guess," he muttered, already beginning to see where this was going, "if I don't you're going to tie me back up and take me to Vlad."

"That's about right." Hunter grinned, obviously pleased he had finally managed to get the message across.

"Fine," Danny decided, starting to gather up power in the palms of his hands and backing up to give himself more room. Normally he didn't like to fight or injure humans, but if Hunter was deliberately putting himself between him and freedom, there wasn't much he could do.

"Wonderful!" Hunter called, and then addressing Danny as if they were about to partake in a waltz instead of battle to the death, "Would you like to lead or shall I?" Danny didn't bother to respond and thrust his hand forward, emitting a beam of green energy that shot through the air towards Hunter.

A flash of black material and Hunter was gone, the tail of his trench coat barley missing getting singed as he leapt out of the way. "Nice power, but you need to work on your aim!" Hunter suggested, neatly dodging the next few shots with a duck and a sideways roll.

Danny growled under his breath and sent five more shots at the human in quick order, placing them just far enough away that the human couldn't possibly dodge all of them.

The forth blast hit Hunter in the torso and he stumbled back, arms crossed over his chest for a second before he straightened up again. The white shirt he wore under his coat had been burned away by the ecto-energy, exposing a gold and amethyst amulet around his neck, identical to the ecto-energy-sapping one that Vlad of this universe had been wearing.

Well shit…

"That's not fair, you're immune to my shots!" Danny yelled indigently. The human straightened, his ice blue eyes focusing on the teen. "Fair?" He laughed humorlessly and drew his pistol from its holster on his hip, aiming it at Danny's chest. "Life's not fair kid, get used to it. This isn't some kind of game where you can call 'time out' when you're losing." He fired a shot and Danny blocked it with a shield, the loud bang as the shot hit the barrier filling the still night air. "If you're as powerful as they say you are, you'll come up with something more creative than ecto-blasts," Hunter concluded and then let off some rapid fire shots at the floating ghost.

Danny dodged with just as much finesse as Hunter had seconds ago, but the shockwave from the exploding shots managed to rattle him enough that he lost his concentration and soon one of the blasts hit him.

Of course, Danny didn't have a magic amulet to save him from the blast so he was treated to an explosion of pain across his front and the dull thump as his limp body hit the grass.

It was only enough to keep him down for a second, though, he was made of tougher stuff than that. He pushed himself up on the grass, and green eyes locked on Hunter. Danny pointed his finger and a small beam of energy shot from the tip.

Hunter cried out in pain and clutched his hand to his chest. His gun went flying over his shoulder and passed through the ghost shield, skidding to a halt beside the back tire of his sports bike.

The human half-turned to see where the weapon landed, but didn't take his eyes off his opponent for long to ponder its loss. He flexed his fingers, nodding when he found them undamaged.

"How's that for creative?" Danny smirked, crossing his arms over his chest and floating back into the air.

Hunter raised an eyebrow at the ghost. "Clever maybe, creative no." He shrugged casually and ran his eyes over the young ghost, making Danny feel a little uncomfortable all of a sudden. "But you know, all you've done is turned this into a close-quarters battle…" Hunter lowered his body into a fighting pose that Danny recognized as one of his mother's ghost hunting standbys. "The question is how good are you with your fists?"

Danny's felt a low bubble of anger in his gut. Didn't this guy ever just shut up and fight? "How about you tell me after you're nursing the bruises I leave?" Danny shot back and then threw himself at the human at top speed, fists first.

Hunter shifted his weight and turned oh his heel, moving out of the path of the charging ghost. Danny blasted passed him, landed on the grass beside his opponent and changed direction faster than the human could blink. Less than a foot away now, Danny lashed out. Hunter reacted quickly and blocked the punch with his forearm, using his other hand to throw a counter-punch that forced Danny to pull away to avoid getting hit.

Green and blue eyes locked, the two at eye level since Danny's floating compensated for the few inches Hunter had over him. Both males had their hands up but only Hunter was smiling. With a small shiver Danny realized that the elder was enjoying this. In Hunter's mind, he was just a cat batting at a mouse, trying to have as much fun with it as possible before snapping its neck and bringing the lifeless body to its master as a gift.

The thought sparked a deep pang of resentment in the teen, his determination doubling as he promised himself he would show the hunter that he was not a ghost to be messed with. He had beaten evil beings that would make this smug bastard quake in his boots. He was Danny flipping Phantom for heaven's sake.

Danny felt himself lunge forward, making like he was going for the face again. Hunter blocked and Danny dived, the grass brushing against his suit as he flew between Hunter's legs. He came up behind the human and grabbed him by the back of his trench coat. Danny heaved him into the air, spun around and tossed him towards the center of the ghost shield dome like a large, lumpy shot-put.

The human landed in a heap and Danny didn't waste a second before he was on him again. One hand grabbed what was left of Hunter's shirt and the other pulled back before Danny loosed another punch, landing a few good hits to the human before Hunter's own fist managed to find Danny's gut.

The ghost gasped, leaving himself open to the hand that grabbed his shoulder and pulled his down as Hunter attempted to gain the advantage. Danny kicked and punched, but the close proximity made getting the space needed to put any power behind his shots difficult. He did manage to get a solid hit to Hunters face, as evidenced by the split lip the human now sported and the blood stain on his glove.

Eventually the bigger and heavier man managed to gain the upper hand, and Danny was pinned to the ground, Hunter's weight pressing down on him. He tried to phase through the human, but the amulet simply sucked away the expelled ecto-energy before it could alter his form.

Danny was left to glare up at the man, struggling to catch his breath, sweat making his suit cling close to his body, his heart beating much too fast inside his chest, all three factors making the situation even more uncomfortable than it already was.

"Got to tell you kid, you're every bit as good as everyone keeps telling me you are..." Hunter purred—honest to god purred. Danny was fairly sure that was not a proper way to talk to your enemies after a fight, and in light of this fact he decided it would be wise to struggle a little harder against the human's hold.

"Yeah…thanks…" Danny panted, finding it a little difficult to be sarcastic and breathe at the same time. Hunter shifted his weight a little, allowing Danny a little more room to recover, no doubt wondering why a ghost would be so adamant on pretending he still needed air to survive.

He seemed to have more pressing questions, though, because once Danny caught his breath he leaned closer again and asked, "So…you got a name? Or would you prefer I keep calling you Ghost Boy?"

At first, Danny wasn't sure whether or not the human was joking. It seemed like such a strange thing to ask right after you finished beating the shit out of someone. Danny didn't exactly feel inclined to chit-chat at the moment, but he had to admit that what he had heard about this human ghost hunter, coupled with his strange behavior, had sparked his own curiosity.

"Yes I have a name…but I'll only share if you tell me yours first," Danny offered, almost forgetting to add in an extra, "or was your mother really unoriginal enough to name you Hunter?"

The older human snorted in bemusement. "Was that supposed to be an insult?" he asked, looking genuinely disappointed in the downturn in banter quality. "You must be getting tired..."

"I'm not the one asking stupid questions instead of fighting," Danny huffed, tugging extra hard on his pinned wrists and growling in frustration when they didn't budge an inch.

"Sometimes asking questions can be more valuable than kicking butt," Hunter offered, musing over it like it was some kind of sagely advice that his tiny teen mind should be blown over by. More like pretentious bullshit if you asked Danny.

Unaware of the poisonous thoughts of the ghost under him, Hunter kept talking, "Knowledge is power, that's why I don't allow my enemies to know anything about me."

Danny stopped listening at this point, entertaining himself by deciding what part of Hunter he was going to hit next after he was free again.

…then the human's next line brought his whole world crashing to a screaming halt.

"…but since you're such a pretty little thing, I'll let you know my real name…" Hunter grinned. That line in itself was really creepy admittedly, but the real shocker came before Danny even had a second to think about that. "It's Daniel, Daniel Fenton...or Danny if you prefer."

Green eyes winded and the ghost boy's jaw dropped. His first thought was that the human was lying, he couldn't be Danny Fenton. There was only one Danny Fenton and that was him! ...But then he remembered this was an alternate time line, and then the truth hit him like a charging rhino.

Blue eyes, black hair, the way he moved, the endless banter as they fought…In Danny's mind's eyes, the space between them became a mirror and the similar looks threw him for a loop. How the heck had he not seen that before? If not for a few years of ageing and the green eyes and white hair that came with his ghost powers, they would be twins.

Danny's mind backpedaled through the six hours he had spent in this reality, trying to reverse engineer this knowledge into everything else he had learned about this place. The alternate Vlad had been a bit of a clue and he had wondered what this universe's version of himself would look like, but this didn't make any sense…

Why was his alternate self in cahoots with Vlad? Why was he riding a motorcycle and hunting ghosts? Where were alternate reality Mom, Dad and Jazz? Why were they letting him ghost hunt all on his own? Did they even know what alternate Danny was doing out here? ...All of Hunter's gear was sleek and effective, so it couldn't be Fenton Tec..

Danny had officially spaced out at this point, his mind so preoccupied with trying to come to terms with the new knowledge that he didn't realize he was staring blankly at Hunter, who was becoming increasingly annoyed at the lack of attention from his prey.

"So, are you going to hold up you end of the deal?" Hunter prompted, the grip around Danny's wrists tightening as he leaned closer to the ghost.

"Ummm…what?" Danny blinked, confused after being pulled from his thoughts about what had happened to the alternate reality Danny's fashion taste.

"Your name?" Hunter reminded him, a fair bit of exasperation in his tone.

Danny flinched. Shit…shitshitshitshit…He couldn't tell Hunter his name now…Best case scenario he would think he was lying. Worst case, he would think he was lying and punch him in the face for being a smart ass.

Sure he could transform back, but what would that prove? A lot of ghosts could alter their appearance. If Danny was Hunter—which he was—he would just assume his enemy was trying to mess with him by pretending to be a younger him. Ghosts were pulling shit like that all the time…

Danny knew he was taking too long to answer again and he quickly tried to find something he could say without giving away their shared identity. "My...um…my name's Phantom," Danny answered shakily, realizing he should have probably thought about it more right after he spoke.

"Phantom?" Hunter repeated, raising his eyebrows at the pinned ghost.

Danny nodded slightly trying to look like he was confident that Phantom was his one and only name.

"…And you called Hunter unoriginal," the human scoffed, not giving Danny a chance to respond before releasing the ghost boy and climbing to his feet. The teenager sat up, slightly confused but also wary. Hunter never gave up the upper hand without a catch. "If you're counting, this is the third chance I've given you to best me, don't expect to get a fourth…" Hunter smirked, ready for a second round despite the bruises he had already gained.

With the recent revelation Danny had almost forgotten they were fighting at all, not to mention how the price for losing was being served up on a silver platter to Count Vladimir. Danny struggled to his feet, realizing with a bit of resentment that both of the older selves that he had had the misfortune of coming into contact with were complete assholes. He didn't know what life lesson he was supposed to draw from that exactly, but it sure didn't boost his self-confidence much.

Danny took a second to stretch. The momentary break had given his healing factor enough time to stich up all of the minor wounds he had suffered and he was ready for another round. This time though he would be carful. He needed to have his focus if he wanted to have any chance of landing a hit. Well, that or keep using dirty tricks…

Actually Danny quite liked the sound of that second option; no one said he had to play fair, especially since Hunter wasn't. He just needed to focus, remember that Danny Phantom always came out on top. He was the hero after all, and good always wins.

...right?

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Green ectoplasm seeped from a large cut across Danny's chest. The wound wasn't too deep but it still hurt. He should have remembered the knife, after all Hunter had used it to sever the ghosts bonds earlier that night. They had been fighting with nothing more than their fists and feet for so long Danny had forgotten the possibility of Hunter hiding any more surprises in his coat and now he paid the price.

The specially tested metal edge pressed against his throat, a weapon capable of rending both human and ghost flesh with ease. Hunter pressed the blade forward and Danny tried to pull away, his head hitting the hard bark of the tree he was shoved up against.

The soft whine of an electric field around the ghost shield was a low undertone to the heavy panting of both males, and the closeness of the energy field made Danny's flesh crawl. The glowing green wall ended just beyond the next few trees, marking the edge of the clearing-turned-battlefield. The field of green grass was singed in some places and dented in others, earth upturned by blasts, ectoplasm-based or otherwise.

But it wasn't just the area that looked like it had been through hell. Both Hunter's coat and Danny's suit were disheveled and covered in bloodstains both human and ghost, drawn from countless minor injuries and smeared on the other in the heat of combat.

Danny glared at Hunter but was still too winded to do anything more than that, plus the knife pressed to his juggler was a strong incentive not to move too much. Hunter seemed to be in the same state, struggling to recover as he returned from what must have been an incredible adrenaline high. Danny had never seen a human go toe-to-toe with a ghost for so long before. He would have been impressed that his alternate self had turned into such an ass kicker if it wasn't his own ass getting kicked at the moment.

Hunter grinned, a wide unnerving grin, and Danny remembered that besides being a good fighter his alternate self was also completely fucking crazy. "That's your third strike," Hunter informed the ghost boy, speaking completely on the exhale. "Looks like I've come out on top again…"

Suddenly, the knife under Danny's chin was yanked away and something hard and blunt shoved against his tummy. When he looked down, Danny saw the large circular container being pressed business end first against his body. It was gray with green lights mounted on the bottom. Danny gazed at it for a second, but then he noticed the large button on the side and the display indicator set to 'capture'.

Fuck... Fenton Thermos...

"Thanks for the dance, little Phantom," Hunter murmured, pressing closer to the squirming ghost boy and making sure to keep his finger on the trigger. "Been a while since I've had that much fun..."

Danny's whole body tightened in panic. He couldn't believe he had lost… no, there was no way he could have lost! That's not how it works. After he gave it his all he was supposed to win. He was the hero, and heroes don't lose!

Then the second wave of fear hit as Danny realized the fate that would befall him as soon as Hunter pressed that button. Trapped in a sudden wave of hopelessness, Danny told himself that he wouldn't be able to escape Vlad again, that this time he would end up a dried up husk just like all the others.

The complete and utter terror Danny felt was clear in every movement. He pushed against Hunter with everything he had left, but the action only widened Hunters grin and earned him a slam against the hard tree trunk.

Danny didn't even register the blow. He was too busy lashing out at every chance he got, fighting like a wild animal without any thought for his actions, only the desperate need to get away. Then a thought crossed Danny's mind and it was almost enough to make him halt his desperate bid for freedom.

'Why hasn't he just pressed the button yet?' Danny looked back up at Hunter and was met with that horrible grin again. 'Unless…he's dragging this out just to watch me squirm…'

Danny's green eyes shot open and his temper—barley under control at the best of times—flared up like someone had just pulled the trigger on a flamethrower.

Hunter was enjoying this, he enjoyed all of it! This was all just a set up to feed his sick ghost hunting obsession. He had danced like a puppet as Hunter dangled a vague hope of escape above his head like a carrot, time ticking away until the novelty wore off and it was thermos time for ghost boy. The fact that he shared a name and identity with this sadistic fuck only made it that much worse.

Danny was suddenly filled with pure, unrelenting hatred. He grit his teeth, his ghostly energy churning away inside him, power rushing through his veins. His body went slack, pressure mounting in his chest, emotion and energy welling up inside him, looking for a way out. Hunter noticed the change in his prey, and an emotion that looked strangely like concern took over his features.

'Fucker is probably just disappointed that he doesn't get to keep watching me fight for my life,' Danny thought. The thin light form his ghostly aura dimmed as his power centered in his core. The pressure kept mounting driving back thought and reason, leaving only a single urge, the need to unleash the pent up emotion and energy.

He felt like he was going to scream… Then, for the second time that night, Danny took a deep breath and let loose with everything he had.

_________________________________________________________________________

Five miles away a flock of birds were startled by an echoing wail. With a flash of feathers they abandoned the tree they had been roosting in and flew out across the cool black waters of the small lake, flying away from the disquieting sound. They waited until it died away before settling back down on the other side of the water.

Back in the clearing, Danny's body slumped against the tree Hunter had pinned him against. His eyes were closed, chest heaving as he tried to regain his breath after unleashing his ghostly wail. His heart was pounding and his head felt like someone was driving a nail right between his eyes.

That was to be expected, though. He did just manage to pull off using his most powerful attack twice in one night, which was a miracle in itself even without all the extra shit he had been put through today.

After ten long moments, Danny managed to open his eyes, scanning the field for any trace of his adversary. His eyes fell to the tangled mess of black trench coat and limbs lying about a hundred feet away from the epicenter of Danny's scream.

Danny pulled himself to his feet, using the tree for support. He looking down and vaguely recognized his blue jeans and red-white running shoes. He must've spent all of his ghostly power and forcibly reverted back into his human form.

Danny disliked being suddenly striped of his powers, but on the plus side he was no longer covered in sweat and blood, and the cut on his chest seemed to have already begun healing. He tested one foot, then the other, making sure he could still support his weight on his own.

Once Danny had mastered the art of standing, he tried a few steps. A powerful pain shot through his leg as he took the first step. He breathed in sharply and shifted his weight back onto the other foot quickly. The discomfort was definitely coming from his ankle. Danny didn't know how to tell whether it was broken or just twisted, but for the sake of his own morale he decided it was just a pulled muscle.

Danny cast a baleful glance at Hunter. He was pretty sure the human was still alive. No doubt the amulet had absorbed enough ectoplasmic power to save his internal organs from rupturing from the shockwave.

Danny wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

For a moment he considered going over and taking the watch that Hunter had told him was his only ticket to freedom. However that involved limping all the way over to the defeated human then fiddling around to find the damn thing. Besides, given his experiences with Hunter tonight, it was likely the watch wasn't able to deactivate the shield at all, or was coded to Hunter's fingerprints or something like that.

Danny turned his back on the older man, crossing an arm over his wounded chest and taking the first of many painful steps away from the battlefield. He passed through the ghost shield harmlessly, the energy making his human skin simply tingle instead of shocking him painfully.

Despite the situation, Danny couldn't help a small smile when he imaged how flummoxed Hunter would be when he woke up. There were some advantages to being a hybrid in a world where they didn't seem to exist. No one had any clue about the type of powers he possessed and that fact alone had saved his ass twice tonight.

In retrospect, keeping his secret may have not been worth the injuries, but going human and running for his life had seemed just too cowardly for Danny's pride to stomach. Besides, Hunter had challenged him and Danny Phantom never backed down, even when his opponent wouldn't play fair.

He had also learned valuable information about Hunter…well maybe more upsetting and disgusting than valuable. Between the psychotic killer Vlad, Skulker's stories of Pariah Dark and the Ghost Vs. Human wars and now a twisted older version of himself…Danny was starting to get the feeling that this universe was a whole lot worse off than the one he belonged to.

As if to illustrate his thoughts, the world suddenly grew dark as he ventured into the forest, the canopy blocking out almost all the moonlight. The raven-haired teen slowed even more than he already had, being careful not to trip over any rocks or exposed tree roots. At this point it would be just his luck to trip and twist the other ankle.

Danny attempted a change, but the glowing sliver ring didn't even get halfway formed before it fizzled away. He had drained his ghost powers to the last drop after throwing every bit of it into that last attack. It had probably been overkill, but logic hadn't had any say in the matter when he was perched on the edge of adrenaline and hatred.

It had almost been like throwing up. He expelled all his bile, abhorrence and built up stress in one destructive blow, leaving him with nothing but a complete and utter sense of exhaustion. Danny couldn't remember feeling this drained since the conclusion of his battle with Pariah Dark. The only thing keeping him on his feet was his need to be as far away from that damn clearing as possible.

In the end he managed to stay on his feet for another hour, getting thoroughly lost in the woods as he walked. Danny didn't mind though, the more lost he was the harder it would be for Hunter to find him if the older man woke up before he regained his power. Danny didn't want to think about what would happen if he was found in his vulnerable state, not to mention whether Hunter would recognize him or how he would react.

Honestly, he didn't care to even think about it.

The final straw came when Danny broke from the forest and found the edge of a large lake, surrounded on all sides by thick tree cover. He gazed up at the full moon, and suddenly he didn't have anything in him anymore. He lowered himself to the grass and reclined on the slight slope leading towards that lake.

He crossed his arms over his chest, more for comfort than to ward against the cold. It seemed he had gotten lucky and arrived near the middle of this universe's summer. You know, now that he thought about it, the time of year made Hunter's all black attire seem a little silly.

Shrugging it off, Danny noticed that stars overhead looked exactly like the ones back on his earth. He felt the urge to pick out his favorite constellations, but simply lying on the ground was enough for his body to decide to force his mind into sleep.

Blue eyes shut and with a soft sigh the teen allowed himself to rest.

Description
Chapter 3: A Test of Will

Danny Phantom was, in a word, pissed.

He was pissed at himself for letting himself be captured so easily, he was pissed at the other ghosts for being about as dependable as a bulletproof vest made out of cardboard, he was pissed that he was likely going to be brought right back to Vlad to become a nutritious ghost snack, and last but most importantly, he was pissed at that trench-coat-wearing nutjob that had manhandled him for the past hour and was now making him lie face down in an abandoned field while he did who-knew-what.

Actually why not just admit he was pissed at this whole damn universe. That would save a lot of time. Danny rested his head against the cool grass. He was so very tired of stewing in his own thoughts, and this strange behavior he had to endure from the ghost hunter wasn't helping at all.

From what Skulker had told him about "the hunter," he knew only two things about this man. One, he worked for Vlad and two, he was a major badass. Although that second part was up for debate because so far Danny had seen him break a balcony, fall on his ass, and almost crush himself with his own melodramatics.

On the other hand, he had tracked him down within a matter of hours, had convinced the other ghosts to abandon him, and had captured him embarrassingly quick. Although that last one was only because of this stupid ghost-proof line, which, much to Danny's surprise, looked exactly like the Fenton Fisher line.

He was lucky the Fenton Fisher jammed so often…If his dad had managed to use it properly he might have actually stood a chance at capturing Danny Phantom.

Danny tugged against his bonds again, but they still weren't budging. His only choice was to try relaxing and hope to hell he got a moment to escape soon. He had managed to get away from vamp-Fruitloop once and he could do it again...right?

The rub to that plan only came when Danny realized he was not being taken back to the fruitloop. At least not yet…to be honest that was the fact that upset him the most. Just when he thought he had some idea of how this universe functions, he ends up face down and tied up in a random fucking field…

So far all he had by way of information was a whispered "Don't worry, this isn't over yet" from Hunter, and despite the 'don't worry' part in the statement, it was not reassuring.

A hand grabbed the rope crossing his back and Danny found himself turned over onto his backside. The moon and the stars gazed down on him, and for a moment Danny stared back, amazed at how clear and bright they looked. The stars only look that bright when you are miles away from any kind of civilization, which probably meant he was still in the less populated part of Wisconsin.

The snap of a cord being cut made Danny sit up suddenly, his eyes falling to his captor and the ridiculously sharp-looking knife he was cutting the line with.

The teenager didn't know whether he was relieved, confused, or apprehensive. It just didn't make any sense. Why would this ghost hunter go through the effort of tracking him down just so he could take him out into a field and let him go.

Then again, if he was the Fruitloop's errand boy it was likely he was just as crazy as Vlad himself. This was probably just a small part of a greater plan. If there was ever a time to look a gift horse in the mouth, this was it.

A few more of his restraints were cut, giving enough leeway for Danny to sit up fully. The hunter flashed him a self-satisfied smirk and reached towards Danny's head. The teen resisted the urge to pull away, letting the elder press some buttons on the back of the gag in his mouth. The machine beeped and the cord keeping it in place retracted with a snap, letting the ball fall into Hunter's waiting hand.

The first thing Danny did with his freed mouth was take a very deep breath, pausing after to run his tongue across the back of his teeth, wishing he had something to get the taste of metal out of his mouth.

He tugged a little bit on the ropes, but they still weren't loose enough to escape, leaving him to wait as they were removed one-by one. Danny had a feeling that it would be better to wait until his bounds were removed before he started to question this odd change of heart, but his curiosity had no mind for his silly logic.

"Why are you letting me go?" Danny asked, green eyes glaring suspiciously at the older male.

The hunter didn't reply for a second, finishing cutting a few more ropes before he looked up at his captive. "I'm not." He chuckled darkly and titled his wrist, revealing a supped up digital watch.

Before Danny could ask him what he meant by that, Hunter activated one of the mechanisms in his watch and a glowing green force field blazed into life around the two of them, moving at a rapid pace until it formed a large dome a good 200 meters around the empty field. Danny recognized the ghost shield on sight, his stomach twisting in a tight little knot as his misgivings were confirmed.

"I'm not letting you go…more like giving you a second chance," Hunter explained, slitting the last of the ropes. Danny took to the air as soon as he felt the rope loosen, but he remained close enough to talk to his captor, both out of curiosity and because there wasn't anywhere else he could really go with the shield in place.

Danny scanned the dome, looking for the generator that was emitting the force field. Hunter seemed to guess what he was thinking though and interrupted his thoughts.

"The shield is powered off my bike. You know, the one just outside the boundary of the glowing green wall?" He smirked and pointed to it. True to his words, it was just outside the area Danny could go without slamming into a force more shatterproof to him in ghost form than a brick wall. "So, no, you can't just smash that and get out of here," Hunter chimed, making Danny cringe a little when his exact thoughts were guessed for a second time tonight. What was this guy, a damn mind reader?

"What exactly do you want?" Danny huffed, crossing his arms over his chest in mild frustration.

Hunter raised an eyebrow at him, looking genuinely surprised at the question. "Isn't it obvious? I want to fight."

"Fight?" Danny exclaimed, not sure if he was more surprised or incredulous. "Not that I don't appreciate the opportunity to kick your ass, but if I attack you I'll just get shot with your blaster thing and end up tied up again."

Danny wasn't close enough to be certain, but he could have sworn the hunter rolled his eyes. "Why would I bother letting you go if I was just going to use the same tactics to capture you again?"

"I don't know…maybe it's because you're crazy. You work for Vlad, so I think that automatically qualifies you as crazy," Danny snapped, the situation beginning to put a strain on his frayed nerves.

Hunter seemed to have the same sentiment. He rested his head against the palm of his hand and sighed exasperatedly. "Oh, this is giving me a headache…you're the only ghost I've ever met who would even think twice about fighting back. I don't know whether that makes you noble or just a coward."

"Hey!" Danny shouted automatically, but he didn't have time to think of a better comeback to add before Hunter interrupted him again.

"Listen," he began, rolling up his sleeve and pointing to his watch. "There is only one way out of here, and that's by taking this watch from me and deactivating the shield."

Danny looked from the watch to the man wearing it, his green eyes narrowing. "Let me guess," he muttered, already beginning to see where this was going, "if I don't you're going to tie me back up and take me to Vlad."

"That's about right." Hunter grinned, obviously pleased he had finally managed to get the message across.

"Fine," Danny decided, starting to gather up power in the palms of his hands and backing up to give himself more room. Normally he didn't like to fight or injure humans, but if Hunter was deliberately putting himself between him and freedom, there wasn't much he could do.

"Wonderful!" Hunter called, and then addressing Danny as if they were about to partake in a waltz instead of battle to the death, "Would you like to lead or shall I?" Danny didn't bother to respond and thrust his hand forward, emitting a beam of green energy that shot through the air towards Hunter.

A flash of black material and Hunter was gone, the tail of his trench coat barley missing getting singed as he leapt out of the way. "Nice power, but you need to work on your aim!" Hunter suggested, neatly dodging the next few shots with a duck and a sideways roll.

Danny growled under his breath and sent five more shots at the human in quick order, placing them just far enough away that the human couldn't possibly dodge all of them.

The forth blast hit Hunter in the torso and he stumbled back, arms crossed over his chest for a second before he straightened up again. The white shirt he wore under his coat had been burned away by the ecto-energy, exposing a gold and amethyst amulet around his neck, identical to the ecto-energy-sapping one that Vlad of this universe had been wearing.

Well shit…

"That's not fair, you're immune to my shots!" Danny yelled indigently. The human straightened, his ice blue eyes focusing on the teen. "Fair?" He laughed humorlessly and drew his pistol from its holster on his hip, aiming it at Danny's chest. "Life's not fair kid, get used to it. This isn't some kind of game where you can call 'time out' when you're losing." He fired a shot and Danny blocked it with a shield, the loud bang as the shot hit the barrier filling the still night air. "If you're as powerful as they say you are, you'll come up with something more creative than ecto-blasts," Hunter concluded and then let off some rapid fire shots at the floating ghost.

Danny dodged with just as much finesse as Hunter had seconds ago, but the shockwave from the exploding shots managed to rattle him enough that he lost his concentration and soon one of the blasts hit him.

Of course, Danny didn't have a magic amulet to save him from the blast so he was treated to an explosion of pain across his front and the dull thump as his limp body hit the grass.

It was only enough to keep him down for a second, though, he was made of tougher stuff than that. He pushed himself up on the grass, and green eyes locked on Hunter. Danny pointed his finger and a small beam of energy shot from the tip.

Hunter cried out in pain and clutched his hand to his chest. His gun went flying over his shoulder and passed through the ghost shield, skidding to a halt beside the back tire of his sports bike.

The human half-turned to see where the weapon landed, but didn't take his eyes off his opponent for long to ponder its loss. He flexed his fingers, nodding when he found them undamaged.

"How's that for creative?" Danny smirked, crossing his arms over his chest and floating back into the air.

Hunter raised an eyebrow at the ghost. "Clever maybe, creative no." He shrugged casually and ran his eyes over the young ghost, making Danny feel a little uncomfortable all of a sudden. "But you know, all you've done is turned this into a close-quarters battle…" Hunter lowered his body into a fighting pose that Danny recognized as one of his mother's ghost hunting standbys. "The question is how good are you with your fists?"

Danny's felt a low bubble of anger in his gut. Didn't this guy ever just shut up and fight? "How about you tell me after you're nursing the bruises I leave?" Danny shot back and then threw himself at the human at top speed, fists first.

Hunter shifted his weight and turned oh his heel, moving out of the path of the charging ghost. Danny blasted passed him, landed on the grass beside his opponent and changed direction faster than the human could blink. Less than a foot away now, Danny lashed out. Hunter reacted quickly and blocked the punch with his forearm, using his other hand to throw a counter-punch that forced Danny to pull away to avoid getting hit.

Green and blue eyes locked, the two at eye level since Danny's floating compensated for the few inches Hunter had over him. Both males had their hands up but only Hunter was smiling. With a small shiver Danny realized that the elder was enjoying this. In Hunter's mind, he was just a cat batting at a mouse, trying to have as much fun with it as possible before snapping its neck and bringing the lifeless body to its master as a gift.

The thought sparked a deep pang of resentment in the teen, his determination doubling as he promised himself he would show the hunter that he was not a ghost to be messed with. He had beaten evil beings that would make this smug bastard quake in his boots. He was Danny flipping Phantom for heaven's sake.

Danny felt himself lunge forward, making like he was going for the face again. Hunter blocked and Danny dived, the grass brushing against his suit as he flew between Hunter's legs. He came up behind the human and grabbed him by the back of his trench coat. Danny heaved him into the air, spun around and tossed him towards the center of the ghost shield dome like a large, lumpy shot-put.

The human landed in a heap and Danny didn't waste a second before he was on him again. One hand grabbed what was left of Hunter's shirt and the other pulled back before Danny loosed another punch, landing a few good hits to the human before Hunter's own fist managed to find Danny's gut.

The ghost gasped, leaving himself open to the hand that grabbed his shoulder and pulled his down as Hunter attempted to gain the advantage. Danny kicked and punched, but the close proximity made getting the space needed to put any power behind his shots difficult. He did manage to get a solid hit to Hunters face, as evidenced by the split lip the human now sported and the blood stain on his glove.

Eventually the bigger and heavier man managed to gain the upper hand, and Danny was pinned to the ground, Hunter's weight pressing down on him. He tried to phase through the human, but the amulet simply sucked away the expelled ecto-energy before it could alter his form.

Danny was left to glare up at the man, struggling to catch his breath, sweat making his suit cling close to his body, his heart beating much too fast inside his chest, all three factors making the situation even more uncomfortable than it already was.

"Got to tell you kid, you're every bit as good as everyone keeps telling me you are..." Hunter purred—honest to god purred. Danny was fairly sure that was not a proper way to talk to your enemies after a fight, and in light of this fact he decided it would be wise to struggle a little harder against the human's hold.

"Yeah…thanks…" Danny panted, finding it a little difficult to be sarcastic and breathe at the same time. Hunter shifted his weight a little, allowing Danny a little more room to recover, no doubt wondering why a ghost would be so adamant on pretending he still needed air to survive.

He seemed to have more pressing questions, though, because once Danny caught his breath he leaned closer again and asked, "So…you got a name? Or would you prefer I keep calling you Ghost Boy?"

At first, Danny wasn't sure whether or not the human was joking. It seemed like such a strange thing to ask right after you finished beating the shit out of someone. Danny didn't exactly feel inclined to chit-chat at the moment, but he had to admit that what he had heard about this human ghost hunter, coupled with his strange behavior, had sparked his own curiosity.

"Yes I have a name…but I'll only share if you tell me yours first," Danny offered, almost forgetting to add in an extra, "or was your mother really unoriginal enough to name you Hunter?"

The older human snorted in bemusement. "Was that supposed to be an insult?" he asked, looking genuinely disappointed in the downturn in banter quality. "You must be getting tired..."

"I'm not the one asking stupid questions instead of fighting," Danny huffed, tugging extra hard on his pinned wrists and growling in frustration when they didn't budge an inch.

"Sometimes asking questions can be more valuable than kicking butt," Hunter offered, musing over it like it was some kind of sagely advice that his tiny teen mind should be blown over by. More like pretentious bullshit if you asked Danny.

Unaware of the poisonous thoughts of the ghost under him, Hunter kept talking, "Knowledge is power, that's why I don't allow my enemies to know anything about me."

Danny stopped listening at this point, entertaining himself by deciding what part of Hunter he was going to hit next after he was free again.

…then the human's next line brought his whole world crashing to a screaming halt.

"…but since you're such a pretty little thing, I'll let you know my real name…" Hunter grinned. That line in itself was really creepy admittedly, but the real shocker came before Danny even had a second to think about that. "It's Daniel, Daniel Fenton...or Danny if you prefer."

Green eyes winded and the ghost boy's jaw dropped. His first thought was that the human was lying, he couldn't be Danny Fenton. There was only one Danny Fenton and that was him! ...But then he remembered this was an alternate time line, and then the truth hit him like a charging rhino.

Blue eyes, black hair, the way he moved, the endless banter as they fought…In Danny's mind's eyes, the space between them became a mirror and the similar looks threw him for a loop. How the heck had he not seen that before? If not for a few years of ageing and the green eyes and white hair that came with his ghost powers, they would be twins.

Danny's mind backpedaled through the six hours he had spent in this reality, trying to reverse engineer this knowledge into everything else he had learned about this place. The alternate Vlad had been a bit of a clue and he had wondered what this universe's version of himself would look like, but this didn't make any sense…

Why was his alternate self in cahoots with Vlad? Why was he riding a motorcycle and hunting ghosts? Where were alternate reality Mom, Dad and Jazz? Why were they letting him ghost hunt all on his own? Did they even know what alternate Danny was doing out here? ...All of Hunter's gear was sleek and effective, so it couldn't be Fenton Tec..

Danny had officially spaced out at this point, his mind so preoccupied with trying to come to terms with the new knowledge that he didn't realize he was staring blankly at Hunter, who was becoming increasingly annoyed at the lack of attention from his prey.

"So, are you going to hold up you end of the deal?" Hunter prompted, the grip around Danny's wrists tightening as he leaned closer to the ghost.

"Ummm…what?" Danny blinked, confused after being pulled from his thoughts about what had happened to the alternate reality Danny's fashion taste.

"Your name?" Hunter reminded him, a fair bit of exasperation in his tone.

Danny flinched. Shit…shitshitshitshit…He couldn't tell Hunter his name now…Best case scenario he would think he was lying. Worst case, he would think he was lying and punch him in the face for being a smart ass.

Sure he could transform back, but what would that prove? A lot of ghosts could alter their appearance. If Danny was Hunter—which he was—he would just assume his enemy was trying to mess with him by pretending to be a younger him. Ghosts were pulling shit like that all the time…

Danny knew he was taking too long to answer again and he quickly tried to find something he could say without giving away their shared identity. "My...um…my name's Phantom," Danny answered shakily, realizing he should have probably thought about it more right after he spoke.

"Phantom?" Hunter repeated, raising his eyebrows at the pinned ghost.

Danny nodded slightly trying to look like he was confident that Phantom was his one and only name.

"…And you called Hunter unoriginal," the human scoffed, not giving Danny a chance to respond before releasing the ghost boy and climbing to his feet. The teenager sat up, slightly confused but also wary. Hunter never gave up the upper hand without a catch. "If you're counting, this is the third chance I've given you to best me, don't expect to get a fourth…" Hunter smirked, ready for a second round despite the bruises he had already gained.

With the recent revelation Danny had almost forgotten they were fighting at all, not to mention how the price for losing was being served up on a silver platter to Count Vladimir. Danny struggled to his feet, realizing with a bit of resentment that both of the older selves that he had had the misfortune of coming into contact with were complete assholes. He didn't know what life lesson he was supposed to draw from that exactly, but it sure didn't boost his self-confidence much.

Danny took a second to stretch. The momentary break had given his healing factor enough time to stich up all of the minor wounds he had suffered and he was ready for another round. This time though he would be carful. He needed to have his focus if he wanted to have any chance of landing a hit. Well, that or keep using dirty tricks…

Actually Danny quite liked the sound of that second option; no one said he had to play fair, especially since Hunter wasn't. He just needed to focus, remember that Danny Phantom always came out on top. He was the hero after all, and good always wins.

...right?

________________________________________________________________________________

Green ectoplasm seeped from a large cut across Danny's chest. The wound wasn't too deep but it still hurt. He should have remembered the knife, after all Hunter had used it to sever the ghosts bonds earlier that night. They had been fighting with nothing more than their fists and feet for so long Danny had forgotten the possibility of Hunter hiding any more surprises in his coat and now he paid the price.

The specially tested metal edge pressed against his throat, a weapon capable of rending both human and ghost flesh with ease. Hunter pressed the blade forward and Danny tried to pull away, his head hitting the hard bark of the tree he was shoved up against.

The soft whine of an electric field around the ghost shield was a low undertone to the heavy panting of both males, and the closeness of the energy field made Danny's flesh crawl. The glowing green wall ended just beyond the next few trees, marking the edge of the clearing-turned-battlefield. The field of green grass was singed in some places and dented in others, earth upturned by blasts, ectoplasm-based or otherwise.

But it wasn't just the area that looked like it had been through hell. Both Hunter's coat and Danny's suit were disheveled and covered in bloodstains both human and ghost, drawn from countless minor injuries and smeared on the other in the heat of combat.

Danny glared at Hunter but was still too winded to do anything more than that, plus the knife pressed to his juggler was a strong incentive not to move too much. Hunter seemed to be in the same state, struggling to recover as he returned from what must have been an incredible adrenaline high. Danny had never seen a human go toe-to-toe with a ghost for so long before. He would have been impressed that his alternate self had turned into such an ass kicker if it wasn't his own ass getting kicked at the moment.

Hunter grinned, a wide unnerving grin, and Danny remembered that besides being a good fighter his alternate self was also completely fucking crazy. "That's your third strike," Hunter informed the ghost boy, speaking completely on the exhale. "Looks like I've come out on top again…"

Suddenly, the knife under Danny's chin was yanked away and something hard and blunt shoved against his tummy. When he looked down, Danny saw the large circular container being pressed business end first against his body. It was gray with green lights mounted on the bottom. Danny gazed at it for a second, but then he noticed the large button on the side and the display indicator set to 'capture'.

Fuck... Fenton Thermos...

"Thanks for the dance, little Phantom," Hunter murmured, pressing closer to the squirming ghost boy and making sure to keep his finger on the trigger. "Been a while since I've had that much fun..."

Danny's whole body tightened in panic. He couldn't believe he had lost… no, there was no way he could have lost! That's not how it works. After he gave it his all he was supposed to win. He was the hero, and heroes don't lose!

Then the second wave of fear hit as Danny realized the fate that would befall him as soon as Hunter pressed that button. Trapped in a sudden wave of hopelessness, Danny told himself that he wouldn't be able to escape Vlad again, that this time he would end up a dried up husk just like all the others.

The complete and utter terror Danny felt was clear in every movement. He pushed against Hunter with everything he had left, but the action only widened Hunters grin and earned him a slam against the hard tree trunk.

Danny didn't even register the blow. He was too busy lashing out at every chance he got, fighting like a wild animal without any thought for his actions, only the desperate need to get away. Then a thought crossed Danny's mind and it was almost enough to make him halt his desperate bid for freedom.

'Why hasn't he just pressed the button yet?' Danny looked back up at Hunter and was met with that horrible grin again. 'Unless…he's dragging this out just to watch me squirm…'

Danny's green eyes shot open and his temper—barley under control at the best of times—flared up like someone had just pulled the trigger on a flamethrower.

Hunter was enjoying this, he enjoyed all of it! This was all just a set up to feed his sick ghost hunting obsession. He had danced like a puppet as Hunter dangled a vague hope of escape above his head like a carrot, time ticking away until the novelty wore off and it was thermos time for ghost boy. The fact that he shared a name and identity with this sadistic fuck only made it that much worse.

Danny was suddenly filled with pure, unrelenting hatred. He grit his teeth, his ghostly energy churning away inside him, power rushing through his veins. His body went slack, pressure mounting in his chest, emotion and energy welling up inside him, looking for a way out. Hunter noticed the change in his prey, and an emotion that looked strangely like concern took over his features.

'Fucker is probably just disappointed that he doesn't get to keep watching me fight for my life,' Danny thought. The thin light form his ghostly aura dimmed as his power centered in his core. The pressure kept mounting driving back thought and reason, leaving only a single urge, the need to unleash the pent up emotion and energy.

He felt like he was going to scream… Then, for the second time that night, Danny took a deep breath and let loose with everything he had.

_________________________________________________________________________

Five miles away a flock of birds were startled by an echoing wail. With a flash of feathers they abandoned the tree they had been roosting in and flew out across the cool black waters of the small lake, flying away from the disquieting sound. They waited until it died away before settling back down on the other side of the water.

Back in the clearing, Danny's body slumped against the tree Hunter had pinned him against. His eyes were closed, chest heaving as he tried to regain his breath after unleashing his ghostly wail. His heart was pounding and his head felt like someone was driving a nail right between his eyes.

That was to be expected, though. He did just manage to pull off using his most powerful attack twice in one night, which was a miracle in itself even without all the extra shit he had been put through today.

After ten long moments, Danny managed to open his eyes, scanning the field for any trace of his adversary. His eyes fell to the tangled mess of black trench coat and limbs lying about a hundred feet away from the epicenter of Danny's scream.

Danny pulled himself to his feet, using the tree for support. He looking down and vaguely recognized his blue jeans and red-white running shoes. He must've spent all of his ghostly power and forcibly reverted back into his human form.

Danny disliked being suddenly striped of his powers, but on the plus side he was no longer covered in sweat and blood, and the cut on his chest seemed to have already begun healing. He tested one foot, then the other, making sure he could still support his weight on his own.

Once Danny had mastered the art of standing, he tried a few steps. A powerful pain shot through his leg as he took the first step. He breathed in sharply and shifted his weight back onto the other foot quickly. The discomfort was definitely coming from his ankle. Danny didn't know how to tell whether it was broken or just twisted, but for the sake of his own morale he decided it was just a pulled muscle.

Danny cast a baleful glance at Hunter. He was pretty sure the human was still alive. No doubt the amulet had absorbed enough ectoplasmic power to save his internal organs from rupturing from the shockwave.

Danny wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

For a moment he considered going over and taking the watch that Hunter had told him was his only ticket to freedom. However that involved limping all the way over to the defeated human then fiddling around to find the damn thing. Besides, given his experiences with Hunter tonight, it was likely the watch wasn't able to deactivate the shield at all, or was coded to Hunter's fingerprints or something like that.

Danny turned his back on the older man, crossing an arm over his wounded chest and taking the first of many painful steps away from the battlefield. He passed through the ghost shield harmlessly, the energy making his human skin simply tingle instead of shocking him painfully.

Despite the situation, Danny couldn't help a small smile when he imaged how flummoxed Hunter would be when he woke up. There were some advantages to being a hybrid in a world where they didn't seem to exist. No one had any clue about the type of powers he possessed and that fact alone had saved his ass twice tonight.

In retrospect, keeping his secret may have not been worth the injuries, but going human and running for his life had seemed just too cowardly for Danny's pride to stomach. Besides, Hunter had challenged him and Danny Phantom never backed down, even when his opponent wouldn't play fair.

He had also learned valuable information about Hunter…well maybe more upsetting and disgusting than valuable. Between the psychotic killer Vlad, Skulker's stories of Pariah Dark and the Ghost Vs. Human wars and now a twisted older version of himself…Danny was starting to get the feeling that this universe was a whole lot worse off than the one he belonged to.

As if to illustrate his thoughts, the world suddenly grew dark as he ventured into the forest, the canopy blocking out almost all the moonlight. The raven-haired teen slowed even more than he already had, being careful not to trip over any rocks or exposed tree roots. At this point it would be just his luck to trip and twist the other ankle.

Danny attempted a change, but the glowing sliver ring didn't even get halfway formed before it fizzled away. He had drained his ghost powers to the last drop after throwing every bit of it into that last attack. It had probably been overkill, but logic hadn't had any say in the matter when he was perched on the edge of adrenaline and hatred.

It had almost been like throwing up. He expelled all his bile, abhorrence and built up stress in one destructive blow, leaving him with nothing but a complete and utter sense of exhaustion. Danny couldn't remember feeling this drained since the conclusion of his battle with Pariah Dark. The only thing keeping him on his feet was his need to be as far away from that damn clearing as possible.

In the end he managed to stay on his feet for another hour, getting thoroughly lost in the woods as he walked. Danny didn't mind though, the more lost he was the harder it would be for Hunter to find him if the older man woke up before he regained his power. Danny didn't want to think about what would happen if he was found in his vulnerable state, not to mention whether Hunter would recognize him or how he would react.

Honestly, he didn't care to even think about it.

The final straw came when Danny broke from the forest and found the edge of a large lake, surrounded on all sides by thick tree cover. He gazed up at the full moon, and suddenly he didn't have anything in him anymore. He lowered himself to the grass and reclined on the slight slope leading towards that lake.

He crossed his arms over his chest, more for comfort than to ward against the cold. It seemed he had gotten lucky and arrived near the middle of this universe's summer. You know, now that he thought about it, the time of year made Hunter's all black attire seem a little silly.

Shrugging it off, Danny noticed that stars overhead looked exactly like the ones back on his earth. He felt the urge to pick out his favorite constellations, but simply lying on the ground was enough for his body to decide to force his mind into sleep.

Blue eyes shut and with a soft sigh the teen allowed himself to rest.