Title: Danny Phantom one-shot: Friendship.

Author: JH24

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. This awesome show and all of its characters are property of Butch Hartman.

Genre: Action/Adventure

Spoilers: The story could take place somewhere after "Frightmare", but before "Phantom Planet."

Pairings: No Pairings

Main characters: Danny Phantom, Tucker, Skulker.

Outside characters: None

Warnings: There is a bit of violence in this story. Blood (green ecto-plasm) and small wounds are mentioned.

My sincere thanks to Bluemoonalto for beta-reading. I could not have done this without you! I'm really grateful for your help and support.

Danny Phantom one-shot

Friendship

"Tonight I'll finally add you to my trophy collection, whelp!"

"Oh, yeah? You still have to catch me, tinhead!" the boy replied in a cocky tone, effortlessly avoiding several missiles while flying through the air.

"Danny, don't you think you're taking a bit too much risk here?"

"Oh, come on, Tuck," he said while adjusting the Fenton Phone and dodging another incoming missile. "I know what I'm doing." Danny looked behind him, grinning slightly. "Trust me, I have everything under control!" The teen dived down and flew past several office buildings— he could see Tucker standing in the shadow of one of them, near the edge of the park. Upon making eye contact, Danny briefly waved and smiled to his best friend, before propelling himself higher into the air.

Tucker looked up for a moment, following Danny as he passed in front of a full moon, before glancing at his PDA to determine Skulker's position. It was funny, he could still remember how terrified all three of them had felt in their first encounters with the hunter, nearly two years ago. Yet these days Danny seemed to enjoy playing games with the ghost. Tucker looked up in the air again and quickly located his friend, evading another barrage of missiles his pursuer had fired.

Danny positioned himself higher above the park, giving him a clear view of the surroundings beneath. He could see Skulker rapidly approaching as he fired another missile volley at him. Smirking, Danny willed himself intangible, letting the projectiles phase harmlessly through his body. The young half-ghost crossed his arms and slightly tilted his head, smiling confidently. "Hey, Skulker!"

The hunter halted a few yards in front of his prey and frowned. "What?" he answered, a hint of irritation in his voice.

Danny chuckled with amusement. "Don't tell me you're only going to fire missiles at me tonight. Those are hardly a challenge." He grabbed a handful of his own hair, tugging it playfully, giving his opponent a teasing smile. "If you really want my head on your wall tonight, you'll have to do better than that. I thought I was your most valuable prey. Aren't I worth at least some more effort?"

Skulker grinned in response; it was obvious the boy was just taunting him. But he didn't mind, in fact, he had begun to enjoy these skirmishes more and more as time passed. Even though his main goal was still to capture the ghost child, recent encounters had proven to be refreshing, and his prey had new surprises in store each time they met. And from the looks of it, the whelp seemed to enjoy these little skirmishes as well, as he used every opportunity he got to make fun of him.

Danny changed his legs into a spectral tail and dived toward the ground. Skulker set off in hot pursuit, activating a laser on his right arm and locking the weapon onto his target. However, before he could fire, Danny flew out of sight behind a grove of trees close to the park's lake. The hunter halted, carefully weighing his options with a thoughtful frown. On normal hunts he would usually rush in and surprise his prey, either with a paralyzing dart or a well-aimed net. But the ghost child was quite exceptional, making this hunt anything but normal.

It might be a trap, better check for his energy signature first. Before he could look at the computer screen on his left wrist a green ecto-blast flew past him, barely missing his face. Unfazed by the boy's actions, Skulker grinned slightly as he activated the rockets on his back, quickly closing the distance between him and his quarry, who was now hanging upside down in the air with his arms crossed and legs turned to normal, smiling teasingly.

"I'll get you for that, whelp!" The ghost hunter fired his laser several times.

Danny effortlessly avoided the blasts by doing a cartwheel. "Yeah?" he retorted. "If I had a nickel for every time you said that." The teen chuckled. "Just catch me first and then we'll talk."

"Smart-mouthed little..." Skulker swallowed the last word upon seeing his prey flying away from him at full speed, changing his lower body into a spectral tail once again. The hunter chuckled as he pressed a button on his onboard computer. Time to test out my new upgrade. "Computer." The device bleeped briefly in acknowledgment. "Divert 10 percent of energy from all primary systems and re-route it towards the boosters."

Diverting stated amount. Processing.

For a moment Skulker could feel his suit powering down, as if heavy weights were pulling his arms and legs toward the ground. It was not a pleasant feeling, but he knew it was only temporary.

The computer bleeped again. Distribution completed, systems ready.

Skulker grinned, his eyes widening with anticipation. Now, I'm going to make you regret those words, whelp. "Computer, initiate Booster Overdrive!" Within a second, the ghost shot forward with incredible velocity, leaving a trail of glowing, green flames in his wake.

Looking through binoculars from a distance, Tucker gasped as he saw Skulker quickly approaching his friend. "Danny, behind you! Look out!" the agitated teen yelled into his Fenton Phone.

"Tucker?" Danny quickly looked behind him. "What do you— Woah!" He immediately shot upward. "Thanks, Tuck." Danny looked behind him again and saw that Skulker was hot on his tail. Overcoming his initial surprise, he smirked at the incoming hunter. "So, you want a race, do you?"

"Danny!"

The ghost boy flinched upon hearing his friend's loud voice blasting through his headphones.

"Dude, are you insane!? This is Skulker we're talking about. You have a Thermos on you, just use it!"

Danny let out a chuckle. "I will, Tuck. Just give me five more minutes, I want to have some more fun with bucket head over there." He could hear his friend groan over the phone. "Relax, I have everything under control. I'm still at the 'we exchange witty banter' part," he added cheerily. "Besid— aaah!"

"Danny?"

No response.

Danny, answer me!" Tucker grabbed his binoculars again and looked where Danny had just been. The teen gasped. "Oh, no." His friend was holding one hand tightly to the side of his face— he must have been hit.

"Danny, say something!"

Still no response.

He then noticed Danny throwing something away. "Great," the teen murmured, apparently his Fenton Phone was damaged. "You really have to be more careful, dude, even your dad won't believe our accident stories anymore if you keep this up." He then put the binocs and phones into his backpack and stepped onto his scooter. He glanced over his shoulder reflexively, then remembered with a start that Sam had gone to a family wedding this weekend. He sighed. Normally they would all be in this together, but tonight he had to do this on his own.

"Oh man," Danny groaned defeatedly. "My parents are going to kill me, this was the third Fenton Phone this month." He sighed. "Maybe Tucker was right." The teen flew just a few inches above the calm water of the lake, his speed leaving a trail of waves behind, with Skulker closing in on him fast. Sorry Tuck, this was supposed to be the start of our girl-free weekend together, but what am I doing? Just wasting our time. Danny turned around, his back to the water. "I'm going to end this right now," he muttered. His hands charged with glowing energy.

"I don't think so," Skulker said confidently. With a thought he produced a launcher from his left shoulder and fired a small projectile. The boy immediately turned intangible to let the weapon pass through him. That won't help you much, ghost child.

Instead, and to Danny's surprise, the projectile exploded just in front of him in a blinding flash of white light. The half-ghost screamed in agony as he covered his pain-stricken eyes. His temporary blindness caused him to lose his balance and sense of direction. Realizing the dangerous position he was in, the only safe route left for him was higher into the air.

Tucker's eyes widened in shock as he noticed the bright light above the lake, but he was grateful that it was located close to the park's entrance. I should be there within a minute. Maybe Danny doesn't need my help, but you never know. The teen could only hope his friend wouldn't end up at the other side of the lake, or he would never get there in time.

Satisfied with the effects of the lightning grenade, Skulker de-activated the rocket-boosters and positioned himself higher above the water. "I've got you now, pup." The ghost hunter fired a crackling, green glowing net that enveloped his prey within seconds. Danny cried in shock as his flight was abruptly halted. Skulker reeled in the net while flying toward the shore, where he slammed its prey on the ground, making the ghost teen groan in pain. The hunter landed, grabbed the boy by the neck, lifted him and the net into the air and then pushed him against the trunk of a nearby tree.

Gasping for air, Danny desperately tried to pry Skulker's cold, metal hand away from his neck.

Skulker smiled widely at his struggling prey. He slowly moved his head closer, savoring every moment of the sight he beheld. "What's the matter? No more witty banter?"

Danny's eyesight was still poor, but had recovered just enough to see the ghost hunter's smug expression. The teen scolded himself for allowing this to happen. Why did I want to act like a show-off? Look what it has gotten me into. I should have listened! He tried to will himself intangible but couldn't— somehow the net was interfering with his ghost powers.

The hunter activated a flaming blade on his right wrist. He chuckled with delight as he brought the deadly weapon close to Danny's neck. The teen's eyes were wide open, a hint of fear visible within them. "You're mine now, whelp," he said threateningly. "You've underestimated me, and now you'll pay the price." His prey shut his eyes and moved his head as far as he could from the heat of the flaming sword.

Skulker moved his weapon even closer, but then doubt began to creep into his mind. For some reason, having his most valuable prey in such a vulnerable position didn't give him as much joy as he had hoped for. The ghost child was at his mercy, but why was he feeling unsatisfied? Was it because this last battle had been so short? Or was it the thought that after killing him, he would not have the honor of hunting such an unique quarry again? Skulker began to worry. Or would it be the simple fact that Plasmius would kill me if he found out I was responsible for the child's death? I don't have to kill him yet. I could take him to my—

- Snap! -

At the sound of a breaking twig, Skulker tensed. In a split second, he grabbed the net with Danny and held it out in the direction the noise originated from, using the young half-ghost as his shield. A white beam emerged from the bushes and enveloped his quarry. The hunter jumped backwards, startled to see the ghost child being pulled out of the net and into the shadows. I recognize that light. He growled in irritation, threw away the net —which now only held Danny's Thermos— and immediately leaped into the bushes, where he found a horrified teen staring with disbelief at the smoking Thermos in his hands.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry, dude. I'm getting you out of there." But before he could release his friend from the cylinder, his arms were tied along his sides by a lasso. As the Thermos fell to the ground Tucker looked up in horror at Skulker, who was grinning at him evilly. The ghost yanked at the rope and threw him against a nearby tree. The teen cried out as a stinging pain shot down his back. Skulker let go of the rope, picked up the Thermos and placed the lid back on it.

Tucker realized what the hunter was planning. He lifted himself to his knees. "No, you can't do this! Just let him go!" he yelled, while trying to reach into his pocket with his right hand.

Skulker stared at the human with a grinning, triumphant expression. "I guess I should thank you for your assistance, even though it wasn't your intention." He chuckled as the teen's gaze grew more desperate. "Don't give me that look. No one can run from the greatest hunter of the Ghost Zone forever." He paused for a moment and frowned before continuing. "You had more than enough time to say goodbye to your friend. You should have known that the capture of the ghost child was only a matter of time." His voice sounded surprisingly solemn.

"Maybe so," Tucker replied, a smile growing on his face, causing Skulker to blink in confusion. He grabbed something out of his pocket, keeping his actions hidden from the ghost's sight. "But it won't happen today!" With these words, Tucker shot a blast from a lipstick-shaped Fenton Utility Weapon, knocking the Thermos out of Skulker's hand.

The flames on Skulker's head began to rise. "You little—" The teen pummeled the ghost with a volley of blasts, forcing him backwards before making him fall into the thick vegetation behind him. Tucker rushed in and kicked the Thermos away, causing it to roll down a little slope toward the water's edge. He then fired two more blasts at the hunter, stalling him for a few more valuable seconds. While running, the boy knew that his only chance was to free Danny from the Fenton Thermos, if Skulker would be able to get his hands on it again, it would all be over. Seeing the device glittering in the moonlight close to the lake, he grinned slightly. He only needed to get it, screw off the lid and press the 'release' button. There was still a lasso around him constricting his movements, but at least he'd had just enough room to use his hands.

In the dark, Tucker stumbled over a thick root. He fell face first into the mud, before rolling down the same slope the Thermos had. He managed to stop just inches away from the cold water of the lake. Lying on his left side, he managed to grab the Thermos and then rolled onto his back, desperately struggling to get the lid off.

Growling with anger, Skulker struggled to get out of the bushes. "I'm going to kill that—" He frowned irritably. "Why am I making this so hard on myself?" Willing himself intangible, the hunter activated his rockets and flew into the air.

"Come on, you stupid thing." Tucker muttered in utter frustration. "Get off, get off!" But that was easier said than done. His arms were tied up, his hands were wet with mud, and his grip was slipping every time he exerted force. But he had to pull through. It was his only chance. It was Danny's only chance!

With an angry roar, Skulker dived towards the ground aiming for his target, but the boy managed to roll away, barely avoiding a swipe from his hand. Glaring threateningly at the annoying human, he turned around and dived down again, this time his eyes set on the Thermos.

At that moment, Tucker managed to pull the lid off. He pressed the 'release' button and a bright flash of white light escaped from the cylindrical prison.

Skulker halted his approach. Clenching his fists and narrowing his eyes, he realized he was too late.

Sitting on the ground, using one hand to support himself and the other to rub his head, a dizzy Danny took in his surroundings, the blurriness slowly dissipating. "What happened?" he murmured in confusion. He then saw Tucker lying on his stomach in front of him. His clothes were stained, his glasses were lying in the mud and he had lost his beret. Danny also noticed a glowing, green rope tied around his waist. Despite his condition, Tucker looked relieved, and was smiling back weakly.

Danny turned to his right as he heard someone land close by, upon seeing Skulker he ground his teeth and made his eyes glow intensely. He stood up, glaring angrily at his opponent.

The ghost hunter grinned. "You want to fight again, do you?" He chuckled with amusement as he stepped forward. "I do hope you'll be more of a challenge this time, whelp."

Danny didn't reply. He clenched his fists and a green glow formed around his entire body. Within a second, three duplicates appeared next to him. They all took on a battle stance, not taking their eyes off the ghost hunter for even a moment.

"So you're going to be serious at last, ghost child?" Skulker smirked with delight. "I wouldn't want it any other way." The hunter formed another flaming blade, even bigger than the first one. The ghost leaped forward and Danny and his duplicates avoided the huge swipe that followed by flying into the air. Skulker immediately followed in pursuit, only to be pummeled by a torrent of ecto-blasts. The original Danny flew toward the ground again and landed next to his friend, while his doppelgangers kept the ghost hunter occupied.

Danny immediately knelt down and helped Tucker sit up. "Tuck, are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

His friend grinned weakly in response before looking down. "Well, I guess things could have been worse, I have a few bruises but nothing serious. Only..." he looked at his clothing. "I'm a mess, my mom won't be happy about that."

The ghost teen smiled. "Don't worry Tuck, I'm sure we can get rid of those stains." He then proceeded to remove the rope that was tied around his friend. "We'll think of an explanation to tell your parents about those bruises." He gave his friend a wink. "Everything will be alright."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Tucker answered as he put his glasses back on, but then he sobered and looked down at the ground. "Danny, I'm sorry."

Danny looked at him in surprise, throwing the rope behind him. "What do you—"

"Aahh!"

Danny and Tucker turned around, just in time to see one of the duplicates being thrown into the lake by an energy blast, immediately followed by a barrage of missiles slamming into him, propelling huge amounts of water into the air.

Danny winced. "And that was one." He could feel a slight tingling as the energy he had used to keep his doppelganger alive was released, finding its freedom by spreading into every part of his body. The images his duplicate had seen as well as his actions during his brief existence inserted themselves in Danny's mind, making him realize that Skulker had become quite a bit stronger since their last encounter. Defeating him would not be so easy this time.

"Eh, dude," Tucker began cautiously. "Maybe it would be better if we—"

"Nah, it's alright, Tuck." He smiled reassuringly. "Trust me, I have everything und—" He stopped as he noticed his friend was frowning at him, then chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, I've said that before, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. Twice actually," Tucker added dryly.

The ghost teen put his friend's right arm around his neck and lifted him to his feet, while making them both briefly intangible to clean and dry Tucker's clothing. "Alright, let's get you to a safer place. He looked up and glared into the sky. "Then I'll take care of tin can up there." At that moment a bright green flash illuminated their surroundings, a clear sign of the battle raging above them.

As they walked away from the lake Danny bit his lip. There was something odd in Tucker's attitude, something that didn't quite make sense. Danny felt hesitant to ask about it, but finally he took a deep breath and looked at his friend. "Tuck, you just said you were sorry. For what?"

Tucker looked down as a wave of guilt washed over his face. "Well, I really messed things up for you. I sucked you into that Thermos, I almost ruined everything."

Danny stared incredulously at his friend. "Are you serious? This isn't your fault!" His voice became louder and his eyes began to glow. "If there's anyone to blame it should be me! It's because of me..." He paused, and when he continued his voice was lowered to a whisper. "It's because of me."

Lost in his thoughts he carefully helped his friend sit down against a trunk of a large oak, the oldest and most well-known tree in all of Amity Park. He then sat down beside Tucker, and began staring at his white boots.

Tucker tilted his head slightly to the right. "Danny?" His friend slowly lifted his head, looking at him sadly. "Dude? Everything alright?"

"I'm sorry, Tuck."

"W-what?"

"You were right. I was too cocky. I put my life in danger, but more importantly, I put your life in danger as well. And I feel terrible about that."

Tucker looked solemn, "Well, I did warn you to stop playing games. You could have listened, you know."

Danny glanced at his friend for a second, before lowering his head again, sighing defeatedly.

Tucker's expression softened; smiling warmly he put a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Dude, don't worry about it. It's alright."

Danny smiled for a moment, but then his sadness returned. "I can't believe how I could have acted like that. If something had happened to you, I... I would have never forgiven myself."

"Danny!" Tucker's voice sounded more firm this time. His friend looked at him, slightly surprised by his sudden outburst. "Like I said, don't worry about it. Everyone makes mistakes, even a hero like you. But it all ended well, right?"

"I guess you're right but... I have a responsibility to keep you safe. I let you down, Tuck."

Tucker sighed. "Look. If you really want to put the blame on anyone, then blame Skulker. He's the reason all of this happened in the first place!"

No response.

"Listen, this isn't the first time we've gotten into danger. But you're always there to protect Sam and me, no matter how bad the situation is. Okay, so maybe things got a little out of hand this time. But you can't blame yourself for that. Like I said, everyone makes mistakes." Tucker chuckled and pointed at himself, "Even someone as perfect as me," he gave his friend an opening in the hope of easing the tension, but he didn't take it. Tucker sighed inwardly. "You're my best friend! I want to be with you. I know the risks every time I go with you. But I don't care about those risks! And I know Sam feels the same way. So stop blaming yourself!"

As Danny remained silent for several more seconds, Tucker began to shift uncomfortably. The ghost teen then looked up, his expression filled with gratitude. "Thanks, Tuck."

He grinned. "Anytime. I know I'm not good at these kind of things, but without Sam around, someone has to do it."

"And you're doing a pretty good job," Danny replied jokingly.

They clapped their hands together in a high-five. Smiling widely and feeling revitalized, Danny stood up and glared into the air. The battle between Skulker and his doppelgangers was still raging and only seemed to become more intense.

"Aahh!"

Danny winced again as a wounded doppelganger fell through the branches of the large oak. Weakened and drained of energy it dissipated into a puff of green smoke just before hitting the ground. "And another one bites the dust," he murmured. I'd better step in now. The ghost teen looked one more time at his friend, who looked worried after seeing the injured duplicate. Danny gave a reassuring smile. "I'll finish this fight and then our 'girl-free' weekend can officially begin!" He then summoned an icy aura around himself, his eyes turning blue as he clenched his fists. "Don't worry, this time I'll use the Thermos," he added cheerfully as he gave his friend a wink, before willing himself intangible and launching himself into the air.

Tucker stared through the branches at the battle overhead before letting his head rest against the tree and closing his eyes. "That's the Danny Phantom I know," he said happily.

As Danny clashed in the night sky with his adversary, a battered duplicate descended towards the lake beneath him. For a moment he stared solemnly at his reflection in the water, several minor glowing wounds and cuts being distorted by the small waves as they moved on. He sighed briefly as he prepared to dissolve himself; in his current state he wouldn't be of much help anyway. However, his eyes widened in surprise when he spotted Tucker's red beret slowly drifting past him. The doppelganger smiled warmly. He picked it up and briefly made it intangible to let the water slide off. Carefully holding the cap in his right hand, he turned around and flew towards his best friend. It seemed he could still be of some help after all...