Alrighty, then! Here's where things go downhill.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next day, Van Helsing stood before a large crowd of Hunters, who had all gathered to witness Danny's final exam… little did they realize that it was literately his final exam.

"Hunters and Huntresses, we have all gathered to witness a spectacular occasion none of us even dreamed would happen… the day my son kills a werewolf!" Van Helsing announced, and the crowd cheered. "If anyone were to tell me a week ago that Danny would be killing a werewolf… well, I'd have had him taken to the nearest asylum! But here we are, about to see him become a real Hunter… become one of US!" Everyone in the crowd was in an uproar of cheers….

Except for Danny, who stood on the other side of the gate, listening to his father's announcement, with Juniper at his side. How was he going to tell his father that he refused to kill werewolves, and try to convince them of the truth? There's only one way to do it… the same way I found out. he thought, then faced Juniper. "If anything goes wrong, make sure they don't find Wulf… and tell him he needs to open a portal that will take him as far away from this island as possible." he said.

"I will… just promise me nothing will go wrong," Juniper replied.

Before Danny could respond, Silver came up. "Danny, they're ready fer ya," the cyborg said, then opened the gate. "Can't keep yer fans waitin',"

Danny gave Juniper one last glance, then changed into his phantom-form, walking into the arena. The crowd cheered wildly, some people chanting his name, while others showed off T-shirts, foam-fingers, little flags, or drinky-hats with Danny's name and/or face on them. Five guys even took off their shirts and stood up, each of them having a letter of Danny's name painted on their chests and spelling out his name! Yikes…. Danny thought, wide-eyed.

Van Helsing motioned the crowd to calm down. "Danny will now choose his weapon," he announced.

Danny walked over to a table, where various weapons, ranging from guns to the largest axe, sat. He reached and grabbed a knife- the same knife he had been using… er, not exactly 'using', but hanging on to… since his lessons had began. "I would've gone wit' deh sword," Silver said to Helsing, watching Danny.

"I'd have gone with the cross-bow," Helsing replied. He then stood up, and called out, "Open the gate!"

A Hunter unlocked the gate, then quickly ran out of the arena. Seconds later, the doors burst open and a Ben-Wolf leaped out, snarling and shooting an acidic substance out of its mouth, then faced Danny, growling and bristling as he advanced toward the half-ghost, who just stood there. When the werewolf was getting too close, Danny slowly began backing away, putting down his shield, making the crowd whisper to one another, confused.

"Easy, it's okay," Danny whispered to the werewolf, dropping his knife.

"What… is he doing?" Van Helsing questioned, arching an eyebrow at Danny's action.

"Take it easy…" Danny then reverted back to his ghost-half, standing still and holding his palm out toward the werewolf's snout as it came closer.

"Stop the fight!" Van Helsing ordered, obviously not liking the idea that Danny might just be committing suicide… or had completely lost his mind.

"No, you guys have to see this," Danny then took off his hat- the hat Van Helsing gave to him- and dropped it on the ground. "I'm not one of them," At this, everyone in the crowd gasped.

Seeing his own son letting a werewolf get that close without attacking it was one thing, but Helsing drew the line at seeing him throw a gift HE gave him to the ground as if it meant nothing. To the Hunter, it meant something… and the action meant that Danny was being a complete disgrace. "I said STOP THE FIGHT!"

Van Helsing's outburst startled a nearby peanut-vendor, who yelped with surprise and threw his tray of nuts in the air, making several bags fall through the barred dome and hit the werewolf. The Ben-Wolf shook his head and snarled, then lunged at Danny, who did what he could to best in any situation like this: run like heck! "AUGH!" Danny screamed, running. He tried going ghost, but he couldn't concentrate while dodging acid-blasts from the creature!

"Danny!" Juniper cried, then pried open the gate and slipped through it, grabbing an axe and running toward the Ben-Wolf, not really trying to kill it but trying to distract it so Danny could get away.

Van Helsing grabbed the bars of the dome, trying to pry them off, but even he wasn't strong enough. He then began running down the walkway, trying to find the nearest entrance, all the while focusing on Danny and Juniper, watching in horror as the werewolf swatted Juniper when she lunged at him, making her crash into the wall, and he ran toward Danny and tackled him! "DANNY!" Helsing screamed, loud enough for the entire village to hear…

…along with a certain Ghost-Wolf, who was lying beside the pond when his ears perked up, hearing the frantic cry of Danny's name, and instinct told him it meant only one thing: his friend was in danger! He quickly opened a portal to the village, flying quickly through the air until he came to the arena, where he saw that his instincts were correct. Snarling, he stuck out his claws and dove downward, spinning like a drill… and scaring the heck out of thousands of people who saw him.

"Ghost-Wolf!" Silver cried in both alarm and awe.

Everyone scrambled out of the way as Wulf drilled through the bars of the arena, then tackled the Ben-Wolf before he could harm Danny. The Ben-Wolf snarled at Wulf, obviously demanding why he was interrupting his hunt. "Li ast mia… Friend." Wulf answered, standing in front of Danny as defense.

The Ben-Wolf arched an eyebrow, not understanding a word he said. He then walked out of his story, went to the nearest library, got an "Esperanto-to-English" book, looked up the words Wulf said, then came back.

(ahem) Hearing those words, he snarled and lunged at Wulf, and they got into a brawl. "Wulf!" Danny gasped, then finally transformed back into his ghost-half, shooting ghost-blasts at the Ben-Wolf, but the two wrestling werewolves were moving too quick, and he couldn't get a clear shot, nor a good aim so not to hit Wulf.

Van Helsing climbed through the hole Wulf made in the bars and grabbed a cross-bow, shooting at the Ben-Wolf and nailing him in the small of his back, making him screech in pain and giving Wulf a chance to open a portal and punch him through it. Helsing then shot an arrow at him, barely missing the werewolf, and he snarled and lunged at the Hunter, grabbing him by the throat and pinning him to the ground, ready to rip his face off!

"Dad!" Danny ran over and grabbed Wulf's shoulder. "Don't do it!"

Wulf paused, still growling at Van Helsing, but stopped when he saw the pleading look in Danny's eyes, and he released the Hunter. In response, Van Helsing tackled the Ghost-Wolf, pinning him to the ground while several other Hunters entered the arena to assist him. "Hold him down! Don't let him escape!" he ordered.

Wulf ghosted out of their grips, preparing to escape… until Van Helsing caught him once again and put a shock-collar on him! Hitting a button on a remote control, he sent 1000 volts coursing through Wulf's veins, making the werewolf screech in pain and collapse on the ground, giving the rest of the hunters a chance to tie him up. Danny tried to stop them, but couldn't get past, even if he did ghost through the crowd. "Wait… WAIT!"

"Put him with the others," Helsing ordered, then exited the arena, giving Danny a glare.

"Dad… hold on!" Danny pursued his father, following him inside the empty tavern. "I-"

Van Helsing turned around and faced him, fiercely. "What was THAT all about, in the arena? Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

"No, it's… it's hard to explain…"

"Why didn't you kill that werewolf?"

"I've tried to tell you before… I don't want to kill them! They're not what you think they are, Dad!"

"You mean, blood-thirsty creatures who have raided our village, taking all of our food and destroying our homes?" Van Helsing arched an eyebrow, giving Danny a sarcastic look. "I suppose you also think Dracula was a vegan!"

"They only still our food because they have to, Dad! Wulf took us to their hideout and- oops."

Van Helsing's eyes widened. "You found the nest? …Ha! And everyone said werewolves didn't have any!"

"T-They do… But, I didn't find it. Wulf did. Only a werewolf can…" Danny gasped and clapped his hand over his mouth. "I-I mean, there's a special short-cut I found that, um…"

But Van Helsing wasn't listening, a cold look in his eye. "Only a werewolf can find it, eh? …Well, that makes sense, now doesn't it?" He then began walking past Danny.

"Oh, no… Dad, please, no! You can't go after them!"

"Why not, Danny? Why? They've killed hundreds of us!"

"And we've killed thousands of them! They're only trying to defend themselves!" Van Helsing just sneered and continued trudging toward the door. "Dad, please! You don't know what you're dealing with! There's something in there that'll-"

Van Helsing shoved Danny back, knocking him to the floor. "Enough! I've had ENOUGH, Danny! You make a mess trying to hunt these beasts, and now you're trying to keep their hideaway a secret just to save them now! I should've known… it was all a lie. You're not a Hunter. You're not my son." With that, he walked out of the tavern, shutting the doors and leaving Danny alone in the dark.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: *sniff sniff* I smell tension… Next chapter, more action comes!

Please review. No flames, I think things are bad enough.