A/N: I got good feedback from all my reviewers on Danny's character in this fan fic. I'm glad you guys don't consider him OOC. That means I did a good job building him up to this point in the fic! Which makes me happy. Anyways, there's a ton of fun stuff in this chapter and the ones to come, so we must get on our way! Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom. Every other character is mine, though!

Chapter 14 The Hour of Introductions

"T-truthfully, I'm here to find someone, sir," Taj Nice said, sounding just as scared as I was at the moment. He held his hands up to show he wasn't any threat, but I knew otherwise. This kid was deadly! Man, I was so in over my head, it wasn't even funny.

I didn't respond. I just stared at him in disbelief as I kept the gun leveled toward his chest. My mind had gone into a lock again. Fear had sealed it shut. My breathing quickened to the point that I was almost gasping. All I could do was swallow in a panic.

Taj must have noticed my distress. He hesitated before asking, "Are y-you okay?"

"You're Taj Nice," was all I could say. It was stupid of me. I should have pretended I didn't know who he was. Maybe he'd think I wasn't a bother if I didn't know who he was. I think my mouth does stupid things when it panics.

"It's pronounced niece, a-actually," Taj said as if it was an automatic response. Then it seemed to click in his head that I knew who he was. A dread came into his eyes as he asked quickly and quietly, "How do you k-know w-wh-who I am?"

I shook my head, trying to shake off my paralysis before it got me killed. "Look, kid, I mean sir...er...Taj? Mr. Nice? Whatever," I stumbled over my sentence with a flustered sigh, "I didn't mean to hurt or scare you. I'm just trying to get back home. I don't want anything to do with you. I'm sorry."

Taj studied me for a moment, his eyes holding a million of unasked questions for me. I stared back, slowly lowering the gun to show him I wasn't a threat. The more I watched this kid, the more I was starting to have doubts that he was so dangerous. He seriously looked like a lost, scared mouse out here in the middle of the jungle. His hair was greasy from probably a week of unwash. His face and arms showed signs of sunburn. His ratty clothes were stained with sweat and dirt. The hoodie he wore looked like the sleeves were ripped off. He looked more like a hobo than the supernatural fugitive Toushiro and Vlad made him out to be. Actually, now that I got a good look at him, he seemed familiar. It was weird.

Finally, the teen said, "I think this is o-one, big misunderstanding."

A relieved smile twitched onto my features. "No kidding," I said, putting the gun back in its place in my jeans. "We're good, right?"

"You didn't shoot me. I'll call that an improvement to our relationship, sir, but I don't think I'm over my scare just yet," Taj said. He released a sigh that made him look like a deflating balloon as he sat back against the back of the truck. He had stopped stuttering. That was good. Maybe it was just a nervous habit of his.

"You don't have to call me sir, dude," I said. "We're like the same age. How old are you, anyways?"

"Seventeen," Taj answered with surprising honestly. "You?"

"Oh, um, sixteen," I said. I don't know why I told him the truth. I guess it didn't matter.

"How do you know my name?" Taj asked me again. "And what do I call you?"

They were both tough questions. I thought about making up a fake name, but I realized that it would be pretty useless. If Vlad was looking for me, he'd just have to ask someone if they had seen a white kid. Names didn't really matter out here when you stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Call me Danny," I said reluctantly. I licked my dry lips before saying carefully, "And how 'bout we make a deal? I won't ask about your past if you don't ask about mine. Alright?"

Taj regarded me for a second before breaking out in a timid smile and nodding. "Ignorance is bliss, as they say," he said. The smile didn't meet his eyes as he added more quietly, "I understand."

"Thanks."

"I mean, it's not like you're after me," Taj explained, staring at the truck bed as if he was thinking out loud to himself. "You're just a kid...unless y-you're a trap. L-like a lure." His eyes instantly shot up and connected with mine. There was fear in that gaze.

"I'm not a trap," I assured him. Sheesh. This guy was just as paranoid as I was. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. Still, I didn't let the rumors of danger fall away just because Taj didn't look very fierce. My nerves weren't relaxed. They were still coiled and ready for the flight response if Taj tried anything that wasn't to my liking.

"Then how do you know who I am?" he asked, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. "I'm sorry to ask, and usually I wouldn't, but this is pretty important...right now...with what's going on."

"I'm not answering that question," I told him. "Trust me, dude, you don't want to know my story. It would just put both of us in danger. I can't afford that."

"Oh ho ho no," Taj said, shaking his head. "No, sir. I have to know. How could someone like you know who I am? How could you be afraid if you didn't know what I could do? Did someone tell you about me? Oh, jeez! Did something supernatural attack you? Is that why you have that cut on your shoulder? I'm so sorry if that happened because of me!"

"Whoa! Calm down!" I demanded. Taj's persistence was freaking me out. It was what he said about something supernatural attacking me that caught me off guard to the point that I sputtered out, "No. I ran into some bad cops a few hours back, but, seriously, that crazed up margay was you?"

"Oh, n-no!" Taj said in something near to a squeak, vigorously shaking his head. "W-whatever you're talking about w-wasn't me. But I just know that it sometimes happens...because of my powers. If you know me, you know about my powers, right?"

"Well...yeah."

"And you believe in my powers?"

"I-I guess so." Great. Now he got me stuttering. I couldn't help it. I was in the hot seat with his questions and pinning stare.

"You're s-still s-scared of my powers, aren't you?" he asked, sounding just as scared for some reason. What did he have to be afraid of? If his powers were all true, couldn't he just vanish like he always did. He wasn't in any danger here. I was the one who could lose my life!

"Hey, I put away the gun," I said with a nervous chuckle. "What do you want with me? I'm just trying to get to the next city by nightfall. I have no beef with you, dude."

"Y-you must have powers too," Taj said, voice dead serious. He stared me right in the eye as he continued. "W-without seeing me use any of my powers, you believe and know I have them. A normal person w-wouldn't believe w-what I could do for a second, Danny. But you're not normal. You've must have seen things that no one else can explain."

"You don't know me," I said in something close to a whisper. I was officially creeped out. Taj was smarter than I first gave him credit for. He had already put two and two together, and we had only known each other for less than 5 minutes.

This wasn't good. I was fully ready to bolt. I could walk the rest of the way.

Taj's morbid curiosity about my powers quickly vanished as soon as he saw the fear on my face. He flinched before hurriedly apologizing. "I-I'm s-s-sorry, Danny," he said, wringing his worried hands in anxiety. "I sh-shouldn't have s-said anything. That's your business. Not mine. I'm s-sorry."

What was this kid's deal? The more he talked, the more he confused me. I couldn't figure him out. One second he looked determined and on a mission; the next, he was apologizing out the wazoo. There was something good in him that I could see he wanted to hang onto, but it was obvious life had not been kind to him. His nerves were spent. He was a nervous wreck, and my presence wasn't helping things.

Jeez. I couldn't help but feel like I was going to end up like him in a few days the way things were going. I was already a bottle of nerves. If I wasn't careful, I could be just as skittish as Taj. It scared me.

"Hey, it's okay," I told Taj after a long pause for thought. "Just...let's let it drop. I don't feel like talking, okay?"

"Okay," Taj said, nodding in understanding.

"You want a granola bar?" I asked, trying to change the subject to relieve the awkward situation that was pressed upon us.

"Oh, um, I couldn't," the teen said with a shake of his head. "You probably need it more than I do. We hardly even know each other."

"I have plenty of money for food out here," I told him with a grin. Rummaging around in my backpack for the bar, I said, "It's the least I could do. You look like you're half starved, anyways."

I shoved the bar across the truck bed. It hit Taj's sneaker. He stared at the piece of food for a second in surprise before gently picking it up, carefully unwrapping it, and then sniffing it. I shot him an odd look. He paused, his cheeks turned a slight pink under his sunburn.

"Just...um...checking for poison. No offense," he explained with a fleeting smile.

I actually laughed. "But what if the poison is odorless?" I asked. It was the wrong question to ask at the wrong time. Taj had already taken a big bite out of the bar. He stopped in mid chew, looking like he was going to vomit all the sudden. Backtracking, I quickly assured him, "It's not poison, dude! I swear! I just know it can be that way...from experience."

"Oh," was the only thing Taj could say with his mouth still full. I noticed he chewed that first piece for a few minutes before finally finding the courage to swallow. But after that he snarfed the granola bar down as if it was going to be his last meal. With Vlad on his trail, I was wondering if it really was going to be the last thing he'd ever eat.

I felt guilty for not warning Taj about Vlad, but I couldn't allow myself to get distracted. I needed to get out of Ecuador as quickly as possible. Still, now that I was sitting across from Taj, I could see that the kid wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight if Vlad found him. Could I convince Taj that he needed to do what I was doing and get out of the country as quickly as possible? Would he believe me if I told him about Vlad? I didn't even know what Vlad was planning. All I knew was that it was bad. How could I ever begin to explain that to Taj?

Before I could think about what I'd say or not, trouble came our way. It came in the form of a truck in the distance that was quickly gaining on us. I first saw the dust cloud before I could make out the passengers. My heart sank at the sight of about half a dozen men sitting in the truck bed with rifles stationed at their sides or slung around their shoulders. They could have easily been heading toward the next town like what Taj and I were doing, but I wasn't convincing myself any time soon. These men looked like they were on a mission. And I could get rid of the bad feeling that their mission was finding me.

"T-this doesn't look good," Taj stated the obvious as soon as he saw what I was staring at. He threw me a glance, asking, "Are they for you or me?"

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. Quickly, I started to shove my belongings back into my backpack. "But we need to get out of here."

"G-goody," Taj muttered sarcastically. He stared at the other truck for a minute or two as if thinking through things before he turned to me and asked, "Where are you going to go?"

"The jungle maybe? I don't know," I said again, standing up and throwing my backpack over a shoulder, "and I don't care. Whoever those people are, they don't mean well. You can stay here if you want, but I'm leaving before I get caught. You should be doing the same."

"I...um...I w-wouldn't-," Taj said as I banged on the truck's roof to tell the driver to stop so I could jump off. If I hurried, I could make it into the jungle. That could keep those guys off my trail for a while, right? I could only hope.

Taj looked like he was wrestling with himself to say something as he watched me throw a leg up over the side of the truck. I tried to ignore him. If he wanted to stick around and get caught, that shouldn't have been my problem.

BAM!

Taj and I gasped at the gunshot. The bullet hit the back window of the truck, shattering the safety glass into millions of pieces and leaving behind a gapping hole. If my heart was beating fast before, it for sure was going fast now. Both of us glanced back at the other truck that was still racing to catch up with us. One of the men was lowering his fired weapon, his dark, glaring eyes pinned on me as if in warning.

We only had a few seconds before they'd be on us. Logic told me to get out of there. I couldn't get caught. Vlad would skin me alive!

"Please d-don't do it," Taj told me, seeing the look of desperation in my eyes as I stared out at the jungle only a few feet away. I shot him a scowl. "They'll sh-shoot you, Danny," he said urgently. "Do you know what that feels like?"

I winced. I did know how that felt. Painful, to say the least. Vlad shot me in the shoulder last summer. I had been in ghost form at the time. I didn't want to think about what it would feel like if I was human. With an untreated bullet wound, I wouldn't make it very far in the jungle and on the run. I'd be a goner. Did I really want to risk that?

"Then what do you suggest we do?" I hissed back at Taj.

Taj swallowed his constant fear and frowned more as he said nervously, "I h-have a f-few tricks up my sleeve. T-trust me, okay?"

"Trust you?" I said with a bitter laugh. "I hardly even know you! For all I know, it could be because of you I'm getting caught right now!"

"I'm s-sorry," Taj apologized, wincing at my brutally truthful words. Great. More guilt. But there was no more time for arguing. The other truck was on us and I could make out every face in the vehicle as it pulled up behind us in the one lane dirt road.

"Fine," I whispered to Taj with an uneasy sigh. "This is now your show, alright? I hope you know what you're doing."

"Oh, yes...me too," Taj muttered, slowly standing up beside me.

We were forced to watch as the four Ecuadorian men in the back of the other truck casually got out. They stationed themselves on one side of the truck and aimed their rifles at us, their faces all expressionless. I felt like I was being monitored by cows. The passenger seat's door opened, and the leader of the bunch stepped out with a reluctant sigh. There didn't seem much concern on his face as he glanced at Taj and I over his aviator glasses.

The man put his hands on his hips and slowly walked over so that he stood in between his handful of men. Although it was obvious he was in charge of this operation, he wore the tan cargo pants, combat boots, and red sleeveless shirt that all the other men had on. As he chewed loosely on a piece of gum and summed the both of us up, the guy slowly took his sunglasses off as if a sunnier view of us would fix whatever problem he had. Frustration showed itself on his face when his brows came together and a frown twitched at the corners of his thin lips.

There was complete silence for a moment. Finally, our truck driver said something in Spanish. The leader didn't even look at the old man as he snapped something back that sounded like a warning. Our poor driver quickly nodded and shut his mouth, looking very frightened. I was just glad they didn't kill him. I'd feel awful if that had happened.

Never taking his eyes off us, the leader of the group took out walkie-talkie from his belt, pressed a button on the side to talk, and asked into it in pretty good English, "I might be looking at the boy you want, señor. Which one is he? The one with the tattoo on his face or the one with blue eyes?"

There was a long pause from the other end. I wasn't surprised at all to hear Vlad's voice as he asked, "What kind of tattoo is it, Diego?"

Crap.

No. This was more like an "oh shit!" moment. Vlad had hit the jackpot today. He had found both me and Taj Nice in a single second, and he totally knew it. We were screwed. It almost made me sick just thinking about it.

Taj and I shared a quick glance. He looked just as scared as I felt. Somehow, we both knew what we were in for. Despite the fact our lives were going to hell in a hand basket, there was something comforting knowing I wasn't in this alone. It was a selfish feeling, but it was there, nonetheless.

"I don't know," Diego, the leader, said into the walkie-talkie as if this entire day was a waste for him. He sighed before saying, "It looks like...I don't know the English word for it. It's that shape you learn in elementary school...with three points...but there's two of them...put together."

"I understand," Vlad said through the speaker. He then asked curiously, "Can they hear me, Diego?"

"Yes, señor," Diego answered. His dark gaze took us in as if we were semi interesting now. I wondered what Vlad had told him when he hired the man and his team to capture me. Did he know what Taj or I could do or why we were so important? Probably not.

"Good," Vlad said. "Then this message is for Danny." I instinctively stiffened up, and Diego's eyes instantly locked onto me. In that second, he realized I was Danny. I clenched my jaw in anger as Vlad said in a smug, all knowing voice, "Good work, Daniel. Not only did you manage to get yourself captured so soon, but you found the very person I was looking for. I'd like you to know that I'd been planning to use you to find Mr. Nice in the first place, but it looks like you're on top of things. Thanks to you, I'm ahead of schedule. You really are a brilliant piece of work, Daniel. Give yourself a nice pat on the back for me."

"Go to hell!" I seethed.

"What did he say?" Vlad asked Diego.

"He told you to go to hell, señor," Diego said without any enthusiasm at all. I caught the small twitch of his lips, though. He wanted to smile but was denying all outward display of emotion. This was a man who knew how to hide his feelings very well.

"Now don't be a sore sport, Daniel," Vlad chided me with a chuckle. "You lost. That's no surprise."

"It's not a game, you bastard," I whispered angrily under my breath. I couldn't help it. The man pissed me off too much. He still thought this entire thing was one, big chess game he was winning. Didn't he realize how terrified I was? If he did, did he even care?

Only Taj heard me. His golden brown eyes regarded my face quizzically. It didn't look like he blamed me for what was happening; although, it really was my fault. It was like he understood my emotions were honest. I didn't know how to take that. Taj was an odd guy.

"I'll see you and your new friend soon, my boy," Vlad told me before addressing Diego. "Take both of them. Don't worry about costs. I'll pay you for both their heads. Be careful with Danny. He has a gun and might be a bit desperate. You may use force, but don't kill them. Understand?"

"Yes, señor," Diego responded blandly. He sighed while putting the walkie-talkie back in his belt and pulled out a pistol. Chewing on his piece of gum as if the motion of his jaw was as habitual as walking, Diego put his sunglasses back on and said, "Play time is over, chicos. If you come with me without fighting, I promise my men and I won't hurt you. Claro?"

"You p-promise?" Taj asked in his usual fearful squeak.

I shot him a deathly glare. What was he doing? Was he betraying me already? I couldn't believe this!

"What is it you North Americans say? Uh...I cross my heart and hope to die. You have my word," Diego said, remaining deadpan as he actually crossed his heart with a finger. I didn't care if he promised me a flying pony. There was no way I was giving up without a fight!

"O-okay, then," Taj said with a spineless nod. He shuffled forward to hop off the truck like the little lying traitor he was and leave me to defend for myself. In his nervousness, he tripped with a yelp.

That's when all hell broke lose.

Thick, purple smoke instantly filled the air between Diego and his men and Taj and I, cutting off all visibility. Diego swore in Spanish before yelling at his team to act. They couldn't shoot at us because the smoke was in the way. They couldn't take the chance of firing a shot and accidentally killing one of us. That was the only thing that kept Taj and I alive that day. Taj knew that all along too. He was a lot smarter than I thought he was.

A hand grabbed me by the shoulder and yanked me backwards. I was too stunned to react at first. I wasn't quite sure what was going on and where the smoke had come from. All I could do was stumble over the side of the truck, choke my lungs out on the smoke, and follow whoever was dragging me into the jungle.

Gah! That smoke stuff burned my eyes, nose, and throat as if its mission was to kill every sense known to mankind. Once it hit my stomach, I wanted to stop running and puke breakfast onto the jungle floor right then and there. If it wasn't for the person still clinging onto the sleeve of my T-shirt and tugging me forward, I would have done just that and more. Passing out or curling up into a ball were options I debated.

It took me a while to get over the horrible sensation. Pushing tears out of my red, stinging eyes, I squinted forward and saw it was Taj who was my rescuer that afternoon. With a panic in his wide, honey-colored eyes, he guided me forward in a frantic rush without looking back at the road. He didn't care about getting lost in the jungle. He just wanted to get away from Diego and his men. I liked his plan. It was my plan too.

"Man! A little warning would have been great back there, Taj!" I croaked out. As I picked up my own pace and began to stride next to my not-so-traitorous friend, Taj let go of my shirt and shot me a diffident smile.

"I'm s-sorry, Danny. I couldn't tell you. You had to look convincing for those men," Taj said as we ran. It more like stumbling than running, though. There were too many protruding roots, slippery mud puddles, random rocks, and low hanging tree branches for us to whack or blunder into for us to actually take three good strides in a row.

"I'm not actually too angry no - ouch!" I admitted as my face slapped against a branch. "You got us both out of that mess like you said you would. Thanks. But I have to admit that I doubted you for a second."

"If I was you, I would have done the same," Taj said with an understanding nod that was cut short as his muddy shoe slipped on the smooth surface of a rock. The teen fell to his hands and knees in the mud with a wince. He had cut his knee open in the fall. Blood ran freely from the wound. From the grimace on Taj's face, I assumed it was pretty painful.

Putting on my brakes, I skidded to a stop before going back to help Taj to his feet. My head snapped up in alert when I heard Diego shout something to his men. From the sound of their voices, I could tell they were very close. Too close for comfort. We needed to get a move on or that whole smoke trick would have been for nothing.

"Come on! Hurry!" I urgently hissed at Taj as I offered an outstretched hand. Thankfully, Taj grabbed my forearm.

That's when my world changed. Literally.

If I had blinked, I would have missed the transformation. There was a quick, bright flash that reminded me of whenever I turned ghost. After the flash, the jungle plunged into darkness. The trees around us turned into long, creepy shadows. All jungle sounds from the bugs, frogs, and birds ceased completely. It was as if the world had been put on mute. An ominous mist curled around my feet. A red sun hung in the black sky like a sinister, ever-watching eye. It provided me with just enough light to make a little out of my new, scary surroundings.

"What happened? Where are we?" I asked Taj as I stumbled back in fear and surprise. But mostly fear. Even with my experience with ghosts and the Ghost Zone, this place terrified me beyond belief. There was something very evil about it. Somehow I just knew there was absolutely nothing good in it. That's what scared me most, I think.

When a light clicked on, I actually gasped as I turned to find the source. It was only Taj with a flashlight. If he didn't have the same physical appearance from before, I wouldn't have thought it was him. He had turned into a completely different person.

Taj's eyes were set into a constant glare. The innocence I'd seen in them were gone. What resided there now was something hard, cold, unsympathetic. Instead of his tanned, smooth skin, Taj's complexion was pale and ashen. Scars ran up and down his more muscular arms, and a few dotted his face. His tattoo remained untouched, but the black ink had changed to the color red.

What really surprised me was Taj's new arsenal. Instead of concealed, little tricks he probably literally had up his sleeves, Taj now had multiple weapons, big and small. Two grenades and different kinds of ammo lined the front of a belt slung across his chest. Two pistols sat at his hips. An actual baseball bat was strapped to his back. In his hands was a shot gun that he was reloading with a calmness I knew Taj didn't normally possess.

Whatever happened to the squealing, stuttering mouse from two seconds ago? He was armed to the teeth! You'd think was preparing for war or something! And what was with the creepy scene change? What had that smoke done to me? Had I tripped and hit my head too hard? I had no clue what was going on.

"Wh-what the hell happened?" I asked in something between panic and hysterics. I ran a hand through my hair, glancing around the scary darkness. I very much wanted to go home at that point. I would have done anything if it would mean I'd be returned to the Fenton household. I even considered crying.

Gulping down my fear, I glanced back at Taj and asked almost desperately, "Where are we?"

Taj finally looked up from putting shells in his shotgun. He flashed me a grim smile as he finished the job, steadied the weapon against his hip, and said with a reluctant sigh, "Welcome to my world, Danny."

A/N: I know. Another cliffhanger. I'm sorry, guys, but I'm addicted to 'em. You guys should know that by now. But a lot will be explained next week's chapter. Hopefully packing and work won't get in the way, but I think I'll be good. See you guys then!